Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 MARCH 2014 THIS WEEK 36 St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 NT Live – War Horse 19:00 The Railway Man (15) 15:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (15) 10:30, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 21:00 The LEGO Movie (U) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00 12 Years a Slave (15) 10:30, 14:00, 18:00, 20:50 The Monuments Men (12A) 13:30, 16:00, 18:25, 20:50 Non-Stop (12A) 10:30, 13:45, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 Lone Survivor (15) 21:15 Her (15) 10:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 The Monuments Men (12A) 14:00, 16:20, 18:45, 21:15, 23:45 Mr. Peabody & Sherman in 3D (U) 14:05, 16:15, 18:25, 20:45, 22:45 Dallas Buyers Club (18) 14:00, 16:20, 18:45, 21:10, 23:35 That Awkward Moment (15) 14:20, 16:30, 18:40, 21:05, 23:15 Robocop (12A) 14:25, 18:20, 20:55, 23:25 The LEGO Movie 3D (U) 14:10, 18:45, 23:15 The LEGO Movie (U) 16:25, 21:00 The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug (12A) 14:25, 18:00, 21:10 Mandela-Long Walk to Freedom (12A) 14:30, 18:10, 21:05 Non-Stop (12A) 14:15, 16:30, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 American Hustle (15) 14:30, 18:05, 20:50, 23:35 Captain Phillips (12A) 14:20, 18:00, 20:45, 23:30 Frozen (U) 14:00, 16:20, 18:35, 20:55, 23:10 Blue Jasmine (12A) 14:15, 16:25, 18:40, 21:00, 23:10 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (15) 14:15, 16:35, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 12 Years a Slave (15) 14:30, 18:05, 20:50, 23:30 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 The Lego Movie 3D 100 (U) 10:45, 13:30, 15:45, 17:55, 20:45 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (15+) 10:30, 13:35, 15:55, 18:15, 20:55 The Monuments Men (12A) 10:40, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 Non-Stop (12A) 10:35, 13:40, 16:05, 18:25, 21:10 Philomena (12A) 10:45, 13:45, 16:10, 18:20, 20:50 August: Osage County (15+) 10:50, 13:35, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 Despicable Me 2 (U) 10:35, 13:40, 15:55, 18:05, 20:55 WHILE it's often simply more annoying than anything else, the fact that we get films slightly later than the rest of the English- speaking world can sometimes give us an interesting perspec- tive on things… or at least up-end some of the hype and buzz sur- rounding them. This means that sometimes we have a choice of watching Oscar winners as opposed to just Os- car nominees. But in the case of Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine – for which, incidentally, Cate Blan- chett picked up a Best Actress gong – the post-release reputation is far mess- ier. Just as the film was picking up Oscar race mo- mentum, Allen's estranged daughter Dylan Far- row rekindled sexual abuse allegations against her father in an open letter, which appeared to attack Allen's industry peers as much as himself. The ensuing feud was ugly precisely because it was inconclusive: but no matter who you choose to believe, it remains a sad, sordid episode which by rights should not have been allowed to play out in the public arena. But irrespective of how this episode influences your view of Woody Allen the man (whether you can separate the private man from the filmmak- er is another issue), Blue Jasmine itself is eerily pivoted on the same tension between the private and public worlds. Blanchett is Jeanette 'Jasmine' Francis – a former wealthy socialite whose future now hangs in the balance, after her hus- band, the successful stock- broker Hal (Alec Baldwin) is arrested for Bernie Madoff- style fraud. Unsure of how to turn her life around, Jasmine decides to take temporary residence with her socially (and financially) unassuming sister, Ginger (Sally Hawins) – a divorcee whose former husband, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay) had invested a large sum of money to a con- struction company on Hal's urging, only for Hal to subsequently lose it. Finding it near-impossible to scale back on her social and professional standards, Jasmine dreams of becoming an interior designer, taking a job as a dentist's assistant to pay for her tui- tion fees. But it's only a matter of time until the brittle hold she has on reality begins to unravel. As her sister undergoes her own personal drama, the past always appears to be ready to leap back and swallow Jasmine up. Rife with handy coincidences and thin as far as plotting goes, the film is a character study through and through, and it wouldn't have sur- vived intact were it not for Blanchett's go-for- broke, blistering turn as the sociopathic black hole that is Jasmine. That's not to say that Allen's easy way with sto- rytelling doesn't do him any favours here. The supporting cast may lack depth for the most part, and the narrative twists may click too eas- ily into place, but this helps us to concentrate on the whirlwind that Blanchett conducts with an impressive glee. It also ensures that the luxurious trappings of the society from which she emerges appears to be rendered faithfully and vividly – in flash- backs, cocktail parties populated by fakes but chugging along to an easy, established rhythm position Jasmine in a clearly established world of privilege and plenty, so you understand why be- ing wrenched out of it would feel problematic. But Jasmine's neurosis isn't something that hits her – or, as the flashbacks confirm with each appearance, us as viewers – by surprise. You gradually begin to realise that her husband's fall from grace was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. Allen and Blanchett ensure that you're kept on tenterhooks for her next break- down of freak-out episode. The film doesn't really make any major points about either the nature of mental instability or the Wall Street context that fires its plot into motion. Instead we're made to observe the col- lapsing psyche of an over-privileged woman for, essentially, sheer entertainment value. This is not say that it doesn't work for what it is – social awkwardness has always been Allen's forte, and it unspools naturally here, providing a cringe-worthy thrill at every turn. But it would have all been a trifle had Blanchett not pulled all the stops. As ever, Allen remains an actor's director. FILM IN CINEMAS TODAY By Teodor Reljic Woman on (constant) verge of a nervous breakdown ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ RAD ★ ★ ★ ★ GLAD ★ ★ ★ TAD ★ ★ SAD ★ MAD BLUE JASMINE (12A) ★ ★ ★ Collapsing psyche: Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's latest comedy-drama, Blue Jasmine DRAMA THE DALLAS BUYERS CLUB Matthew McConaughey stars in Dallas Buyers Club as real-life Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose free-wheeling life was over turned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. These were the early days of the AIDS epidemic, and the US was divided over how to combat the virus. Ron, now shunned and ostracized by many of his old friends, and bereft of government-approved effective medicines, decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. ANIMATION THE LEGO MOVIE This original 3D computer-animated stor y follows Emmet, an ordinar y, rules-following, per fectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinar y person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared. Starring: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson. ACTION ROBOCOP The year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the militar y for years – and it's meant billions for OmniCorp's bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden oppor tunity to do it. Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gar y Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton. This week's picks