Win Monster Brawl DVD, T-Shirt & Poster

Smashing its way onto TV screens on 20th August, is the hilarious and grotesque Monster Brawl! This is a dream come true for anybody who has ever watched a horror film and then discussed with their friends who would win in a face-off between their two favourite monsters (and who hasn’t had such a discussion?). Courtesy of Momentum Pictures, we have loads of amazing prizes to give away- DVDs, posters and T-shirts!

Celebrity Wrestlemania doesn’t get any scarier – or funnier – than the Monster Brawl, in which four contestants from the Creature Conference and four from the Undead Conference battle it out in the ring to take the title of the most powerful monster of all time. Representing the CC are Massachusetts’ nefarious necromancer Witch Bitch, Louisana’s slimy bog dweller Swamp Gut, Tennessee’s very own Werewolf and, adding some continental glamour to the group, the mythical Cyclops from the Ionian Islands of Greece. The UC’s creepily cosmopolitan line-up consists of Transylvania’s Lady Vampire, Ingolstadt’s Frankenstein, Egypt’s Mummy and, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the one and only Zombie Man!

The rule book is ripped up, no holds are barred, everything goes and heads definitely roll in this gory and horrifically hilarious satire of those ever-popular Pay-Per-View wrestling extravaganzas we all know and love so well.

To be one of the 3 lucky winners which we'll pick, answer the following questions:

Q. Jimmy Hart  Who stars in Monster Brawl belongs to What Famous Wrestling Family?

A.Von Erich Family?
B.Hart Family?
C.The Guerrero Family?

Email you answer, name, address, postcode only to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com Deadline for the comp is Sunday 9th September 2012, Must be Aged 18 or over to enter.

Terms and Conditions

• This prize is non-transferable.
• No cash alternatives apply.
• UK & Irish entries only
  The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Momentum Pictures 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,Momentum Pictures employees
• This competition is promoted on behalf of Momentum Pictures
  
• If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead.
• The Prize is to win Monster Brawl  DVD,t-shirt & poster 3 winners
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline September 9th, 2012 (2359hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.
• The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes
• Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery.
• The competition is opened to Aged 18  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
• This competition is bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.
• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
Loquax Competitions
Free Competitions
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

The Devil's Business Review

★★★1/2 

The achievement of telling a successful horror story is akin to the achievement of successfully juggling chainsaws. Both activities entertain an audience by making them tense, and both have their entertainment value severely reduced by a messy, shock-value ending. Of course the activities do differ a little. Telling a bad story does not result in a sudden loss of hands. But the analogy holds true, as The Devil’s Business shows. This is, for the most part, a really creepy, intelligent film, that, now and again completely drops the chainsaw.

The Devil’s Business is the story of an assassination. Two hitmen, the experienced Mr Pinner (Billy Clarke) and the inexperienced Cully (Jack Gordon), have been hired by the gangster Bruno (Harry Miller). They are to kill Kist (Jonathan Hansler) who has stolen something of Bruno’s. Having broken into Kist’s house, the two settle in to wait for their victim. Pinner is determined that the job be a simple one. But when the two hitmen stumble across a Satanic altar, things soon become very, very complicated.

The result is a profoundly creepy experience. Stumbling back into the light as the credits rolled, the sudden loss of tension made me feel empty and spent. This is a film that truly exploits the horror of the unknown, with the use of darkness and shadow at times approaching mastery. Indeed one of the film’s best sequences is nothing more than Mr. Pinner talking at the camera for a bit. It doesn’t sound like much, but with Pinner’s face covered in shadow, apart from two pinpricks of light reflected off his hidden eyes, the result is truly unnerving.

In fact, I might even describe Hogan’s abilities as Lovecraftian in quality, displaying craft worthy of a horror master. I might. But I can’t, because though the horror of the unknown is great, as soon as he makes it known, the film falls to pieces. As might be expected for such a low budget film, props and costumes ultimately fail to convey anything as truly scary as what we might imagine lurking in the shadows. Speaking to fellow critics after the film, I found overall opinions somewhat mixed. But one thought was repeated by everyone. This would have been a better film, if we had seen less.

That’s not the only problem either: about halfway through, Devil’s Business undergoes some odd pacing difficulties. I can’t go into detail because of spoilers, but essentially an event occurs that seemed to me to be a natural conclusion. I sat there for about 10 minutes, expecting the credits to roll at any moment, before belatedly realising that no, there was more to come. The pacing did recover from this upset, but still, that transitional period was awkward and ugly.

But though the plotting has its flaws, Hogan’s dialogue is excellent. One of the distinctive features of Devil’s Business is the artificial, quasi-theatrical style of the dialogue (the film has been described as Pinter-esque). This kind of writing style is a risk. As a positive, the oddness of it can be unnerving, and the artificiality allows for a spot of philosophising. As a negative, sometimes actors end up delivering their lines with an obvious lack of understanding. That kills a movie: certainly it destroyed Cosmopolis for me. It is a mark of Clarke’s ability in particular that he was able to sell the dialogue, his mournful Irish brogue instilling alien words with true feeling.

This delivery, combined with a deep, emotive performance, makes Clarke the best of the cast. Hansler’s Kist is as creepy as only the British upper-middle-class can be, but his one-dimensional character limits him somewhat. The same goes for Miller’s East End mobster Bruno. Gordon has strong emotional chops, able to convey feeling well, but he struggled a bit with the language. Still, despite these limitations, the cast put on a strong showing, the strength of their acting empowering the film.

As for the technical filmmaking, well, here unfortunately we have more problems. Nicola Marsh is obviously an inventive, experimental cinematographer, something which pays off as regards working with shadows and darkness. But at other times all the artifice just gets in the way of the story. What’s more, the camera operation was at times decidedly messy: one sequence in particular was so shaky it looked like an amateur home movie. The score too was of similarly inconsistent quality. In its subtler moments it proves to be quietly effective. In its louder moments, it completely destroys the atmosphere.

I think this dichotomy characterises The Devil’s Business. This film is at its most effective when it is being low-key: when the sounds, camerawork and monsters are all safely unobtrusive. It should be emphasised that this is the case for most of the film. This is a legitimately scary story, and definitely worth a watch. But still, it remains flawed. My hope is next time round, Sean Hogan and his team show more restraint. That would be a recipe for greatness.

Adam Brodie

Rating: 18
UK Release Date: 17th August 2012
Directed By: Sean Hogan
Cast: Jack Gordon, Billy Clarke, Jonathan Hansler, Harry Miller

Feature - Evolution of Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams most recently seen in My Week with Marilyn, opposite Eddie Redymane became known for her role as Jen Lindley in Dawson’s Creek and has since become one of the biggest actresses of our time.

To celebrate the release of Take this Waltz out next month The People’s Movies decided to take a look back on the career of Michelle Williams.

From her role in Dawson’s Creek Michelle went on to star in films including Perfume, Me without You, Provac Nation, The United States of Leland and The Station Agent.

Michelle is mainly famous for starring in Indie films such as Brockback Mountain a story of a forbidden relationship between two cowboys.

She also starred opposite Laura Linney in The Hottest State, I`m not There with Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Deception with Ewan McGregor.

Continuing with the indie genre, in 2008 Michelle starred in Wendy and Lucy a story of a women and her dog aswell as Mamoth in which she played Ellen Vidales a tale of a successful businessman and his wife and daughter in New York.

Michelle most recently starred as Cindy in Blue Valentine about a married couple over the years opposite Ryan Gosling.

Michelle also starred in Shutter Island opposite Leonardo Dicaprio and Meeks Cutoff in which she played Emily Tetheran with Bruce Greenwood.

Fans of Michelle will be looking forward to her latest role in Take this Waltz in which she stars as Margot, a happily married woman who falls for her neighbour opposite Seth Rogan.

Take this Waltz is in cinemas 17th August 2012

Emily Pontin