Academy Awards 2012: Nominations

The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced earlier today by Academy president Tom Sherak and Winter’s Bone actress, and previous Best Actress nominee, Jennifer Lawrence.

Leading the way is Hugo with eleven nominations, closely followed by The Artist, which nabbed an equally impressive ten.

As well as the aforementioned two, Moneyball, Midnight In Paris, The Help, Continue reading “Academy Awards 2012: Nominations”

London Critics’ Circle Film Awards 2012: Winners

Actors, actresses, critics and industry types gathered at the BFI Southbank, London earlier this evening to reveal the 32nd annual London Critics’ Circle Film Award winners.

Emerging on top were The Artist, which scooped three awards; A Separation, which won two prizes; and We Need To Talk About Kevin, which – deservedly so – won British Film Of Year .

Anna Paquin (!!!) tied with Meryl Streep for Actress Of The Year, while Olivia Continue reading “London Critics’ Circle Film Awards 2012: Winners”

DVD Releases: October 31, 2011

X-Men: First Class (Review)

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence Continue reading “DVD Releases: October 31, 2011”

Review: The Help (2011)

Based on Kathryn Stockett’s phenomenally successful and influential novel of the same name, The Help centers on Aibileen Clark: (Viola Davis), a devoted housekeeper in 1960′s Mississipi, who, after being approached to help local writer Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan (Emma Stone) write her first novel, recounts her life as a black servant in a time of extreme racial discrimination, bigotry and classism.

Moving, compelling and insightful, The Help is a highly commendable cinematic triumph, hitting the nail firmly on the head in almost every field: from well-honed cinematography to a beautifully serene score. Tate Taylor, who also penned the screenplay, has managed to do something of a rarity Continue reading “Review: The Help (2011)”

UK Box Office – July 15 – 17, 2011

1. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – £23.7M

2. Tranformers: Dark Of The Moon – £1.9M

3. Bridesmaids – £1.5M

4. Kung Fu Panda 2 – £779,000

5. The Guard – £368,000

6. The Tree of Life – £267,000

7. Zindagi Na Milege Dobara – £254,000

8. Bad Teacher – £203,000

9. The Hangover Part II – £101,000

10. Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – £59,000

Cinema Releases: July 8, 2011

The Tree Of Life

Director: Terrence Malick

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain

Holy Rollers

Director: Kevin Asch

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha and Danny A. Abeckaser

Trust

Director: David Schwimmer

Starring: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and Liana Liberato

Super

Director: James Gunn

Starring: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Liv Tyler

Huge

Director: Ben Miller

Starring: Noel Clarke, Johnny Harris and Ralph Brown

Film Socialisme

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Starring: Catherine Tanvier, Christian Sinniger and Jean-Marc Stehlé

The Princess Of Montpensier

Director: Bertrand Tavernier

Starring: Mélanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson and Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet

The Devil’s Rock

Director: Paul Campion

Starring: Craig Hall, Matthew Sunderland and Gina Varela

Poster: The Tree Of Life

Director – Terrence Malick

Starring – Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Kari Matchett

Feature: 30 Most Anticipated Films Of 2011

2011 is shaping up to be a wonderful year for cinema, with a lot of big name and word-class directors offering up new films across a wide range of genres. Here’s the thirty I’m most looking forward to:

1. Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky’s highly acclaimed psychological ballet drama finally hits UK cinemas. This one stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder.

2. Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance’s juxtaposing relationship drama, starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.

3. Submarine

Richard Ayoyade’s comical coming-of-age directorial debut, starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine.

4. Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder’s futuristic action-fantasy film, starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone and Vanessa Hudgens as girl’s willing to do anything to survive.

5. Scream 4

Wes Craven returns to the Scream franchise, along with regular actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. New recruits include Emma Roberts, Adam Brody and Hayden Panettiere.

6. Your Highness

David Gordon’s Green hilarious-looking medieval stone comedy, starring James Franco, Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel.

7. The Skin That I Inhabit

Pedro Almodovar re-teams with Antonio Banderas for terror film The Skin That I Inhabit.

8. Attack The Block

Directed by Joe Cornish, this south London comedy-action film pitches a gang of youths against an alien invasion. Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker and Luke Treadaway star.

9. Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Johnny Depp returns as Jack Sparrow for a fourth installment in the colossal Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, this time with new faces (Penelope Cruz and a surprise Judi Dench appearance) and a new director (Rob Marshall).

10. Bridesmaids

Judd Apatow produces Paul Weig’s comedy about two women dueling for the perfect wedding, starring Kristen Wigg, Rose Bryne and Jon Hamm.

11. Paul

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg reunite for an ensemble alien road movie. Greg Mottola directs.

12. Melancholia

Lars Von Trier returns with a psychological disaster film, starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Keifer Sutherland.

13. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The final installment in the globally successful Harry Potter franchise, featuring Harry, Ron and Hermoine as they race against time to kill Voldemort.

14. X-Men: First Class

Kick-Ass director returns to the superhero genre with an X-Men prequel showing how Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magnet (Michael Fassbender) met and the first time they discovered their powers.

15. Wuthering Heights

Andrea Arnold follows-up the critical darling Fish Tank with an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, starring Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley and Oliver Milburn.

16. Contagion

Steven Soderberg’s film centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard.

17. The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaborate on a 3D motion capture film based on the comic books created by Belgianartist Georges “Hergé” Remi about an adventurer, Tintin (Jamie Bell), and his white dog Snowy.

18. Fright Night

Craig Gillespie directs a remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 original horror, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Toni Collette.

19. A Dangerous Method

David Cronenberg’s historical biopic focusing on the turbulent relationship between Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the woman who comes between theme.

20. Cowboys & Aliens

Jon Favreau teams James Bond (Daniel Craig) with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) for this genre-blurring science-fiction western film.

21. Wanderlust

Producer Judd Apatow teams with Jennifer Aniston for a sexy comedy that could well reignite her struggling career. David Wain directs, with Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose and Malin Akerman also starring.

22. Hanna

After the acclaimed Atonement, Joe Wright switches genres with this action-thriller starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana.

23. Route Irish

Ken Loach’s study into the consequences suffered by private security contractors after fighting in the Iraq War opened to lukewarm reviews at Cannes, but features a vigorous performances from Mark Womack.

24. We Need To Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay’s long-awaited return to directing. We Need To Talk About Kevin is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s novel of the same name and stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller.

25. Thor

Marvel’s latest superhero incarnation to hit the big screen, directed by Shakespearean thesp Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston.

26. The Darkest Hour

A new science-fiction film starring Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch as young people caught in an alien invasion. Chris Gorak directs, with Timur Bekmambetov producing.

27. War Horse

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s acclaimed children’s novel War Horse, starring Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Emily Watson and Stephen Graham.

28. The Invention Of Hugo Cabret

Martin Scorcese’s first foray into 3D, featuring a cast including Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Christopher Lee and Ben Kingsley.

29. The Tree Of Life

Terrence Malick’s long-delayed film about the quest to regain the meaning of life, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain.

30. Sherlock Holmes 2

Guy Ritchie returns to direct a sequel to the 2009 box office success. Sherlock Holmes re-teams Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, with new additions including Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry.