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Choke
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) lives by the motto “what Jesus would not do”. By day, he is a historical interpreter (read: costumed tour guide at a historic tourist attraction) and sex addict by night. Whilst his mother (Angelica Huston) is in hospital and unable to remember him, Victor has refined the act of pretending to choke in crowded restaurants, to get money from sympathetic strangers. His life becomes more complicated however, when he finds himself falling for his mother’s doctor. Written from the author of Fight Club, Choke is far from your typical romantic comedy.
My verdict: Choke looks like the perfect combination of dirty, sexy and funny.
Released: 9/10/2008


Disaster Movie
From the people who bought you the unfunny sequels to Scary Movie, comes another colossal failure in the form of Disaster Movie. Somehow, they still haven’t managed to get the memo (despite the dismal box office results of their more recent attempts like Meet the Spartans, Date Movie, Sports Movie and Epic Movie) that the spoof film has been done to death. Disaster Movie combines the ‘dramatic talent’ of socialite Kim Kardashian and a no-star cast with parodies of current blockbusters like Hancock, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Giant (which all are more superhero films than disaster films to be nitpicky), as well as Juno, Sex and the City and Disney’s Enchanted.
My verdict: Quit beating a poor, dead horse! Don’t even bother.
Released: 2/10/2008


Hamlet 2
A hopeless, high school teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) attempts to save the drama department by putting on an original and self-penned musical, Hamlet 2. Despite everyone dying in the first Hamlet, Marschz uses the brilliant time-machine plot device so that Shakespeare’s characters can return, with the addition of Satan, ‘sexy’ Jesus and the President. Hilarity surely ensures with an unruly group of drama geeks, a maniac director and a possible first amendment lawsuit.
My verdict: Any film which has a song entitled ‘Rock Me Sexy Jesus’ will most definitely get my butt into a seat.
Released: TBA


Lord Save Us (From Your Followers)
A documentary exploring Christianity in America. Filmmaker (and follower) Dan Merchant asks the question “why is the Gospel of Love dividing America?” Merchant aims to incite discussion about the role of faith in contemporary (American) culture. The clever trailer definitely caught my attention, comprised of simple cut-outs of celebrities, politicians and cultural commentators with sound bytes about religion. Despite the likeable preview, it was difficult from this small sample to get a clear idea of which direction this documentary will head in, and what style it will take.
My verdict: As a lover of documentaries and Jesus jokes, I will probably end up seeing this. I think it is especially interesting to see how much of a role religion plays in the daily life of Americans (apparently 9 out of 10 Americans claim a belief in God), as Australians seem to be more liberal minded.
Released: 14/7/2008


Not Quite Hollywood
Another documentary, this time focusing around about Australian cinema. Not Quite Hollywood looks at the national cinema of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, with an emphasis on the ‘Oz-ploitation’ film. Despite the documentary being so ‘Australian’ focused, the trailer is filled with Americans (Jamie Lee Curtis, Quentin Tarantino – although I know he is a long-time fan of Australian horror). Other interviews include Barry Humphries and the Saw duo, James Wan and Leigh Whannel.
My verdict: Will be of interest to cinema students, those interested in film history, and fans of dodgy-Aussie films of the 70s but I don’t think this documentary will have much of a general appeal.
Released: 28/8/2008

By Steph