Read all about…movies in the news (9 Oct 2012)

Standard

Trust the Daily Mail to come up with the more spurious, superficial movie-related pieces. This is a pretty odd collection of schematics drawn by designers to show the floor plans of famous movie moments. No, forget the massive sets of ancient Babylon in Griffith’s Intolerance or one of the legendary Ken Adams production feats for a James Bond finale, they went for a boxing ring in Raging Bull and a bed in Lost in Translation. As ever with online DM articles, the comments from readers are the best bit.

The second is a little more interesting, and just as brief, as Indian cinema prepares to celebrate its centennial next year, with screenings across the world of the first film produced in the country.

 

Future movie releases…w/ 12 October 2012

Standard

Bhoot Returns (3D) – sequel to Bhoot that sees Bollywood take on Hollywood style horror thrills. The tagline is: “Some people can’t wait to move into their new house. Some houses can’t wait for new people to move in”. Official site with trailer is here. Key cities only.

Hit & Run – bank robber Dax Shepard’s former life catches up with him when his old colleagues turn up and demand the money he stole from them before going into witness protection. Kristen Bell is the girlfriend he has to drag along, as he evades Bradley Cooper et al. Official site is here. Showing nationwide.

Hotel Transylvania – Sony 3D animated comedy, with the voices of Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi, about a hotel where monsters go to get away from it all. Official site is here and, of course, it is showing all over the UK.

On the Road – based on the Jack Kerouac novel this teenagers road movie stars Kristen Stewart as the liberated and seductive Marylou who cuts the ties with her former life to head off with husband Garret Hedlund and writer Sam Riley. Official site is here. Showing at key cities only.

Private Peaceful – Michael (War Horse) Morpurgo’s novel about two brothers falling in love with the same girl and going off to fight in WWI stars George McKay, Jack O’Connell and Maxine Peake. Official Fluidity Films site is here. Showing at key cities only.

Pusher – Drama starring Richard Coyle as the (drug) pusher of the title who finds his life spinning out of control over one week. Model Agyness Deyn is his girlfriend. Official site (yet to open!) is here. It’s being pushed nationwide.

Radioman – interesting sounding documentary about the real-life homeless man whose obsession with the movies has seen him cycling around film sets in New York and bagging small parts in over 100 movies. Official site is here. Key cities only.

Ruby Sparks – writer Paul Dano’s over-active imagination conjures up the beautiful character Ruby (Zoe Kazan) he has created in this adorable looking comedy drama, perhaps not surprising when it comes from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of Little Miss Sunshine. Official site is here.

And on Monday 15 October…

B.B. King: The Life of Riley – Documentary about the life of the titular blues legend, with contributions from such disparate fans, admirers and collaborators as Bono, Bruce Willis and Bill Wyman. Narrated by Morgan Freeman. Official site is here. Key cities only.

And on Wednesday 17 October…

Frankenweenie – Tim Burton updates his original short film from the 80’s into a full length Disney animation about a young boy who brings his beloved and recently departed dog back to life, in a Frankenstein way. Official site is here. Showing all over the UK.

Paranormal Activity 4 – the things that go bump in the night franchise stretches on and on with a fourth instalment. Official site is here. Showing across the UK.

And on Thursday 18 October…

Rolling Stones: The Crossfire Hurricane – Brett Morgan’s documentary, which will be broadcast live from the BFI British Film Festival, features previously unseen archive footage of the group and chronicles their rise to stardom. Official site is here. Key cities only.

Read all about it…movies in the news (8 Oct 2012)

Standard

Loving The New Yorker‘s work recently, they keep churning out eye-catching film articles. This piece, by ‘Cinerama’ guru Dave Kehr, looks at the Museum of Modern Art’s ‘To Save and Protect’ project, restoring, preserving and screening old and rare film, several of which are being shown at the New York Film Festival. They include an early sound film starring silent movie goddess Clara Bow, the racily titled Call Her Savage (1932).

Ahead of the release of several already acclaimed gay movies, The Guardian looks at how a ‘New Wave Queer Cinema’ is developing, grounded in ‘real’ storylines with well rounded characters, rather than being based on ‘issues’ or superficial, rom-com style films. The article, correspondingly, is in-depth and serious, but still fascinating as gay film-makers talk about how they are working toward depicting being gay in a manner where it is part of the normal fabric of the film.

Looper (2012)

Standard

Film review by Jason Day of the science fiction film Looper starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis. 

Science Fiction

Continue reading

Read all about it…movies in the news (4 Oct 2012)

Standard

It’s autumn, so that means the film festival season kicks off. E. Nina Rothe writes about her appreciation of the Saudi film festivals that have just started with the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Amongst the films on show are new works by Robert Redford and Sally Potter. Italian screen legend Claudia Cardinale will receive a lifetime achievement award. Read more here.

Associated Press snag an interview with Barbara Broccoli as the Bond publicity juggernaut rears it’s unstoppable head again in the run up to the release of Skyfall on 23 October. The article includes some interesting, behind-the-scenes tittle tattle that also features in the Bond documentary released this weekend, Everything or Nothing.

Solid, well-written New Yorker piece from critic David Denby who opines the loss of grown-up movies and fears for the future of cinema itself. Whilst he praises some genre films and the animated output of companies such as Pixar, is the cinema degrading itself in a general sense? Denby is a man who adores cinema; well worth a read.

Future movie releases…w/e 5 October 2012

Standard

English Vinglish – drama in the Shirley Valentine vein as a belittled Indian housewife seeks emancipation when she enrols on an English course. View the trailer here. Showing at key cities only.

Everything or Nothing : The Untold Story of 007 – documentary, smartly being released just ahead of the new Bond Skyfall. Again, key cities only.

The Knot – billed as the British Bridesmaids meets The Hangover...so you know just what to expect from this comedy! Official Facebook page is here. Key cities only.

Liberal Arts – Josh Radnor is the writer/director/lead actor in this campus romance, as a man down on his job who is given the opportunity to relive his College days. He meets the beautiful sophomore Elizabeth Olsen and finds direction once again. Official IFC website is here. Key cities only.

Sinister – Ethan Hawke is the true crime novelist who comes across a box of sinister home movies. From the makers of Paranormal Activity. Official site is here. Showing all over the UK.

Some Guy Who Kills People – the title more or less sums this up; a newly released mental hospital patient (Kevin Corrigan) sets about killing the people he deems are responsible for his miserable life. The official site is here. Key cities only.

Sparkle – Mowtown era musical starring Jordin Sparks as the musical prodigy struggling to set up a girl group with her sisters. The ghoulish amongst you may want to take note; this is the last film Whitney Houston (starring as Sparks’ mum) made before her death. Official site is here. Key cities.

Champagne (1928)

Standard

Director: Alfred Hitchcock. British International Pictures (BIP)

COMEDY

 

Producer: John Maxwell. Writers: Alfred Hitchcock, Eliot Stannard. Camera: John J. Cox. Music: Mira Calix (2012 reissue). Sets: Wilf Arnold.

Betty Balfour, Jean Bradin, Ferdinand van Alten, Gordon Harker.

SYNOPSIS

Spoiled heiress Balfour defies her father by running off to marry her handsome but poor lover (Bradin). But Daddy (Harker) has a few tricks up his sleeve to show his daughter who is in control.

REVIEW

Hitch’s effervescent silent comedy stars the irrepressible and mostly adorable Balfour (so called the British Mary Pickford, though here she’s far gamier and raucous than eternal child of the screen Pickford ever was) and is as delightful as the bubbles up your nose that champagne itself can bring.

Hitch was never the master of comedy, but when he attempted one they were clever and efficiently produced. Champagne is an of-it’s-time frothy confection on the surface, but underneath runs a vein of cutting social observation. Hitch’s sly swipes at the frivolously hedonistic ‘It’ girls of the day have more than just a whiff of mendacious commentary. Perhaps this explains the ‘fun’ that comes from the storyline as Balfour is hoodwinked by all around her, veritable torture for such a flibbertigibbet.

His attention would always be on the visuals and there is an awesome opening shot, as a champagne bottle’s cork and contents explode over the camera, cutting directly to the point of view of a club reveller downing a glass of bubbly, the dancers in front of him magnified through the side of the glass. There is an ingenious trick shot later, aboard a rocking ocean liner, the crew lurching to and fro in perfect unison. Later, Balfour appears to whizz in and out of Bradin’s view as he succumbs to sea sickness.

Balfour has buckets of charm as the original 24 hour party girl. Bradin is good looking but otherwise vacuous as the socialist minded boyfriend whom she adores.

This reissue, from the British Film Institute, features an intriguing, other-worldly score from Calix, who herself described her music as “psychedelic”. Audiences will certainly agree; it may take a little getting used to. It’s interesting to note how a different score can totally change the meaning and appreciation of a silent film. Calix makes eerie use of violins during the opening, as shrill and nerve jolting as those Bernard Hermann would utilise in Hitch’s Psycho (1960). It is a slightly epileptic modern jazz, almost discordant but never displeasing, like a pleasant hangover. The original vocals, by the Juice vocal ensemble, are almost a sibilant wail and veer from Madonna’s ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ to Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’, suitably complementing the kooky acoustics.

A tasty and satisfying vintage that has been made glorious for modern eyes and ears.

 

Judith of Bethulia (1914). Film review of the mini-epic from D.W. Griffith.

image still silent film judith bethulia 1914
Standard

Film review, by Jason Day, of D.W. Griffith’s early silent movie epic Judith of Bethulia, starring Blanche Sweet in the title role.

Silent

Continue reading

Future movie releases…w/e 28 September 2012

Standard

Babymakers – oh Lord, this sounds wrong on all levels. Jay Chandrasekhar’s comedy about a bank heist. Except it’s a sperm bank, as Paul Schneider realises he can’t get his wife pregnant and needs to nab the deposit he gave years before. Can cinema get lower than such concepts? Funniest thing about it seems to be the name of one of the writers: Gerry Swallows. Official site is here. Thankfully, listed as ‘London screenings only’ – is our capital not worth more?!

Barbara – Nina Hoss plays a doctor in 1980’s East Germany, suddenly relocated to a rural hospital. Official site (for those who understand German) is here. If you don’t, you’re stuck with IMDb. Key cities.

The Campaign – Jay Roach, who gave us some of the Austin Powers movies, gives us a timely, comical insight into American politics. Trailer looks funny; let’s hope not all of the best gags have been used to make it. Starring Will Ferrel. Official (US) site is here. Will be playing nationwide.

Cross of Honour – WW2 drama as English and German bomber pilots find themselves holed up in a mountain top cabin and having to work together in order to survive. Rupert Grint is one of the English guys. IMDb site has some more details, listing the film as Into the White, here.

Holy Motors – French film-makers can certainly throw out some original films. Leos Carax directs Denis Lavant as a man who takes on many different guises during one day, in a story generated by the director’s own interest in the after hours life of stretch limos. Kylie Minogue and Eva Mendes are among those making cameos. Official site: click here. Key cities only.

Husbands – John Cassavetes 1970 drama follows three friends embarking on a nihilistic journey after the sudden death of an old friend. Showing at key cities. The film is being re-released by the company Park Circus; you can read more about their work here.

Looper – Rian Johnson’s complicated Inception style thriller, with Bruce Willis is a mob enforcer sent back from the future to kill his younger self (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Emily Blunt co-stars. Official Sony Pictures site is here. Showing all over.

Resident Evil: Retribution 3D – enough already! Haven’t the RE zombies finished us all of yet? Come on guys, team-work! It’s only Milla Jovovich! Official nonsense (and crazily presented nonsense too) is here.

On Wednesday…

The Perks of Being a Wallflower – teen romance, based on Stephen Chbosky’s book. Co-starring Harry Potter‘s Emma Watson. Showing nationwide. Official site is here (love the OTT CV’s of the actors).

On Thursday…

Taken 2 – Liam Neeson signs on for a sequel to his 2008 mega-hit. This time around, he just gets to warn his daughter she is about the kidnapped. Official site is here.

 

 

 

 

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

Standard

It’s Hitchcock, Hitchcock, Hitchcock – the director’s silent comedy Champagne, restored by the BFI is to be streamed live this Thursday at 7:30. You can watch it here.