By Ashley Clark
Missing rock stars and talking teddy bears are among the highlights of another great week at South London’s best cinema.
The best new film opening at the Ritzy this week is Malik Bedjelloul’s frequently jaw-dropping music doc Searching for Sugarman. It tells the tale of how two South African fans dedicated their lives to finding out what happened to Rodriguez, a 70s Detroit rock musician who disappeared without trace. It would be wrong to give away too much of the plot here, but needless to say, it’s an absolute must-see; surprising, moving and uplifting.
From Wednesday, the Ritzy houses one of the big summer comedies, Ted, courtesy of Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. It stars a convincing Mark Wahlberg as John, a 30-something everyman saddled with a loutish talking teddy bear for a best friend (a result of a childhood wish that came true). When John decides to settle down with his longtime love (Mila Kunis), Ted has other ideas. Unsurprisingly, it’s very similar in taste and tone to Family Guy, so if you like that, you’ll be in good stead.
Heading into its second week is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the final part of his wildly successful Batman trilogy. It’s certainly a spectacle to be reckoned with, but it’s also overstuffed with plot, lacking a decent villain (Tom Hardy’s perma-masked Bane is a complete waste of a good actor) and crashingly portentous. Nolan’s certainly taken the superhero movie in a new direction, but maybe it’s time for something a little less self-important?
More films continuing their runs this week include Steven Soderbergh’s excellent stripper-themed comedy/drama Magic Mike, Ice-T’s entertaining doc The Art of Rap, enjoyable Mormon coming-of-ager Electrick Children, blockbuster reboot The Amazing Spider-man, (featuring good turns from Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone), kiddie fare Ice Age: Continental Drift and Dr. Seuss adaptation The Lorax.
In terms of repertory this week, you’ve got two chances (Friday and Saturday) to catch late-night screenings of James Cameron’s pulsating Aliens, which swapped the icy sci-fi atmospherics of Ridley Scott’s original for balls-to-the-wall action. The Ritzy’s Discover Tuesdays strand (dedicated to esoteric fare you may have missed) continues with Reha Erdem’s allegorical Kosmos, the strange tale of a mysterious man who arrives in a snowbound village and is initially hailed as a miracle worker. However, perceptions of him soon shift…
All films showing at the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton Oval. Book tickets here.
Ashley Clark runs the film blog Permanent Plastic Helmet. You can follow it on Twitter @PPlasticHelmet and/or him @_ash_clark.
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