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It was all leading to this. Throughout season 1 of "Andor," creator Tony Gilroy and his team of writers and directors have intricately weaved a tale of rebellion and revolution right alongside an origin story for Diego Luna's Cassian Andor — one that few fans ever thought would feel necessary, despite being introduced as one of the most fascinating (and mystifying) characters in 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." But rather than deliver yet another formless lump of "content" that hit all the familiar narrative beats without ever giving us anything new, this prequel series took the radical approach of having something meaningful on its mind at all times. In effect, "Andor" pushed the boundaries of what "Star Wars" can truly be ... when placed in the hands of committed filmmakers with the right priorities, that is.

The season 1 finale, titled "Rix Road," ultimately proved to be a microcosm of the...

Project is based on the memoir of author Helga Schneider.

Drama Let Me Go, starring Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), has begun principal photography in Surrey, England.

Filming will continue for three weeks before moving to London and Vienna. The production will last five weeks.

Based on the memoir of Helga Schneider, the story follows the emotional journeys of four generations of women from the same family and how they suffer from a trauma created during the Second World War.

The script was written by Polly Steele (Lena: The Bride of Ice), who will also direct, and will star Stevenson as Schneider alongside Jodhi May (The Last of the Mohicans) and Lucy Boynton (Sing Street, Life in Squares).

New cast members announced include Éva Magyar (X-Men: First Class), Abhin Galeya (Exodus: Gods And Kings), Stanley Weber (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life), Simona Hughes (Woman In Gold) and Elizabeth Webster (Cockneys vs Zombies).

David Broder...

Stars: Raffaello Degruttola, Steven Waddington, Rebecca Atkinson, Jody Marriott Bar-Lev, Kacey Barnfield, Camille Coduri, Josh Cohen, Shelley Conn, Collette Cooper, Dan Davies, Skye Lucia Degruttola, Simone Lahbib, David Elliot, Sadie Frost, Christopher Fulford, Abhin Galeya | Written and Directed by Raffaello Degruttola

Flim The Movie is a very clever, very funny mockumentary. It was a surprise hit at Raindance Film Festival 2014 and despite a low budget and miniscule marketing spend found itself nominated for a British Independent Film Award alongside big hitters like Calvary and The Imitation Game. The story centres around a hapless, wannabe Bollywood director called Ravi (played by Raffaello Degruttola). He claims to have made at least one short film back in India and has come to the UK to make his first feature film. Capturing this is the Nick Broomfield-cum-Louis Theroux documentarian Scott (played by Steven Waddington).

As well as star in it, Degruttola produced and directed it.

Kelsey Grammer will play King Herod and Stephen Moyer will play Pontius Pilate in the upcoming four-hour miniseries adaptation of Bill O'Reilly's book "Killing Jesus" for the National Geographic Channel.

The film chronicles the life of Jesus, played by Haaz Sleiman ("The Visitor"), at a time of intense political and social and conflict in the Roman Empire that ultimately led to his death. "Law & Order" veteran Walon Green is tapped to write and executive produce the project.

Also onboard are Rufus Sewell as Caiaphas, Abhin Galeya as John the Baptist, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Herodia, Stephanie Leonidas as Salome, Eoin Macken as Antipas, John Rhys Davies as Annas, Aneurin Barnard as James, Vernon Dobtcheff as Isaiah, Tamsin Egerton as Claudia, John Lynch as Nicodemus, Joe Doyle as Judas, Alexis Rodney as Simon.

Ridley Scott, David Zucker and Mary Lisio will also executive produce and Chris Menaul will direct. Filming begins this Fall.

Sean Bean plays a British undercover spook forced to go "off reservation" in a desperate bid to thwart an Islamic terrorist cell operating in London. His implacable foe is Ash (Abhin Galeya), a law student turned Moslem avenger steered by Peter Polycarpou's radical cleric. Just one step behind the fanatics, Bean doesn’t know who to trust in this timely debut thriller from writer-director Hadi Hajaig.

Ewan (Sean Bean) has returned to the UK after serving in the armed forces overseas and now works for British Intelligence. When a man in his care is gunned down and suicide bombings make their presence felt once again in London, he is tasked with a below the radar mission – to find and eradicate the terror cell behind the latest series of attacks.

*****

Neither as authentic as it needs to be, nor as clumsy and hackneyed as it could have been, this low-budget British thriller instead calls forth indifference and apathy from the viewer, who struggles to connect with the regrettably thinly drawn characters. Sean Bean’s Ewan remains taciturn and solemn throughout, which given the little back story we are told is understandable, but his natural charisma winds up buried beneath all of the dourness and prevents us from being affected by his story.

As Ash, the terrorist Ewan is pursuing,...

Cleanskin

Stars: Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, Peter Polycarpou, Tuppence Middleton | Written and Directed by Hadi Hajaig

By definition “cleanskin” is the name given to a terrorist that is unknown, does not have a history that shows them to be a threat. If anything this makes them the perfect person to enact an attack. The film Cleanskin is a look at this type of person who is planning an attack, while we also see the viewpoint of the people trying to stop them.

After failing on an undercover mission to stop explosives getting into the wrong hands Ewan a secret service agent finds it his task to discover who stole it and to stop them using it for suicide bombings. In the different perspective we see the manipulation of Ash, a man disillusioned by the life in the United Kingdom where he is branded just for his beliefs and his perceived nationality.

Cleanskin, a terrorist-themed action flick starring Sean Bean, hits Blu-ray and DVD next month, and you can check out an exclusive featurette below. Bean (Game Of Thrones, The Lord Of The Rings) stars as Ewan, a no-nonsense secret-service hardman, tasked with tracking down and killing terrorist Ash (Abhin Galeya). At his best playing grizzled tough guys, Bean talks about his character's motivations in the featurette, which also includes contributions from writer-director Hadi Hajaig. Watch the exclusive Cleanskin featurette...

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Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

It’s all in the edit they say, and having taken on the roles of writer, director, and producer, perhaps Hadi Hajaig, the man behind terrorism thriller Cleanskin, should have handed the reins of editor to someone else. Because buried within the somewhat messy cut we’re presented with is a more cohesive, and ultimately clearer film waiting to escape.

There are numerous illogical leaps and sequential mis-steps that create a mood of unreality at the very points that the story is trying to impress us with it’s hard-edged grit, and the inconsistent pacing from gratifyingly effective action to flashbacks that would try the patience of Basil Exposition leave you ultimately either questioning the story-tellers nous, or even more damning, wondering when the story’s going to end.

Hadi Hajaig’s professed intention was to make a commercial action thriller, a piece of populist genre entertainment,...

Special agent Ewan (Sean Bean), encouraged if not exactly licensed to kill by MI5, is in relentless pursuit of London-bred Islamic terrorist Ash (Abhin Galeya). Ewan is an inarticulate patriot, a military veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, whose wife has been killed by a suicide bomber. He's being manipulated by upper-class figures (Charlotte Rampling and James Fox) who exploit the war on terror in the interest of party politics. Ash is an articulate convert, an idealist recruited to terrorism by a wily, silver-tongued Muslim cleric (Peter Polycarpou), preying on discontented, déraciné youngsters. It's a competent, conventional thriller, but there's something suspiciously unbalanced going on here.

ThrillerPhilip French

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John Carter (12A)

(Andrew Stanton, 2012, Us) Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Mark Strong, Dominic West, Samantha Morton, Ciarán Hinds. 132 mins

Despite the technological might of Pixar, this Martian epic still feels closer to retro fare such as Flash Gordon or Dune. It's a cumbersome hero's journey fully of silly names, skimpy costumes and princesses in peril – stuff we've seen recycled so many times since Edgar Rice Burroughs first wrote this, it now feels laughably quaint. Still, it's always fun to see an expensively rendered alien world, even if cheesy myth-making comes with the territory.

Trishna (15)

(Michael Winterbottom, 2011, UK) Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Roshan Seth. 113 mins

Hardy's Tess looks a comfortable fit with modern-day India in this naturalistic drama, which takes liberties with the text but finds new resonances, as Pinto's subdued villager struggles to find happiness with a wealthy young British-Indian.

The Raven (15)

(James McTeigue, 2012, Us) John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans.

Following his 2006 feature debut, Puritan, director Hadi Hajaig has turned to the murky and duplicitous world of 21st century terrorism with his London set thriller Cleanskin, released in UK cinemas from tomorrow (Friday).

An independently financed film, it has been picked up for distribution by Warner Brothers, which meant a suitably packed junket at the Mayfair Hotel (also featured in the film), and the usual slight delays when faced with wrangling a bunch of journos.

Initially set to chat only with Sean Bean, starring as darkly motivated government agent Ewan, and Abhin Galeya as his nemesis Ash, we also managed to get a sit down with Hadi himself to discuss the ins and outs of story, character, motivation, and Miami Blues.

This actually ended up being the second time I would interview Sean Bean about the movie as I visited the set of the film during production last year and...

When film historians look back at the last decade in British cinema, the genre (and it seems to be one) of ‘low-budget action-thriller’ is unlikely to be well regarded. Generally a synonym for ‘badly written gangster flick’, the usual formula for such movies is to combine former Eastenders cast members, with lots of swearing, a few guns and less tension than a children’s birthday party.

Of course, there are always exceptions to this, and Cleanskin is certainly one. Tense, intelligent and with well developed characters, it shows just what can be done with a shoestring budget and a talented writer.

Earlier this week we headed down to Mayfair for the film’s premiere, where we spoke to the cast and director about the controversial subject matter, the potential audience reaction and the attraction of smaller budget British features.

Hadi Hajaig – Driector

On the controversial subject matter

I wanted to make a genre film,...

Cleanskin First Five Minutes Clip. Hadi Hajaig‘s Cleanskin (2012) first five (5) minute movie clip stars Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, Peter Polycarpou, and Tuppence Middleton. Cleanskin‘s plot synopsis: ” Sean Bean, who plays Ewan, a Secret Service Agent working undercover in the criminal underbelly of London. His mission is to pose as the body guard of a small time arms dealer and discover who he is selling the Semtex to.

However, when they are brazenly ambushed by a masked gunman in a West End hotel lobby, Ewan is shot and wounded and the dealer assassinated. The Semtex is stolen.

Days later, a suicide bomber detonates himself inside a busy London restaurant and the Secret Services worse fears are confirmed — the stolen Semtex was used in the bombing. There is a terrorist cell operating in London, hell bent on bringing death and destruction to the nation’s capital. Briefed by...

Sean Bean brings his brooding charisma to CleanSkin, a drama thriller about terrorist attacks in the UK. Here’s Ryan’s review…

CleanSkin is the name given to a type of terrorist who works alone, without connections to overseas organisations. By a vaguely similar token, CleanSkin the movie is an action thriller drama made by UK independent filmmakers without the big money financing of overseas producers. And regrettably, its low-budget, independent status is frequently apparent.

Sean Bean stars as Ewan, a government agent who specialises in breaking arms and murdering people at close quarters. The death of his wife during an unspecified terrorist attack has left him with an almighty chip on his shoulder, which is something high-ranking, chain-smoking official Charlotte (played by Charlotte Rampling) exploits perfectly when a suitcase full of Semtex is stolen by a group of British terrorists. Ewan is paired with young agent Mark (Tom Burke...

Sean Bean aficionados - that's all of us - roll up. This new clip from Brit thriller Cleanskin sees Sheffield's finest doing to one bad guy what he's previously done to thousands of Napoleonic curs, a whole mess of Orcs and several clones, and what's often been done to him back. That's right. Taking names. Shot through with war-on-terror paranoia, Cleanskin's title refers to an operative planted uncover to roll back terrorist organisations and, well, generally kill them. Bean agent's name is Ewan, an uncompromising spook hot on the heels of terror mastermind Ash (newcomer Abhin Galeya) on the streets of London. We're assuming the ass-kickee in this clip is a low-level terrorist or informant. What's about to befall him isn't clear, but probably involves some degree of death. We're guessing it's another good reason to pay your O2 bill on time. brightcove.createExperiences();  If you want a closer look at some gun-toting,...

Hot on the heels of the clip that we put up last week, Digital Spy have just released the first five minutes if Sean Bean’s new movie, Cleanskin which hits cinemas next Friday 9th March. It seems to be becoming the norm for studios to release large chunks of a movie to reel you into you local multiplex to see more of the movie that you’re hopefully enjoying in small segments. It will of course be a shame if the first five minutes are the best bit. Take Meet Joe Black for example!

Anyway, Cleanskin also stars Charlotte Rampling, Abhin Galeya, Peter Polycarpou and Tuppence Middleton. and is directed by Hadi Hajaig.

Sophisticated British action thriller Cleanskin explodes onto cinema screens in March with an exciting cast lead by Sean Bean, who plays Ewan, a Secret Service Agent working undercover in the criminal underbelly of London. His mission...

Here’s a new and exclusive look at Sean Bean’s new movie Cleanskin which hits UK cinemas on 9th March. Cleanskin is directed by Hadi Hajaig and also stars Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, Peter Polycarpou, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Sam Douglas and Michelle Ryan.

Sophisticated British action thriller Cleanskin explodes onto cinema screens in March with an exciting cast lead by Sean Bean, who plays Ewan, a Secret Service Agent working undercover in the criminal underbelly of London. His mission is to pose as the body guard of a small time arms dealer and discover who he is selling the Semtex to. However, when they are brazenly ambushed by a masked gunman in a West End hotel lobby, Ewan is shot and wounded and the dealer assassinated. The Semtex is stolen.

Days later, a suicide bomber detonates himself inside a busy London restaurant and the Secret Services worse fears...

In UK cinemas on March 9th, check out the trailer for Cleanskin – a British action thriller by Hadi Hajaig and starring Sean Bean (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) and Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia).

Sophisticated British action thriller Cleanskin explodes onto cinema screens in March with an exciting cast lead by Sean Bean, who plays Ewan, a Secret Service Agent working undercover in the criminal underbelly of London. His mission is to pose as the body guard of a small time arms dealer and discover who he is selling the Semtex to. However, when they are brazenly ambushed by a masked gunman in a West End hotel lobby, Ewan is shot and wounded and the dealer assassinated. The Semtex is stolen.

Days later, a suicide bomber detonates himself inside a busy London restaurant and the Secret Services worse fears are confirmed – the stolen Semtex was used in the bombing. There is a terrorist cell operating in London,...

Cleanskin is an upcoming action movie starring Sharpey himself, Sean Bean. And for those not in the know, the term "Cleanskin" applies to "undercover operatives unknown to his or her targets" (thanks Wikipedia) meaning that - you guessed it - this movie is about chasing down terrorists. With guns. And knives.The chaser is Bean's Ewan; the chasee is Ash, played by newcomer Abhin Galeya. The film sees Ash dealing with what made him come a terrorist and Ewan attempting to stop that self-reflection. Permanently. As you might except from a British thriller, the stills we've got for you below boast some typically English locations, notably an explosive moment at London's Borough Market. Take that, Bridget Jones! Boom!Anyway, filling up the supporting cast's ranks are one-time Eastender and Bionic Woman Michelle Ryan, the much-loved Charlotte Rampling and the brilliantly-named Tuppence Middleton, amongst others.But enough words, where are the images?...

Man, I hope he doesn’t die in this one. When Sean Bean stars in a movie that involves gunplay, swordplay, or any type of play involving sharp/dangerous objects, the chances of Bean’s character dying is, like, multiplied by a few hundred factors. I believe that has been scientifically proven. In “Cleanskin”, Eddard Stark himself plays a badass British Guv’ment agent who must stop a Muslim terrorist cell. Judging by the film’s tagline, I suspect said terrorist will have ties to the Guv’ment, and possibly a conspiracy or two, possibly involving Charlotte Rampling, who looks very suspicious skulking about the screen. The UK gets the film on March 9th, 2012. Stateside fans of the Beanster will probably have to wait for the DVD release, since I don’t see a Bean-fronted movie getting a theatrical release, even a limited one, over here. Which sucks for us,...

As the mighty Sean Bean films his next movie, Cleanskin, we caught up with him to talk about some of his finest roles...

Just before Christmas, we were kindly offered the chance to come and see an action scene being filmed on the set of forthcoming independent Brit thriller, Cleanskin, which also afforded an interview with the film's main star, one Sean Bean.

From what we were told, Cleanskin portrays Sean Bean's character, Ewan, a secret service agent with a personal vendetta, defining his path and a need to stop any form of terrorist activity, while at the same time it aims to portray the other side of terrorism, which shows how the character of Ash (Abhin Galeya) is turned towards terrorism, bucking the trend of taking a one dimensional approach to the subject.

The whole day proved to be a surreal, but fantastic one, as the freak snowstorms...

Sean Bean (left), Owf's Mark Clark (right). Photo courtesy of Den of Geek and TigerBean Media.

Sean Bean interview on the set of Cleanskin, Senate House, London –

December 18 2010, the height of the snow, and it’s snowing particularly heavily this morning as I arrive at the location shoot for Cleanskin, the new feature from writer/director/producer Hadi Hajaig. I’ve arranged to meet James the PR guy outside Senate House, London, an enormous art-deco block now part of the University of London. Taking us inside the main hall (also used for the Batman Begins courthouse, and CIA lobby in Spy Game) we watch Hadi direct actor Abhin Galeya as the terrorist protagonist Ash, making his way around an upper balcony, gun in hand. There’s a brief punch-up as numerous extras look on.

Later, as we wait for our 10 minutes with Sean Bean, he shoots a quick scene walking...

Catch .44

Opens: 2011

Cast: Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll

Director: Aaron Harvey

Summary: The story focuses on three women being thrust into an extraordinary situation involving a psychopathic hitman, a grizzled trucker and a delusional line cook.

Analysis: Oddly little is known about this indie crime comedy aside from the three lead female roles have gone through more than a couple of rounds of casting musical chairs. The likes of Maggie Grace, Kate Mara, Laura Ramsey, Sarah Roemer, Lizzy Caplan and Lauren German were all attached at one point or another before the final trio of Malin Akerman ("Watchmen"), Nikki Reed ("Twilight") and Deborah Ann Woll ("True Blood") were settled on.

Bruce Willis, Forest Whitaker, Michael Rosenbaum and Brad Dourif also star with Willis as a crime boss behind everything that happens and Whitaker as a dangerously unstable assassin. Aaron Harvey, who last directed...

Catch .44

Opens: 2011

Cast: Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll

Director: Aaron Harvey

Summary: The story focuses on three women being thrust into an extraordinary situation involving a psychopathic hitman, a grizzled trucker and a delusional line cook.

Analysis: Oddly little is known about this indie crime comedy aside from the three lead female roles have gone through more than a couple of rounds of casting musical chairs. The likes of Maggie Grace, Kate Mara, Laura Ramsey, Sarah Roemer, Lizzy Caplan and Lauren German were all attached at one point or another before the final trio of Malin Akerman ("Watchmen"), Nikki Reed ("Twilight") and Deborah Ann Woll ("True Blood") were settled on.

Bruce Willis, Forest Whitaker, Michael Rosenbaum and Brad Dourif also star with Willis as a crime boss behind everything that happens and Whitaker as a dangerously unstable assassin. Aaron Harvey, who last directed...

Sean Bean and Charlotte Rampling are teaming for the £1.5m London-set terrorist thriller "Cleanskin" for UK Film Studios says Screen Daily.

Bean plays a secret service agent chasing a suicide bomber (Abhin Galeya) and the terrorist cell he's connected to. Ruth Wilson and James Fox also star.

Hadi Hajaig ("Puritan") penned the script and is both directing and producing. A six-week shoot is currently underway in London.

Jimmy Akingbola, Aml Ameen, John Boyega , Karl Collins, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Abhin Galeya, Jaye Griffiths, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Amelia Lowdell, Cecilia Noble, Rebecca Scroggs and Robert Whitelock are the full cast announced for the Not Black and White season - three plays to be presented by the Tricycle Theatre examining the state of Britain at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century.

Jimmy Akingbola, Aml Ameen, John Boyega , Karl Collins, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Abhin Galeya, Jaye Griffiths, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simone James, Amelia Lowdell, Cecilia Noble, Rebecca Scroggs and Robert Whitelock are the full cast announced for the Not Black and White season - three plays to be presented by the Tricycle Theatre examining the state of Britain at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century.