We all are the heroes of our own stories.   So what does that make our friends?   Our loyal sidekicks of course.   But if they are the heroes of their own stories, does that make us their sidekicks?   It’s a bit confusing.   So today’s High 5 is a salute to the sidekicks and second fiddles out there that don’t have identity issues.   They are there to support our lovable protagonists and put their own interests aside for the sake of their friend’s goals.   So here we go, these are the people I want riding shotgun if I have to step up and save the world … or solve a crime … or find a way to get reasonable prices on Red Sox tickets (If I even wanted to see a 5^th place team in person).

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Tom Cruise. Totally like second in command in the cult of Scientology. Totally also a friend of Paul Thomas Anderson, whose upcoming flick The Master  is a take on the wonky religion. Awkward? Yeah, awkward.

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Judging from its matter-of-fact plot synopsis – “A drama focused on five months in the life of pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.” – first-time director/writer Markus Schleinzer‘s drama Michael isn’t going to appeal to a wide audience. It’s certainly the darkest character study I’ve seen in recent memory and also the most well crafted. Schleinzer, a disciple of Michael Haneke (Funny Games), presents the character of Michael without passing any judgement, which makes it all the more unsettling.

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I was pretty certain the overwrought gaudy nonsense of  Baz Luhrmann was going to miss the mark with an adaptation of The Great Gatsby, and this sleek bullshit disaster trailer has done nothing to dissuade me of this notion. I hate this trailer a million times over.

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Yeehaw! Here’s some Dark Knight Rises  character posters! Rise! Meow! Break backs! Et cetera!

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I still ain’t over Avengers. I’ve seen it four times, but this has nary an effect on my voracious appetite for more. I will have to sate myself on adorable pop culture particles that the film has generated, such as these Avengers papercraft products.

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Cronenberg was at  Cannes Film Festival  big reppin’ his latest film Cosmopolis  as well as the first film by his son. While there, the good master of  venereal horror spat a bit about the usage of digital film versus the old and wonderful. His take? Fuck film, man!

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Dios mio, today is the day of teaser clips. The latest and most anticipated one for yours truly is from The Master. I can’t wait for this next flick from P.T. Anderson, and even though I’ve been riding it for a while I really haven’t given much thought to  Joaquin Phoenix or his role in the movie. That ends now.

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I’m really excited for The Dark Knight Rises, hoping it is every bit a brooding, haunting, artistic wunderkind as Avengers  was the pinnacle of popcorn. Here’s a poster for it.

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From the ’60s-style promotional video for the Arboria Institute that opens the film to the final jarring minutes of the film, Beyond the Black Rainbow brings you under its control and lulls you into a visual and audio trance. During your immersive state of hypnosis, it might be easy to overlook the heady themes of writer-director Panos Cosmatos’ debut feature. Against a throbbing, psychadelic backdrop, Cosmatos tells a story of repression and contrition set in an alternate 1983 that will not be easily shaken from your memory. It’s a beautiful nightmare I didn’t want to end.

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