Basel Cinema Round-up

Entries in 2010 (14)

Wednesday
Oct062010

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy, (Kult.Kino, Atelier 2)Dir. Sam Taylor Wood and starring Will Gregory who plays the young John Lennon brought up by his Aunt Mimi in Liverpool before the Beatles fame. It traces the source of John’s music to the bitter rivalry between his Mum Julia and her sister. Also stars Kirsten Scott-Thomas and there’s music from Goldfrapp.



Wednesday
Oct062010

Tamara Drew

Tamara Drew, (Kult Kino) Dir. Stephen Frears and starring Gemma Arterton, one of the girls in the farce St.Trinians. English comedy with a host of stars, a late summer romp set in rural England and based on a pen & ink cartoon strip by Posy Simmonds. Frears brings all the characters to life in this production. Some of us might not like the cute whimsical touches. However, lookout for Beth Hardiment played by Tamsin Grieg, brilliant pent up emotions and jealousy. Frears is famous for such productions as Dangerous Liasons, The Grifters, My Beautiful Laundrette, High-Fidelity and The Queen.



Wednesday
Oct062010

The Town

The Town, (Plaza) Dir. Ben Afleck, starring Ben Afleck and Catherine Hall. A crime thriller set in a blue-collar neighbourhood of Boston. Afleck plays a ruthless leader of a gang of successful bank robbers, he wants one last heist then he’s out. Not so easy as he falls for romantic involvement not far from the bank's safes.

Wednesday
Oct062010

Eat, Pray, Love

Eat, Pray, Love (Capitol, Pathe) Dir. Ryan Murphy starring Julia Roberts and Javier Badem is based on the best seller written by Elizabeth Gilbert. Liz Gilbert has everything a woman dreams of, a great career, a nice house, a partner. Now divorced and despondent Liz travels through exotic locations in order to rediscover herself. Soul-searching love story played out from a grey New York through Italy, India and Bali. Some say the film focuses on “self-congratulations for self-indulgence as an act of courage”, however, everybody’s reading the book.

Wednesday
Oct062010

The American

The American, (Eldorado, Rex) Dir. Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney. Jack, a cool contract killer knows exactly what a perfect murder entails. The film opens across the crunchy snow in Sweden where a job goes unexpectedly wrong. Jack tells his contact that the next assignment will be his last. Set in stunning locations in Sweden and also beautifully shot in Abruzzio and Castel del Monte in the Apennines east of central Italy. Corbijn of course was also a photographic journalist and a video-maker before turning his hand to film, remember Control. Very European set, extremely underplayed, and up close and personal. There’s no car crashes but a scooter chase through pale yellow, catacomb, streets at night. It’s a character study of a anxious and lost man who wants nothing more than to find a way out but finds himself constantly on the run.