Film preview: spring 2008

Spring has sprung and there‘s going to be plenty of excellent new films hitting London cinemas in the coming months. Here are ten to put in your diaries

Happy-Go-Lucky
Mike Leigh
Released: April 18
British actress Sally Hawkins offers a heartening (and hopefully star-making) turn in Mike Leigh’s new charmer about an unshakably jovial schoolteacher who tries, wherever possible, to spread her warmth and plucky outlook on to the various lost souls she bumps into. This is one of the best films about what it means to be a teacher you’re likely to see this, or any, year. Watch trailer of 'Happy-Go-Lucky'

'In Bruges'

In Bruges
Martin McDonagh
Released: April 18
Written and directed by acclaimed Irish playwright, Martin McDonagh, ‘In Bruges’ sees Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two mismatched Irish hitmen who, after a failing a job, are packed off to Bruges to await instructions from their irascible boss, Ralph Fiennes. With its witty script and love it/hate it view of the Belgian capital, this is a entertaining gangster yarn with some amiable lead performances. Watch trailer of 'In Bruges'

'Persepolis'

Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi
Released: April 25
Causing something of a stir at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, this expressionist, animated memoir of growing up in Tehran during the 1980s is a screen adaptation of writer/director Marjane Satrapi’s acerbic graphic novel of the same name. With all the 3D animation that’s churned into cinemas these days, it’s a real treat to have a film which proves that it’s how you use the medium that counts, and not how much you pay for it. Watch trailer of 'Persepolis'

'Iron Man'

Iron Man
Jon Favreau
Released: May 2
Jon Favreau made his name as a screen actor and writer, making waves in the late '90s with his indie buddy comedy ‘Swingers’. Since then he’s turned his hand to directing, with two massive kids kids films, ‘Zathura’ and ‘Elf’. Here, he takes the helm for his first comic book adaptation, Marvel Comics’ ‘Iron Man’, with Robert Downey Jr as the louche business exec Tony Stark who develops some high-tech robotic body armour. There’s nothing to suggest this will be any better or worse than all the other superhero films on the market, but there's little doubt it will be a hit. Watch trailer of 'Iron Man'

'Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?'

Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
Morgan Spurlock
Released: May 9
Morgan Spurlock presented the evils of fast food with comic aplomb in his 2004 documentary, ‘Supersize Me’. After a three year stint working on TV shows, he returns with the intriguingly titled ‘Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?’ in which he heads to Afghanistan to look for the notoriously elusive terrorist. Watch trailer of 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden'

'XXY'

XXY
Lucía Puenzo
Released: May 9
Those in search of a smaller-scale gem this year can look no further than ‘XXY’, the devastating study of a 15-year-old hermaphrodite living in seclusion with her loving, if bewildered parents. The film revolves around a remarkable, soul-searching and painfully credible performance from young Argentinian thesp Inés Efron as the sexually confused loner Alex. Watch trailer of 'XXY'

'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Steven Spielberg
Released: May 22
It’s been 18 years since Harrison Ford donned the brown fedora, leather jacket and service revolver as the archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones, but he is soon to return to cinemas to head to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Directed by Stephen Spielberg and co-written by George Lucas, Ford (now 66) will be joined on screen by Cate Blanchett and current flavour of the month, Shia LeBeouf, as his sidekick. Watch trailer of 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

'Some Came Running'

Some Came Running
Vincente Minelli
Released: May 16
There have been some excellent re-releases scheduled for the coming year, and Vincente Minelli’s 1958 melodrama, which contains an exceptional lead performance from Frank Sinatra, is no exception. The film heads up a season at London’s BFI Southbank of the crooner’s work on film, so there’ll also be a chance to see other Sinatra films including ‘Von Ryan’s Express’, ‘Pal Joey’ and ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’.

'In Search of a Midnight Kiss' © Robert Murphy

In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Alex Holdridge
Released: June 13
A crowd-pleaser on the festival circuit, Alex Holdridge’s low budget b&w romantic comedy sees a fop-haired ne’er-do-well living in the LA ‘burbs whose last-ditch attempt to ring in the new year on the arm of, well, anyone leads to an impulsive Craigslist post and a drunken callback from Vivian (Simmonds), a quasi-suicidal potty-mouthed blonde who has some serious emotional issues. Funny, tragic and a date movie of an altogether classier breed.
Watch trailer of 'In Search of a Midnight Kiss'

'The Incredible Hulk'

The Incredible Hulk
Louis Leterrier
Released: June 13
Deemed ‘too clever’ by moviegoers in 2003, Ang Lee’s amiable, intellectual reading of Marvel Comics’ angry green action hero, The Incredible Hulk didn’t really muscle-in on the box office pay dirt that is generally expected of gaudy comic-book adaptations. How to remedy that? Make another film on exactly the same subject with a different director and star, take out all the prominent themes and ideas and aim it squarely at the fantasy-cinema drones. Stars Ed Norton and the anger-prone scientist Bruce Banner.
Watch trailer of 'The Incredible Hulk'

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