The Runaways, Repo Men and The Bounty Hunter Arrive in Theatres. Better to Take a Mid-August Lunch Instead

An almost-forgotten all-girl rock band storms back in The Runaways, thanks to Kristen Stewart's recess from the Twilight films. A bickering ex-couple in The Bounty Hunter and a bloody pair of Repo Men feature in the other big titles. Let me suggest, though, Mid-August Lunch for a more relaxed and generous view of humanity.


THE RUNAWAYS: This is a pretty good film about the pioneering all-girl rock band - as far as it goes, which isn’t far enough. Where it succeeds is in showing how these California teens broke into the boys’ world of rock and roll and the toll it took on them. They got caught up in something they couldn’t handle because they were still far from grown up. Kristen Stewart, between Twilight films, is tough as the leader, Joan Jett, and Dakota Fanning is damaged and vulnerable as the original lead singer, Cherie Curie, who wrote the book this is based on.

The film is short on facts, though. How successful were they? How many albums did they make? (It was five, by the way). How did  Cherie Curie progress so easily from goody-two-shoes to sex symbol performing in a corset? The answer would have been too grim to include and would run counter to the more lighthearted tone favored here. Even the lesbian scene between the two leads is short and discreet. In a documentary a few years ago, Cherie said she also got it on with the band’s drummer. Not here. There is an element of feminism and female empowerment but really, how much can there be when much of the story has a man coaching the girls to perform sexy to feed the fantasies of teen boys? And when that man, Michael Shannon, as the infamous producer Kim Fowley, steals every scene he’s in. Just watch him coach Dakota Fanning to snarl out the lyrics to the band’s big hit, Cherry Bomb. There’s lots of good music and bad language. (The Rio, Scotiabank and three other theatres). 3 out of 5  
  
MID-AUGUST LUNCH: This is a short but wonderful gem from Italy. It’s only 75 minutes long but is chock full of wit and humanity and a comfortable relaxed tone. It helps to know that Italians celebrate a holiday on August 15 called Pranzo di Ferragosto. Apparently most just leave town that day. Since many also take care of aging parents, they have to find a place for them to stay. That’s why an unemployed man named Gianni is suddenly host to four old ladies, his own mother, his landlord’s, his doctor’s and her sister. They start out distant from each other, requesting individual rights, sometimes bickering. Gradually an understanding develops and grows into a camaraderie climaxing over a holiday feast, the host and several of the ladies have prepared.

 The film is charming, often funny and always very Italian. (VanCity Theatre)  4 out of 5

 COOKING WITH STELLA: Considering it’s creators’ track record, this satirical comedy set in India is far too slight. Deepa Mehta made the harrowing Water and her brother Dilip made a documentary about that film’s troubled history. This new one, which they wrote together and he directed, is pleasant but tepid. It tries for wry observations over a supposed culture clash. At the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, the local housekeeper (the excellent Indian actress, Seema Biswas) has got a scam going. She steals from the supply cupboard and sells on the black market. A newly-arrived diplomat (Lisa Ray) and her husband (Don McKellar) are too distracted to see it going on. She’s away working most of the time and he hangs out in the kitchen with the lead perpetrator learning Indian cooking. A new servant, with bigger needs, comes along and the film turns even more improbable.

Except for a short trip to a market, there isn’t even much local atmosphere. (Ridge, Tinseltown, Riverport and the Grade Surrey)   2 ½ out of 5

THE BOUNTY HUNTER: The stars are good to watch even as the story gets annoying in this adventure comedy. Gerard Butler, the movies’ currently favorite chauvinist, plays a disgraced ex-cop now working as a bounty hunter. He’s smoother than that “Dog” on TV, but also chases down people who’ve skipped out on their bail. His assignment one remarkable day is to go after his ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston). She’s a reporter and missed a court date because she was chasing a story. Before you know it, he has her locked in the trunk of his car, or handcuffed to a bed. She gets back at him though when she handcuffs him to different bed or zaps him with a taser. She also  blows good luck on his dice in an Atlantic City casino as this story changes direction several times.

Actually they’re being pursued themselves although the progress to the revelation of what’s really going on is belabored and not nearly as sprightly as it should be. There’s also the standard snappy banter though between the two exes, who, course, think they can’t stand each other. (Tinseltown and 13 other area theatres)  2 out of 5   

REPO MEN: There seem to be some ambitions in this film to discuss real issues. Too bad they’re undone by poor execution and overpowered almost all the way by a creepy blood and slasher fetish. And it’s not even meant to be a horror film. Maybe 20 years in the future, there are artificial replacement parts for most of the human body. They can cost as much as a house but as Liev Schreiber, as an unctuous salesman, says, “you owe it to your family” to buy and pay through a credit plan. What he doesn’t say is if you miss your payments, the company will take the device back. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker play two agents who do the repossessing. They slice, reach in and tug it out, all in uncomfortable, graphic detail flowing in red liquid. Forest argues it’s just a job. Jude is developing doubts but then he has an accident.

He wakes up with an artificial heart, which he now has to pay for. You can imagine, who has to come after him before long. Jude also joins up with a young woman for a bizarre sequence in which they cut out each other’s artificial organs. And an ultra-violent fight with a line of thugs. Even with a surprise ending, it’s not always clear what we’re supposed to find funny or dead serious. This film is into stylish sensation mongering. (At theatres all over)  1 ½ out of 5

Also playing …

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: The popular kids novels by Jeff Kinney, which originated as an internet comic, start their transfer to the big screen. This first episode has a seventh-grade boy trying to find his way when he arrives at Middle School. The way is between bullies, the cool kids and one major nerd. Among his strategies are auditioning for the school play, the safety patrol or the wrestling team. (At Theatres all over)