Tales From The City Of Light

A series of short films builds towards one perfect example that captures the comedy and courage of existence


Paris, Je T Aime
Stars: Various French and American
Directors: Numerous

It s difficult enough to make a feature-length film, but what if your brief was to tell a five-minute story with the titular theme? That is, Paris, I love you.

And we re talking some big names here, like the Oscar-winning Coen brothers and Tom Tykwer (Perfume) with actors like Willem Dafoe, Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche, Bob Hoskins and Fanny Ardant.

There are some films that stick to the traditional French charm of man-meets-woman, complete with accordion soundtrack; one that gives the Marcel Marceau tradition of mime a fresh and humorous twist; and some that are downright thin, such as the one starring the talented Maggie Gyllenhaal as a lonely, dope-smoking American star in Paris.

But it s the relatively younger generation of directors who really make an impression, with Gurinder Chadha exploring the possibilities of inter-religious love between a French boy and a Muslim girl, and South African-born director Oliver Schmitz (Hijack Stories) bringing all his themes fluidly and successfully together in Place des F tes.

In a very short space of time he manages to convey all the racism shown towards African workers, and their ability to hold onto their culture and to celebrate it regardless.

Gus van Sant (My Own Private Idaho) is the only one who takes the notion of gay Paree literally, while Wes Craven gets Oscar Wilde to help a struggling couple from beyond the grave. Vincenzo Natali gets Elijah Wood to show us that in Paris, even tourists and vampires can fall in love.

Alfonso Cuar n (Y Tu Mam Tambi n) does an attention-grabbing thing by shooting his entire short in one long, fluid shot of a couple walking along a night-time boulevard. Starring a breathy Nick Nolte, it even ends up with a nice little catch and a comic punch-line.

But the one story that towers above the rest is by Alexander Payne of Sideways fame. Carol (Margot Martindale) is a frump, a postal worker from Denver who decides to learn French.

She tells us about her life in the most horrendously accented but technically correct French voice-over, which is both hilarious and deeply touching, because here is a tourist with her moonbag, wandering the streets of Paris, wishing she could deliver post here and get to know its inhabitants.

Overlooking the city of love, she realises it might have been preferable to have someone to share it with, but this brave, ordinary woman does her thing and proves that Paris even has a place for someone as desperately lonely as her and us.

Not only is this a perfect example of the form, but it s probably better to have this collection on DVD so that you can skip some and pause to reflect on others. Neil Sonnekus

Special features include... none.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull
Stars: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt
Director: Steven Spielberg


As far as Spielberg was concerned, the whole thing was over. But people wanted more, so producer and writer George Lucas brings us another adventure with all his and Spielberg s themes perfectly intact.
There are the period car races, the military conspiracy, the archaeologist looking in various boxes to reveal whatnot, the poor bloody Russians, the return of ET, even. And then, of course, a Lucasian spaceship. After all, if the titular skull, which is basically an elongated lump of see-through plastic with silvery gauze in it, can be magnetic for any alloy, then there must be some kind of extra-terrestrial shenanigans going on.
And don t think LaBeouf just becomes Jones s sidekick for no reason. He, in his rather poor imitation of Marlon Brando in talismanic cap atop ditto motorbike, is being groomed to take over from a somewhat creaking Ford. Still, it s all great fun as they go falling over impossibly high South American waterfalls and evade about a million gunshots a second. NS

Special features include... The Return of a Legend.


Black Books Season Three
Stars: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Simon Pegg
Director: Martin Dennid
We all need a reason to laugh lately, so here s a great one. Enter Black Books, a messy bookstore run by cynical, moody Bernard Black (the hilarious, scruffy Moran) and his childlike (though bearded) assistant, Manny. Bernard hates everything while Manny is the eternal optimist.
They are joined by new-age hippie Fran to complete a trio of misfits who spend more time arguing and drinking wine than selling books. Bernard and Manny try to write a children s book, Fran destroys a hen party and Manny s parents come to visit. It s gleeful, absurdist British humour. Gareth Pike

Special features include... commentaries, outtakes.


Bill
Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks
Directors: Bernie Goldmann, Melisa Wallack
Eckhart is great when playing heroes or villains (or in the case of Dark Knight, both) but here he s a schlub and the result is a dawdling and utterly uninspiring comedy. Bill works for his father-in-law, is developing a one-pack boep and has an unloving wife who cheats on him.
No surprise, then, that a mid-life crisis ensues. It s triggered in part by the go-getterish positivism of his new friends, played by Alba and a precocious kid. Alba is gorgeous but still seems to be wondering if she belongs in front of the camera. It s been billed as another American Beauty but that s a reach. GP
Special features include... deleted scenes.


Before the Devil Knows You Re Dead
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Albert Finney
Director: Sidney Lumet
Lumet s had some hits and misses, but at 83 he is back in top form with this sombre, engrossing family drama. Andy Hanson (Hoffman) and brother Hank (Hawke) are leading lives of quiet desperation Andy s got drug habits and Hank can t hold down a job.
They both need cash and come up with a simple plan to rob a jewellery store. To say more would be to expose the intricate plot, which starts with a bang, then rewinds in time to show how things can go horribly wrong.
While it s a little slow at times and space heater reviews Hawke is irritatingly shrill, the understated performances of Hoffman as his vacant older brother and damp crawl space Finney as their bitter dad are a joy to watch. GP
Special features include... none.


Death Proof / Planet Terror
Stars: Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Kurt Russell
Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Grindhouse was a specific genre of 60s and 70s exploitation films: sex, guns, cars and crawl space humidity monsters. Despite ham acting and shoddy production values, they developed a huge fan base, including Tarantino and Rodriguez, who revive the art form with this double-bill.
In Death Proof, Russell is a psycho intent on running over women, while in Planet Terror, McGowan must fight her way through zombie hell. Some will find it all rather crass and sexist, not to mention incredibly violent but both films (Terror in particular) are cleverly satiricalguiltily fun to watch. GP

Special features include... hilarious fake movie trailers.