A great bunch of films for you this week. The off-beat thriller Nightcrawler is our pick. Another dark and gritty role for Jake Gyllenhaal – he’s the new Matthew McConaughey!
There’s also a sweet rom-com featuring two screen legends (Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer), a quirky Chinese comedy about flirting, and an absorbing crime thriller starring Tom Hardy and the late, great James Gandolfini.
Check ’em all out here. I think I’ll be watching more than one this week. How about you?
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Opening today:
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NIGHTCRAWLER……FILM OF THE WEEK
USA | 117 minutes | Drama, Thriller
Director: Dan Gilroy (debut feature)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Paxton, Rene Russo, Ann Cusack
A driven man, desperate for work, muscles his way into the world of crime journalism, where he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Looks thrilling, intense and (a little) strange. Gyllenhaal’s on a role!
Distributor: Madman
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ELSA & FRED
USA | 104 minutes | Comedy, Romance
Director: Michael Radford (Flawless)
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Marcia Gay Harden, Scott Bakula, Chris Noth, George Segal, James Brolin, Erika Alexander
Two people who at the end of the road, discover that it’s never too late to love and make dreams come true.
Looks a little sentimental but very sweet. MacLaine and Plummer make this worth seeing.
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THE DROP
USA | 106 minutes | Drama, Thriller
Director: Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead)
Cast: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz
A bartender finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighbourhood’s past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living.
Hardy and Gandolfini are worth the price of admission alone. Love me a good crime caper.
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
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WOMEN WHO FLIRT
China | 97 minutes | Comedy
Director: Pang Ho-cheung
Cast: Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming, Sonia Sui, Hsieh Yi-Lin
A women explores her flirtatious side in order to make her best friend, and love of her life, notice her after he gets a new girlfriend.
If you ignore the dodgy voice-over in the trailer, this could be an entertaining couples night out.
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