Movies Monday!

It’s wet, grey and the start of the working week, but things could be worse. Movies Monday is just back from a couple of nights in London where special Olympic lanes, inpenetrable one-way systems and a lack of people knowing what the fuck’s going on means that the capital is an insufferable place to be. Which bloody well serves them right for all those years of tyranny and, worse still, Jimmy Hill.
Anyway, we digress. We don’t think they had any part in Katie Holmes giving hubby the heave-ho, but the makers of The Master won’t complain about the currency the Scientology debate is giving their film.
Due in October, it stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a World War II veteran who, haunted by his experiences, decides to set up his own hatstand religion, The Cause.
Its fine ensemble cast also includes Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rami Malek and Laura Dern who after a quiet decade now seems to be back in the Hollywood swing of things.
The select few reviewers who’ve seen it reckon that Hoffman and Phoenix are both shoo-ins for Oscar nods.

We doubt it’s big or remotely clever, but lovers of dumb ass American comedies will lap up Fun Size for managing to get Victoria Justice, Jane Levy, Chelsea Handler – she has to get a job doing John Terry’s PR – and Jonny Knoxville onto the same set.
The first time The O.C.’s Josh Schwartz has directed for the big screen, its ‘sarcastic teen with a dopey brother who has to be taken trick or treating’ plot sounds painfully contrived, but the US reviews have all been gushing.

Having penned it in 1999, Stephen Chbosky now gets to direct the big screen version of his The Perks Of Being A Wallflower novel.
Starring Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller and Emma Watson, it’s a coming of age tale in the left-of-centre Juno vein and drops in September.
With John Malkovich co-producing, it’s one Movies Monday has high hopes for.

Will Smith keeps it in the family by co-starring alongside 13-year-old son Jaden in After Earth, a sci-fi thriller that although not out until June 2013 has just unleashed its first viral video.

“In After Earth, one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind's new home,” reads the blurb. “Legendary General Cypher Raige returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son. When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai's craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.”

Also giving us plenty of advance notice of its arrival is Oz: The Great And Powerful, a Wizard Of Oz prequel starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz. Pencilled in for April 2013 release, it’s from the house of Disney but has a Tim Burton-esque darkness to it Movies Monday rather likes.

Whatever about his quality control – or lack thereof these days – you can’t accuse Robert De Niro of being unproductive. The 68-year-old has no fewer than five new movies out this year, the latest of which is a cop thriller, FreeLancers, that also stars 50 Cent and Forest Whitaker.
A little suspiciously it’s only receiving a “limited theatre” release before hitting DVD, Blu-Ray and on-demand.

“The son of a slain NYPD officer joins the force, where he falls in with his father’s former partner and a team of rogue ‘Gotham cops.’ His new boss, Sarcone, will see if he has what it takes to be rogue through many trials and tribulations of loyalty, trust and respect. However, when the truth about his father’s death is revealed, revenge takes over and he won’t stop until justice has been truly served.”

Switching to the small-screen, and we’re less than two months away from Season Three of Boardwalk Empire, which one strongly suspects will find Nucky at mega-odds with Margaret. Here are some sneak peaks.

A new Dredd trailer? Yes, siree, and it’s just as andrenaline pumping as it predecessor.

Just when you thought Hollywood had finally got over its Blair Witch Project obsession, along comes V/H/S, a multi-strand 'found footage' chiller which was the subject of much Sundance Film Festival acclaim.

“When a group of petty criminals is hired by a mysterious party to retrieve a rare piece of found footage from a rundown house in the middle of nowhere, they soon realise that the job isn’t going to be as easy as they thought,” reads the synopsis. “In the living room, a lifeless body holds court before a hub of old television sets, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of VHS tapes. As they search for the right one, they are treated to a seemingly endless number of horrifying videos, each stranger than the last.
“Bringing together some of the top filmmakers in the game today, this wickedly conceived horror anthology sends the viewer through a gauntlet of suspense, terror, shock, and downright brutality – instantly distinguishing itself from a sea of lacklustre found-footage horror flicks. The diverse and deviously creative minds behind V/H/S shatter any preconceived notions about the genre, making it feel inventive and captivating once again.

Also going down a storm at Sundance and its SXSW counterpart – Austin, Texas is as partial to films as it is bands – was Sleepwalk With Me, a gorgeous indie comedy starring Mike Birbiglia as a hapless stand-up. If this doesn't melt your heart, you're an Eskimo.

Finally, Movies Monday was saddened by the death over the weekend of Sly’s son Sage Stallone. An accomplished screenwriter and director as well as an actor, we particularly enjoyed his turn as a Mafioso in 2010’s Promises Written In Water.

Which is where Team MM must bid you a fond adieu for another week. Any thoughts, observations and general trailer trashing should be dispatched to [email protected].