Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 28th January 2011

NATIONAL RELEASES

Tangled (Walt Disney): Disney’s latest animated film is a reworking of Rapunzel, featuring a young maiden with magical hair (Mandy Moore) who lives in a secluded tower, until a visiting thief (Zachary Levi) shows her the outside world. In keeping with the renaissance of Disney Animation under the guidance of John Lasseter, Tangled is a satisfying and well-crafted affair with a good mix of heart and humour.

The 3D is very well done – although not entirely necessary – and visually the hair works a treat, with the animators finding ever more creative ways to manipulate it for narrative and comic effect. Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, it is reportedly the second most expensive film of all time due to years of development, but it has already grossed over $400m worldwide and along with strong reviews is likely to do excellent business over here with family audiences. [Vue West End & Nationwide / PG]

Hereafter (Warner Bros.): Clint Eastwood’s latest outing as a director is this curious tale of three people across the world affected in different ways by death. There is a French TV presenter (Cécile de France) who narrowly surviving the 2004 Asian Tsunami; a former psychic (Matt Damon) in San Francisco who feels cursed by abilities; and a London schoolboy (Frankie McLaren) grieving after losing his twin brother.

Scripted by Peter Morgan, best known for political dramas The Queen (2006) and Frost/Nixon (2008), the material boldly dives in to big themes but as it progresses feels curiously disjointed and more like an early draft of something more profound.

The intercutting of the three stories at first feels like a bold move but soon becomes wearying and as the film enters into the final act, the curious lack of tension or revelation for a subject as big as death feels oddly underwhelming. Box office is likely to be as muted as it was in the US, where it sank relatively quickly after mixed reviews. [Nationwide / 12A] [Read full review here]

Barney’s Version (Universal Pictures): Adapted from the novel by Mordecai Richler, this comedy-drama stars Paul Giamatti as Barney Panofsky, a man who falls for a woman (Rosamund Pike) at the wedding to his second wife (Minnie Driver).

Narrated by the central character, the film spans 30 years of his odd life – from his first marriage, his affair with a free spirit (Rachelle Lefevre), his third marriage and his relationship with his loyal father (Dustin Hoffman). Directed by Richard J. Lewis, it has got mostly positive reviews in the US although it will face significant challenges to find an audience over here in a crowded week. [Empire Leicester Square & Nationwide / 15]

How Do You Know (Sony Pictures): A romantic comedy centering around a softball player (Reese Witherspoon), an executive (Paul Rudd) and a baseball pitcher (Owen Wilson) for the Washington Nationals.

Directed by James L Brooks, it co-stars Jack Nicholson as Rudd’s father and boss but bombed in the US, triggering an industry debate about how much a film like this should really cost. Box office here is likely to be similar. [Nationwide / 12A]

The Mechanic (Lionsgate UK): A remake of the 1972 thriller, with Jason Statham as the title character, a professional assassin who hunts down the murderers of his friend Harry (Donald Sutherland). Directed by Simon West, it is unlikely to win any critical support or acting awards. It will probably find its natural home on DVD. [Nationwide / 15]

ALSO OUT

Biutiful (Optimum Releasing): A powerful depiction of life on the edges of a modern city, the latest film from Alejandro González Iñárritu is a full on experience featuring a dazzling central performance by Javier Bardem. Marking a break from his triptych of films with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, Biutiful is the more linear tale of Uxbal (Bardem), a father struggling in the slums of contemporary Barcelona.

The character is brought vividly to life by an incredible central performance by Javier Bardem: in addition to his magnetic screen presence, he convinces as a shady, underworld operator but also conveys his interior emotions with remarkable grace and authenticity.

Iñárritu is a director who likes to deal with big themes on a wide canvas, which can run the risk of seeming grandiose or self-important. But Biutiful – the title comes from a misspelling within the story – is admirable precisely because it tackles huge subjects with an unusual intensity and a refreshing lack of distance or irony.

The film’s grim milieu is expertly realised and, to its great credit, doesn’t shy away from showing the stark reality of a modern metropolis built on cheap labour and the suffering of the poor. Technical contributions are especially of note here: Rodrigo Prieto’s handheld camerawork, Stephen Mirrione’s editing and the sound design by Martin Hernandez are all first class.

Optimum will be hoping for buzz of Bardem’s Oscar nominated performance but this is a tough watch, even for discerning arthouse audiences, and will do well to make an impact. [Curzon Soho & Nationwide /15] [Listen to our interview with Alejandro González Iñárritu here]

Accursed Blood (Metrodome): A horror film starring Kellan Lutz and Roddy Piper, about five people who unlease a curse in a hotel. [Altrincham, Burnely, Leamington, Redditch Appollos & Key Cities]

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster? (Dogwoof): A documentary by Deyan Sudjic about the architect Norman Foster, who has designed Beijing airport and the revamped Reichstag in Berlin. [ICA & selected Key Cities]

Men on the Bridge (Verve Pictures): Turkish drama following the lives of three young inhabitants from the suburbs of Istanbul. Directed by Asli Ozge. [Odeon Panton Street, BFI Southbank & Key Cities]

The Lovers’ Guide 3D (Optimum Releasing): A 3d update of the 1991 Lovers’ Guide video presumably intended as some kind of cash-in or joke. Or maybe both. [Selected cinemas / 18]

Zebra Crossing (Exile Media): A drama set against the backdrop of a south London council state, directed by Sam Holland. [Riverside Hammersmith & Selected Cinemas / 18]

> Get local cinema showtimes at Google Movies or FindAnyFilm
> UK DVD & Blu-ray releases for Monday 24th January 2011, including Spartacus and The Breakfast Club

Categories
Amusing TV

Michael Scott meets David Brent

On a recent episode of the US version of The Office, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) met his British counterpart David Brent (Ricky Gervais).

> More on the US and UK versions of The Office
> Video of Ricky Gervais at this year’s Golden Globes

Categories
Interesting

Back to the Future Comparison

Scenes from the Back to the Future trilogy which are ‘repeated’ can now be observed side-by-side.

At the end of the original 1985 film, Marty McMcfly (Michael J Fox) and his girlfriend Jennifer (Claudia Wells) are met by Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) who comes back from the future to warn them about their children.

When director Robert Zemeckis filmed Part II, Wells was not available, which meant the role was recast with Elisabeth Shue and the whole scene reshot.

But how accurate was the second version?

Here are both shown together for comparison:

> Back to the Future Trilogy at Wikipedia
> Official site

Categories
Awards Season Documentaries News

Will Banksy show up at the Oscars?

After his his film Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for Best Documentary, will the reclusive street artist Banksy turn up at the Oscars?

Whilst Hollywood and Oscar pundits digested the Oscar nominations yesterday, in the documentary category a small bombshell went off when Banksy’s debut film made it on to the final list.

A year after it premièred at Sundance 2010, where Banksy left this commemorative mural in Park City, it has reaped huge acclaim (98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 85 on Metacritic) and extensive speculation as to whether it is all some kind of elaborate hoax.

It purports to be the story of Thierry Guetta, a Frenchman who films street artist in Los Angeles, who comes across the reclusive Banksy and also starts making his own art under the name ‘Mr. Brainwash’.

An intriguingly constructed film-within-a-film, it is also a gleefully anarchic film with plenty of intelligence underneath the frequently hilarious exterior.

At Sundance Banksy opted not to introduce the film but got festival director John Cooper to read a statement at the premiere:

“Ladies and gentlemen, and publicists.Trying to make a movie which truly conveys the raw thrill and expressive power of art is very difficult. So we haven’t bothered.

Instead, this is simply an everyday tale of life, longing, and mindless vandalism. Everything you are about to see is true, especially the bit where we all lie.

Thanks for coming, please don’t give away the ending on Twitter. And please, don’t try copying any of this stuff at home, wait until you get to work.”

The relatively low budget nature of the film, plus its unlikely subject matter, meant that the films backers (Cinetic Media) opted to bypass the traditional indie route of trying to attract a distributor.

IndieWire explained the strategy back in April:

John Sloss – who represented rights to the film at Sundance (and then Berlin) – co-founded a distribution entity called the Producers Distribution Agency with his Cinetic partner Bart Walker.

With a team including Richard Abramowitz, Donna Daniels and Marc Schiller, the company decided that despite offers coming in the wake of “Exit”‘s acclaimed screenings in Sundance and Berlin, it was a highly unlikely project for a traditional distributor.

Sloss explained last week that this was due to the fact that not only is Banksy very controlling, but you can’t talk to him (Sloss himself never expects to meet the elusive man).

With this in mind Sloss raised a ‘sizeable chunk’ of money and created a specific distributor called the Producers Distribution Agency in order to give it a platform release.

To call this unconventional is an understatement (or is it all part of the ingenious marketing?), but the grass roots campaign worked with strong showings in April at cinemas in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The enigma of Banksy helped build buzz and once people saw the film as it rolled out to other cities, it ended up grossing a highly respectable $3.3m in the US and $4.9m worldwide.

As Sloss explained:

“We very little P&A to work with in buying traditional awareness,” he said. “We did not have a ‘money’ New York Times review. So I think this is close to unprecedented to make this kind of film work with very limited resources.”

By November it featured on the Oscar longlist for Best Documentary and its reputation was further enhanced when it cropped up on many end-of-year films lists (including mine).

Some didn’t expect it to make the final nominations, but yesterday it did and Banksy issued this statement:

“This is a big surprise, I don’t agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I’m prepared to make an exception for the ones I’m nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me.”

But will he show up at the Kodak Theatre on February 27th?

I’m expecting that another Banksy mural might be seen outside the morning after.

> Official site for Exit Through The Gift Shop
> IndieWire on the release strategy for the film
> More on Banksy and the debate surrounding the film at Wikipedia
> Buy Exit Through The Gift Shop on Blu-ray or DVD

Categories
Amusing TV

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse play 1970s footballers

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse did this sketch about sexist ex-footballers refusing to talk to a female reporter.

In the light of the recent Richard Keys and Andy Gray controversy, it strikes a chord doesn’t it?

> Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse at Wikipedia
> BBC News on the Sky Sports sexism row

Categories
Festivals Short Films

YouTube Shorts at Sundance

The official YouTube channel of the Sundance Film Festival is currently screening plenty of shorts, including Gowanus, Brooklyn, which was expanded in to the 2006 feature Half Nelson.

It won the Short Filmmaking Award in 2004 and led to director Ryan Fleck and writer-producer Anna Boden going on to make their debut feature.

> Half Nelson at Wikipedia and IMDb
> Interview with Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden about Half Nelson from 2007

Categories
Awards Season News

Oscar Nominations

The King’s Speech leads the field for this year’s Oscars with 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Colin Firth, whilst True Grit has 10 and The Social Network has 8.

Earlier today Mo’Nique and Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, revealed the nominations in Beverly Hills.

On first glance, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of surprises, but here are a few things worth noting.

  • The King’s Speech is firmly back in contention for Best Picture: Even though The Social Network has swept the critics awards so far, the sheer amount of nominations for The King’s Speech (especially in the technical categories) indicates that it could now be the front runner. The Social Network is still a strong candidate but the feel-good, across the board appeal of Tom Hooper’s film may now be starting to show with Academy voters.
  • The Social Network team will be concerned: Despite all the critical love and awards season buzz for this film, the big question always was whether the 6,000 Academy members would embrace a contemporary film like this over the traditional Oscar bait of The King’s Speech. Whilst Fincher’s drama has been on a roll in recent weeks, the amount of nominations for The King’s Speech indicates Academy voters may be backing the more traditional candidate. It’s tempting to see comparisons with 1981 when plucky Brit drama Chariots of Fire won Best Picture whilst the more cerebral Reds nabbed Best Director, or even 2000 when Traffic won Best Director and Gladiator won Best Picture.
  • Christopher Nolan misses out for Best Director: Despite enormous critical and commercial success with Inception, he’s missed out again for Academy recognition, which after The Dark Knight snub in 2008 will raise a few eyebrows.
  • Javier Bardem gets in for Best Actor: Despite the mixed reaction at Cannes for Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu’s drama, the central performance has deservedly got raves and made it on to the final list.
  • True Grit proves the Globes aren’t all that: For anyone who thinks that the Golden Globes isn’t just celebrity-obsessed foreign journalists second-guessing the Oscar race, look at the nominations for The Coen Brothers’ western, which they snubbed outright. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld is one to watch in the Best Supporting Actress race.
  • Winter’s Bone keeps the indie flame alive: The nominations for Best Picture, Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress) and Debra Granik (Adapted Screenplay) prove that serious indie dramas can still get recognition in a harsh environment for independent film. Roadside Attractions will be thrilled.
  • Blue Valentine is (sort of) snubbed: Although Michelle Williams got a Best Actress nomination, The Weinstein Company will be disappointed that the acclaimed indie drama missed out on Best Picture and Best Actor for Ryan Gosling.
  • Technical Snubs: The major technical shocker is the omission for Inception’s Lee Smith in Best Film Editing (arguably one of the best edit jobs in recent cinema history) and Tron: Legacy for Best Visual Effects.
  • The Banksy dream is still alive: Ingenious indie documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop made it through to the final nominees, which means that we could conceivably see Banksy at the Oscars (or at least some kind of mural outside). However, Inside Job remains the favourite for Best Documentary, especially with the shock omission of Waiting for Superman.

The Oscars take place on Sunday 27th February and here they are in full:

BEST PICTURE

  • 127 Hours
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech
  • Winter’s Bone
  • True Grit
  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
  • David O Russell – The Fighter
  • Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
  • David Fincher – The Social Network
  • Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

BEST ACTOR

  • Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
  • Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
  • James Franco – 127 Hours
  • Javier Bardem – Biutiful
  • Jeff Bridges – True Grit

BEST ACTRESS

  • Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
  • Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
  • Natalie Portman – Black Swan
  • Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Christian Bale – The Fighter
  • John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
  • Jeremy Renner – The Town
  • Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
  • Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Amy Adams – The Fighter
  • Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
  • Melissa Leo – The Fighter
  • Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
  • Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • Biutiful – Mexico
  • Dogtooth – Greece
  • In a Better World – Denmark
  • Incendies – Canada
  • Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) – Algeria

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Mike Leigh – Another Year
  • Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (screenplay), Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (story) – The Fighter
  • Christopher Nolan – Inception
  • Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg – The Kids Are All Right
  • David Seidler – The King’s Speech

BEST ANIMATION

  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • The Illusionist
  • Toy Story 3

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy – 127 Hours
  • Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network
  • Michael Arndt – Toy Story 3
  • Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit
  • Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini – Winter’s Bone

BEST ART DIRECTION

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Black Swan
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit

BEST SOUND MIXING

  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • The Social Network
  • Salt
  • True Grit

BEST SOUND EDITING

  • Inception
  • Toy Story 3
  • Tron: Legacy
  • True Grit
  • Unstoppable

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

  • Coming Home (from Country Strong) by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
  • I See the Light (from Tangled) by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
  • If I Rise (from 127 Hours) by AR Rahman, Dido and Rollo Armstrong
  • We Belong Together (from Toy Story 3) by Randy Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

  • How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
  • Inception – Hans Zimmer
  • The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
  • 127 Hours – AR Rahman
  • The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus

BEST COSTUMES

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • I Am Love
  • The King’s Speech
  • The Tempest
  • True Grit

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

  • Exit Through the Gift Shop
  • Gasland
  • Inside Job
  • Restrepo
  • Waste Land

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

  • Killing in the Name
  • Poster Girl
  • Strangers No More
  • Sun Come Up
  • The Warriors of Qiugang

BEST FILM EDITING

  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter P
  • The King’s Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

  • Day & Night
  • The Gruffalo
  • Let’s Pollute
  • The Lost Thing
  • Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

  • The Confession
  • The Crush
  • God of Love
  • Na Wewe
  • Wish 143

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
  • Hereafter
  • Inception
  • Iron Man 2

BEST MAKE-UP

  • Barney’s Version
  • The Way Back
  • The Wolfman

NOMINATIONS TALLY

  • The King’s Speech – 12
  • True Grit – 10
  • Inception – 8
  • The Social Network – 8
  • The Fighter – 7
  • 127 Hours – 6
  • Black Swan – 5
  • Toy Story 3 – 5
  • The Kids Are All Right – 4
  • Winter’s Bone – 4
  • Alice in Wonderland – 3
  • Biutiful – 2
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – 2
  • How to Train Your Dragon – 2

> Official Oscars site
> 83rd Academy Awards at Wikipedia
> Analysis at Awards Daily and In Contention

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 24th January 2011

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Spartacus (Universal Pictures): The Roman epic about a rebellious slave (Kirk Douglas) purchased by the owner (Peter Ustinov) of a school for gladiators featured an all star cast (Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis and Charles Laughton) and was also the first major Hollywood production for Stanley Kubrick, who replaced the original director Anthony Mann.

Although Kubrick later expressed misgivings about the final film, it received 4 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ustinov. The performances, bold Technicolor visuals and memorable setpieces made it click with audiences and critics.

Co-written by the blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, it also carried a defiant subtext about the opression of the 1950s and how Hollywood cravenly surrended to anti-Communist hysteria – it isn’t a stretch to see the Romans as the bosses and the slaves as the creatives.

Strangely, this Blu-ray doesn’t feature all the extras that were on the 2001 Criterion edition, though some have made it over.

Extras include:

  • Deleted scenes
  • Interview with Peter Ustinov
  • Interview with Jean Simmons
  • Behind-the-scenes footage
  • Vintage newsreels
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Production stills
  • Concept art
  • Costume designs
  • Saul Bass storyboards
  • Posters & print ads
  • My Scenes
  • BD Live

> Buy Spartacus on Blu-ray or DVD
> Find out more about Spartacus at Wikipedia, DVD Beaver and IMDb

The Breakfast Club (Universal Pictures): John Hughes’ high school drama is probably the best remembered of his numerous films in the 1980s. The story of five students in a day-long Saturday detention sees a princess (Molly Ringwald); a jock (Emilio Estevez); a criminal (Judd Nelson); a brainy nerd (Anthony Michael Hall); and a gothic outsider (Ally Sheedy) slowly form a bond as the day goes on.

Don’t Mess With the Bull
The Breakfast Club at MOVIECLIPS.com

Supervised by a hostile principal (Paul Gleason, in a memorable supporting performance), they realise that their differences and teenage anxieties are what bind them together.

Released in 1985, the film struck a chord and continues to chime with teenagers today and evoke a nostalgia for those who saw it at the time. The use of Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds has meant that the film has become inextricably linked with the song.

Special features include:

  • Commentary with Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall
  • Sincerely Yours – 12 Part Documentary
  • The Most Convenient Definitions: The Origins of the Brat Pack
  • Reversible Sleeve.

> Buy The Breakfast Club on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK
> Find out more about The Breakfast Club at Wikipedia and IMDb

ALSO OUT

Backdraft (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Daylight (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Definitely, Maybe (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Devil (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Doctor Who – The New Series: A Christmas Carol (2 Entertain) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Intolerable Cruelty (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Lemmy (Entertainment One) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Liar Liar (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Meet Joe Black (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
My One and Only (EV) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Notting Hill (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Out of Africa (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Shakespeare in Love (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Shogun Assassin: Special Edition (Eureka) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Smokey and the Bandit (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Alps – Climb of Your Life (BPDP) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Other Guys (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Tremors (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Two for the Money (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Ultimate G’s – Zac’s Flying Dream (BPDP) [Blu-ray / with 3D Version]
WWE: The John Cena Experience (Silver Vision) [Blu-ray / Normal]

> UK cinema releases for Friday 21st January 2011
> The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010

Categories
Festivals News

Kevin Smith plans to self-distribute Red State

Kevin Smith managed to get a lot of attention for the world premiere of his latest film at the Sundance Film Festival.

After the critical mauling of his last film, the studio comedy Cop Out, and his various Twitter rants about critics, he returned to to his indie roots with the $4m horror film Red State.

The build up to the premiere was cleverly stoked by Smith himself who has an army of fans online who follow him on Twitter and listen to his podcast.

The festival guide described the plot of Red State:

“Three horny high school boys come across an online personal ad from an older woman looking for a gang bang, and boys being boys, they hit the road to satisfy their libidinal urges. What begins as a fantasy, however, takes a dark turn as they come face-to-face with a terrifying fundamentalist “holy” force with a fatal agenda”

Shot last summer, Smith announced that it would screen out of competition at Sundance and over the last couple of months he has released teaser posters and built up buzz for the film via his Twitter account (@thatkevinsmith).

This was the offical trailer, released just before Christmas along with two “teaser” websites, coopersdell.com and goddamnsusa.com:

There was speculation that Smith would stage an auction for the distribution rights after the first screening at Sundance, which some viewed as a cheap publicity ploy.

The build up was marked by protests against the film as one of the villians is loosely based on a stern, religious figure along the lines of Fred Phelps.

Then Smith and other festival-goers protested against the protests, although was this hype staged?

Smith denied rumours that the film had already been pre-sold to a distributor by tweeting the following:

Via @CAmcKy “the media says ur full of s— and have sold RedState already and ur just being a showman” Who you gonna believe: me or them? The “full of s—” part is opinion, so it doesn’t matter. But the “already sold” part? 100% untrue. For those of you not just tuning in to the story, you guys can vouch that I’ve done everything I said I was gonna do thus far, correct? So why lie now? Folks can tell themselves whatever they want if it makes ’em feel better about watching the Jets. Honestly: I understand team passion. If you’re on the fence about seeing RedState or watching the game, I understand completely. No worries, no offense. But I promise you: though we’ve heard a few sight-unseen preemptive bids, THIS MOVIE HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN SOLD. After the screening, THEN we’ll pick the distributor.

Buzz was further fuelled by a mostly sceptical batch of film writers who seemed both repelled and excited by the P.T. Barnum-style event the screening had become.

Dave Chen of /Film posted this AudioBoo as he headed into the screening:

The situation was a win-win for Smith: whatever people thought of the film, he had got awareness, publicity and created one of the hot tickets at Sundance.

After the screening was over the director revealed to a packed Eccles Theatre that the expected ‘auction’ was little more than a gag, as he brought up the film’s producer, Jonathan Gordon, to the stage to open the bidding and after Smith offered $20, it was proclaimed ‘sold’.

The stunt was there to highlight his actual plans to bypass the traditional model of distribution, with its traditional costs of marketing and prints.

Smith will essentially distribute the film himself, taking it on a nationwide tour that begins on March 5th, before self releasing it in cinemas on October 19th

He clearly feels that he can at least break even with his loyal nationwide fan base:

“It’s indie film 2.0 and in indie film 2.0 we sell our films ourselves”

Reactions so far from critics have been mixed, with some praising Smith for doing something different whilst others were not so hot on the film.

Here are some reactions:

“I would say this is the best film he’s made since Chasing Amy. In this film, Smith has become something more than a comedy director — he shows real skill presenting action sequences which are both thrilling and well shot” – Peter Sciretta of /Film

“Messy, overwritten, visually stylish, but kind of a bore. More like Kevin Smith than it looks because nobody ever stops talking” – Katey Rich of Cinema Blend

“Red State: Bloody, violent, random, preachy. I dug it, but didn’t love it”. – Erik Davis of Cinematical

“Nasty fundamentalist caricatures vs nasty law enforcement ones. Literally and figuratively preachy”. Alison Willmore of IFC

“‘Red State’ was good, and also not what I expected at all”. – Matt Dentler of IndieWire

“It’s nice to contemplate how Kevin Smith wants to make films that aren’t comedies. Too bad he tried to make all of them at once”. – James Rocchi

My guess is that Smith is going to find it tough making a financial success out of this but many people in the indie film world, regardless of their opinion on the film, will be curious to see how it works out.

Although this isn’t the first time self-distribution has been tried, its rare to see a filmmaker with profile of Smith try something like this.

Time will tell if it works out or not.

> Sundance 2011
> Red State at IMDb

Categories
Amusing Trailers

Die Hard Modern Trailer

Cameron Arrigoni has recut the trailer for Die Hard (1988) so that it has a more contemporary feel.

The orchestral swells give it a vibe similar to The Dark Knight trailer.

Note the change in comparison to the original theatrical trailer, which has the heavy voice, quick pace and 1980s style music.

> Die Hard at Wikipedia
> The Art of the Movie Trailer at Filmstage

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 21st January 2011

NATIONAL RELEASES

The Dilemma (Universal): Directed by Ron Howard, this comedy is about a Chicago car designer (Vince Vaughn) who discovers that the wife (Winona Ryder) of his best friend and business partner (Kevin James) is having an affair. However, various circumstances prevent him from telling the truth to his friend and this in turn causes problems with his own girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly).

Written by Allan Loeb, it deserves credit for trying to be something more than a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy but several elements conspire against it. The lead characters are not especially sympathetic, which doesn’t help when the film tries to be more serious and the idea of James and Ryder as a believable on-screen couple is ludicrous.

There are promising moments but mostly the humour appears to be wearily copied from the Judd Apatow school of comedy: crude slapstick undercut by cheesy life lessons. For a comedy, it has an impressive visual look – shot by Salvatore Totino – but ultimately it drags for much of its running time and just isn’t that funny.

Given the lack of buzz, hideous poster and flurry of films out at UK cinemas, Universal will be hoping that undiscerning couples will opt to see this. [Nationwide / 12A]

Morning Glory (Paramount): A comedy-drama about a TV producer (Rachel McAdams) who gets the job working for a US morning show with two contrasting presenters (Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford).

Directed by Roger Michell and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who penned The Devil Wears Prada, it has some similarities to the 2006 film, with a young woman thrust into a powerful position at a high-pressured workplace. The mixed reviews in the US and lacklustre box office probably mean that UK audiences aren’t going to embrace it, despite the startling coincidence of the film’s TV show sharing the same name (‘Daybreak’) with ITV’s recently relaunched breakfast programme. [Nationwide / 12A]

Black Swan (20th Century Fox): Darren Aronofsky’s dark psychological drama explores the world of a ballerina having a meltdown during a production of Swan Lake. When Nina (Natalie Portman) gets the lead part, various factors start causing her problems, including a suffocating mother (Barbara Hershey), a tyrannical director (Vincent Cassell) and a free-spirited rival (Mila Kunis).

Intriguing parallels with The Wrestler abound: both examine the physical and mental costs of being a performer; show the pressures of ageing; feature a character’s desire to connect; and climax with a grand flourish. Black Swan goes further in cranking up the tension and, along with a paranoid, unreliable narrator, there is an unusual amount of visual effects shots that depict the crumbling reality of Nina’s world.

Natalie Portman now seems like a strong favourite for the Best Actress Oscar with her captivating central performance. In what is easily the best part of her career, she conveys a believable kaleidoscope of emotions – including fear, aggression and pain – in a relentless push for artistic perfection.

A bold and exhilarating film, it has deservedly reaped a lot of buzz on the festival circuit, although the heightened style is likely to divide general audiences. Given that it has already grossed $76m in the US on limited release Fox will be quietly confident about its prospects over here with upscale audiences and those curious to see what all the fuss is about. [Read our full review here] [Nationwide / 15]

ALSO OUT

Neds (Entertainment One UK): Peter Mullan’s third feature as a writer and director, after Orphans and The Magdalene Sisters, returns him to the 1970s Glasgow of his youth.

The title stands for “Non Educated Delinquents” and is about about a young man’s journey from prize-winning schoolboy to knife-carrying youth. The cast features Martin Bell, Linda Cuthbert, Richard Mack and Connor McCarron. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 18]

John Carpenter’s The Ward (Warner Bros): The first horror film form John Carpenter in several years involves a young woman (Amber Heard) who is haunted by a mysterious ghost in a psychiatric hospital during the 1960s.

Co-starring Jared Harris, it is very much Carpenter on autopilot with few real scares and an air of predictability hanging over most scenes. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 15]

Get Low (Sony Pictures): A quirky drama about an old man named Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) who lives as a hermit in the woods and surprises the locals by demanding a “living funeral”.

This leads to the owner of a local funeral parlor (Bill Murray) agreeing to let the townsfolk tell Felix the stories they’ve heard about him, but as his ‘funeral’ gets neaerer he promises to reveal why he has been in the woods for so many years. [Selected cinemas nationwide / PG]

I Spit On Your Grave (Anchor Bay Films): A remake of the 1978 horror film, in which a rape victim (Sarah Butler) goes vengeful rampage against the locals perpetrators. Directed by Steven R. Monroe. [Selected cinemas]

Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glen Gould (Verve Pictures): A documentary about the acclaimed pianist, directed by Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (BFI): A reissue of the 1961 romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.

Honeymooner (Soda Pictures): British film about a twenty-something man (Gerard Kearns) who tries to get his life back on track after a marriage proposal gone wrong. [Selected cinemas]

The Portuguese Nun (ICA Cinema): Drama about a French actress (Leonor Baldaque) who arrives in Lisbon to film a few scenes from an adaptation of the classic 17th-century text Letters of a Portuguese Nun, which details the eponymous figure’s romance with a naval officer.

Ride, Rise, Roar (Kaleidoscope Entertainment): A documentary film following David Byrne and Brian Eno on their tour during 2008–2009, including concert footage and interviews with the musicians and dancers.

Living on Love Alone (BAC Films): French drama from director Isabelle Czajka about a young woman (Anaïs Demoustier) who finds refuge from her soul-destroying jobs with a young actor (Pio Marmaï), who shows her another way to live life.

> Get local cinema showtimes at Google Movies or FindAnyFilm
> UK DVD & Blu-ray releases for Monday 17th January 2011, including Certified Copy and Grindhouse

Categories
Trailers

Trailer: Rubber

A new French horror comedy called Rubber is about a killer tire with ‘psychic abilities’ that comes to life.

No, this isn’t a joke, although the tagline for the film is quite funny.

Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr Oizo), it screened at Cannes last May and will play at Sundance over the next fortnight.

> Official site
> Cannes reviews of the film at MUBi

Categories
Interesting

The Final Days of Orson Welles

In the final week of his life Orson Welles gave two interviews in which he reflected on his career and old age.

On October 3rd 1985, he described being able to make Citizen Kane (1941) as “a total piece of luck”, how he “always hated Hollywood”, why he couldn’t compromise and that he wanted to be remembered as “a good guy, rather than a difficult genius”:

Then on October 10th, he gave what would be his final interview on The Merv Griffin Show, where the pair talked about old age, Rita Hayworth, the funeral of Harry Cohn, Marlene Dietrich, soaps and his early career:

He died hours after the taping of the show and Entertainment Tonight did this obituary piece:

Rona Barrett mentioned that his last filmed piece was an intro for a special black and white episode of Moonlighting, which was dedicated to him:

Strangely he died on the same day as Yul Brynner.

> Find out more about Orson Welles at MUBi and Wikipedia
> The Orson Welles TV Show
> The infamous frozen peas advert outtakes

Categories
Cinema Reviews Thoughts

Hereafter

Three parallel stories connected by life after death make for an ambitious but disappointing drama.

Clint Eastwood’s directing career over the last few years has encompassed diverse subject matter, including female boxing (Million Dollar Baby), World War II (Falgs of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima), retired car workers (Gran Torino), missing children (Changeling) and the 1995 Rugby World Cup (Invictus).

But even by his eclectic standards Hereafter is something of a curveball, exploring how three characters across the globe are affected by the afterlife in different ways.

There is a French TV presenter (Cécile de France) obsessed with death after narrowly surviving the 2004 Asian Tsunami; a former psychic (Matt Damon) in San Francisco who feels cursed by his ability to communicate with the dead; and a London schoolboy (Frankie McLaren) struggling to cope after losing his twin brother.

Scripted by Peter Morgan, best known for political dramas The Queen (2006) and Frost/Nixon (2008), the material boldly dives in to big themes but as it progresses feels curiously disjointed and more like an early draft of something more profound.

The intercutting of the three stories at first feels like a bold move but soon becomes wearying and as the film enters into the final act, the curious lack of tension or revelation for a subject as big as death feels oddly underwhelming.

All this is exacerbated by Eastwood’s signature pared down directing style which (with the exception of the opening) keeps things low key and distant.

This gave his better films of recent years (Mystic River, Letters From Iwo Jima) a slow burning power and richness, but here it works against the material, muting the themes and emotions of the lead characters.

There are parts of the film that show promise: the San Francisco section handles the potentially laughable subject of psychics with an elegant restraint and Damon conveys the loneliness of a decent man haunted by a strange gift.

In a similar way, Cécile de France is convincing as a career woman profoundly touched by death and a scene where she visits a clinic, hints at a more interesting film about humans can briefly experience the afterlife.

Instead the afterlife is presented through the cliché of quick cuts, sound effects and glowing white CGI which is both disappointing and underwhelming.

This is compounded by the London section, which not only bungles key details of the 2005 London bombings (getting the tube stations wrong) but suffers from a dramatic inertia, compounded by a bizarre final section in the city which is lacking in tension.

Morgan’s initial script may have stood out in Hollywood because he wrote it on spec – rather than be commissioned by a studio – and the unusual elements might have piqued Eastwood’s interest because they weren’t chasing an industry trend.

(Strangely, films dealing with death and loss suddenly now appear to be more common, with Never Let Me Go, Biutiful, Enter the Void and Inception all exploring these themes in different ways.)

To be fair to the veteran director, his handling of the locations and interior scenes is impressive, with Tom Stern’s lean and clean cinematography featuring a little more movement than their previous collaborations.

Eastwood’s score is also a plus, with the guitar and piano providing a nice counterpoint to the struggle of the different characters struggling to comprehend their situations.

Some scenes hint at what might have been: such as a quietly disturbing psychic reading on a first date; the startling opening sequence and a brief discussion about the commonality of near-death experiences.

The film deals with the subject of death without the loud bombast favoured by mainstream cinema and moves at a reasonable, if fractured, pace but the story never really digs deep or rises to be anything special.

A set of underdeveloped ideas and a patchwork, dislocated narrative provide a weak foundation, which means that by the curiously uninvolving climax you might have forgotten it is about arguably the biggest subject of all.

Ultimately Hereafter is a film which chooses not to stare death in the face, but give it a distracted, passing glance.

> Official site
> Reviews of Hereafter at Metacritic
> Clint Eastwood at the IMDb

Categories
Behind The Scenes Interesting News

Park Chan-wook’s iPhone Film

Footage has emerged of the new film Night Fishing, which was made on an iPhone by Park Chan-wook.

When the director of Old Boy (2004) and Thirst (2009) announced the project last week, it sounded like some kind of gimmick, but a new trailer and behind the scenes featurette seem to suggest something more substantial.

The Korean title is ‘Paranmanjang’ and it is a 30-minute fantasy with the following synopsis:

“A fantastical tale that begins with a middle-aged man fishing one afternoon and then, hours later at night, catches the body of a woman.The panicked man tries to undo the intertwined fishing line, but he gets more and more entangled.

He faints, then wakes up to find himself in the white clothes that the woman was wearing. The movie’s point of view then shifts to the woman and it becomes a tale of life and death from a traditional Korean point of view.”

This is the trailer:

Funded by the South Korean mobile carrier KT, it cost $130,000, features mostly black-and-white video and was shot on up to eight iPhone 4 devices.

This behind the scenes film shows the full range of filmmaking equipment that was used to augment the cameras on each phone.

Despite the cost of the project, Park is a champion of smartphones as a relatively inexpensive tool to make films, telling the LA Times:

“Find a location. You don’t even need sophisticated lighting. Just go out and make movies. These days, if you can afford to feed yourself, you can afford to make a film.”

Quentin Tarantino is an admirer of Park and as well as chairing the Cannes jury which awarded Old Boy the Grand Jury Prize in 2004, he also regards Joint Security Area (2000) to be one of best films made since 1992.

> Park-Chan Wook at Wikipedia
> Other films made on an iPhone 4 at Vimeo

Categories
News

Anne Hathaway cast as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises

Warner Bros have announced that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.

The studio also revealed which that Tom Hardy will play Bane, the chemically created villain who first appeared in the DC comics in the early 1990s.

Director Christopher Nolan said in a statement:

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story. I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies”

Apparently Nolan and his writing partners Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer have been loosely inspired by the storyline from Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, asking “What if the story continued?”.

Filming reportedly starts in May and – like The Dark Knight – will feature sequences shot on IMAX cameras and won’t be done in 3D.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to open on July 20th 2012

> The Dark Knight Rises at the IMDb
> Anne Hathaway at Wikipedia

Categories
Amusing Viral Video

The Lost Boys Michael Edit

Dan Nixon has re-edited The Lost Boys (1987) so that every line of dialogue is Michael.

If you haven’t seen Joel Schumacher’s vampire film, it is about two Arizonan brothers (Jason Patric and Corey Haim) who move to California and end up fighting a gang of teenage vampires )led by Kiefer Sutherland).

Bizarrely, Andrew Lloyd Webber is a big fan.

As you can see from the following video, the word ‘Michael’ is used a lot.

> The Lost Boys at the IMDb
> The story of The Lost Boys at Total Film

Categories
Cinema Interviews Podcast

Interview: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu on Biutiful

In the latest drama from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, an underworld fixer in Barcelona struggles to deal with his family’s future and his own mortality.

Uxbal (Javier Bardem) oversees an illegal underground operation involving immigrant workers, drugs and construction, whilst also trying to be a good man to his estranged wife (Maricel Álvarez) and his two children (Hanaa Bouchaib and Guillermo Estrella).

Notable for an outstanding lead performance from Bardem, the film powerfully explores the dark edges of a modern city and the lives of those who live in it.

It marks a break from Iñárritu’s triptych with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel) and I recently spoke with the director in London about his latest work.

You can listen to the interview here:

[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Alejandro_Gonzalez_Inarritu_on_Biutiful.mp3]

You can also download this interview as a podcast via iTunes by clicking here.

N.B. The title of the film refers to the orthographical spelling in Spanish of the English word beautiful as it would sound to native Spanish speakers.

Biutiful opens in the UK on Friday 28th January and is already in limited release in the US

> Download this interview as an MP3 file
> Official site
> LFF review of Biutiful
> Reviews of Biutiful at Metacritic
> Alejandro González Iñárritu at the IMDb

Categories
Awards Season News

BAFTA Nominations

Earlier this morning the BAFTA nominations were announced and The King’s Speech leads the way with 14 nominations.

It seems highly likely that Tom Hooper’s film is going to sweep the board this year, partly due to the built-in British bias of the awards and the fact that it is a special film that appeals to critics and audiences alike.

BAFTA loves the opportunity to vote for its own, but before parts of the British media start gushing too loudly we should remember that both the BBC and Film 4 turned the project down.

The full list actually feels like what the Oscar nominations will be with The Social Network, Black Swan, True Grit and Inception getting nominations in key categories.

As to what this means for the Oscars, it is worth noting that Hailee Steinfeld has been nominated in the Lead Actress category for True Grit (technically correct, but will Academy voters do likewise for someone so young?) and Annette Benning and Julianne Moore have both been nominated for lead in The Kids Are Alright.

As for some glaring omissions, check out the absence of Winter’s Bone from Best Actress and Adapted Screenplay, The Social Network from Original Music, Tron: Legacy from Visual Effects and The Illusionist from Animated Film.

All of which seem to point to the flaws in the BAFTA voting system whose differences to the Academy system sometimes lets odd choices slip through.

With that in mind here is the full list:

BAFTA NOMINEES

BEST FILM
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 Hours
Another Year
Four Lions
The King’s Speech
Made In Dagenham

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
The Arbor: Clio Barnard (director), Tracy O’Riordan (producer)
Exit Through The Gift Shop: Banksy (director), Jaimie D’Cruz (producer)
Four Lions: Chris Morris (director/writer)
Monsters: Gareth Edwards (director/writer)
Skeletons: Nick Whitfield (director/writer)

DIRECTOR
127 Hours, Danny Boyle
Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky
Inception, Christopher Nolan
The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper
The Social Network, David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Biutiful
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
I Am Love
Of Gods And Men
The Secret In Their Eyes

ANIMATED FILM
Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3

LEADING ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Noomi Rapace, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Pete Postlethwaite, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Barbara Hershey, Black Swan
Lesley Manville, Another Year
Miranda Richardson, Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC
127 Hours
Alice In Wonderland
How To Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King’s Speech

CINEMATOGRAPHY
 127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit

EDITING
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit

COSTUME DESIGN
Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
Made In Dagenham
True Grit

SOUND
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
Toy Story 3

MAKE UP AND HAIR
Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
The King’s Speech
Made In Dagenham

SHORT ANIMATION
The Eagleman Stag
Matter Fisher
Thursday

SHORT FILM
Connect
Lin
Rite
Turning
Until The River Runs Red

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
(voted for by the public)
Gemma Arterton
Andrew Garfield
Tom Hardy
Aaron Johnson
Emma Stone

> BAFTA
> Awards season coverage at In Contention and Awards Daily

Categories
Cinema Reviews Thoughts

True Grit

This beautifully crafted Western from the Coen Brothers is a much richer adaptation of the Charles Portis novel than the 1969 film version.

It begins in Arkansas during the 1870s with a young girl named Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hiring grizzled US Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down her father’s killer (Josh Brolin).

A Texas Ranger named Le Beouf (Matt Damon), who is also after Chaney, joins them as they head out into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) and, despite their differences in age and temperament, gradually form a close bond.

Although regarded by some as a remake of the film that finally won John Wayne his first Oscar, this is actually more faithful to the original novel, preserving the point of view of Mattie and its distinctive depiction of the Wild West.

Both the town of Fort Smith and the rugged surrounding landscape are recreated with consummate skill: regular cinematographer Roger Deakins shoots the terrain with a harsh beauty and Jess Gonchor’s production design helps create a detailed, but never romanticised, world.

The wintry setting makes for palette which emphasizes blacks, browns and greys, which is in stark contrast to the garish Technicolor of the Henry Hathaway film.

Aspects of the setting such as the rough way of life and the violence also mark this out from the previous version.

Not only does this help make the current film distinctive but also provides a convincing backdrop for the actors to shine, although it might surprise some audiences how much of a presence Steinfeld has in the film.

In what is effectively the lead role, she anchors the narrative and acts as a surrogate for the audience, as we see much of the action through her perspective.

A precocious performance, it is amongst the best any child actor has given in recent years and bodes well for her future career.

As Cogburn, Bridges banishes any lingering memories of Wayne in the role, mixing the grizzled, boozy charm of his country singer in Crazy Heart with the believable tough streak of a hardened lawman.

Damon has the slightly lighter role of Le Beouf (pronounced ‘Le Beef’), but his comic timing is impeccable and provides an excellent foil for Bridges and Steinfeld.

All three main actors cope well with the affected dialogue, which the Coens have gleefully taken straight from the novel, and this is mirrored by quirky ‘Coenesque’ behaviour, which involves characters shooting at cornbread and arguing about Confederate guerrillas.

With less screen time, actors such as Brolin and Barry Pepper (as ‘Lucky’ Ned Pepper) make a strong impression and there are the usual array of distinctive, odd-looking minor characters that often crop up in the work of the Coens.

Carter Burwell’s plaintive score is moving without ever being sentimental and provides a highly satisfying mix of hymns, strings and piano to augment the action.

Despite featuring the ironic tone so beloved of the Coen Brothers, there is a pleasing sincerity to Mattie’s quest, as her scripture-fuelled journey captures her determination and spirit, which rubs off on the men around her.

This is something that is movingly depicted as the film reaches its latter stages.

Certain memorable sequences, such as a group hanging or the climax, skilfully weave humour in with genuine tension, showing the light and shade of the West as originally imagined by Charles Portis.

Since the book and previous film came out in the cultural tumult of the late 1960s, the image of John Wayne cast a long shadow over the source material, obscuring the way in which Portis slyly undercut the very traditions of the Western that ‘Duke’ embodied.

The Coens have translated this humour and pathos for a time of similar cultural transition, making a Western that both celebrates and wryly debunks the genre.

A reminder of their prodigious filmmaking talent, it is also an evocation of a distant time and place that feels strangely radical in the current era of Hollywood.

True Grit is out in the US and opens in the UK on Friday 11th February

> Official site
> Reviews of True Grit at Metacritic
> More on the Charles Portis novel at Wikipedia
> The Coen Brothers at the IMDb
> NY Times profile of Charles Portis

Categories
Awards Season

Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes

Here is a neat edit of the barbed jokes Ricky Gervais told at the Golden Globes last night.

Targets included the HFPA (that’s the organisation who hired him to host the event), The Tourist, Scientology, Heather Mills, Robert Downey Jnr, Hugh Hefner, Sylvester Stallone and Tim Allen.

For what it is worth, I think part of the shocked reaction amongst some in Hollywood was that they didn’t realise that Gervais’ stand up comedy is much more barbed than the gentler humour of his TV and film work.

Philip Berk, the president of the HFPA was less than pleased:

“Some of the things he said were totally unacceptable”

I guess some were puzzled that he plunged head first into awkward Hollywood subjects some snark about in private, but would never dare talk about in public.

> Reactio to Gervais at the LA Times, Hollywood Elsewhere and The Wrap
> Golden Globe winners

Categories
Awards Season News

Winners at the 68th Golden Globes

The Social Network, David Fincher, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo were among the winners at the 68th Golden Globes last night.

Though the Globes might be something of an industry joke (a relatively small group of celebrity obsessed journalists second guess what might win at the Oscars) this year they appear to be an accurate forecaster of what might win at the Oscars.

The momentum of The Social Network to win Best Picture has now gathered even more steam, whilst Fincher, Firth and Portman now appear to be locks for their respective categories at the Academy Awards.

Here are the film and TV winners in full:

FILM

MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The Social Network

ACTRESS , DRAMA
Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”

ACTOR , DRAMA
Colin Firth – “The King’s Speech”

MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“The Kids Are All Right”

ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Annette Bening – “The Kids Are All Right”

ACTOR , COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Paul Giamatti – “Barney’s Version”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Toy Story 3”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“In A Better World” (Denmark)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MOTION PICTURE
Melissa Leo – “The Fighter”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE
Christian Bale – “The Fighter”

BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE
David Fincher – “The Social Network”

BEST SCREENPLAY, MOTION PICTURE
Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, MOTION PICTURE
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – “The Social Network”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG, MOTION PICTURE
“You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” – Burlesque

TELEVISION

DRAMA
“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)

ACTRESS, DRAMA
Katey Sagal – “Sons Of Anarchy”

ACTOR, DRAMA
Steve Buscemi – “Boardwalk Empire”

BEST COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“Glee” (FOX)

ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Laura Linney – “The Big C”

ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jim Parsons – “The Big Bang Theory”

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE
“Carlos” (Sundance Channel)

ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE
Claire Danes – “Temple Grandin”

ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE
Al Pacino – “You Don’t Know Jack”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE
Jane Lynch – “Glee”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE
Chris Colfer – “Glee”

> 68th Golden Globes at Wikipedia
> Awards Season coverage at InContention and Awards Daily

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 17th January 2011

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Certified Copy (Artificial Eye): Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami made his first feature outside Iran with this tale of a British author (William Shimell) and a French antiques dealer (Juliette Binoche) who form a bond with one another after meeting in a Tuscany.

An intriguing premise is gradually teased out as things progress: are these strangers or an actual couple?

There are echoes of Before Sunset (2004), which saw two characters walk and talk around Paris, but whereas that film played its hand early on Kiarostami makes highly inventive use of dialogue and location.

Binoche and Shimell make a highly effective screen couple and the film has a considered, slow burn pace which pays off beautifully by the time the final credits roll.

> Buy Certified Copy on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK
> Reviews of Certified Copy from Cannes 2010 via MUBi

Grindhouse (Momentum): The 2007 double-bill project from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino finally gets released as it was meant to be seen, as a two-for-one feature complete with all the fake trailers.

After the decision to release them as separate films over here, following lacklustre US box office, Momentum have released this 2-disc collector’s edition which features the whole thing along with a raft of extras.

Although fans may miss the extra footage from the previous standalone versions, the leaner versions here are preferable and it comes with the following extras:

Disc One

  • Planet Terror (87.51)
  • Includes Machete Trailer (2.26)
  • Includes Planet Terror Commentary by Writer/Director Robert Rodriguez and Audience Reaction Track
  • Intermission Cards
  • Werewolf Women of the SS Trailer (1.49)
  • Don’t Trailer (1.18)
  • Thanksgiving Trailer (Includes trailer Commentary by Director Eli Roth and Co-writer/Actor Jeff Rendell) (2.25)
  • Death Proof (86.50)

Disc Two- Bonus Features

  • Trailers:
    • Extended Werewolf Women of the SS Trailer (optional Commentary track by Director Rob Zombie) (4:59)
    • The Making of Werewolf Women of the SS (8:48)
    • Extended Don’t Trailer (optional Commentary track by Director Edgar Wright) (1:35)
    • The Making of Don’t Trailer (9:40)
    • Don’t Storyboard/ Trailer comparison (optional Commentary track by Director Edgar Wright) (1:40)
    • Don’t Storyboards Still Gallery (70 pictures)
    • Don’t Poster with extended Don’t score by David Arnold
    • The Making of Thanksgiving Trailer (6:27)
    • The Makeup Effects of Planet Terror (12:02)
    • Robert Rodriguez’s 10-minute Cooking School (8:30)
    • From Texas to Tennessee: The Production Design of Death Proof (8:01)
  • Additional extras:
    • Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez New York Times interview (60:00)
    • Hobo with a Shotgun Trailer – Grindhouse Trailer Contest Winners (2:00)
  • Previously released content also included on Disc Two:
    • Planet Terror
      • Robert Rodriguez’s 10-minute Film School (11:50)
      • The Badass Babes of Planet Terror (11:49)
      • The Guys of Planet Terror (16:30)
      • Casting Rebel (5:38)
      • Sickos, Bullets, and Explosions: The Stunts of Planet Terror (13:16)
      • The Friend, The Doctor, and the Real Estate Agent (6:40)
      • Planet Terror poster gallery
      • Comic Con 2006 Featuring the Directors and Cast of Grindhouse (23:35)
    • Death Proof
      • Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof (20:39)
      • Quentin’s Greatest Collaborator: Sally Menke (4:36)
      • The Guys of Death Proof (8:14)
      • Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike (9:32)
      • Finding Quentin’s Gals (21:13)
      • The Hot Rods of Death Proof (11:46)
      • The Uncut Version of “Baby, It’s You” performed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (1:46)
      • Introducing Zoe Bell (8:57)
      • Double Dare trailer (2:34)
      • Death Proof Extended music
      • Death Proof poster gallery
  • Tech info
    • Feature:
    • 1080p High Definition
    • English 5.1 Audio
    • English SDH (Hard-of-Hearing) Subtitles
    • 16:9 (Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1) Aspect Ratio
  • Bonus
    • Standard Definition
    • English 2.0 Stereo Audio
    • English SDH (Hard-of-Hearing) Subtitles
    • Various Aspect Ratios

> Buy Grindhouse on Blu-ray from Amazon UK

ALSO OUT

Duffer/Moon Over the Alley (BFI) [Blu-ray / with DVD]
Echelon Conspiracy (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Equinox Flower (BFI) [Blu-ray / with DVD]
Good Morning (BFI) [Blu-ray / with DVD]
Grown Ups (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Private Road (BFI) [Blu-ray / with DVD]
Soul Men (High Fliers Video Distribution) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Hole (Entertainment One) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Switch (Lionsgate UK) [Blu-ray / Normal]

> UK cinema releases for Friday 14th January 2011
> The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010

Categories
Random

George W Bush meets Mark Zuckerberg

Back in November George W Bush went to the headquarters of Facebook to have a chat with Mark Zuckerberg.

If David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin team up again for a sequel to The Social Network, this has to be in it.

Watch live streaming video from facebookguests at livestream.com

As for the bit where they discuss Wikileaks and Cablegate, could it get any more zeitgeisty?

The man responsible for two US-led wars, the guy who invented Facebook and one of the biggest news stories of recent times all collide at this point.

Some other things to note include:

  • After leaving office Bush became a Blackberry person and is now an iPad person (although he later admits not using it too much)
  • He uses ‘The Facebook’ (notice how he calls it by the original name) and even did this awkward video address on it.
  • He doesn’t use his iPod anymore because he likes ‘the sound of birds’.

> George W Bush and Mark Zuckerberg at Wikipedia
> The Social Network review

Categories
Short Films

Charlie Chaplin on the Moon

A short film which depicts a futuristic cinema experience has already attracted the attention of Hollywood.

37-year old Scottish art director Ben Craig put it together with the help of DOP Richard Mountney and finished it by using software packages such as After Effects and Carrara.

Since it was posted online in December it has caused quite a bit of buzz and led to interest from studios and agents in LA.

> Ben Craig at Vimeo
> More on the story at The Hollywood Reporter

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 14th January 2011

NATIONAL RELEASES

The Green Hornet (Sony Pictures): This story featuring the masked vigilante, who previously appeared in radio serials, comic books and a TV series, updates the action to modern day Los Angeles. When Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), inherits his father’s media empire, he decides to turn his life around and become a crime fighter with the help of a mysterious employee named Kato (Jay Chou).

After recruiting a new secretary (Cameron Diaz), Britt (aka The Green Hornet) takes on a Russian crime boss (Christoph Waltz) who is controlling the city’s underworld operations.

Unlike more recent superhero adaptations, the tone here is closer to an irreverent 1980s action-comedy, with the script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg showing glimpses of their work on Superbad (2007) and Pineapple Express (2008). There are some amusing moments, mainly between Rogen and Chou as they get to know each other, but mostly this is formulaic stuff.

One dimensional characters, explosions, Matrix-style fight sequences and a general feel of creative auto-pilot make you wonder if Michel Gondry actually directed this.

This is getting a major release, so it will be very interesting to see how it fares against The King’s Speech and 127 Hours as they enter their second weeks. Bad word of mouth could be a problem for a comedy like this but the action could be a pull for undemanding audiences. [Read the full review here] [Nationwide / 12A]

Conviction (20th Century Fox): A legal drama based on the real life case of Betty Anne Waters (HIlary Swank), an unemployed single mother who exonerated her wrongfully convicted brother (Sam Rockwell) of murder over the course of two decades.

Directed by Tony Goldwyn, the case makes for a potentially gripping film which is never quite realised. Although the performances are solid (especially Swank and Rockwell), it is hampered by too many cliches and the pedestrian direction which gives it a TV-movie vibe. [Nationwide / 15]

Henry’s Crime (Entertainment Film Distributors): This offbeat romantic comedy is an unambitious man named Henry (Keanu Reeves), who has his dull routine change when he stumbles across an armed robbery crime scene and is mistaken by police for one of the robbers and thrown into jail.

There he shares a cell with career criminal Max (James Caan), who becomes a mentor of sorts and on his release, Henry joins forces with Max to commit the crime for which he figures he has already done the time, and becomes romantically entangled with local TV presenter (Vera Farmiga), who literally runs into him at the crime scene. [Nationwide / 15]

ALSO OUT

Blue Valentine (Optimum Releasing): The changes in a long-term relationship are examined with rare intimacy in this second feature from writer-director Derek Cianfrance. Over the course of several years we see how a young couple, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), fall in and out of love over a number of years.

Juxtaposing their initial, youthful courtship (shot on super 16mm) with their marital struggles (filmed on the Red One digital camera), it employs clever framing along side the contrasting visual palettes to convey how their lives have changed.

The narrative and visual design is impressive, conveying the passage of time and providing a highly effective counterpoint for the two stages of their relationship.

Already acclaimed after a buzz-fuelled run on the festival circuit, it looks likely to snag Oscar nominations for Gosling and Williams. Although a tough watch in places, it feels like a breath of fresh air in the current climate for movies. Highly recommended. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 15]

Brotherhood (Kaleidoscope): Directed by Will Canon, this US thriller uses college initiation ceremonies as the backdrop to explore who a group of students spiral out of control. [/ 15]

Travellers (High Fliers): A Deliverance-style British thriller about a group of guys from the city who venture into the countryside only to be terrorised by Irish travellers. Directed by Kris McManus. [Selected cinemas / 18]

Yamla Pagla Deewana (Eros International): Bollywood comedy-drama film directed by Samir Karnik, starring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol in the lead roles. [Acton Vue, Feltham Cineworld, Harrow Vue, Trocadero & Key Cities]

> Get local cinema showtimes at Google Movies or FindAnyFilm
> UK DVD & Blu-ray releases for Monday 10th January 2011, including Catfish and I’m Still Here

Categories
Awards Season News

BAFTA Orange Rising Star Nominees 2011

The nominees for this year’s BAFTA Rising Star Award have been announced and the list features Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Tom Hardy, Aaron Johnson and Emma Stone.

It is the only accolade at the Orange British Academy Film Awards that is voted for by the public and was created in honour of the late casting director Mary Selway, who passed away in 2004.

Officially renamed the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, voting takes place both at www.orange.co.uk/bafta, on the mobile portal Orange World and via text.

To see them in action and cast your vote just click on the relevant links below:

The winner will be announced at the BAFTAs on Sunday 13th February.

Previous winners of the award include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008, Noel Clarke in 2009 and Kristen Stewart in 2010.

Potential rising stars were proposed by BAFTA members and leading film industry insiders to create an initial list of contenders.

> Official Orange BAFTA site
> Orange Film on Twitter and Facebook
> BAFTA

Categories
Cinema Reviews

The Green Hornet

A flat take on minor comic book character is a curious waste of all the talents involved.

This story featuring the masked vigilante, who previously appeared in radio serials, comic books and a TV series, updates the action to modern day Los Angeles.

When Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), inherits his father’s media empire, he decides to turn his life around and become a crime fighter with the help of a mysterious employee named Kato (Jay Chou).

After recruiting a new secretary (Cameron Diaz), Britt (aka The Green Hornet) takes on a Russian crime boss (Christoph Waltz) who is controlling the city’s underworld operations.

Unlike more recent superhero adaptations, the tone here is closer to an irreverent 1980s action-comedy, with the script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg showing glimpses of their work on Superbad (2007) and Pineapple Express (2008).

There are some amusing moments, mainly between Rogen and Chou as they get to know each other, but mostly this is formulaic stuff.

One dimensional characters, explosions, Matrix-style fight sequences and a general feel of creative auto-pilot make you wonder if Michel Gondry actually directed this.

After all, he is the man behind a flurry of inventive music videos and one of the great films of the last decade in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

The only trace of his considerable visual talents is a trippy ‘explanation’ sequence towards the end – that feels weirdly out of place – and some action shots designed for 3D.

Which brings us on to another problem with the film, which was the decision to post-convert the film into 3D.

Technically it looks quite sharp (although it wasn’t shot on dedicated 3D cameras) but it is used in a gimmicky way and overall was my first experience of a 3D-induced headache.

I’m unsure why this was the case, but it may have something to do with the amounts of quickly cut, meaningless action on display and the way in which it has been shot with even the most perfunctory scenes adapted for the third dimension.

Rogen and Chou have an agreeable chemistry together but nearly every other actor is given little to chew on.

Waltz seems to have been asked to repeat his creepy-but-funny Nazi routine from Inglourious Basterds and Diaz has a depressingly thin role as an obligatory love interest.

After a decade of superhero movies, it feels like major studios are scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to characters.

The Green Hornet seems like a depressing portent of things to come, as B-list superheroes are reycled for the Comic-Con generation.

Like 3D, it seems like there are a lot more of these films to come.

> Official website
> Reviews of The Green Hornet at Metacritic
> More about The Green Hornet character at Wikipedia

Categories
Documentaries Short Films

Undercity

A short film by Andrew Wonder provides a fascinating glimpse of hidden areas in New York City.

Undercity follows urban historian Steve Duncan as he ventures underground to subway stations, sewers, tunnels where the homeless live and the Williamsburg Bridge.

Shot on a Canon 5D MKII in a raw, handheld style it is surprisngly tense, mainly down to the fact that much of the filming was illicit.

Not only does it look professional, but it has an exciting climax with some stunning shots of the Manhattan skyline.

> Andrew Wonder on Vimeo
> Steve Duncan
> NPR story
> NY Times article on The Wilderness Below Your Feet

Categories
Interesting TV

The Dude Abides

A new PBS documentary about Jeff Bridges takes its title from The Big Lebowski.

Is it just me or has the character of the Dude stayed with Bridges after all these years?

Watch the full episode. See more American Masters.

I remember seeing the Coen Brothers film at a press preview back in 1998 and it went down a storm with the audience.

It was soon apparent that it wasn’t going to be a box office smash, but over time its reputation has grown to such an extent that it is now one of the major cult films of the 1990s.

The film not only spawned a loyal following, but also led to a book (I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski), a festival, a Shakespearean version, an online newspaper (or ‘Dudespaper’) and even an adult version.

This clip from “Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides” shows Bridges visiting a shop in New York’s Greenwich Village called The Little Lebowski, which is dedicated to items inspired by the film.

My favourite line is when Bridges says: “Cool shop man!”

Watch the full episode. See more American Masters.

> American Masters at PBS
> The Big Lebowski at Wikipedia
> Jeff Bridges official site (which almost entirely consists of hand drawings by the man himself)

Categories
Interesting Random

Was Etoile an influence on Black Swan?

Was an early Jennifer Connelly film an influence on Black Swan?

Darren Aronofsky’s intense drama about a ballerina (Natalie Portman) isn’t the first film to use the story of Swan Lake as a backdrop.

Filmmaker Magazine have reminded readers that back in 1988, Jennifer Connelly starred in Etoile, a largely forgotten film about a ballerina in Italy, directed by Peter Del Monte.

It never got a release in the US, so remains something of an obscurity, but years later Connelly went on to star in Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000).

There only appears to be a Japanese trailer on YouTube:

And now have a look at the trailer for Black Swan:

You can check them out side-by-side at YouTube Doubler here.

Some of the posters from Etoile are also interesting to compare with the designs for Black Swan.

Was the earlier film any inspiration for Aronofsky?

His film recently passed $61m at the US box office, which is very impressive for a platform release filmed on a limited budget of $13m.

After strong festival buzz in the Autumn, it scored mostly favourable reviews and already looks like a multiple noiminee at the Oscars this year, with Portman already looking like the strong favourite for Best Actress.

Black Swan opens in the UK on Friday 21st Jan

[Via Filmmaker Magazine]

> Black Swan official site
> LFF review of Black Swan
> Reviews of Black Swan at Metacritic

Categories
Interesting Viral Video

One Year in Two Minutes

Eirik Solheim has created a timelapse video from more than 3500 high resolution photos shot over a year.

Over 2010 he took a photo a day on his old Canon 400D from his window every 30 minutes for 12 months, giving him around 16,000 images to work with.

He then culled them to 3,500, and put them together to create this film.

> Download and explore how the video was made
> Music of Magnus Gangstad

Categories
Amusing Interesting

A Brief History of Product Placement in Movies

The folks over at Filmdrunk have edited together a neat video detailing the history of product placement in the movies.

Mac and Me (1988) is the absolute nadir of this trend, whilst Fight Club (1999) is the most interesting.

[Via Filmdrunk]

> Filmdrunk
> Product Placement at Wikipedia

Categories
Awards Season

DGA Nominees Announced

The DGA nominees have been announced for this year and they include Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), David Fincher (The Social Network), Christopher Nolan (Inception) and David O’Russell (The Fighter).

The Coen Brothers are the surprise omission for True Grit, although I don’t imagine it will seriously dent that film from being a multiple nominee at the Oscars.

The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film is traditionally a good barometer for who will win the Best Director Oscar.

Only six times have the DGA Awards not matched with the corresponding Academy Award:

  • 1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
  • 1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA’s nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
  • 1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
  • 1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
  • 2000: Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.
  • 2002: Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.

The winner will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on 29th January 2011 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

As of now, David Fincher seems the favourite for The Social Network.

> Official DGA Site
> Awards Season analysis at In Contention and Awards Daily

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 10th January 2011

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Catfish (Momentum): An increasingly mysterious online relationship forms the backdrop for this compelling documentary about a group of New Yorkers who seek to find out the real identity of someone they only know via the web.

The common refrain about Catfish when it premièred to buzz and acclaim at Sundance back in January, was that you should know as little as possible before seeing it and it really is the case (in fact, stop reading this now and come back when you’ve seen the film).

It begins when Nev, a 24-year-old photographer based in New York, is contacted online by Abby, an 8-year-old girl from Michigan, who wants permission to paint one of his photos.

An online correspondence develops with Abby’s family and things get stranger when Nev also virtually befriends Abby’s older sister, Megan, who appears to be a musician and model.

Up to this point everything we see has been filmed by Nev’s brother Ariel Schulman along with their friend Henry Joost, and in a pivotal scene Ariel persuades his sibling to actually meet Abby and Megan in the real world.

This is when things get really interesting, with the gradually unfolding mystery playing like a suspense thriller.

In a year that has seen ‘fake’ documentaries like Exit Through The Gift Shop and I’m Still Here, questions about the authenticity of the film seem to reflect a wider ambiguity about the genre itself.

Was it always their intention to make a film? Would a group of savvy New Yorkers really be this naïve about strangers online? Are the events that unfold too structurally perfect?

Charges that the film is a fake documentary have been vigorously denied by the filmmakers ever since the likes of Morgan Spurlock and Zach Galifianakis cast doubt on it at Sundance.

Whatever the truth, it seems fitting that a film which depicts the uncertainty of online identities should have its own personality crisis. It captures a cultural mood, inspires instant debate and stretches the documentary form in new and imaginative ways.

> Buy the DVD from Amazon UK and is on various VOD platforms including iTunes
> My full review of Catfish and my strange Catfish experience at the LFF

I’m Still Here (Optimum Home Releasing): A skilful blend of performance art and elaborate hoax, this fake documentary is a clever and frequently hilarious deconstruction of Hollywood celebrity.

Back in 2008, you may have read about Joaquin Phoenix claiming that he was going to quit acting in order to become a hip-hop artist and this is the ‘behind the scenes’ film of his supposed meltdown.

You may have also seen the now infamous appearance on Letterman where he came across like a rogue Rabbi strung out on heroin and also heard the admission that the whole thing was staged in the manner of Borat and Bruno.

Throughout Phoenix arguably gives the performance of his career in playing a twisted version of himself and Affleck has created a pleasingly anarchic take on stardom in the current era.

When this fake Joaquin is placed in real situations such as concerts, press junkets, airports filled with paparazzi and TV chat shows, the results are hilariously awkward.

Special features include:

  • Feature Commentary with Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, Nicole Acacio, Larry McHale, Antony Langdon, Johnny Moreno, Antony Langdon, Johnny Moreno, Eddie Rouse, Matt Maher, Elliot Gaynon and Sue Patricola
  • Feature Commentary with Casey Affleck
  • Deleted Scenes (including commentary by Casey Affleck)
  • Random Bits (including commentary by Casey Affleck)
  • Alternate Ending (including commentary by Casey Affleck)
  • Joaquin Phoenix interview by Extra’s reporter Jerry Penacoli
  • Audio Conversation with Extra’s Jerry Penacoli, Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix
  • Audio Conversation with Christine Spines (Journalism Professor), Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix

> Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK
> My full review of I’m Still Here

ALSO OUT

Coral Fish (Pogo Films)
F (Optimum Home Entertainment)
Gainsbourg (Optimum Home Entertainment)
K-20 – The Legend of the Black Mask (Manga Entertainment)
Kitsch Fish (Pogo Films)
MotoGP Review: 2010 (Duke)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (Sony Pictures Home Ent.)
Terrace Tear Up Collection (Optimum Home Entertainment)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Momentum Pictures)
Thorne: Sleepyhead/Scaredycat (2 Entertain)

> The Best DVD and Blu-rays of 2010
> UK cinema releases for Friday 7th January 2010

Categories
Interesting

David Puttnam on producing in 1983

David Puttnam was on a roll as a producer in the early 1980s and an interview from the time provides an interesting snapshot of his career at that time.

Recorded in 1983, presuambly to promote Local Hero, Puttnam was riding high after the commerical and Oscar success of Chariots of Fire (1981).

He discusses a number of different issues including: working with Bill Forsyth after turning down his previous film Gregory’s Girl; a legal dispute involving locals in Scotland; the role of a producer; his reputation for giving young directors a break; how he got into the film industry; the importance of music, the three key elements to a film and the ‘vivid’ differences between a gross and net deal.

(It begins with an interesting anecdote about gun control)

> David Puttnam at Wikipedia
> Local Hero at the IMDb

Categories
Interesting

The Fighter: Real-time Video Comparison

* Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t yet seen The Fighter then you shouldn’t probably shouldn’t watch this *

Video has surfaced which compares a sequence from The Fighter with footage of the real life fight.

The film is about welterweight boxer Mickey Ward and climaxes with his championship fight with Shea Neary.

This video compares the original HBO footage of the fight and the way it was depicted in the film.

What’s interesting is how the film still took dramatic licence even though director David O’Russell used an actual HBO film crew to recreate the fight.

Personally, I don’t think this reflects badly on the film as it demonstrates the limits of recreating something ‘perfectly’, especially given that live TV and cinema are two very different contexts.

But it is fascinating nonetheless.

[via CHUD and Fandorific]

> My LFF review of The Fighter
> The Fighter at the IMDb
> Mickey Ward at Wikipedia

Categories
Awards Season Behind The Scenes Interesting

How the King Got His Speech Back

After rave reactions on the festival circuit The King’s Speech finally opens in the UK today and the story of how it came to the screen is a fascinating one.

The film traces the relationship between Prince Albert (Colin Firth) and an unconventional speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who helped him overcome a crippling stammer as he eventually assumed the throne – as George VI –  and helped rally his people during World War II.

Directed by Tom Hooper, it is a superbly crafted period piece but also a genuine crowd pleaser with surprising levels of humour and emotion.

Already a frontrunner for the Oscars, Colin Firth follows up his performance in A Single Man with another reminder of how good he can be in the right role, whilst Rush is equally good as the man who helps him.

This is the kind of film that might appear on the surface to be another British costume drama beloved of middle class, Telegraph reading audiences but it is actually much more than that.

By exploring the pain and anguish behind the King’s stutter, it is not only a surprisingly emotional film but also a sneakily subversive one.

Not only does it allows us to see how Logue’s irreverent treatment stripped the ultimate aristocrat of his social hang ups, but how two people from different backgrounds eventually became friends.

But the story behind the film is equally fascinating, involving a veteran screenwriter with a stutter and the late Queen Mother.

At 73 David Seidler is considerably older than many of his screenwriting peers, with previous films including Tucker: The Man and his Dream (1988), directed by his high school classmate Francis Ford Coppola, and The King and I (1999).

What makes the film uniquely personal for the writer is the fact that as a child he grew up with a stutter and found inspiration in how King George VI overcame similar difficulties.

Although born in England, Seidler was raised in America in Long Island and underwent speech therapy over a number of years before managing to cope with the condition at the age of 16.

But the experience left its mark, and speaking to Newsweek recently he said:

“You carry it within you for a long time. I’m still a stutterer, but I’ve learned all the tricks so that you don’t hear it”

It was over thirty years ago that he first started work on a script for what would eventually become The King’s Speech and in his research the enigmatic figure of Lionel Logue kept cropping up.

Even years after the King had died, Logue was still a figure of whom little was known as the issue was still a painful one for the royal family and, in particular, the Queen Mother.

After some detective work Seidler eventually tracked down Dr Valentine Logue, a son of Lionel who was now a retired Harley Street brain surgeon.

In 1981 they met in London and Logue Jnr showed the screenwriter the notebooks his father had kept while treating the monarch.

However, Logue wouldn’t do the film unless the writer secured written permission from the Queen Mother. After writing to Clarence House, he received the following request:

‘Please, Mr Seidler, not during my lifetime, the memory of those events is still too painful.’

It wasn’t until 2002 that the Queen Mother passed away at the age of 101 and in 2005 Seidler struggled with a bout of throat cancer.

As part of his recovery he resumed work on his script for The King’s Speech and after an early draft decided to turn it into a stage play in order to focus on the characters.

It was eventually picked up by Bedlam Productions, who optioned it and then joined forces with See-Saw Films who felt that a film project could work.

Geoffrey Rush became attached early on and a staged reading of the play in Islington, North London was seen by the parents of a British director named Tom Hooper, who was then filming the HBO mini-series John Adams.

After being sent the script, and persuaded by his Australian mother that it was really good, he eventually got around to reading it and was keen to direct it as a film, which like John Adams, explores them interior lives of famous historical figures.

When Colin Firth came on board, the production – after nearly 30 years – was finally going to happen.

Weeks before filming began, Hooper and the production team got their hands on Logue’s original diaries which informed the sequences between Rush and Firth.

After filming in the UK last year it got its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in early September where it got a rave reaction from the audience and was immediately talked of as an Oscar contender.

A week later at the Toronto Film Festival it got similar reactions, winning the Audience Award, and for Seidler it was an emotional moment:

“I was overwhelmed because for the first time ever, the penny dropped and I felt I had a voice and had been heard. For a stutterer, it’s a profound moment”.

The King’s Speech opens in the UK today and is currently out in the US

> My LFF review of The King’s Speech
> Find out more about Lionel Logue at Wikipedia
> Early reactions to The King’s Speech at Telluride and Toronto
> InContention interview with Tom Hooper, Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush at Telluride
> An interview with writer David Seidler at Stutter Talk

Categories
Awards Season News

BAFTA Long List

The official longlist for this year’s BAFTAs have been announced with The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, Another Year, Black Swan, The Fighter and The Social Network amongst the leading contenders.

The Longlist comes together after the first round of voting by BAFTA members as they whittle down the 207 films entered this year.

The first round of voting reduces the list of eligible films to fifteen in each category.

The second round of votes, which opens today, will then reduce these fifteen contenders down to the five nominations in each category. (Just being on the longlist does not constitute a nomination).

Over 6300 BAFTA members vote in three rounds to decide the Longlist, Nominations and Winners.

All members vote in the first two rounds and in the final round, winners are voted for by specialist Chapters in all categories except for Best Film, the four performance categories and Film Not in the English Language, which are voted for by all members.

The full list of nominations will be announced on 18 January 2011.

LONGLIST

N.B. * Denotes Chapter selection from Round One

Best Film

  • 127 Hours
  • Another Year
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter’s Bone

Director

  • 127 Hours *
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Another Year
  • Black Swan *
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Inception *
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network *
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit

Leading Actor

  • Aaron Eckhart (Howie) – Rabbit Hole
  • Ben Affleck (Doug MacRay) – The Town
  • Colin Firth (King George VI) – The King’s Speech *
  • James Franco (Aron Ralston) – 127 Hours *
  • Javier Bardem (Uxbal) – Biutiful *
  • Jeff Bridges (Marshal Reuben J Cogburn) – True Grit *
  • Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg) – The Social Network *
  • Jim Broadbent (Tom) – Another Year
  • Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter) – Alice In Wonderland
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb) – Inception
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels) – Shutter Island
  • Mark Wahlberg (Micky Ward) – The Fighter
  • Paul Giamatti (Barney Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
  • Robert Duvall (Felix Bush) – Get Low
  • Ryan Gosling (Dean) – Blue Valentine

Leading Actress

  • Andrea Riseborough (Rose) – Brighton Rock
  • Annette Bening (Nic) – The Kids Are All Right *
  • Carey Mulligan (Kathy) – Never Let Me Go *
  • Gemma Arterton (Alice) – The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
  • Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe) – Tamara Drewe
  • Hailee Steinfeld (Mattie Ross) – True Grit
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Ree) – Winter’s Bone
  • Julianne Moore (Jules) – The Kids Are All Right *
  • Michelle Williams (Cindy) – Blue Valentine *
  • Natalie Portman (Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen) – Black Swan *
  • Nicole Kidman (Becca) – Rabbit Hole
  • Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander) – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Rosamund Pike (Miriam Grant-Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
  • Sally Hawkins (Rita O’Grady) – Made In Dagenham
  • Tilda Swinton (Emma Recchi) – I Am Love

Supporting Actor

  • Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin) – The Social Network *
  • Andrew Garfield (Tommy) – Never Let Me Go
  • Ben Kingsley (Dr Cawley) – Shutter Island
  • Bill Murray (Frank Quinn) – Get Low
  • Bob Hoskins (Albert) – Made In Dagenham*
  • Christian Bale (Dicky Eklund) – The Fighter *
  • Dustin Hoffman (Izzy Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
  • Geoffrey Rush (Lionel Logue) – The King’s Speech *
  • Guy Pearce (King Edward VIII) – The King’s Speech
  • Jeremy Renner (James Coughlin) – The Town
  • Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker) – The Social Network
  • Mark Ruffalo (Paul) – The Kids Are All Right *
  • Matt Damon (La Boeuf) – True Grit
  • Pete Postlethwaite (Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm) – The Town
  • Vincent Cassel (Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman) – Black Swan

Supporting Actress

  • Amy Adams (Charlene Fleming) – The Fighter *
  • Barbara Hershey (Erica Sayers / The Queen) – Black Swan *
  • Ellen Page (Ariadne) – Inception
  • Geraldine James (Connie) – Made In Dagenham
  • Helena Bonham Carter (Queen Elizabeth) – The King’s Speech *
  • Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) – Alice In Wonderland
  • Lesley Manville (Mary) – Another Year *
  • Marion Cotillard (Mal) – Inception
  • Melissa Leo (Alice Ward) – The Fighter
  • Mila Kunis (Lily / The Black Swan) – Black Swan
  • Miranda Richardson (Barbara Castle) – Made In Dagenham *
  • Olivia Williams (Ruth Lang) – The Ghost
  • Rebecca Hall (Claire Keesey) – The Town
  • Rosamund Pike (Lisa Hopkins) – Made In Dagenham
  • Winona Ryder (Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan) – Black Swan

Adapted Screenplay

  • 127 Hours *
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Barney’s Version
  • Brighton Rock
  • Despicable Me
  • The Ghost
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Rabbit Hole
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network *
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3 *
  • True Grit *
  • Winter’s Bone *

Original Screenplay

  • Another Year
  • Biutiful
  • Black Swan *
  • Blue Valentine
  • The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
  • The Fighter *
  • Four Lions
  • Get Low
  • Hereafter
  • I Am Love
  • Inception *
  • The Kids Are All Right *
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Of Gods and Men

Make Up & Hair

  • 127 Hours
  • Alice In Wonderland *
  • Black Swan *
  • Brighton Rock
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 *
  • I Am Love
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham *
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit

Editing

  • 127 Hours *
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Black Swan *
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • Inception *
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network *
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit

Special Visual Effects

  • 127 Hours
  • Alice In Wonderland *
  • Black Swan
  • Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 *
  • Hereafter
  • How To Train Your Dragon
  • Inception *
  • Iron Man 2 *
  • Kick-Ass
  • The King’s Speech
  • Monsters
  • Shutter Island
  • Toy Story 3
  • Tron Legacy *

Costume Design

  • Alice In Wonderland *
  • Black Swan *
  • Brighton Rock
  • Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • I Am Love
  • Inception
  • Kick-Ass
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham *
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit *

Sound

  • 127 Hours *
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Black Swan *
  • Brighton Rock
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • Inception *
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3 *
  • True Grit *

Production Design

  • 127 Hours
  • Alice In Wonderland *
  • Black Swan *
  • Brighton Rock
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 *
  • I Am Love
  • Inception *
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Shutter Island *
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit *

Cinematography

  • 127 Hours
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Black Swan *
  • The Fighter
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • I Am Love
  • Inception *
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Shutter Island *
  • The Social Network
  • The Town
  • True Grit *
  • Winter’s Bone

Original Music

  • 127 Hours
  • Alice In Wonderland *
  • Biutiful
  • Brighton Rock
  • Despicable Me
  • The Ghost
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • How To Train Your Dragon *
  • Inception *
  • The King’s Speech *
  • Made In Dagenham
  • Never Let Me Go
  • The Social Network *
  • The Town

Animated Film

  • Chico & Rita
  • Despicable Me *
  • How To Train Your Dragon *
  • Illusionist, The
  • Toy Story 3 *

Note: As there were ties in the Chapter vote in Production Design and Sound, seven and six achievements are flagged in these categories respectively

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Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 7th January 2011

NATIONAL RELEASES

The King’s Speech (Momentum Pictures): A superbly crafted period drama about the relationship between King George VI and his speech therapist provides a memorable showcase for its two lead actors.

Beginning in 1925, the film traces how with Prince Albert (Colin Firth), The Duke of York, enlisted the help of an unconventional speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who helped him overcome a crippling stammer as he eventually assumed the throne and helped rally his people during World War II.

The bulk of the film explores the relationship between the stiff, insecure monarch and the charmingly straightforward Logue, his loving and supportive wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham-Carter) and the royal relatives who may have contributed to his problem.

Having spent his life in the shadow of his domineering father, George V (Michael Gambon), the shy Albert struggles with the responsibility of assuming the throne when his headstrong brother, Edward (Guy Pearce), decides to abdicate.

Rush and Firth are both outstanding, and their chemistry is a joy to watch, depicting the social hangups of the British class system as they gradually form a deep bond.

An astutely observed social comedy, it also has great depth as a drama, beginning and ending with sequences of considerable weight and tension.

The film has already proved a hit on the festival circuit this year and it is very hard to see audiences and Oscar voters resisting its classy blend of history, humour and emotion. [Odeon Leicester Square, Renoir, Barbican & Nationwide / 12A]

* Read our full review of The King’s Speech here *

127 Hours (Warner Bros/Pathe): Director Danny Boyle returns from the success of Slumdog Millionaire with a vibrant depiction of man versus nature.

The story here is of Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), the outdoor enthusiast who in 2003 was stranded under a boulder after falling into a remote canyon in Utah.

Beginning with an extended opening section, Boyle uses a variety of techniques (including split screen, weird angles, quick edits) to express Ralston’s energetic lifestyle as he ventures into a situation that would become ominously static.

He meets two women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) before parting with them and climbing across an isolated canyon where he becomes trapped for the next 127 hours (look out for a killer title card).

An unusual project, in that so much of it revolves around a central location, Boyle contrasts the vital specifics of Ralston’s confinement in the canyon with his interior thoughts as it becomes an increasingly desperate experience.

Using two cinematographers (Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chedia) working in tandem, the ordeal is powerfully realised using a bag of visual tricks to delve deep into his physical and emotional trauma.

Franco is the joker in the pack here: with an unusual amount of screen time he hits all the notes required: exuberant daring as he cycles across Utah; determined ingenuity as he tries to escape the canyon; and the desperate, haunted pain as he stares into the face of death.

Although the grisly details might put viewers off the climax is surprisingly transcendent. [Nationwide /15]

* Read our full review of 127 Hours here *

The Next Three Days (Lionsgate): A remake of the French thriller Anything For Her, which sees a Pittsburgh college professor (Russell Crowe) plan to break his wife (Elisabeth Banks) out of jail after he becomes convinced she is innocent of a murder conviction.

Directed by Paul Haggis, it is an old fashioned tale featuring two solid lead performances and is also put together with a quiet skill and confidence which makes the plot tick along nicely.

Although there is nothing revolutionary here, there is something pleasing about a nuts and bolts thriller in the current climate of superhero, CGI-drenched world in which we now live.

Some aspects strain credibility (Crowe becomes a criminal mastermind pretty quickly) and Liam Neeson is wasted in what is essentially a cameo role, but overall this is a solid effort even though it may struggle to make an impact at the box office given the muted reception in the US and tough competition at the UK box office this week. [Nationwide / 15]

Season Of The Witch (Paramount/Momentum): A sword and sorcery adventure about two knights (Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman) who return from the Crusades and to find their homeland devastated by the Black Plague.

When a young woman (Claire Foy) is accused of being a witch and causing the devastation, they have to escort her on a journey across the land in order to put an end to her ‘spell’.

Directed by Dominic Sena, this is a lame affair complete with hammy dialogue, unconvincing CGI and a ponderous narrative.

It feels like a paycheque affair for everyone involved and it is hard to see audiences get excited about it once the bad reviews are unleashed and the bad buzz spreads. [Nationwide / 15]

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story (Universal Pictures): The latest film from Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (the team behind Half Nelson and Sugar) comes this adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s 2006 novel, which is the story of a burnt-out teenager (Keir Gilchrist) who checks into a mental health clinic, only to find himself in the adult ward.

There he befriends a fellow patient (Zach Galifianakis) and gets to know another teenage patient (Emma Roberts) during his five day stay.

After receiving decidedly mixed reviews on the festival circuit, this didn’t exactly set the US box office alight back in October and will struggle to make an impact here in a busy week. [Nationwide / 12A]

ALSO OUT

Abel (Network Releasing): The drama of a nine-year-old boy who has stopped talking since his father left home only to then believe he is head of the family. Directed by Diego Luna. [Key Cities / 15]

Amer (Anchor Bay Films): A French horror, influenced by the giallo genre, charts the crazy journey of a Catholic schoolgirl into a mature woman. Directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. [Selected cinemas / 18]

Midgets Vs Mascots (Kaleidoscope Entertainment): In what appears to be a low-budget exploitation comedy, 10 contestants (including Gary Coleman) compete for 1 million dollars in prize money. [Selected cinemas / 18]

> UK cinemas releases for 2011
> The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010