Over the past two years BAFTA have invited many of the finest screenwriters working today to discuss their methods and projects. Past guests at these prestigious talks have included William Nicholson, Charlie Kauffman and Armando Iannucci. This year the lecture series continues with a an equally impressive selection of screenwriters Continue Reading
For the first time this January, audiences will experience Les Miserables as never before, in a new and unique adaptation from Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper (2010’s The King’s Speech). The 2013 will feature an all-star, ensemble cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Taking an a tried and tested theme has never been so stilted and unexciting as it is in Peter Næss’ Cross of Honour (Into the White, 2012), an amiable enough film that unfortunately does very little with a potentially gritty story. Inspired by true events, the film examines the Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Rereleased in UK cinemas this week courtesy of Park Circus, John Cassavetes’ Husbands (1970) showcases the renowned American director’s many talents, whilst simultaneously highlighting his unfortunately noticeable flaws. A mutual friend’s death has a deep and profound effect on three married men. After the funeral these middle-aged friends – Continue Reading
★★★★☆ From acclaimed German director Christian Petzold comes Barbara (2012), a taut, brooding and intelligent drama set behind the Berlin wall, in the rural provinces of Eastern Germany. When our titular protagonist (Nina Hoss), a doctor working in Berlin, applies to immigrate to the West, she finds herself banished to Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ As Republican candidate Mitt Romney continues to dominate press headlines for all of the wrong reasons, it seems like very pertinent timing for Jay Roach’s latest effort The Campaign (2012) to be released here in the UK, with Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell squaring up for a comical parody Continue Reading
★★★★★ A directorial maverick in the truest sense, French filmmaker Leos Carax returns this year with the much-hyped Holy Motors (2012), his first solo feature since 1999’s Pola X. Once again reuniting with his muse, the chameleon-like character actor Denis Lavant, Carax has created a film of such visionary scope, Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ American writer and director Rian Johnson – best-known for his neo-noir debut Brick (2005), less-known for his ensemble piece The Brothers Bloom (2008) – steps into high concept sci-fi territory for his latest feature, Looper (2012). Seemingly filling the gap between Duncan Jones projects (Jones has already illustrated his Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Loosely based on Jacques Tourneur’s I Walked With a Zombie (1943), Pedro Costa’s 1994 effort Casa de Lava (oddly titled Down To Earth for its US release) is undoubtedly a demanding film – but then Costa’s cinema has always been a challenge. What the Portuguese director demands of his Continue Reading
★★★★★ Despite often being cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers – primarily for his Soviet montage theory – the name Alexander Dovzhenko has failed to garner the same critical acclaim in the west as his contemporaries. However, thanks to Mr Bongo, his most revered and respected Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ French New Wave director Claude Chabrol’s latter career is rarely admired and often seen as his weaker period, yet with Rien Ne Va Plus (The Swindle, 1997) all the tell-tell signs of what made the late director great, are present. As an auteur he was always indebted to Hitchcock Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Eureka Entertainment kick off a busy fourth quarter of business this week with the rerelease of three classic cinematic treats on Dual Format DVD and Blu-ray, courtesy of their acclaimed Masters of Cinema label. Restored gems include Cecil B. DeMille’s hammy-yet-enjoyable epic rough diamond Cleopatra (1934), German auteur Fritz Continue Reading
★☆☆☆☆ In 2007, Jon Sanders and Nora Hoppe wrote The Belgrade Manifesto, lamenting the stagnation of cinematic language and encouraging other directors to embrace the digital revolution. This all sounds exciting and with filmmakers such as Aki Kaurismäki, Gareth Evans, and Alexander Sokurov signing it, one would think it would Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ In war, there are many indignant grey areas suppressed from widespread knowledge, tacit actualities that rarely see the light of day. Whilst Jeremy Isaacs’ gloriously outdated World at War series and Downfall (2004) skits are enough for some, there are a handful of discerning filmmakers dead-set on calling attention Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Getting to see the processes behind Heston Blumenthal’s wacky culinary experiments on various television shows is something that many members of the public thoroughly enjoy. You might think then, that the chance to peek behind the scenes at a thee Michelin-starred restaurant in Catalonia, Spain, that is considered one Continue Reading