April’s new releases oddly focused on addiction
With awards season over it’s time to focus on something besides Avatar and The Hurt Locker . This month’s inadvertent theme: addiction and the corruption it causes.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009 dir. Werner Herzog First Look): Nicholas Cage adds a dose of credibility to his flagging career starring in what could be the most surprising franchise reboot of recent years. Like the Abel Ferrera-directed original the plot focuses on a drug-addled cop but Cage gives the character his own critically lauded spin.
Bigger Than Life (1956 dir. Nicholas Ray Criterion): A favourite of Martin Scorsese this vintage melodrama features Lolita’s James Mason as a family man with an addiction problem. Brutally dark for the time this film is a harrowing exploration of the unseen side of suburbia.
The Blind Side (2009 dir. John Lee Hancock Warner): Based on a true story. Sandra Bullock won an Oscar. ’Nuff said.
Breaking Bad: Second Season (2009 Sony): Proving once again that some of today’s most innovative storytelling is coming from the cable TV arena AMC’s Emmy-winning drama stars Bryan Cranston as New Mexico’s least likely meth dealer.
Broken Embraces (2009 dir. Pedro Almodovar Sony): This festival favourite re-teams Almodovar with his favourite leading lady Penelope Cruz for a neo-noir about a blind writer trying to heal wounds from the past. This one also features an addiction to pharmaceuticals.
An Education (2009 dir. Lone Sherfig Sony): Carey Mulligan earned an Oscar nomination for her turn in this period romance about a teenage girl who falls for an older man played by Peter Sarsgaard.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009 dir. Wes Anderson 20th Century Fox): Anderson uses stop-motion animation and the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep to bring Roald Dahl’s classic kid’s tale to the screen. On the surface it’s all about a fox being a fox but underneath it’s everything you’ve come to expect from a Wes Anderson film complete with outrageous patriarchs and kids with daddy issues. It’s one of his best and a delight to watch. (It should be noted that Mr. Fox is addicted to danger.)
The Killer: Blu-ray (1989 dir. John Woo Weinstein): For many this was the film that introduced Hong Kong action to North America. Woo directs his main man Chow Yun-Fat in a modern crime thriller about a guilt-ridden hitman out to repay the woman he blinded and the cop who is trying to put him away. It’s a modern action classic.
Party Down: Season One (2009 dir. Rob Thomas Anchor Bay): Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas cranks up the funny in this ensemble series about struggling actors who spend their downtime working catering functions. Look for great turns by Jane Lynch Ken Marino and Martin Starr.
A Serious Man (2009 dir. Joel and Ethan Coen Alliance): The Coen Brothers deliver one of their more confounding comedies with this story of a stressed-out professor (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose life starts to fall apart around him. Great performances and beautiful photography help this ultimately unsatisfying effort.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009 dir. Chris Weitz E1): In this hyper-successful sequel and literary adaptation a whiny teen (Kristen Stewart) is forced to choose between a dreamy vampire (Robert Pattison) and a beefy werewolf (Taylor Lautner).
The Yes Men Fix the World (2009 dir. Andy Bichlbaum Mike Bonanno New Video Group): The agitprop pranksters who made their names by making fun of modern politics and corporate culture return to take on Dow and Exxon by taking the piss out of them.
The White Stripes: Under Great Northern Lights (2009 dir. Emmett Malloy WEA/Reprise): Go along for the ride as Jack and Meg tour Canada and make some intriguing guerilla-concert stops along the way.
