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Written by Ivan Radford
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Friday, 07 November 2008 13:47 |
 Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Scot Glenn,
Certificate: 15
Trailer Never has a man been more parodied and insulted than the current US President. George W. Bush (Brolin), the most powerful man in the Universe, has often been imitated on television, but now, thanks to Oliver Stone, his life story has made it to the big screen. Focussing on Dubya’s earlier life and first term, W. shows how exactly George W. Bush made it to the White House. From frat-boy antics to finding Jesus, the journey may not all be strictly accurate, but it’s a fun one to watch.
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Easy Virtue |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Friday, 07 November 2008 13:46 |
 Director: Stephan Elliott
Cast: Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth
Certificate: PG
Trailer “There’s something about you wild child, that’s so contagious, let’s be outrageous, let’s misbehave!”
Boy meets girl. Girl meets family. Hilarity ensues. Sound predictable? Not so, for this is the world of Noel Coward, where class is relative and wit isn’t afraid to bite. Straight into the jaws go newlyweds John (Barnes) and Larita (Biel). The two meet in sepia-toned France, the racecar driving American blowing the young lad away. And understandably so – Jessica is jaw-dropping as Larita, sassy sexy and sympathetic in one fell swoop.
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Quantum of Solace |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Friday, 31 October 2008 13:48 |
 Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton
Certificate: 12A
Trailer Broken, flawed and at times unpleasant, Quantum of Solace echoes the traits of its protagonist. Continuing directly from Casino Royale, the film opens with a car chase. Or, at least, that’s what you suspect it is: crashing, scraping and spinning out of control, the film is torn to shreds, along with the Aston Martin. As is often the case with Bond’s latest outing, it’s hard to tell who exactly is chasing who.
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LFF: Slumdog Millionaire |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Thursday, 30 October 2008 13:50 |
After two weeks of red carpets, films and galas galore, the 52nd London Film Festival draws to a close tonight with the final premiere of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.
Who wants to be a millionaire? Pretty much everyone in the slums of Mumbai. Everyone, that is, except for Jamal (Dev Patel). But it's this impoverished Indian answering the infamous fifteen questions. One away from the jackpot, he is arrested for fraud and savagely interrogated. How does someone like him know the answers?
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LFF: Synecdoche, New York |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Tuesday, 28 October 2008 00:00 |
Charlie Kaufman is the most original writer in modern cinema. His latest, Synecdoche, New York, is a typical blend of reality, surreality, meta-surreality and neuroticism; taking on the role of director, he seems more than ever to be the post-modern Woody Allen. But after a string of unconventional literary masterpieces, Kaufman has come up with something so mind-boggling in its ambition that there’s barely any point in trying to sum it up. But here goes:
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LFF: Easy Virtue |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Tuesday, 28 October 2008 00:00 |
“There’s something about you wild child, that’s so contagious, let’s be outrageous, let’s misbehave!”
Boy meets girl. Girl meets family. Hilarity ensues. Sound predictable? Not so, for this is the world of Noel Coward, where class is relative and wit isn’t afraid to bite. Straight into the jaws go newlyweds John (Ben Barnes) and Larita (Jessica Biel). The two meet in sepia-toned France, the racecar driving American blowing the young lad away. And understandably so – Jessica is jaw-dropping as Larita, sassy sexy and sympathetic in one fell swoop.
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LFF: The Brothers Bloom |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Monday, 27 October 2008 00:00 |
Fresh from his dazzling debut, Brick, Rian Johnson moves from grit to grifters with The Brothers Bloom. Riffing on the con movie conventions, his tale of two swindling siblings is a fuzzy, funny affair. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) is the brains of the outfit, mapping out his cons to the minutest of details – they may look like a kid scribbled them on a piece of scrap paper but he treats cheating like a work of art, writing tales with thematic arcs and symbolism. Pulling them off with him is little brother Bloom (Adrien Brody), who’s been sidekicking it since they were kids. Stephen maintains that the perfect con lets everyone get what they want, but their life of fraud and fairytales has left Bloom yearning for something real: an unwritten life.
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Ghost Town |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Friday, 24 October 2008 00:00 |
 Director: David Koepp
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear
Certificate: 12A
Trailer Years after that dance, Gervais is trying to break out of Slough and into Hollywood. There was that bit he did in Night at the Museum. And the other part in Stardust. Now, he’s pipped the usual suspects (Steve Carell, or even Simon Pegg) to the lead in David Koepp’s Ghost Town. Gervais, an Englishman in New York carrying a rom-com? Bizarrely, it kind of works. For one simple reason: Dr Bertram Pincus (Gervais) is a prick. A nasty, unloving prick.
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LFF: Waltz with Bashir |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Friday, 24 October 2008 00:00 |
A week into the proceedings, and the London Film Festival unleashes its most unique piece: the animated war movie, Waltz With Bashir. A hard-hitting, breathtaking assault on the Lebanon war in the 80s, its relevance and graphical wizardry make it the must-see of the festival. Its UK premiere is tonight.
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LFF: W. |
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Written by Ivan Radford
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 00:00 |
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Scot Glenn,
Certificate: 15
Trailer Never has a man been more parodied and insulted than the current US President. George W. Bush (Brolin), the most powerful man in the Universe, has often been imitated on television, but now, thanks to Oliver Stone, his life story has made it to the big screen. Focussing on Dubya’s earlier life and first term, W. shows how exactly George W. Bush made it to the White House. From frat-boy antics to finding Jesus, the journey may not all be strictly accurate, but it’s a fun one to watch.
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Read more...
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