Manga Entertainment To Release Okami-san And Her Seven Companions In UK On DVD

Manga Entertainment have announced they will be releasing Yoshiaki Iwasaki's Okami-san And Her Seven Companions on DVD in UK&Ireland from 8th April 2013. The series comprises of 12 episodes based around Ryoko (Wolf) and a high school club that helps classmates out of grim situation

Synopsis

Ryoko Okami, the “wolf,” and her BFF Ringo, also known as Little Red Riding Hood, are members of Otogi Bank - a high school club that helps classmates out of grim situations. One day, a meek young man proclaims his love to Ryoko, who does nothing but bite him in return. “You're much too weak for me,” she huffs. So the boy joins Otogi Bank to prove he has the stuff to protect his beloved - even if it means taking a blow to the head with a lead pipe. He's no Prince Charming, but will Ryoko allow herself to have her own happily ever after?

Pre-order/Buy : Okami-san And Her Seven Companions Complete Series Collection [DVD]

The Hunt DVD (Jagten) Review

Thomas Vinterberg returns to the difficult subject of abuse with The Hunt, co-written with Tobias Lindholm it’s a simple story told very well. Vinterberg screened his film at last year’s Cannes Film Festival where leading man Mads Mikkelsen scooped a best actor award, it’s now been handed a wider cinematic release which, given the recent high-profile false accusations of abuse, couldn’t be more timely.

Set in small Danish town, The Hunt is a muted, infuriating and utterly engrossing story of lies, paranoia and untamed mass hysteria.

Mikkelsen is outstanding as Lucas, the modest kindergarten teacher who’s dragged through the emotional and physical ringer after being accused of exposing himself to one of the girls in his class. Lucas of course, did no such thing but the rumour spreads, slowly at first, throughout the town slowly turning colleagues and friends against him. The lie then begins to grow and to evolve, soon Lucas is being accused of more and worse, and little by little he is morphed into an outcast, a hated and hunted pariah.

The key to The Hunt is its lack of ambiguity, the message is clear: Lucas is a wronged man, and wronged in the most heinous way possible. It’s because we feel so sure of his innocence, and because Mikkelsen is so good at portraying a tender man persecuted, we find ourselves hoping and rooting so strenuously for him as the shit inexorably hits the fan.

Vinterberg’s thriller is taut, lean and visually arresting, while Lucas’s descent into emotional hell is heart-breaking and utterly gripping. Vinterberg’s ability to draw the maximum tension from sparse set-pieces and stand-offs is truly astounding. Two moments late in the piece in which Lucas is confronted by the townsfolk in a supermarket, and attends a Christmas Eve church service are both gripping and horribly uncomfortable.

Chris Banks (@Chris_In_2D)

★★★★☆

Rating:15
DVD/BD Release Date: 25th March 2013(UK)
Directed By:Thomas Vinterberg
Cast:  Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen,Annika Wedderkopp
Buy The Hunt :Blu-ray / DVD

Human Centipede helmer Tom Six joins the 666 Short Cuts To Hell judging panel

Tom Six, currently in the States shooting Human Centipede 3, will help select the winner of the 666 Short Cuts to Hell short film competition, fronted by FrightFest and Movie Mogul, in association with Horror Channel.

Six said today that he was 'delighted' and 'flattered' to be invited to join the panel and was looking forward to hopefully meeting the six finalists winner at this year's FrightFest event in August.

Rosie Fletcher, Total Film Magazine’s genre expert, will make up the ‘6 of the best’ panel, which also includes filmmaker/Special Make-up Effects expert Paul Hyett. Horror Channel presenter Emily Booth, FrightFest director Paul McEvoy and Movie Mogul’s John Shackleton.

The hottest short film competition around challenges aspiring filmmakers to make a short horror film - the best six of which will be shown on Horror Channel and at the 2013 Film4 FrightFest event. The overall winner will receive a prize fund of £6,666 and the opportunity to develop a horror short or feature idea under mentorship from Movie Mogul, for a possible 2014 production.

Entrants will have to follow a series of 'killer' restraints such as a maximum of 6 lines of dialogue, a maximum of 6 cast and crew members and a maximum budget of £666.



Entrants must submit their completed film by 6pm on the 6th June 2013.
Submission guidelines and terms and conditions can be found at www.shortcutstohell.com

The overall winner will be announced at FrightFest 2013 after the six films have been screened.

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel

NBCQ To Take Flying Blind Starring Helen McCroy on UK Tour April/May

THE PASSIONATE LOVE STORY OF A WOMAN AND A YOUNGER MUSLIM MAN, IN A WORLD WHERE SECURITY IS PARAMOUNT AND NOTHING IS QUITE WHAT IT SEEMS
Frankie is part of the war-machine, a successful aerospace engineer designing drones for the military. Then she meets Kahil, a French-Algerian student. They embark on a passionate affair and for the first time in her life Frankie utterly, thrillingly, loses control. One morning at work, she’s detained by the security services and told that Kahil may not be quite what he seems. She finds that she has crossed a line into a nightmare world of suspicion and accusation. Realising how little she knows of this man, Frankie determines to find out the truth, only to discover to her cost that betrayal always comes from those closest to us.

Flying Blind is the first feature film by young Polish director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, whose short film, Hanoi-Warsaw, won the 2010 European Film Award for Best Short. A multinational cast includes Helen McCrory (Hugo, Skyfall, Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince), French-Algerian Najib Oudghiri (Rendition, The Wedding Song), Kenneth Cranham (Hot Fuzz, Valkyrie) and Tristan Gemmell (Casualty). The screenplay credit is shared by Naomi Wallace (Lawn Dogs, The War Boys), Bruce McLeod (The War Boys), and Bristol-based writer Caroline Harrington. Behind the camera is Polish Director of Photography Andrzej Wojciechowski, Klimkiewicz’s long time collaborator, and DoP on Hanoi-Warsaw.



FLYING BLIND will tour through key cities in the UK throughout April including London, Bristol, Cardiff, York, Cambridge, Oxford, Nottingham, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Brighton. Each event will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and/or cast TBC.

Regional tour dates:
Thursday 11th April – Barbican, London (Additional screenings 12th – 18th April)
Saturday 13th April - Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Sunday 14th April – Watershed, Bristol (Additional screenings 12th – 18th April)
Tuesday 16th April - Greenwich Picturehouse
Wednesday 17th April - York Picturehouse
Saturday 20th April - Cambridge Picturehouse
Monday 22nd April - Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton
Tuesday 23rd April - Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford
Wednesday 24th April, Hackney Picturehouse, London
Thursday 25th April – Nottingham Broadway (Additional screenings 26th April – 2nd May)
Friday 26th April – Sheffield Showroom
Saturday 27th April – Edinburgh Filmhouse
Sunday 28th April – Glasgow Film Theatre
Tuesday 30th April – Manchester Cornerhouse
Thursday 2nd May – Brighton Komedia

For a full list of tour dates and tickets go to http://www.flyingblindfilm.com/

Watch UK Trailer For A Hijacking (Kapringen)

When you look at the Scandinavian market for television and cinema you must look back at it with jealousy at the constant level of  quality along with excitement, tension all in engrossing stuff. The latest film that will hit our shores comes from a former director of Borgen a popular TV series shown on BBC channels Tobias Lindholm  who has already directed The Hunt (Mads Mikklesen),now A Hijacking. Courtesy of the good folks at Arrow Films we now have the new UK trailer and poster for your visual entertainment.

Starring Pilou Asbæk (Borgen), Soren Malling (Borgen) in tense drama of a Danish freight ship that finds itself captured by Somalian pirates everyone onboard is taken hostage. What results is all the hostage caught in the middle of a game of cat & mouse between the hostages and shipping directors as they attempt to negotiate a ransom leaving the hostages no clue when or if they'll ever be set free.

I was fortunate to catch this film at last month's Glasgow Film Festival, it was a film I picked randomly but also on back of its reputation from it's film festival circuit especially from London. Its a slow burning burning film full of tension, it is violent on all levels especially psychically and emotionally becoming one of my favourite films of the festival.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed A Hijacking and you can enjoy it when the film arrives in UK&Ireland 10th May with the American release coming 14th June.

Synopsis

A tense, chilling drama following the emotional journeys of a ship’s crew as they are taken hostage in the Indian Ocean, A HIJACKING was the stand out film at the London, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals 2012.The cargo ship MV Rozen is heading for harbour when it is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Amongst the men on board are the ship’s cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk) and the engineer Jan (Roland Møller), who along with the rest of the seamen are taken hostage in a cynical game of life and death. With the demand for a ransom of millions of dollars a psychological drama unfolds between the CEO of the shipping company (Søren Malling) and the Somali pirates

Victor Crowley Is Back Watch Hatchet 3 Teaser Trailer!

Watch your back as Victor Crowley is back!Adam Green's ever popular serial killer returning for a third outing despite his untimely death he's making sure he'll get his Horror icon status returning for another day, but what makes Hatchet so popular? They keep it old school from old school special effects, plenty of gore and keep everything fun!

Hatchet 3 sees Adam Green hand over the directors chair to BJ McDonnell who was in charging of camera for the first two films hence the third been his directoral debut. Danielle Harris returns  along with Kane Hodder (as Victor), they are joined by Zach Galligan (Gremlins), Derek Mears, Caroline Williams, Sean Whalen. No word on a UK release date but the film will get a limited cinema release on 14th June.

Synopsis

The film continues the tale of the now-iconic villain Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). As a search and recovery team heads into the haunted swamp to pick up the pieces and carnage left behind from the first two films, Marybeth (Danielle Harris) hunts down the true secret to ending the voodoo curse that has left the ghost of Victor Crowley haunting and terrorizing Honey Island Swamp for decades

John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar Restored On Blu-Ray For 50th Anniversary May Release

Tom Courtenay delivers a star-making turn as William Terrence Fisher (‘Billy Liar’) in one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films of the 60s.

Running from an unsympathetic working-class family, a pair of demanding fiancées and an insecure job at an undertakers, Billy escapes, Walter Mitty-like, into a world of fantasy where he can realize his dream ambitions. As work and family pressures build to new intolerable levels, Liz (an early, charismatic turn from Julie Christie), enters his drab life and offers Billy the one real chance he’ll ever get to leave the past behind.

Scripted by Keith Waterhouse from his own novel, and sensitively directed by John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy), Billy Liar is one of the few comedies of the British ‘New Wave’, marrying visual and verbal wit with a rather poignant rumination on the futility of dreams.

The newly restored version of Billy Liar will also screen as part of this year’s Bradford International Film Festival, hosted by Bradford UNESCO City of Film on Sunday 14 April.

David Wilson, Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film said, ‘Billy Liar is a key component within Bradford's rich film heritage and formed part of our bid to become the world's first UNESCO City of Film. It is still an important reference within film studies and I am really pleased that the 50th Anniversary edition on DVD/ BLU-RAY will bring the film to whole new audience.'

On Saturday 13 April Tom Courtenay will also be the festival’s guest of honour where he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. [more details can be found here]

Special Features
• Remembering Billy Liar with Tom Courtenay and Helen Fraser
• Interview with Richard Ayoade
• A look through the Keith Waterhouse Archive with British Library Curator Zoe Wilcox
• Interview with Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley
• Stills Gallery
• Trailer
Pre-order/Buy Billy Liar 50th Anniversary Edition:DVD / Blu-ray

Sightseers Blu-Ray Review

Sightseers is the third film from Ben Wheatley, one of the top British directors working today. It is a dark, twisted comedy about a couple on a caravan holiday who go on a killing spree. Think Badlands but in the Peak District and with far more laughs.

The film is a fantastic advert for Britain, in more ways than one. It shows how we still have the capacity to make great movies and it also shows just how stunning some areas of our country are. Alice Lowe and Steve Oram star as the murderous couple and are simply brilliant. They also wrote the script which, while being bleak, is stunningly funny. I have been a fan of Alice Lowe since seeing her in and I hope that the success of this film will lead to us seeing her more on the big screen and indeed television. Her performance here is quite remarkable as she treads the fine line of looking lost and innocent but being deadly and dangerous at the same time. Oram, as her boyfriend, plays confused and lost to perfection, but when he turns on the menace he is genuinely frightening. Both the leads remind us just how good British comic talent can be, and I do hope that they will continue to write and star in films.

The actors had at one point tried to make the story as a television show and looking at it you could see it working in that format, but with the masterful direction of Wheatley this feels truly cinematic. It's simply gorgeous. There is almost a feeling of Sergio Leone, with intense close-ups mixed with huge landscape shots. As the couple descend more and more into violence and isolation, the locations become more breathtaking. Wheatley directs the comic moments in a wonderfully deadpan way, lingering on the characters and their sad lives; but he is equally adept at directing the violence. It is brutal and shocking but, cleverly, does not show too much.

The editing in Sightseers is very memorable and inventive. Wheatley's use of cutting and his juxtaposing violence with the mundane or odd moments is incredibly successful. His style of editing reminded me of Nicolas Roeg's work, and it is so nice to see someone trying to do something different and unusual and, more impressively, making it work.

Reluctantly, I have to say the film isn't entirely successful, however. While the first two thirds are hilarious and constantly take new turns and developments, the last third is a little more predictable and not quite as funny. Its true though that the story gets darker, therefore the fall in laughs is understandable. It reminded me somewhat of God Bless America, a film about a man and a girl going on a killing rampage in the US. It was directed by Bobcat Goldthwait (in my mind one of the top comedic directors working today) and was quite similar in basic story and structure but while it takes Sightseers a good hour before becoming slightly obvious, God Bless America manages it after about ten minutes. There have been many films about couples going on murder sprees and so to keep us from guessing where it is going to go it really needs to do something remarkably different and in the case of Sightseers this is where it falters.

This is my only problem with the film. Everything else about it is a true delight and I thoroughly recommend seeing it, and on blu ray if possible. It looks great and it is fantastic to see a low budget British film putting its money in all the right places. The blu ray also contains an amusing and informative Making Of, a blooper reel and audio commentaries.

Sightseers is without a doubt one of my favourite films of 2012. Its funny, frightening, and very, very British.

Harry Davenport

★★★★☆

Rating: 15
Release Date: 25th March 2013 (UK)
Directed By: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies, Jonathan Aris

Buy Sightseers: DVD / Blu-ray


Win Sightseers On DVD: Enter Here (ends 7th April 2013)

Win 21 Days: The Heineken Kidnapping On DVD or Blu-Ray

Part thriller, part procedural legal drama, 21 Days: The Heineken Kidnapping is a fascinating and absorbing crime story, which will appeal to fans of the legendary Rutger Hauer and audiences who have also been gripped by the new wave of gritty, realistic euro–crime dramas from Sweden, Denmark and France.based on the sensational true story of the Netherland’s most notorious abduction of Heineken himself in 1983 and courtesy of Arrow Films we've teamed up to give you a chance to win this film on DVD or BluRay.

Rem (Reinout Scholten van Aschat) is an amateur street thug looking for an easy way out of poverty. When he overhears his brother-in-law Cor (Gijs Naber) and associates plotting criminal schemes, Rem wants in on the action. In an effort to impress the others Rem suggests the job to end all jobs - a daring kidnap. The target is Freddy Heineken, the multi-millionaire brewery president. Heineken’s immense wealth is the key attraction but Rem also blames him for his father's failing health due to alcoholism after long years of service as a Heineken salesman.

The gang successfully execute the kidnapping and demand a large ransom, but when the family refuses to give up any kind of money their plan slowly begins to unravel. Rem is drawn deeper and deeper into the worsening situation and his darker impulses are revealed. When he is tasked with monitoring Freddy's cell, Rem seems to enjoy the power he holds over the rich man and cruelly tests his psychological resolve.

After 21 days the ransom is finally paid but the police are already closing in. Two of the gang are arrested but Rem and Cor manage to flee to France. They are apprehended but legal proceedings and extradition issues may give them a chance to evade Dutch justice. Freddy Heineken then begins his own quest for extrajudicial revenge.

To Win one of 3 copies of 21 Days: The Heineken Kidnapping On DVD or BluRay please Answer the following Question:

Q What famous alcoholic beverage made Rutger Hauer a household name in the 1980's with their 'surreal' Television adverts?

Send your answer, name, address, postcode (No telephone Numbers), email titled '21 Days' to winatthecinehouseuk@gmail.com 

Deadline for Comp is Sunday 7th April 2013 (11:59pm).You must be 15 years or older to enter.

Double your chances follow us at Facebook! (you will get double entry every contest)

Read Our Review after you enter / You Buy on Blu-ray / DVD

In event of the above form not working please refer to Terms&Conditions on how to enter

Terms & Conditions:1.This prize is non transferable.No cash alternatives apply.UK & Irish entries only.2.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and  Arrow Films  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,  Arrow Films employees 4.This competition is promoted on behalf of  Arrow Films   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 7th April 2013 (2359hrs)7.Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (win [at] thepeoplesmovies [dot] com), any other entry via any other email will be void.8.If the above form fails please send the information required from the form email it to win [at] thepeoplesmovies [dot] com (label 21 days) If any info required from the form is not sent in the email your entry will be void 9.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 control13.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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Game of Throne's Maisie Williams lands 'monster' role

Production Company Movie Mogul Ltd (PANIC BUTTON), has announced today that actress Maisie Williams has signed up to play the lead role of Lorna Thompson in the sci-fi action film WE ARE MONSTERS.

Williams, who shot to fame as Ayra Stark in the HBO hit series GAME OF THRONES said today: “I am really pleased to be involved in We are Monsters and working with John and I can’t wait to bring Lorna to life'

Writer/Director John Shackleton says "Maisie brings a perfect blend of feistiness and vulnerability to this challenging role and I couldn't be more thrilled at the news of her acceptance of our offer."

Producer Gareth I. Davies added: “Maisie, a star in the making, will bring lots of vitality and excitement to the project, and her existing ‘Game of Thrones’ fan following will be delighted to see Maisie embark on her latest lead role – in what promises to be a very special film to hit our cinema screens in 2014”

Also attached to the film, which goes into pre-production later in the year, is actor Doug Jones best known in the UK for his roles in the HELLBOY films and PAN’S LABYRINTH. He plays Lorna’s nemesis, the evil Sir Daniel Southall.

The crew includes monster effects specialist Neill Gorton ( FROM HELL); Stunt Co-ordinator Andy Bennett (THE WOMAN IN BLACK) and Storyboard artist Ben Oliver (JUDGE DREDD, X-MEN).