Paperjam

Really I'm not joking. Tom and I went last week and were distinctly underwhelmed. For a black-comedy/thriller it was un-funny, distinctly lacking in thrills and almost morbidly sentimental at times.

Brosnan was clearly having a great laugh playing an unpleasant character and seeing him waking up in a pile of shit was quite amusing (and strangely apt). However, the rest of the movie was as aimless as his accent, leading to a denouement that a blind rat locked in a box could have seen coming about a hundred miles off. Greg Kinnear playing some kind of latently psychopathic Ned Flanders character did not help at all. The whole debacle was thrown sharply into relief when I went to watch the excellent Good Night and Good Luck the next day.

As I am told that positive people end up living longer lets try and end this on a high by saying that the titles announcing the locale of various scenes are really very good indeed, full marks there. Plus the bit where Kinnear is giving his wife one on top of the washing machine is one of the more honest sex scenes in modern cinema, particularly his quality "vinegar strokes" facial contortions.

At long last, Lars von Trier's Manderlay is out in the UK. But if you are planning to go and see it, act quickly because I doubt it will be around for long. That is if you are able to find somewhere showing it. Although the film is on release from yesterday, unless you happen to live in London, screenings are few and far between.

For all you Midlands dwellers, the only place showing the film around here is the Cineworld on Broad Street in Birmingham and that is not until March 24th.

I would certainly recommend taking the time to track it down though as the indications are that it will be well worth the effort. The middle part of a potential trilogy (following Dogville) the film delves further into the dark heart of human nature and satirises more of what von Trier sees as American foibles. This time the continuing character, Grace, attempts a bit of regime change in a town where slavery is still enforced. With, I imagine, unforseen and not all together successful results.

The film is shot in the same style as Dogville (ie on a blank soundstage with few props and little scenery), which previously added an unreal quality to the bleak drama as it unfolded. John Hurt also returns to provide the god-like narration.

You can find more details on the Manderlay web site, which also houses the trailer.

Rotoscoping? One drug maniac? One kleptomaniac? Richard "I-don't-make-particularly-good-films" Linklater? The Shakespearian acting legend that is Keanu Reeves?

"A Scanner Darkly" has it all. Or at least it will do when it finally gets released in the US in the Summer. Possibly.

You might want to see the trailer (warning : huge .mov file, will need Quicktime). That rotoscoping/live cel shading thing looks a bit Bob Godfrey to me, with the outlines wriggling all over the place. Apart from on Keanu Reeves' expression-less, botoxed-from-birth face, that is.

Who knows if it'll be any good - the personnel aren't too auspicious, and we could see how Dick's stories are tricky to adapt for big audiences because of their downbeat endings.

At this point there was going to be a big picture of Godfrey's Roobarb and Custard, but I can't find any decent pictures. Draw a big cartoon dog in black felt tip, and shake it around in front of your face - there you go. That's your afternoon gone.