It’s not often these days we get films where the Christians are the bad guys, but then Agora is not your everyday film.
For a start our heroine is an ancient Egyptian philosopher having to uphold the values of free thinking and logic over mob rule and on the cusp of understanding that the world isn’t flat, the moon isn’t made of cheese and maybe, just maybe, instead of everything revolving around us, we actually revolve around the sun.
It’s been a long time since Italian cinema last went through a golden phase, but two new releases out this year could mark the beginning of a renaissance.
Neither are masterpieces but what is extraordinary about them both is they follow no one’s lead, determinedly do their own thing and stylistically cut through conventions to offer up some beautiful images. Later on we’ll get to see Vincere, but this week it is I Am Love that is leading the way.
Making a religious comedy is a pretty loveless task – even if you manage to create a cracking good movie (Life of Brian for instance) you know you’re going to offend someone somewhere no matter how careful you are.
The Infidel, written by David Baddiel, doesn’t even try to be careful, but that’s not really the offensive thing about it, what offends is it’s just not funny.
We really don’t get to see enough of David Duchovny on the big screen, which is a crying shame for the man is a comic genius.
No, he’s not a clown or a klutz, it’s just his comic timing is spot on – he could read the back of a tin of beans and still extract a laugh in the process.
Here he’s teamed with Demi Moore as the rich, fabulously gorgeous Mr and Mrs Jones with their perfect life and their perfect children and all the latest must-have accessories (nice house, nice car, nice clothes, nice shades). But all is not as it seems – which is where I have to insert a SPOILER, so sorry about this, but there’s no other way of getting around it.
Whereas Clash Of The Titans is meant to be 3D action for the big kids, How To Train Your Dragon is 3D action for munchkins.
But don’t let that put you off going to the cinema to see what is a rather delightful little cartoon with plenty to please those of us who are older yet still young at heart. Set in a world of Vikings who, for some unexplained reason, all have Scottish accents, this is really a story of friendship and kinship.
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