Just got the new issue of Empire - and it's got a feature of The Escapist! Empire talks of it being 'indie movie heaven' and I can't wait.
The plot involves a guy trying to break out of prison to visit his ill daughter and assembles a crew of guys to tackle the major obstacle of getting out. With Brian Cox leading the way as Frank Perry and co-starring Joseph Fiennes, Damien Lewis, Dominic Cooper, Liam Cunningham and Seu Jorge, to name a few and it's set be a classic!

The debut of British director Rupert Wyatt is highly anticipated - especially by me.

Out June 20th. Roll on.

Hi to everybody....I've just watched my new DVD A History of Violence with Viggo Mortensen....I've already seen it before but wanted a copy of my own.
Second time around was just as good as the first time. I've no idea why I liked the film so much, because it was extremely violent in parts, but in context...I hate violence in a film out of context when it seems to be put there just to shock...none of the violence in this film shocked me because in all the cases, Tom Stall was defending himself...he being the character Mortensen was playing...
It was basically about a man trying to escape his past and had done successfully for many years until an incident brought back his old and very violent self, and the consequences of that action upon him and his family.
I can recommend this film as a well made and well paced movie, which might disturb some people who can't stand seeing any violence in a film in context or out of context, but, if you have a fairly strong stomach, you should find this a good film. Big hugs to one and all...

I was sad to hear about the recent death of Richard Widmark, mind you at 93 he had had a good innings. A great actor who was in person, I understand, the total opposite to his on screen tough guy persona.

I suggest tonight ladies and gents we all raise a glass to the old fella and wish him well wherever he may have gone

Ok, so this isn't in the same league as Rebecca, Notorious, or Psycho but I Confess is one of the distinctly better black and white films from Sir Alfred. Montgomery Clift plays the priest who hears a murderer's confession late one night; before long the evidence circumstantially points to the priest who can't tell the police what he heard in confession even though it would prove him innocent. The plot thickens further when it turns out a local woman was being blackmailed by the victim since the victim discovered she was having an affair with the priest. Will he be convicted or will the truth come out? The tension in the Quebec-set drama mounts from start to finish with brilliant use of the location and some really good performances. The music is good too - not written by Bernard Herrmann this time but Dimitri Tiomkin who seems to have learnt a lot from Shostakovich judging by his orchestration. 7/10

This was my late night viewing of yesterday. The movie has big billing with Meryl Streep, Reese Whitherspoon. Jake Gillenhall, Peter Skarsgaard and Alan Arkin.

It concerns terrorism as looking from both sides and has many side stories that all come together, sort of, in the end. I really can't say too much about it without telling the whole story. There is torture, and government corruption(so what's new) and it will wind you in a knot. THe ending was not very realistic and again that's about all I can say.

It's worth the watch but if you need to relax and forget about the ills of the world, this is not the one to choose.

Using the same style as, but far superior to Sunset Boulevard i found Double Indemnity to be feckin fantastic. Impeccably shot with a score to match the story of an insurance scam gone awry doesn't run out of steam and somehow manages to retain tension throughout despite showing us the end in the film's opening. The narration may be a bit of a genre cliché now but seen here it's a brilliantly effective narrative device deployed to perfection by a true cinematic master.

I started the week off with 3-Iron from the maker of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring and The Isle. This film, with its sparing use of dialogue (the protagonist says nothing in the film) either says a hell of a lot or absolutely nothing at all. It's well photographed, in a way which suits the understated performances, and as with The Isle we get a respected businessman doing some very disrespectful things (against his wife and with a golf set). The film itself concerns a transient who whisks an unhappy wife away with him, moving from home to home while the occupiers are out until her estranged husband [and the police] catch up with them. There's something about communication in and the anonymity of modern society in this, i suspect, but it's just a little too vague. Nothing's ever pinned down; ideas are suggested through images and movement rather than discussion yet after all was said and done i couldn't say i'd taken a whole lot from the experience. Worth watching for the actors, and for an idea of Korean bourgois life but - in my opinion - for little else. Good, although i can't pinpoint exactly why.

Beowulf (2007)

Don't listen to the historians. Vikings really were hard and liked hitting things in the head with axes.

Well, I'd been wanting to see this one for a while, and glad I got to see it. A gripping ride of monster slashing and general hardness throughout with some great performances by the cast. Hubster thought that Ray Winstone was miscast, but mainly I thnk that he was the only one whose 'performance capture' (ie, animated) character was (and not to be unkind) a little different from himself. However, I think it was an excellent choice, the gangster and hard man voice coming out '...I'm gonna catch yoooor mooonstarrr'.

Ray Winstone works out for his latest film role. No, hang on - he didn't.

You don't get a chance to get the backstory (it becomes fairly obvious halfway through if you're not familiar with it already) before Grendel comes bounding in, biting off heads and generally being - well, a monster. John Malkovich is a little underused, Anthony Hopkins on top form playing his typical authority figure as the King with sweeping hand gestures and grand speeches. Don't know how strict they were with the original text, but as a film could have done with the filling in of a few gaps as there is a huge timejump about two thirds of the way through, but it still gels together OK.

Well, would you do anything for the last demon in the world? Brad says yes!

All in all, an excellent film. The 'animation' or 'performance capture' doesn't put you off at all. You can tell that sometimes (and I may be mistaken in this) they deliberatley made this less than realistic (as in live action) to emphasise the point that it was not live action, if that makes sense. But its excellently done.

Best quote: Could it be anything else? 'I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I AM BEOWULF! '

Scariest moment: Grendel's second attack, just before Beowulf is wondering how to go for him and Grendel (whilst chomping on his mate's head and clearly thinking that Beowulf doesn't stand a chance) gives him a rather horrible monster smile.

I sat down to this with caution having received three negative reviews on it from my daughter, my brother and a co-worker. I'm not a fan of the Cohen brothers but it won best picture so I thought I'd better give it a look.

There is a great deal of tension in the movie after it gets going and quite a bit of violence(dont eat) as well. Javier Bardem turns in a terrifying performance, most worthy of the awards he was given. The basic story line is his pursuit of someone who has stolen money found at a drug deal gone wrong. When I turned this movie on I was not sure this was the right choice but I have to tell you it kept me on edge throughout.

There is a point in the movie where it should have been wrapped up and you wonder why it continues on. Still I didn't feel it was long, as others in my family did. You will have form your own opinion about the ending.

Hi to everybody...I decided to sit and watch...against my better judgement I might add but because I had nothing better to do this afternoon...the Curse of the Golden Flower...and I now resent furiously wasting 2 hours of my time watching what I can only call the most lavish film I've ever seen with the most unsatisfactory ending of any film I've ever seen as well...all the way through the damned film you're rooting for the Empress who is slowly being poisoned by her bastard of a husband, who used her originally to become Emperor...she decides to do something about her predicament and sets about hatching a plan, which she then allows to be betrayed and you are left wondering what the hell the film was all about when everybody dies and the damned Emperor survives and she's utterly defeated...so you are left with no feel good factor just a foul taste in your mouth and wondering why they bothered to make such a bloody depressing film in the first place...it's story line was so slender as to be non-existent, and this is what I have discovered with all of this new genre of very, lavish Chinese films made for the American market...shallow crap basically...and it really annoys me because, after seeing Flying flea, Leaping Toad and the other two whose names thankfully escape me, I gave up ever wanting to see another but gave in this afternoon...and I'm furious that I did....
As you can gather...not a happy bunny...big hugs to one and all...and I do not recommend this film to anybody...

Hi to everybody...just a quick post to commemorate the passing of Paul Scofield, one of our finest actors, who died today of leukemia at the age of 86. He consistently refused a knighthood, which is admirable in itself, but he brought gravitas to all the parts he played throughout his long and illustrious career...and had a wonderful twinkle in his eye when signifying humour subtly...he will be sorely missed.
Big hugs to one and all...

British film director and writer Anthony Minghella has died aged 54.

Minghella's films included The English Patient - which earned him an Oscar for best director in 1997 - as well as Truly, Madly, Deeply and Cold Mountain.

He suffered a haemorrhage in London days after having surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck, his US agent Leslee Dart said.

Jude Law, who worked with Minghella on three films, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" at the news.

The actor described him as "a brilliantly talented writer and director" and "a sweet, warm, bright and funny man".

He was one of Britain's greatest creative talents, one of our finest screen writers and directors
Gordon Brown

In quotes: Minghella tributes
Send us your comments

Law's co-star in The Talented Mr Ripley, Gwyneth Paltrow, said Minghella was "a wonderful man" who was "so interested in art and making the world better for art".

Actor Kevin Spacey praised the director as "one of the greats".

Film producer and friend Lord Puttnam said the industry would be "very shocked" to lose their "very well-loved" colleague.

"He started as a writer, he was not a stylist as a director," he said. "He saw himself as a storyteller and his films were very well told, beautifully made and beautifully acted."

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was directed by Minghella in a Labour Party broadcast before the 2005 General Election, also paid tribute.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Jude Law in Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (2003 - pictured)
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
The English Patient (1996)
Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991)
He said: "He was one of Britain's greatest creative talents, one of our finest screen writers and directors, a great champion of the British film industry and expert on literature and opera."

Minghella had an operation for cancer last week, his representatives said.

Leslee Dart said: "The surgery had gone well and they were very optimistic. But he developed a haemorrhage last night and they were not able to stop it."

He died at about 0500 GMT on Tuesday at the Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, west London.

Minghella's other roles included being chairman of the British Film Institute.

He had also directed a TV episode of book The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

A 90-minute pilot, directed by Minghella and co-written with Richard Curtis, is due to be broadcast on BBC One on Easter Sunday.

Anthony Minghella at the Baftas 1997
Minghella received nine Bafta and three Oscar nominations
BBC film correspondent Tom Brook, speaking in New York, said Minghella was held in "very high regard by the artistic community".

"He's certainly one of the top directors of his generation in Britain and, in Hollywood he was definitely held in high esteem," he said.

Minghella began his career as a writer with his early radio plays winning several awards.

He made his directorial debut in Truly, Madly, Deeply, in 1991.

He went on to write and direct film adaptations of Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley.

In 1999, he was nominated for an Oscar for writing The Talented Mr Ripley screenplay.

He also directed 2003's Cold Mountain, starring Law, Kidman and Renee Zellweger, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for the film.

In 2005, Minghella directed his first opera, an English National Opera (ENO) production of Madama Butterfly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7302841.stm

If you've read this before I'm moving my reviews over here and closing my movie blog. It seemed a bit redundant to have both.

George Clooney plays an attorney who is a fixer for a firm contracted by a much larger global company. He is hired to "fix" a situation caused by a top attorney Arthur Edens(Tom Wilkinson)who has access to information that could greatly sway the lawsuit he has been hired to win. Arthur has a chemical imabalance and decides to stop taking his medication. His bizarre behavior during a deposition leads to the "fix" situation and it is only after this and much more that the information he has access to is dicovered.

The tension in the movie lasts from beginning to end and the characters lead you through a variety of emotions. This is one of the best performances I've seen from George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson is superb and Tilda Swinton embodies the high power corporate woman to the last detail. If you like corporate intrigue you will love this movie.

Word of warning; do not watch this movie with kids or pets that need attention. This one is a late nighter or one to be watched when you will not be interrupted. There are too many things going on to have your attention elsewhere.

Sunset Boulevard really doesn't put a foot wrong. In much the same way as Citizen Kane and Casablanca this is a film of startling technical and artistic proficiency - you can see that every single shot and bar of music has been meticulously planned down to the very last detail, and by golly it works! The camera movements, sly as they may be impress easily as much as the lengthy soliloquies or even the cacophonous score for that matter. The performances are terrific, i could go on extolling the film's many virtues but - as with Citizen Kane in particular - there's an emotional vacuum at its core. At times more reportage than gratifying emotional journey the story of a down and out writer taking advantage of a disillusioned has-been all too often becomes little more than a serious of increasingly predictable events that, excitement-wise, plateau far too early. That said, technical merits abound resulting in a unique, cynical take on California of the time; a vision as memorable as the film's opening sequence. Not a film i'll watch again soon though. 8/10

Book by Karen Joy Fowler

I had not heard of this movie but had the opportunity to watch it yesterday. It moves around the lives of several women and one man who form a book club, reading the works of Jane Austen. As the meet each month to discuss a different book, you can see similarities between their lives and the characters from the books. It's a bit of a chick flick so you guys might not care for it but it was very well done. There are no deep plot twists or any earth shaking revelations, it's just a nice gentle movie.

I saw this on Saturday with only the initial knowledge that it was a film about a video store, that it starred Jack Black and that he'd accidently wiped all the videos after becoming magnetised..

Promising premise for a film? I must say I did enjoy it.. it wasn't consistently funny.. some bits were even a little tedious (some of the beginning for example, as you patiently wait for the momentum to pick up). In the end however, it was actually quite a sweet story.. Once the story actually started properly, it was funny (laugh out loud on about 4 occasions) and exciting but Jack Black sort of remained relatively ridiculous the whole way through which I found a bit irritating to be honest.

Go and see it by all means, especially if you need cheering up or an easy watch. Seeing as I prefer art house films usually, the fact that I enjoyed this shows that maybe it's got a little more heart than usual..!

Hi to everybody...managed to see the second half of my '300' DVD last night...the first DVD had a fault in it and I had to return it, and HMV took weeks to send it back, but eventually did get it replaced...
I did enjoy this film very much...actually not sure whether 'enjoy' is the right word...I thought it was a very well made film in a style quite unique to it, and it worked. It moved me deeply and strange to say I found the violence and bloodshed in it was not over the top at all, because it was in context...what was even more interesting was the fact that the 300 existed and the battle did take place, and, if it had not, and Xerxes had won, the whole of our Western history would have taken a completely different path...
Frank Miller wrote it and it was taken from one of his stories and he always studies the history behind his characters in depth first...I understand honour and valour and the willingness to die for what you truly believe in, even though in the core of my being I am a pacifist...I wish, with everything I am, human beings did not believe it was right to slaughter each other...but it seems at times in our history, certain human beings are called to lay down their lives for their fellow countrymen and women and their country...and this film with its vivid graphics and powerful imagery was all about that stand...The only criticism I have and it's just a matter of historical licence and that was the portrayal of Xerxes in it was very inaccurate...he was a highly educated man from a technologically advanced empire and not a power crazed god/king, but I guess I can forgive Frank Miller or the makers of the film for that exaggeration...the army the 300 plus 6700 land troops faced was massive, some 300,000 though it was said to be 1.2 million, but that is doubtful. However many there were, the Spartans and the land troops were severely outnumbered. In the end, the land troops retreated, leaving Leonides and the remaining Spartans to face Xerxes, and were finally all killed. It was, however, actually another Spartan, Thermistocles, who led the Spartan fleet, who turned the war around and finally helped defeat Xerxes that time around, but not to defeat him entirely...
For anybody interested...here's a site to give a run down of the history...
http://raf.heavengames.com/history/civilization/greek/page4

I saw it first on the big screen and now I have the DVD and you do not lose the impact of the film on a small screen which says a lot for it I think....
One thing I find rather strange is that there are a quite a few people in the USA who think that this film is propaganda for war against Iran??? I didn't know the USA was planning a war in Iran as well as Iraq and Afghanistan? Did you?
I think you can read so much into a film rather than just take it for what it was a comic strip made into a film and leave it at that...that's it for now...big hugs...

I was desperate for a movie tonight and went round and round on pay per view trying to decide. This was by far the worst decision I could have made. This is without question, the most boring movie I've seen in some time. I had to work to stay awake and only because I payed for it did I not switch the channel. I like John Cusack and as a bonus his sister Joan was in the movie as well. They did the best they could. Amanda Peet had a supporting role and she is in her best moments, mediocre. That's more than I can say for this movie. Skip it.

Hi to everybody...tonight I decided to watch a film on Sky Indie called 'Nelly and Mr. Arnaud' with Michel Serrault and Emmanuelle Beart. It was made in 1995, and directed by Claude Sautet.
It's a gentle film, more like a play almost, about a relationship between an older man and a young woman who comes to help him prepare a book he has written for publication...it lasted for 1 hour 50 minutes and didn't drag once...very nicely paced, not dated, and very French.
I can recommend it if you want to see something with no blood, violence, sex or bad language...LOL...it's very well scripted and the characters very believable...so, if you get a chance to see it, please take the time, I don't think you'll regret it.
That's it for tonight...I've recorded Boston Legal after it, because there is no way I would miss that for any film... Have a restful night, sweet dreams, my friends, and big hugs to you all....

Sam Peckinpah's only war film is unconventional to say the least. Lots and lots of stuff gets blown up, but this isn't a Rambo-esque brainless action flick, this is a tale of the futility of war and the tragedy of ego playing out on the Eastern front.

In scenes reminiscent of Ridley Scott's The Duellists Coburn and Schell play German officers who hate each other with a passion. Schell wants the Iron Cross medal for bravery, and Coburn is determined not to recommend him for it as he knows Schell's a coward wingin' his way through the army's top brass. The two come to blows only once, but square up to each other many times until the film's climax in which Coburn has to lead his men back through the German front lines while Schell has them fired on.

Not in any way as clean cut as many other war films from WW2, not even as those on the German army (like Night Of The Generals for instance) this gritty, rough-n-ready, dirty war film gets stuck down in the grim harsh realities of warfare and makes its case with tremendous fervour. Even when Coburn is delusional he releases himself from hospital to go back to the front lines and that really is the point here about his character: Coburn is only happy in war, without the fighting he can't cope wit civilian life, it gives him a purpose and place in his own brutal society that makes him feel at eases. What makes this work however, is James Coburn's terrific lead performance, a career highlight undoubtedly.

The music and editing are pretty good in the film and the end... well the film ran out of money (and literally, out of physical film on which to shoot) so it just stops abruptly. Yet somehow, this also works pretty well.

Not as good as Straw Dogs or The Wild Bunch it nevertheless showcases many of Sam Peckinpah's talents as a film maker. 8/10

Sequel warning!!

I gave this a watch last night and this morning. As most of you know, this is a sequel to the orignial movie "Elizabeth." That movie was so good they should have thought to themselves, "how can we top this?" They couldn't. It was mediocre at best with a wishy washy script and over the top scenes left and right. The movie is filled with a stellar cast, Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Samantha Morton and they do the best with what they are given. Certainly it will make you watch it from beginning to end, because the first one was so good and because you keep hoping for something better. It's not all bad, and no doubt you will find a moment or two worth the watch, but it's clearly a case of leave well enough alone.

I was desperate for a movie tonight and went round and round on pay per view trying to decide. This was by far the worst decision I could have made. This is without question, the most boring movie I've seen in some time. I had to work to stay awake and only because I payed for it did I not switch the channel. I like John Cusack and as a bonus his sister Joan was in the movie as well. They did the best they could. Amanda Peet had a supporting role and she is in her best moments, mediocre. That's more than I can say for this movie. Skip it.

Hi to everybody...just in case any of these three films have been missed by all you fans out there...next week has all three being shown and I can recommend every one of them

Sky Arts...Red Angel...A Yasuzo MASUMURA film of 1966...Tuesday, 11th March...brilliant...
Sky Indie...Volver...A Pedro Aldomovar Film of 2007...Wednesday, 12th March...also brilliant...Penelope Cruz's acts her socks off and is marvellous in it...
Sky Sci-fi...
V for Vendetta...A James McTeigue Film of 2005...12th March...also very well made indeed and thought provoking as well...taken from Alan Moore comic strip...

The last two clash in times but both will be on again, and both are worth seeing...

Big hugs to one and all...

I couldn't sleep during the night so as there was little on worth watching I turned on this movie. This is not my normal cup of tea but I was desperate. The only thing that took this one step above summer slasher flicks was the cast.

Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson play a couple who become stranded in a small town after their car breaks down.(how original) They rent a motel room from a guy who rivals Norman Bates in affect. His behavior alone would have convinced me to sleep somewhere under the stars. You can see it all coming as they go in the room and pounding begins on the connecting door and the outside door. As they turn on the videos left in the room they find out they are to become the stars of a snuff film. It's violent(the videos they watch) and predictable, but the tension made me watch to see what would happen.

Don't watch it late at night as it will tie you in a knot if for no other reason than you want to shout "don't do that, stupid." If you like this type of film fine. It's as I say not my cup of tea but it did pass the time.

Saw 3 is weaker than either of the preceding films because it dumbs everything down another 3 notches then fills in the back story for those who missed the first two flicks. In this we again get a sort of race - a nurse has to keep Jigsaw alive while her husband undergoes a series of tests - basically whether or not he'll let people associated with his son's death live or die. That person from Saw 2 features heavily in this one, throwing a spanner in the works in the sense that whereas before the victims had the opportunity of living here they find the door welded shut so even after passing the test they're still £!^&ed. Jigsaw's idea that by suffering you can appreciate life more is as stupid as the rest of the film; there's a twist of sorts but 90% of people will see it coming a good hour or so before delivery. The gore quota is wonderfully filled (i like the guy who wakes up to find he's chained up in a room containing a ticking bomb - he has to rip the chains from his body before it goes off) and therein lies the sole sense of enjoyment. If you like sick this is ok, if you don't then avoid it like the plague. Thumbs down.