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| Pamela Anderson on the role of Shelley in The Last Showgirl: 'I just relate to the character so much and I really worked on it drawing from personal experience' Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival/Jorge Fuembuena |
Hopefully most of you are settling into a fine Bank Holiday Monday at this point. If you're looking for something to watch, we'd like to tell you about a new feature on the site. We've teamed up with JustWatch to put links to where films are streaming at the bottom of our reviews, when available, including free sites like ITVX. Hopefully you'll find it useful!
The Last Showgirl, streaming on MUBI now
Pamela Anderson garnered plenty of critical heat as Las Vegas showgirl Shelley who is facing up to the fact her fairy tale imaginings are about to get a dose of reality as her long-running show is set to close. She definitely brings plenty of vulnerability to the role but I'd argue that the main reason to watch this is to see former wrestler Dave Bautista prove he's got real acting chops as the soft-hearted stage manager Eddie. Jason Schwartzman also pops in to give his director cousin Gia Coppola a hand with a nice little cameo. Her direction drifts a bit and favours style over substance, but perhaps that isn't so inappropriate given the film's subject.
Jurassic Park, 5.30pm, ITV4, Easter Monday
CGI monsters are all the rage these days but when the T-Rex in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film stepped on the scene it really was something special. The effects hold up even today in a film that is surprisingly scary for its PG rating. The cast is air tight, featuring Sir Richard Attenborough as an industrialist whose plans for a dino theme park go disastrously wrong - with writer Michael Crichton (being adapted for screen by David Koepp) returning with another cautionary tale about how technology and theme parks are mixed at their peril after the earlier Westworld. Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum are the solid supporting cast but it's the dinosaurs that muscle in on the best moments. I always quite enjoyed the tale producer Kathleen Kennedy told about the T-Rex malfunctioning and 'coming alive' when it rained. Crichton would be pleased.
Asteroid City, streaming on Netflix from Friday, April 25
Wes Anderson brings a heightened sense of reality and style to a small desert town in his latest star-studded confection. It isn't an animated outing - though there are nods to Chuck Jones and Looney Tunes and the situation has a sense of heightened reality even before you arrive at the plot. Wrapped in a framing device that celebrates the story's constructed nature, the bulk of this colourful tale concerns strange events at Junior Stargazer convention that sees the tiny outpost where it is being held put into lockdown by the government. Some of Anderson's usual themes are here, including family tensions courtesy of Jason Schwartzman's widowed dad and his irascible father-in-law (Tom Hanks), laced with potential romance (Scarlett Johansson on wonderful form as a Marilyn Monroe-type) and plenty of humour but this is as much about the act of storytelling as it is the specific story - woven together, as you would expect from Anderson, with attention to the tiniest detail.
Relic, streaming now on BBC iPlayer
One of the increasing trends in cinema is to fold the all-too-real horror of dementia into more spooky goings on - a device also employed by the upcoming Fréwaka. Elderly Edna (Robyn Nevin) has been living alone but has been suffering mental decline, so when her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) hears she has vanished, she rushes to her mother’s house with her own daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) in tow. Edna reappears but she has no recollection of where she has been, while her behaviour is becoming increasingly eccentric. Soon things in the house start to shift, as though the place itself is taking on a life of its own - something the logical Kay is much less willing to accept than Sam. The vagaries of ageing and memory loss become packaged in this strong debut from Natalie Erika James that offers both scares and a strong emotional heartbeat.
The Old Man & The Gun, Film4, 7.10pm, Friday, April 25
Although he said, "Never say never", Robert Redford indicated this would most likely be his final film role, and though he has done a few bits and pieces since, this is certainly what amounts to going out on a high in terms of a central performance. He plays Forrest Tucker - a character based on a real-life ageing bank thief who hit the headlines after pulling off a series of unfailingly polite bank robberies. Writer/director David Lowery has always had an interest in mortality and legacy and it's in evidence again here, while he also nods to the breadth and depth of Redford's own career. A low-key crime charmer that's topped off by lovely supporting performances from the likes of Sissy Spacek and Danny Glover.
Amores Perros, 12.55am, Film4, Saturday, April 26
While Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu arguably went on to milk the idea of interlocking stories too much with the likes of the subsequent Babel, his debut nailed the concept. The film spins its web through three tales. In one, a teenage ne'er do well (Gael García Bernal, in the role that first garnered him some international attention) discovers his dog has fighting potential; the second shows a relationship unfolding in the wake of a car crash; while the third revolves around an ex-guerilla (Emilio Echevarria) who lives with a pack of strays. Brutal in its approach to the material - dog lovers, be warned, it looks bad even though the makers say none were hurt in the making of the film - the car crash becomes a touchstone for all three stories as they hurtle along, considering man's inner vicious dog tendencies while still offering up a surprisingly moral message.
Listen To Me Marlon, available to stream now and on TV at 12.50am, BBC4, Sunday, April 27
There's a last chance to see this documentary on the iPlayer, at least for the moment, this week, as it leaves not long after it screens again in the small hours of Sunday. Stevan Riley takes us into the life of screen legend Brando via first-person recordings from hundreds of hours of self-hypnosis the actor made. This is a melancholic and emotional trip through a life that also sees Brando, who had himself "digitalised" before his death and here speaks - via digital imaging - from beyond the grave. Iwho had himself "digitalised" before his death speak - via digital imaging - from beyond the grave. "Marlon was an arch manipulator and he confessed to that," Riley told us. You can also read the second part of our interview with the director.
This week's short selection is the Oscar-nominated documentary The Barber Of Little Rock, directed by John Hoffman and Christine Turner.
