Just a few weeks ago, The Avengers were unleashed upon us.
Just a few weeks ago, The Avengers were unleashed upon us. Writer/Director Joss Whedon balanced action set pieces with each characters individual back story, and managed to bring life to even the most banal of characters, i.e. Agent Coulson. The general result was that most of the movie going population rejoiced in one of the finest examples of blockbuster entertainment in recent years.
The Avengers kicked off a massive summer of popcorn entertainment and we can now look forward to the likes of Snow White and the Huntsman, Total Recall, The Bourne Legacy, The Amazing Spiderman, Dark Knight Rises and Prometheus, which promises to ponder the meaning of life as well as scare the crap out of us. Of course the studios behind these films have the means and capability to endlessly promote them, most notably with Prometheus. Fox have repeatedly beat us in the face with new posters, trailers, teasers, featurettes and tv spots, not really bothered if anything is spoiler-ridden or not. Their only presumed goal of this particularly aggressive marketing campaign is to ensure Prometheus takes over our consciousness until our soul wilts and we live only for the next screening. Under this crushing weight of promotion, it is considerably easier to miss smaller releases, so here is a small list of upcoming films which may not get the marketing push they deserve but are as equally exciting as flying bat and spider men.
Ill Manors
June 6th
Plan B, or Ben Drew as his mother likes to call him, has already made a considerable foray into acting with a notably impressive role in Harry Brown and to a lesser extent, some of Noel Clarkes various films about annoying and aggressive youths living in London. Ill Manors marks his directorial debut and follows six interlinking stories of several characters living tough lives in London, which you could tentatively describe as Pulp Fiction-esque. While it may not live up to Tarantino, it promises something fierce and uncompromising, and will no doubt be bolstered by a strong performance from Riz Ahmed.
Killer Joe
June 29th
Director William Friedkin’s back catalogue includes The Exorcist, The French Connection and Bug to name but a few terrific films which Killer Joe looks certain to join. The film follows Matthew McConaughey as a quiet killer who befriends a young man, who in turn wants his mother murdered. McConaughey has long been more than capable of roles wanting him to lie on the beach with amazing pecs and this film looks certain to showcase that.
Sightseers
No confirmed release date
Shown at Cannes film festival this year, this story of a man taking his girlfriend on a caravanning holiday, which then takes a turn for the worst is already been referred to as the best petty vengeance movie ever made. Ben Wheatley, who previously directed films such as Down Terrace and Kill List, which you should buy right now if you haven’t seen, laces his films with simmering menace and Sightseers looks to be some of that, with an injection of pitch black humour, resulting in what will undoubtedly be one of the best films of any summer.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
June 8th
Simon Pegg stars in this film about a children’s author who becomes obsessed with murder and murdering. Check out the trailer for an indication of how bizarre and surreal this is likely to be. Hopefully though, a clever script and Pegg’s performance should make this an alternative summer delight.
Cosmopolis
June 15th
Robert Pattison is a billionaire, losing vast amounts of money and the film follows him on a journey as he drives across town to get a haircut, as an odyssey of characters interrupt his journey and his world begins to fall apart. This is David Cronenberg’s new film and if you don’t know, the first half of Cronenberg’s career was spent in the body horror genre, frequently his films would involve infection or body transformation, his films of late however have shown a slight branching off from that, most evident in last years psychoanalytic drama A Dangerous Method. This film marks another step of evolution for this fascinating filmmaker, and Pattison also looks on top form, meaning this also, is unmissable.
The above five are the films I’m most looking forward to which may not get as wide a release as this years blockbusters, so if you have some time in between bats and spiders, secret government assassins and providing these films haven’t been crushed under the weight of Ridley Scott’s marketing monster (what’s the name again?) be sure to check out some features of the anti blockbuster summer ahead.
