Films on TMN in August 2010

Here's a look at some of the new & notable films debuting on TMN (The Movie Network) this month!

Must See's

• Bronson- directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (The Pusher Trilogy, Valhalla Rising) and starring Tom Hardy, is well more than enough to get me to see any film and after seeing Bronson, I've cemented that I'll always see any work either of them do. Bronson is a biopic on a man in prison who supplanted his own personality with that of Charles Bronson and has the goal of reaching fame through becoming known for being violent. I know that might make a lot of people think it's a no, but believe me this film is a yes, yes, yes. Tom Hardy is a force to be reckoned with and he is the heart of the film give a performance that is easily one of the best of 2009. You might not know his name yet, although trekkies will recognize him as Praetor Shinzon from Star Trek: Nemesis, or most recently as Eames delivering all the best lines in Inception. And we'll continue to see his work as it was recently announced that he's playing the title role in the upcoming 2012 remake of Mad Mad. One of the best films of 2009.
• Valentino: The Last Emperor - fantastic documentary on the fashion designed Valentino and his haute couture fashion house, life and work. A must for any fashion folk.
• The Young Victoria - Another film that is one of the best films of 2009, this one starring Emily Blunt as a, you guessed it, young Queen Victoria. It's absolutely breathtaking not only as a period piece, but as a great film with a strong female protagonist that is based on a real person which is so refreshing to see. It's also beautifully about power, leadership and love. It truly has it all.

Highly Enjoyable

• The Fourth Kind - I know this one wasn't everyones cup of tea given the fact that the previews indicate that it's based on fact (when it isn't), but either way it still was one of the scariest films I had seen in years.
• Big River Man - fascinating documentary following Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel's attempt to swim the Amazon River.

The Biggie's

• Inglourious Basterds - I can't not mention this one as so many people talk about it and I'm sure many want to see it. Won't be me though, no interest there.
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire - Not a perfect film, but certainly a powerful film with fantastic performances of people on a brutal journey. Kleenex is required for viewing though. Lots of it.

CanCon

• Defendor - Hamilton-set regular-guy-thinks-he's-a-superhero film starring Woody Harrelson. Not quite my cup of tea but I know lots of people that really enjoyed it.

My To Watch List

• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - probably won't see this this month as I still have to see the *first* Boondock Saints first!
• The Box - I'll watch any thrillers, but I wasn't interested in the premise of this one enough to see it in the theatre
• The Informant - Matt Damon = yes. Plus, the based-on-true-life-but-looks-too-unbelievable-to-believe and whistle-blower thing is just too crazy to pass up.
• Tetro - missed this Francis Ford Coppola film during it's limited theatrical release
• The Time Traveller's Wife - Another one not likely to see this month as I want to get through the book first, and I've been trying to do that since sometime last year!

How I Did With July
So last month I set out six films that I was interested in seeing that were debuting on TMN: Armoured, AstroBoy, The Final Destination, Flame & Citron, The Invention of Lying and Love & Savagery. Out of those 6 I only managed to see one of them, and oddly that was The Final Destination which was pretty much awful however pretty much exactly what I expected. I did also get to see Surrogates which was no where near as awful as everyone is saying, and caught Stuart: A Life Backwards because it stars Tom Hardy (yes, I'm talking about him again and will continue to urge you to see Bronson) and it was good but a bit of a hard watch due to content of the protagonist being a suicidal/drug addict/homeless man... but it still is a great performance. I also freely admit to watching both Robsessed and Twilight in Forks: The Saga of a Small Town, both Twilight-centric documentaries, with Robsessed being focused on Robert Pattinson and it was okay but felt very much like something you'd see on a music TV channel about a 'star', but Twilight in Forks: The Saga of a Small Town was actually a very well put together and interesting documentary on the Twi-Effect on the real town of Forks. I talk about those two films more in depth on the latest episode of Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast.

These are just some of the highlights I've picked out of what is new this month on TMN. They have loads more titles and you can check them out all over at the TMN website.