Things I have learnt this week

No news is not always good news, its sometimes just plain rude. A simple story of a girl losing her dog can bring heartbreaking results (see Wendy and Lucy). You may have the imagination of a great film director but this is hard to put into practice with a poundland budget. Jason Schwartzman's mum is Talia Shire aka Adrian in the Rocky films!!

Rubber (Quentin Dupieux) Film Review

Ah a film the world has been waiting for, Rubber tyre comes to life and forms telekinetic powers thus enabling 'it' to kill people as it stalks across the desert land.

I was attracted to this film by the cheeky trailer and the trashy but fun premise, enticing the viewer with the tag line 'Are you tired of the expected'. This film is in some ways nothing anyone could expect. If the above plot was not barmy enough the film adds eccentric layer upon layer with its interwoven segments of 'spectators' watching the film unfold as we the audience do (though they do this with binoculars and the aid of a very dubious accountant).

From the opening gambit, we are told , straight to camera, by the lieutenant overseeing the tyre's crime spree, that things happen in movie land for 'no reason', he confirms this with references to other films that leave us with accepted yet unexplained details. Thus this allows Rubber a celluloid get out of jail free card, to go about its merry strange way without having to justify the actions. The film also seems intent to address the minor audience that Rubber may find, as the spectators/audience are systematically killed off, bar one, thus the film somewhat grudgingly has to continue.

And yet, despite its limited appeal and left field execution, Rubber is an intriguing, oddball gem. Those wanting a killer tyre movie that simply delivers a large body count and B movie nastiness might want to drive on by as the film may have a selection of exploding heads and animal body parts but it is not primarily concerned with generating cheap thrills.

The star of the show is Robert, the murderous tyre with anger issues, he is shot in such a way, that we are drawn to him and every simple action he takes, from his first tentative steps, like those of a newborn child, to his breathing as he rests from a hard days rolling, the tyre takes on full dimension as an actual character (so much so that when he comes across a pile of tyres being burned in the wasteland, we can almost feel his silent pain).

Rubber defiantly lies somewhere to the left, a well crafted, expertly shot, pseudo oddity that will be too much for most but took this viewer on a bumpy but entertainingly bonkers ride.