Movies Of The Week

Coco Before Chanel

There's been a recent spate of Coco fascination, the namesake and abiding aesthetic governess behind seminal fashion label Chanel. Meant to give some exposition to the person behind the name, the movie goes deep into the biography of Chanel, born Gabrielle Chanel and raised in an orphanage. Having always had a penchant for sewing, it wasn't until a series of affairs that Chanel amassed enough financial support to start the fashion house that would come to define generations and redefine femininity. Audrey Tatou's performance is being lauded as rich and complex, encapsulating Chanel's difficult nature as well as her underlying vulnerability.

Surrogates

It may be high time Bruce Willis hung up his action man status, and slid into the well-advanced middle age roles he probably isn't being offered. In the not-too-distant future, people are forgoing all that pesky 'going outside' and 'experiencing things' in lieu of sending out surrogates, and experiencing life through virtual reality (a trend that feels a decade late). Apparently though, you can die whilst being hooked up to your robotic alter ego, which seems to defeat the purpose of becoming a total shut-in. But rest assured, Willis is on the case after a killer goes after his surrogate, which makes it personal. In all honesty, this film feels like a vehicle for Willis to sport a bad rug and not much else.

Fame

In yet another entry to the "Films That Needn't Be Remade" category of popular culture comes Fame, based loosely on the 1980 film about a New York City high school for the performing arts. Not much has changed in the interceding three decades: talent will only get you so far - the rest you'll have to be taught by teachers like Kelsey Grammer and Megan Mullally. The hard work necessary for these kids to achieve their dreams is only part of the problem - when you've got all the hackneyed teen movie constructs like parental disappointment, cliques and interracial dating, you hardly have time for homework, which is a good thing because I can't imagine any actually being assigned in an environment like this.