Time for The Turning preview

Soda Pictures is pleased to release the trailer and poster for The Turning, a unique cinematic experience from Australia. Based upon the best selling short story selection by Tim Winton, ten separate tales from extraordinary filmmakers including David Wenham, Mia Wasikowska and Warwick Thornton.

The Turning explores the impact of past on present, how the seemingly random incidents that change and shape us can never be escaped or let go of. All of the stories are bound together by recurring themes; the passing of time, regret, addiction and obsession.

Featuring the best in Australian actors from Cate Blanchett to Rose Byrne and Hugo Weaving to Richard Roxburgh, The Turning is released on February 6th in selected cinemas.

www.sodapictures.com

Birdman - Hammer

Out on 1st January 2015, the much touted Birdman is released by Fox Searchlight UK and here is another clip from the film starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Zach Galifinakis, the film is directed by Alejandro G. Innaritu.

You have had exclusive access to great clips already, here are the clips again:

Does She Talk?
Levels Upon Levels

The film is out on January 1st, and should be seen to be believed.

Birdman - Does She Talk?

Fox Searchlight UK are pleased to release another new clip from the highly anticipated release of Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton.

Keaton plays a former blockbuster film actor who cannot shake off the pigeon holing of playing an iconic comic book character, whilst mounting a Broadway return. Sound familiar, considering Keaton famously played Batman twice in both of Tim Burton's imagining of the DC Comics hero.

In this clip, Mike (Norton) who has been handed a role in Riggan's (Keaton) new play meets his daughter played by Emma Stone for the first time. The clip shows you the manic energy of the walk around cinematography and the energy being used by both Norton and Keaton, two livewires seemingly let off the leash in their roles.

Birdman is out on general release on 1st January 2015

The Gambler - New trailer

 

 THE ONLY WAY OUT IS ALL IN

Paramount Pictures are pleased to announce the new trailer of The Gambler starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

The new trailer allows us more of a glimpse into the life of Jim Bennett (Wahlberg), an English professor who has a secret double life as a high stakes gambler at night.  Jim owes money to several people who we meet, Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark and a gangster played by Michael Carter Williams, who takes Jim's life as collateral for the loan.  Coupled with the difficult relationship with his mother (Jessica Lange) and the blossoming relationship with a student (Brie Larson); the film offers many twists and turns as Jim finds the answers to his problems and win back the money he owes everyone without losing his life.

The trailer shows a lot, a lot of generic dialogue is thrown around by Goodman as the paternal advisor to Wahlberg; and Wahlberg's character does come across as someone who does not learn his lesson to often, therefore the introduction of a young fair maiden might make him change his ways.

For Wyatt, this a great shot in the arm to follow up the unexpected success of his Apes reimagining with a solid dramatic work with some established Hollywood veterans in Wahlberg, Goodman and Lange; who seem to be enjoying their work.

The Gambler is out in UK cinemas on 19th December

Join the conversation on twitter with the hashtag #THEGAMBLER

In the Heart of the Sea

 

Directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw and Brendan Gleeson, In the Heart of the Sea tells the epic true story of men who survived upon the vessel Essex which would serve as the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick in the winter of 1820.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0b2bYO519s
 
In the Heart of the Sea reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive.  Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

 

In the Heart of the Sea stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers, Rush) as the vessel’s veteran first mate Owen Chase; Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) as its inexperienced Captain, George Pollard; Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Rises) as second mate Matthew Joy; and Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) as novelist Herman Melville, whose inquiries into the event 30 years later helped bring the story to light.  Tom Holland (The Impossible) also stars as young seaman Tom Nickerson, and Brendan Gleeson (Edge of Tomorrow) as the same man, 30 years later.  Spanish actor Jordi Mollà (Riddick) is the captain of another ship, the Archimedes, who tries to warn the Essex of what may lie ahead.

The trailer is a gripping two and a half minute teaser which has the customary voice over from the experienced old dog, some lilting music from the soundtrack and some amazing photography of the action at the sea, borrowing a trick from Spielberg's Jaws in that we do not see all of the beast. 

 

The film promises to be the best nautical movie seen since Master and Commander, which was directed by Hemsworth compatriot Peter Weir and starred Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany.  That film, pardon the pun, sank from public consciousness but hopefully will be remembered now, and if the film does half of what the trailer envisages we land lovers are in for a treat.

Opening worldwide beginning March 13, 2015 in theatres and IMAX, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

In the Heart of the Sea will be released in UK cinemas on 13th March 2015

 Follow me @NextToTheAisle

Battle of the Five Armies - Preview

 

Click here to see an exclusive World Premiere Announcement video starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage and Luke Evans.  The World Premiere takes place in London on December 1st, 2014; with Peter Jackson and much of the cast and crew in attendance to meet and greet fans. The Battle of the Five Armies will be opening in UK cinemas on Friday 12th December.

If you click here you will also see the teaser trailer where the battle holds the centre of attention, with Armitage and Evans exchanging words before battle.  Epic in scope, huge in its ambition yet the music of Howard Shore forebodes an underlying finality to proceedings.

Following on from the DVD/Blu-ray release of The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition, the appetite is getting well and truly whetted before the conclusion of The Hobbit Trilogy: The Battle of the Five Armies promises to not disappoint.

www.facebook.com/TheHobbitUK
www.twitter.com/HobbitMoviesUK
www.warnerbros.co.uk/thehobbitmovies

Imitation Game - Six Minutes

 

Another week, another clip for the hotly anticipated The Imitation Game starring the Oscar tipped Benedict Cumberbatch as the famed Alan Turing, master of the Enigma code at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. A period of history strongly felt to help the Allies defeat the Nazis during the conflict.

In this brief 42 second clip, Turing meets Joan Clarke, played by Keira Knightley, Turing has the opportunity to meet someone of similar beautiful mind to his. Someone he can work with in the battle to save the war.

Cumberbatch is gaining a lot of momentum in recent weeks since the film premiered at the London Film Festival, many predicting he will garner his first Oscar nomination. Not to be confused with the film Enigma which starred Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet and was more an ensemble piece, this focuses more on the work of Turing alone and his affect on the whole scheme during and beyond the war when he was largely forgotten following the Allied victory.

And an added bonus for you readers, here is a making of featurette, where Mr. Cumberbatch, Mr. Strong and Ms. Knightley along with director Morten Tyldum talk about making the film.

The Imitation Game is released on November 14th

www.facebook.com/ImitationGameUK
www.twitter.com/ImitationGameUK

BiRDMAN - Levels Upon Levels

In what promises to be one of he main Oscar contenders and featuring a memorable central performance from a rejuvenated Michael Keaton, Alejandro Inarritu's Birdman has released another featurette in anticipation of its January 2015 release in UK cinemas.

Levels upon Levels supplies us with more insight into the character of Riggan Thompson (Keaton), an actor famous for portraying a superhero who is struggling with adapting and starring in a Broadway play.

Inarritu, in the featurette, mentions how he wanted the audience to experience all the action through the eyes of Riggan, hence the point of view cinematography and how the audience will get shocks as Riggan experiences them.

Keaton explains how the film goes from dark to funny and back and forth throughout the piece.

Follow this link for a sneak peek of Birdman - http://youtu.be/LU9XI9iLcRs

Birdman stars Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifanakis

Labor Day - preview

 

Labor Day is the fifth feature film of director Jason Reitman who has received critical acclaim for his work on Thank You For Smoking and then promoting to the Hollywood stratosphere with the double whammy of Oscar-winning Juno and then Up In the Air.

Reitman has always had an ability to do films indebted to the script and the dialogue between characters that drive the plot and narrative of the picture.  However, in Labor Day he has adapted a book by Joyce Maynard, which tells the story of a fugitive Frank (Josh Brolin) who is harbored by a single mother Adele (Kate Winslet) and her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) for a few days.  The initial fear of Frank slowly subsides as he takes on the position of parent and husband in the home, creating a nuclear family and fills the void for each individual.

As shown here in a brief scene, the need to stay outweighs Frank's need to flee:
http://youtu.be/urXtl-CwWqU

The film appears to be a slow-down for Reitman whose films are full of movement, people on the move or people wanting to leave their natural habitat.  Here, Frank needs to keep moving however, the overwhelming need to remain and feel needed causes a requirement to stay put. Reitman though is adapt at creating a picture of small-town life and community take for instance the high school world of Juno and Charlize Theron's return to her hometown in Young Adult.

Yet this is Reitman's first attempt at an out and out dramatic picture, although the film did not garner much attention during Oscar season (a first for a Reitman picture) it nevertheless from the trailer does give an indication of a well acted piece as expected with two purple patch actors like Brolin and Winslet.

For a brief interview with the cast and crew, follow this link 

Labor Day is out on Friday 21st March at selected cinemas

www.LaborDayMovie.com 

Salma - DocHouse preview

DocHouse returns this September for a special one-off screening of Salma, Kim Longinotto’s hugely anticipated documentary on a Tamil poet, at the Rich Mix Cinema on Thursday 26^th September.

When Salma was 13, her parents took her out of school and locked her away in a room with a single window. After 9 years she gave in to pressure to agree to an arranged marriage and was released from her house arrest into another kind of prison, in the home of her new husband's family.

Throughout her desperate years of confinement, Salma poured out her anguish writing poetry, which she sneaked out of the house, eventually getting a notebook into the hands of an enthusiastic publisher. Against the odds, Salma became one of the best known Tamil poets and her newfound fame helped her start on the path to freedom.

Following Salma on a trip back to her village, renowned British director Kim Longinotto (Divorce Iranian Style, 1998; Sisters in Law, 2005; Rough Aunties, 2008) paints a nuanced portrait of an extraordinary, resilient woman. Salma has hopes for a different life for the next generation of girls, but as she witnesses, familial ties run deep, and change happens very slowly.

The film is a wonderful documentary that typically shows us a window to the world rarely shown, and in light of the recent rape trials in India it is imperative that this continued marginalisation of women in Islamic culture is addressed and change is brought about with equality for all.  Salma is one of those campaigners hoping for this change, change your cinema going habits and go see this vital film document from one of Britain's best documentarians.

Kim Longintto is renowned for films that highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination; her editor and long-time collaborator, Ollie Huddleston, will join us for a Q&A after the film.

SALMA+ Q&A with editor Ollie Huddleston
Thursday 26th September| Rich Mix Cinema |8pm | £7 (£5 conc)

A trailer can be viewed here

Film Africa 2012 preview

Film Africa 2012 is the UK's largest annual festival of African cinema and culture, stemming from all four corners of the huge continent.  Covering all walks of life and interests such as Wrestling Grounds (Cheikh Ndiaye, Senegal) about a teenager seduced by the world of wrestlers and The Beautiful Game (Victor Buhler, UK) which is a documentary on the transcendent power of football in Africa.

The festival takes place from November 1st to 11th and features 27 premieres at 7 different venues (Hackney Picturehouse, The Ritzy, Rich Mix, BFI Southbank, South London Gallery, Screen on the Green, Picha House) from across the continent highlighting themes of elections, democracy as in An African Election which is Jarreth Merz's stirring documentary about the 2008 Ghanian electoral race, the first one in a democratic era. (Sun 4 Nov, 18.00, Hackney)

Many of the films have won awards at festivals around the world such as Grey Matter (Kivu Ruhorahoza, Rwanda) about the shadow of Rwandan genocide and others have already received cinema releases which happened to Town of Runners (Jerry Rothwell, UK/Ethiopia) which told the story of a small town of Bekoji which is renowned for nuturing many long-distance world champions (Wed 7 Nov,18.30, Ritzy Cinema)

The most acclaimed film to come out of Africa in some time; Life, Above All which won Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2010 told the tale of a twelve year old Chanda who has to fight the prejudice of HIV infection (Sun 4 Nov, 15.50, Hackney)

Personally, it is pleasing to see a screening of Material on the opening night to the public, 2nd Nov at Hackney Picturehouse, this film has garnered great acclaim at the London Film Festival last week and features a great cast, one of which Vincent Ebrahim (The Kumars at No.42) will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film which starts at 18.15.  Material is one of the funniest cross-generational, cross-cultural films produced in some time, in fact it is one of the funniest films made in some time putting most American specialists to shame.

Do take the opportunity to go and see some of the most thought-provoking films made in recent years, there is something for everyone in a very mixed bag.

For more information log on at www.filmafrica.org.uk and follow on twitter @FilmAfrica #FilmAfrica2012.

Let Fury Have The Hour

Antonio D'Ambrosio's social documentary borrows its title from a famous Clash lyric 'Let fury have the hour, anger can be power. You know that we can use it'

That group's leader, Joe Strummer, was a very vocal orator of social problems before his untimely death.  Strummer would approve of this new documentary by the American director.  Let Fury Have The Hour is a 90 minute film that chronicles the a generation of artists from across all spectrums (directors, musicians, comedians) and how the content of their material has altered and shifted in reaction to the politics within their subsequent cultures.

The film starts with Margaret Thatcher giving a speech to her fellow Tories at conference, and then is quickly followed by her ally Ronald Reagan doing likewise to his convention.  You fear that the film may be a little bit one-eyed but then the mixture of voices and people who either talk or shout at the camera are so vast, it feels as if you are being pummelled by various opinions all at once.  The point being that in the film, each person of the 50 or so individuals each believe we can change the world we live in if we live by what they claim to be the solution.

There in lies the problem with the film, once everyone has had their two cents of material, the film does not know in which direction it is meant to turn - should remain objective and let the comments hang in the air, or should it be like Michael Moore/Morgan Spurlock and have a message and conclusion to support the time invested in the running time by the audience.

Featuring a stirring soundtrack by those musicians who speak - Tom Morello, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Billy Bragg, Gogol Bordello, MC5 and DJ Spooky to mention a few.

Let Fury Have The Hour is having its UK premiere this Thursday 25th October at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith at 7.30pm (£7/£5 concessions) with a live Q&A with the director Antonio D'Ambrosio to follow after the film via Skype.

www.riversidestudios.co.uk @RiversideLondon

Follow In the DocHouse on twitter @InTheDocHouse

The Angel's Share - Preview

Ken Loach, the award winning and critically acclaimed director, has long been admired but following on from his Palme D'or win at Cannes in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley, he is currently enjoying his most consistent and sustainable piece of bankable films.

After the Cannes victory he followed up with Its A Free World..(2007), Looking for Eric (2009) and Route Irish (2010).

Now Loach returns to Scotland, a place where he has shot films before - My Name is Joe (1998), Sweet Sixteen (2002) and Ae Fond Kiss (2004) - and continues his creative partnership with Paul Laverty, his esteemed screenwriter for The Angel's Share.

The story centres around Robbie, a young father who after narrowly avoiding a prison sentence meets three lost souls (Rhino, Albert, Mo) during community service who like him want a better life for some reason.  Robbie wants to avoid his newborn child having the same trouble as him, yet like the others he cannot get work because of his criminal record.

Yet on a visit to a whiskey distillery, Robbie finds the answer may lie in drink where the most obscure and reserved whiskies are sold for huge profits at auction.  Robbie and his friends have the nose.

Following in the tradition of The Full Monty or Waking Ned, the trailer promises a laugh a minute, with some insightful character observation from aspirational figures, some great cameo roles by policeman and nuns.  Yet this is also a calling card for Scottish tourism also, set in and around Edinburgh the distilleries and grandeur of Edinburgh castle get a good location shots.

Yet for Loach, this may well be the most laissez-faire film of his storied career.  Whilst, he has always been wise to having an underbelly of humour in his more serious films, and vice versa; he has never done an out and out comedy in this vein before.

Also helping is Loach's touch of finding young, unknown talent like he did with Martin Compston in Sweet Sixteen and years ago, Brian Glover in Kes (1969); on this occasion he has found Paul Brannigan as Robbie, a young man who has a notable scar on his face which adds authenticity to his past plight.  Brannigan is shepherded by some stellar veteran actors Roger Allam and John Henshaw.

The title from the film refers to the 2% of whiskey lost to the air whenever a barrel is opened - The Angel's Share - as the tagline says, Enjoy Responsibly from June 1st.

Watch the trailer here

Haywire Preview

As one film year comes to an end, there are more films to look forward to in the new year. Already 2012 promises blockbusters (The Avengers), fantasy (The Hobbit), scares (The Woman in Black), Oscar front runners (The Artist and The Descendants) and a usual breed of action movies and thrillers.

Steven Soderbergh who returned to big screen fare with his big screen friends with Contagion in September, has another star-studded film on the horizon in January 2012 - titled Haywire it sees him reunited with writer Lem Dobbs, who wrote The Limey, which starred Terence Stamp - a film about revenge and the journey to exact the revenge.

Mallory Kane (Gino Carano) is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world.  After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency.  Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who knew her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.

Gino Carano is a former MMA fighter and this is her first starring role in a major film, which would be considered a risk unless you have seen the trailer and the numerous fights she is involved in one where she kicks Channing Tatum's butt in a roadside diner and then disposes of suave Michael Fassbender in a hotel room.  The Fassbender scene sets the wheels in motion for her betrayal, she is meant to be killed meaning she is on the run and in search of Ewan McGregor's point man who ordered the killing, along with CIA official by Michael Douglas.

The trailers show the film attempting to be as globe-trotting as Bourne; as hard-hitting as Craig's Bond, and as thrilling as any Michael Mann film - however, many people will be surprised at the action film being directed by Soderbergh, an auteur more adept at vast character pieces like Oceans 11 or Traffic and social comment pieces a la Erin Brockovich.  Haywire promises to be another feather in the cap for this versatile and always entertaining director.

The tagline is 'They Left Her No Choice', you can make the right one and go see this exhiliarating feature.

Haywire is released by Momentum Pictures on January 18th up and down and around the country.

www.facebook.com/haywireuk