Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Gareth Edwards Cast: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able Certificate: 12A Trailer There aren't many. The only way the title could've been more misleading is if they got Mad Men's Jared Harris to announce the title in his best Gojira voice. But that's no fault of Gareth Edwards' first film - it's an engaging and character-driven slice of science fiction. A bit like District 9. But with fewer monsters.
Read more...
Friday, 09 July 2010
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Catherine Corsini Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Yvan Attal, Sergi Lopez Certificate: 15 Following last year’s I’ve Loved You So Long, Kristin Scott Thomas continues to prove herself one of the best bi-lingual actresses around – when she’s English she’s very good, and when she’s French she’s faultless. Here she plays Suzanne, bored housewife to the well-off Samuel (Attal). He’s a doctor. So naturally it’s only a matter of time before Suzanne falls in love with someone else. And, as is often the case, the man’s name is Ivan (Lopez).
Read more...
Friday, 02 July 2010
Written by Ivan Radford
 Forget the leaked version yesterday - the official teaser trailer for Let Me In is now online. And it looks quite good. Considering. Considering this is a remake of 2009's best film, Let the Right One In. Considering that it's another Americanised take on a great foreign movie. Considering that no-one wanted this film to happen.
And yet there's something in the trailer for Matt Reeves' Let Me In that works. The location feels right, the casting is spot on (Kodi Smitt McPhee and Chloe Moretz look to be sinking their teeth into their parts), even the music sort of fits.
From the looks of things, the tale will remain pretty much identical, with young outcast Owen meeting blood-sucker Abby on his local housing estate. Only to discover she's been his age for a long time. As their awkward relationship blossoms, things get darker and chillier, building up to one hell of a climax.
Tomas Alfredson he ain't, but Matt Reeves has clearly been doing his homework - lots of the shots here look the same as the original. Whether that makes it more pointless or not is perhaps debatable, but (and I'm surprised to be saying this) Let Me In could well be one of those faithful remakes that actually works. They do exist, after all. Remember Insomnia? Or The Departed?
Let Me In is released in October. Check out the trailer in our videos section, or read on for the full video.
Read more...
Monday, 10 May 2010
Written by Ivan Radford
 Remember that Swedish film? The one with the vampire? The one that we decided was the Best Film Of 2009? Yeah, the one Matt Reeves is remaking. Well, the Cloverfield director has been busy, with the movie well on the way to its October release date. The question is: will it be any good? Thanks to the LA Times, we can at least see what it looks like. And the answer is somewhat reassuring. Yes, that's Chloe Moretz (aka Hit Girl) there, donning fangs and pale expression to bring us a new, English-language take on the disturbing, disarming character of Eli (now called Abby), the 100 year old vampire in a 13 year old's body. While she may look the part, will Let Me In feel anywhere near the same? Matt Reeves is aware of the challenge:
"I think because of Cloverfield, people have an assumption, which is, 'Oh, crazy handicam, he's going to jazz it up. And I think that's probably what a lot of people were afraid of when they thought of the most cynical version. And that's the last thing we tried to do. We tried to create the approaching, foreboding dread of movies like The Shining, where you feel like something wicked is unravelling and it's not going to end well. That's what I responded to about the original, the juxtaposition of those tones, this very disturbing story but at the centre of it there are these very tender emotions. That's a very unusual mix, and that's what drew me in and dug into me."
He gets it, then. But whether he delivers is another matter. With The Road's Kodi Smit-McPhee on board as our little blonde lead Owen, maybe - just maybe - this won't be as bad as we all thought. Read on for a look at Kodi and Chloe's first meeting.
Read more...
Thursday, 04 February 2010
Written by Ivan Radford
 Terrence Malick is lining up his next film; a momentous occasion in the film industry calendar, given that he tends to spend 10 years on one before he's happy with it. But this is even more momentous, because (as far as the world is aware) he's still working on Tree of Life, which stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Still, Deadline Hollywood has reported that Terrence Malick has found romance. With Christian Bale, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Olga Kurylenko. Not a bad collection if you're looking for true love. He's bringing with him some of the team from Tree of Life and shooting is set for this autumn.
Things are moving quickly, which is strange for Malick. But, as we all expect, not a word has been said about the plot. But you hear that tiny, quiet buzz? That's the excitement only Malick can generate.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Written by Ivan Radford
If this a rom-com, kill the director. If this is a rom-zom-com, get David O Russell! Strange words, but true, folks. Yes, according to Pajiba, Mr O Russell himself will be lensing the popular novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
It was no surprise that Seth Graham-Smith's book would get picked up by some studio - it flew off the shelves like the proverbial undead when it was released. Still, David O Russell is a weird choice. Don't get me wrong - I loved Huckabees as much as he did, but the Three Kings helmer hasn't exactly done costume drama zombies before.
Then again, neither has anyone else. So while it seems a bit odd to pick Mr O Russell to direct leading lady Natalie Portman, it's hard not to look forward to a witty take on Jane Austen's undead-infested feminine classic. At the very least, we may get another rant at Lily Tomlin halfway through.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Chris Weitz Cast: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner Certificate: 12A Trailers/Clips It's been 12 months since the last onslaught of pale-faced emoting emo teens, but just in case the thousands who flocked to the first Twilight film have developed some pigmentation in their skin, here comes its bigger, even more emo sequel. Clocking in at 130 minutes, New Moon gives its giddy groupies plenty of time to sit in the dark and pine. Oh, the pain of it all.
Read more...
Friday, 06 November 2009
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Nicholas Jasenovec Cast: Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake Johnson Certificate: PG Trailers/Clips Paper Heart is a hard film to figure out. Then again, it's written by someone who's part-Filipino, semi-Spanish, kind of Korean, a little bit Irish, sometimes German, occasionally French and now and then Native American, so it's not that much of surprise. This is Charlyne Yi - stand-up comedienne, actress and all-round loveable wacko. Or at least, she would be, if she knew what love is. And so she's done this demi-documentary to discover exactly that.
Read more...
Friday, 06 November 2009
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Jane Campion Cast: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Paul Schneider Certificate: 15 Trailer A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; It will never pass into nothingness. Do you like poetry? Fanny Brawne (Cornish) thinks she might. At least, she wants to. She has a bit of thing, you see, for a poet: John Keats (Whishaw), a young late Romantic who has stolen her heart. Capturing their three-year affair, Campion’s Bright Star is a loving and literary creation.
Read more...
Friday, 30 October 2009
Written by Ivan Radford
 Director: Jane Campion Cast: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish Certificate: TBC Release Date: Friday 6th November London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’s younger brother that drew them together. Touched by Fanny’s efforts to help, he agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend Brown realised their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations: “I have the feeling as if I were dissolving”, Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats’s illness proved insurmountable...
Read more...
|