A winner at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Screenplay in 2022, the hotly anticipated conspiracy thriller CAIRO CONSPIRACY is finally gaining a UK release on 14th April 2023 from Picturehouse Entertainment
The trailer above puts in a succinct nutshell the basis of a plot to insert a new Grand Iman amongst the Sunni Islam. Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) is the son of a fisherman, who is posited in a position to infiltrate certain cliques in the religious seat of learning and a game of cat and mouse between he and Colonel Ibrahim (Fares Fares - The Nile Hilton Incident) ensues.
A thriller based upon the power struggle between Egypt's religious and political elites. As one onlooker observes, power is a double edged sword and you may cut yourself upon it.
Directed by Tarik Saleh, who came to global prominence with The Nile Hilton Incident, he also recently directed the Amazon Prime release The Contractor starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster, which was a decent thriller of its own standing. He has also directed episodes of Westworld and Ray Donovan.
Saleh reunites with Fares who has garnered acclaim for his work on both sides of the Atlantic. This promises to be one of the best thrillers of this year and may well make end-of-year lists due to the bold and gripping nature of it.
CAIRO CONSPIRACY is out on limited release from Picturehouse Entertainment on 14th April
My thanks to Em Foundation for the opportunity to (p)review
Out from Warner Bros. UK the new trailer for TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES coming to UK cinemas from August 3rd.
When the Teen Titans go to the big screen, they go big! “Teen
Titans GO! to the Movies” finds our egocentric, wildly satirical Super Heroes
in their first feature film extravaganza—a fresh, gleefully clever,
kid-appropriately crass and tongue-in-cheek play on the superhero genre,
complete with musical numbers. Full of knowing tongue in cheek references that the adults will get whilst the kids are transfixed by the colour and action, with voice talent including Will Arnett (Lego Batman), this is a self-referential funny film for all the family this summer.
The
film is being directed by Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail, from a
screenplay by Michael Jelenic and Horvath, based on characters from DC.
Michail, Will Arnett and Peggy Regan are producing, with Sam Register, Jelenic,
and Horvath serving as executive producers. Apart from Arnett, all are
“Teen Titans GO!” series contributors. My thanks to ThinkJam for the trailer preview
In a segment I have not done for some time, I am looking at a newly released trailer and wondering what can we expect.
My Cousin Rachel is based on the classic novel by Daphne Du Maurier, whose work - The Birds, Rebecca - has been subjected to cinematic adaptations by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock previously. This second cinematic adaptation (previously made in 1952 starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland) is directed by Roger Michell and stars Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin (Me Before You).
The trailer begins with word that 'she is here' meaning Rachel has landed in Plymouth to visit her cousin Philip. The novel is about an estate that Philip is heir to, but Rachel feels she has a right to as being married to the owner of the estate Ambrose, whilst being eloped in Italy.
Ambrose has passed away and Rachel has come to gain what is hers, Philip is the heir and she bends to his whim, but a connection grows between the two; a kinship that is not as illicit as the title nor trailer makes out as they are not blood relatives and merely related by law.
The film is shot from Philip's point of view and sees Claflin struggling with his emotions towards a woman who only has her own interests at heart.
Whilst Weisz has been able to play this sort of spinster evil woman before her role is one painted by the eyes of Claflin who seemingly goes through the ringer from independent man to fool in love. Weisz is reunited with the director of Enduring Love and Michell has always been able to generate good chemistry between leads (Notting Hill), ensemble (the under-rated Morning Glory) and odd partnerships (Venus/The Mother). Whilst it has his familiar tropes of love unrequited with a certain streak of National Trust promotional material the trailer shows a tip of the hat to the Gothic tradition of British film-making from the 1950s/60s.
My Cousin Rachel is out on 9th June this summer from Fox Searchlight
Following on from the recent release of the trailer from Warner Bros. for John Wick, NTTA is back with the poster poser of the week for the new one sheet of John Wick before its scheduled release on April 10th in the UK.
The new one sheet is not cryptic or as mysterious as others, instead it puts all the eggs in one basket of the prospective audience member being a big Keanu Reeves fan. Reeves has had more hot and cold hits than many Hollywood stars and yet he still remains an enigma partly due to his zen like modesty and his very shrouded style of acting which can appear to be one tone, yet carries weight in reserve.
In that sense, he is much like those famous Hollywood actors Gary Cooper and Charles Bronson. Men who had a presence in their build, yet a magnetism that would have the camera in thrall to them.
The reason I bring up Cooper and Bronson, is that John Wick is the kind of role that those two legends would portray. Individualistic and yet trying to get away from the past life they left behind; devoid of a partner they only have themselves as company and walk alone in search of redemption by putting the law in their own hands. Think of Cooper in High Noon and Bronson in Michael Winner's series of Death Wish films; are they vigilantes or just men out to serve justice.
The poster has Reeves in brooding form, besuited as he is throughout the majority of the trailer, striding towards the camera confident and brazen in his ability. Unlike the trailer though, which shows plenty of carnage and gunplay you only have in the poster Wick on a street with only an overturned car. For taste purposes, no poster can really have dead bodies lying around and because of the dark tones used in the blues and blacks any fires would be distracting, as Keanu is put front and centre.
However, compare it to the poster or US poster below, and you can see a stark difference in the tone of the film. Keanu holding a gun which he does throughout most of the film, with the barrel of the gun forming the 'O' in John, perhaps a nod to James Bond in terms of adulation but the need to thrust the gun into the face of the audience looking at the poster speaks more about the relationship American viewers have with guns than the UK audience who have stricter gun control policy.
The trailer is dynamite and it shows what Reeves does well, actions speak louder than his words although it has two good points - one where he says, 'Am I back? Yeah I'm back' perhaps speaking for himself as well as his character and a piece of dialogue with a concierge about laundry, he has always been under-rated with his timing and delivery.
Directed by Chad Stahelski (a stunt co-ordinater on The Matrix and The Wolverine), the film has done well in America garnering positive reviews for Reeves in particular with a sequel already touted following the $42m gross in the three months since release in October 2014.
Whilst the avenging hitman and grieving husband is nothing new, it is positive to see Reeves up his action star potential again in a vehicle suited to his range of acting ability. When harnessed properly as in The Matrix and Point Break it can be golden, and John Wick promises to not disappoint on this occasion.
John Wick is released by Warner Bros. in the UK on April 10th
Starring the breakout potential of Amy Schumer, and directed by Judd Apatow, Trainwreck from Universal Pictures looks likely to enjoy the exalted company of The 40 Year Old Virgin/Knocked Up as the summer smash comedy hits.
Schumer has been on a role of late gaining cult status for her stand up material, and this is her first major starring role and the coupling with Apatow promises big things.
Schumer plays a near 30 year old single girl called Amy who has been instructed by her distant father to not believe in monogamy. This leads to her sleeping with men from week to week with no question of commitment. This provides ample comic potential in the trailer with various hook-ups and several put-downs, including possibly the funniest thing John Cena (the WWE wrestler) has ever said, when he plays one of Amy's dates.
Amy's character works for a men's magazine and she is instructed to do an expose/interview on a sports injury surgeon Aaron played by Bill Hader. During the interview, they hit it off and go for a drink which leads to hilarity and then the next morning. Aaron phones Amy hoping to go out again, which leads to the thrust of the second half of the trailer with Amy dithering about what to do as she has never experienced this before leading to a longer than usual conversation with her friend.
While the conversation and dialogue between the pair is funny, it feels a bit unnecessary to have such a protracted segment of the film in the trailer but then there are enough laughs in the trailer to pique your interest without ruining the final outcome. This is a film that will be seen by many, and promises bundles of laughs in the same way Bridesmaids did.
Like many Apatow films the film will more than likely run over two hours, and it appears that we witness a lot of Amy's missteps with people like John Cena before we and she encounter Bill Hader's character, and it is good to see Hader given this sort of leading man romantic role instead of secondary status.
Trainwreck is scheduled for release in the UK on August 28th from Universal Pictures
Soda Pictures are pleased to release the trailer for the forthcoming Kumiko The Treasure Hunter starring Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi as the eponymous heroine of the film.
Kumiko is a disillusioned soul in a city of 35 million people. She works in a dead end job that makes her unhappy and unappreciated, has a nagging mother and successful peers.
Yet while living alone she watches a copy of an American independent film. Night after night she watches the film for clues as to where the stash of money in the film has been buried, with the belief that the film is a real document. So begins Kumiko's journey to America to find her treasure in this beguiling and equally bizarre tale.
Written and directed by the Zellner Brothers and produced by Alexander Payne (a director not adverse to films about journeys); the film looks like one of those rare breakout independent films due to the original content, eccentric lead performances and brilliant screenplay.
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20th February from Soda Pictures
