Entertainment

Janis Joplin film profiles a singer whose surprising rise and sudden demise changed music forever

Late singer Janis Joplin's life story is told in Little Girl Blue
Late singer Janis Joplin's life story is told in Little Girl Blue Late singer Janis Joplin's life story is told in Little Girl Blue

JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE (15, 104 mins)

Documentary. Janis Joplin, Cat Power (voice), Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, Karleen Bennett, Dick Cavett, John Cooke, Laura Joplin, Michael Joplin, J. David Moriaty. Director: Amy J. Berg

OSCAR-nominated filmmaker Amy J. Berg (West of Memphis) delves into the life of late rock legend Janis Joplin.

Joplin once told her hero Bob Dylan she was going to be famous and he replied, “Yeah, we're all gonna be famous.” She did find fame and thrilled millions with her powerful and soulful voice but sadly she died in 1971, aged just 27.

With huge hits including Me and Bobby McGee and Piece of My Heart, and such classic albums as Cheap Thrills and Pearl, Joplin was one of the performers who embodied the musical and cultural revolution of the 1960s.

Yet her on-stage bravado and uninhibited sexual persona hid hurt and insecurity stemming from her childhood in conservative Texas. On relocating to San Francisco and discovering the blues, she found an outlet for her pain and loneliness and fell into a community that would embrace and celebrate her talent.

Little Girl Blue features interviews from old band members, unseen audio and video footage and readings from the singer’s letters home to her parents voiced by musician Cat Power. The film offers new understanding of a bright, complex woman whose surprising rise and sudden demise changed music forever.

:: Opens at QFT Belfast today and runs until Wednesday February 24

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TRIPLE 9 (15, 116 mins)

Thriller/Action/Romance. Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Clifton Collins Jr, Gal Gadot, Igor Komar. Director: John Hillcoat

HIGH levels of testosterone course through the bulging veins of Triple 9. At the heart of this man's world is venomous moll Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet), who takes charge of the Russian-Israeli mob while her husband Vassili (Igor Komar) languishes behind bars. She puts the squeeze on private security contractor Michael Belmont (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his team of dirty cops and Special Ops veterans. Michael fathered a child with Irina's sister Elena (Gal Gadot) and is beholden to the Vlaslovs if he wants access to his boy. Irina insists that Michael and his accomplices pull off the heist of valuable computer files from a safe house. It's an impossible task within a three-minute window before police respond to an emergency call, so Michael, homicide detective Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr), street cop Marcus Atwood (Anthony Mackie) and brothers Russell and Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus) decide to buy themselves extra time with a distraction. They will kill rookie cop Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), the nephew of Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson), and while the entire police department responds to reports of an "officer down", the rest of the gang will carry out the theft without fear of arrest. Triple 9 exerts a strong grip on our attention.

:: In cinemas from today