American Mary Review

The Soska Sisters’ ambitious yet flawed debut feature Dead Hooker in a Trunk was just enough to get their feet in the door, something we can all be pretty grateful for considering the impressive cult legend that is their second feature film: American Mary.

                Katharine Isabelle stars as Mary, a dedicated and gifted young medical student struggling to make ends meet. After she responds to a Job advert for a local strip joint she is forced to use her skills in shady circumstance for the club owner. The result is $5000 and the promise she will keep her mouth shut. Soon, news of Mary’s skills reaches the black market and she begins to spiral into an underworld of people infatuated with body modification. Whatever needs done “Bloody Mary” can do… for a price.

                Everything that was perhaps amateur about Dead Hooker is sorted in American Mary, a film that is, for all its guts and glory, a fairly muted affair centred around a great principal idea. That’s no said to muddy the sisters’ use of gore (since this is a film at points dripping with the stuff) but the strong point is in the fact it doesn’t rush into being a horror film. At the very least that it doesn’t seem too interested in being a conformist piece of slash-happy Friday night fun.  Too often Indy horror dwindles in the plot department letting any terror miss-fire since we don’t actually give a shit about what’s going on.  Here the Twisted Twins have parodied American ideals, hinting that the macabre side of life is almost unavoidable in this: a film that narrates the collision point of sex, money, and the American Dream.

Isabelle is largely to thank for the success of the film, having spent plenty of time being fodder for serial killers (Freddy vs. Jason comes nostalgically to mind) she gets a shot at being an unexpected but formidable force. A careful balance of stone-cold calculating and human guilt hedges in the possibility of the ridiculous. If there’s any gripe about her performance it’s that she’s not given enough scenes to explore the more guilt-ridden side of Mary.

                Very quickly the film reveals a slick black heart wrapped in blood, mayhem, and sex.  The Soska’s obviously have a direction they want to take their own brand of visceral charm, but at times this seems too recycled. Moments that should have been truly deranged are lost in translation, the shock factor reined in by repetition. Cult imagery rears its triumphant head at numerous points, proving the Soska’s have the capacity for impressive mise en scene. An example?  Isabelle decked in stripper-wear performing surgery in a strip club basement jumps to mind first. It’s the sort of thing that sticks in your head.

                Plot-wise the film is pretty fluid, a nice birth-of-the-monster origin story makes the first half a hoot, but there seems to be some trouble with which direction to take the film in once Mary is taken advantage of. The revenge idea is great and certainly gives the film drive, but act two just seems a little bare, add this to the out-of-nowhere ending and the film seems to degrade slightly from its strong opening.

American Mary takes the passion and rage of a revenge film mixes it with modern gothic, anchors it with a great central performance, wraps the whole sordid affair in a slick and black shiny wrapping then lets it spin into an urban legend. Perhaps the spinning goes a little too far out of control and some wobbly decisions leave the film on a downer, but at this rate of improvement the Twisted Twins’ next piece should be genius.

SCOTT CLARK

★★★☆☆

UK Rating: 18
DVD/BD Release Date: 28th January 2013 (UK)
Director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Cast:  Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk

The Confrontation (Fényes szelek) DVD Review

“Those who have never seen a film by Jancsó from the 1960s, when this Hungarian director was at his peak, are usually astonished by the experience,” says renowned critic Derek Malcolm in a statement that those of us who have seen the masterpieces The Round Up and The Red and the White know only too well. With The Confrontation, the fifth, and hopefully not the last, of the director’s films to be released by Second Run DVD, the results are, at times, equally astonishing and, although the film never reaches the lofty heights of those previously mentioned, it is the film’s beautiful use of colour that sets it apart from the others.

The Confrontation is Jancsó’s first film to make use of colour and, as the informative essay by Graham Petrie included with the DVD makes clear, it is this “visual and aural style of the film” that moves his aesthetic away from the black and white realism of his previous films into a more colourful and co-ordinated direction.

The film is set, much like with Jancsó’s previous films, in Hungary’s past. In this instance the backdrop is the student protests that occurred in the newly Communist Hungary of 1947. The film draws upon the director’s own experiences with the ‘Peoples’ Colleges’ protests, whose aim was to make University more accessible to working class students, and can clearly be seen as a parallel to the student protests that happened in both France and the United States, as well as elsewhere, during 1968.

The film’s story is centred on a demonstration that takes place in the courtyard of a church run school in which the protesting students try to persuade the school’s students to join their cause. It is through this demonstration that the films theme becomes clear. Whereas Jancsó’s previous films concentrated on an exploration of the power of nature, The Confrontation concentrates on an examination of the tactics and beliefs necessary for revolution, with the student’s loyalties split between two leaders; one who prefers to use compromise and negotiation and the other who sees violence as a necessity.

While the film never reaches the heights of Jancsó’s best films, all in all the film is beautifully colourful, wonderfully choreographed, and ultimately a fascinating experience.

Shane James

★★★★☆

Rating:U
BD Release Date: 28 January 2013 (UK)
Director: Miklós Jancsó
Cast: Andrea Drahota, Kati Kovács, Lajos Balázsovits
Buy:The Confrontation (Fényes szelek) [DVD]

Park Circus To Re-Release Jerry Schatzberg's Digitally Restored Scarecrow

Park Circus have announced 26th April 2013 sees the UK re-release of Jerry Schatzberg's Scarecrow,starring Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. Scarecrow has been digitally remastered to celebrate the Palme d'Or winning film's 40th Anniversary.

From professional photographer Jerry Schatzberg won the Palme d’Or in 1973 for this rarely screened eccentric on-the-road American classic, starring the acclaimed duo Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. A tale of intense and newfound friendship between lowly Max (Hackman – stated as his favourite ever role) and Lion (Pacino), Scarecrow is digitally restored and ripe for rediscovery on the big screen.
Opening amidst an isolated backdrop of dusty American landscape, Max, just released from prison, happens upon Lion. A muted meeting at first soon blossoms into the beginning of a new friendship that takes them hitchhiking across America to realise Max’s dream of opening his own car wash in Pittsburgh. Encountering a series of oddball characters along the way, often delving deep into the protagonists’ peculiarities and personal problems, Scarecrow is an intriguing, gritty gem from a significant period of great American cinema.

Scarecrow has been newly restored by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film will open in the UK on 26th April at BFI Southbank and selected cinemas nationwide.

'Nothing Will Get In His Way'- New Clip For The Fall Of The Essex Boys

Brit crime thriller The Fall Of The Essex Boys, which hits cinemas 8th February, and we have a brand new clip, showcasing hat the film has to offer.

Told from the point of view of gang member and police informant Darren Nicholls, this Lock Stock-esque new twist on the infamous Rettendon Range Rover murders stars Brit favourites Nick Nevern (The Rise and Fall Of The White Collar Hooligan), Robert Cavanah (The Borgias, Pimp), Kate Magowan (Kidulthood, Stardust) and BAFTA nominated Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, Eastenders).

The clip sees Kierston Wareing and Robert Cavanah discussing her life as a wife of The Firm, and the magnetic danger that means she can never leave. The Fall Of The Essex Boys  also stars Simon Phillips, Peter Woodward, Craig Rolfe and Roman Kemp. Film arrives 8th February for limited cinema release before it's home release on 18 February.

Synopsis:The 1995 Rettendon Triple Murder. Not since Jack The Ripper has a killer’s identity so captivated the nation. The gruesome death of three drug dealers has spawned a miniature industry – books, TV programmes, merchandise, conventions and – of course – feature films. The appetite for gory detail and suppressed gangland secrets remains unabated, and is constantly titillated further with new tales of football hooliganism, international drug smuggling and police conspiracies of silence.

An 18 year old girl going into a coma after taking an ecstasy pill from a bad batch is the catalyst that sets in motion a series of events that leads to the demise of one of the most infamous criminal organisations in British History. Detective Inspector Stone steps in to try and put pressure on an untouchable unit of criminals – Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe. The Essex Boys. In order to bring the criminals   down, he must act out of the law to get things done.
As the Essex Boys grow stronger and more fearless, their addiction to drugs and power slowly starts to spiral out of control and they soon start to develop enemies everywhere.As Stone starts to see the cracks forming in their organisation and with pressure from his peers he soon realises that bringing them down will be inevitable but the real test will come when he must find a way of getting his man on the inside out safely.

Piranha Blu-Ray Review

Piranha is Joe Dante's official solo directorial debut, he co-directed some of Hollywood Boulevard. Dante would later go on to make such films as Gremlins, Matinee, the Burbs, Small Soldiers and more recently The Hole and he also hosts the online youtube channel Trailers from Hell which him and other directors do commentary on old film trailers. He also was the creator behind one of my favourite tv shows Eerie Indiana. Joe Dante like too many great directors before him started in the Roger Corman (also a great director in his own right… just watch The Intruder) school of filmmaking.

Piranha isn't one of Dante's finest films at any stretch of the imagination but it's a perfectly fine enjoyable rip-off of Steven Spielberg's much more superior film Jaws. Roger Corman from the start would often do films that rip-off popular films of the time or what was popular in the youth market; for instance during the start of hippie era, he made The Trip which was all about taking LSD (Dante has been trying to get film about making of The Trip off the ground for a while now). The films Corman directed himself would usually be the superior films he made.

The film literally opens with a Jaws video game and has numerous nods to the film throughout the film. Universal tried to sue the filmmakers for spoofing Jaws but Spielberg was so impressed with it's rip-off he later hired Dante to make his best film to date Gremlins and Universal obviously dropped their lawsuit. Piranha like most of Dante's films have a very nice sense of humour of everything it's doing but not in obnoxious way that certain films of this ilk do. The film is also noted for it being the screenwriting debut of John Sayles who would take his profits from the film (and other screenwriting jobs for hire) to make his own deeply personal films.

Overall the film is a amusing rip-off of Jaws while it's certainly not any of the filmmaker's involved best work at all, it's a perfectly decent 90 minutes. It also features great cameos from Corman regulars such as Paul Bartel and Dick Miller. Second Sight has done a very nice blu-ray package with lots of bonus material and also they have starting releasing some interesting cult films of late such as Southern Comfort and From Beyond (will be reviewed later on this site in the year).

Ian Schultz

★★★☆☆

Rating:15
BD Release Date: 28 January 2013 (UK)
Director:Joe Dante
Cast: Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies-Urich, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn,Dick Miller
Buy:Piranha [Blu-ray] [1978]

Manborg DVD Review

When a film comes our way and one of the first pieces of information we hear regarding said film is that its budget was a measly $1000, yet it still made London Sci-Fi Festival and is getting some pretty rave reviews…we’re pretty much there, popcorn ready. Manborg, the latest cult extravaganza from retro-style production company Astron-6, is the outcome of three long years of scraping through dumpsters, crafting totally low-end effects, and the amalgamation of numerous 70’s and 80’s Sci-Fi B-movie exploitation films with ridiculous names and cool covers. It’s not exactly a revolution to state this film is strictly for B-movie fans.

Nazi demons, led by the evil count Draculon, spill out of Hell to conquer the Earth and, after losing his brother to the forces of darkness, an unnamed warrior is decimated by the Count and left amidst the bodies of the crushed rebellion. A mysterious figure puts the unnamed warrior back together, merging his crushed form with powerful cybernetic equipment to create Manborg- Cyborg of Destruction. The one man army then rages a war against Draculon and his nefarious minions with the future of Earth in the balance.

What we have here is a Robocop throwback with a microscopic budget yet it actually benefits from being stripped back to basics. The Harryhausen cybernetic monsters, an 80’s synth-led soundtrack reminiscent of Terminator and Carpenter films, the bizarre costumes, cheesy dialogue and OTT gore, are all welcome components of a nostalgia trip to weird 80’s action films. There are moments where you’ll wonder just how the hell the film got entertained for release or even production, but charm alone carves a hefty path through cynicism, never mind entertainment value. Everyone involved is in on exactly what type of film is being made, nobody takes themselves too seriously and the obviously cheesy/ludicrous characterization is, hopefully, purposeful.

It would probably be pedantic to complain about the childish sense of humour when the context of the film is considered, any film willing to rerecord a character’s voice to give him a badly dubbed macho tone, or have a zombie-demon-Nazi-doctor fall for the punky girl held captive in his fortress, deserves some slack. However there are some overly out-there moments that sometimes drag the film into being plain bad, when overall it seems pretty mindful of its retro arcade game/ 80’s cheese-fest inspirations.

Fight scenes actually work really well and the film can boast a fairly non-stop pacing that allows its running time of an hour to remain favourable from start to bloody conclusion. There’s a topless karate expert, a gun slinging nutter and his gorgeous sister, an adventure to save the planet, some great old-fashioned effects, and gory fight sequences all wrapped up in a keen video game style that only adds to the allure of the film. On that note, Manborg would make a pretty epic video game.

Imagine an action-packed particularly gory trashy episode of Red Dwarf with cheesier scripting all filmed by Tekken nerds. If you’re game for silly retro fun and old school outlandish characters then Manborg is a must-see, otherwise, steer clear of this wholly silly affair.

Scott Clark

★★★★☆

Rating: 15
DVD Release Date: 4th February 2013 (UK)
Directed by:Steven Kostanski
Cast: Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks , Meredith Sweeney
Buy/Pre-order:Manborg DVD

Shooting Wraps On Mark Harris The Broken

After a 6-week shoot in London and the USA Mark Harris scripted The Broken has now official finished  filming and principal photogaphy. The Broken is a thriller of international variety with locations varying from the sun drenched Sunset Boulevard, slums of Los Angeles to the streets of Lambeth in London. The international  label isn't just with the films locations The Broken stars a host of international acting talent including Mark Harris (Outside Bet, Offender), Felix Ryan (NCIS), Kyle Summercorn (Misfits), Rhea Bailey (The Mentalist)and Deji Laray (CSI: NY).

Synopsis :After the loss of his beloved son and a traumatic term in prison, all Matt Hollis wants is to be reunited with his estranged wife, Alison and daughter Lara. Certain that a break is all that they need to get back on track, Matt scrapes together enough money to take the family to America.

In LA, the Hollis’ find themselves in a palatial holiday home that seems too good to be true. Everything is perfect until, one night Alison is savagely beaten and Lara taken from her bed.

Terrified that he is about to lose his family all over again, Matt is desperate to find his daughter and makes contact with his old friend Syan who suggests that Lara may be the victim of an illegal child adoption ring. With the police on their tail, the two men embark in pursuit of Lara’s kidnappers and uncover a prolific ring of traffickers who sell innocent children to the highest bidder, servicing even the highest echelons of society’s elite.

Already sold to a childless couple, Lara will soon be lost and Matt and Syan must reach her before she becomes another victim of the trafficking trade.

The Broken is set for a August release in UK&Ireland ,The film is written by Marc Small and Davie Fairbanks and is based on an original story by Mark Harris. The feature will be directed by Simon Phillips (GBH). The Broken also stars Anna Nightingale, Honor Kneafsey and Rita Ramnani

Looper DVD Review

When Looper was released in 2012 it made my top ten of the year. Directed by Rian Johnson (Brick) Looper is a smart science fiction movie with a high concept premise that does an about turn half way through its running time and heads off in an unexpected direction.

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a mid 21st century assassin with a difference, a Looper. Working for an organised crime syndicate, he kills targets sent back from the future where time travel has been invented and is in the hands of criminals. All is running smoothly until he is called upon to ‘close his loop’ and assassinate his future self (Bruce Willis). When he fails to pull the trigger future Joe goes on the run.

Looper deftly avoids the raft of exposition and time travel paradox dialogue that bogs down many time travel adventures (and episodes of Star Trek). In a rather disturbing scene, a Looper’s younger self is tortured, and we see his present self change before our eyes into a disturbed, shell of a man. However this universe is strikingly close to our own. It’s recognisable and it’s close. No overindulgence by the director in recreating an alien future with all its shiny new technology. The differences are subtle, like viewing our own world through a cracked mirror.

The heart of the film is Emily Blunt, a tough as nails single mother who allows young Joe to hide out on her farm. Through her we get to explore the questions surrounding destiny, moral ambiguity and the nature vs. nurture debate.

Let’s not forget the action in Looper. Bruce Willis more than holds his own in the slick action sequences. In your mind’s eye you can almost see him in his white vest from Die Hard. But it is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is the real stand out in this film. With the disconcerting prosthetics to make him appear like a plausible young version of Willis, he looks oddly askew from the actor we’re familiar with. Instead, the makeup actually masks his ordinarily boyish looks which would have made him a far less convincing character. He’s also racking up one of the best CVs in film.

Looper then is a worthy addition to the time travel genre, with shades of Blade Runner, Terminator 2 and Twelve Monkeys running through it – even if it does ask more questions than it eventually answers.

Vikki Mysercough

★★★★☆

Rating: 15
DVD/BD Release Date:28th January 2013 (UK)
Directd By: Rian Johnson
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis , Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels
Buy Looper:Blu-ray / DVD / Steelbook (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

Nakata Hideo Returns To J-Horror With The Complex

He is one of J-Horror's most iconic director Nakata Hideo and is probably responsible for most of famous J-Horrors such as Ringu (Ring)known to Western cinephiles.

Nakata Hideo returns to horror with The Complex (Kuroyuri danchi)and tonight we have our hands on the first teaser trailer.

Starring Atsuko Maeda formerly of J-Pop supergroup AKB48 as a nursing student Asuka who moves into a an apartment block plagued with strange mysterious deaths thanks to what to a death that happened 13 years previously. When she further investigates the strange noises from adjacent flat she learns the old man who lived there died trying to claw himself out of a wall but who is responsible for the deaths?

Films such as Sinister have a lot to thank Nakata for introducing the watch the video and you'll die a concept that can be seen in many western based horrors too. Tonight at Rotterdam International film festival The Complex will make its world premier then on 18th May Toei will release the in Japan. No UK date has been set but expect the film to arrive later in the year/2014.


sourceNipponcinema

Holy Motors Blu-Ray Review

Holy Motors is the first full length film by Leos Carax since his previous film Pola X which came out all the way back in 1999! Holy Motors was the sensation of last year at Cannes and at it's initial screening it was widely tipped at the prime contender of the Palme d'Or. It eventually lost out to the most more predictable pick of let another Haneke film (who just has to show up at Cannes and his wins it) but it did win the “award of the youth” award at the festival.

Holy Motors in a nutshell about Mr. Oscar (played by always wonderful Denis Lavant) during the time frame of one day who is has appointments to do and he driven in a limo by Celine (played by Edith Scob). These appointments get increasingly more and more surreal and the first one has him dress up as an old lady and beg.  The film is part about cinema it's littered with references to such great French directors such as Franju and Cocteau but the other hand is certainly can be interrupted as a film about what it means to be performer.

Denis Lavant was Leos Carax's one and only choice was the main character he said “If Denis had said no, I would have offered the part to Lon Chaney or to Chaplin. Or to Peter Lorre or Michel Simon, all of whom are dead.” He is obviously perfect he is like a fucked up French Fred Astaire cause is known for dancing abilities from Leos' previous film The Night is Young and Beau Travail but he is also just a great actor. The film also has bit roles by Kylie Minogue and Eva Mendes, which just add to the surreal quality of the film especially Kylie's cameo especially since they played one of her songs in a scene earlier in the film.

The film is truly unique it's utterly bonkers and makes no logical sense but it's truly a masterpiece that should be seen over and over and interrupted in any which way you like.

Ian Schultz

★★★★★

Rating:18
DVD/BD Release Date: 28 January 2013 (UK)
Director: Leos Carax
Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Jeanne Disson, Elise Lhomeau, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue
Buy Holy Motors:Blu-ray / DVD

Fear Of Desire Blu-Ray Review

Fear and Desire is one of the most notorious films in the entire history of cinema. It’s known for two things 1. Stanley Kubrick’s first feature 2. Stanley Kubrick blocked it’s re-release till the day he died, it had a very limited release in 1953. It was recently unearthed by the US library of congress and restored into high-definition and released over there by KINO and over here by Eureka under their Masters of Cinema range.

Fear and Desire is firstly an extremely short film it has a running time of only slightly over an hour but damn it seems like forever…. Barry Lyndon is a much more exciting film. The plot is basically in an unknown land there is some war going on and there are a group of soldiers in enemy lines and they face their “fears and desires”. They try to build a raft to get the enemies’ base, they meet a peasant girl and one of the soldiers is mentally disturbed.

The film is only a curious side note in film history. Kubrick released a press statement to discourage people going to a screening at the Film forum in NYC calling it “a bumbling amateur film exercise”. The film has absolutely dreadful pseudo poetic dialogue that comes off as the type of shit a 15 year old would write. It does however has the first over the top Kubrick performance by Paul Mazursky which is certainly a predecessor to Jack Nicholson’s wonderfully over the top performance in The Shining. It’s a film that fails on almost every level but it does have some decent shots and a interesting idea but very poorly executed, it’s worth watching once but never again.

The blu-ray or dvd does however have 3 early documentaries by Kubrick which are extremely well made and certainly show Kubrick did have IT that early (which the feature presentation certainly doesn’t). The Seafarers is one of the docs and it has extraordinary use of colour, which is almost Technicolor, the subject matter isn’t particularly interesting but the colour is something to marvel at. Day of The Fight predates bits of Kubrick’s first real feature The Killer’s Kiss. The other Flying Padre is a fascinating a somewhat bizarre short doc about a flying priest. Overall the package is worth seeing but don’t expect some lost masterpiece because it is that’s bad.

Ian Schultz

★★★1/2☆

Fear And Desire:★★☆☆☆
The Seafarers:★★★★☆
Flying Padre: ★★★★☆
Day of the Fight:★★★★☆
Rating:12
DVD/BD Release Date:28th January 2013(UK)
Director:Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp,Paul Mazursky
Buy Fear Of Desire:Blu-ray / DVD

Watch False Trail (Jägarna 2 ) Trailer, Win Film On DVD

From Director Kjell Sundvall and the producer of The Hypnotist Peter Possne, with the star of Wallander, Rolf Lassgård, False Trail is the latest Nordic Noir thriller to hit the big screen in the UK. Set in an isolated town in the frozen wastelands of northern Sweden, False Trail is a dark, twisted murder investigation that devastates a local community.

It’s been fifteen years since Erik (LASSGÅRD) was forced to leave the Norrland Police Department. Since then he has become the National Murder Commission’s best interrogator. When Erik’s boss orders him back to his home town to solve a brutal murder, he hesitantly returns as the thought of going back stirs up unpleasant memories. What at first appears to be a simple murder soon proves to be something much more complicated, as Erik finds himself with a new nemesis, Torsten (STORMARE), to contend with and events take a very sinister turn.

False Trail, (original title Jägarna 2), sequel to Tthe Hunters (Jägarna), stars Rolf Lassgård (WALLANDER) as Erik Bäckström, Peter Stormare (FARGO, THE BIG LEBOWSKI) as Torsten, Annika Nordin as Karin and Kim Tjernstrom as Peter. Directed by Kjell Sundvall (Jägarna), written by Björn Carlström and Stefan Thunberg and produced by Björn Carlström, Per Janérus and Peter Possne (The Hypnotist).


So did you enter The Hunters (Jagarna) contest recently? fancy winning False Trail on DVD the sequel to The Hunters? Our Big brother site The People's Movies has just launched a competition and to enter  enter via this link (goes to competition post).

Studiocanal announce Rust And Bone UK February Home Release

StudioCanal have informed us the award winning and 2 time BAFTA nominated film, Rust And Bone the follow up film to Jacques Audiard's arthouse classic A Prophet. Rust And Bone stars Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and will be yours to own this February.

Following a theatrical opening to tremendous national and international acclaim, and a Best Film Award at the London Film Festival in October, Jacques Audiard, acclaimed director of A Prophet and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, returns with this powerful drama about two people from very different worlds, seeking redemption in each other.
Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts - Bullhead) dreams of becoming a professional boxer. When he is suddenly put in charge of his five year old son, he moves in with his sister for support. While at his new job as a nightclub bouncer, he meets the beautiful and confident orca trainer, Stephanie (Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard - The Dark Knight Rises, La Vie en Rose). He gives her his number, not expecting that she will ever call. However, after becoming the victim of a tragic and life changing accident, Stephanie surprisingly turns to Ali for support. These lost souls discover new meaning in life together when Ali enters the dangerous world of underground boxing.

Winner of several international awards, Rust And Bone is one of the best and most talked about films of 2012. you can read our cinema review here. With 2 BAFTA nominations, Rust And Bone is up for Best Leading Actress (Marion Cotillard) and Best Film not in the English Language.

DVD & Blu-ray Extras:

- Audio Commentary with Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain and Arnaud Calistri

- Making of Rust and Bone

- The Special Effects of Rust and Bone

- Deleted Scenes

- Trailer

DVD & Blu-ray HMV Exclusive Extras:

- Audio Commentary with Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain and Arnaud Calistri

- Making of Rust and Bone

- The Special Effects of Rust and Bone

- Deleted Scenes

- Trailer

- Exclusive UK Interviews with Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain

- Exclusive BAFTA Q&A with Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and Jacques Audiard

Pre-order Rust And Bone: DVD / Blu-ray

Monster Pictures Bringing Us Irish Horror The Inside This March

Press Release:

MONSTER PICTURES present THE INSIDE, a hard, violent, visceral psychological horror featuring award winning Hollyoaks star Emmett Scanlan as you’ve never seen him before in Eoin Macken’s (BBC TV’s Merlin) most accomplished feature to date, released on DVD on 25 March 2013.

You’ve seen him as Sir Gwaine in the BBC’s TV series Merlin, now Eoin Macken steps behind the camera to direct The Inside, featuring Czech starlet Tereza Srbova (Sirens, Eastern Promises) alongside the cream of Irish acting talent that includes Emmett J. Scanlan(fan favourite Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks, Charlie Casanova), Sean Stewart (Occi, Coward), Natalia Kostrzewa (The Clinic) & Brian Fortune (Game of Thrones). 

While in a pawnshop a young man comes into possession of a second hand video camera; discovering a tape still inside he plays backthe footage and witnesses a horrific series of events involving a group of teens in an undisclosed location. Using the footage as a guide he retraces the steps to where the events seemingly occurred. Deciding to investigate he discovers to his horror not only the truth of theevents on the tape but comes face to face with a supernatural terror from which he may not escape....

The Inside is a hard, violent, visceral psychological horror, which gets into your belly, and leaves an unnerving disturbed feeling after watching it.  Shot mostly in alarming first person perspective this evocatively realistic story of five girls breaking into an abandoned warehouse for excitement -  then finding themselves subject to a terrifying human attack before succumbing to a supernatural terror -  will leave you shaking with fear!  The film shows the worst side of humanity and contrasts it with the horror of the supernatural, which has no compunction between good and evil.  But what is worse - the fear of the unknown, or the known fear of man?  Shot and directed by Eoin C Macken, with additional cinematography by David Laird, and also featuring Eoin Macken, with sound by Greg French of Irish band TheBrilliant Things and a chilling score from Kevin Whyms of Whymsonics, The Inside will re-invigorate the Irish horror genre.

Monster Pictures presents...The Inside, available on DVD from 25 March 2013

EXTRAS

· Exclusive feature length picture in picture commentary with Director Eoin Macken

· Trailers 

· ‘Making of’ Documentary

Pre-Order: INSIDE, THE (Monster Pictures) (DVD)

"Like [REC], The Inside is one of the most terrifying reality footage films ever" - Scream: The Horror Magazine

"Visceral and violent... impressively disturbing" - Screen International

"Will leave you shaking with fear" - Horrorbug

Watch The Adorable Trailer For Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo

Feeling a little woozy maybe a little whimsical? It's probably because your about to watch the first trailer for Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo (L’écume des jours).

Based on a 1947 Boris Vian's novel L'ecume des jours about a wealthy young inventor Nicholas(Romain Duris) who falls in love Chloe (Audrey Tatou)they marry.Unfortunately during their honeymoon Chloe takes seriously ill thanks to a water lilly sprouts in her lung and the only way to help is to surround her with fresh flowers but as time goes by the funds start to dry up.

Mood Indigo is like that Michel Gondry film made into one big  film, this is the French trailer however there's very little dialogue as the strength of the trailer is in  it's visual quality which simply gorgeous. Many Gondry fans, film critics have been waiting nearly 10 years for that film that can match what we loved in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Mood Indigo might just be that film they have been waiting for. What can say without doubt this is uniquely a Michel Gondry film which is sure to be a hit in arthouse cinemas around the world.

Mood Indigo doesn't have a  release date confirmed however Studiocanal are handling the UK&Irish release , French cinephiles can see this 24th April. Mood Indigo also stars Omar Sy, Gad Elmaleh, Lea Seydoux.



Michel Gondry's last film The We & The I will be closing gala at next Month on 13th February at Glasgow Youth Film Festival and the following night you can see Romain Duris starring in the Opening Gala for Glasgow Film Festival starring in Populaire.

Network Releasing Partner Amnesty International For Oscar Nominated NO

UK film distributor Network Releasing have announced an  unique partnership with the human rights organisation Amnesty International centred around the Oscar-nominated drama NO, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, which opens in UK cinemas on 8 February 2013. The partnership will see former Chilean prisoners of conscience or human rights experts presenting the film at screenings at Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK on 12 February 2013.

The arrangement will last for the duration of the cinema and DVD releases of the award-winning film about the true story of bringing democracy to Chile in 1988 after Pinochet’s dictatorial rule, which stars critically-acclaimed Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

The resulting 'No' campaign succeeded in ending over 16 years of military dictatorship, and is a powerful representation of the change that can be achieved when people come together to stand against oppression. As well as joint editorial activity to spread the message of the film via traditional and digital media, an Amnesty expert or a former Chilean prisoner of conscience will be present at every screening of the film at Picturehouse Cinemas on 12 February 2013. Most of the cinemas have also arranged a post-film discussion to answer questions and discuss the situation in Chile both now and at the time of Pinochet’s rule.

Participating cinemas are listed below:


· The Gate, Notting Hill
· Ritzy Brixton
· Hackney Picturehouse
· Clapham Picturehouse
· Greenwich Picturehouse
· Stratford East
· Belmont Aberdeen
· Duke of York’s Brighton
· Abbeygate, Bury St Edmunds
· Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge
· Cameo Edinburgh
· Exeter Picturehouse
· Regal, Henley
· FACT, Liverpool
· Norwich Picturehouse
· Bath, Little Theatre
· Phoenix, Oxford
· York
· Harbour Lights, Southampton
· Stratford-Upon Avon

Synopsis: Garcia Bernal plays cynical young advertising executive, Rene Saavedra, who is asked to spearhead the “No” campaign for those opposing the Pinochet regime to bring democracy to Chile. With scant resources, constant scrutiny from individuals sympathetic to Pinochet’s totalitarian regime including ad agency colleagues and the secret police, this bold, enthralling film looks at how a team of Chile’s “Mad Men” and opponents of the dictatorial regime instigated change. Seamlessly blending scripted scenes with archive footage, NO is a compelling period piece making it the first essential film to see in 2013.

Tim Beddows, Network Releasing Managing Director commented, “We are delighted to be working with Amnesty International on the release of NO and fully support the values they stand for. They are the perfect cause-related partner for the film.”



NO opens at UK cinemas on 8 February 2013 courtesy of Network Releasing

Competition - Win V/H/S On Blu-Ray

“The scariest, rawest horror movie of the year” (Rolling Stone) is shortly upon us; the highly original, brutally uncompromising, creative and diverse V/H/S – out on DVD & Blu-ray January 28th (out in select UK cinemas January 18th) through Momentum Pictures.

To celebrate the release of V/H/S, we’re giving away a copy on Blu-ray!

A small group of misfit friends and petty crooks are hired by a mysterious man to break into a derelict suburban house with the sole purpose of finding and stealing a rare videotape. Their only clue to identifying the tape in question is, “You’ll know it when you see it.”

However, on arrival at the house they soon realize the job isn’t as straightforward as they imagined. In one room they discover the lifeless body of a middle-aged man sitting in an armchair, facing a wall of television sets and a stack of VHS cassettes. A similar bounty of tapes is found in the basement, none of which bears any obvious markings to suggest it is the prize they are seeking. As they search through the tapes, playing them in turn, they are treated to a succession of graphic and apparently genuine video recordings, each one more shocking and bizarre than the last.

To win V/H/S on Blu-ray please answer the following question:

Q.In the Late 1970's into 1980's VHS had a rival video format, what was that format called?

A.Betavideo
B.B-VHS
C.Betamax 

Send your Answer, name, address, postcode ONLY to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com 

Deadline for entry is 17th February 2013 (2359hrs) (Must aged 18 or Older to enter)

Label your email  V/H/S     Read our DVD Review

Terms & Conditions:1.This prize is non transferable.No cash alternatives apply.UK & Irish entries only.2.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Momentum Pictures . 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 ,Momentum Pictures  employees 4.This competition is promoted on behalf of Momentum Pictures 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 February 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.If the above form fails please send the information required from the form email it to win [at] thepeoplesmovies [dot] com (label vhs) 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 18 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.

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

Dance Hall DVD Review

Ealing Studios had a way of always surprising you. Though their name may be most readily associated with comedy they were equally prolific in other genres, a favourite of which was social drama. A classic example of this was Dance Hall (1950), which centred around the lives and loves of a group of young girls and the dance hall they frequented in Chiswick, west London. Directed by Ealing stalwart Charles Crichton, and edited by Seth Holt who would go on to helm the Hammer classic The Nanny (1965), this film starring Diana Dors, Petula Clark and Natasha Parry, showed the passions and rivalry inspired by ballroom dancing long before anyone had ever heard of Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.

Eve (Parry) loves ballroom dancing and, along with her friends from the local factory, spends all her spare time at the local dance hall in the hope that with enough practice she will be chosen for the Greater London Dance Championships. However her boyfriend Phil (Donald Houston) is not such a hot hoofer, and becomes jealous when Eve joins up with a new partner Alec (Bonar Colleano). Phil persuades Eve to forget about dancing and marry him, but she quickly becomes disillusioned with life as a housewife and is soon lured back to the dance hall after meeting her old friends from the factory. When Phil discovers that she has been back with her friends and met up again with Alec, he looses his patience with his new wife with disastrous results for all.

Dance Hall is significant, not only in the cannon of Ealing Studios but also in the wider history of British film, as an exercise in social commentary both in its storyline as well as in its production. Set as it is so shortly after the end of the Second World War, the film is a piquant reminder of a time when the roles of men and women were very different from they are today. Eve and her friends may be independent in as far as they go to work and make their own way (even if their jobs are reminiscent of the factory work women did during the war). However once married (as is seen with Eve and Phil) their lives soon revert to the old scenario of the wife staying at home whilst the husband goes out to earn the money.

Less obvious perhaps is the way these stereotypical gender roles played out behind the camera. One of the film's three writers, along with E. V. H. Emmett and Alexander Mackendrick, Diana Morgan was amongst only six women (mostly uncredited) in a production crew of thirty nine. Women were obviously seen on the screen in Ealing's films, but they seldom played significant roles behind the scenes other than in the usual female dominated areas of makeup and costume. To be honest though, this male dominance in film production was not restricted to Ealing, as it was common throughout the film industry until more recent times.

Released by STUDIOCANAL on DVD with a host of extras including a Making of featurette, Restoration Comparison and Trailer, Dance Hall provides a nostalgic glimpse of a time when life, though harsher in many ways than it is today, was often simpler and more prone to happy endings.

Cleaver Patterson

★★★☆☆☆

Rating:PG
DVD Release Date: 21st January 2013 (UK)
Director:Charles Crichton
Cast:  Donald Houston, Bonar Colleano , Petula Clark, Natasha Parry, Diana Dors
Buy:

Monsters Pictures To Release The Fallow Field. A throwback to 1970's British Horror

Press Release:

MEMENTO meets WOLF CREEK set against the backdrop of English harvest time’

THE FALLOW FIELD is one of the most original but twisted British horror films to be seen in years, and the debut feature from British filmmakers Leigh Dovey & Colin Arnold.

Not for the first time, amnesiac Matt Sadler (Steve Garry) awakes alone in the middle of a wilderness with no recollection of the past seven days. Finding his way home he discovers a life rapidly falling apart: his wife is convinced he’s hiding an affair, the police are suspicious of his repeated disappearances and now he is plagued by terrifying nightmares when he closes his eyes.

As disturbing slithers of memory gradually return to Matt he retraces his steps to uncover his missing actions during the blackouts. Matt’s search leads him out of the city and in to the countryside, to a remote farm owned by loner Calham (Michael Dacre). The cold farmer is suspicious of Matt but instantly sparks a dark sense of déjà vu in his visitor. But Calham turns on Matt, imprisoning and interrogating him, before forcing him on a terrible journey of abduction and slaughter to show the amnesiac the twisted games they used to play together. As Matt’s fogged memory slowly begins to clear and he learns the two men share a violent history, the horrors of their past come skipping out of the darkness to greet them….

Genuinely dark and quintessentially English, The Fallow Field is a throwback to brutal horrors and thrillers made in the ‘70s.  Capturing some of the genre’s bleak tones and threat, its twisting plot, slowly building sense of dread as well as sudden shocks and visceral scenes make The Fallow Field a genuinely terrifying film. 

THE FALLOW FIELD will be released by Monster Pictures in the UK on DVD on 11 March 2013.

EXTRAS

·         Commentary with Director Leigh Dovey and Producer Colin Arnold
·         Trailer
·         Stills slideshow
·         The making of The Fallow Field 

“THE FALLOW FIELD is a handsome, thrilling and strange movie.”  John Landis (American Werewolf in London, )

Pre-Order/Buy:FALLOW FIELD, THE (Monster Pictures) (DVD)

Watch UK Trailer For Jennifer Lynch's Chained

Let's be honest how many times have we had to rely on taxi's when local transport even own family members have let us down? Lot's of times! What if you entered one of those lifesavers that actually take your life? Jennifer Lynch's Chained might just be the last fare you'll pay, watch the UK trailer

From the mind of writer/director Jennifer Lynch comes the shocker that stunned audiences worldwide: When he was 9 years old, Tim and his mother were abducted by taxi-driving serial killer Bob (Vincent D’Onofrio). Tim’s mother was murdered. Tim was kept as a chained slave, forced to bury the bodies of young women Bob drags home and keep scrapbooks of the crimes. Now a teenager, Tim (Eamon Farren) and Bob share a depraved father/son/protégé relationship. But who will ultimately sever the bond between ‘family’ and unimaginable horror? Evan Bird (“The Killing”), Jake Weber (“Medium”) and Julia Ormond (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, “Mad Men”) co-star in what critics are calling one of the most controversial and uncompromising thrillers of our time.

Chained looks more a psychological horror than one that focuses on less actual murders but the actual aftermath of Bob's atrocities and emotional impact on Rabbit. Boxing Helena gave us a new twist on body in 1990's in 2013 Jennifer Lynch's Chained could potentially bring a fresh new compelling twist on the serial killer genre

Chained is set for a limited release in UK cinemas on 1st February  with the film been released on DVD& Blu-Ray from 4th February. Chained stars  Evan Bird, Jake Weber and Julia Ormond.



Pre-order/Buy Chained: DVD / Blu-ray

V/H/S DVD Review

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times; found footage horror is a dry well. Once a potent concept that had us all quaking in our boots with genre highlights like The Blair Witch Project and even things like Paranormal Activity, the shaky cam low-res high-tension thing has inevitably worn thin thanks to a myriad of badly sculpted films out to make big bucks on small money. Of late there’s been an outcry from the horror audience, the word is out and it’s getting pasted here there and everywhere, V/H/S has arrived to save the day and pull the handheld cam back into respectability and give us all a good reason to take up insomnia. The general opinion ain’t that far off the truth. When a film pops up written and directed by such an eclectic mix: Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way To Die), Ti West (House of the Devil), David Bruckner(The Signal), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead), Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs), and the directing quartet known as Radio Silence, you can’t help but get interested.

Following the format of an old-school anthology horror, V/H/S reveals the dire doings of a group of social misfits hired by a shadowy employer to break into a house and steal a video tape, a tape they are told they will know on sight. Arriving at the deserted household the group find a dead body slumped in an armchair facing a few TV’s and a stack of video cassettes. As the group split up to search for the tape, watching them one by one, it becomes evident that something isn’t right. The tapes document bizarre, brutal, and terrifying events but that’s not the only thing the hapless group have to fear.

The great thing about V/H/S is that there’s something for everyone. The short segments are all weird and wonderfully horrific, but as with anything some ideas don’t quite take off. Through all the segments there winds the careful writing of obvious horror fans combined with the sometimes gentle and creepy/sometimes visceral direction of guys who know their stuff. For horror aficionados there’s enough role reversal and unanswered questions to fill a hundred film theory essays. Female roles seem to be toyed with with glee, male roles get dragged through the muck, every segment is balanced with reality and heart against fantasy and gore. Problems show up in some of the films when there’s no one to relate to, no real hero or heroine to guide us, just a large group of very weird/silly/stupid/horrific human beings and “other”. In fact V/H/S could probably be renamed something like “How Boisterous Jocks in Motels Cause Hell”, or “She’s Not What You Think”. It’s that clever reliance on horror tropes  that puts the film above others since it then pulls the other way just to teach you for thinking you were smart.

Amateur Night is horror 101: jocks try to take advantage of girls, everything goes horribly wrong. Tuesday 17^th is essentially a slasher with a pretty fantastic idea for a villain that genuinely scares. The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger is polarising since it features possibly the best scare out the lot, but has some wobbly moments of overexposure and an ending that could leave you disappointed. 10/31/98 is a real gem; essentially a haunted house story with an initially clueless group of guys stumbling into what they think is a well-set-up house of Halloween horror. The imagery here is stupendous, macabre in a Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions kind of way, flaunting some really intense sequences and a killer finale. The frame structure of the break-in denies us answers no matter how hard you think then gives us shit-in-pants scares for our troubles.

A key strong-point of the piece is the relentless curiosity it inspires. A failure to Ta-da a reveal in all sequences results in a more engaging experience overall, though some viewers will no-doubt find it infuriating/ disappointing before rewarding. Too often, explanations cock-up an otherwise riveting affair so here the guys have reserved outlandish reasoning just to screw with our heads. I don’t doubt there’s a possible and awesome plot behind each piece; I just don’t think we need it.

Though, the found footage thing does at points get tiresome and the stories at times flit between fantastic and meh, there’s still fun to be had in this mixed bag. It’s still well written, at times genius, and definitely worth a watch, this is a must-see for horror fans and a welcome surprise to the found footage sub-genre.

— Scott Clark

★★★★☆

Rating: 18
UK DVD/BD Release: 28th January 2013
Stars: Calvin Reeder, Joe Swanberg ,Jas Sams
Directors: Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg

Buy V/H/S: DVD / Blu-ray