EIFF 2012: Brake Review

★★★1/2☆

Stephen Dorff stars in Gabe Torres' claustrophobic thriller, Brake, which proves to be far more than another Buried. Receiving its UK premiere at this years' Edinburgh International Film Festival, Brake provides some highly entertaining B-Movie thrills alongside another stellar performance from Dorff.

Secret Service agent, Jeremy Reins (Dorff) wakes up trapped in the boot (or trunk, for the non-Brits) of a car, with no recollection as to how he got there. Reins is forced to endure a series of physical and mental tortures as terrorists attempt to extract the location of Roulette, the President's secret bunker.

Tim Mannion's screenplay may not be the most original piece of writing in recent years, with obvious parallels to Rodrigo Cortes' Buried being raised. However, Mannion does attempt to deviate from his predecessor with the inclusion of some well contained action. We're talking shootouts, flooding and bees (calm down Wicker Man '06 fans), all just some of the high-octane antics that you can expect from Brake. These thrills combined with Torres' tense, claustrophobic direction, make Brake, a enthralling, well contained action film. You have got to hand it to a team that can make eighty-five minutes of film set in one claustrophobic location, this engaging.

As the only actor on screen throughout the majority of Brake, Stephen Dorff truly excels in his performance, both physically and emotionally. The viewers' gaze rests firmly on the Somewhere star, feeling totally connected to the character of Jeremy - we are with him during this whole ordeal. Even when handling some atrocious dialogue or Jack Bauer style screams, Dorff's performance retains a sincerity and likeability whilst also managing to stay convincing as an action hero, surely no easy task when you are confined to a Perspex box.

As well as the clichés to be found in Brake's dialogue, they can also be seen through several narrative features like Jeremy's remorseful phone call to his distant wife or through Tom Berenger's shady CIA big shot character. However, Brake does make up for this with some unexpected paranoia-infused twists lurking in its conclusion.

Brake is an enjoyably tense thriller, boasting a stellar performance from the inimitable Stephen Dorff. Several high-octane thrills and an unexpected conclusion ensures that Torres' claustrophobic film is a completely worthwhile watch.

Andrew McArthur

Release: 29th June 2012 (EIFF)
Director: Gabe Torres Stars: Stephen Dorff, Chyler Leigh ,Tom Berenger,

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Brake (2012) - Official Trailer [HD] Published via LongTail.tv

Win Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisi​e Posters

In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the film’s original release,STUDIOCANAL and the ICO are very pleased to announce that they will be releasing a re-mastered digital print of Luis Buñuel’s surreal comedy THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE in cinemas on June 29th, including an Extended Run at BFI Southbank as part of their Jean-Claude Carrière season. Carrière has written the screenplays for many classic films including:  Belle de Jour, The Milky Way, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Tin Drum, La Piscine, Sommersbyand The Unbearable Lightness of Being. He is an Oscar winner for the short filmHappy Anniversary. To celebrate the upcoming re-release of this fantastic film courtesy of Studiocanal we have 3 posters to give away (see above for artwork)

In Luis Buñuel’s deliciously satiric masterpiece, six pillars of society repeatedly try to have dinner together, their plans interrupted by events both real (scheduling mix-ups, a restaurateur's death) and increasingly surreal (including a series of typically Buñuellian dream sequences).Jean-Pierre Cassel, Delphine Seyring, Stéphane Audran, Bulle Ogier and long-time Buñuel collaborators Fernando Rey and Paul Frankeurhead the extraordinary cast of a film made when Buñuel was 72 years old. Full of passion and fire, it was the 1972 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film and BAFTA winner for Best Screenplay.

Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and disquietingly bizarre THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIEremains one of Buñuel's most popular films.

To this fantastic piece of artwork answer the following question:

Q.What was the name of the next film Luis Bunuel Directed After this film?

A.The Phantom Of Liberty

B. Tristana

C.Belle De Jour

Send your answer , name, address, to have your email to  cinehouseuk@gmail.com header As ‘bunuel’. Deadline:July 15 th, 2012 (2359hrs) .

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Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - 40th Anniversary Reissue Published via LongTail.tv

THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE will be in cinemas on June 29th,then on DVD, and for the first time on blu-ray, on July 16th 2012.

Terms and Conditions

• This prize is non-transferable.
• No cash alternatives apply.
• UK & Irish entries only
  The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and studiocanal have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
• The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, Studiocanal employees
• This competition is promoted on behalf of Studiocanal.
• The Prize is to win The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie on poster
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline July 15th, 2012 (2359hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (cinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes
• The competition is opened to Aged 13  and over 
• Unless Stated Please  Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them
• The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

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Mischa Rozema's SUNDAYS Short Needs Your Help

Here at cinehouse (and at times The Peoples Movies) we do get alot Kickstarter film projects, we try our best to cover most if not all them. Today's project was spotted by our Canadian friends at Twitch and one type of short film we adore is horror, sci-fi (we love genres though) especially and Mischa Rozema's SUNDAYS does seem to fill our fix. The Amsterdam based commercial director hopes her Sci-fi short will soon become a full feature a story built around the idea that one day a computer based intelligence will exceed a human one arriving via a technological singularity.

Visually this looks great, storyline decent my only concern like many people with great short films can the story be easily adapted or will it be overstretched? Whatever you think you can check out the film below and below that read the kickster information. You can support the film here.

Sundays (working title) is a feature film idea created and written by Dutch commercials director Mischa Rozema. It is a project he has been living and sleeping with for the past years. It is the result of stories inhabiting his head, images that need to be visualised and the the desire to create a film completely different to anything we’ve seen before. The story is there, so is the research. What we are asking your help with is the opportunity to create a short film - the first step on the path to realising a feature film - using the skills and passion of Mischa and his team at PostPanic and Savage.
We're raising money through Kickstarter to make this short film. We want to show what is visually possible when creative integrity is closely guarded from the beginning. We don’t want to risk diluting Mischa’s vision by 3rd parties forcing him to become more mainstream and commercial. We want to show what he is capable of as a storyteller when he has complete control over the direction.

What is 'Sundays' about?
We are fast approaching an event, unparalleled in our history. A tipping point known as a technological singularity. It's the moment when computer power surpasses human intelligence. This moment is inevitable. Our world will change forever.
We are on the verge of having to decide the future of humanity. In order to maintain we might have to change the very definition of what it means to be human. So what exactly is 'human'? Where does it begin and where does it stop. Are we willing to stretch its definition and our ethics to corners we never could have imagined. Is there an infinite deadline on our existence?
This is the story of what it means to be human and how the characteristics of what makes us special stand the test of time. It's evident that technologies are now tied to our evolution as a species. Does our biology define us as human beings or is it the ideals for which humanity stands for?