There is a bit of something for everyone in cinemas this week. Big blockbuster fans have smart and bleak YA adaptation The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, those looking for somehting far more serious but equally interesting should try The Homesman and anyone after silliness in spades should give What We Do in the Shadows a chance.
Vampires, westerns, science fiction and mockumentary all in one week!
If none of those tickle your fancy, then there is always the James Brown biopic Get On Up.
Here are links to my reviews of this week's releases in cinemas:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 at Starburst Magazine
The Homesman at Tastic Film which I got to see at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
What We Do in the Shadows
I'd love to recommend one of the smaller two films here that don't have the marketing budget of the Hunger Games franchise but if I could only see one of these in the cinema, I'm afraid it would definitely be Mockingjay Part 1. The Homesman is a depressing watch and What We Do in the Shadows is bit hit and miss but all three of these films this week are really worth watching.
You can also catch me talking more about these films on Amazing Radio on Friday afternoon with Dani Charlton soon after midday.
Will you be seeing any of these in the cinema?
Showing posts with label new releases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new releases. Show all posts
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Still talking films every week on Amazing Radio
You can check out the recordings of all my weekly round ups of the latest movies over at the Amazing Radio Buffer's Guide page.
In the latest one I talked about Transcendence, The Other Woman and Tracks and you can listen to the whole thing below:
In the latest one I talked about Transcendence, The Other Woman and Tracks and you can listen to the whole thing below:
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Top 5 Films to Look Forward to in June 2013
Each month, I will pick 5 films that I am most looking forward to, starting with June 2013. This month we have Brad Pitt in an action horror blockbuster, the return of Richard Linklater (for the second time this year), James Franco and Seth Rogen playing themselves and plenty of Michael Shannon. In fact we have two films about the end of the world, two featuring Shannon and two featuring Franco. After Earth is also out this month but though I love the idea that Earth has evolved to get rid of the human race, it also looks a bit like a vanity project for Will Smith and his son (and let's face it that household needs NO more income).
Behind the Candelabra starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas also narrowly missed this list. I wasn't at all interested in seeing it as I barely even know who Liberace is but at a Slackers Club free screening, I was blown away by the two central performances so I would highly recommend it.
Anyway enough about the other films not presented here. Instead here are the top 5 films I'm looking forward to in June:
The Iceman (7th June) Starring Michael Shannon as a real life hit man who led a double life, killing people for a living but hiding it from his ordinary family. It's the first of two Shannon appearances on this list but will likely be the best performance of the two. The supporting cast includes Chris Evans, Ray Liotta and James Franco and it sounds too weird to be true. Unfortunately it is both brutal and frighteningly true.
Man of Steel (14th June) The next Michael Shannon film on the list sees him taking the old Terence Stamp role of General Zod against new Superman Henry Cavill. I started off thinking this was going to be a dull attempt to Nolan-ise a character that would not fit into the dark, down to earth, realistic style of The Dark Knight but actually the copious trailers and TV spots have been growing on me and I'm more than willing to give this latest incarnation of Superman a go. Also it has Amy Adams so... yeah.
Before Midnight (21st June) The concluding(?) part of a beautiful trilogy about flirtation, falling in love, letting go, re-connecting and finally marriage with kids will see the welcome return of Jesse and Celine who met 18 years ago one night in Vienna. Or on a train headed for Vienna anyway. Now the couple are perhaps older, wiser and on holiday on a Greek island, I can't wait to see where Linklater and the cast take this ever developing relationship. It's starting to feel a bit like the book One Day if we keep meeting these characters so infrequently. I hope this one gets a bit tragic with the couple facing the realities of life together and maybe the possibilities of love and happiness together being not so sweet and simple.
World War Z (21st June) Not sure if this is worth getting excited about because they've clearly made a huge mess of the book but on the other hand it's not every year we get a huge Hollywood blockbuster featuring the zombie apocalypse. So many things worry me about this adaptation (the messing with the book's narrative, the over use of CGI, the reshoots etc) but I can't help but be intrigued to see how it turns out. No doubt it will be more action than horror to keep it kiddie-friendly but never mind.
This is the End (28th June) I get to see this on Tuesday thanks to the Total Film screening club. It should be a self-indulgent silly mess with all these stars playing themselves (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Michael Cera, Danny McBride etc) but the trailer looked pretty funny so here's hoping this is a film lover's comedy dream with plenty of cameos and references and an apocalyptic plot to keep things lively.
So that's my June sorted. I'll be happy if I see even half of these in the cinema! What are you looking forward to in June?
Behind the Candelabra starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas also narrowly missed this list. I wasn't at all interested in seeing it as I barely even know who Liberace is but at a Slackers Club free screening, I was blown away by the two central performances so I would highly recommend it.
Anyway enough about the other films not presented here. Instead here are the top 5 films I'm looking forward to in June:
The Iceman (7th June) Starring Michael Shannon as a real life hit man who led a double life, killing people for a living but hiding it from his ordinary family. It's the first of two Shannon appearances on this list but will likely be the best performance of the two. The supporting cast includes Chris Evans, Ray Liotta and James Franco and it sounds too weird to be true. Unfortunately it is both brutal and frighteningly true.
Man of Steel (14th June) The next Michael Shannon film on the list sees him taking the old Terence Stamp role of General Zod against new Superman Henry Cavill. I started off thinking this was going to be a dull attempt to Nolan-ise a character that would not fit into the dark, down to earth, realistic style of The Dark Knight but actually the copious trailers and TV spots have been growing on me and I'm more than willing to give this latest incarnation of Superman a go. Also it has Amy Adams so... yeah.
Before Midnight (21st June) The concluding(?) part of a beautiful trilogy about flirtation, falling in love, letting go, re-connecting and finally marriage with kids will see the welcome return of Jesse and Celine who met 18 years ago one night in Vienna. Or on a train headed for Vienna anyway. Now the couple are perhaps older, wiser and on holiday on a Greek island, I can't wait to see where Linklater and the cast take this ever developing relationship. It's starting to feel a bit like the book One Day if we keep meeting these characters so infrequently. I hope this one gets a bit tragic with the couple facing the realities of life together and maybe the possibilities of love and happiness together being not so sweet and simple.
World War Z (21st June) Not sure if this is worth getting excited about because they've clearly made a huge mess of the book but on the other hand it's not every year we get a huge Hollywood blockbuster featuring the zombie apocalypse. So many things worry me about this adaptation (the messing with the book's narrative, the over use of CGI, the reshoots etc) but I can't help but be intrigued to see how it turns out. No doubt it will be more action than horror to keep it kiddie-friendly but never mind.
This is the End (28th June) I get to see this on Tuesday thanks to the Total Film screening club. It should be a self-indulgent silly mess with all these stars playing themselves (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Michael Cera, Danny McBride etc) but the trailer looked pretty funny so here's hoping this is a film lover's comedy dream with plenty of cameos and references and an apocalyptic plot to keep things lively.
So that's my June sorted. I'll be happy if I see even half of these in the cinema! What are you looking forward to in June?
Thursday, 9 May 2013
UK Cinema Releases this Weekend: What will you be seeing?
It's finally Friday and the weekend begins before you know it! If you want to hear me talking about the films that open this weekend in cinemas, then tune in to either Amazing Radio soon after midday or Marlow FM very soon after 5pm.
This week there are four releases I'm discussing. The first is the big one for the week; Star Trek Into Darkness. With the beloved Benedict Cumberbatch joining the cast, this one is bound to do even better than its predecessor, JJ Abrams' 2009 reboot. Personally having never been a fan of Star Trek, I'm absolutely loving what Abrams has done with this franchise and looking forward to seeing what he does with the other little science fiction series now.
Mud starring Matthew Mcconaughey as a fugitive hiding out on a Mississippi islet looks less bombastic than Star Trek but equally interesting. Promising a grittier performance from Reese Witherspoon (as Muds' sweetheart) than usual and from Jeff Nichols the director who gave us Take Shelter, this should be a gripping coming of age story as two young boys find and befriend Mcconaughey's fugitive.
Both the other releases for the week are world cinema options and as a result are frustratingly difficult to find in any cinemas near me personally. Our Children is the story of a couple who fall in love, get married, continually pop out kids and then crushing depression takes hold of the wife and it all spirals into absolute despair and tragedy from there. Probably not ideal Friday night, popcorn munching fare but still worth a watch. I reviewed Our Children here.
The next option is only slightly less depressing but a far easier watch than Our Children at least. A Hijacking is the story of a Danish ship that is boarded by Somali pirates and the crew are taken hostage for a long and arduous negotiation process while the pirates demand a ransom. It's got some of the stars of The Killing and Borgen and is fantastic. I reviewed A Hijacking here.
Fancy any of these? What will you be watching this weekend? Remember to tune in and have a listen to the radio shows to here more about these film releases.
This week there are four releases I'm discussing. The first is the big one for the week; Star Trek Into Darkness. With the beloved Benedict Cumberbatch joining the cast, this one is bound to do even better than its predecessor, JJ Abrams' 2009 reboot. Personally having never been a fan of Star Trek, I'm absolutely loving what Abrams has done with this franchise and looking forward to seeing what he does with the other little science fiction series now.
Mud starring Matthew Mcconaughey as a fugitive hiding out on a Mississippi islet looks less bombastic than Star Trek but equally interesting. Promising a grittier performance from Reese Witherspoon (as Muds' sweetheart) than usual and from Jeff Nichols the director who gave us Take Shelter, this should be a gripping coming of age story as two young boys find and befriend Mcconaughey's fugitive.
Both the other releases for the week are world cinema options and as a result are frustratingly difficult to find in any cinemas near me personally. Our Children is the story of a couple who fall in love, get married, continually pop out kids and then crushing depression takes hold of the wife and it all spirals into absolute despair and tragedy from there. Probably not ideal Friday night, popcorn munching fare but still worth a watch. I reviewed Our Children here.
The next option is only slightly less depressing but a far easier watch than Our Children at least. A Hijacking is the story of a Danish ship that is boarded by Somali pirates and the crew are taken hostage for a long and arduous negotiation process while the pirates demand a ransom. It's got some of the stars of The Killing and Borgen and is fantastic. I reviewed A Hijacking here.
Fancy any of these? What will you be watching this weekend? Remember to tune in and have a listen to the radio shows to here more about these film releases.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Marlow FM What's on at the Weekend?
You can catch me on the radio at Marlow FM tonight sometime after 5.20 pm if you live in the Marlow area or listen online by going to the Marlow FM website. I have pre-recorded a five minute segment which will be aired right in the middle of rush hour so hopefully all the listeners in their cars on the way home will know about the latest film releases hitting cinemas this weekend.
Chimpanzee is about the life of an orphaned Chimp on the Ivory Coast and narrated by Buzz Lightyear himself!It's from Disney so you can expect lovely cutesy stuff but tainted by a layer of darkness.
This week I'm talking about the following:
21 and Over
When Straight-A college student Jeff
Chang's two best friends take him out for his 21st birthday on the night before
an important medical school interview, what was supposed to be a quick beer
becomes a night of humiliation, over indulgence and utter debauchery. It's full of racial stereotypes, written by the writers of The Hangover and rated 15 by the BBFC. It's occasionally quite funny in a silly, immature
way but also has some moments of sweetness. My full 21 & Over review is here.
All Stars
All
Stars is about a cheeky
schoolkid who throws a talent contest to save his local youth club. It's got Mark Heap from Big Train and Spaced so must have some funny moments! I'm sure it will entertain younger kids but it looks a bit too squeaky clean for teens.
Chimpanzee
Dead Man Down
Starring Colin Farrell and Noomi
Rapace as two strangers who are irresistibly drawn to one another by a
mutual desire for revenge, this is the English language debut from Neils Arden Oplev, the guy who gave us The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
What will you be watching this weekend?
Friday, 7 December 2012
Reviews for Ruth Barnes on Amazing Radio
Three weeks ago I had my radio debut on Ruth Barnes Breakfast Show on Amazing Radio. Today my second attempt at being a radio reviewer went out just after 9a.m. It was recorded on Wednesday over the phone with the unbelievably lovely Ruth who really knows how to make you feel comfortable! She is such a great presenter, sounding so good on the radio that it can't help but make me sound a bit monotonous and boring but I do my best to sound enthusiastic and passionate!
However Ruth always helps me along and is such fun to chat with that both times I come away positively beaming and feeling great about it. But then I hear myself back on the radio and cringe. It's not all bad but I've still got a long way to go! Luckily my students at college had a little listen and were generally complimentary. A couple of my family members listened in to and they said I'm good so I MUST BE! They can't be lying right?
Anyway if you missed my first stint on Ruth's Breakfast show, you can find it here under: Ruth Barnes At Breakfast 16.11.12 I appear about 2 hours and 7 minutes into the broadcast if you would like to catch it. And you can read all about it at my previous blog post about radio stardom here.
But of course that is old news and the real reason for writing today is that I appeared again on the show this morning. You can here that one right here:
I also managed to do a bit better on the promoting Filmoria side of things this time by mentioning our advent calendar and actually giving the web address! Hoorah! Ruth is always genuinely extremely kind about my appearances so I'm really hoping she'll ask me back again and again and again and again and again!
What are you waiting for; please give it a listen now and furnish me with praise and/or constructive feedback!
| Ruth Barnes Breakfast Show Amazing Radio |
But of course that is old news and the real reason for writing today is that I appeared again on the show this morning. You can here that one right here:
I also managed to do a bit better on the promoting Filmoria side of things this time by mentioning our advent calendar and actually giving the web address! Hoorah! Ruth is always genuinely extremely kind about my appearances so I'm really hoping she'll ask me back again and again and again and again and again!
What are you waiting for; please give it a listen now and furnish me with praise and/or constructive feedback!
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
December's Best of British
Continuing
our look at the best in upcoming British films, here are the details
of the best of British hitting cinemas in December…
December is a strange time of year on the
British film calendar. Fearing the might of Hollywood
heavyweights like The Hobbit and Life of Pi, British films find it hard to
compete around the Christmas season.
Seasonal favourite Nativity is getting a sequel but that came out last
month and it’s too early to release serious Oscar contenders. However there are still a few little gems to
watch out for if you fancy a Brit-flick at the cinemas this month.
First up is the wonderful sounding Seven
Psychopaths from Irish director Martin McDonagh. Returning for the first time since 2008’s In
Bruges, Seven Psychopaths again stars Colin Farrell who is this time joined by
a fantastic cast including Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell and Woody
Harrelson. It is the story of a
struggling screenwriter Marty (Farrell) who inadvertently becomes embroiled in Hollywood’s criminal
underworld after his eccentric friends (including Walken and Rockwell) abduct
the pet Shih Tzu of a psychopathic gangster. Early reviews have not been wholly
positive but it sounds like a clever film that tackles writing screenplays in
its screenplay and violence in film through violence in the film. Wacky, gory
and killer fun!
Life Just Is is more typically British fare
with a cast of unknowns playing university graduates having trouble making the
move into adult life. Debut director Alex Barrett graduates from shorts to his
first feature that finds the 20 somethings searching for a spiritual answer to
life's meaning and hoping to not get hurt in relationships again. Meanwhile two of the ex-students look to be
falling in love. It promises a lot of
moping, tears and staring into the distance from the giving it their best cast
but it will all be down to Barrett’s script to get the audiences emotions
flowing.
A co-production with some funding from the
Irish Film Board, Grabbers looks like an insane amount of fun from the Emerald
Isle. Off the coast of Ireland,
an island is invaded by bloodsucking aliens with long tentacles. The heroes
discover they have to get drunk to stop the aliens feeding on their blood. It looks from the trailer as much fun as that
sounds!
Others to look out for this month are Boxing Day
and Dead Europe.
What British films will you be
watching this month?
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Writing for Static Mass Emporium
In my continuing quest to make a portfolio of all my online scribblings, I am now moving from the interviews and news stories I have written for Filmoria to my writing for another fantastic film website Static Mass Emporium.
This site takes a slightly more academic but also personal approach to film criticism and analysis. There are many different sections on the site including those on cult cinema, new releases, directors, and deconstructing cinema one scene at a time. It is a great honour to be published alongside the other works on there.
The first ever article I had published was on the work of director Michael Moore and had already appeared in Media Magazine. This is the only article I have had published for the Director's Chair part of the site but I am very keen to contribute something on Danny Boyle in the future.
The article on Michael Moore is here.
I have contributed three articles for the Deconstructing Cinema section so far. The first was on the monster attack scene in Cloverfield where the statue of liberty is beheaded. The next were on the open ending of La Haine and the dinner table scenein American History X.
Cloverfield
La Haine
American History X
I have written some reviews for the Cult Cinema section mainly leading up to Halloween and focusing on some horror classics:
This site takes a slightly more academic but also personal approach to film criticism and analysis. There are many different sections on the site including those on cult cinema, new releases, directors, and deconstructing cinema one scene at a time. It is a great honour to be published alongside the other works on there.
The first ever article I had published was on the work of director Michael Moore and had already appeared in Media Magazine. This is the only article I have had published for the Director's Chair part of the site but I am very keen to contribute something on Danny Boyle in the future.
The article on Michael Moore is here.
I have contributed three articles for the Deconstructing Cinema section so far. The first was on the monster attack scene in Cloverfield where the statue of liberty is beheaded. The next were on the open ending of La Haine and the dinner table scenein American History X.
Cloverfield
La Haine
American History X
I have written some reviews for the Cult Cinema section mainly leading up to Halloween and focusing on some horror classics:
I will update this post as I have more articles published over at Static Mass Emporium. For now head over and check out some of the other brilliant articles there.
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