Director David M. Rosenthal’s past films (with all of which I am unfamiliar) seems to be a collection of unpredictable, and I’m guessing campy, comedies. One did indeed feature Snoop Dogg and Rachel Leigh Cook, so you decide. Nonetheless, the trailer for A Single Shot is electrifying. I want to see it so hard.

The San Francisco International Film Festival begins next week and I’m excited to be covering the festival for the third year in a row.  It’s exciting taking a peek at some of the films that will slowly be trickling into theaters throughout the rest of the year.  With a host of great movies due for release, it is interesting to consider how many will be sequels, sequels that are so popular that every single TV and movie service wants to get their hands on them.  Iron Man 3 will be among the biggest.

‘Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? In this third thrilling offering from the Marvel Comics Iron Man franchise, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) answers the question that has always secretly haunted him. With Stark’s love for Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) now firmly cemented, Iron Man 3 sees Stark facing his most difficult opponent yet in the shape of the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), ‘an enemy whose reach knows no bounds.’ And when the Mandarin sets out to destroy most of the world Stark has spent his lifetime building, Stark must choose whether to fight back or protect the woman he loves.

Suddenly finding himself without the luxuries he has grown used to, Stark must rely on the instincts and ingenuity that helped him become Iron Man in the first place as he bids to defeat the Mandarin and embark on a quest that will lead him to discover who is responsible. However, when the Mandarin taunts Stark by saying, ‘You can have an empty life or a meaningful death,’ can Stark keep his massive ego in check to keep safe the one he loves?

Excitingly directed and co-written by Shane Black (writer of Lethal Weapon among other things) Iron Man 3 promises all the excitement of futuristic gadgets and high-octane chases of the first two Iron Man movies, but with, perhaps, a new-found depth of character and relationships that has been lacking in the prequels.

If that’s not enough, joining Stark in his endeavors to defeat the Mandarin are Aldrick Killian (Guy Pearce), Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) and James Badge Dale (Eric Savin), whilst old favorites War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) return to assist. Of course, whilst you’re waiting, you can always watch the first two installments again at Netflix or LOVEFiLM.

It’s no secret that I want to rub a number of movie posters all over me. The film industry staked its claim on a large part of the popular culture of the last century. This is why the posters associated with many of these films became nothing short of iconic. A film poster
has every right to be as treasured as an album cover, and the best ones seem to encapsulate exactly what the film was about and can be made available for the home via sources like Instant Print posters.

The thing that links films like Vertigo, The Exorcist, Alien, Jaws and Pulp Fiction is that they all had an iconic poster attached to their product. A Vertigo poster has become something of a must have for any film buff but mere fandom isn’t where the story ends.

A film poster can be a declaration of your artistic or cultural leanings; those of a more subversive bent may see a poster of cult film Metropolis as a declaration of their politics. It is good to use art as a representation of our personalities and our various collections of CDs, DVDs and posters can go some way to helping us to define who we are and what we believe in.

On a more artistic level, the poster of a film like Vertigo is a masterpiece in its own right. Its blunt impressionist symbolism really hits on the themes of what many consider to be the best film of all time. The whirling Spirograph style stencil engulfs a falling man – Scottie, the protagonist – as he plunges into a world of illusion and solitude. The Vertigo poster is an artwork suitable for any room
in the house as a statement of taste and culture.

The Exorcist film poster is a great piece of decor for those who love film art. It exudes a strong sense of foreboding with the silhouetted priest standing before the lonely house. Light pours out of an upstairs window drawing the viewer’s focus, and subtly suggesting something sinister is afoot. These are all tricks and styles apparent in many works of art and the best film posters should be
treated with that kind of reverence. All of these posters can be made to measure at Instant Print posters for a small fee.

On a perhaps lighter level, the Jaws movie poster was another great that could adorn any room or office with maybe a special place in the bathroom. Steven Spielberg’s Jaws tapped into our fear and recognition of nature in its rawest, bloodiest form. The great white shark played a largely unseen and therefore enigmatic killer which a modern viewer may struggle to understand, but any nature or
classic film fan will be very aware of.  Film posters are a great source of popular art and should be treated as so.

I am not ashamed to admit I saw Drive in the theatre three times. You could say I’m pretty excited about Only God Forgives.

Is it impossible not to be charmed by a film about a retired cat burglar who becomes friends with his robot care taker, who then become burgling together? Almost. Especially in the capable hands of a man as talented as Frank Langella. It is he who plays the titular Frank. Robot is voiced by a HAL9000-sounding Peter Sarsgaard.  Frank’s children are played by Liv Tyler and James Marsden, and he has a marginal romantic admiration for a local librarian, a wispy and endearing Susan Sarandon.

Blanketed by a sort of blanket immunity of taking place in “the near future,” things are only subtly different.  Skype is become a bit more advanced, although internet connections seem to be no more reliable.  Cars a skinnier, hairdos are just almost futuristic on the hip.  Most marked is the invasion of a non-profit into Frank’s local library, led by a smarmy, rich neighbor of Frank’s, transforming it into a book-less, digital space more focused on providing a library “experience.”

Frank suffers a bit from memory problems, although the name of the ailment is never spoken.  He can’t seem to remember his favorite diner went out of business, and he sometimes doesn’t recognize his children–most of the time he does.  His daughter is a bleeding heart researching microfinance in Turkmenistan, and his son Hunter who lives fives hours away, is tired of making weekend trips to check up on the likable curmudgeon.  It’s Hunter who brings Frank Robot, an artificially intelligent companion programmed to keep Frank’s health, physical and mental, as sharp as possible.

Frank sees Robot as a partner in crime, teaches him to pick locks, and explores Robot’s programming to see trustworthy he is.  In the meantime, the two strike up a friendship as deep as one can have with a charming appliance.  What’s not adorable about Frank Langella and a friendly robot getting into shenanigans together?

Director Jake Schreier keeps an even tone to the film, bringing a quiet humor and appeal to the entire story.  But it’s Langella that lifts the film out of what could have been a less dynamic story.  This light and breezy tone also works against it.  There were moments where the story briefly brushes up against something authentically emotional moments.  For one reason or another, they were never fully explored to keep things moving.  The film also failed to define one too many things as well.  The relationship and character of Frank’s family remain a bit of a mystery through to the credits.  It’s never quite clear how clever Frank or Robot actually is.  Science fiction enthusiasts could probably argue about the real rules that Robot should have been restricted to, but didn’t.  These complaints aside, Robot & Frank is an appealing, quiet film that feels about right for the end of the summer.

3.5 out of 4 stars

As infuriating as Craig Zobel’s Compliance is, any righteous indignation will likely be potentiated when considering the fact this story is true, based on true events. What’s worse, and perhaps the most intriguing, is there may be something inside you that says you may just have acted the same way if you were in the same circumstances that Zobel’s characters found themselves in.

Compliance takes place at a fictional fast food restaurant named ChickWick, on a Friday, one if its busiest nights.  The restaurant supervisor, Sandra (Ann Dowd), is capable to the extent the somewhat mindless job requires.  She seems to have a respectable handle on her staff of considerably younger, and less career-oriented employees.  In the midst of the demanding rush hour for the restaurant, Sandra receives a call from the local police, informing her that one of her employees, Becky (Dreama Walker), working the register is accused of stealing from a customer’s purse.  The officer identifies himself as officer Daniels and asks Sandra to search Becky, and her belongs, for the missing money.  When the search turns nothing up, Officer Daniels’ demands become more invasive.  Using alternating flattery and intimidation, he encourages Sandra to follow his instructions.  It begins with a strip search.  This is only the beginning.

Through careful direction, shining performances, and a thoughtful script, writer and director Zobel explores pain and humiliation in the context of the American workplace.  If this were simply an artistic expression of dark ideas, Compliance may have failed one its primary obligations: to convince the audience to suspend its disbelief.  Most certainly, those in the audience thought to themselves many times how they would have simply said no, and walked away from a situation that really does take humiliation to intense depths (it caused a stir at Sundance earlier this year).  Fortunately, not only does Zobel have one story to back up the nearly unbelievable shenanigans, the hoax call actually happened around seventy times in thirty different states.  Time after time, a prankster convinced low-level management to conduct strip searches on young women employees often earning not more than $6.35 an hour.

There were moments when I absolutely thought I would not be coaxed into such an unsavory competition.  I’ve seen enough crime procedurals, I have enough family members who are attorneys to know this is not constitutionally legal in any sense.  Especially considering how Becky was kept in the manager’s office against her will (suddenly it’s felony kidnapping slapped on to illegal search and seizure).  But the film begins on a low heat, and before you know it, you’re the proverbial frog who failed to notice just when things became dangerous.  And once you’re in over your head, it’s like taking a punch to the gut, and you’re as helpless as Becky to stop what’s happening.

Ms. Dowd is a force to be reckoned with, she is simply stunning to watch.  Her performance makes the dynamic between Becky and Sandra even more nuanced as Dowd finds a way to make her character both kind, but resentful of the younger, more attractive Becky.  In turn, Ms. Walker’s brave performance assisted the fine script in removing any sort of titillation to Becky’s horrible, horrible Friday night experiences.  The guttural cello-driven score plucks emotional chords within our stomachs that are certainly more subtle than, say that climactic scene in 127 Hours, but not less painful.  The final scene, compared to the tumultuous rest of the film, is calm and a bit introspective.  It shows Sandra, after nearly all is said and done, being interviewed about her undeniable part in the events.  She neither accepts responsibility, nor shirks it.  It invites a mournful meditation on what it means to just be following orders and if it can ever be an acceptable moral defense.

by Adam Young 

Sitting down in the theatre to watch lawless with my wife and friends, I had mixed emotions and no serious expectations outside of the fact that I knew there would be violence and some very slick hair cuts. What I left the theatre with was much, much more than I expected.

Lawless follows the bootlegging careers of the three Bondurant brothers Jack (Shia LaBeouf), Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clark) in prohibition era Virginia. Their lives move along comfortably and their bootlegging business is unhindered by the evils of organized crime in the big cities. This all changes when Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pierce) comes to town, and systematically tries to eliminate not only the Bondurant’s business, but their lives and the lives of those around them.

While I’ve never thought much of LaBeouf’s acting he does a fairly good job portraying Jack, the youngest and most mild mannered of the family. The character that shines the most however is Forrest Bondurant, played by Tom Hardy. Forrest is the middle brother and he controls the family business. Forrest has a tendency towards violence when it comes to defending what is his, but he’s not always a “shoot first, ask questions later” type of guy. What I really appreciated about the character is that Hardy shows a thoughtful and even reflective side to a character that could have very easily been all brawn and no brains.

Everything about this film is period-correct down to the razor part shaved down the middle of Guy Pierce’s head. Lawless shows not just how prohibition changed people’s business ventures, but how it effected their day-to-day lives. While I’m not sure that this film will gain serious accolades (however I do feel that Hardy could earn an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Forrest Bondurant) I can definitely say that you will leave the theatre seriously entertained.

3.5 out of 4 stars

If american gangster movies are your thing, why not sign up to an online streaming service such as LOVEFiLM and watch as many as you want?

Cloud Atlas is a 2004 novel by British author David Mitchell. It won much acclaim upon its release, it was even shortlisted for the Booker Prize.  It consists of six stories that take place in different time periods, from the South Pacific in the 19th century, to the distance, post-apocalyptic future.  Like Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, all these seemingly unrelated stories end up being related.

It’s perfect fodder for the cinematic fire and the project has drawn some serious talent.  By the unfortunate, studio-provided still above, you may have guessed that Halle Berry and Tom Hanks have leads in the story.  Other notable actors with roles include Jim Sturgess, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and James D’Arcy to name a few.  Some of these actors share allegiances to film’s three (three!) directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski.  The Wachowski’s have been quiet since 2008′s Speed Racer.  Tom Tykwer’s latest 2010′s Drei, the bi-curious drama that reached von Trier-levels of on-screen graphic nudity.

The sprawling and possibly spoiler-ific five-minute trailer released is found below.  It begins normal enough and the featured lines spoken, particularly those of Ms. Berry’s character, test the boundaries of banal dialogue.  Quickly enough, however, the film lends itself to science fiction, echoing tones and atmosphere that is easy to recall from the Matrix trilogy.  I’m not quite sure what the expect from Cloud Atlas.  The acclaimed source material will keep hope alive, but its tough after seeing this trailer.