Film Focus - May 2006
Published 11th May 2006 by Brad Brasier

It seems that summer isn?t in any particular rush to hit our fair city this year, so as you stock up on disposable BBQ?s and search for that ultimate pair of sunglasses, a trip to the cinema could provide a welcome distraction from your seasonal preparations.

On release this week at the Odeon and Cineworld is the largely improvised Brit comedy ?Confetti?, featuring a wealth of homegrown comic talent including Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson and Robert Webb from Channel 4?s excellent ?Peep Show?. A suitably grizzled Bruce Willis and a slightly irritating Mos Def head up ?16 Blocks?, a solid cop thriller from ?Lethal Weapon? director Richard Donner. ?Serenity?s Nathan Fillion plays a local police chief faced with a town of body-snatching alien slugs in the gruesomely funny ?Slither?. For the big kid in you, ?Ice Age: Meltdown? continues the adventures of our favourite hairy heroes, this time trying to escape a melting ice plain with suitably amusing consequences.

At the Duke of York?s you can catch French drama ?L?Enfer (Hell)? following the troubled relationships of three sisters haunted by the disgraced memory of their paedophile father. From May 12th, look out for rites-of-passage comedy/drama ?C.R.A.Z.Y? and the much hyped teen noir ?Brick?, two of the year?s most important independent releases so far.

Summer Preview

With ?Mission: Impossible 3? opening the floodgates for this summer?s blockbuster season, could 2006 be a year that actually delivers on its promises? To help you successfully navigate your way through the onslaught of popcorn friendly releases due out in the coming months, Brighton Life will be on hand to point you in the right direction of movies that look set to defy the odds and actually live up to their hype.

This month sees the arrival of Ron Howards hugely anticipated big budget adaptation of Dan Browns ?The Da Vinci Code? (May 19th). With its theatrical release threatened by the recent allegations surrounding the books originality, hype over the Tom Hanks thriller has now hit an all time high, proving once again that there?s no such thing as bad publicity. Featuring an impressive support cast including Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno and Sir Ian Mckellen, ?The Da Vinci Code? looks set to live up to its controversial source material and provide another hit for Ron ?A Beautiful Mind? Howard.

May is rounded off with ?X-Men: The Last Stand? (May 26th), the third instalment of a franchise that has somehow managed to keep the legion of die hard comic book fans happy, as well as effectively introduce the likes of Wolverine (a perfectly cast Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) to an eager new audience of teenage boys. With X-men 1 & 2 director Bryan Singer abandoning his baby in favour of the forthcoming ?Superman Returns?, newcomer Brett Ratner has some particularly large boots to fill. Early glimpses suggest he may well have pulled it off.

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