Tomorrow (26th April) I'll be on digital station Amazing Radio with Ruth Barnes and local radio Marlow FM talking about the big releases of this weekend. You can listen to me discussing Iron Man 3, Bernie, The Look of Love and The Lords of Salem on Amazing Radio from soon after 12pm by going to the Amazing Radio website here. Then soon after 5pm I will be appearing on Marlow FM to talk about the same films and even if you don't live anywhere near Marlow, you can listen to Marlow FM here.
I now have a weekly slot on Marlow FM talking about new releases and have to pre-record about five minutes of just me all by myself talking about films which they then play during rush hour when hopefully lots of people from Marlow are listening and thinking about what they might like to see at the cinema over the weekend.
I'm also on Amazing Radio fairly frequently with about one or two appearances per month. This one does not need pre-recording and I actually get to chat with presenter Ruth Barnes who always knows her stuff about film, helping to keep me on my toes!
I've reviewed three or the four films out this weekend so far and my review of The Look of Love is also coming soon. I hope you might listen to my short radio chats tomorrow if you're near a computer or digital radio!
Bernie is first of all the story of a murderer but also it is the story of a man
who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. In Richard Linklater’s film,
Bernie is played by a cuddly, effeminate Jack Black in a role that requires him
to do some rare emoting rather than just singing, dancing and acting the fool.
Bernie is based on a true story and
Linklater structures it with talking heads from the Texan townsfolk, some real,
and some actors and spins a yarn of a soft man bitten once too many times by a
hardened old crone (Shirley MacLaine) and eventually driven to killing her.
Marge Nugent and Bernie are inseparable
after the pair meet at the funeral of Marge’s extremely wealthy husband. As the
local mortician, Bernie is loved by all the townspeople and particularly the
little old ladies who he dotes on, especially after their partners pass on.
Bernie could be a sinister character but not in the hands of Linklater and
Black. Instead he is a simple man; a good Christian, loving friend, caring
community member and harmless helper to Marge. And possibly gay the film also suggests for good measure.
Marge on the other hand is a miserable old
miser; wealthy but estranged from her family and the townspeople and with only
Bernie for company, she finds him an easy target for manipulation. The pair go
on fancy first class holidays together and Bernie becomes her slave as the
domineering old woman becomes too much for even this soft-hearted big old teddy
bear of a man to take.
So
eventually Bernie does the unthinkable and if Linklater’s film was not a true
story, it would be beyond belief. Bernie hides his dastardly act from those
around him through a number of nefarious means and the true story takes a turn
for the even more surreal as Bernie goes to court but the ordinary
townsfolk rally around him.
The real life Bernie is a far more
interesting enigma than what is presented here. Linklater makes him a saint,
spending Marge’s money on making the community better and helping the church,
the children and the local businesses. He takes little for himself, in effect
robbing the rich Marge and sharing the wealth amongst the poorer struggling
townsfolk.
Bernie is portrayed almost as a modern day
Robin Hood, Jack Black giving a wonderful performance as the sweetheart at the
centre of a scandal, miles away from anything he has done before. If the real
Bernie did distribute the wealth so selflessly from the greedy old hag to the
people of the town, then the world really does need more Bernies right now. He
may be a murderer but the greed of some of the richest people in this world could
be seen as far more destructive then killing one selfish old bag for her cash.
However Linklater’s film could have done
with exploring the darker side of the character a little more. There had to be
more ambiguity to investigate rather than painting MacLaine’s Marge and Matthew
McConaughey’s DA Danny Buck as the straightforward villains and Bernie as such
a simple, smooth and saintly sinner.
Bernie is pretty light on laughs and takes
its time getting going but is worth catching for an interesting Jack Black
performance and a tantalisingly twisted true life story.
I have three more preview screenings lined up over the next fortnight; Iron Man 3, Bernie and 21 & Over. April is turning into a very busy month for film screenings. I already had Evil Dead, Olympus Has Fallen and The Look of Love in the bag but now I have three more to add to the list.
While I'm not the biggest comic book lover in the world; Iron Man, Batman and Hellboy are definitely my three favourite comic book characters and Robert Downey Jr has been consistently charming and funny in the last two Iron Man films. The addition of Shane Black on writing and directing duties is the biggest draw though. Shane Black has written some brilliantly witty and action packed scripts and his directorial debut with Downey Jr starring was the wonderful Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That film made me fall almost completely in love with Downey Jr and is a huge reason for his successful comeback surely. If only it had done the same for Val Kilmer.
Also that Superbowl spot for Iron Man 3 that just featured a bunch of people falling out of a plane with Iron Man deciding what to do next was pure marketing genius. THAT's how to get me interested in a film (without showing me too much of the story)! I hope Kingsley is as epic as he looks! Here is the Superbowl spot if you haven't seen it, plus the full trailer:
Bernie re-teams director Richard Linklater with Jack Black after the success of School of Rock. I'm looking forward to seeing this as I've got a lot of love for Linklater and it looks pretty quirky, fun and with an interesting and slightly different role for Black than normal. Still, it's really just filler until Before Midnight gets here! I sure hope that nice Mr Matthew McConaugheyis playing a slightly more pleasant character than in Killer Joe though! Check out the trailer below:
Finally there is 21 & Over which looks pretty funny but I wouldn't be surprised if all the best bits are in the trailer. I guess it could potentially be this generation's Ferris Bueller. Or it could just be a horrible mess full of crass stereotyping. I want to hope its as fun as the trailer looks in places. Check it out:
