Win John Woo's Reign Of Assassins On DVD

Co-directed by King of Action John Woo and starring the stunning Michelle Yeoh, Reign of Assassins leaps on to DVD on 25 February 2013! Described as ‘the best wuxia since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ by The Global Times, and awarded 4 stars by Empire, this period-set martial arts actioner combines the action-comedy and romance of Mr. & Mrs. Smith with the identity swap thrills of Face/Off and is an absolute must-see!

To celebrate the release of Reign of Assassins we’re giving away a copy on DVD courtesy of eOne!

In Ancient China, “Drizzle” is the most deadly and ruthless assassin of the Dark Stone gang. After a life of theft and murder, she seeks to atone for her ways and leave the gang forever. Undergoing a drastic procedure to alter her appearance, she changes her name to Jing and starts a new life in the capital.

Even with her newfound life as a shopkeeper and a budding romance to Ah-Sheng, the Dark Stone gang is hot on her trail. She alone holds the secret of the mystical Buddhist monk’s remains, which legend says the possessor will gain control of the whole world. The gang will stop at nothing in their pursuit to control this power.

To win Reign Of Assassins on DVD please answer the following question:

Q.What Ang Lee 2000 released 'Wu Xia' style film did Michelle Yeoh star in with Chow Yun Fat?

Send Your Answer , Name, Address, Postcode (*Please send NO Telephone Numbers) to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com . You must be 15 years or older to enter.

Deadline to enter is 17th March 2013 (2359hrs)

Double Your Chances by following us at Facebook (you will get double entry every competition)

Please read Terms And Conditions

Terms & Conditions:1.This prize is non transferable.No cash alternatives apply.UK & Irish entries only.2.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and eOne  have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice 3.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,eOne employees 4.This competition is promoted on behalf of eOne  5. If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead 6.To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline 17th March 2013 (2359hrs)7.Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.8. automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.10.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry.11.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 12.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control 13.The competition is opened to Aged 15 and over.14. Majority of the prizes on offer will come from representatives of the distributor, no The People’s Movies &Cinehouse, when we do have the prizes we will inform you.15. Unless Stated Please Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them and if you include your telephone number Cinehouse and The People’s Movies are not responsible for the security of the number 16.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email or announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners.17.This competition is bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.18.By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

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Have You Picked A Side? Watch Trailer For Mira Nair's Reluctant Fundamentalist

So whose side are you on? it's a question been asked in Mira Nair's post 9/11 drama The Reluctant Fundamentalist which now has an official trailer check it out below.

Based on a award-winning 2007 novel by Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist stars Riz Ahmed as Changez a talented young Pakistani man who graduates from Princeton. Thanks to his hard work he finds himself in a lucrative position on Wall street but this is 2001 before then after the events of 11 September 2001 a tragic event that sees the American dream wilt away and his views on America plus himself gradually change.

Nearly 12 years after the tragic events of 9/11 fear still roams  though it may not be on the same level  it's still there sadly a lot of that fear and prejudice especially against anyone of the Muslim faith. Simply because of your faith you become a target of racial profiling, bigots you could say creating monsters out of those who think everyone from the Middle East, Asia, Africa even our on country is a terrorist which we know is a lie.In The Reluctant Fundamentalist it takes centre stage, who Am I ? The film may not deliver something highly original but  evaluates the manner of the things that take place.It's great to British actor Riz Ahmed like Noel Clarke finally starting to move into the more glamorous route of Hollywood who looks to deliver a strong controlled performance.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is set for a 19th April UK release with a limited 26th April release in USA. The film co-stars Liev Schreiber, Keifer Sutherland, Kate Hudson, Om Puri and Martin Donavan.


source:Yahoo!

From Beyond DVD Review

Stuart Gordon is one of those icons of Horror who can never really be touched by anyone else, his style is so recognizable and his films garner more following than Jesus at a leper colony. On the 25^th of February you can become part of that following with the long-awaited release of Gordon’s From Beyond on DVD and Blu-Ray.

                Gordon has had, for some time now, a particular affinity with the work of H.P. Lovecraft, an interest that started with Gordon’s classic Re-Animator and has carried on through From Beyond, Caste Freak, and Dagon. Produced by Brian Yuzna (who also produced Re-Animator) and starring long-time Gordon collaborator Jeffrey Combs, From Beyond is exactly the sort of perverse, all-out, affair you’d expect from a maestro like Gordon.

                Adapted from the Lovecraft tale of the same name, From Beyond explores the chaotic effects of a device called ‘The Resonator’, a machine that once activated stimulates the brain’s pineal gland, granting bizarre powers to the affected individuals, amongst these powers is the ability to view grotesque creatures that live in a parallel universe unnervingly close to our own. After the machine’s creator Dr Pretorious is killed by the creatures, his assistant (Combs) is arrested and shut up in an asylum, his only chance of escape? Venturing back to the house to uncover the secrets of ‘The Resonator’.

                As far as the Lovecraftian elements are concerned, the short story is addressed within the first five minutes then its straight into the pulp bubble-gum credits. This sort of thing is so unabashedly camp its classy. The monsters are garage-type creations, humorously scraping a pass at Lovecraft’s near-tedious  school of “unimaginable terrors”.  The surge of sexual energy evoked by close proximity to the Resonator is evocative, in its execution, of Rocky Horror. Dr Pretorious’ sex dungeon seems gleefully out of place in what is essentially a spooky old manor, and an attic lab filled with computers and machines is like a cave of possibility to the seasoned Gordon fan.  It’s not all fun though, there’s some pretty gross stuff going on in the FX department, causing at least a few moments of genuine shuddering. No matter how many times you watch it, seeing things come out of Jeffrey Combs head or over it (as is sometimes the case), will never get easy.

                It’s no overstatement to say Combs is terrific here, as always, his style of bug-eyed exclamation slots alongside Gordon’s own camp outlandish terror to allow for a most agreeable, if stomach-churning, palate. Barbara Crampton’s initially reserved psychologist goes through the ringer here, she gets nibbled, gooed on, strips down to suspenders and a corset, then grinds a bald and bruised Jeffrey combs until Ken Foree strolls in and calls it quits. How much more cult do you want!

                By the end you’ll want more, and if you look in the extras list you’ll get it. A host of wonderful special features gives the full view of From Beyond, interviews with key players, some nifty little behind the scenes features, and a great commentary from Yuzna, Gordon, and Combs, all ensure even the die-hard fans will be sated.

               

A virtuoso piece of 80’s horror, a cult classic, and a piece of significant repute for the Gordon/Combs coalition, From Beyond stands testament to Gordon’s ability to take inspiration from another titan in their field, and make something entirely new with his own unique style stamped all over it. Highly recommended viewing for horror fans, pulp fans, sci-fi fans and everyone else between!

Scott Clark

★★★★☆

Rating:18
BD/DVD Release Date:25th February 2013 (UK)
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Cast:  Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel
Buy:DVD / Blu-ray

Eureka Video Releasing Howard Brenton's TV Noir Drama Dead Head on DVD

Eureka Entertainment have announced the release of DEAD HEAD, the controversial four-part BBC noir drama written by Howard Brenton, available on DVD from 15 April 2013.

London based petty crook, Eddie Cass (Denis Lawson) agrees to pick up a package and courier it across the capital. When nobody answers the door at the drop off address Eddie opens the package and finds a woman's severed head in a hatbox. He panics and dumps it in the River Thames. Returning home Cass is kidnapped by the mysterious Eldridge (George Baker) and his heavies who inform Eddie that he has been framed for the murder. The hatbox belonged to his ex-wife and his fingerprints are all over it. Eddie panics and goes off the rails - boozing and sleeping rough. Eventually he ends up at his ex-wife Dana's house, played by Lindsay Duncan. Whilst he sleeps there, his former partner informs on him, and Eddie once again has to go on the run. The next morning the newspaper headlines reveal the discovery of the gruesome hatbox. Eddie's own private atom bomb has gone off...

Written in 50-minute episodes by playwright Howard Brenton and directed by Rob Walker the series has a top-notch cast including Denis Lawson (Bleak House, Holby City, Perfect Sense) as Eddie Cass, Don Henderson , George Baker (The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Hopscotch), Simon Callow (Amadeus, Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Lindsay Duncan (Rome, Under the Tuscan Sun)

Here's a clip from Dead Head

Never repeated, but never forgotten - this much loved series from the BBC is set to be released in the UK for the first time on any home entertainment format. Available in a 2-disc Special Edition DVD from 15 April 2013.

Dingly Dells, National Trust And Daily Mail Readers, Sightseers Coming This March

Dingly Dells, National Trust, Tins of Pasta sauce and Non Humans better known as Daily Mail readers it could only mean Ben Wheatley's Black comedy Sightseers! Studiocanal have announced the follow up film to Kill List will be released in UK&Ireland this March!

Synopsis: Chris (Steve Oram) wants to show Tina (Alice Lowe) his world and he wants to do it his way - on a journey through the British Isles in his beloved Abbey Oxford Caravan. Tina's led a sheltered life and there are things that Chris needs her to see - the Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, the Keswick Pencil Museum and the rolling countryside that accompanies these wonders in his life. But it doesn't take long for the dream to fade. Litterbugs, noisy teenagers and pre-booked caravan sites, not to mention Tina's meddling mother, soon conspire to shatter Chris's dreams and send him, and anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, over a very jagged edge...

Extras:
Behind The Scenes
Outtakes
Trailer
Cast commentary: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Richard Glover and Ben Wheatley
Technical commentary: Laurie Rose & Ben Wheatley

Pre-Order/ Buy Sightseers : Blu-ray / DVD

Stay tuned for a new review and a competition which we will launch in March over at The Peoples movies

Sightseers will be released by Studiocanal on 25th March 2013 on DVD and Blu-ray

Sacha Guitry's La Poison To Get A Masters Of Cinema This Month

Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing a glorious new HD restoration of LA POISON [POISON], the classic of '50s French cinema, directed by Sacha Guitry, the "total filmmaker" (writer/director/star) of tens of sophisticated comedies, and who is considered by many the equal of the great Ernst Lubitsch. Starring one of the greatest and most famous French actors of the 20th Century, Michel Simon (Boudu Saved from Drowning, L'Atalante), LA POISON [POISON] will be released on Blu-ray & DVD on 25 February 2013.

One of the great late period films by Sacha Guitry — the total auteur who delighted (and scandalised) the French public and inspired the French New Wave as a model for authorship as director-writer-star of screen and stage alike. In every one of his pictures (and almost every one served as a rueful examination of the war between the sexes), Guitry sculpted by way of a rapier wit — one might say by way of "the Guitry touch" — some of the most sophisticated black comedies ever conceived... and La Poison [Poison] is one of his blackest.

Michel Simon plays Paul Braconnier, a man with designs on murdering his wife Blandine (Germaine Reuver) — a woman with similar designs on her husband. When Braconnier visits Paris to consult with a lawyer about the perfect way of killing a spouse — that is, the way in which he can get away with it — an acid comedy unfolds that reaches its peak in a courtroom scene for the ages.

From the moment of Guitry's trademark introduction of his principals in the opening credits, and on through the brilliant performance by national treasure Michel Simon (of Renoir's Boudu sauvé des eaux and Vigo's L'Atalante, to mention only two high-water marks), here is fitting indication of why Guitry is considered by many the Gallic equal of Ernst Lubitsch. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to introduce Sacha Guitry into the catalogue with La Poison for the first time on video in the UK in a dazzling new Gaumont restoration.

Check out this brand new released clip for La Poison...

SPECIAL BLU-RAY AND DVD EDITIONS:

• Glorious new HD restoration of the film, presented in 1080p on the Blu-ray.
• Newly translated optional subtitles.
• Substantial booklet containing writing on the film, vintage excerpts, and rare archival imagery.
• More features to be announced closer to the release date!

Buy:Blu-ray / DVD

Watch Red Band Trailer For Horror Anthology Sanitarium

You could say thanks to the likes of V/H/S, 26 ABCs Of Death the Horror anthology is making a big comeback probably to the delight of horror fans. Whilst horror as one feature maybe struggling in general to keep things a fresh delivering the same thrills but in small doses and in Sanitarium it's 3 stories and we have the film's red band trailer.

Sanitarium is based on three 30 minute stories based patients within the sanitarium, stories directed by Bryan Ramirez, Kerry Valderrama and Bryan Oritz. Malcom McDowell leads the cast as Dr.Stenson the the lead doctor and also  the film's narrator whom he introduces each story like in the vein of Twilight Zone, Creep Show, Tales From The Crypt. You may not like the film choice he makes but there seems to be no part that fazes him with many of McDowell's roles been in small independent horrors and thillers but you can't deny he's one of films hardest working actors.

No word on an exact release date or even what format the film will be when or if it arrives in UK, 1st March it will kick off it's festival run  at Miami Film Festival. Sanitarium also stars Horror legend Robert Englund, Lacey Chabert, Lou Diamond Phillips and John Glover.



source:Theplaylist

Valley Of Song DVD Review

Valley of Song, though a classic example of British cinematic whimsy, is at times hard to watch due in main to the sheer simplicity of its storyline. Directed by Gilbert Gunn, and starring Clifford Evans, Mervyn Johns and Maureen Swanson, this film perfectly encapsulates a period when the pace of life, and everything else, seemed to be just that little bit slower, and often none-the-worse for that.

Returning to his Welsh hometown after living for five years in London Geraint Llewellyn (Evans) is, to many people's surprise and not least his, made choirmaster at the local church. His initial excitement is soon forgotten however after he picks Mrs Davies (Betty Cooper) over her rival Mrs Lloyd (Rachel Thomas) for the lead in the new production of Handel's Messiah. Petty differences and age old emotions amongst the close-knit community boil over with comic results, before everything comes to a harmonious and not totally unexpected conclusion.

The premise behind Valley of Song is almost as simple as the everyday lives of the characters around which it centres. Whether concerning the well-meaning if hapless Geraint (lent a marvellous air of undisclosed panic by Evans) as he becomes stuck within the feuding factions of the extended Davies and Lloyd clans, or the unrequited love between Mrs Davies' daughter Olwen (Swanson) and Mrs Lloyd's son Cliff (John Fraser), the eventual culmination of which acts a catalyst for reconciliation amongst the townsfolk, the storyline is hardly complex.

Though this said simple approach may make the film appear slow when viewed now (it plays out in the main like an extended episode of some sunday evening television drama), it is also what gives the film it's appeal as a perfect example of the era in which it was produced. Everything about the small town to which Geraint returns after his sojourns in London (which is as alien to the inhabitants of the town as the moon would be to the rest of us) is quaint - from Bessie Lewis (Rachel Roberts), the local gossip who drives her milk cart around the town as though the devil himself were after her, to the one train a day which serves the town (miss it and you're stuck there for the duration) - making this film as interesting as a snapshot of a lost way of life as for anything which actually takes place in the story.

Featuring star supporting turns from a host of British stalwarts including Mervyn Johns and Kenneth Williams in his pre-Carry On days, Valley of Song is guaranteed to brighten the greyest of days even if only for its relatively short duration.

Cleaver Patterson

★★★☆☆

Rating:U
DVD Release Date: 18th February 2013 (UK)
Directed By: Gilbert Gunn
Cast:  Mervyn Johns, Clifford Evans, Maureen Swanson
Buy:Valley Of Song [DVD] [1953]

Rust And Bone DVD Review

Jacques Audiard has fast become one of Europe’s most prominent filmmakers with his previous two features: The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet. His latest film, Rust and Bone, will surely further boost his reputation and gain the director a wider audience with its crowd pleasing love story starring Academy Award winning actress Marion Cotillard.

The film opens in a style reminiscent of a Dardenne social drama when we’re introduced to Ali, an unemployed ex-boxer, with his five-year-old son in tow, fleeing Belgium for the French Riviera, where he moves in with a sister he hasn’t seen for years. After finding employment as a bouncer at a local nightclub, he has a chance encounter with Stephanie, a whale trainer. After this brief encounter Stephanie loses her legs in a horrific accident at work and the film turns away from its gritty social drama beginnings and becomes a fey and ridiculous love story hinged on the relationship between the two leading characters.

After the accident Ali and Stephanie strike up an unlikely relationship. This is where my problem with the film lies. Rust and Bone becomes forced and overly sentimental in its depiction of the opposing nature of the characters sensibilities. Ali is predictably brutish and Stephanie is predictably frail and it is these characteristics that bring them together. The film is about damaged humans and the animalistic nature of human behaviour but is too predictable and simplistic in its execution to be convincing.

Besides the gimmicky and rather conventional telling of its story, Rust and Bone boasts some beautiful cinematography and outstanding special effects. The scene where Cotillard’s Stephanie swims for the first time after becoming an amputee is a breathtaking example of both the beauty of the films cinematography and its seamless use of special effects. Unfortunately, the visual beauty of the film isn’t enough to elevate the film above its conventional and predictable storyline. By the end the film just feels too fey and insubstantial.

Shane James

★★1/2☆☆

Rating:15
BD/DVD Release Date:25th February 2013 (UK)
Director:  Jacques Audiard
Cast:  Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure
Buy Rust&Bone: Blu-ray / DVD

Tower Block DVD Review

British cinema seems to have a dangerous love affair with the unpretentious high rise flat or sometimes known as the tower block. From Attack The Block, Dredd (a British creation), even The Raid (Indonesian directed by a Welshman) and now Tower Block a British thriller that sees residents of high rise flats find themselves targets of a pissed off sniper. The worrying thing is for myself should I be worried writing this review as I'm currently writing it in.....Tower Block?!!

Set in inner city London the last remaining residents of the condemned tower block Serenity House huddled together on the top floor living in fear, not from the prospect of not having a roof of their heads soon but in fear of a ruthless sniper. What does this  sniper seek? Retribution, revenge on those who did not aide the young man brutally murdered as the neighbours listened in fear as Becky (Sheridan Smith) attempted to help but find herself beaten up as a result.

The simple plot style of 'Us versus them' actually does work well here but also works against Tower Block. Keeping the identity of who the mysterious sniper is and why there doing what their doing does help create a real sense of tension and things do get more visceral when the first bullets get fired. Death is delivered with brutal swift precision delivering fear throughout the floor forcing those who ducked and dived fortunate to get themselves into the block's corridor. But this sniper means business trapping the residents as all the stairways out have been booby trapped. Despite been a positive the lack of possible suspects  actually works against the film as when the big reveal on who the sniper is becomes a bit of a damp squib, disappointment, their motives are which is a shame after a decent build up.

After making it's cinematic premier at last summers Film4 London Frightfest it's left some believing Tower Block it's actually a horror when in fact it's really a social urban thriller. From the bleak grim surroundings of a deprived area (delivered masterfully in the film's cinematography) to the film's maybe predictable but also stereotypical of many British Suburban areas, the 'broken Britain' . This is the Britain that the Conservative government pretends to say it's helping when actually what they are doing is destroying it piece by piece like the mysterious sniper killing the character bullet by bullet. Every character Symbolises one of the many issues that plight working class families everyday lives but in the film your left wondering should I really hate them or  sympathetic towards them?

The cast or most of them actually deliver a decent performance helping to keep the film interesting however by the time we get to know them all you've actually guessed their predictable fate. Sheridan Smith is our heroine Becky who despite her problems to convey out and out emotions actually delivers one of her better performances. She becomes the survivors leader keeping everyone as sane as possible as she thinks a logical way to escape, using that strength we see at the beginning. Jack O'Connell is great as the scumbag Curtis who is forced to grow up quickly and actually provide that 'protection' the residents 'pay him' to do. Since  I saw him play a young Bobby Charlton in last years United BBC drama I've had an appreciation for him he has made some questionable/generic film choices but he does show he has the acting chops with his diverse range of characters. As for the rest of the characters we don't really learn enough about them to show empathy or sympathy towards them other than they might be next for a bullet to the head.

Let's make one thing clear here on High rise flats or tower blocks, the past decade they have become the symbol of refuge for junkies, alcoholics and pensioners which is totally false. Some do live up to the reputation and like the one I live in, it's not a affulent area nor is it in a deprived area good people do live in these blocks.So if you can push aside the films predictable flaws, Tower Block does actually deliver an intense, brutal silly but entertaining yarn. An intriguing   little timewaster that uses its very limited budget constraints to deliver a film something that's actually worth a watch , most of all you will be supporting the British film industry.

Paul Devine

★★★☆☆

Rating:15
DVD/BD Release Date: 18th February 2013 (UK)
Director: James Nunn ,Ronnie Thompson

Cast: Sheridan Smith, Jack O'Connell, Ralph Brown;Russell Tovey

Buy:Blu-ray / DVD
Win: Tower Block on DVD (link to The People's Movies post)