Ex-Beatle John Lennon once, when responding to a journalist who was querying him on one of the more bizarre claims that Mr Lennon had a gay affair with The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, replied: "If you throw enough s**t at someone, some of it is bound to stick." Shall we take that as a no then?
Whether he did or not, Mr Lennon was certainly subjected to a good deal of harassment in his later years, particularly when trying to establish residency in the US. In the documentary The US vs John Lennon, the plight of the iconic musician is brought clearly into focus by screenwriters/directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. Some people will say that Mr Lennon brought all the agro on himself by his anti-establishment behaviour, something of a no no in the US of the 1970s. This film, released last year, documents the attempts by the US government under President Richard Nixon to silence some of Mr Lennon's more vitriolic anti-war rhetoric. It is some measure of the man to think that nearly 27 years after his murder, John Lennon can still ruffle feathers in high places and sell movies. It plays at the cinema in the St James Centre For Creativity this month.
Julian Jarrold's film Becoming Jane, which was released earlier this year is a sort of biopic based on the early life of the 18th century English novelist Jane Austen. The film, which stars Anne Hathaway as Jane and James McAvoy as Thomas Langlois Lefroy, also contains the likes of Maggie Smith and Julie Walters in a formidable cast. The storyline presupposes an affair between Ms Austen and Mr Lefroy and is based on documents of the time. This one looks rather like what anti-feminists might call "a woman's film". It is also on the list of films to be shown at St James in September.
Also showing this month is Clint Eastwood's epic of the Pacific campaign in World War ll as seen from the point of view of the Japanese, Letters From Iwo Jima. Produced by Steven Spielberg it sets out to show the other side of the story from Flags Of Our Fathers, which portrays the war from the US standpoint. This movie contains a stunning central performance from Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.
You can also see writer/director Neil Burger's Oscar-nominated movie The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton as the eponymous illusionist Eisenheim. This is a cracking yarn and is certainly one of the best features to be released locally this year. The Illusionist also stars Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. This is one to mark in the diary.
Also showing is the sophisticated horror feature The Return. Directed by Asif Kapadia and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, this film has been reissued on DVD with an alternative ending that, by all accounts, makes even less sense than the original one. Ah well... you can't win them all.
Yoji Yamada's Japanese film The Hidden Blade is set in mid- 19th century Japan and plots the fortunes of a low caste Samurai warrior as he sets about trying to regain his family's good name after his father is forced to commit hari kiri over a failed bridge project. (There is quite a lot of hari kiri in this movie.)
Bottom line: Hero kills bad guy and eventually gets girl. Now where have we heard that line before?
This month's batch of St James movies is a very eclectic and multi-national bunch. Also on offer is Mira Nair's direction of Jhumpa Lahiri's novella The Namesake. The film tracks the progress of a first generation Bengali family living in the US. It also deals with the dilemma faced by second-generation immigrants when the pull of the new life conflicts with the ways of the old country.
Also showing this month is another example of the horror genre, Evil.
• All films showing at the St James cinema during September are distributed by KRS.
Whether he did or not, Mr Lennon was certainly subjected to a good deal of harassment in his later years, particularly when trying to establish residency in the US. In the documentary The US vs John Lennon, the plight of the iconic musician is brought clearly into focus by screenwriters/directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. Some people will say that Mr Lennon brought all the agro on himself by his anti-establishment behaviour, something of a no no in the US of the 1970s. This film, released last year, documents the attempts by the US government under President Richard Nixon to silence some of Mr Lennon's more vitriolic anti-war rhetoric. It is some measure of the man to think that nearly 27 years after his murder, John Lennon can still ruffle feathers in high places and sell movies. It plays at the cinema in the St James Centre For Creativity this month.
Julian Jarrold's film Becoming Jane, which was released earlier this year is a sort of biopic based on the early life of the 18th century English novelist Jane Austen. The film, which stars Anne Hathaway as Jane and James McAvoy as Thomas Langlois Lefroy, also contains the likes of Maggie Smith and Julie Walters in a formidable cast. The storyline presupposes an affair between Ms Austen and Mr Lefroy and is based on documents of the time. This one looks rather like what anti-feminists might call "a woman's film". It is also on the list of films to be shown at St James in September.
Also showing this month is Clint Eastwood's epic of the Pacific campaign in World War ll as seen from the point of view of the Japanese, Letters From Iwo Jima. Produced by Steven Spielberg it sets out to show the other side of the story from Flags Of Our Fathers, which portrays the war from the US standpoint. This movie contains a stunning central performance from Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.
You can also see writer/director Neil Burger's Oscar-nominated movie The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton as the eponymous illusionist Eisenheim. This is a cracking yarn and is certainly one of the best features to be released locally this year. The Illusionist also stars Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. This is one to mark in the diary.
Also showing is the sophisticated horror feature The Return. Directed by Asif Kapadia and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, this film has been reissued on DVD with an alternative ending that, by all accounts, makes even less sense than the original one. Ah well... you can't win them all.
Yoji Yamada's Japanese film The Hidden Blade is set in mid- 19th century Japan and plots the fortunes of a low caste Samurai warrior as he sets about trying to regain his family's good name after his father is forced to commit hari kiri over a failed bridge project. (There is quite a lot of hari kiri in this movie.)
Bottom line: Hero kills bad guy and eventually gets girl. Now where have we heard that line before?
This month's batch of St James movies is a very eclectic and multi-national bunch. Also on offer is Mira Nair's direction of Jhumpa Lahiri's novella The Namesake. The film tracks the progress of a first generation Bengali family living in the US. It also deals with the dilemma faced by second-generation immigrants when the pull of the new life conflicts with the ways of the old country.
Also showing this month is another example of the horror genre, Evil.
• All films showing at the St James cinema during September are distributed by KRS.