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

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.

BFI To Bring Satyajit Ray’s The Big City To Cinema's Across UK.

On 16 August the BFI brings Satyajit Ray’s The Big City to cinemas across the UK. This richly absorbing tale of family and city life from the master of Bengali cinema is set in mid-50s Calcutta, a society still adjusting to Independence and gripped by social and financial crisis.

The film’s nationwide release will coincide with a two-month complete retrospective of the director’s work at BFI Southbank during August and September.

Subrata Mazumdar (Anil Chatterjee), a young bank clerk struggling to support his entire extended family on a meagre salary, firmly believes that ‘a woman’s place is with her cooking pots’. Unsurprisingly, he experiences conflicting emotions when his wife Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee) helps out by taking a job as a door-to-door ‘salesgirl’ peddling knitting machines to rich housewives. Though shy and nervous to begin with, Arati soon proves a huge success, relishing her new-found independence (not to mention the joys of lipstick) and thoroughly upsetting the family dynamic.

Bengali star Madhabi Mukherjee, with her expressive frown and mischievous smile, gives a ravishing, spirited performance as Arati. This was Mukherjee’s first film with Ray (she was later to star in his Charulata) and she confessed herself ‘stunned’ by his extraordinary ‘woman-centred’ screenplay, so different from anything she had previously encountered. Indeed, Ray originally considered calling the film ‘A Woman’s Place’.

Yet, for all his focus on Arati’s problems, Ray – who is renowned for his breadth of sympathy – also deploys warmth, abundant humour and deep psychological insight in his depiction of a large, multi-generational cast of characters, including Arati’s conservative old father-in-law, her studious teenage sister-in-law, her feisty Anglo-Indian colleague and her benevolently despotic boss.

For this new restoration of The Big City, undertaken in India, the original negative was scanned at a high resolution (2K), enabling the film’s epic scale and intimate detail – from the portrayal of bustling urban life to the exquisite play of emotions on Arati’s face – to emerge in greater beauty and clarity.

Now re-released by the BFI to mark its fiftieth anniversary, The Big City, with its emphasis on conflicting social values – and most particularly on the role of women – feels as fresh and relevant as ever.



The Big City is part of The Sayjit Ray season next month at The BFI Southbank from 16th August, more details here.For listings of when The Big City will be playing near you please check with your local independent/Arthouse cinema for exact dates.

Watch The UK Trailer For The Sea Starring Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling

The Sea features a stellar cast including Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Natascha McElhone, Rufus Sewell and Sinéad Cusack, and is an adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-winning novel by John Banville. After the film's UK Premier at last month's Edinburgh Film Festival this afternoon we get our first look at the film's UK Trailer.

Grieving after the death of his wife, art historian Max Morden (Ciarán Hinds) returns to the sleepy seaside resort where he spent summers as a child. Max lodges at a boarding house he once frequented, where frosty proprietor Miss Vavasour (Charlotte Rampling), and eccentric resident Blunden

(Karl Johnson), now reside. Before long - and despite protestations from his daughter Clare (Ruth Bradley) - Max revisits the ghosts of his past. Max's mind returns to an idyllic summer in 1955 when, as a child, he encountered the Grace family. Carlo (Rufus Sewell) and Connie (Natascha McElhone) were unlike any adults he had met before: nonchalant, bohemian and filled with worldly grace and candour. Young Max (Matthew Dillon) befriends the young Grace twins, Chloe (Missy Keating) and Myles (Padhraig Parkinson), and his fascination for this unconventional clan transforms into intimacy and love. Meanwhile, the children's young nanny Rose (Bonnie Wright), an outsider like Max, regards the Grace's new surrogate with quiet suspicion. While Max attempts to deal with the loss of his wife, and recalls moments with his departed partner Anna (Sinéad Cusack), he also confronts a distant trauma from the past. The Sea is a haunting, uplifting, meditation on the human condition - at times elegiac, poetic, and nostalgic. A story of memory, love, loss, regret... and the persistent possibility of rebirth.


The Sea UK Trailer from paull devine on Vimeo.

The Sea will be released in UK this September.

Eureka Entertainment Announce Their August/September Line Up

Releases from Fellini, Sirk, Antonioni, Pialat and Antonio Campos are set to join the Masters of Cinema Series as Eureka Entertainment announce their release schedule for August and September 2013

Eureka Entertainment have announced via their twitter feeds (@eurekavideo & @mastersofcinema) the forthcoming releases in The Masters of Cinema series for the months of August and September 2013.

From classic Hollywood to the finest in French and Italian art cinema as well as a brand new film by an emerging auteur, The Masters of Cinema Series is as eclectic as ever in its August and September 2013 line-up – a 6-film slate that includes directors Douglas Sirk, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Maurice Pialat, and Antonio Campos.

Producer of the Masters of Cinema Series, Andrew Utterson stated “In August, we welcome director Antonio Campos into the series for the first time with his remarkably assured second feature Simon Killer alongside worldwide Blu-ray premières of Douglas Sirk's The Tarnished Angels and Michelangelo Antonioni's La notte [The Night].More cinematic treats follow in September with Maurice Pialat's study of the great artist Van Gogh, the worldwide Blu-ray première of Federico Fellini's early masterpiece Il bidone, and the worldwide Blu-ray première of Douglas Sirk's penultimate Hollywood feature A Time to Love and a Time to Die. “

Managing Director of Eureka Entertainment Ron Benson added “Across six standout films, world and UK premières abound, with new restorations aplenty, as we continue our quest to release the very finest in world cinema, using the very best available materials, and all with a meticulous attention to detail and design.”

Eureka Entertainment Buys Rights To The John Hurt Narrated More Than Honey Documentary

Today Eureka Entertainment announces its plans to release the award-winning film More Than Honey in cinemas 23 August. The film asks why bee colonies continue to collapse worldwide and the UK release will feature a brand new narration from legendary actor JOHN HURT.

Beautifully filmed and directed by Oscar nominated Markus Imhoof (The Boat is Full, Les petites Illusions), winner of numerous Best Documentary Awards across international film festivals and stunning cinematography by Jörg Jeshel and Attila Boa, More Than Honey brings sharply into focus our current bee crisis where numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world with 50% to 90% of bees having disappeared over the past 15 years. With one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat and 80% of plant species dependent on pollination, the honey bee is as indispensable to the economy as it is to man’s survival.

The decline of bees could have an enormous impact on the environment, which is dependent on the insects for pollination. If there is no pollinating insect life, fruits, vegetables, and field crops would be obsolete, leaving the future of much of the world's food supply in question. Or are parasites, new viruses or travelling stress to blame? Seeking answers, the film embarks on a world journey to discover the answers. More Than Honey is the provocative yet touching tale of what may happen if our bees become extinct.

Ian Sadler, Sales Director for Eureka Entertainment commented: “Globally, bee populations are declining significantly and this is an issue for both commercial and non-commercial bee-keepers. Ultimately, if bee populations continue to decline, the impact on just about everything we eat will be enormous. Powerful, beautiful and tragic, More than Honey demonstrates the global nature of the problem, and in doing so captures everything from the awe inspiring emergence of the queen, to the death of a colony.”

More Than Honey will be released theatrically in key cities around the UK and Eire on 23 August 2013.

The Brood Blu-Ray Review

Rating: 18
BD Release date: 8th July 2013 (UK)
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Olivier Reed,Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle
Buy The Brood: [Blu-ray] David Cronenberg’s cult classic The Brood is perhaps one of the most innovative and surprising films to deal with the dangers of psychological therapy. Starring Oliver Reed as the mysterious therapist, Dr Raglan, Art Hindle as Frank Carveth, and Samantha Eggar as Nola Carveth, The Brood explores the possibilities for body horror in medical science without following tired routes: a man desperately clinging to what is left of his family after his ex-wife becomes increasingly more involved with mysterious treatments at a cultish psychological institute, seeks to save his family and solve a recent spate of murders that coincide with his wife’s psychotic turns.

Considering the plot for the film, it would be easy in other hands for The Brood to misfire in a big way, but in careful hands, with a good sense of humour, Cronenberg executes this passion project with nothing short of full genius. One of the things you’ll notice after a first viewing is how brave the film seems once you’ve gotten over the initial shock. The sites of violence and the manner in which those brutal scenes are depicted is riveting and sharp, in particular a class room assault is one of the most controversial yet open-eyed choices in the film.

At points The Brood can stray into laughable territory, spending too much time with hyper-characterized figures and relying a little too much on the apparent terror attached to lonesome children. Cronenberg does, however, carefully balance the humour of his film with visceral imagery and merciless moments of grotesque violence. Yes, the mutant children have perhaps approached their sell-by date and in their bright winter coats appear a wee bit garish but when taken as part of the whole they are still rendered as utterly feral and devious.

The Brood’s cult reputation comes mostly from its classic finale which offers one of the most startling images in horror, and one of the most engaging feminist/horror dialogues committed to film. It is in this shocking final scene that Samantha Eggar unleashes the full fury of her wonderfully damaged psychotic mother-figure and flaunts an unsettling talent for barmy behaviour.

Sharp and well executed, with stand-out performances from Hindle, Reed, and Eggar, and one of cinemas greatest villians and finales, Cronenberg’s The Brood is a sadly often ignored story of relationship breakdown meets horror of the psyche, highly recommended viewing for any classic horror fan.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

Broken Blu-Ray Review

Rating:
15
BD/DVD Release Date:
8th July 2013 (UK)
Director:
Rufus Norris
Cast:
Cillian Murphy, Robert Emms, Tim Roth, Eloise Laurence, Rory Kinnear
Buy Broken:
[Blu-ray] / [DVD]

Based on Daniel Clay's 2008 book of the same name, Broken follows 11 year old tomboy Skunk Cunningham (Eloise Laurence), her lawyer dad Archie (Tim Roth) and her brother Jed (Bill Milner) and their life in a London cul-de-sac. After Skunk witnesses a violent attack carried out by the father of the troublesome Oswald family, it sets a series of events in motion that will change life in the suburban North London close for all involved.

The first thing that struck me about the film was just how well acted it all was. It has genuine, human performances from the seasoned pros like Roth and Cillian Murphy all the way down to the kids. Eloise Laurence is astounding as Skunk. She sidesteps every precocious child actor beartrap possible and delivers a very real feeling character you relate to and care about. There are moments of real warmth and charm in the film that work beautifully and really draw you in to the drama.

Broken takes many of its cues from Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Many of the characters and family dynamics are the same. For instance, Tim Roth plays the moral Atticus character “Archie” and the white trash Ewells are now the equally scummy “Oswalds”. It does a good job of modernising it too. The real strength of the film lies in the relationships. Archie's relationship with Skunk is very believable and her interactions with Murphy's teacher Mike are genuinely touching.

What isn't so great is when the film (and presumably the book) goes off at a right angle to the source novel and all subtlety is abandoned in favour of a thick layer of melodrama. I felt that once the film got rid of Mockingbird's stabilizers, it became a much shakier prospect. It does fantastic groundwork in making you root for these characters but when it comes to the final act it opts for a batshit smattering of soap-opera level drama which spoils things somewhat. A hackneyed fantasy sequence near the end had me mourning for the deftness of touch displayed in the first half.

First time director Rufus Norris does a great job. He chops and changes between narrative threads with confidence and the result is very engaging. However, there is an overreliance on standard “Brit grit” conventions and the whole thing feels very stagey. No surprise as both Norris and screenwriter Mark O'Rowe have theatrical backgrounds. Not to sell the film short, but I have the feeling Broken would work even better on the stage.

Broken is a well-acted, well directed character piece. The goodwill it earns is only slightly marred by an overdramatic, student film level bleakness towards the end. Recommended.

★★★☆☆

Ben Browne

EIFF 2013 - UWANTMETOKILLHIM? Review

Rating:
15
Release Date:
25th June 2013 (EIFF), September 2013 (UK Cinema)
Stars:
Jamie Blackley, Toby Regbo, Jaime Winstone
Director:
Andrew DouglasViewers 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

Baby Hit Me One More Time - Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers To Get August Home Release

Prepare to have your senses well and truly assaulted by the coolest film of the year and uncover a tale of deranged, crazed, sexy college teens on the road to hedonism and self discovery.  Spring Breakers is released on 2 Disc Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD with Ultraviolet on 12 August 2013, and becomes available for Digital Download from 29 July 2013 from Universal Pictures (UK).  The Special Edition Blu-ray will contain an additional bonus DVD disc loaded with fantastic special features including deleted scenes, outtakes and an exclusive ‘making of’ documentary.

Starring Disney graduates Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Rachel Korine (Mister Lonely), Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars) and Oscar^® nominee James Franco (127 Hours) as you’ve never seen them before in a take on the American college tradition of Spring Break that has to be seen to be believed. Directed byHarmony Korine (Kids, Gummo) in his uniquely metaphorical and symbolic style, Spring Breakers shatters our expectations and shows us a bizarre underworld where nobody can look away, all set against a scorching soundtrack including original music bySkrillex, Cliff Martinez and Gucci Mane.

Brit, Candy, Cotty and Faith have been best friends since grade school, trying to save enough money for Spring Break. Still short of cash, three of them hold up a restaurant using toy guns in order to get to Florida for two weeks of fun.  After a few days of partying, the girls get arrested during a police raid and land up in jail.  Bailed out by local drug dealer Alien (Franco), they soon find themselves in over their heads when their mentor introduces them to the wonders of an addictively dangerous Spring Breakthey will never forget.

If you follow The People's Movies and cinehouse you'll know opinion was divided. Here at The People's Movies it's rated one of the worst films in 2013 (0.5/5 rating) however over at Cinehouse 4 star review it was a more enjoyable experience. Whatever your views on the film Spring breakers is one of those films which will become a cult classic for the right or wrong reasons making the purchase of the film even more worthwhile.

Edgy, hilarious and outrageous, immerse yourself in an intoxicating world when instant cult classic Spring Breakers is released on2 Disc Special Edition Blu-ray, and DVD with Ultraviolet on 12 August 2013, and becomes available for Digital Downloadfrom 29 July 2013.

BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

‘Making of’ feature (26 mins)

Feature commentary with writer / director Harmony Korine

Four featurettes:

• Behind the scenes
• Harmony Korine
• AVPs
• The Girls

Theatrical trailer

DVD BONUS DISC (2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY)

• ·         Breaking it Down: Behind Spring Breakers (21 mins 46 secs)
• ·         Deleted scenes (1 min)
• ·         Outtakes (7 mins 20 secs)
• ·         Harmony’s Ear Candy Featurette (7 mins 20 secs)

Pre-Order / Buy Spring Breakers on: [Blu-ray] / [DVD]

Watch The New Uber-Cool UK Trailer For Only God Forgives

Is it Blackpool's illuminations after a face lift or something with more class? The latter of course, so do you wanna fight? If your cool enough, get those dukes in the air or you could just admire the new UK trailer for Only God Forgives instead!

Nicholas Winding Refn's uber-cool neon drenched thriller is only 4 weeks away and to get us in fighting order Lionsgate Films UK  and this new trailer provides that substance. It's style, hyper violent, atmospheric, very melancholic and senor Gosling is been slick as ever , a un-relentless S.O.B. The new Only God Forgives trailer might only be 90 seconds long packs a superficial punch delivering tone and more new footage but not in a manner to spoil the broth.

Ryan Gosling plays Julian a Thai Boxing club owner in Bangkok a front for his family's drug business who is forced by his mother to avenge the death of his brother. Julian has one problem the man he wants is chang a retired police man who is nicknamed the Angel of Vengeance.

Don't let negative American reviews get you down decide for yourselves, as The Playlist said, it's an experience you must enjoy by yourselves and if anyone disagrees ask them 'Wanna Fight?'

Only God Forgives arrives in UK&Ireland on 2nd August (USA 19th July) and stars Ryan Gosling, Kristen Scott Thomas, Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, Vithaya Pansringarm, Tom Burke and Byron Gibson.

Synopsis

Bangkok. Julian (Ryan Gosling) runs a Thai boxing club as a front for a drugs operation. He has everything he wants for and is respected in the criminal underworld though, deep inside, he feels empty.
When Julian’s brother murders a prostitute the police call on retired cop Chang – the Angel of Vengeance (Vithaya Pansringarm). Chang allows the father to kill his daughter’s murderer, then ‘restores order’ by chopping off the man’s right hand. Julian’s mother Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas) – the head of a powerful criminal organization – arrives in Bangkok to collect her son’s body. She dispatches Julian to find his killers and ‘raise hell’.
Increasingly obsessed with the Angel of Vengeance, Julian challenges him to a boxing match, hoping that by defeating him he might find spiritual release… but Chang triumphs. A furious Jenna plots revenge and the stage is set for a bloody journey through betrayal and vengeance towards a final confrontation and the possibility of redemption.