News & Events

Future movie releases…w/e 25 January 2013

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Hollow – British horror starring Emily Plumtree about an abandoned monastery that lures young people to commit suicide. Wikipedia site is here but only having a limited release.

The Last Stand – Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his big screen comeback as a small-town Sherrif who takes on a big drug Lord (Eduardo Noriega) who happens upon his small town. Official UK site is here, showing nationwide.

Lincoln – one of the big hitters for this years awards season, this is Spielberg’s Civil War epic with Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular 1860’s President who must wrestle with political in-fighting as he struggles with his conscience to try and free millions of slaves in America. Largely tipped to win at least the big acting Oscars (Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones are also nominated, but in the supporting categories) this has the sweep of a big film at least. Showing nationwide. Official site is here.

Movie 43 – Despite the massive social media profile employed to promote this comedy, still no official site. Looks like a massive portmanteau flick with Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman et al…no idea (or much care) about what it is about though. Showing nationwide. Facebook page is here.

Race 2 – I love how with Bollywood films when you try to find out what the plot is, even the Wikipedia and Facebook pages tell you next to anything! Essentially though, this is a Bollywood Fast and the Furious. Wikipedia site is here and this is showing at Key Cities only.

Won’t Back Down – Seems like every year brings a new failing inner-city American school drama. Here, Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal try to sort theirs out to improve their kids grades. IMDb site is here, showing at key cities only.

Zero Dark Thirty  – controversial US drama (director Kathryn Bigelow was, according to rumours, denied an Oscar nod for best director here because of this film’s graphic torture sequences), Jessica Chastain stars as the committed intelligence operative who is involved in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Official site is here, showing nationwide.

And the Oscar could go to…

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Difficult to judge where the little tin/copper, gold plated men will go to this year as many of the contenders for awards (Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, The Sessions) are yet to be released in the UK.

The next 3 weeks should see to that, so I will revisit this initial assessment but, based on what I’ve seen and Oscar’s own personal tastes, this is what I predict right now will win in the main four categories:

 

Best Picture – Lincoln. Friends in America have been none to impressed by this judging it to be long and dull, but the critics seem happy and it’s not as if a big Civil War epic hasn’t cleaned up before (ahem, Gone With the Wind).

Best Director – Steven Spielberg for Lincoln. It usually follows that the Best Director made the Best Picture. None of the other nominations, with the possible exception of Benh Zeitlin for the acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild would, in my mind, stand much of a chance. The other films are good, but Lincoln has that old style craftsmanship and tells a good political/moral that could tickle older Academy voters (according to this incisive investigation by the LA Times , the average age is 62) and see it through.

Best Actor – Joaquin Phoenix for The Master. This was a stunning turn. As much as I think Daniel Day-Lewis deserves it for Lincoln (and on the basis of the trailer, his performance is just as extraordinary), Phoenix is a revelation as the physical personification of a tortured, confused soul. Definitely not Hugh Jackman (Les Mis is a musical and musicals don’t usually win for the lead actor roles).

Best Actress – difficult one to call as the actresses here are all great. Oscar could be sentimental and give it to their oldest Best Actress nominee Emanuelle Riva for Amour but, Marion Cotillard aside as an anomaly French actress winning for speaking French in a French film, my money would be on Naomi Watts in The Impossible (tragedy, human interest – Oscar can still be sentimental).

 

 

Awards season kicks off – BAFTA Film nominations announced

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Steven Spielberg’s yet to be released in the UK American Civil War biopic Lincoln leads the way at this year’s BAFTA Film awards with 10 nominations. The full list of nominees can be read on BAFTA’s site here.

And for the Oscars – stay tuned for tomorrow’s announcement.

Victoria & Albert Museum – ‘Hollywood Costume’

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*** SPOILER ALERT!***

So despite the posters proudly displaying Judy Garland in the iconic gingham dress from The Wizard of Oz you don’t actually get to see the famous red slippers. Well, not the real ones at least because the originals featured only at the start of this exhibition, then being returned to America where they had other plans. The one’s you see at this impressively thorough cat-walk of perhaps the greatest costumes used in American movies over the past 100 or so years are direct copies made from the originals. The impressive signage that abounds at this V&A curation explains it all clearly…but it’s right at the very end of a long walk so, depending on how much you have enjoyed all of the previous pieces or how tired one is by then, you’ll either feel slightly short changed or downright miffed.

But no matter when the dazzling array of clothing and the in depth research that accompanies them is so impressive.

The curators have not only sourced the correct quotes from the designers/actors/directors involved in their creation but also reveal how the clothing was physically put together, the sometimes arduous and finger-busting weeks put into breathing such vivid life into fabric, feather and sequin and how this final product created it’s own particular corner of Hollywood mise en scene (this is when the whole design of a film contributes to a sense of time and place in the film and also a characters mood and/or thoughts).

There are particularly florid, but helpful, contributions from scions of this art such as Gilbert Adrian (MGM’s in house designer during the studios Golden Age) and Edith Head (working closely with Ingrid Bergman and on films for Alfred Hitchcock), people who not only defined the actresses they clothed, but also defined eras (Travis Banton’s suggestion that Marlene Dietrich wear top hat and tails in Morocco caused a sensation that helped boost Dietrich’s fledgling American career and encouraged many other women to wear trousers).

Smartly, the curators have arranged the costumes into three distinct sections, each representing one of the three parts of the creative process. Deconstruction (the research phase), Dialogue (exploring the collaboration between designers and film-makers) and Finale (this, a roll call of the most famous outfits used in Hollywood films, feel like entering a decapitated but very familiar night club, where the heads of the most famous stars in cinema are replaced with TV screen projections).

There is obvious cross-over between some of the costumes in any of these sections and, obviously, one can see how the dialogue section might actually come first in some cases (particularly with Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Steven Spielberg had a vision in his head already about how Indiana Jones should look – designer Deborah Nadoolman, one of the curators, went on to fine tune the look that made Harrison Ford a star). There are also some detractions – Michelle Pfeiffer’s catwoman outfit from Batman Returns is almost missed by having her crouched and half-hidden atop a wall.

But these are minor worries when, for a movie geek such as I, there is such an awesome range of real pieces to feast your eyes on. Greta Garbo’s velvet dress in Queen Christina (1933 and, my, wasn’t she small in real life?), Hedy Lamarr’s lamarvellous, ridiculous attire from De Mille’s equally ridiculous Samson and Delilah (1949) to blasts from the past Bessie Love in The Broadway Melody (1929) and the largely forgotten silent vamp Louise Glaum in the titillatingly titled Sex (1920).

Aside from these extravagant dresses, one thing that really does hit home is how you never quite realise how the more ordinary clothing in a film (Robert Pattinson’s plain suits in the Twlight films to Brad Pitt’s red jacket in Fight Club) helps create a sense of a character’s self just as effectively, but in a more subtle, nuanced way than any Ostrich feather fascinator or intricately sequined Tudor era frock can.

More information about the exhibition can be found here.

An article by Deborah Nadoolman about the exhibition can be found here.

Future movie releases w/e 9 November 2012

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Alps – Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to his decidedly bizarre family tale Dogtooth is another examination of extreme human psychology and relationships. An agency hires people stand-in for the dead people. That is, until one of them starts to exhibit erratic behaviour. The official Artificial Eye website is here. Key cities only.

Aurora – a Romanian man, recently divorced and experiencing problems at work, buys a gun and decides to test it out in this drama from director Cristi Puiu. The New Wave Films website has some more information here. Key cities only.

Grassroots – So there is life after American Pie. Jason Biggs stars as a disillusioned journalist opposite odd-bod political candidate Joel David Moore who likes to dress up as a Polar Bear. Based on the real-life events around a Seattle City Council elections, it is directed by Jake and Maggie Gyllenhall’s dad Stephen. Official site is here. Key cities only.

Here Comes the Boom – Kevin James plays a teacher who takes up martial arts to help raise money for his cash-strapped school in this comedy, co-starring Salma Hayek. Official Sony Pictures site is here. Showing nationwide.

Love Bite  – British Cherry Falls sounding comedy horror in which a Werewolf is preying on virgins living in a British seaside town. Soon, every one is desperate the lose their virginity. Official Ecosse Film’s site is here. Showing nationwide and probably just as well seeing as they missed the Hallowe’en release week.

Mother’s Milk – drama, based on the novel by Edward St. Aubyn that follows an English family over one summer when the mother decides to sell the family home after suffering a stroke. Jack Davenport and Diana Quick star. IMDb has the low-down here. Key cities only.

My Brother the Devil – Already acclaimed at the recent London Film Festival (receiving nominations for best writing, directing and actor for Fady Elsayed), this drama looks at two brothers struggling to survive the London gangland scene as two young, British Arabs. One to watch. Official site is here. Showing at key cities.

People Like Us – Chris Pine returns home to settle his deceased father’s estate and finds he has a grown-up sister he never knew about. Disney drama co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer. The US site is here; being released nationwide.

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan – there has been an exhibition in London about this man’s fondly remembered stop-motion special effects and a resurgence in interest about his work ever since the two, new Clash of the Titans films were released. This documentary chronicles the career of the man who has done more for the advancement of cinematic special effects that any other artist and features contributions from, amongst others, Peter Jackson and Terry Gilliam. Official site explains more here. Key cities only.

Shady Lady – documentary about the titular WWII bomber. After crash-landing in Northern Australia, a local Aboriginal community helped get the plane flying again. Official site is here, but it’s showing at selected venues only (see their website).

And from Tues 13 November…

Coldplay Live 2012 – as the title describes, filmed action from the band’s recent tour. Official Coldplay site is here.

Son of Sardaar – Bollywood drama following a man who becomes embroiled in a long-running family feud. See IMDb for more.

 

Read all about it…movies in the news (30 Oct 2012)

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Just in time for Halloween tomorrow, the Calgary Sun helpfully categorises the main types of horror movies and the top movies within these sub-genres, including notable Canadian products.

The Den of Geek site also has it’s own, top 15 Halloween themed movies you might want to check out. Some of the choices are distinctly odd, as one would expect from this distinctly individual site (Mean Girls? Although Lindsay Lohan’s career is pretty scary these days).

And continuing the subject of scary movies, horror films can shock you thin! This Guardian article reports on a study that has shown people who watch horror movies burn more calories than when watching other genres (and you thought Ben Hur was gruelling). Forget the science (not all that ground-shaking, it seems) and check out the top 10 list.

Interesting feature in The Metro about how a community in Manchester have set up their own cinema in an abandoned working men’s club…and seen it thrive.

Saw this and thought it definitely worth airing as this local cinema in Walthamstow is very near to where I live. A big local campaign has been generated to help save an old cinema. The work continues. For more information about the trust and it’s work, visit their site here.

The Guardian (again!) talks to Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan about his career and ‘The New Nollywood’ that is emerging in African cinema. As well as just profiling this director, the article takes in how Nigerian cinema, faced with a lack of native outlets (only 10 mainstream cinemas are in the whole country!), has to think outside the box for success.

And the ultimate Halloween movie story – Tom Cruise hints at more Mission: Impossible films. The horror, the horror…

Future movie releases w/e Friday 2 November 2012

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Call Me Kuchu – David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, is someone of insurmountable courage and dedication. This important documentary highlights his battle to overturn political legislation in his home country that would see the death sentence imposed on gay men with HIV and possible prison sentences for people who do not ‘shop’ gays and lesbians to the authorities. Official site has the low-down, including screenings (key cities only).

Excision – as one would expect with any film associated with John Waters (here, only appearing in front of the camera), this is a strange sounding addition to the Halloween line-up. This horror sees a High School student Annalynne McCord dissecting road-kill for fun and fantasising about killing her peers. Sounds like a hoot; official site is here. Key cities only.

For A Good Time, Call… Former frenemies Ari Graynor and Laurie Miller start a phone sex line to make ends meet in this pink and frothy looking comedy. Frustratingly awkward to access further details (you are asked to submit contact details in order to watch the trailer on the website), so best to go straight to Facebook. Showing all over the UK.

Keep the Lights On – drama that follows two young gay men through a decade long relationship, with the highs and lows of a life marked by compulsive behaviour fuelled by drugs and sex. Trumpted in a recent Guardian article about the start of ‘real’ gay cinema. Official site is here. Key cities only.

Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana – Bollywood drama in which a young man who travelled to London to become a success, but is now on the run from a UK gangster, has to travel home and pretend not to have failed. IMDb has more detail. Key cities only.

The Master – much touted for Oscar glory, this is a thinly veiled biopic about the establishment of the church of Scientology and follows its founder (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as he plies his bible across the states, with a volatile war veteran drifter (Jaquin Phoenix) going along. Good reviews (Guardian profile here) and the fact it has freaked Tom Cruise out mark this out as one to watch. Showing nationwide from 16 Nov.

Rust and Bone – drama about the bond between a Killer Whale trainer (Marion Cotillard) and a young man (Matthias Schoenaerts) who has left Belgium to live with his sister and support his young son. It won best film at the recent BFI London Film Festival. More info is here on IMDb. Showing all over the UK.

The Shining – a post-Halloween dusting off for Stanley Kubrick’s chillingly empty horror with Jack Nicholson. Showing at key cities only.

Tempest – drama documentary that follows young Londoners as they struggle to stage a version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, their story unfolding alongside of that of Prospero’s. Official site is here and includes screening details.

And on Tuesday 6…

East End Babylon – Richard England’s rockumentary charts the story of group Cockney Rejects but incorporates the history of the East End over more than a hundred years, including last year’s summer riots (the reason behind this being pulled from TV schedules at the time). Key cities only and official site is here.

And on Wednesday 7…

Argo – only real life can be stranger than Hollywood real life. Ben Affleck stars in this caper about the apparently true life effort to rescue a small group of US Embassy staff from Iran in the seventies…by posing as a fake film company trying to make a sic-fi epic. More info on Warner’s UK site.

The Sapphires – Chris O’Dowd (the nice cop in Bridesmaids) stars as an inspirational music manager who takes a group of girls from a poor Aboriginal mission on Australia and puts them on the world stage. Hasn’t there been enough soul girl group dramas already? Official site is here.

 

Read all about it…movies in the news (Oct 25 2012)

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I caught the reconstructed silent comedy The Spanish Dancer (1923) at the London Film Festival on Sunday. According to the Chicago Tribune figures show that attendance at the festival’s screenings this year across London topped 149,000. The BFi’s box office tills must have rung until meltdown. Read the summation of the festival, which closed with Mike Newell’s adaptation of Great Expectations here.

A clever idea from the people who gave you Secret Cinema – The Secret Hotel. Instead of just turning up and seeing a randomn movie in a mystery location, you can now stay on at a hotel that screens it (also kept secret), themed to tie in with the film and with staff in character. The Guardian has more information here; the Secret Cinema website is here.

The movie awards season is off to a very early start. The Hollywood Awards (the what? It’s been going for 16 years people, keep up!), held last week, is by dint of date the first in a long season of international award events. Among the winners, veteran actor Dustin Hoffman scooped best breakthrough director for his directorial debut Quartet.

Incisive, politico-cinematic critique of American cinema’s continued demonisation of Iran and Iranian people, in order to prop up the safe and secure ideology of Uncle Sam? Or slightly repetitive, quasi-intellectual rant with an impenetrable vocabulary that serves only to underline the author’s ‘higher’ intellect? You decide, in this none the less interesting and well referenced piece from Middle East online.

Future movie releases…w/e 26 October 2012

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Elena – intense sounding Russian drama that won the Special Jury prize at Canes last year, in which a rich, cold man and his second wife, who comes from a more humble background, deal with their respective children. Official New Wave Films site is here. Showing at special, selected cinemas only.

Halloween – definitely the ultimate Halloween movie is John Carpenter’s chilling 1978 classic sees impressionable babysitter Jamie Lee Curtis learning the hard way about the provenance of all those scary movie lessons propounded in Scream. The good news? It’s showing all over the UK – goody, goody.

It Always Rains on Sunday – well, only on a Bank Holiday in the UK. A film critic noted of the British film star “Googie Withers. The audience doesn’t!” Well, found out for yourselves as here she is, in this 1947 drama in which a former convict tries to hide out at his ex’s house. Trouble is, Withers has since married and isn’t at all happy with the idea. Showing at key cities, via the BFI.

Room 237 – It’s 50 years since the first Bond film and 30 since Stanley Kubrick’s odd-bod horror The Shining reached cinema audiences. This documentary looks at the myriad of hidden meanings alleged to exist within the confines of it’s achingly frigid frames. Showing at key cities only. Official site is here.

Sister (L’Enfant d’en Haut) – a little boy living beneath a luxury ski resort with his sister starts stealing ski equipment to support them. But his Robin Hood lifestyle starts to fall apart when he happens upon a crooked British man. Official Adopt Films site is here. Showing at key cities.

Skyfall – need I say anything? New Bond film. Distribution? Saturation. Official site? Covered.

Stitches – British comedian Ross Noble stars in this light-hearted horror about a clown coming back from the dead to take revenge on those who helped kill him. IMDb has a bit more detail than the official site. Showing nationwide.

As of Monday 29 October…

Fun Size – or Adventures in Halloween Sitting, Victoria Justice has to find her baby brother when he goes missing during trick or treating. Showing nationwide. Official Paramount site is here.

As of Wednesday 31 October…

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – the perfect antidote to any saccharine, family oriented Halloween, the kinky, cross-dressing, gender-bending 70’s musical from Richard O’Brien. Susan Sarandon (in an early film role) plays one half of a naive American couple who take shelter during the rain in the Transylvanian castle of mad Dr Frank N’ Furter (an unrestrainedly camp Tim Curry).  Unfortunately, only showing at selected sites. Scream it up on the official UK fan site.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D – sounding rather less than accomplished as Halloween fare (and rather aggravatingly showing everywhere) is the third installment in…Zzzzzzzz.

Read all about it…movies in the news (17 Oct 2012)

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I love the ‘Den of Geek’ website, always coming up with the best ‘Top 10…’ lists. You know, the type that shows someone has really watched and remembered their movies, i.e. a movie geek. This latest lists the author’s views on the creepiest towns in cinema.

Dame Maggie Smith is riding high on TV in Downton Abbey, for which most of the awards seem to go to her as the Dowager Countess and also in movie theatres, where she stars in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet. At the BFI recently, she spoke about the need for more films about mature citizens aimed at mature citizens. The Daily Mail picks it up here.

Liam Neeson action film fans turn away now – the ‘What Culture’ website turns a critical eye on his recent blockbusters.