Movie of the week – The Elephant Man
With Twin Peaks returning to TV next year, there’s a renewed interest in the work of filmmaker David Lynch, and this week the Lighthouse cinema kicks off a comprehensive season of his movies. Tonight you can catch his divisive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi tome Dune, while tomorrow night there’s a screening of the movie that put him on the map, The Elephant Man, based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, a deformed man who lived in Victorian London.
Southside with You
It’s a weak selection of new releases this week. The pick of the bunch is Southside with You, which dramatises the first date of Michelle and Barack Obama on a summer evening in Chicago in 1989. If you can ignore the obvious political propaganda, it’s a charming look at two young people forming a connection.
Swiss Army Man
Continuing his attempts to escape the shadow of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse in Swiss Army Man, a quirky tale of a troubled young man who finds redemption when said body washes up on the shore of the island he’s become stranded on. Some may have tolerance for this twee fest, but it tested my patience.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Speaking of Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the latest attempt to kickstart an equally successful young adult franchise. Directed by Tim Burton, it’s another disappointment from a filmmaker whose best days seem to have long passed.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
