Hi, welcome to the Geeky Brummie film roundup – bringing you the week’s hottest new releases and running through why you should be excited for them! It’s a short one this week, partly because there’s not much out, and partly because I’ve spent most of the week writing up my Oscars predictions post which, all being well, will be out sometime this weekend before the ceremony on Sunday night. So without further ado, let’s get glam with Pam…
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
The Last Showgirl
Pamela Anderson’s career has had some real highs and lows over the years. After achieving fame in Baywatch, most of her subsequent casting was based on her proven ability to look good in a bathing suit. Combined with her infamous sex tape with then husband Tommy Lee, her reputation as a sex symbol went up and her credibility as an actress plummeted. But in recent years, her stock appears to have gone up again. The Hulu series Pam & Tommy bought her a lot of sympathy as it recounted how the sex tape ended up in the public eye, and a successful Broadway run in Chicago has shown that she can do a role justice when given the right one.
The Last Showgirl feels like it was tailor-made to give her that role. Veteran Vegas showgirl Shelly learns that the act she’s been performing in for the last 30 years is about to come to an end, forcing her to reevaluate her life. Now too old to get any new auditions, she has to face up to the possibility of employment outside of the glitz and glam of the stage, as well as repairing the relationships that she discarded in the name of her career.
By all accounts Anderson gives a fantastic performance, earning her a Golden Globe nomination – something that would have been seen as a joke at the height of her career in the mid ’90s. She has plenty of experience to draw from, both as a revered figure in the spotlight and as a performer that struggles to be taken seriously. There is a very strong supporting cast here too. Jamie Lee Curtis earned a BAFTA nomination for her role as Shelly’s cocktail-waitress-and-former-performer friend, Dave Bautista proves that he doesn’t need to be typecast in action roles as her manager, and Billie Lourd (daughter of Carrie Fisher) appears as her daughter. There’s also a cameo from Jason Schwartzman – cousin of the director Gia Coppola.
The reviews for this have been largely positive, with some criticism for the light plot but lots of praise for the cast. Expect to see Pamela Anderson appearing in a lot more dramatic roles going forward.
- The Last Showgirl on IMDB
- The Last Showgirl on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Even if it wasn’t the only film out this weekend, there’s a good chance I’d still be picking The Last Showgirl as film of the week.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- I’m Still Here – A chilling insight into the horror of living under an oppressive regime transforms into a touching story of a mother trying to protect her children’s innocence and hold her family together, all anchored by an incredible performance from Fernanda Torres. Absolutely worth catching while you can, as it won’t be in the cinema for long and may well win an Oscar or two this weekend.
- The Monkey – A fun if tonally see-sawing horror, The Monkey can’t seem to find its lane between comedy and gore-fest. But there are some wonderfully silly deaths and a surprisingly over-the-top finale. If you enjoy the Final Destination films but wish they’d stop bothering wasting time trying to build suspense, this is the film for you.
- Captain America: Brave New World
Trailer of the week
The first season of Andor, despite being a spin-off series about a side character from a film that was itself spun off from a single line of dialogue in A New Hope, made a strong case for itself not just as the best Star Wars TV show but arguably as one of the best Star Wars projects in any medium since the original trilogy. Roughly split into two plot arcs – the first being a thrilling heist and the second an even-more-gripping prison break, both set against the backdrop of the rise of the Empire – it garnered rave reviews across the board. The showrunners have always been open about it having a two-season run, with the second season ending where Rogue One picks up, so we already know that this second season will be the last one. That makes it all the more hotly anticipated, and the teaser trailer that dropped this week has done a great job of ramping up the hype. As well as appearances from returning cast members such as Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma and Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael, there are glimpses of some big names from Rogue One like Forest Whitaker’s rebel leader Saw Gerrera (who also popped up in a couple of earlier episodes), Ben Mendelsohn’s Imperial baddie Orson Krennic, and Alan Tudyk’s fan-favourite droid K-2S0. This promises to be essential viewing whether you are a Star Wars fan or not – there’s not a lightsaber or a Jedi in sight, but the story of the spark of a rebellion against an increasingly oppressive regime is very easy to get drawn into. The new season starts on Disney+ on 22 April, which gives you plenty of time to catch up on or rewatch season one first.
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