Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/349229
THIS WEEK St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Monty Python - Live (Mostly) 20:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 3D (12A) 10:30, 14:30, 18:00, 20:50 How to Train Your Dragon 2 3D (U) 10:15, 13:40, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 Transfomers: Age of Extinction 3D (PG) 10:00, 14:00, 17:30, 21:00 22 Jump Street (15) 16:05, 18:40, 21:15 Maleficent (PG) 10:30, 14:00, 16:20, 18:45, 21:10 The Fault in Our Stars (12A) 10:30, 14:30, 18:00, 20:50 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 22 Jump Street (15) 14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:00, 23:20 The Fault in Our Stars (12A) 14:30, 18:10, 20:50, 23:25 Chef (15) 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:55, 23:20 How to Train Your Dragon 2 (U) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:45 Transformers: Age of Extinction (12A) 22:55 Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie (12A) 14:15, 16:25, 18:50, 21:10, 23:15 Edge of Tomorrow (12A) 14:00, 16:15 Monty Python - Live (Mostly) (12A) 20:00 Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D (12A) 14:15, 17:55, 21:15 X-Men: Days Of Future Past (12A) 14:30, 18:00, 20:45, 23:25 Jersey Boys (12A) 14:30, 18:10, 20:55, 23:40 Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (18) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:50 Blended (12A) 14:00, 16:20, 18:45, 21:10, 23:40 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 3D (12A) 14:20, 18:20, 21:05, 23:50 Maleficent (PG) 14:15, 16:30, 18:50, 21:05, 23:15 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D (12A) 10:30, 13:40, 17:45, 21:10 Maleficent 3D (PG) 11:15, 13:35, 15:55, 18:15, 20:45 How to Train Your Dragon 2 (U) 11:20, 13:35, 15:50, 18:05, 20:45 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 3D (12A) 11:00, 13:55, 18:00, 20:45 BEING someone who's quite fas- cinated with the 'trickster' char- acter in world culture and mythol- ogy, I'm a guy who can appreciate a good con. The joy of watching someone – or something, if we're sticking to myth – execute a bit of mischief is an undeniable pleasure, all the more so when it seems to be done purely for its own sake. It carries an element of risk – which also means there's an ele- ment of suspense to observing it – and it necessarily requires its con man (or woman) to be equipped with an intuitive creativity and an ability to think on their feet. Tricksters are snakes, imps, sa- tyrs: possessing a cunning intelli- gence and an ability to sneak across boundaries and, sometimes, dan- gerously close to authority figures. Some, like the cultural commen- tator Lewis Hyde, even suggest that tricksters 'make the world' and as we know it – though perhaps 're- make' might be the better word, as Hyde's analysis reveals that trick- ster myths and stories show them tearing apart the established order of things, only to give way – often unwittingly – to a new world order. In other words, they're often re- sponsible for pressing the world's 'Refresh' button, giving way to a newer, healthier cultural landscape in the long run. It's very tempting to see Lars Von Trier's much-hyper erotic shocker Nymphomaniac as just such an at- tempt to shake up both the relent- less churn of the Hollywood block- buster machine and its precious, glittering art house counterpart. Having already been blacklisted (albeit, as it turned out, temporari- ly) from the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 after making some ill-advised Nazi-themed "jokes", the Danish director appeared to be back in full provocative swing with the Nym- phomaniac duology this year. But where the first instalment was a blackly humorous and often inspired journey through the sexu- al awakening of our protagonist Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg, played in a younger iteration by fearless new- comer Stacy Martin), its continu- ation is a joyless terminal descent that, amidst all the depravity on display, dares to be that most an- noying thing of all: boring. Joe continues her story to Selig- man (Stellan Skarsgard) at a point when sexual numbness and domes- tic drudgery threatens to rob her of her nymphomania: the condi- tion which is both a blessing and a curse, leaving her the victim of sex addition but also undeniably en- dowing her with a life-force. After the birth of their first child, her partner Jerome (Shia LaBeouf) allows Joe to satisfy her insatiable lust with other men, since it be- comes clear that he can't satisfy her on his lonesome. This leads to her exploring sado- masochism with the meticulous (and apparently, otherwise quite decent) 'K' (Jamie Bell), and even land a job as a loan shark, owing to her reputation. Volume 2 continues along with Volume 1's episodic structure, but the episodes are more widely spaced out and all the joy (it was always a dark kind of joy, I'll grant you) is drained out of them in favour of portraying a downward spiral that is neither conceptually interesting nor narratively convincing. It's perhaps expected for things to take a darker turn – this is Von Trier, after all – but it's also kind of tragic. Because what made Volume 1 so great was that it in fact played against expectations with aggres- sive gusto: instead of the sleaze-fest suggested by its marketing cam- paign, we something intellectu- ally playful and visually inventive; instead of Von Trier misanthropy, we got a ping-pong match of op- posing ideas that was a pleasure to take in despite its outwardly sordid nature. Like Quentin Tarantino was forced to do for his Kill Bill saga, Von Trier needed to cut down his four-hour opus into two films, and I suspect this is one reason why its second part feels so utterly devoid of tempo and energy. Not that sitting through it one go would have been a great alternative, mind. Like Tarantino, Von Trier is an often-in-the-headlines critical darling – even the idea that he was "forced" to cut down his four-hour opus brings to mind the whinging of an overindulged child – which means that he can get away with a lot, and here I don't just mean pro- vocative content. There is something so dispirit- ingly facile about the way Volume 2 unfolds: characters are ciphers – even more so than they were before – and plot developments are largely made up of lazy coincidences (and no, having Joe point them out as such isn't enough to excuse them away). Again, the lack of a tradi- tional storytelling structure wasn't a problem in Volume 1, but Von Trier gives us very little to work with here. Crowning the dull experience is a tacked-on 'shock' ending that just feels unearned and cheap. Shallow, adolescent pontificat- ing about our moral hypocrisy and gender imbalance does not a movie make, no matter how many con- torting celebrity bodies you throw into the frame. This is one con that wasn't fun to watch. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 JULY 2014 35 FILM IN CINEMAS TODAY By Teodor Reljic Words to live by: Quit while you're ahead THIS WEEK ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A NIGHT TO REMEMBER ★ ★ ★ ★ MULTIPLE ORGASMS ★ ★ ★ HAPPY CUSTOMER ★ ★ 'MY FIRST TIME' ★ '…THAT'S IT?' This week's picks ACTION DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Nasty war erupts bet ween intelligent apes and humans. ANIMATION HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Hiccup and his dragon Toothless face an unprecedented threat in this sequel to the beloved 2010 original. COMEDY MONT Y PYTHON LIVE (MOSTLY) For the first time in more than three decades, comedy legends Monty Py thon will per form live on stage together this year. Broadcast from London's O2 Arena. A world of pain: Charlotte Gainsbourg goes to extremes in the concluding chapter of Lars Von Trier's dark erotic parable NYMPHOMANIAC VOL. 2 (18) ★