Mascots
Ricky Gervais would have no qualms with anybody stating that Christopher Guest is the king of the mockumentary. Simply because he’s the man behind This Is Spinal Tap enables that statement to be true, but following it up with classics like Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind only strengthens the sentiment.
It’s been a while since he’s done a feature-length mock-doc, but he’s back with this Netflix exclusive about a bunch of sports mascots competing in a world championship, to win the coveted Gold Fluffy Award.
The world of mascotting is a peculiar sphere ripe for ridicule, and this flick mines the laughs with glee, although much like previous Guest films, it doesn’t ever take it in a mean-spirited direction. It also uses its subject matter as an excuse for some great physical comedy and pratfalls, particularly during the climactic competition. While not as funny as Tap (not much is), this is still a consistently enjoyable movie, and a welcome return for his personal brand of improv-heavy hilarity. Also, one of the mascots is a giant fist, and that’s funny whatever way you look at it. On Netflix October 13
Inferno
You’ve seen these Robert Langdon films before, and this is another one of them – the latest, shiniest, newest one. In it, Tom Hanks does some running because he gets himself involved in a manhunt after waking up with no memory. He teams up with Felicity Jones to dash across Europe and stop a rather worrying global genocide plot, using clues hidden in Dante’s The Divine Comedy as help, a bit like he did with that painting in the first one.
If you’re a fan of these movies, then you’ll enjoy this one; if you’re uninitiated then it’s probably best watching the first one and then making your mind up… In cinemas October 14
Kill Zone 2
In 2003, Ong-Bak came onto the scene and completely floored everyone that saw it – a new action hero was born in Tony Jaa. Then, he sort of disappeared – he became a monk and lived in a temple for a bit. But now he’s back (after a very brief role in the last Fast & Furious film), and Kill Zone 2 provides a platform for his return to form. Add the fantastic Wu Jing, who hogs even more jaw-dropping fight scenes, and this is martial arts cinema at its best. If you’re into lightning-fast, brutal throw-downs, this is for you. On DVD and Blu-ray October 17
American Honey
During pre-production for this film, the filmmakers scouted beaches for their stars, and ended up picking Sasha Lane, a complete unknown, while she was partying with her friends on spring break. It’s a miracle, because she’s great, and holds up against established actors, such as Riley Keough and Shia LaBeouf.
The film follows a young girl as she joins a travelling “mag crew” – a bunch of youngsters who zip about the country, selling magazine subscriptions. Along the way, there are your usual road movie staples: parties, love, mischief. And LaBeouf does lots of shouting, which is always welcome – something that can’t be said for his unfortunate rattail. In cinemas October 14
Holidays
It’s Halloween soon, and then it’s Christmas, and then it’s the next one – Easter or something? National Crisps Day? Either way, there are a lot of these “holidays”, and with most of them come schmaltzy movies packed full of famous people that are never any good. This one is the opposite of that – it’s an anthology movie consisting of eight short films based on a particular holiday, only they’re far from nice. In fact, they’re pretty grim. The shorts range from terrifying (Easter) to weird (St Patrick’s Day) to surprisingly poignant (Father’s Day). The quality varies, but it’s a lovely little antidote to all the tie-in nonsense that’s normally thrust in your face every few months. On DVD and Blu-ray now
