Although Pulp: A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets isn’t technically an August 2014 release, it received a number of festival and special event screenings as well as getting a Digital Home Entertainment release (the DVD and blu-ray release is September). It is also a film I adored. It helps that I’ve long been a fan of the band so was overcome by nostalgia, but regardless this is still a very strong documentary that manages to provide an insightful context for the band and their music. By providing a portrait of the English city of Sheffield (where Pulp original hail from) and its residents, director Florian Habicht goes beyond the fact-listing and anecdote-telling formula of most music documentaries, to explore the time and place that produced the music and investigate why it still resonates with its fans. The concert footage is also extremely dynamic and some of the best I’ve ever seen.
Part of the growing number of Southern Gothic films that are coming out of the United States at the moment, which I am fascinated by, Joe is both a coming-of-age story about men and masculinity, and a portrait of a community that is rarely depicted on screen other than to be ridiculed. Director David Gordon Green’s use of non-professional actors was inspired, especially Gary Poulter who sadly died shortly after the film was made. Teenage actor-on-the-rise Tye Sheridan is great and continues to impress after Mud and The Tree of Life, and Nicolas Cage in the titular role gives one of his best performances in years.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series that really stayed with me and it’s probably no coincidence that it is more in the spirit of the original Star Wars films and the television series Firefly, than the superhero-driven films from the rest of the franchise. Director James Gunn has previously demonstrated that he has the ability to playfully subvert and draw attention to generic conventions, without resorting to parody or blatant self-awareness, which is why Guardians of the Galaxy is so much fun while still taking itself seriously as an ensemble-driven space opera. Most importantly is the character development where the audience are quickly endeared to the anti-heroes of the film so that most of the enjoyment comes from them riffing off one another and even occasionally having exchanges that are genuinely touching.
CINEMA AUTOPSY 