January 2011

Out Now – 28th January 2011

Happy Friday! No big exciting releases this week, though there are a couple of Oscar nominated films and plenty of crap.

Barney’s Version
Paul Giamatti plays a slightly dishevelled womaniser in what is bound to be a funny, well acted comedy that borders on being slightly offensive.

Biutiful
“Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who’s sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.” Which a much praised performance by Bardem this deep feature will be the foreign film that crosses over to the mainstream this year.

Hereafter
Eastwood is back with a drama about three seperate people touched by death. Don’t let the awful posters put you off as it might be quite good.

How Do You Know
While Rudd is currently finding success and acclaim at Sundance he hasn’t forgotten that shitty romantic comedies pay the bills. Woman has mid-life crisis and ends up in a love triangle, the funniest shape of all.

The Mechanic
Jason Statham is an elite hit man teaching his trade to an apprentice, I love it when government training schemes work out. From the synopsis I’m guessing Statham previously killed a relative of the apprentice and revenge will be sought.

Tangled
At last, Rapunzel retold for the modern age! Don’t expect too much and you might have a forgettably good time.

Accursed Blood (limited release)
A horror about kids trying to film a ghost in a hotel. Naturally things go wrong… I have nothing more, this film is hard to Google and it seems to have been straight to DVD in the US four years ago.

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster? (limited release)
Showing at the ICA with Foster himself this documentary follows this architect’s rise and desire to… architect.

Men on the Bridge (limited release)
“The stories of three men working at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul are told by the original characters, in this mosaic depicting real persons exposing their lives and aspirations.” It’s Turkish! I think.

The Lover’s Guide 3D (limited release)
What!? I see no reason why you wouldn’t go to the cinema for sex tips, told in a sensible manner and shown in 3D. Remember, if it’s out of focus don’t try to focus on it, no matter how sexy it might be. You’ll only get a headache and have no sex at all.

Zebra Crossing (limited release)
Apparently this film, “blends a diverse mixture of characters that all share one thing in common: The incredible loneliness of living alongside 7 million other people. Blending the surreal, and very real, we take an intense journey in search of friendship, belief and religion.” Mmmm, blending.

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Nominations – The Hits and Misses

Before we had chance to have a proper look at the BAFTA nominations, the Oscars announced their own nominees leaving us in danger of overdoing it with the nomination coverage. In a two for one special let’s take this film by film and see where the two big ceremonies have put most of their nominations. We’ll look at each ceremony nearer the time. Read more »

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More Proof 3D Sucks

It has been a while since we had a proper rant, James Cameron must have been keeping his head down, but the old 3D debate rages on and we have a new big hitter on our side. Walter Murch, film editor and sound designer extraordinaire, has written a letter to Roger Ebert, film critic… extraordinaire, to explain why 3D just doesn’t work.

It has a lot to do with the way our eyes focus and how a 3D film is all the same distance from our face, making our eyes focus at a different distance to which they converge… I’ll let Murch explain: Read more »

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2 for 1 Karting from Drive Angry

Fancy a 2 for 1 voucher for F1-K Indoor Karting courtesy of Drive Angry? All you need to do is go to www.driveangryoffer.co.uk and enter the inspired promotional code “drive”.

This is a film about a man who has broken out of hell and presumably drives like a maniac but I suggest you don’t actually drive angry. It will only end in tears and the friend you take with you won’t appreciate being forced off the track. It’s also worth pointing out that you probably won’t get to hang around with Amber Heard, but we can dream. Read more »

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Boardwalk Empire – TV Review

Boardwalk Empire

Last Tuesday Mild Concern talked its way into the VIP seating at Sky Atlantic’s preview screening of Boardwalk Empire, HBO’s new Golden Globe-winning drama set during the Prohibition era. It turns out it wasn’t that hard and we almost had the entire row to ourselves, goody bags and all. But this isn’t about VIP sections and getting free stuff, this is about reviewing a new TV show so that we can get into VIP sections and get free stuff.

To show we’re taking this seriously what follows is a two-person review; for once there is an actual “we” involved. Spoilers for the first two episodes ahead.

Read more »

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