QA Olivia Williams & The Ghost Screening

Roman Polanski's The Ghost is a tense political thriller with Ewan McGregor leading a stellar ensemble as a ghost writer researching the shady past of an ex-British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan)

Ewan McGregor leads a stellar ensemble as a ghost writer researching the shady past of an ex-British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan) who becomes embroiled in a dangerous game in which he must battle for the truth against those with their own power agenda. The consistently excellent Olivia Williams steals the show as the PM’s manipulative, neurotic, highly intelligent wife, in a film that catapaults Polanski back into the limelight as a director at the top of his game. The Ghost also stars Kim Cattrall and Tom Wilkinson, with a screenplay co-written by Harris and Polanski himself.

In partnership with The Script Factory, Barbican Film will be hosting a Q&A with actress Olivia Williams (An Education, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll). The Ghost is on general release in the UK right now.



QA Olivia Williams & The Ghost Screening

Where
The Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

When
6:00pm, 16 - 22 April 2010, 2010

More info & tickets here Barbican.org.uk

March UK Film Releases

March is a bumper month with a good variety of releases. The full list and dates of the UK's March cinema releases can be found here. Our top picks are as follows:


This months top choice will have to be Peter Greenway’s Nightwatching. Completed in 2007 it’s finally getting a general release and promises a return to earlier form for the Master of cinema Peter Greenway.

The film is centred on the creation of The Night Watch, Rembrandt's most famous work, depicting civilian militiamen who wanted to be celebrated in a group portrait. The film posits a conspiracy to murder within the musketeer regiment of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, and suggests that Rembrandt may have immortalized a conspiracy theory using subtle allegory in his group portrait of the regiment, subverting what was to have been a highly prestigious commission for both painter and subject.

The film also depicts Rembrandt's personal life, and suggests he suffered serious consequences in later life as a result of the accusation contained in his most famous painting.

Nightwatching
Director: Peter Greenaway
Starring: Martin Freeman, Sarah Polley, Minnie Driver

Expectations are also running high for Scorsese and DiCaprio's fourth chilling outing Shutter Island.

Shutter Island
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Superb acting and (Oscar winning) performances lift the touching on mediocre Crazy Heart to greatness. Jeff Bridges is always excellent, Maggie Gyllenhaal still developing leaving Colin Farrell to almost steal the story of a former country and Western star (Jeff Bridges) at the end of his career.

Crazy Heart
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell

Both moving and meaningful the French The Father Of My Children will hit a nerve in these financially stormy times.

The Father Of My Children
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Starring: Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Caselli, Alice de Lencquesaing

If you are a fan of good music the revelatory No One Knows About Persian Cats by Negar Shaghaghi is not to be missed. (Full review up soon). Persian Cats follows a pair of young musicians, on a mission to take their rock band to Europe. Forbidden by the authorities to play in Iran, they plan their escape abroad with a fast—talking music promoter.

No One Knows About Persian Cats
Director: Negar Shaghaghi
Starring: Bahman Ghobadi, Ashkan Koshanejad, Hamed Behdad

In the psycho sexual department Bernard Rose's The Kreutzer Sonata with the increasingly compelling Danny Huston make for good viewing.

The Kreutzer Sonata
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Danny Huston, Elisabeth Röhm, Matthew Yang King

Documentaries that shine this month are Banksy's cringe worthy Exit through the gift shop. Has to been to be believed.

Exit through the gift shop
Director: Banksy

Hard hitting dramas that make the grade are hardcore prisoner drama Lion's Den and the gripping war crimes trial film Storm.

Lion's Den
Director: Pablo Trapero
Starring: Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro

Storm
Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
Starring: Kerry Fox, Anamaria Marinca, Stephen Dillane

Two small films with big hearts are also worth noting. Ondine, the enchanting story of Syracuse, a lonely fisherman who one day pulls a beautiful woman named Ondine out of the sea in his nets. His young daughter Annie is convinced that she is a "selkie" —a creature from Irish folklore much like a mermaid. Syracuse has his doubts, but as Ondine brings some luck and joy to his otherwise downcast life, he starts to come around as well. Ondine deftly blends romance and fantasy with the realism of modern life in an Irish seaside town.

Ondine
Director: Neil Jordan
Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Stephen Rea

Perrier's Bounty
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson

Lock and load high action efforts include:

Damon and Greengrass team up again for Green Zone a Middle Eastern military actioner continuing their Bourne theme.

Green Zone
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear

If the trailer is anything to go by Takers looks like it may be a blast.

Takers
Director: John Luessenhop
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon

Nicolas Winding Refn’s previous effort Bronson was highly entertaining and Valhalla Rising looks to up his game. It centers on a mute warrior and his ally who escape the imprisonment of an evil chieftain and embark on a series of dark adventures.

Valhalla Rising
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Steven, Jamie Sives

British futuristic gang war fare in a dystopian London. Looks like Class of 1984 mixed in with Kidhulthood as directed by Guy Ritchie

Shank
Director: Mo Ali
Starring: Kedar Williams-Stirling, Ashley Thomas, Michael Socha

Chills from the superior Scandinavian The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and very spookyThe House of the Devil.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace

The House of the Devil
Director: Ti West
Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov



The guy behind Office Space is back with Extract and his observations of work & mid life scenarios is sure to tickle your funny bone.

Extract
Director: Mike Judge
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Mike Judge, Jason Bateman



From the mainstream we have

Alice In Wonderland
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp continue there successful collaboration with the 3D extravaganza that is Alice In Wonderland. Top notch effects and cast make this a good Saturday kids matinee viewing.

Alice In Wonderland
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp

Nice to Uma Thurman in mainstream role that she can get her teeth into as the put upon lead in the very entertaining Motherhood.

Motherhood
Starring: Minnie Driver, Uma Thurman

I love a good sword and scorcery tale and hope that Season of the Witch manages to maintain the promise of the trailer, even though it does look like a complete rip off of Solomon Kane.

Season of the Witch
Director: Dominic Sena
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Graham

The big budget Precious The Blindside is surprisingly good and hits all the right emotional notes. But I’m not sure if it’s Oscar good though?

The Blindside
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates

Vintage Jim Carrey in I Love You Phillip Morris is sure to have people in stitches.

I Love You Phillip Morris
Director: John Requa
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann

February UK Film Releases

February 2010 sees the release of some highly anticipated films as well as some that are sure to be classics. The full list of the UK's February cinema releases can be found here.



Astro Boy
Loosely based on the very popular Japanese TV show from the 60s. Astro Boy is set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him

Sure to enthrall kids & older kids alike. Astro Boy features the vocal talents of luminaries; Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Charlize Theron, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nighy and Donald Sutherland.

Invictus
Invictus is a biographical drama film based on Nelson Mandela's life during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars Morgan Freeman as South African President Mandela, and Matt Damon as François Pienaar, the South African team captain. The film is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation. A top notch cast and film however I found the film oddly flat compared to Eastwood's previous efforts. Especially given the emotional times and subject of the film. A second screening may be needed.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
As the Harry Potter series comes to an end. Studios are keen to replace the impending void with a new successful fantasy series and so far 2 time directory of Harry potter films Chris Columbus's Percy Jackson seems to be the most likely contender. A cast that includes Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan and Joe Pantoliano can't hurt either.

It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Ponyo on the Cliff
Hayao Miyazaki (Japan's equivalent of Walt Disney) latest offering Ponyo on the Cliff is sure to satisfy all fans of Japanese animation.

The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father's magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo's father sends the ocean's mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo's dreams of becoming human.

Crazy Heart
Having being already nominated and winning a whack of awards as well as being earmarked for Jeff Bridges greatest performance yet - Crazy Heart is the story of Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.

Shutter Island
Scorsese is back! With Shutter Island based on a Dennis Lehane's (Mystic River, Gone, Baby, Gone) dark novel and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow and Jackie Earle Haley. This is sure to be a must see.

It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

If you need any more convincing behold - the trailer below.

The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones based on Alice Sebold's best selling novel is the bitter sweet tale of of a 14-year-old girl from suburban Pennsylvania who is murdered. She tells the story from limbo, showing the lives of the people around her and how they have changed all while coming to terms with her death. I'm a fan of Jackson's work particularly his earlier stuff so anticipation was high even though the subject matter was not that compelling to me. I was a little disappointed as I thought that their was some incongruous between the emotional heart of the film and the CG. Although the effects were good it felt like the CG took me out of the story. Still stand out performance all round from Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon.

The Wolfman
After several delays Joe Johnston's (Hidalgo, Jurassic Park III, October Sky, Jumanji, The Rocketeer) The Wolfman has finally come to the screen. The trailer certainly engages and has a real feel of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula to it. With an outstanding cast that includes Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Elizabeth Croft and Art Malik. I'm looking forward to this and hope it doesn't turn out to be another League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Van Helsing.

A Couple of Dicks/ Cop Out
Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Cop buddy film. Should be enough- but with Kevin Smith's direction Cop Out is sure to marvel. It is a sharp comedy about two cops whose adventures include locating a stolen baseball card, rescuing a woman, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money.

Micmacs
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the man behind Amelie and The City of the Lost Children, is bringing us a new slice of original madness in MicMacs. The story of Bazil who is accidentally shot in the head and finds his whole life turned upside down. Homeless, he ends up being taken in by a group of eccentrics, and starts to plot with them to take down the source of all his woes: the weapons manufacturers responsible for the bullets that hit him and killed his father years before.

If anything, Jeunet is consistently fun, original and inventive so Micmacs is sure to be on a par with his previous works.

The Crazies
Not for eveyone, the update of George A. Romero's classic horror. The American Dream goes horribly wrong when the residents of a small Mid-Western town start succumbing to an uncontrollable urge for violence. As the horrific bloodshed escalates into anarchy, the military attempts to contain the epidemic, using deadly force to seal off the town. This means that the few healthy citizens who remain are trapped in a hellish scenario where depraved killers lurk in the shadows. Sheriff David Dutton, his pregnant wife Judy, medical assistant Becca and Dutton's deputy Russell find themselves trapped in a once-idyllic town they can no longer recognise. Unable to trust former neighbours and friends, deserted by the authorities and terrified of contracting the illness themselves, they are forced to band together in a desperate and bloody struggle for survival.

Other notables from February's releases are:

The Last Station
A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.

Malice in Sunderland
A modern take on the classic fairytale, Alice in Wonderland, set in the North East of England.

From Paris With Love
In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.

Andy Serkis QA + Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Curzon Cinemas are proud to announce that lead actor Andy Serkis will be joining them for a Q&A after the screening of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

The true story of punk icon Ian Dury, who though stricken with polio at a young age, defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s. Dury (brilliantly played by Serkis, King Kong), also fought a long battle with the after effects of fame and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll pulls no punches in capturing the man with all his complexities and contradictions. Whitecross (co-director of Road to Guantanamo) and writer Paul Viragh have delivered the most impressive look at a particular period and figure in British music history since Anton Corbijn’s Control.

Where
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue W1D 5DY

When
6:10pm Mon 18 Jan 2010

Screening of MOON and Q&A with director Duncan Jones this Friday in London

On Friday 11th September The Prince Charles Cinema (Leicester Sq) have a VERY Special Q&A with Duncan Jones, Director of Moon!

Moon is playing upstairs all week on their brand new screen, however grab this chance to talk to the man who made this spectacular film.


MOON
Sam Bell has a three year contract to work for Lunar Industries. For the contract's entire duration, he is the sole employee based at their lunar station. His primary job responsibility is to harvest and periodically rocket back to Earth supplies of helium-3, the current clean and abundant fuel used on Earth. There is no direct communication link available between the lunar station and Earth, so his only direct real-time interaction is with GERTY, the intelligent computer whose function is to attend to his day to day needs. With such little human contact and all of it indirect, he feels that three years is far too long to be so isolated; he knows he is beginning to hallucinate as the end of his three years approaches...

Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice), Matt Berry, Robin Chalk

Where
The Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place, WC2
Just north off Leicester Sq & up from Häagen-Dazs

When
21:00 Fri 11th Sep Moon plus Q&A
Tickets onsale 5pm Today (Tuesday 8 September)

Opening Night Screening of Crossed Tracks Q&A with director Claude Lelouch

Opening Night Screening of Crossed Tracks Q&A with director Claude Lelouch

To open the exclusive two-week run of his new film at Ciné lumière, director Claude Lelouch will join audiences on 13 February for a special preview screening followed by a Q&A session.

'Roman de gare' translates as 'airport thriller' a term for the kind of enjoyable but disposable book one buys to while away the time on a long flight. Lelouch's film fits that description but is so beautifully done that it ends up as something much more impressive. In the opening sequence writer Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is interrogated by the police about her missing ghost-writer; radio reports announce the escape from a prison of a serial killer known as 'The Magician'; a hairdresser is abandoned by her boyfriend at a roadside petrol station and picked up by a man who seems to know Judith; and a missing school teacher leaves his wife and children. But what is real... and what is fiction? Confused? Well, this is just the starting-point for 100 minutes of twists and turns, zigs and zags, red herrings and crossed tracks. Deceptively layered, extremely wry and intriguingly misleading, Crossed Tracks is a wonderful return to for the Oscar-winning who, in keeping with the spirit of the piece, shot the film under a ‘nom de plume’, only revealing himself as the director at its Cannes premiere.

Ciné lumière
Friday February 13, 2009 at 8:00pm
17 Queensberry Place
London, England SW7 2DT

U2 3D at the IMAX

U2 3D

See the band in IMAX 3D on the biggest screen in the UK.

A quantum leap beyond traditional concert films, shot during the band's visit to South America on the Vertigo Tour - the first ever all-live 3D experience.

For over 25 years, U2 have been recognised not only for their musical invention, but for their incomparable gift for reaching millions of fans through new technologies. This long standing embrace of cutting-edge technology is evident in this stunning new film. U2 3D takes viewers on an extraordinary cinematic journey, a quantum leap beyond traditional concert films, in the first ever all-live 3D experience.

Mon 19 Jan 19:00
Tue 20 Jan 21:15
Wed 21 Jan 19:00
Thu 22 Jan 21:15
Imax Theatre, London
Charlie Chaplin Walk
London, England SE1

Helvetica screening

An eye-opening documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Focusing on the omnipresent Helvetica typeface (which celebrates its 50th birthday this year), the film includes interviews with some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world and invites us to look with fresh eyes at the thousands of words we see every day. On the opening night there will be a post-screening discussion with director Gary Hustwit, designer Michael C Place and design writer Rick Poynor, plus a special event in the bar with designers DJing...

A Plexifilm release.

Dir Gary Hustwit, UK 2007, 80 minutes

Helvetica Screening

Where
ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts)
The Mall, London, England

When
6:45pm Sat 1 September, 2007