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Armando Iannucci’s political satire looks at the maneuvering the British government makes to find out what the Americans have in the works in the lead up to a war in the Middle East. Pro-war and anti-war sides connive to push their agendas. A throwaway comment on a radio show puts the hapless Minister for International Development right in the middle of this political battle.

The minister, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander, PRIDE & PREJUDICE), said that he felt war in the Middle East was unforeseeable. The next day the Prime Minister’s strong arm Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi, MAX) blows his lid and threatens to stick Simon in the sticks. His new assistant Toby (Chris Addison, TV’s THE THICK OF IT) gets him into a big meeting with a visiting U.S. State official named Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy, TV’s DHARMA & GREG). He’s supposed to be room meat, but Clarke takes the opportunity to use Simon’s radio remarks to support her anti-war case. This leads to Simon being invited to the States to be used in Clarke’s battle against her warmonger counterpart Linton Barwick (David Rasche, TV’s SLEDGE HAMMER!).
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Villains are a lock.

The supporting actor category is usually a category for surprises. This year the front runners are clear and the field is thin. But there is definitely room for some unexpected actors and actresses to find themselves with an Oscar nomination next Tuesday.
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In 2005, the Farrelly Brothers did a baseball version of Nick Hornby’s novel about an obsessed soccer fan. But in 1997, there was this British film that more directly resembles Hornby’s novel even though he changed the autobiography into a work of fiction. The American version plays more like a traditional romantic comedy, while the British version is a character study. The latter is far more challenging.

Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth, BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY) is a teacher who spends most of his free time obsessing about the Arsenal soccer team. When Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell, TV’s EASTENDERS) comes to teach at his school, he rubs her the wrong way; she couldn’t ever fall for a soccer hooligan. I wouldn’t bet on it. But it’s not easy being in a relationship with a soccer fanatic.
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Former editor-in-chief of The Onion, Robert D. Siegel makes his directorial debut with this drama with a wry satirical edge that delves into the life of an obsessed football fan. This intriguing character study chronicles what drives an awkward outsider who lives for one thing. The depth to which he will go is scary.

Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt, RATATOUILLE) works as a cashier at a parking lot. The undemanding job gives him a chance to think about the New York Giants all day. He’s a regular caller on a late night sports talk show and prepares for each call by writing out everything he’s going to say. His best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan, WALKING & TALKING) is envious of how he sticks it to the team’s rivals and can speak so well on the radio “on the fly.” Paul and Sal go to the stadium to tailgate, but they can’t afford tickets so they watch the game on a TV hooked up to their car’s battery. The football season is his happiest time.
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This Weekend’s Film Festival dedicates the lineup to poetic hearts, inspired by the release of BRIGHT STAR on DVD. The John Keats biopic is also a great romance. A young woman turns to poetry to heal heartache and finds more heartache. A documentary looks at one of the most savagely honest poets. A duel love story follows an affair between two Victorian poets and the scholars that love them. The Festival closes with a romantic comedy centering on the first production of the most famous tragic romance.
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It started as a concept album and then transformed into a stage play, which has become one of the most performed plays in the world. In 1985, the musical made its way to TV like classic PEANUTS adaptations via animation. At 49 minutes, the special is like a review of the stage version, giving fans a musical highlight reel to the world that Charles Schulz created.

The production begins with the title tune where the Peanuts gang gives their impression of good ole Charlie Brown (Brad Kesten, voice, Kevin Brando, singing). Next we get a song set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” where Lucy (Jessica Lee Smith) laments her love for pianist Schroeder (Jeremy Reinbolt). She says, “My Aunt Marion was right, never try to discuss marriage with a musician.” Charlie Brown gets wrapped up in many of his classic misfortunes involving kite flying, Valentine’s Day cards and losing baseball games.
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Guy wakes up after a night of partying in a strange bed with a beautiful woman. What does he do? This simple scenario is what starts Barry Jenkins’ smart, sexy and sweet romance. Disregard the pretentious vibe of the title; Jenkins’ main goal is to tell an accessible modern romance. The fact that he also says something about race relations and the changing dynamics of San Francisco is just part of his two characters’ personalities.

Micah (Wyatt Cenac, TV’s THE DAILY SHOW WITH JOHN STEWART) doesn’t know what to say to Jo (Tracey Heggins) when they first wake up. It takes him till they’re dressed and outside before he speaks at all. They decide to share a cab. He makes every effort but she doesn’t respond. She leaves the cab at her apartment and he thinks that it will be the last that he sees her. But luck strikes and she has left her wallet behind. When he checks her license she hadn’t even give him her correct name when he asked. He checks her profile out on MySpace and then rides his bike to her place to return her wallet and to get a second chance.
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Can Avatar rule the Oscars for James Cameron like Titanic did?

The last two weeks I’ve been looking at the Oscar contenders. First I looked at the Best Picture picture and then moved on to the Best Actor and Actress categories. This week we look at the directors. Last year I didn’t run down the director hopefuls but this year is a curious year because of how the Oscars have changed. In the past, there were cases where a director could get a nomination without their films being nominated for Best Picture. But now that there will be 10 Oscar nominees, I really, really think that the likelihood of that ever happening again are very slim.

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Back in the day a man of certain age who wasn’t married was looked upon with suspicion. George is such a man. In one scene a character describes him as being light in the loafers. That was a nice way to say what they were really thinking. This is the world that George lives in. When tragedy strikes, is it a world worth staying in?

Colin Firth plays George with great reserve. He has been with his lover Jim (Matthew Goode, MATCH POINT) for 15 years. Jim gives his life color. When Jim dies in a car accident, George loses his lifeline to the happiness in the world. One day George takes a gun out of a drawer and goes about his day as if he were planning on going away. He goes to work as an English professor and talks to his students about how fear of the unknown warps man the most. One of his students, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult, ABOUT A BOY), worries about him acting so odd.
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Immigration is a complex issue with its larger meaning representing something different to each person. This Weekend’s Film Festival looks at the issue through film. These five films address the issue from the immigrants’ point of view. There’s the story of a cheerful Senegalese cabdriver. A Palestinian mother brings her son to America for a better life. An Irish man moves his whole family to the States for a chance at stardom. A poor factory worker becomes a drug mule in order to get a trip to the U.S. A young woman meets a violent gang member on her journey across Latin America on top of a train.
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