Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts

21 January 2014

BFI to Release Claude Sautet’s Classe tous risques (1960) on Duel Format This February

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Brilliantly suspenseful and surprisingly moving, Classe tous risques is a devastating study of loyalty and betrayal, distinguished by a bleak, incisive psychological realism. Previously unseen in the UK, it was released in cinemas by the BFI last September and now comes to DVD and Blu-ray in a Dual Format Edition on 24 February 2014. Special features include a documentary on the life and career of the great Italian-born character actor Lino Ventura.

French gangland boss Abel Davos (Lino Ventura) has been on the run in Italy for a decade in order to escape a death sentence. But when police finally close in, he turns to his old criminal friends to help him and his young family return to Paris. With loyalty in short supply, it takes an insouciant stranger (coolly played by Jean Paul Belmondo in the same year as his breakthrough performance in A Bout de souffle), to come to the rescue.

The directorial debut of the influential Claude Sautet (Un Coeur en hiver, Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud), and based on the novel by death-row-inmate-turned-writer José Giovanni (Le Trou, Le Deuxième souffle), Classe tous risques features a stand-out performance from Ventura as a bad man trying to do right by his children.

Special features

  • Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
  • Brand new restoration
  • Monsieur Ventura (Doug Headline, 1996/2014): documentary on the life and career of Lino Ventura
  • Original French and US trailers
  • Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essay by the Guardian’s John Patterson


Check out the film's trailer....


Classe tous risques will be released on Dual Format (DVD&Blu-ray) by BFI on 24 February,pre-order/buy Classe Tous Risques (DVD + Blu-ray) [Amazon]

25 December 2013

Daddy's Coming Home Could Be Trouble For The Family In Trailer For Swedish Thriller Tommy

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The buzz the  past couple of years for Scandinavian crime noir/ movies has been exceptional, though the buzz may have quieten down a little there's still a sense of excitement when the next possible movie is released. The good folks at Twitch have gotten their hands on a trailer for possible candidate for next big Scandinavian film called Tommy and below is the film's next trailer.

The film comes from Swedish born director Tarik Saleh whose last film was the sci-fi dystopian animation Metropia however Tommy is completely different direction. Moa Gammell stars as Estelle a wife of a gangster whose on the run thanks to a job went wrong and just before Christmas their daughter get's a message, Daddy aka Tommy is coming home.



Swedish cinephiles can expect Tommy in cinemas March 2014.

15 December 2013

Blu-Ray Review - The Long Goodbye (1973)

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Genre:
Crime, Thriller, Drama
Distributor:
Arrow Video
Rating:
18
BD Release Date:
16th December 2013 (UK)
Director:
Robert Altman
Cast:
Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden
Buy The Long Goodbye: Blu-ray [Amazon]

One of the films Robert Altman followed up his revisionist western McCabe &Mrs. Miller with was perhaps his most savage genre revision of a career of many with The Long Goodbye. It was his return to Hollywood after he made his more European flavoured psychological thriller Images in Ireland.

One night Terry Lennox askes for a lift down to Tijuana on the US/Mexico border when he visits Marlowe. He obliges and drives him but the next morning he is met by cops when he wakes him informing him Terry Lennox has committed suicide and murdered his wife. It starts a chain of events involving Marlowe tracking done a writer after being hired by his wife and being involved with some local L.A gangsters. As usual when it comes to these tales there is more than meets the eye.

The film is extremely loosely based on Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same title. The source novel featured his most famous creation the Private investigator Philip Marlowe most famously played by Humphrey Bogart in Howard Hawks’ adaptation of The Big Sleep. The screenwriter Leigh Brackett was responsible for both adaptations but they couldn’t be more different and Robert Altman had a lot of input in the final script. Altman’s radical approach to the storytelling was crystalized in the fact he never actually read the entire book and actually was more inspired by Raymond Chandler Speaking, which was a collection of letters and essays.

Elliot Gould plays Philip Marlowe and the case could be made he gives the gives the finest portrayal of Marlowe even though in many ways different from the source character. His portrayal was a clear inspiration for The Dude in The Big Lebowski which itself is a radical homage to Chandler. Marlowe during the famous cat-feeding scene he comes off a bit stoned to say the least that draws parallels to The Dude. He pulls the mumbling wise cracking of Marlowe to a t without it ever seeming false. Gould’s portrayed left such an imprint on Chandler’s estate he was later hired many times to read Chandler’s work on tape.

The Long Goodbye is one of Altman’s more contained films than the more ensemble satirical dramas he is more known for like Nashville, Short Cuts and M*A*S*H. The 70s was clearly the decade the majority of his great work came out even though he had some phenomenal work in the early 90s.

It’s a radical reworking of a much-celebrated author; the British critics were particularly harsh on the film because it wasn’t the Bogart take on Marlowe. It’s one of the few films he made with a clearly defined lead character and it helps the film in many ways and the fact it’s Elliot Gould in his personal favourite performance doesn’t harm the proceedings.

The film was a financial flop on its initial release but has since became a critical and fan favourite. It’s one of the last great neo-noirs of the 1970s along with Chinatown and Night Moves. It was last decade till recently that because of the current Political climates these stories seemed timely and not out of date. Arrow Video has released one of their finest Blu-Rays with a wealth of material including an hour-long doc on Robert Altman, an hour-long conversation with Elliot Gould, old features from the region 1 dvd along with new interviews with specialists on Altman, Chandler and Hard-Boiled Fiction.

It’s ok with me.

★★★★★

Ian Schultz


5 October 2013

Break Loose (Vosmerka) - TIFF 2013 review

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Rating:
15
Release Date:
7,8,13th September 2013(TIFF)
Director:
Aleksey Uchitel
Cast:
Vilma Kutaviciute, Aleksey Mantsygin, Alexander Novyn


Russia circa 1999 (perhaps even now?) looks like a dangerous place, a place where men are men and looking at someone the wrong way can result in carnage. At least in Aleksey Uchital’s Break Loose,  a high-testosterone tragedy that documents the concepts of family, poverty, and cyclical violence around a Russian Ghetto at the turn of the millennium.

The first and most prominent thing about Uchital’s delve into the grungy atmosphere of Russian casuals is the inherent violence of that circle. Violence is rife and actually egged on in both the professional and non-professional lives of this band of brothers. With a keen sense of the injustice of fighting, Uchital professes at first what could be a romancing, but is ultimately a condemning of Clockwork Orange gang violence. Fighting here receives a sort of make-over, becoming as fierce, deadly, and frankly distressing as it really is through the raw and honest quality to both the choreography of the fight sequences and the shadowy grit of Alexander Demyanenko and Yuri Klimenko’s cinematography. This edgy understanding of colour and camera movement relays the alleys of ghetto life in turgid shadows and switches to circus lights for the garish ensemble of a tacky nightclub. This nightclub play a prominent part as the setting for the gangster, thug, femme fatale love triangle that threatens to rip the young thugs’ hopes.

The film manages not only to drag you into being audience to the uncomfortable overt masculinity of its characters, but also to a kind of cultural cross section of Russian life at a certain time. The revolt of working class being contained and policed by working class men is surely one of the tragic strains of the film alongside the foul solvency of arguably degenerate businessmen. So, from a point of view, there’s an interesting communist dialogue at work here.

The entire cast are fantastic, each successfully adding to a painting of Russian life caught in the throes of a daunting cycle: violent people lead violent lives. This is perhaps the message of a feature doomed from its very beginning to end in tragedy. The further the film’s hero strives against his destiny, the deeper he sinks into its unrelenting grip. His hopes of running away with Vilma Kutavichute’s femme fatale are constantly in the shadow of her gangster boyfriend, his friends hold him to a life of tradition and family whilst his job tells him to stay in line. All of these forces mount to breath-taking finale which sees revenge and love clash.

A stunning fast-paced and brutal tragedy set against the backdrop of the Russian millennium. Break Loose is a stirring exploration of the limits of control and what people will do to escape them.

★★★★

Scott Clark


13 September 2013

Is Frodo Stalking Girls Again? Watch the Trailer For Nacho Vigalondo's Open Windows

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Elijah Wood's not had the best times with the female population ever since he destroyed the one ring to rule them all. If you go by his last film he loved scalps of pretty females in Maniac but in Nacho Vigalondo's Open Windows is he the enemy or simply a superfan dragged into something sinister? Watch trailer and find out!

Open Windows stars Wood as superfan Nick obsessed with actress Jill (Sasha Grey) the most exciting actress of the moment and the webmaster of a website dedicated to her. After winning a chance to meet his idol in person Nick is contacted by Chord (Neil Maskell)who says he's captured Jill and Nick can watch her every move on his webcam. Nick now finds himself intertwined in a situation if he doesn't comply Jill will die.

The gimmick of Open Windows is a tricky one especially as a lot of the film is played out on computer screens as well as real time which makes the film a little generic. This is Vigalondo's first English language and he is a talented director so we have faith he can pull this one off in a entertainment way. What will drive the curiousity is the fact after the directors two previous films Time Crimes (time travelling) and Extraterrestrial (rom-sci-fi, Open Windows feet are firmly grounded in reality.



No date has been confirmed for release UK or USA, expect possibly 2014.

source: The Filmstage

uwantme2KILLhim? DVD Review

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Rating:
15
DVD/BD Release Date:
16th September 2013 (UK)
Stars:
Jamie Blackley, Toby Regbo, Jaime Winstone
Director:
Andrew Douglas
Buy uwantme2killhim?:
On DVD

Viewers may initially be taken aback when seeing the credits of upcoming British feature uwantme2killhim? What appears as a low-key thriller actually has some big Hollywood names behind it - including Bryan Singer and Bob and Harvey Weinstein. This should serve an indicator as to the promise that Andrew Douglas' (2005's The Amityville Horror) feature shows.

Based on a true story, the film details teenager Mark's (Jamie Blackley) growing obsession with the world of internet chatrooms and the dark, tragic consequences this ultimately builds up to.

The early stages of the film feature Mark on a chat-room speaking to cyber-girlfriend Rachel (Jaime Winston) who asks the teenager to look out for her "weird" brother John (Toby Regbo) who is bullied at school. Mike Walden's narrative may seem somewhat predictable from this description, and ultimately it is not difficult for viewers to work out which direction uwantme2killhim? is heading in. Yet despite this, Walden's screenplay is packed full of turns and erratic twists which makes getting to this outcome all the more fascinating and tragic.

uwantme2killhim? showcases the danger of chatrooms whilst also capturing the psychology of a sixteen year old, with the combination of the two resulting in shocking effects. We view the events from the perspective of teenage Jamie and see him be gradually manipulated on these chatrooms - making him all the more of a tragic hero.  However, as the narrative takes continuous twists at points uwantme2killhim? grows somewhat outlandish - best captured when Jamie begins conversations with Janet, 'a government agent.' I personally do not know of any sixteen year olds who would be so easily duped into thinking they were chatting to an MI6 agent on a web chat-room. However, there is ultimately some truth in this - with Douglas' feature being based on a true story, making the feature seem even more extraordinary.

Douglas crafts the feature with a sense of unease and suspense by reflecting Jamie's chatroom world with a variety of actors playing those he chats with  - from Liz White's Agent Janet to Jaime Winstone's troubled Rachel. We see all through Jamie's perspective with this style perfectly reflecting the somewhat vulnerable psychological mindset of teenagers - especially when manipulated in an online environment. This makes uwantme2killhim? feel like more than simply a British thriller but a tragic study into the teenage psyche and the dangers of the online world.

Jamie Blackley (who also impressed in EIFF's We Are the Freaks) is an outstanding lead, bringing a youthful innocence and likeability to the role of Jamie. The role - alongside Toby Regbo's brilliantly dark performance as John, won the festival's Best Performance in a British Feature Film award.

uwantme2killhim? is a darkly unnerving look at the online world and the dangers that come with it. It may be clear which trajectory the narrative is following, yet this ultimately works in the film's favour adding a sense of tragedy to this thriller.

★★★½

Andrew McArthur


[This is a repost of Edinburgh Film Festival review]

13 August 2013

The Keeper Of Lost Causes Trailer Will Bring Smile To Fans Of Nordic Noir

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The recent Nordic wave of Movie and Television has kept fan gripped to the edge of their seats for a long time now but just when you think things are about to quieten down another one appears. The urge for something of a higher quality keeps dragging fans back to Scandinavia for inspiration and the latest film to join the line is The Keeper Of Lost Causes.

From the Director of Klown, Mikkel Norgaard, The Keeper Of Lost Causes (Kvinden i buret) is based on the popular Department Q novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Detective Carl Mørck(Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is a burned out police detective reassigned to the the department Q to investigate old cold cases and his first been a dissapearence of a female politican. The original verdict was suicide however Mørck is not convinced and with the help of his assistant Assad (Fares Fares) the case takes them into the seedy underworld of abuse and malice.

No word on exactly when this will arrive in UK, Ireland or even USA for that matter, but below is the film's official trailer which comes with English subtitles, so something must be in the works already. The Keeper Of Lost Causes is due out in its native Denmark on 3rd October.



Synopsis

Following a shootout that left his two partners respectively dead and paralyzed, chief detective Carl Mørck is assigned to the newly established Department Q, a department for old, terminated cases. The department consists only of himself and his new assistant Assad. Although they get explicit orders to only read and sort through the cases, only a single day passes before Carl’s stubborn nature throws them headfirst into the mystery of Merete Lynggaard’s disappearance; a well-known female politician who vanished five years ago from a passenger ferry. The only witness is her brain-damaged brother who was found on the car deck, screaming at the top of his lungs. The case was put to rest as an apparent suicide. Unconvinced by this explanation Carl and Assad venture on a journey that will take them deep into the undercurrent of abuse and malice that lurks beneath the polished surface of Scandinavia.

source:Twitch / Nordisk

24 July 2013

Win Escape On DVD

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To celebrate the arrival of the stunning thriller ‘Escape’ - out on DVD 29th July through Entertainment One - we have a copy to give away to one lucky winner!

From the talented makers of the ‘Cold Prey’ horror trilogy and starring the utterly sublime Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, ‘Escape’ is a fast-paced rollercoaster action-thriller which follows the death-defying journey of a young girl who must escape a pack of bandits, led by the vicious and beautiful Dagmar (Berdal) before they take her to a fate much worse than death.

Ten years after the Black Plague ravaged their country, a poor family sets out on a journey for a new home. On a remote mountain pass, they are attacked by a band of merciless killers led by the vicious Dagmar (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and the only one spared is young Signe (Isabel Christine Andreasen), who is taken hostage. At the gang’s camp she meets fellow kidnap victim Frigg (Milla Olin) and learns that a terrible fate awaits her. There is nothing for it but to escape, but Dagmar will not let Signe go that easily…

We have a copy of Escape on DVD to give away and to win it please answer the following question:



Deadline to enter this competition is Sunday 12th August 2013 (11;59pm) and you must be 15 or older to enter

If you haven’t done already Like us and stay with us at our Facebook page (if you are already liking us just share this post)

Terms&Conditions:
1.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, Entertainment One employees who have the right to alter, change or offer alternative prize without any notice.2.All The Peoples Movies entries must be done via contact form. deadline Sunday 12th August 2013 (23:59pm) 15 years or older to enter 3.Failure to include any information required to enter could result in your entry been void.  4.automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned, DO NOT INCLUDE telephone numbers as for security reason your entry will be deleted.5.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.6.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 7.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain 8.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email for postal details and will be announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners. Uk & Irish entries only.

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11 July 2013

Frightfest 2012 Thriller The Seasoning House UK Home Release Coming This August

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Buy: [DVD] [Blu-ray]

The Seasoning House arrives on DVD & Blu-ray 12th August and is a must-own for fans of revenge thrillers at their best.The film picked up some positive reviews at Film4 Frightfest in 2012 (our review is here) and now it will be yours to own.


Directed by special-effects maestro Paul Hyett (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake, The Descent), the film was highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint when it premiered at last year’s Frightfest, where it was described as “nerve shredding” and “exceptional.”

Starring talented British newcomer Rosie Day (Ironclad 2) in the lead role of captive Angel, and with support from Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Wild Bill) Kevin Howarth (The Last Horror Movie, Gallowwalker) and Anna Walton (Hellboy 2, Mutant Chronicles) The Seasoning House is a dark, gripping exploration of a young orphaned girl’s psychological terror as she is kidnapped and enslaved by soldiers.



SYNOPSIS: Set in the war-torn Balkans, The Seasoning House is a grim and soulless place where young girls are bought and sold for men’s pleasure. Here we meet Angel (ROSIE DAY), a young, mute, orphaned girl enslaved by Viktor (KEVIN HOWARTH). Unbeknownst to her master, she moves between the walls and crawlspaces of the house – silently observing, learning and planning for her escape. When her closest confident is savagely killed, Angel can no longer contain her rage and sets out through both ingenuity and brutality to seek justice.

The Seasoning House will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray 12th August 2013.

29 June 2013

Runaway This July With Andrei Konchalovsky’s Runaway Train On BluRay

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Buy Now

Arrow Video is pleased to announce the worldwide Blu-ray debut of Andrei Konchalovsky’s gripping thrill-ride Runaway Train on Monday July 22nd.

Starring Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jon Voight (Coming Home, Deliverance, The Rainmaker), Eric Roberts and Rebecca De Morney, this brand new dual format DVD & Blu-ray release of Runaway Train has been re-mastered in High Definition by MGM, following its 2010 premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (Classics Selection).

Finally available on Blu-ray for the very first time anywhere in the world, Arrow Video’s brand new deluxe edition of Runaway Train also includes a host of special features and bonus material, the first time any such items have been sourced to accompany the feature on a home video release.

Following its debut at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, Runaway Train went on to be nominated for a total of three Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing) and three Golden Globe Awards (Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor). To this day it remains as one of the all-time classic break-out movies.

Based on a script by the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), Runaway Train begins as two convicts break-out of Stonehaven Prison in the dead of winter, boarding a freight train with the intention of getting as far away as possible before their notoriously sadistic warden finds out.

Oscar "Manny" Manheim is a ruthless bank robber and hero to the convicts of Stonehaven. After two previous escape attempts the doors to Manny's cell have been welded shut for three years. A court order see’s Manny released back into the general prison population, where he immediately sets his next escape plan into action.

Aided by fellow inmate Buck, who joins Manny’s break-out attempt at the last minute, the pair embark on a freezing cross-country hike (involving a 300 ft drop into a river and subsequent swim) until they reach a remote Alaskan rail yard and board a locomotive.

Upon leaving the rail yard, the locomotive’s brakes fail and the driver has a fatal heart attack, sending one hundred tons of metal hurtling through the snowy Alaskan wastes at a terrifying and seemingly unstoppable speed.

With hardboiled prison slang added by real-life ex-con Edward Bunker (Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs), this riveting thriller combines electrifying action with constant psychological tension. Runaway Train  is one of cinema's great thrill-rides.



A full list of the special features included on the Blu-ray &DVD dual format edition of RUNAWAY TRAIN is as follows:

- High Definition transfer of the film prepared by MGM for the Cannes Film Festival premiere.
- High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film.
- Optional English SDH Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
- Running on Empty – An Interview with director Andrei Konchalovsky.
- From Thespian to Fugitive – Star Jon Voight shares his memories of his Academy Award-nominated role.
- Sweet and Savage: Eric Roberts recalls his Academy Award-nominated performance.
- The Calm Before the Chaos – Co-star Kyle T. Heffner remembers Runaway Train.
- Trailer with commentary by Rod Lurie.
- Original Trailer.
- Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Brooke, a new interview with Runaway Train’s Production Designer Stephen Marsh conducted by Calum Waddell and the original Life Magazine article that inspired the film, illustrated with rare behind-the-scenes production images.