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Lucia (out 01 March 10, Cert. 18) Raquel Revuelta, Eslinda Núñez, Adela Legrá, dir. by Humberto Solas, 1968, Cert. 15, in Spanish with English subtitles MonkeyScore: 75% Lucía is three Cuban women, each named Lucía. They come from three successive generations, and their stories are intertwined with different periods in Cuban history. First up is the war of independence against Spain, in 1895. Lucia (Raquel Revuelta) is an aristocrat betrayed by the man she falls for. Next comes 'Lucía , 1933." A frail, middle-class girl (Eslinda Núñez) runs away with a young revolutionary involved in overthrowing dictator Gerardo Machado. Finally, 'Lucía, 1961' introduces us to post Cuban Revolution Lucía (Adela Legrá), a strong working-class field hand. She is married to a young man who struggles to reconcile his revolutionary beliefs and pre-revolution machismo. There has been much debate in film schools and arty cafés over the years as to which of the 3 Lucías is the most successful. Indeed one could spend hours dissecting each frame of the film-maker's handiwork while stroking their chins, yet somehow miss the point of Lucía entirely. Each of the vignettes obviously has its own merits and weaknesses yet it is as part of a whole that Lucía becomes formidable: by looking at the impact of recent Cuban history on women of different backgrounds Solas gives us a great insight into the very fabric of the island-nation. The narrative may be skewed by the auteur's political convictions yet the audience gets a sense of how lives and events may have shaped history, through a strong narrative and iconic images. While one would benefit from some basic previous knowledge of recent Cuban history to make the most of the film's subtleties, this is by no mean a pre-requisite to enjoy Lucía. Humberto Solas' Lucía is a superb example of Cuban cinema: as original, sanguine, diverse and soulful as Cuba itself. We have 2 copies of the sublime Lucía DVD for you to win to in our competition this week.
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Fantastic Mr. Fox (out 01 March 10, Cert. PG) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, dir. Wes Anderson, 2009, Cert. PG
Mr and Mrs Fox (Clooney and Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox's wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers - Boggis, Bunce and Bean - who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr Fox at any cost.
C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation - Complete Season 9 (out 01 March 10, Cert.15) Laurence Fishburne, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Wallace Lagham, Lauren Lee Smith, Paul Guilfoyle, William Petersen, 2009, 24 episodes, cert. 15 MonkeyScore: 75% C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation follows the forensics experts of the Las Vegas crime lab in their quest to uncover evidence and solve cases. Season 9 sees Night Shift Supervisor Gil Grissom (William Petersen) exiting halfway through to be replaced by Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) in the top job. Dr Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) is tempted away from academia and takes on a CSI level 1 post with the team. While the cases worked bring little new to chew on, Series 9 manages to remain fresh by tastefully fading out the old guard: William Petersen, as Gil Grissom, starred in 193 episodes since the series started in 2000. Single mom and Night Shift Assistant Supervisor Catherine Willows gets promoted through the ranks, opening up space for a new recruit. Fishburne excels as the university professor getting his hands dirty in the field, moving from a cushy teaching job to what is effectively a low-paid entry-level position. This addition to the cast provides a very interesting new dynamic, and initial amusing fish-out-of-water moments. While his decision to join the team is explained away as a desire to broaden his experience of the criminal mind. It's not the easiest thing to swallow in these credit crunched times but obviously he is independently wealthy enough to be able to afford the pay cut. In any case, where does it say that good television has to be 100% realistic to entertain? And entertain CSI Series 9 does - in spades. |
Miss March (out 01 March 10, Cert. 15) Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi, Molly Stanton, dir. Zach Cregger & Trevor Moore, 2009,
cert.15 MonkeyScore: 12% Young Eugene (Zach Cregger) wakes up after 4 years in a coma to discover that his high-school sweetheart (Raquel Alessi) has become a Playboy Magazine model. Accompanied by equally sex-crazed best buddy Tucker, Eugene sets off on a cross-country road-trip bound for the Playboy Mansion where he hopes to win his girl back. One may be excused for thinking that sex-crazed, brainless teenage boys represent such a buoyant film market that studios rush to back projects catering to their taste (or lack thereof.) Indeed the 'gross-out' comedy genre has done rather well over the years, from the American Pie films to the likes of Road Trip and the Scary Movies series. Those worked at least on some level, thanks to decent acting and jokes, and have even managed to attract audiences that are outside the high-school male demographics. Miss March doesn't. The jokes are crude, rude and most importantly not funny. The amount of IQ required to have an enjoyable time watching Miss March is not compatible with multi-cellular life forms. Will leave you hoping for a frontal lobotomy. We
have 3 copies of Miss March DVD for you to win to in our
competition this week, so you can make up your own mind!
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