The Bling Ring DVD Review

Rating:
15
Release:
28th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Studiocanal UK
Director:
Sofia Coppola
Stars:
Emma Watson, Katie Chang ,Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard,
Buy The Bling Ring:[DVD] or [Blu-ray]
The Bling Ring is very sadly Sofia Coppola’s latest film. She seems to have got to the point her dad is in making absolutely dreadful films cause the money people want to make a film by a Coppola. Both generations of Coppola struck gold early on in their career but after a gold period of about a decade (longer in her father’s case) they stop making those great films.

The Bling Ring is based on a true series of crimes committed by celebrity-obsessed teenagers in L.A during 2008 and 2009. These vacuous spoiled little brats robbed other spoiled brats like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan etc. They do this by stalking their every move on facebook. The clan of vermin end up stealing more than $3,000,000 worth of kit off these equally horrible human beings and come on who really cares?

Sofia clearly thinks she is making a satire on Celebrity culture but in falls flat in almost every instance. Some noted film critics quite liked and it has some about the 60% mark on rottentomatoes.com and who knows why. Every character is a unlikable Hollywood kid who spends too much time on facebook posting selfies who eventually decide stealing some coke snorting whores who pretend then can “act”’ stuff is a good idea. To be fair to Lindsay she was quite good in that Robert Altman film but that was what nearly a decade ago and she has done enough coke and botox to ruin her career.

Emma Watson plays like the ringleader of the coke fuelled teenage gang who does these robberies and is dreadful as is the rest of the cast. Her character is a home schooled (a wonderful American concept) by an equally air headed liberal new age mad women who should have had a forced a Tubal Ligation so her spawn wouldn’t inflict herself on the world. She is joined by her equally self absorbed gay friend who is just obnoxious from the get go who gets involved in coke and stealing shit like the rest of them.

The film is very sadly the last film shot by Harris Savides who shot one of the greatest films of the noughties Zodiac. He also worked with Fincher on The Game and Se7en, Gus Van Sant, Scorsese, Ridley Scott Woody Allen and Sofia Coppola before on Somewhere. He probably got the brain cancer he died from this due to the brain-dead nature of the film’s material. It’s a real shame cause he was a damn fine cinematographer.

It’s a massive failure by the golden girl of American cinema of the noughties, shame her career had to lead to this. Sofia please go to a cabinet and don’t come back till you something that isn’t this vapid on us. Everybody involved should repent, I want my money back and I got the dvd for free.

★☆☆☆☆

Ian Schultz

EIFF 2013 - The Bling Ring Review

Rating: 15
Release: 22nd June 2013 (EIFF) 5th July 2013 (UK Cinema)
Stars: Emma Watson, Katie Chang ,Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang
Director: Sofia Coppola

The Bling Ring marks Sofia Coppola's first feature since 2010's outstanding Somewhere and faces the challenge of living up to the quality of this and her previous body of work. Whilst The Bling Ring is an enjoyable watch, it ultimately feels as superficial and shallow as its central characters.

Based on real events, The Bling Ring documents a group of teens who break into the homes of some of America's biggest celebrities.

Coppola's narrative presents us with teens burglarising the homes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Orlando Bloom simply because they can.  This is handled with a lack of insight or depth which can result in The Bling Ring becoming quite a frustrating watch - it is not clear whether Coppola is making a statement about obsession with celebrity or the lack of direction faced by young people. You could make a case for both (and more) arguments, yet Coppola does not commit to either - she simply portrays these teens committing the crimes through a skewed sense of self-entitlement. Whilst this is always continually watchable thanks to Coppola's distinct aesthetic style, it seems like somewhat of a wasted opportunity that she does not dig below surface depth.

Despite this frustration, there is much to enjoy about The Bling Ring. Coppola's dialogue provides an often amusing look at our celebrity obsessed culture - best presented when Katie Chang's Rebecca's main concern about her crimes was Lindsay Lohan's reaction, or when Emma Watson's Nicki discusses her ambition to lead a country. Leslie Mann's appearance as Nicki's mother also furthers the idea of the cult of celebrity through references to a lifestyle ideal known as The Secret.

There may be little to the characters of The Bling Ring other than their vacuous Californian lifestyle and superficial style and beliefs, yet there are still some solid performances within the feature. Katie Change excels as Rebecca, the careless teen who initiates the first break-ins, whilst Israel Broussard is solid as the more cautious best-friend.  However, it is Emma Watson who makes The Bling Ring - the actress is magnificent as the spoilt LA teen who happens to be the most superficially charismatic of the group.

Coppola's aesthetic is perhaps one of the most redeeming elements of The Bling Ring from the sun-stroked Californian streets to the pulsating nightlife, set to an eclectic soundtrack of contemporary pop and R&B music.

There is a lot to like about The Bling Ring from its clever dialogue, excellent performances and Coppola's distinct glossy aesthetic, but it ultimately feels like an unfulfilling watch with a narrative lacking the depth that it needs.

★★★☆☆

Andrew McArthur

Edinburgh International Film Festival Reveals 2013 Line Up

This June all cinematic eyes will be on Scotland's capital as the longest running international film festival announces it's 2013 line up.

Now in it's 67th year, Edinburgh International Film Festival  which will run from 19th until 30th June, will showcase 146 features from 53 countries, including 14 World premieres, 6 international premieres and 10 European premieres.

Drake Doremus Breathe In starring Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones has the honours of  been the opening gala with the world premiere of John McKay's Scottish romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending starring Doctor Who's Amy Pond, Kate Dickie (Prometheus), Ian De Caestecker (Agents Of S.h.i.e.l.d) and Stanley Webber (The Borgias) Closing the grand old festival.

2013 line up does seem to be leaning more towards independent, arthouse and World Cinema market compared to previous years, which compared to this years  impressive Glasgow Film Festival line up. Risky move we'll soon find out however don't criticise what they have in offer as it's of high standard.

The highlights of this years festival include a chance to Emma Watson  a theme obsessed teen who steals from the rich in Sofia Coppola's  The Bling Ring (UK premiere).Arthouse film fans will get a chance to see Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha as it makes it UK premiere,Zal Batmanglij's Sundance hit The East starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page as a anarcho terrorist leader will make its UK This Is Martin Bonner, Upstream Color and What Maisie Knows other highlights.
premier.

Horror fans will be keen to see James Wan's eagerly anticpated The Conjuring will make its UK premiere based on true life paranormal husband and wife team Ed and Lorraine Wilson (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) face the most challenging and dangerous case of their careers. If we go by Wan's last film Insidious we can expect a night of scares!The master of J-Horror Hideo Nataka (Ring) return to the genre he help create with The Complex.

Sweden and Korea will be the countries on focus a chance to discover some possible gems. most notable are The Berlin File a state of art of  conspiracry thriller from one of Korea's leading thriller directors Ryoo Seung-won. If you admired the visual style of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy you will enjoy Wallander  Mikael Marcimain's Call Girl an explosive story into the 1970's underage prostitution ring amongst Sweden's elite. Stoker/oldboy director Park chan-wook will be one of the judging panel members for the festival.

Below is the official press release the good people at Edinburgh film festival have sent us, before you read on check out the festivals promo reel which shows off some of the highlights festival goers can expect. The People's Movies /Cinehouse Edinburgh based writers Andrew, Scott and Sophie will be attending the festival possibly myself too we will bring the coverage from the festival as well as our views on everything.

Check out the official press release.

Edinburgh – 29 May, 2013 – Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara announced this morning at Filmhouse in Edinburgh details of the programme for the 67th edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). This year the Festival, which runs from 19-30 June, will showcase 146 features from 53 countries, including 14 World premieres, 6 international premieres and 10 European premieres.

The Festival boasts 125 new features, with highlights including FOR THOSE IN PERIL, the debut feature by Paul Wright, a contender for the Michael Powell Award, starring newcomer George MacKay and Kate Dickie. Alex Gibney’s controversial WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS screens within Directors’ Showcase. Noah Baumbach brings FRANCES HA to the Festival with co-writer and star Greta Gerwig, as part of the American Dreams strand which also includes Sofia Coppola’s depiction of fame-obsessed teens, THE BLING RING. Special Screenings include FIRE IN THE NIGHT, which receives its World premiere ahead of the 6 July anniversary of the Piper Alpha North Sea oil rig disaster of 1988. JURASSIC PARK 3D and the 1950 landmark Scottish film THE GORBALS STORY are two of the 21 classic titles in the Festival.

EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara said: “I’m very proud that in my second year at the Festival we’ve again put together a programme that reflects our festival’s commitment to international cinema, while giving our audiences opportunities to discover a broad range of outstanding work from British filmmakers. This year we take the Festival in a number of new directions. In our new “American Dreams” strand we bring the highlights from an exceptionally good year for American independent cinema. In our Focuses on Korea and Sweden, we recognise films that represent the artistic vitality and social commitment of two strong filmmaking nations. Our “New Realities” strand reaffirms our Festival’s continuing support for documentary filmmaking. And “Not Another Teen Movie” is a new section programmed by 15-19-year-olds for their peers. Altogether, our programme is filled with films that I’m sure our audiences will find exciting and inspiring.”

British films competing for the Michael Powell Award include 7 World premieres and 6 feature debuts. Among the Michael Powell Award contenders are the captivating Scottish tale of belonging and loss BLACKBIRD by Jamie Chambers; the black comedy EVERYONE’S GOING TO DIE by the two-person collective ‘Jones’; Paul Wright’s FOR THOSE IN PERIL; DUMMY JIM by Matt Hulse; MISTER JOHN by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy; and John Hardwick’s SVENGALI, expanded from a YouTube series. A LONG WAY FROM HOME by Virginia Gilbert stars Natalie Dormer, who serves on the International Feature Film Competition jury; while THE SEA by Stephen Brown stars Ciarán Hinds and Charlotte Rampling. A documentary feature competing is LEVIATHAN by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel. Completing the selection are UWANTME2KILLHIM? by Andrew Douglas, based on true events, WE ARE THE FREAKS by Justin Edgar, in which misfit teens go on an all-nighter, and NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING, the Festival’s Closing Gala film, directed by John McKay. The Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film will be awarded from films within the Michael Powell selection.

The International Feature Film Competition includes a selection of live-action narrative films, animated films and documentaries, highlighting filmmaking from around the world that is imaginative, innovative and deserving of wider recognition. The selection introduces debuts from Mahdi Fleifel with A WORLD NOT OURS, a portrait of family life in a Palestinian refugee camp; Iraqi-Kurdistan-born director Hisham Zaman with BEFORE SNOWFALL a coming-of-age odyssey from East to West; and Argentine director Leonardo Brzezicki, who paints an erotic psychological landscape with sound in NOCHE. The European premiere of JOY by Greek documentary filmmaker Elias Giannakakis competes along with titles such as Alexey Fedorchenko’s CELESTIAL WIVES OF THE MEADOW MARI which focuses on the rites and customs of a Russian ethnic group; a dreamlike allegory set in Tehran, FAT SHAKER by Mohammad Shirvani; and I.D. by writer-director Kamal K.M. based on a real incident in Mumbai. JUVENILE OFFENDER, a gritty story of family neglect in Korea by Kang Yi-kwan, and OF SNAILS AND MEN, a Romanian post-Communist era social satire by Tudor Giurgiu, round out the International Feature Film Competition.

There are a number of Special Screenings across the Festival, including the World premiere of THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES from co-directors James Erskine and Zara Hayes about the historic 1973 tennis match between Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King and retired champion and self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs; and, receiving its European premiere, HAWKING, for which filmmaker Stephen Finnigan was given unprecedented access to the world’s most famous living physicist, Stephen Hawking. I AM BREATHING tells the true story of Neil Platt following his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease just months after the birth of his son; the film screens in the Festival ahead of MND Global Awareness Day on Friday 21 June. There will also be a chance to see on the big screen the first two episodes of BBC Two’s crime drama PEAKY BLINDERS, set in the lawless streets of post-war Birmingham on the cusp of the 1920s, starring Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Sam Neill.

The American Dreams strand includes the European premiere of Scott McGehee’s WHAT MAISIE KNEW, a modern story based on the Henry James novel; Sebastian Silva’s MAGIC MAGIC, which reveals a star turn by Juno Temple; and THE EAST, which stars Brit Marling, who co-wrote with director Zal Batmanglij. International premieres include Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s C.O.G., adapted from humourist David Sedaris’s autobiographical essay; the sci-fi thriller UPSTREAM COLOUR by writer-director and actor Shane Carruth; and THIS IS MARTIN BONNER from Chad Hartigan, in which an unlikely friendship blossoms.

EIFF is privileged to welcome to Edinburgh one of the world’s greatest animators, Richard Williams, to celebrate his work with a retrospective, RICHARD WILLIAMS: 80 ANIMATED YEARS. This screening is in partnership with Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival and charts the development of Williams’s animated career. Williams will also present the coveted McLaren Award, which provides a focus for new British short animation. This year marks a new partnership with the British Council, which will see films selected from the McLaren Award competition for an international touring programme representing the best contemporary British animation. The Festival hosts a further Special Screening of short animations in tribute to Scott Ward, the award-winning cinematographer who died earlier this year. Scott had worked as animation programmer for EIFF for ten years.

The Directors’ Showcase presents work from established auteur directors and emerging talents with 23 films from 17 countries. The selection includes 6 documentaries including Thomas Riedelsheimer’s BREATHING EARTH SUSUMU SHINGU'S DREAM, following artist Susumu Shingu; and actor and director Sarah Polley's intimate family portrait STORIES WE TELL. Narrative films cover a variety of genres and include high-speed Hong-Kong cop film MOTORWAY directed by Pou-Soi Cheang and produced by action auteur Johnnie To, while Dibakar Banerjee takes Bollywood in a new direction with political thriller SHANGHAI. Intimate human dramas are represented with Bruno Barreto’s REACHING FOR THE MOON, about the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares; Mania Akbari’s FROM TEHRAN TO LONDON, a poetic exploration of the roles of women, during the filming of which Akbari fled to the UK; and THE DEEP, Baltasar Kormákur’s breathtaking drama about an Icelandic fisherman who reluctantly became a national hero.

The World Perspectives strand presents 25 films from 18 countries, offering a spectrum of work from emerging directors. BIG BOY, from the Philippines, was shot on Super 8 by Shireen Seno; DAYS OF GRACE is a breathless triple-kidnapping thriller from Mexican director Everardo Valerio Gout; DIE WELT, set after the 2011 Tunisian revolution, is the feature debut from Dutch director Alex Pitstra; from Li Lou, EMPEROR VISITS THE HELL is a political satire inspired by a Ming Dynasty literary classic; and EVERYBODY’S GONE is an outstanding debut by Georgiy Paradjanov, nephew of legendary master director Sergei Paradzhanov.

With New Realities, EIFF features some of the most interesting documentary filmmakers working today, including Thomas Heise, who observes the routines of a crematorium in CONSEQUENCE; PJ Raval, who reveals the lives and loves of three gay seniors in BEFORE YOU KNOW IT; and first-time director Khaled Jarrar, who follows fellow Palestinians’ attempts to cross the wall separating them from Israel in INFILTRATORS. The enigmatic Scottish maker of salmon flies Megan Boyd is the subject of Eric Steel’s KISS THE WATER; and with LUNARCY! Simon Ennis takes an affectionate look at a group of individuals obsessed with the moon. The strand also hosts the World premiere of DESERT RUNNERS by Jennifer Steinman, an intimate film about competitors in RacingThePlanet’s 4Desert Ultra-marathons, and the European premiere of Jeanie Finlay’s THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, the stranger than fiction story of Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain, aka ‘Silibil 'n' Brains’.

Filmmakers and filmmaking is the subject of the Film on Film strand which includes: NATAN, David Cairns and Paul Duane’s moving account of Bernard Natan, a forgotten giant of French cinema; A STORY OF CHILDREN AND FILM by Mark Cousins; and Graham Eatough’s THE MAKING OF US, commissioned by the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art.

The late-night Night Moves strand hosts the World premiere of OUTPOST 3: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ, with producer Kieran Parker turning director for the third instalment of the popular Nazi zombie saga; and the European premiere of SHOOTING BIGFOOT, in which British filmmaker Morgan Matthews travels to America and forms uneasy alliances with several Bigfoot trackers. Concept artist Richard Raaphorst directs his first horror flick, FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY, a Nazi v Communist ‘found footage’ horror; while PARIS COUNTDOWN, a high-octane thriller, is director Edgar Marie's debut feature; and the master of Japanese horror Hideo Nakata brings us THE COMPLEX.

EIFF will this year screen 172 short films from 38 countries across 22 programmes. In addition to animated shorts the Festival continues to showcase new work by Scottish, UK and international filmmakers, including DAY TRIP by Park Chan-wook and his brother, Park Chan-kyong. The experimental Black Box strand presents a series of shorts programmes from innovators in the visual art world as well as the World premiere of documentary poem and travelogue ‘10’ from photographer filmmaker Telemach Wiesinger. The Festival enters new territory this year with BLACK BOX LIVE, a presentation of multi-projector expanded cinema artworks performed live by experimental practitioners Nominoë, Sami van Ingen, and Screen Banditas.

The first of the retrospectives previously announced will celebrate the work of French director Jean Grémillon with a programme of features and short films in partnership with the BFI, while the second, presented as part of a wider programme running at Filmhouse, recognises the Hollywood director Richard Fleischer.

As previously announced, this year’s two country Focuses showcase work from Korea and Sweden not previously seen in the UK. The Focus on Korea includes films ranging from the commercial mainstream to independent cinema that show the diversity and vitality of Korean film today. The Focus on Sweden includes feature films from contemporary mainstream and experimental filmmakers, a film by an old master from the silent era, and a selection of shorts.

A new initiative this year has seen a group of 15-19-year-olds with a keen interest in film select films under the mentorship of the Festival. Entitled ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, their new strand includes include quarter-life crisis comedy OLD STOCK by Canadian director James Genn; 7 BOXES, a thrilling chase movie set in the markets of Paraguayan capital Asunción, from co-directors Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schémbori; STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, starring Chris Colfer and Rebel Wilson; Danish coming-of-age drama YOU & ME FOREVER and a collection of short films.

As previously announced, the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival opens with the European premiere of Drake Doremus’s BREATHE IN with Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce and the Closing Gala is the World premiere of the Scottish romantic comedy NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING, starring Karen Gillan and Stanley Weber. Disney•Pixar’s MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is this year’s Family Gala, screening at Festival Theatre Edinburgh in 3D.

World Premieres

· "10"
· THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
· BLACKBIRD
· DESERT RUNNERS
· FIRE IN THE NIGHT
· A FLONG WAY FROM HOME
· THE MAKING OF US
· MISTER JOHN
· NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING
· OUTPOST 3: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ
· THE SEA
· SVENGALI
· UWANTME2KILLHIM?
· WE ARE THE FREAKS

International Premieres

· BEFORE YOU KNOW IT
· C.O.G.
· EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE
· SANCTUARY (Faro)
· THIS IS MARTIN BONNER
· TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT (Drogówka)

European Premieres

· BREATHE IN
· THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX
· HAWKING
· INFILTRATORS (Mutasalilun)
· JOY (Hara)
· KISS THE WATER
· LILOU'S ADVENTURE (Lilou No Bouken)
· THE OBSCURED HISTORIES AND SILENT LONGINGS OF DAGULUAN'S CHILDREN
· SHOOTING BIGFOOT
· WHAT MAISIE KNEW


Book Your Tickets or more information including a PDF version of the Edinburgh Film Festival 2013 brochure head over to the festivals official website. 

Emma Watson Goes Full Bad Girl In Trailer For Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring

You want the fame, lifestyle of the rich and famous but cant afford it? Envy in what they've got? You just need to steal it like Emma Watson does in The Bling Ring, watch the new trailer!

Based on the 'true story' The Bling Ring follows a group of Los Angeles based teens who robbed from the rich and famous between 2008 until 2009. They track their "victims" via social media before stealing their loot from Paris Hilton to Orlando Bloom.

The Bling Ring really enhances the extreme levels of obsession some people especially teenagers go to these days. Its an culture that's controlling a lot of people's lives, ruining them too giving nobodies 15 minutes of fame before they disappear off the face of the earth. Sofia Coppola captures the anxiety, but if your thinking Spring Breakers with style The Bling Ring looks a lot more sophisticated,satirical,than anything L'Enfant terrible could ever do in a heartbeat.

Your mind sort of wonders if Sofia Coppola will glamorize crime with The Bling Ring however if your a fan of the filmmaker's work you'll know this film will be more than celebrity obsession and teenage angst. The Bling Ring co-stars Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, and Gavin Rossdale. The film will arrive in UK& Ireland 5th July (USA 14th June).



source: Yahoo!

Let's Go Shopping, Watch Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring Teaser Trailer

The world is getting smaller and the price of fame is your followed in every media outlet available printed, online. Fans are obsessed and in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring they take that Obsession one step further, watch the first teaser trailer.

In The Bling Ring Emma Watson leads a group of fame obsessed teens who stalk out local celebrities in order to rob from them in a film thats based on actual events. 2013 seems to have a running theme of  teens cause trouble with Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers arriving next month in UK. The Bling Ring does look slightly more sophisticated than Korine's effort which seems to go for style over substance, however Coppola does rubber stamp her own style on the film though at the same this is slightly off-kilter for her.It;s nice to Emma Watson chosing her steps wisely post Harry Potter taking the independent film route rather jumping into mainstream big blockbusters which should help loose Hermoine Grainger label with great ease.

The Bling Ring co-stars Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, and Gavin Rossdale. The film doesn't have a UK&Irish release date but Stateside you can catch the film on limited release 14th June.


source:BeyondHollywood (via Thepeoplesmovies)

New Trailer For Sofia Coppola's SOMEWHERE

source ThePeoplesMovies
In 2004 Sofia Coppola was hot property with her fantastic award winning Lost In Translation, roll on a few years it was a downward spiral with Marie Antoinette which was simply dull & lacklusture. So now 2010 we have SOMEHWERE her new flick with Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning which looks like she’s back on familar territory (also back with American Zoetrope Films the studio who created the movie).
Ok what she did on Lost in Translation she may never exactly copy the same sucess but she can emulate some of that magic she created and watching the trailer does have that indie sense of feeling whilst watching along with a very laidback soundtrack. Nice to see Stephen Dorff as a leading man again he aint a Bill Murray but this movie may just help him get noticed for some better movies in the near future.Is this movie Coppola back her best form or will it be another bites the dust?

Somewhere will be out stateside December 22nd, no UK/Irish release date yet and the movie also has Benico Del Toro & Michelle Monagan making an appearance as well. Check the trailer out after the break....