As any film fan who has seen the trailer would realise, The Hustle is a remake of 80’s comedy classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin and was itself a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story which featured David Niven and Marlon Brando (in an intentional comic role). Notably, The Hustle has a gender flip
Read moreBefitting its innocuous title, Book Club, the directorial debut for Walk in the Woods writer Bill Holderman, is a wafer thin but amiable senior citizen rom-com. The film would probably evaporate if not for its wonderful all-star cast which features Dianne Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen as well as Craig T. Nelson, Richard Dreyfus, Ed Begley Jr
Read moreFrench film Ces’t La Vie is supposedly a comedy but works better as a study in workplace chaos. Set amid an elaborate wedding reception in the sprawling gardens of a French chateau, the film sees catering company boss and ring master Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) desperately try to control an endless stream of disasters. Staff flirt with guests, people suffer food
Read moreAnyone familiar with the films of New Zealand director Taika Waititi will recognise his idiosyncratic style: low budget and aesthetically minimalist with extremely droll piss-taking humour, absurdist depictions of everyday life and affectionate oddball characters. This is almost the house style for his company, Piki Films and it carries through to their latest effort The Breaker-Upperers which, for about half its
Read moreThe Trip to Spain is the third in Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s comedy/ dramas in which they play slightly altered versions of themselves as they journey through scenic countryside reviewing up-market eateries. This time they’re imbibing the cuisine, landscape and culture of Spain as they drive from to Santander down to Malaga. Once again directed by Michael Winterbottom, this
Read moreWith amusing insights into pre-teen neurosis reminiscent of the Peanuts comics, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films, which are based on the hit Jeff Kinney books, have been a refreshing addition to the kid/ family film landscape. They have, however, provided diminishing returns with the standard declining after the very funny first film. That slide continues with the latest
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