Mark of an Angel

There'll probably be an inferior American remake of this at some point, infinitely blander and cliched, so see the French original while you can. The viewer is cannily led to doubt the sanity of Elsa when she becomes obsessed with the idea that 7 year old Lola is in fact her own daughter who died as a baby in a hospital fire. Conversational hints point to a woman already psychologically disturbed and it now appears that she's slipping into stalking the child and her family, and possibly much worse. Just when the plot seems to be following a predictable, if stylish, route, events take an unexpected turn. Lola's mother is suddenly captured doing similar actions in similar shots to those of Elsa earler in the film. She seems to be behaving just as irrationally as Elsa. Luckily this isn't Hollywood so there's no abrupt histrionics. The unsettling set pieces peak with a subtly menacing ballet performance but ultimately there's no psycho, no violence (OK, just a teensy bit), just the revelation of a devastating moral choice that gains it's impact from the restraint elsewhere.

Star Trek

Although I grew up watching (and enjoying) re-runs of the orinal Star Trek, I've never been a full-blown, Klingon-spouting fangirl. I easily avoided all the spin-offs, while the films have been decidedly hit and miss. The re-boot thankfully fall sinto the former category despite the diehards manically compiling lists of canon violations. In fact, it's probably not even necessary to be familiar with the original in order to enjoy the film, but anyone who is will be rewarded with some nice injokes and references: Captain Pike; the disposable member of an expedition; Chekhov's heavy accent causing problems with a password; Bones endlessly exasperated; Scotty being banished for transporting Archer's beloved beagle *somewhere* ...
Fortunately the film isn't hamstrung by reverence. There's an energy fizzing through proceedings, beginning with the entry into the world of James Tiberius Kirk himself during the attack on the SS Kelvin by the vengeful Nero. Brat-era Kirk has thankfully brief screen time, while the equivalent Spock scenes establish the human-Vulcan conflict within him, which has an emotional payoff with the fate of his human mother. Noone acts completely out of accepted character although the purists will splutter over one VERY unexpected romance. Sulu's apparently a martial arts expert but also has trouble getting the new Enterprise started in a nice comic touch, while Chekhov gets a lovely moment of youthful exuberence as he solves a transporter problem. The whole time travel plot might provoke some head scratching - although it does reveal a neat touch of deviousness on Spock's part - and Nero's motives are never really as compelling as they should be, but on the whole it's a terrifically enteratining movie.

Cheri

The main reason to see Cheri is Michelle Pfeiffer. She plays the ageing courtesan Lea with a delicacy that's mostly lacking elsewhere in the film - Kathy Bates seems to think she's playing a pantomime dame. Lea's still beautiful, but aware that her lucrative years are almost up. Surrounded by grotesques who were once her colleagues and rivals, she stands apart even without the assistance of an array of sumptuous hats and gowns. No wonder Cheri is bewitched. Lea is presumably equally entranced by his youth as he had minimal loveable qualities. Most of the time in fact he is eminently punchable. Luckily, while Rupert Friend might bear a passing physical resemblance of Orlando Bland, he has considerably more talent. Cheri can be as venomous as his mother, appallingly selfish, but also has moments of barely understood vulnerability. Both he and Lea are ultimately destroyed by the trappings of wealth, essential as they are to both their lives.

Rodchenko and Popova

I always claim that I don't like modern art but actually that statement is far too sweeping. It's also untrue. I've long had a soft spot for Cubism, I adore Franz Marc and I like much of the Kandinsky that I've seen. I think I can now add the Constructivists to the modern art that I like. There's something deeply pleasing about the geometric constructions in the art of Rodchenko and Popova. The slight bleeding of colours in works like the Space-Force Constructions prevents Popova's paintings from feeling too rigid, while Rodchenko's spatial constructions hanging from the ceiling cast ever-changing shadows. What's particularly fascinating about the two artists in this exhibition is the multi-disciplinary nature of their art. Textile designs, theatrical costumes, set designs, book covers, advertising, graphic design, posters, architecture: they applied Constructivist principles to numerous activities, not all of which came to fruition, especially in the field of architecture. Rodchenko's photos also provide a glimpse into the artistic circles of the time, while the Workers' Room allows visitors to step back in time and see just what his practical design must have been like.