Terracotta Film Club presents Wong Kar Wai's Days Of Being Wild This May

Terracotta Film Club will present DAYS OF BEING WILD for its May edition at the Prince Charles Cinema.

Terracotta organisers are proud to showcase one of the most acclaimed masterpieces of modern cinema from one of Hong Kong’s finest auteur directors, Wong Kar Wai.

DAYS OF BEING WILD features an outstanding ensemble cast including Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and more, involved in a roundabout of fleeting emotions and unrealised relationships.

It also marks the first in a long collaboration between Wong Kar Wai and acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

Wong Kar Wai's second film relates the story of a vain, amoral young playboy (Leslie Cheung) drifting through a series of casual friendships and affairs.

Christopher Doyle's exquisite cinematography and a lush, dreamy soundtrack, perfectly capture the mood of youth’s endless boredom over a long, hot summer in 1960's Hong Kong.

This screening is part of the Terracotta Festival’s IN MEMORY OF: Leslie Cheung & Anita Mui section. It will take place on Wednesday 29 May, prior to the official launch of the festival on Thursday 06 June.

Synopsis

An outstanding ensemble cast are involved in a roundabout of fleeting emotions and unrealised relationships.In the sweltering heat of a 1960’s Hong Kong summer, a layabout playboy Yuddy (Leslie Cheung), exercises his pastime of drawing women close to him then callously drops them at the last minute, under the emotional shadow of not knowing who his real mother is.The narrative moves from one character to the next; from one of Yuddy’s lovers (Maggie Cheung) to the new attention of her affections, a beat cop (Andy Lau) and back again to Yuddy and his latest squeeze. All the while, maintaining an incredibly visually detailed recreation of that era.Exquisite cinematography by Christopher Doyle and a lush, dreamy soundtrack, perfectly captures the mood of youth’s endless boredom over a long, hot summer.

Courtesy of Palisades Tartan

The New Trailer For UK Horror In Fear Reminds You To Drive Carefully

If your attending Sundance London over the weekend you  maybe checking out UK Horror In Fear promising to take home invasion to another level a car! Indie horror promises to bring back some of those scares we've been missing in some films recently and now we on the eve of it's festival's premiere we have the film's first official trailer.

Directed by Jeremy Lovering In Fear  tells the tale of an young couple heading to a country retreat to attend  a music festival only  find themselves targets of an unknown terror.

Despite the poor Imdb rating, the film has been grabbing some positive reviews especially from it's debut back in January at Sundance in USA. The film's premise makes this one an interesting film to check out and when the main cast themselves  don't know the outcome (director dripfed the cast the script) it builds up for an intriguing film.

Studiocanal are releasing this film in UK&Ireland on 30th August, no word on USA release just yet. In Fear stars Alice Englert and Iain Decaestecker.



source:Empire

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Michael Winterbottom Retrospective (The Look Of Love)

This indisputably underestimated Blackburn-born filmmaker has packed in a lot in a fifteen-year career. Looking at Michael Winterbottom’s folio, no genre goes uncharted: spanning everything from spoof documentary, eerie thriller to engaging realism.

In UK cinemas on 26th April, The Look of Love sees Winterbottom collaborating with Steve Coogan yet again, this time in a irreverent look at the life of Paul Raymond, controversial entrepreneur, nightclub owner and one-time richest man in Britain. The film co-stars Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton and Imogen Poots, along with Stephen Fry and David Walliams.

To mark the release of the newest addition to his oeuvre, here’s a look at some of his best work…

Trishna (2011)

With Trishna, Winterbottom took Hardy’s Tess of d’Urbevilles and embedded it in modern India, using the narrative to document the tragic relationship between the son of a property developer and the daughter of a rickshaw owner. The story was shot in the Indian cities of Jaipur and Mumbai and stars the beautiful Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed as its leads.

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Based on a 1952 novel by Jim Thompson, the film follows the pillor of a small community, Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford, beneath whose calm and rational exterior is a violent sociopath harbouring a dark past. Despite scenes of extreme violence shocking audiences, the film is a stylishly shot and a gripping, intelligent take on classic film noir, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba.

The Trip (2012)

Winterbottom created an improvised six-episode comedy series filmed in the Lake District, in which a dissatisfied actor agrees to write a series of reviews for the Observer newspaper in order to impress his girlfriend, who unceremoniously dumps him at the start of the series. The episodes take place over a sequence of gourmet meals and stars Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan in a ferociously hilarious double act.

Genova (2008)

This little known gem is impeccably acted and full of subtle moments of beauty. The story is about a father (played by Colin Firth), who, following the death of his wife decides to start anew, moving to Italy to teach English at Geneva University, accompanied by his two adolescent daughters. Crammed together in a cosy but chaotic flat, the family of three learn lessons about love, life, death and family through the events which ensue, all set against the beautiful backdrop of the beautiful streets of Geneva.

A Mighty Hart (2007)

The brilliant, suspense filled docu-drama was based on the memoirs of Mariane Pearl and produced by Brad Pitt. It documents Marlene, played by Angelina Jolie, on the frantic search to locate her husband, missing journalist Daniel Pearle, who was kidnapped and murdered whist on an assignment in Pakistan. Jolie was critically acclaimed for her emotionally charged performance.

The Road To Guantanamo (2006)

This British docu-drama focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were captured in Afghanistan and held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge. The reception to the film was mixed due to the controversial subject matter and it’s portrayal of interrogation and torture techniques used the US Army. Nevertheless, Winterbottom won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival, and the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Sundance Film Festival.

A Cock and Bull Story (2005)

Winterbottom’s adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s 18th century novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy is a film-within-a-film. It features Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves as egotistical actors during the making of a screen adaptation of the novel. The book is about a man unable to write a novel, and the film quite aptly mirrors this in the men’s inability to make a film.

9 Songs (2004)

9 Songs revisits sex and rock n’ roll – two of Winterbottom’s favourite themes. The film charts the extremely full on, sexual relationship between an American college student and a British glaciologist, which sees the two lovers attending rock concerts in-between their intense physical encounters.

24 Hour Party People (2002)

This classic mock-u-mentary documents the 90’s ‘Madchester’ music scene. The narrative follows the career of Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan), a news reporter for Granada and head of Factory records. The film dramatises a combination of real events, rumours and urban legends to hilarious result, and features a fantastic Brit rock soundtrack featuring The Sex Pistols, Happy Mondays and Joy Division.

Jude (1996)

Featuring pre-Titanic Kate Winslet alongside the also relatively unknown Christopher Ecclestone. The film is another adaptation of a much loved Hardy novel, Jude the Obscure which is the well known tale of a working class man who dreams of becoming an academic, scandalising his small west country village by leaving his wife for his beautiful cousin. Critically acclaimed as an amazingly powerful and dark film.



The Look of Love opens in UK cinemas Today, 26th April

Sundance London: The Kings Of Summer Review

Oh for a teenage summer. Those long months that roll on forever, answering to no teacher, endlessly outside and bargaining new bedtimes. Remember those? Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts certainly does, and hopes you do too, recalling them with the misty-eyed nostalgia inflected in his coming-of-age comedy The Kings of Summer.

Set in the midst of a hazy summer holiday, his debut feature focuses on Joe Toy (Nick Robinson) – a high-school student dogged by parental rules and longing for the freedom adulthood brings. He’s not alone, best friend Patrick (The Big C’s Gabriel Baso) is similarly plagued by the incessant nagging and banal conversation a life under the parental home can bring. Breaking point is reached when Joe’s bitingly snarky dad, Frank (Nick Offerman) humiliates and grounds him (those two cardinal sins of teenage-hood) for the final time. With little persuading he enlists the help of Patrick, he too convinced an escape from the nonsensical questions from clueless parents is needed. A plan is hatched, an old-fashioned breakout. Not just any breakout though, theirs holds loftier ambitions.

Utilising their suspect DT skills, the pair set about building a house of their own, tucked away in the woods where, crucially, “nobody will find them”. A rule-free summer is on the cards with nothing to answer to other than their own whims.

Joining them is stock kook Biaggio – a bug-eyed curiosity the two are unable to shake off. Heavily indebted to Zach Galifianakis’ role in the Hangover films, his off-the-wall, zany oddball is plastered on a bit too thick and heightens the somewhat uneasy tone of the film. Is Vogt-Roberts going for laughs, or something a little deeper? There is of course nothing wrong with aiming for both but here there’s a distinct mismatch. Dreamy, Mallick inspired shots of nature sit uncomfortably side-by-side with strained, random one-liners thrown in at will and jarring with any established lightness of touch.

The coming-of-age film isn’t complete without a fight and we get one here, emerging over quarrels of the heart, with shared affection for female interest Kelly (Erin Moriarty). The ensuing tension gets twisted with the odd pacing of the film, characters changing drastically and far quicker than anything attributed to teenage hormones, with Joe suddenly resembling a Colonel Kurtz-esque wild man of the land.

True to adolescence, parents are an after-thought but the majority of sharp lines are saved for Offerman as the Parks and Recreation actor steals much of the limelight from the younger co-stars and box-ticking characters around him.

The criticism to be found lies with the pacing and tone, switching from one to another too quickly, leaving an at times somewhat confused effect, begging the question of what Vogt-Roberts was reaching for. Whatever it is, and despite moments of genuine promise, Kings of Summer falls just short.

★★½☆☆

Matthew Walsh

Rating: 15
Festival date: 25th April 2013
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Cast: Nick Offerman, Moises Arias, Nick Robinson, Alison Brie

Sundance London: Peaches Does Herself Review

An 80 year-old woman stands onstage, topless, clutching a dildo, and singing a song called ‘I love dick’. Welcome to the world of Peaches, and what an eye-opening world it is, full of breasts, genitalia, transsexuals, and orgies. The German singer and survivor of flash-in-the-pan, early noughties electroclash genre brings this collection of all things racy to the big screen in her debut film Peaches Does Herself, celebrating 10 years in the music industry.

Confined to an extravagant stage show, Peaches brings us a sexually charged piece of musical theatre loosely explaining how she came to be, from bedroom artist to the empowered stage-savvy queen of all things fetish. The mentioned nude geriatric is Sandy Kane, a former hooker, friend of Peaches and self-proclaimed oldest sex entertainer in the business who re-appears to perform an act that involves attaching matchsticks to her nipples and lighting them in a grotesque showing of her hardcore credentials. This comes as she battles our singing star for the affection of transsexual Danni Daniels – another member of Peaches ragtag gang able to perform both parts of her Shake Your Dicks, Shake Your Tits song. It’s that kind of show.

It’s not he first time a musical artist has gone down this road, Madonna, Prince and, most recently Vanessa Hudgeons have all flirted with sexual imagery for varying reasons. With Peaches however, you sense it’s far more genuine and there’s certainly nothing as coy as flirting going on here. Throughout her career, Peaches has embraced the seedier side of life and done so with a touch of humour and no lack of good songs, indeed she describes this project as a gift to herself to commemorate her decade of dirty pop. But perhaps that’s the problem with it as a film. There seems to be no filter process in this anything (and everything) goes production, tailored to Peaches’ own distinctive taste. The mooted narrative is slight at best and it’s in danger of resembling little more than a well soundtracked vanity project.

Dancers come and go without offering anything distinctive in the way of choreography, the sets aim to add an organic, home-made feel but come across as slightly cheap looking and nothing to worry Michel Gondry, while performances resemble over-the-top amateur dramatics.

Fans curious to see what she’s concocted will appreciate the musical breaks, the booming electronics and feverish guitars certainly benefit from the lush cinematic sound quality and the performances are the most exciting part of this project. At 70 minutes however, they may be better off just revisiting those albums and spare themselves some of the sights on show here.

★☆☆☆☆

Matthew Walsh

Rating: 18
Festival Release Date: 26th April 2013
Director: Peaches
Cast: Dannii Daniels, Sandy Kane, Peaches
Buy Tickets: Peaches Does Herself

Enjoy The UK Trailer For Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing

When your filmography is steeped in comic book movies and vampire hunting college girls, cabins in woods it's intriguing to see how they would cope with adapting William Shakespeare play to big the screen. Joss Whedon achieved this when in 12 days when he created Much Ado About Nothing and ahead of it's UK release a UK Trailer has been released.

Using the original sources text Much Ado About Nothing tells a chaotic tale of lovers and their journey to find that love together, a journey of wit and deception. When it came to High school English the Great bard was always on the agenda bringing boredom but also enjoyment to those who could appreciate his work with great effect. But put aside the academic feel to the movie and Much Ado About Nothing is actually a delightfully funny film. With the contemporary setting the film has a nice tone it and using a group of his friends some who have experience in similar production others first time look like they have delivered something refreshingly entertaining.

Much Ado About Nothing will arrive in UK&Ireland on 14th June (USA 7th) and stars Amy Acker, Emma Bates, Spencer Treat Clark, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, and Clark Gregg.

The Look Of Love Review

Whether recounting the autobiographical tale of a renowned public figure in 24 Hour Party People (Tony Wilson) or adapting the supposedly unfilmable novel which charts the life of a fictional character in A Cock and Bull Story, director Michael Winterbottom and actor Steve Coogan are a formidable partnership when it comes to regaling an audience with what can easily be considered quintessentially British films. Winterbottom's latest offering, The Look of Love, marks their fourth collaboration and documents the life of Paul Raymond, a controversial entrepreneur who shot to fame in 60's Soho with his chain of strip clubs and adult publications, and his impressive rise throughout the 70's to the position of Britain's richest man.

Instead of focusing solely on the exploits that made Raymond infamous, The look of Love is an in depth character study that doesn't shy away from his roles as a father and husband, which appear far more demanding to Raymond than working in a profession associated with scantily clad ladies and readily available drugs. There are moments of bleakness throughout the screenplay (such as a stand out scene where Raymond meets his estranged son) but for the most part the decadence of the era, which is shown through the glamour and excess of Raymond and his associates, lightens the mood enough for Winterbottom's film to be an enjoyable diversion whether audiences are familiar with the story or not.

Alan Partridge aside, Coogan has never seemed more at home in a character than in his portrayal of Paul Raymond. Sleazy yet charismatic, Coogan is perfectly cast in the leading role and it is impressive to see him handle the more tender and heartfelt moments of this drama with an emotional depth rarely seen in his acting career. Throughout his life Raymond's obsession with women is ever prevalent;  his wife (Anna Friel) and his lover, Amber (Tamsin Egerton), both have a huge impact on him but none more so than the daughter he dotes on. Debbie (Imogen Poots) appears to be the only girl he cannot bear to be without and Poots displays a wonderful naivety when Debbie is plunged into her father's world of adult entertainment at a young age. Despite this it is Egerton's alluring performance that stands out, and as Amber seduces Raymond, the audience will inevitably follow suit.

As is often the case with Winterbottom's films, appearances by British comedy stalwarts such as Stephen Fry, David Walliams and Dara O'Briain provide welcome comic relief even if their screen time is limited, and in some cases it is disappointing that their characters are not utilised more.

Whilst The Look of Love is not quite as accomplished as Winterbottom's previous autobiographical efforts, it is still nonetheless a captivating study of the man fondly remembered by many as the King of Soho. Not all of the emotional notes will strike a chord with the audience but those that do will linger, and the relationship between Paul Raymond and his carefree daughter Debbie is a joy to behold. The Look of Love may struggle to find an audience but those who seek it out will be rewarded with a surprisingly moving autobiography that showcases Steve Coogan at his best.

★★★½☆

Tom Bielby

Rating: 15
UK Release Date: 26th April 2013
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Stephen Fry, Tamsin Egerton

Joy Of Six To Host Live Google Hangout

New British Cinema Quarterly (NBCQ) in association with Shooting People, are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a live Google Hangout with a selection of the very talented directors of The Joy of Six.
The Joy of Six is a carefully curated package of six short films directed by emerging British talent and featuring an array of established stars, such as Dame Judi Dench, Peter Mullan and Tim Healy, as well as marking the directorial debut of Romola Garai..

The Google Hangout will be taking place on Monday 29th April with the following directors taking part; Douglas Hart (Long Distance Information) Dan Sully (The Ellington Kid), Chris Foggin (Friend Request Pending) and Romola Garai (Scrubber). In the week running up to the event, users will be able to submit their questions to the directors on Facebook.com/NewBritishCinema and on Twitter @NBCQ using the hashtag #JoyOfSix.

This is a unique opportunity for first time directors, University graduates and film fans to get a true insight to the world of short film making, providing the very rare opportunity to consult, ask for advice and be inspired by the attending directors.

Marking the countdown to the Hangout, five of the six films will be released for an exclusive 24 hour period on their Facebook page.

The Joy Of Six full programme: Long Distance Information (Douglas Hart), Man in Fear (Will Jewell), A Gun for George (Matthew Holness), Scrubber (Romola Garai), The Ellington Kid (Dan Sully) and Friend Request Pending (Chris Foggin).

THE JOY OF SIX now available on iTunes and DVD and here is the film's trailer....

BFI To Release Carlos Saura's Hauntingly brilliant Cría cuervos This May

One of cinema’s most hauntingly vivid depictions of a child’s fantasy-imbued reality, Cría cuervos is a darkly unsettling and deeply touching film which stands as a landmark of Spanish cinema. Released for the first time in the UK, on 27 May 2013, this BFI Dual Format Edition (DVD and Blu-ray discs) also contains an hour-long portrait of Carlos Saura (Carmen, Blood Wedding) and an on-stage interview with the director.

Shot in the summer of 1975 as General Franco lay dying, Saura's masterpiece takes its title from a sinister Spanish proverb: Raise ravens and they'll pluck out your eyes.

Eight-year-old Ana (the spellbinding Ana Torrent from The Spirit of the Beehive) lives in a mysterious mansion in central Madrid, cut off from the roaring traffic and urban bustle by a high-walled garden. Recently orphaned, she believes herself to have poisoned her cold, authoritarian father (Héctor Alterio), a high-ranking military man whom she blames for the death of her much adored, musically gifted mother (Geraldine Chaplin in a performance of exquisite tenderness). Now cared for, along with her two sisters, by her uptight, scolding Aunt Paulina (Mónica Randall), Ana has ample opportunity to observe the frustrations – emotional, sexual, and professional – of her adult female relatives. This is a world of secrets and lies in which only the family maid Rosa (Florinda Chico) will respond frankly to questions about sex or the Spanish Civil War.

Cría cuervos was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 1977. It enjoyed a highly successful BFI theatrical release in June 2011 when it received 5 star reviews.

Special Features

• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Portrait of Carlos Saura (José Luis López-Linares, 2004, 63 mins, DVD only)
• On-stage interview with Carlos Saura (2012, 23 mins, DVD only)
• Optional alternative English language soundtrack;
• Original theatrical trailers;
• Illustrated booklet featuring new essays and notes from Maria Delgado, Mar Diestro-Dópido and Michael Brooke.


Pre-Order/Buy Cria Cuervos:Dual Format Edition [DVD + Blu-ray] [1976]

Emma Watson Goes Full Bad Girl In Trailer For Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring

You want the fame, lifestyle of the rich and famous but cant afford it? Envy in what they've got? You just need to steal it like Emma Watson does in The Bling Ring, watch the new trailer!

Based on the 'true story' The Bling Ring follows a group of Los Angeles based teens who robbed from the rich and famous between 2008 until 2009. They track their "victims" via social media before stealing their loot from Paris Hilton to Orlando Bloom.

The Bling Ring really enhances the extreme levels of obsession some people especially teenagers go to these days. Its an culture that's controlling a lot of people's lives, ruining them too giving nobodies 15 minutes of fame before they disappear off the face of the earth. Sofia Coppola captures the anxiety, but if your thinking Spring Breakers with style The Bling Ring looks a lot more sophisticated,satirical,than anything L'Enfant terrible could ever do in a heartbeat.

Your mind sort of wonders if Sofia Coppola will glamorize crime with The Bling Ring however if your a fan of the filmmaker's work you'll know this film will be more than celebrity obsession and teenage angst. The Bling Ring co-stars Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, and Gavin Rossdale. The film will arrive in UK& Ireland 5th July (USA 14th June).



source: Yahoo!

The Lords of Salem DVD Review

I’m going to say something really controversial, and I don’t want to shock you so yeh… you’ve been warned. What I have to say is thus: Rob Zombie is the Tarantino of horror.

Zombie’s brand of heavy metal horror first came to light in the brutal, if faulted, House of a Thousand Corpses, where he introduced his highly dysfunctional Firefly family, a group of sadistic killers so twisted it put Zombie on the map as a shock maestro. After that he cleaned up his act, sharpened his script, and unleashed the epic sequel The Devil’s Rejects which affirmed him as a horror talent with more to offer than just blood and guts. His Halloween reimagining was a fun thrill ride that lacked the creative flare of Rejects, but for his Halloween 2 he broke out the big guns and showed us he had the capacity to merge startling art-house imagery with ruthless violence. Take this along with his witty dialogue, retro tastes in music and special effects and you can start to see what I’m talking about. Zombie’s latest film The Lords of Salem has been splitting audiences whilst garnering some truly marmite reviews.

In the town of Salem, Massachusetts, former junkie, Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie) works as a late night rock DJ at a local radio station. One night after broadcast she receives a wooden box containing a vinyl record, assuming it’s from an ambitious band she takes it home and listens to it. Immediately weird flashbacks and visions plague her and when she plays the record live on air, the visions grow even more bizarre and intense.

The new film is probably a step too far into the art-house arena, Zombie masterfully orchestrates the look and feel of the film but at points it seems to dance on its own grave with just a little too much enthusiasm. There’s not enough whollop in the script to ensure a steady and attention grabbing pace, instead Zombie relies a little too heavily on the performance of Sheri Moon and the impact of the visuals. Unfortunately the trailer compacts most of the intriguing imagery into an espresso you’ll probably wish you hadn’t taken. Some of the most grand and striking scenes seem flat once their initial pow is nicked through over exposure. Also on the down side is Sheri Moon’s performance, as support she’s great, just look at Devils Rejects, but in the lead it’s a bit of a slog, there’s just not enough depth to her, or her character, to allow any real dynamic between Hiedi and the audience.

On the other hand there are some truly fantastic turns from Judy Geeson, Patricia Quinn, and Dee Wallace who channel charming old biddy/serial nutter with absolute glee. Geeson in particular is a dab hand at flipping the old ‘everything’s fine/ fuck that, I’m going to kill you’ thing. Meg Foster utterly transforms herself for a descent into madness, leading Zombie’s pack of ravenous Mansonesque bitch-witches like some manky emaciated ring master. Ken Foree and Jeff Daniel Phillips pop up as Hiedi’s fellow DJs whilst Bruce Davison shines as Heidi’s only help. Apart from Foree and Phillips (and some tiny scenes with Sid Haig and Michael Berryman) there’s a disappointing lack of Zombie regulars.

The Lords of Salem is a really beautiful horror film that can easily be likened to The Shining thanks to that Grande Gothic use of space and colour. Brownie points go to Zombie for being this ambitious and maintaining his general aesthetic. Even if some of the film feels like he’s throwing a big ‘fuck you’ to anyone who might have doubted he could go down the high-art route, rather than actually ensuring it all fits together. With repeated viewing you’ll grow to understand and enjoy it more, but it does have an element of hard work to its viewing.

A mind-fucking psyche-terror descent into madness, helmed by a man with a distinct sense of visual style, The Lords of Salem is horrifyingly beautiful, well-performed for the most part, and the most innovative and intriguing witch film for a long time. It will challenge some viewer’s patience and probably alienate some old-school Zombie fans, but it’s all worth it for the second act reveals.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

Rating:18
DVD Release Date: 22nd April 2013 (UK)
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast:  Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Meg Foster, Dee Wallace

Win The Lords Of Salem: The Peoples Movies / cinehouse

Buy:The Lords of Salem On DVD

Knightriders BluRay Review

Considering who wrote and directed it, Knightriders (1981) is not the film you might expect. In fact this action / drama by George A. Romero, better know for his notorious zombie gut-munchers, is rather prosaic nay, dare I say, boring.

The 'Knightriders' are a group of travellers led by Billy (Ed Harris), the self-styled 'King William', who put on medieval tournaments, complete with craft fairs and jousting for the entertainment of local townspeople. However, despite the best efforts of Billy and his friends to live by the rules of a simpler age, the influences of the 20th century world inevitably puts them under increasing strain, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

Of the nineteen films Romero has directed during his career to date at least fourteen of them could be considered straight horror films. Which is where the problem lies. Film folk - be they actors or directors - often find it difficult to go against the grain when their career seems to have been largely built on a certain style or genre. Since appearing on the international scene with the classic chiller Night of the Living Dead (1968), Romero had established something of a reputation as one of the leading purveyors of visceral, in-your-face horror. Some would say that he should stick to what he does best, which he on the whole has. However when he has taken the odd diversion it's often been been less successful, as with such dubious outings as the comedy / drama There's Always Vanilla (1971). Unfortunately Knightriders also falls into this latter category.

Not that there's intrinsically anything wrong with the film. It's just in retrospect it's somewhat weird and tedious. After a promising opening featuring Harris in a dreamlike forest sequence, the film takes on a more dramatic mantle focusing on the relationships of the travelling group led by Harris, and the difficulties they face as they endeavour to lead their lives in keeping with the ideals of the court of King Arthur. And this is really where the film comes unhinged. It may, like the medieval jousting tournaments which Billy and the boys reenact for the inhabitants of the towns they visit, be mildly diverting for sixty minutes or so, but it rather outstays its welcome at nearly two and a half hours.

Admittedly the film looks good, and is interesting as it stars Harris in his first lead part along with a major role for the wonderfully broody Tom (effects wizard) Savini and cameo appearance by the master of horror, Stephen King. That it also features jousting tournaments on motorbikes is a plus if only for the novelty factor.

Like the idealistic lifestyle which Billy and his troupe strive for, Knightriders is full of good intentions. Unfortunately, as is also often the case, it ultimately fails to reach the exacting standards it sets itself.

Released by Arrow Video on both High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD, Knightriders comes with a host of extras including cast interviews, theatrical trailer and a reversible cover sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nat Marsh.

★★½☆☆

Cleaver Patterson

Rating: 15
BD Release Date: 22nd April 2013 (UK)
Director: George A. Romero
Cast: Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini 
Buy: Knightriders On Blu-ray

Sundance Winning Smashed Getting UK DVD Release This June

Smashed , the powerful and gripping drama starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead  and two-time Emmy Award®-winner Aaron Paul  arrives on DVD 3rd June in UK&Ireland from Sony Pictures Classics and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, SMASHED is an intensely moving story about love, fidelity and what it means to love someone and be committed to them, while recognizing the need to change your life…and the heartbreaking discovery that your partner won't be changing with you.

Special features on the DVD include commentary with director James Ponsoldt and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and two featurettes: “Making Smashed” gives viewers a true behind-the-scenes look at creating the film with the cast and crew, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Octavia Spencer walk the red carpet and answer fan questions in the “Toronto Film Festival Red Carpet and Q&A.”

The star-studded supporting cast includes Nick Offerman , Emmy winner Megan Mullally , Emmy winner Mary Kay Place and Academy Award®-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help). Smashed will arrive in UK on DVD 3rd June 2013

SYNOPSIS

Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and alcohol...especially the latter. When Kateʼs drinking leads her to dangerous places and her job as a school teacher is put in jeopardy, she decides to join AA and get sober. With the help of her friend and sponsor Jenny, and the vice principal at her school, the awkward, but well-intentioned Mr. Davies, Kate takes steps toward improving her health and life. Sobriety isn’t as easy as Kate had anticipated. Her new lifestyle forces her to confront a troubling relationship with her mother, as well as the necessity of facing the lies she’s told her employer. She also must question whether or not her relationship with Charlie is built on love or is just a boozy diversion from adulthood.

DVD Special Features include:
· Commentary with Director James Ponsoldt & Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead
· Two Featurettes:
Making Smashed
Toronto Film Festival Red Carpet and Q&A

Pre-order/Buy:Smashed On DVD

Marcelo Marcheda's Topicalaa To Get An Limited UK Cine Release Watch Trailer

Tropicalia, or Tropicalism, is one of Brazil's most significant cultural movements. Born in the late 1960s by a collective of like-minded souls, it used music and visual arts as a voice to confront the cultural and political establishment. And now the scene and its key players are explored in Marcelo Machado's fascinating new film Tropicalia.

This vibrant feature documentary explores this iconic and era-changing time in Brazil's history with material lovingly gleaned from the archives, stunning images, and the testimony of the group's protagonists including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Tom Ze, Arnaldo and Sergio Dias, from the band Os Mutantes, whose controversial thoughts, music and behaviour resulted in prison and exile for its leaders.

Then of course there is the music, the 'Tropicalistas' created pop songs, mixing traditional Brazilian folk and the north hemisphere's rock which created a sound never heard before and which has since inspired and influenced many high profile musicians including David Byrne, Damon Albarn and Beck.

Director Marcelo Machado grew up listening to the music and was inspired to document this influential, important scene in Tropicalia which comes to UK cinemas on 5 July 2013 followed by a DVD release on 7 July 2013 from Mr Bongo Films.

Win Rob Zombie's The Lords Of Salem On DVD

Rob Zombie returns spectacularly to form with The Lords of Salem which hits DVD on 22 April 2013. The film is an ode to 1970s horror cinema and is visually and aurally stunning!

To celebrate the film's release we have a copy to give away to one lucky winner.

A huge departure from his previous movies, “The Lords Of Salem” is without a doubt Rob Zombie’s most ambitious and accomplished work to date and firmly establishes him as a unique and truly gifted filmmaker who has finally come into his own. A chilling, atmospheric piece that slowly works its way under the viewer’s skin, the film has an almost European feel to it and owes more to Roman Polanski, Dario Argento and Ken Russell than to the American “grindhouse” cinema one would most associate with Zombie. Of course, this being Rob Zombie, classic horror movie references abound and fans will be delighted to notice nods to the likes of “Rosemary’s Baby”, “The Shining”, “The Sentinel”, “The Devil Rides Out”, John Carpenter’s “Prince Of Darkness” and “Macbeth” (the Polanski adaptation), amongst others. A killer cast comprised of many genre legends, stunning cinematography by Brandon Trost, an awesome score by guitarist John 5 and songs by The Velvet Underground, Rush, Rob Zombie, Rick James and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band all combine to make this one of the most visually and aurally impressive horror movies in recent years.

To Win The Lords Of Salem on DVD please answer the following question:

Q. How Many Corpses were in Rob Zombies directorial debut?

A.5000
B.3000
C.1000

Send Your Name, Address, Postcode only to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com


Deadline to enter is 12th May 2013 (2359hrs). Must be 18 or older to enter

Double your chances follow us at Facebook! (you will get double entry every counts, if your already following us please share the post on facebook)

Pre-Order/Buy The Lords of Salem On DVD
In event of the above form not working please refer to Terms & Conditions on how to enter



Terms &Conditions: 1.This prize is non transferable.No cash alternatives apply.UK &Irish entries only.2.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and 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 12th May2013 (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 winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com (label The Lords) 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.Failure to complete the above form (i.e full name or address) will result your entry been void 11.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 if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.12.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 13.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control14.The competition is opened to Aged 15 and over.15. 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.16. 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 17.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email or announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners.18.This competition i bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.19.By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

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2 New Only God Forgives Trailers Show Why This Is A Must See Film

Just as news broke that Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives is officially heading To 66th Cannes International Film Festival hot on the heels is not one but two very intense New Trailers for your visual pleasure!

Both are international trailers with the latter we believe is the Festival if not a general French trailer  which delivers a little more of the plot which showcases Kristin Scott Thomas is one bitch of a matriarch domineering powerhouse. Whilst the brilliant first (red band) trailer captured the visual beauty and brutality of the film this trailer delivers more dialogue most of all new footage including more of 'the Devil' aka The Angel of Vengeance, played by Vithaya Pansringarm. If you are looking for a little more the stylization the Scandinavian trailer will provide a bit more substance and you'll probably want to sing more than pick a fight!

Ryan Gosling stars as Julian a owner of a Thai Boxing club in Bangkok which also happens to be the centre of his family's drugs smuggling operation. Things get complicated when his mother (Thomas) arrives in town demanding he avenges his brother's death killed by a legendary cop known locally as The Angel of Vengeance (Pansringarm), a move that will cost Julian dearly.

Did someone say this will be most anticipated film of 2013? If you adored Drive hell Yeah! No UK date yet to be confirmed but the French will see it first 22nd May whilst 19th July USA, Only God Forgives also stars Tom Burke, Byron Gibson.

French Trailer



Scandinavian Trailer



Poster



source: Thefilmstage via Thepeoplesmovies

Do You Have Secrets? Watch the New Trailer for Neil Jordan's Byzantium

From Interviewing vampires to dancing with wolves, Byzantium is Neil Jordan's long awaited return to the horror genre which has given the Irish director his better critical moments and tonight we get another look at the film in a new UK trailer.

Byzantium is an new look on the vampire genre from a female perspective , its a look into an ancient world that follows no popular crazes or even traditional/familiar  constraints you expect from the genre. Starring Gemma Arterton, Saorise Ronan as Clara and Elanor mother/ daughter on the run from the male only Brotherhood which sees the pair constantly on the run. They find refuge in a small coastal run down hotel (Byzantium), things start to look up for Clara&Elanor however as Elanor decides to reveal her secret to a local ill stricken boy (Caleb Landry Jones ) their 200 year secret comes under threat which sees the past catch up on them.

I was fortunate to see the UK premiere which took place at Film 4 Glasgow Frightfest back in February, I did enjoy it, an ambitious, visually wonderful looking film, it wasn't just quite there in terms to regard it as a classic like Jordan's previous stint in the genre.The trailer does reveal some new footage not seen in the last trailer, showcasing the films atmospheric and melancholic tone. In this video you even get a homage to another 'vampire' legend from Vlad Impaler times Countess Bathory when Gemma Arterton baths in blood.

Byzantium opens in UK&Ireland on 31 st May (28th June USA) co-starring Sam Riley,Jonny Lee Miller,Tom Hollander and Barry Cassin.

Synopsis

Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

[Update 19th April 2013 - Studiocanal have sent us a brand new UK Quad poster check it out below]

source: Yahoo! (via The Peoples Movies)

Teen In Trouble For Tiff Winning Blackbird Trailer

Alot of films win awards at film festivals but when its one of the big Festivals such as Toronto you have to take notice. Jason Buxton's Blackbird was that film winning Best Canadian film at last year's festival a joint win with Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral and tonight before the film starts its tour of the American/Canadian cinemas a brand new trailer has been released.

Blackbird tells the story of an alienated teenager's online threat ignites fear in a small community, in this disturbing and perceptive look at how our media-fuelled, post-Columbine culture can transform typical teen angst into intimations of murder.

How ironic most of all relevant Blackbird plot line to whats happening with Social media right now  and the dangers that occur using it. Let's be honest we've all experienced teen angst in our lives some of us suppressed others let it out but no technology has evolved and so are the way frustrated souls let out their anger too.

No word on a UK release but Blackbird will be released in Canada 10th May 2013. The film also stars Connor Jessup, Alexia Fast, Michael Buie, and Alex Ozerov.


source:Thefilmstage

Thoughts on Spring Breakers

Harmony Korine has finally made his pop movie and it might just be the most definitive piece of art made about this sweaty, writhing, ritualistic mass of American grotesquery known as spring break.

What goes on at places like St. Pete Beach is a truly surreal subcultural phenomenon ripe for documenting, and Korine does this sun-kissed Sodom and Gomorrah justice by not only surveying its obvious seductive hedonism, but also the complex moral implications of those who willingly participate. His four female leads act almost as Dantean test subjects, descending further into the dark heart of spring break until only those who prove amorally pure can subsume the true mantle of “Spring Breaker”.

Korine frames this the only way he knows how, through a heightened form of reality whose guiding mantra dictates: “Just pretend it’s like a videogame; like it’s a movie”. In what may be his only transparently drawn social critique, he flattens the moral landscape in accordance to its perceived value. The iconography of Scarface and flashy boardwalk arcades bleeds through the hyper-saturated neon, and in true videogame fashion there is a final boss and an orgiastic gun-battle finale, which takes place at a Tony Montana-styled criminal fortress.

But are the Breakers who emerge from the bloodbath victorious to be celebrated or reviled? This is where Korine shows surprising amounts of restraint, unwilling to deem the gat-toting avenging angels as either fallen souls or empowered saints outright. The real answer is somewhere between the two. The Breakers’ telephoned check-ins with mum and dad in the closing scenes are hilariously deceptive; a possible indication of their ultimate disillusionment from reality. But they also read like the calming assurances of girls who have made peace with the monster within. The girls who manage to shoot their way to the finish line do so out of free will and determination, and considering the materialistic and nihilistic lifestyle they fought to defend, that’s as scary as it is admirable.



It’s a stroke of genius not to have all the girls be four parts of the same whole; an agency-robbing hive mind. Selena Gomez’s Faith quickly finds that what was initially sold to her as a spiritual quest has indeed led to spiritual destitution, where rooms are rife with skeezy guys asserting their male gaze in uncomfortable, genuinely threatening ways. That pool hall scene simmers with enough racial/sexual subtext to fuel its own movie (we’ll leave it to Larry Clark to tackle that one). Her hasty departure from the group subsequently feels completely justified—that point is probably where most sane people would yell “Stop the ride. I want to get off.” Unfortunately for her, spring break isn’t for sane people—and that’s where Korine’s fascination begins.

Korine’s ambiguity, or rather his non-committal stance towards moralising, allows the film to toe a tricky line between relish and repulsion: the adrenaline rush of a crime spree or an occasional drunken hotel fuckfest isn’t denied. Yet there’s no escaping the self-destructive pall that hangs over the mounting excess.

“Look at all my shit,” I imagine the film saying to us. “Redistribution of phallic symbolism y’all. Undressing the hedonist fantasy up on screen, y’all. Pretty lights in every colour, y’all.” This collective dream of the MTV generation, powered by sexual and societal liberation, which adheres to its own warped logic and holds its cherished cultural signifiers dear, is an endlessly fascinating, quintessentially American concoction. Essentially a designated window for primal transgressions that somehow snuck up the ranks to become a legitimate rite-of-passage, spring break is loud and obnoxious and bizarre and singular and I can’t look away.

★★★★☆

Pierre Badiola

Only God Forgives To Bling Ring: The 2013 Cannes Film Festival Line Up

You always know the summer is virtually upon us when the granddaddy of film festivals launches their programme and today 2013 Cannes Film Festival line up was unveiled.

As previous announced the festival will open in a party mood when Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby opens the festival on 15th May an unusual move as the film is out in USA 5 days before. Jérôme Salle‘s Zulu starring Forrest Whittaker and Orlando Bloom will have the honour of closing the festival.

The usual array of expected films and surprise choices make up this years line up with Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives expected to excites the Cannes audiences.Sofia Coppola's Bling Ring headline's Un Certain Regard section with James Franco's As I Lay Dying,Claire Denis Les Salaud also making up the numbers.

In the Competition the film that's too 'gay' to be shown on American Cinemas steven Soderbergh's Liberace pic Behind the Candelabra will be screened on the big screen. This film will only be screened on HBO Stateside as will Stepan Frear's Muhammad Ali's Final Fight (Frank Langella, Danny Glover)but here it'll get a cinematic outing.

Roman Polanski this year has the luxury of having 2 films with Venus In Furs and motor racing documentary Week End Of A Champion. So Are you thinking is that it? Fear not the full list of 2013 Cannes Film Festival  films you can be find below...



In Competition
Only God Forgives, dir Nicolas Winding Refn
Borgman, dir Alex Can Warmerdam
La Grande Bellezza, dir Paulo Sorrentino
Behind the Candelabra, dir Steven Soderbergh
La Venus a la Fourrure, dir Roman Polanski
Nebraska, dir Alexander Payne
Jeune et Jolie, dir François Ozon
La Vie d'Adele, dir Abdellatif Kechiche
Wara No Tate, dir Takashi Miike
Soshite Chichi Ni Naru, dir Kore-Eda Hirokazu
Tian Zhu Ding, dir Jia Zhangke
Grisgris, dir Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
The Immigrant, dir James Gray
Heli, dir Amat Escalante
Le Passe, dir Asghar Farhadi
Michael Kohlhaas, dir Arnaud Despallieres
Inside Llewyn Davis, dir Ethan and Joel Coen
Un Chateau en Italie, dir Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi

Un Certain Regard
The Bling Ring, dir Sofia Coppola
L'Inconnu Du La, dir Alain Guiraudie
Bends, dir Flora Lau
L'Image Manquante, dir Rithy Panh
La Jaula De Oro, dir Diego Quemada-Diez
Anonymous, dir Mohammad Rasoulof
Sarah Préfère La Course, dir Chloé Robichaud
Grand Central, dir Rebecca Zlotowski
Fruitvale Statio, dir Ryan Coogler
Les Salauds, dir Claire Denis
Norte, Hangganan Ng Kasaysayan, dir Lav Diaz
As I Lay Dying, dir James Franco
Miele, dir Valeria Golino
Omar, dir Hany Abu-Assad
Death March, dir Adolfo Alix Jr

Cinefondation
Special Screenings
Weekend Of A Champion, dir Roman Polanski
Seduced And Abandoned, dir James Toback
Otdat Konci, dir Taisia Igumentseva
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, dir Stephen Frears
Stop The Pounding Heart, dir Robero Minervini

Midnight Screenings
Monsoon Shootout, dir Amit Kumar
Blind Detective, dir Johnnie To
Homage To Jerry Lewis
Max Rose, dir Daniel Noah

Out Of Competiton
All Is Lost by J.C Chandor
Blood Ties by Guillaume Canet

66TH Cannes International Film Festival takes place between 15th until 26th May.
source: Thepeoplesmovies

Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives To Screen At Cannes Film Festival

Nicolas Winding Refn’s hotly-anticipated ONLY GOD FORGIVES, confirmed to screen in Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will open across the UK and Ireland in summer 2013, through Icon Film Distribution and Lionsgate.

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.

ONLY GOD FORGIVES is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, who won Best Director at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for the international box office smash Drive. The film reunites Refn with Drive star Ryan Gosling (The Place Beyond The Pines, Gangster Squad) and also features Kristin Scott Thomas (In The House, The English Patient), Vithaya Pansringarm (The Hangover Part II), Tom Burke (Donkey Punch) and Thai pop star Yayaying. The film’s score is by award-winning Drive composer Cliff Martinez (Spring Breakers, Contagion).

Stay tuned we'll bring you news on the line up today when we get it. Whilst we wait have another look at the Red Band Trailer For Only God Forgives here.

John Cassavetes Opening Night To Get BFI UK Home Release This May

The latest release in the BFI’s John Cassavetes Collection, out on 27 May 2013, is the award-winning Opening Night (1977), starring Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes and Ben Gazarra.

Released on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, it is presented in a Dual Format Edition (also contains a DVD disc). Numerous extras include an audio commentary, a documentary – Memories of John and Peter Falk (Columbo) talking about John Cassavetes.

Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) rehearses for her latest play about a woman in denial at the onset of her autumn years. When Myrtle witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan, it leads to a crisis of confidence in both her professional and her personal life which threatens to undermine the whole production.

Featuring a startling and compelling performance by Gena Rowlands, which won her the Silver Bear for Best Actress in 1978, Opening Night is arguably one of John Cassavetes’ most self-reflexive works and offers an insightful and intriguing evocation of the theatrical experience from both sides of the proscenium.

Click here to see Peter Falk talking about the director, along with a short clip from the film:

Special Features

• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Audio commentary by Tom Charity, Mike Ferris and Bo Harwood;
• Memories of John (DVD only, 29 mins);
• Falk on Cassavetes: the later years (DVD only, 14 mins);
• Illustrated booklet featuring interviews and essays from Tom Charity, Al Ruban and Peter Bogdanovich

Pre-Order/Buy: Opening Night (DVD & Blu-ray) 1977