Did a film decide who won Time Magazine's Person of the Year?

I know a few people took punts with betting agencies on who would win Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Most of them were expecting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to win the, I guess esteemed, prize. This may be because, after threatening to leak the world's secrets and air its dirty laundry for months but not that loudly, he did it, but only late this year. So, people react to recent news and forget older news, it seems. Still, the Chilean Miners saga was not forgotten and they were also in the running for Time's prize, with bookmakers.

But why was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg being punted? What did he achieve this year that he did not last year or the year before. Facebook has been exploding for a while. Does it really matter if he had increased Facebook's members by about 100-million accounts this year?

I know Time will argue it can make a case for him winning but I believe it is because the founding of his company was documented in the book The Facebook Effect, published this year. Another book, the Accidental Billionaires, was published not to long before it but the film based upon it surely brought the multi-billion dollar company into prominence.

David Fincher-directed The Social Network has garnered commercial and critical praise especially for its creation of the Zuckerberg character, played by Jesse Eisenberg, someone the audience is made to admire but maybe hate.

It is quickly becoming a favourite with awarders so expect it to get more awards than its subject, Mr Zuckerberg.

Alistair Anderson

Special News

Wow

Filmmakers seem to be doing a bit of a Julian Assange- that is getting arrested.

The BBC has reported that Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to six years in prison, according to his lawyer.

Farideh Gheirat said Mr Panahi had been convicted of working against the Iranian system, Isna news agency said.

He had also been banned from making films, writing scripts and traveling overseas.

Meanwhile Iranian film-maker, Mohammad Rasulov, also received a six-year sentence on similar charges.

The BBC wrote:

"

Mr Panahi has been sentenced to six years in jail on a charge of (participating) in a gathering and carrying out propaganda against the system," said Ms Gheirat.

"He has also been banned from making films, writing any kind of scripts, travelling abroad and talking to local and foreign media for 20 years."

She described the sentence as "heavy" and said her client would be appealing.

According to a statement released in Italy in November, Mr Panahi had gone on trial in Iran accused of making a film without permission and inciting opposition protests after the disputed 2009 presidential election that led to months of political turmoil.

In his statement to the court, Mr Panahi said he was a victim of injustice and called one of the charges against him "a joke", Reuters news agency reported.

Alistair Anderson

See the original article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12045248

News/Opinion - Golden Globes Special

So the Golden Globe nominations have been made. These awards are probably the second biggest awards, at least according to the movie world's viewing public. I am actually very happy to see some of my favourite actors and their work on it. But it does have some problems - the new Coen brothers film, True Grit was trumped by The Tourist, a film many people are calling a dud.

Here is the complete list of the Movie nominees with select commentary from myself

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Black Swan -

I've been raving with excitement about this film for months. Darren Aronofsky who made a film about Mathematics and paranoia (Pi), a film about timeless love (The Fountain) and one about family love (The Wrestler). In fact, all his films have strong character relationships and Black Swan, which is about ballet dancers, should be no different. It has Vincent Cassel too - who I feel is underused.

The Fighter -

Mark Wahlberg starts hitting people again - I cannot complain. Also, having Christian Bale as a trainer, instead of the fighter, is refreshing. We know he's chiselled and can act but let's see him in a supporting role.


Inception -

A beautiful film with very clever scenes. It is also great news that a science fiction film is up for the Best Picture award. Would The Matrix have won best film when it came out in 1999?


The King's Speech -

The Brits know how to document their history, well most of it.

The Social Network -

Slick. This is a really slick film about one of the most dynamic platforms for communication in the 21st century.

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Alice in Wonderland -

I found this weak. It is a film that is easy on the eye but its plot is disappointing.

Burlesque -

Just an excuse to see Cher again?

The Kids Are All Right


Red -

It's an above average action movie.

The Tourist -

Early reviews have been bad. Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie have little chemistry. It is released in January next year.

Best Director - Motion Picture

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David Fincher - The Social Network
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan - Inception
David O. Russell - The Fighter

This category may be the tightest. Christopher Nolan should probably win for his originality, however.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter

James Franco may be the favourite but Ryan Gosling is great in an understated role. What is really interesting is that many of these actors are quite young.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Halle Berry - Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Halle Berry may have been in her first decent film since 2003's Monster's Ball, for which she won an Academy Award.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp - The Tourist
Paul Giamatti - Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal - Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey - Casino Jack

This is an odd bunch of actors' performances. Will Johnny Depp win for his shoddy work just because he didn't win for his great films before the above-mentioned two?

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Anne Hathaway - Love and Other Drugs
Julianne Moore - The Kids Are All Right
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone - Easy A
Angelina Jolie - The Tourist

It smells like Hathaway to me.

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Christian Bale - The Fighter
Michael Douglas - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield - The Social Network
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

Maybe Renner will take the gong after missing out on prizes for The Hurt Locker last year.

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Mila Kunis - Black Swan
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

Amy Adams' time to shine?

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

127 Hours
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Inception

The Social Network is sharply written.

Best Animated Feature Film

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Tangled

It would be criminal not to award it to Toy Story 3.

Best Foreign Language Film

Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
In a Better World

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Bound to You - Burlesque
Coming Home - Country Strong
I See the Light - Tangled
There's a Place for Us - Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me - Burlesque

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Alexandre Desplot - The King's Speech
Danny Elfman - Alice in Wonderland
A.R. Rahmin - 127 Hours
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - The Social Network
Hans Zimmer - Inception

Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA.

It's a bumper edition today.

Terminator I and II, Aliens and Avatar director James Cameron is working on a film with the dance art group Cirque du Soleil, according to ABC News. They want to create "an art form beyond the imagination." I guess that is what Avatar was and what Cameron wants to achieve whenever he does some work.

Interestingly, this would not be the first time that the innovative circus-performing troupe had been presented on the big screen.

Apparently, a cousin to the famous Canadian performing act, Le Reve, a show that is produced on the Las Vegas stage at the Wynn Hotel and Casino, was in Killer's singer, Brandon Flowers' music video for “Only the Young" this past year.

Obviously, Cameron's film will be in 3D.


It has happened. You can now watch films at home on the same day that they are released at cinemas. In the US, you can now pay $500 to see films like Little Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Fockers.

Of course, there is always the additional one-time fee of $20 000 that Prima Cinema, the California-based company that has announced this new, obscenely expensive super-premium on-demand home video service is demanding to set up the viewing channel for you.

Website PopWatch said Hollywood has been waiting for a decade to create a platform where movies could be released simultaneously at cinemas and on DVD.

Time Warner Cable charges about $7 to see indie flicks like I’m Still Here while they’re still playing at local art house theatres.

Still, $20 000 is a tad insane.

Thor has a poster!

Total Film has reported that Marvel has just a released a poster for the film about the thunder god. The film is based on one of Marvel's oldest comic book series.
I like the fact that it looks a bit darker than the first Superman and reboot, for example.

Total Film writes:

Thor follows the titular God, an arrogant warlord who’s tried his father Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) patience too many times. Banished to Earth, Thor must learn how to live among humans – which isn’t as bad as all that after he meets gorgeous scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

This poster is courtesy of Total Film.



Encore Magazine has reported that the New Zealand comedy Two Little Boys, starring Hamish Blake and Flight of the Conchords‘ Bret McKenzie, will begin in Southland in January.

I am a huge Conchords fan and hope that any film with Bret McKenzie in it will make it to SA.

The film called Two Little Boys will be directed by Robert Sarkies and Vicky Pope with Tim White as producers. It is based on a novel by Duncan Sarkies and is about Nige (McKenzie) and his best mate Deano (Blake) who struggle with their imploding long-term friendship. It has been placed under strain by an incident involving a hot meat pie, a ginger cat and the untimely death of a Scandinavian soccer star.

Alistair Anderson

New Trailer: Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Who are the most evil Christmas movie characters?

Oogie Boogie picture courtesy of unprofessionalfoul.com

Christmas movies tend to be very poor. There only is one It's A Wonderful Life, it seems, and many, Christmas With The Kranks. Still, one thing that runs through many of these holiday movies is the nasty "I don't like goodwill" villain.

It's difficult to rank levels of evil, let alone grumpiness so here's a rogues' gallery in no particular order.

Scrooged - Frank Cross

This modern Dickensian bad boy is Bill Murray at his meanest. Frank Cross is a selfish network TV executive who bah humbugs his way through Christmas Eve, cancelling everyone's bonus and firing a low-level employee. He even gives his fmaily bad gifts.

Here's a noticeably nasty quote: "Grace, what in the hell is this? (Oh, it's a painting, one of my kids did. See, there's Santa Claus and there's Mrs Claus.) Honey, how many fingers does Mrs Santa Claus have here? (Eleven.) Eleven. Right. It's crap. Lose it. I don't want it on the wall."

Home Alone 1 and 2 - Harry

Joe Pesci played this burglar and even though we are supposed to laugh at his mishaps, I found him rather creepy. Also, he has a habit of disturbing McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, at Christmas time. The McCallister character returned
in the straight to video Home Alone 4 but Joe Pesci was smart enough not to embarrass his career in that pointless film. It was set at Christmas and it did star Third Rock From The Sun's French Stewart, who I actually liked.

Gremlins - Stripe

He's a really disgusting creature and really flipping mean - the cackling, oh the cackling!

Woodland Critters - Woodland Critter Christmas South Park episode (TV)

I know they aren't from a film but they are pure evil. They look cute but they murder animals and then rape their bodies.

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Oogie Boogie

He's ugly. He's picking on a skeleton. He's a big mass of an excuse for a living being. I command you to spit at him incessantly.

Alistair Anderson

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Director: David Yates. Screenplay: Steve Kloves. Producers: David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Cinematographer: Eduardo Serra. Editor: Mark Day. Studio: Warner Bros. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Running Time: 146 Minutes.



First and foremost let me be clear: I have not read any of the Harry Potter novels. As far as books go, fantasy, wizardry and anything to do with magic is not exactly my cup of tea and so the chances of me reading a Harry Potter novel are slimmer than Hermione's waistline. With that said, I have more often than not enjoyed the films and so I was expecting more of the same entertaining but not quite mentally stimulating fun from this film. Sadly that was not to be.

This second last instalment in the Potter film series follows Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley as they set out on a dangerous quest to find the rest of the Horcruxes they need to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort before he becomes too powerful to be stopped. With the help of some of their friends, old and new, they embark on a journey that tests their courage and the strength of their friendship in extraordinary circumstances. What ensues is an epic adventure in the same heroes-on-a-journey style as The Lord Of The Rings although on a less grand scale with our heroes traversing the length and breadth of their fantasy world to save it from the clutches of Voldemort's evil empire. As with every other Harry Potter film, this one is beautifully shot and has it's moments of cinematic magic that will leave you in awe, be it the top-notch visual effects or the chemistry between the leading actors who have now been together for over a decade. There is indeed one particular scene between Harry and Hermione which is not in the novels but was added to the movie by the screenwriter Steve Kloves and is now my favourite scene in the entire series. Although it is a fairly brief scene, it adds just that extra bit of emotional weight to the film that pulls you in even more to care about the characters and what they are going through than you initially did. It's a bit like poetry in motion picture. On the negative side, the overwhelming problem I had was that the movie drags on much longer than it should and there is more than one moment in the film where I was sitting waiting for something (anything!) to happen. Naturally this is bound to be the case when the final Harry Potter book is split into two movies just to squeeze another billion dollars or so in extra box office takings. The end result is what could've been a great movie ends up being an ok film thanks to some bean counter at Warner Brothers studios. 

Summary: A sometimes entertaining if long-winded curtain raiser of a film that will please Harry Potter fans but leave most muggles wondering what the fuss is about. At least we can rest assured that part 2 can only be better.
Rating: 54/100

District 9 Follow-Up!

Word is that SA director Neill Blomkamp who wowed the world with District 9, which was nominated for Academy Awards last year, has started work on his next film.

Audiences will get to see if he can make another enjoyable sci-fi film it seems.

A source close to his project told Entertainment Weekly that District 9 star Sharlto Copley, who was Murdoch in last summer’s A-Team, would join the ensemble cast of Elysium.

The film would be another political, socially-conscious sci-fi movie, Entertainment Weekly said.
It also said the film would be set on Earth, like District 9 was, and not on another planet.

Read the original EW article at http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/12/06/neill-blomkamp-sharlto-copley-elysium/




Picture taken from www.scifiscoop.com - http://www.scifiscoop.com/news/district-9s-agent-wikus-shows-us-his-bfg/

Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. Check the news headlines after the jump.

New Trailer - Red Riding Hood

Something about a film about a fairytale told in an adult way makes me feel rather uneasy...



Even if it was directed by Twilight's director, this may just be really exhilarating.

Alistair Anderson

Film Review: Open Season 3

Director: Cody Cameron
Producer:Kirk Bodyfelt
Screenplay: David I. Stern
Starring Matthew J. Munn, Matthew W. Taylor, Melissa Sturm
Studio: Sony Pictures Animation
Score: Jeff Cardoni



It's rather unusual that an American film is released in South Africa before it is released in the US, especially if the US release is straight to DVD.

Either way, they should have stopped the series after Open Season 2. I wonder why this franchise had to be milked like this. I suppose the producers did not think that children would be able to tell they were watching an enjoyable original film be ruined.

The film just feels boring and unfunny. The story is predictable and the whole experience appears to be devoid of creativity or originality; the very thing that sequels need.

And I don't believe that I was wrong to expect more form it. Aladdin was a groundbreaking Disney Classic that was followed up by decent sequels. But Open Season was a decent animated film that has been followed up by a pointless waste of resources.

So, if you didn't even notice that this film was made, I apologise for bringing its evil into your life. I suggest you avoid this movie.

43/100

Alistair Anderson

Stormy trailer this way comes

I wish this film came out when I was studying the play during high school. I read the play but it would have been nice to see it realised visually.

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare most interesting plays because of its freakish characters like Prospero the sorcerer and Caliban the deranged hermit.



Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. Check the news headlines after the jump.

Congrats Russia (2)

Here's another Russian treat -

Brestskaya Krepost is sitting at number 11 in Russian box office takings.

From imdb, slightly edited:

The film shows the heroic defence of the Brest Fortress, which was taken over by Nazis on June 22 1941. The film describes the events of the first days of the defence. Story describes the events of the first days of defense. It features three main resistance zones, headed by the regiment commander, Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov, the commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin and the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov.

Many years later the veteran Alexander Akimov again and again recalls the memories of the time, when he, then a 15 year old Sasha Akimov (Sasha is a shortening of Alexander) was deeply in love with a beautiful girl called Anya and suddenly found himself in the middle of the bloody events of war.

Do svidaniya!

Alistair Anderson

Congrats Russia! (1)

So Russia will host the 2018 World Cup. We hope that all the fans can get around the massive country easily. In any case, congratulations go to all our Russian readers.

We also congratulate Qatar. And in the interests of all things World Cup and Russia, we're gonna post a list of films coming out in the country that viewers may want to get their hands on via some kind of mailing service. We may do one about Qatar but, the film industry there is rather unknown to the rest of the world.

To start with, check out Kray:



Alistair Anderson

Every time I watch a John C Reilly movie, I think I'm watching Dewey Cox

I watched Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant last night. It's a poor film despite it having Salma Hayek and John C Reilly in it. It tries to be imaginative with a circus and weird creatures and so forth but it just does not really come together. Still, what maybe made it harder for me to endure, was that one of my favourites actors was in it - John C Reilly.

But why did he make things uncomfortable? He's an exceptionally talented actor. He was one of the best things about Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He works really hard and deserves to be seen. Yet, I was turned off. Why? Well, hard is the clue word.

Ever since he was in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, he has cemented that character in my head. He was brilliant in the film; a parody of Johnny Cash's life. I have seen the film 15 times, which may be why sometimes Dewey talks to me in my head. But, more than that, I fear he may have reached his comedic peak with Walk Hard. It's not that Cirque du Freak is a comedy but John has become a comedic actor in my brain and I cannot seem to get away from that. I hope Walk Hard was a standard for him and not the best he could ever do and something that he could never do again. I suppose he nearly replicated the brilliance in Step Brothers. I know he did serious in Cyrus but I have not seen that film yet.

Ultimately the question I pose is, can one role essentially be too good for an actor, meaning the rest of their career is a letdown in comparison?

Macaulay Culkin - perhaps? His performances were decent in Home Alone I and II but he's been eclipsed by his relations, Kieran and Rory.

I'm encouraging the commentators to come up with a few more.

Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. Check the news headlines after the jump.



News is pumping throughout Hollywood again.

The Dark Horizons website said on Wednesday that filmmaker Christopher Nolan had decided not to give any creative input into a new Superman film, so that he could focus on The Dark Knight Rises, his third Batman film.


Nolan's wife and producing partner Emma Thomas said Nolan is so single minded when making a picture it's hard to get him to work on anything else. So now with Zac Snyder on board as director on the "Superman" reboot, Thomas says "we are handing it off to him".

Nolan and David Goyer had an idea they couldn't believe was not being explored by Warner Brothers so "they brought it to an appropriate screenplay and it's now Snyder's picture," Thomas said.

Hans Zimmer told NBC that he would score the Superman reboot. genius Zimmer's recent works include "Inception," "Sherlock Holmes," "Gladiator" and both of Nolan's "Batman" movies, Dark Horizons said.

In other news independent film darling, Noah Baumbach who directed the commercial flop but cult loved Greenberg with Ben Stiller and the clever Fantastic Mr. Fox has said he's nearly ready with his cast for his next project "While We’re Young", reports Vulture.

Ben Stiller will work with Baumbach again. He will be joined by the growing in popularity James Franco and offers are out to Greta Gerwig and Cate Blanchett for the female leads. Maybe Stiller and Franco are on their way to Oscar glory. Franco who starred in such cluster turds as Tristan and Isolde and Flyboys. Although he was stellar in James Dean. Ben Stiller needs no introduction.

"The story follows a free-spirited Brooklynite twenty-something couple who inspires an uptight documentarian and his wife to loosen up — with comedic consequences," Vulture says.

And here's today's humdinger - I know I've been punting Black Swan ad nauseam but it looks very fresh. And here's some "fresh" news which you canm take any which way you like:

Film-news.co.uk writes:

"The film – about two ballerinas battling it out for the lead role in ‘Swan Lake’ – contains a particularly graphic scene in which Natalie’s character Nina is caught by her mother pleasuring herself, and she admits it was one of the most uncomfortable things she has ever had to film.

She told MTV News about shooting the scene, describing it as “so disgusting.”

Of her discomfort, she added: “It was akin to the experience of watching the movie with my parents sitting next to me, let me tell you!”

The movie also contains a scene where Natalie’s character Nina and her rival Lily – played by Mila Kunis – have a lesbian romp, which Mila has revealed she asked her father not to watch when they attended a screening together.

She said: “He was like, 'I don't think I should see the movie. I was like, 'See the movie. There's going to be a point; get up and leave.'

I don't think any dad should see. It's just not necessary."

But Natalie is adamant the sex scenes are not most shocking aspect of the film – which was directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Instead, she claims the ‘finger scene’ - where Nina pulls at a loose piece of skin on her finger, causing it to bleed profusely – is the most difficult to watch.

She added: “The finger moment is pretty … well it makes my blood curdle.”

And that ends today's news bulletin. Be sure to look out for tomorrow's soon.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. Check the news headlines after the jump.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all

The Hollywood microsm of fantasy does not stop.

Here are some news bits for you to enjoy.

It's refreshing to see that a film with few recognisable stars in it, at least to the masses, winning an award. The LA Times reported earlier yesterday that Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone," a drama about a teenager living in Missouri's Orzak mountains who puts her life in danger in a hunt for her meth-maker father, was named best film of 2010 at the 20th-anniversary Gotham Film Awards on Monday evening in New York.

It is worth noting that last year's Gotham winner, "The Hurt Locker," won the Oscar for best film, director and screeenplay this year.

The film also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January, which means it has sustained praise over a year. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Lauren Sweetser, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt and Devin Breznahan, actors whom we aim to keep an eye on in future.

The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You honors was awarded to Mike Ott's "Little Rock."

Davis Guggenheim's documentary "Waiting for Superman" garnered the Festival Genius Audience award, which was voted on by filmgoers online.

Career tributes were given to Oscar-winners Robert Duvall and Hilary Swank and director Darren Aronofsky and Focus Features Chief Executive James Shamus. Darren Aronofsky seems to get onto our blog often; we know.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers.

The Australian newspaper the Herald Sun reported today that Australian moviemakers were being encouraged to do business with China's filmmakers.

Western film-makers have usually struggled to get Chinese government approval to make co-productions with Chinese companies.

However a new alliance between Australian and Chinese screen producers would foster better filmmaking relations between the two countries.

The Screen Producers Association of Australia and China Screen alliance has been created to assit producers with getting through Chinese bureaucratic systems.

It will also provide services such as translators to help put producers directly in contact with one another.

A film producer from South Australia has already gained approval for a co-production with a Chinese film company.

Mario Andreacchio, who recently finished his children's feature The Last Dragon, said Chinese film makers were keen to work with Australian counterparts, the Herlad Sun said.

"In Xi'an alone they have over 300 film production companies," he told the newspaper.

The Screen Producers Association of Australia has said film production is booming in the fast growing economy of China, with 2010 box office takings expected to exceed US$1.5 billion," the paper said.

"That is expected to get to $4.5 billion in the next 5 years," SPAA executive director Geoff Brown told the Herald Sun.

Hollywood says goodbye to two legends

It is difficult to have a truly brilliant artist leave you but to have two of them do so on the same day is very demanding.

Comic legend Leslie Nielsen passed away on Sunday of complications from pneumonia in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 84. He will be remembered for his roles in the Airplane! and Naked Gun series, even if he actually began his career in the 1950s starring in serious films such as The Poseidon Adventure.

"Airplane!" released thirty years ago created by the team of Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker. It garnered Mr Nielsen the nickname of "The Olivier of spoofs".

Mr Nielsen played an incompetent doctor on a plane wrought with disaster. One of the most famous scenes from the film had him asking a fellow passenger to fly the plane because the pilots had fallen ill.

"Surely you can't be serious," the passenger responded.

"I am serious," the doctor said. "And don't call me Shirley."

After that, Leslie Nielsen worked with the Zucker brothers as the loss-kop detective Frank Drebin on the 1982 television show The Police Squad! The show became a cult favourite even though it was cancelled in its first season. Mr Nielsen took Drebin to the film stage, and had great success doing it. He starred in The Naked Gun (1988), Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult(1994).

He also starred in Wrongfully Accused and Dracula, Dead and Loving It. They were critically panned but that may be because he could just never top the Naked Gun.

It was then sad to hear that director Irvin Kershner passed away earlier today.
He is probably most famous for having directed Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. It has been lauded as the best Star Wars film of the series. It had exceptional special effects, impressive acting and strong scenes between the characters. This is the film that has the line of "Luke, I am your father," in it after all.

He died at the age of 87 his home in Paris after suffering from a long illness, his goddaughter Adriana Santini confirmed to the Associated Foreign Press today.

He also directed Sean Connery in the popular 1983 James Bond film, Never Say Never Again, which saw Sean Connery return to the lead role, after he had said he would "never" play bond again. Science-fiction fan boys will also remember his direction of Robocop II. It may not have been as good as the original but it was definitely miles better than the third one.

He got his start in Hollywood under the auspices of Roger Corman. He also made Stakeout On Dope Street which studied youth trying to trade drugs the John Carpenter written thriller, Eyes Of Laura Mars, and the drama Raid On Entebbe.

Later in his career, he famously said in an interview with Vanity Fair that he lamented that he should have directed one of the Star Wars prequels. Many Star Wars fans who were disappointed by the prequels may have appreciated that.

Born in Philadelphia in 1923, he trained as a musician and photographer before becoming a documentary and then fictional filmmaker.

Alistair Anderson

Film Review: Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Directed by: Jan Kounen
Produced by: Chris Colzli, Claudie Ossard, Veronika Zonabend
Written by: Carlo de Boutiny, Jan Kounen
Based on Chris Greenhlagh’s Coco and Igor.
Starrring: Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen
Music by: Gabriel Yared.



It is difficult to watch the opening scene of Jan Kounen’s Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky without wondering whether our society has not digressed somewhat into an epoch of cultural banality, vulgarity and simplicity. A concert hall is filling up with an expectant audience that has come to see a ballet written by the bizarre, some might say revolutionary, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. A choreographer is coaching a dancer on how to elicit the agony of the character she portrays. The troop manager is imploring him to calm down. The composer kisses his wife who wishes him luck. He wonders from the back stage enclosure to the viewing area. He takes his seat.

The conductor tells his orchestra to forget rhythm and play to the melody; to forget the German and Russian masters: Wagner and Tchaikovsky; to forget everything they know. He assumes the mantle from where he will direct the musical score written for the ballet, as Stravinsky and Coco Chanel, unaware of each other’s presence in the hall, watch on. The music, which is nothing short of epic, shocks the crowed immediately, and the dancing is tolerated even less. The crowed are stirred into a frenzy of insults, jeers and violent attacks at the Russian touring company. Amidst the mounting chaos Stravinsky visibly shaken and dismayed leaves his seat. Chanel keeps watching calmly and with deep interest. Eventually they become lovers in a complex and emotionally loaded affair.

In a scene worthy of serious study, the director transports the viewer to a time that he or she has virtually no knowledge of, unless the viewer knows something of life in Paris circa 1913. Our culture’s quick consumption of small chunks of information, it’s dependence on constant stimulation, it’s thirst for variety and de-familiarization, leaves it lacking in the face of a society that would in time lay the foundations of life in the present. The genius of both Stravinsky and Chanel would in time come to influence Western music and World fashion to such an extent that it is hard to imagine our lives without their influence.

But, since I have rather critically remarked on our society’s descent into a world-wide cultural wasteland, one is left to wonder whether the lives of Stravinsky and Chanel aren’t part of the problem? This is a question the reader will have to answer for themselves. Nevertheless, through tracing the influence of these genius lovers we are bound to discover a slow erosion of creative integrity and noble genius. I leave it to the reader/viewer to decide whether life as it is, is not an embarrassment, for it is plain to see that in times past society functioned and thrived on high art, and not the quick satisfaction of multiple needs and desires, which something like Twilight and Iron Man serves solely to do. Kounen’s Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky is a film biopic that requires multiple viewings to appreciate the cultural density of a love story that is both remarkable and timely.

77/100

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happens usually in the US where all the "film-people" live.

Here are two of the bigger news items floating along the film seas.

The production problems on the Transformers 3 set do not seem to be subsiding.
Megan Fox, the film's human and not robotic eye-candy was kicked of the film and now Total Film has reported that the film is struggling to integrate 3D technology into the film.

However, director Michael Bay has attacked the rumours with a rather aggressive blog post.

“I read these morons on the internet who think they are in the know. ‘We have have problems with our 3D????’ Really?” he wrote.

“Come into my edit room and I will show you beautiful 3D. There has never been a live action show that has pushed the boundaries of 3D like Transformers 3. We shot the entire movie with 3D cameras. I actually loved shooting in 3D.”

Mr Bay promised to make all the critics eat lots of humble pie when the trailer for Transformers: Dark Side Of The Moon debuted at showings of Tron: Legacy and Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader later this year.

In other Total Film news, comedy acting legend Leslie Nielsen passed away this morning.

The Canadian actor died at 84 after suffering from pneumonia.
He had spent the past 12 days at the Ft. Lauderdale Hospital.

"With his friends and his wife, Barbaree, by his side, he fell asleep and passed away," Doug Nielsen, his nephew said.

Nielsen is famous for his roles in spoofs. He starred in Airplane! and Dracula Dead annd Loving It as well as Wrongfully Accused. His most beloved role may have been as detective Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun movies. And to think in the 1950s he was a serious actor, garnering praise for his role in The Poseidon Adventure.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. Today is one of those relatively slow days on the news front so all I've got for you is Jeremy Renner confirming that he will be Tom Cruise's replacement for future Mission: Impossible movies, Emma Stone (Zombieland) talking about her role in the Spiderman reboot and Mark Wahlberg announcing that he will star as Nathan Drake in a film adaptation of the best-selling video game Drake's Uncharted. See the details on these stories after the jump.

Jonah Hex Is The Turd Of 2010

Yahoo! Movies has released a list of some of the biggest garbage to get splattered upon our cinema screens in 2010 so far.

Jonah Hex tops the list in which films like Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland have earned more than $1bn each in ticket sales.

Jonah Hex was based on a graphic novel and starred W and No Country for Old Men actor Josh Brolin, as a really ugly bounty hunter with a face that supposed to look mean, and Transformers' Megan Fox as a tough prostitute. It sounded like a good idea at the time, I'm sure - an ugly guy with a hot woman from a movie about giant robots teaming up - but it was not one, apparently.

It scored a pathetic 13 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes and is sitting on 33 on Metacritic's scale. The film earned back only 24% of its estimated production budget of $47 million at the box office.

Empire's James White wrote - "Isn't one "Wild Wild West" enough? Okay, so Jonah Hex didn't come with the same expectations, but it's still an object lesson in how not to adapt a comic book. A crushing disappointment."

Mr Brolin at least gets to save face in True Grit but Megan Fox, who is not in Transformers 3, may be looking for work. I still think Transformers 1 was just OK and nothing more and that two was quite poor. How they can scrounge around enough for a third one, makes me wonder.

Second behind Jonah Hex was Extraordinary Measures. This was one of the first releases from the new feature film wing of CBS news. The excrement starred Harrison Ford as a doctor trying to help Brendan Fraser's sick children.

The film earned only $15m on an estimated $31m budget.

The Miami Herald's Rene Rodriguez wrote: "Everything about this excruciatingly dull, talky film screams made-for-network-TV: The I'm-only-here-for-a-paycheck performances by famous actors; the Crate and Barrel catalog mise-en-scene; the syrupy, heartwarming score that lays the pathos on so thickly you gag on it."

In third place was Repo Men, starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.

"The futuristic thriller from troubled Universal Pictures was made for only an estimated $32 million, but it failed to perform at the box office, earning only $18 million, or 56% of its budget. Luckily for Law his previous film, Sherlock Holmes, was the highest grossing of his career," Yahoo! Movies's Dorothy Pomerantz wrote.

I'd like to know what colossal turds you think Hollywood, or Nollywood or Jollywood -if it exists- left on your screen this year.



Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. In today's news headlines Toy Story 3 starts officially campaigning for a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Adrien Brody blocks a film that he stars in from being released and Gore Verbinski is set to direct The Lone Ranger. Details on these stories after the jump.

New Trailer: Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky's next film to hit SA is Black Swan. Fresh from making probably his most actor and least concept driven film, The Wrestler, the director is trying to do both.

Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina in a New York City ballet company. She is first choice to replace the prima ballerina Beth, played by Winona Ryder but then a new ballerina comes along, Lily who is played by Mila Kunis of That 70s Show fame.

The Swan Lake performance they are competing to be in, however, needs a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, with guile and sensuality. Nina is more White Swan than Black Swan and this becomes a challenge for her.

Having been a fan of Aronofsky's work since his film, Pi, I am really excited to see what he does with such an art form as ballet. Natalie Portman was one of my favourite actresses too, albeit years ago and I really enjoyed watching Ms Kunis as Jackie in That 70s Show. Still, I want to see their acting ability shine through beyond their pretty faces.

Black Swan releases next year.

Box Office Report: Liefling sings and dances its way to the top

South African Box Office numbers for last weekend are out and Liefling has made a solid debut at number one with R 1 923 899. Check out the full chart and analysis after the jump.

Memorable lines from films

While in the bathroom today, a line from a film came into my head.

"In the army, we wash our hands. In the marines, we don't piss on our hands," the line read in my head.

It turned out that I had the line completely incorrect. I could not remember the film it was from either but I knew that, inside, it meant something. It actually comes from the 1998 smart thriller, "The Negotiator".

Chris Sabian, played by Kevin Spacey is trying to get Danny Roman, played by Samuel L Jackson, to release hostages.

Roman says, while on the phone to Sabian: "Omah, A marine and a sailor are in the bathroom taking a piss. The marine goes to leave without washing up. The sailor says 'In the navy they teach us too wash our hands'. The marine turns to him and says (Omah joins in) 'In marines, they teach us not to piss on our hands'. Then, there is a gunshot.

Instead of worrying about having the incorrect quote in my head, I remembered why I had a quote from the film living in my mind at all. The Negotiator was a very enjoyable, well-crafted film. The chemistry between the two leads, Jackson and Spacey, was impressive - and I have seen the film about 15 times. It is probably on TV so often because other people rate it as if not more highly.

So I decided to look search through my brain for other interesting dialogue memories.

Here's what I came up with:
Filmsite.org helped to fill in the blanks in my memory.


The Matrix - Tank, a skilled programmer, to Neo, on the breakfast they are eating: "Dozer makes it. It's good for two things, degreasing engines and killing brain ... So you're here to save the world. What do you say to something like that? ..."

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
GoodFellas (1990)

"Hail to the king, baby."
Army of Darkness (1992)

"Ssssmmokin'!"

AND

"Somebody stop me!"
The Mask (1994)

"Mr Freeze, the heat is on" - Batman and Robin (1997)

Jules - "Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
Pulp Fiction (1994)

"Good morning...Oh, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"
The Truman Show (1998)

"Vanity is definitely my favorite sin."
Devil's Advocate (1997)

"Some people say it's forgive and forget. Nah, I don't know. I say forget about forgivin' and just accept - and get the hell outta town."
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

"What we do in life echoes in eternity."
Gladiator (2000)

"Are you not entertained! Are you not entertained! Is this not why you are here!"
Gladiator (2000)

"I - drink - your - milkshake! (slurping sounds) I drink it up!"
There Will Be Blood (2007)

"Want to know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker and a fiend. And one night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not one bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me, and he says: 'Why so serious?' He comes at me with the knife - 'Why so serious?!' He sticks the blade in my mouth. 'Let's put a smile on that face!' And why so serious?"
The Dark Knight (2008)

Alistair Anderson

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. In today's headlines, Jaden Smith will star in M. Night Shyamalan's next movie, Darren Aronofsky gives us more details on The Wolverine, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is set to get the reboot treatment and Liefling tops the local box office. As always, check out the full details on these stories after the jump.

Film Review: Jackass 3D

Director: Jeff Tremaine. Producers: Johnny Knoxville et al. Cinematographer: Dimitry Elyashkevich. Editors: Seth Casriel, Matt Kosinski and Matt Probst. Studio: Paramount. Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Steve-O, Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, Preston Lacy, Chris Pontius, Ehren McGhehey and Dave England. Running Time: 94 Minutes.



Judging by GAD's review of Battle For Terra, I doubt he had a particularly enjoyable start to his professional film reviewing career. Unfortunately, neither have I. As a matter of fact I feel compelled to send an invoice of my ticket to Johnny Knoxville and his posse not so politely asking them for my money back.

The premise of this film is very simple: for approximately one and a half hours of your life that you will never get back, you have to watch a group of adult men (if you can call them that) go through stunt after stunt of what can only be described as toilet porn. In this movie, like most 90s sitcoms with canned laughter, there's a lot of laughing happening but none of it comes from you the viewer. In fact it is quite ironic that a couple of times during the movie some of the toilet-pornstars themselves were throwing up in disgust at their own colleague's antics. Surely at this point they should have realised that maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't show those disgusting scenes to audiences if they themselves couldn't handle watching them. But clearly sanity didn't prevail and this film was the end result. I could go on forever but I fear I'll run out of adjectives for it.

Summary: A crude, vulgar and unfunny abomination of a movie with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Unless of course you have a fetish for fart bubbles and faecal volcanoes...

Rating: 29/100

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is your daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep over here in SA with the Monday bulletin including any major news that occurred over the weekend. In today's news headline's Leonardo Di Caprio is set to star in a new JFK conspiracy movie, Howard Shore will compose the score for the two Hobbit films and The Dark Knight Rises will start production in May 2011. Details on these and more after the jump.

New Trailer: Source Code

After his critically acclaimed debut Moon, British Director Duncan Jones is back with a new film called Source Code. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Film Review: Red

Director: Robert Schwentke. Screenplay: Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber. Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian. Cinematographer: Florian Ballhaus. Score: Christophe Beck. Editor: Thom Noble. Studio: Summit. Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren,Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox. Running Time: 111 Minutes.



Red is the second film this year that tries to milk classic action film actors for our entertainment. The first film was Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables, so maybe it is fitting that one of his Planet Hollywood partners leads this picture.

Based on a three issue comic book mini-series published across 2003 and 2004, Red tells the story of retired CIA operative Frank Moses, played by Bruce Willis, who began the Planet Hollywood restaurants in 1991. Frank becomes the target of an apparently South African hit squad. What ensues is Mr Moses meeting old colleagues who have also become embroiled in plots, the details of which I will not divulge here.

The acting is acceptable but not impressive. Mr Willis shone in Sin City - which was also based upon a graphic novel, as did most of the other actors in that film but, this time, he's "just Bruce". In fact, Malkovich, Mirren and the other superstars are all basically themselves; which works but makes the film less memorable. The action scenes are rather good, however, even if the script is under par because it is sprinkled with cracks. Still, it was always going to be better than The Expendables , since that film really struggling with making its plot anything more than that of a B-grade 1980s action fest.

Summary: Red is worth-watching if you feel like seeing its cast in another film and working with one another. However, individually, they have been in much better films.

Rating: 61/100

Alistair Anderson

Film Review: Guzaarish

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Screenplay: Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bhavani Iyer. Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ronnie Screwvala. Cinematorgrapher: Sudeep Chatterjee. Score: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Editor: Hemal Kothari. Studio: UTV Motion Pictures. Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapur, Monikangana Dutta, Rajit Kapoor and Shernaz Patel. Running Time: 135 Minutes.



The reader will please excuse me for what is an abrupt and curt review of Guzaarish. A Bollywood movie with no real distinction from others. At least this is how it appeared to my ignorant perspective. There was singing, dancing, mediocre acting, some characteristic Indian nod/shake head-bobbing and actors with disturbingly light bleached skin. Bollywood movies conform to their own conventions that my Western inculcate mind cannot wrap itself around. The singing and dancing while doubtlessly impressive always appear to be random, over-the-top and disconnected from the main thrust of the story being told. This odd juxtaposition has always hindered me from seeing these movies for what they are: cultural artefacts that are as complex and profound as most Western films, if not more so. A billion people cannot be wrong, but this singular reviewer cannot identify.

The one really alluring aspect of Guzaarish is the landscape of Southern India. The story is set in Goa, a former Portuguese colony founded along the Western coastline of tropical India. A picturesque setting that offers much by way of visual and sensual pleasure. Aishwaria Rai is a resplendent as ever and offers the viewer the strongest dramatic performance is what is a excessively dramatic tale. But then again aren’t all Bollywood movies? Or is my ignorance being revealed in an incandescent bloom that the Bollywood regular will spot from a mile away?

Unfortunately the drama is lost on me. In the same way that a Bollywood marathon undertaken with an ex-girlfriend of mine in the humble setting of Tongaat on the Northern Natal Coast was lost. I would urge all Indian fellas out there, who can stomach all the grandiose dramaturgy of Hindi movies, to take your Wife, you Girlfriend, your Mom, your Sister, or your Niece to see Guzaarish as they will most certainly love the romanticism on display. And I would advise either some ice-cream, a slice of chocolate cake or a good curry afterwards, as comfort eating will be required afterward.

Rating : 60/100

Daniel Day-Lewis to star as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln

The headline is pretty self explanatory. Here's the official press release courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures:

Los Angeles – Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg.  The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.
“Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln,” said Steven Spielberg.  "Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material," added Stacey Snider, "which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln."
Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner.  It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.
It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.
Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time, the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II.  Kushner's prize was for his play Angels in America, which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special.  He had previously worked with Spielberg on Munich for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.
Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.

When a film has Daniel Day-Lewis, easily one of the best actors on the planet, as it's lead and Steven Spielberg as it's director it is bound to attract Oscar buzz as soon as it is announced. Add that to the fact it will be released in the fourth quarter of 2012, which is when most Academy Award hopefuls are released and you can tell that this will be an elephant in the Oscar nominations room. Stick with us for more news and analysis on this film as it comes.

Film Review: Battle For Terra

Director: Aristomenis Tsirbas. Screenplay: Evan Spiliotopoulos. Producers: Ryan Colucci and Keith Calder. Cinematographer: Aristomenis Tsirbas. Abel Korzeniowski. Editor: J. Kathleen Gibson. Studio: Lionsgate. Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson and Justin Long




A major problem with 3D animated movies is that they tend to privilege the medium over the message, form over content, and 3D technology over good movie making. This is true for most of the 3D movies that I have been released this year, but for a certain select few which includes Up, Avatar, and Legend of the Guardians. The last may appear rather ill chosen as the first two movies are certainly classics in their time. The reason for its selection lies in the fact that Legend of the Guardians is based on a rather famous children’s book and for this reason has more substance, structure and cohesion than movies like Despicable Me, Alpha Omega and so on.

Battle For Terra not surprisingly lacks the content required to turn a good animated production into a memorable tale. In fact, the themes of this movie are very much the same as those we saw earlier this year in Avatar. Humans wandering through space have come upon an alien planet, which they decide to exploit, ergo they need the planet’s resources, which are being protected and preserved by a native indigenous population of what from the human perspective is an alien species. A human being through a series of not so unfortunate events lands himself in the daily life of the native species of the planet Terra. He comes to admire their way of life and develops a close bond with a particular feminine member of the natives. It sounds familiar doesn't it? Eventually there is a Battle as the title suggests but, praise be to the script writing gods, there is an original ending to what is a very unoriginal movie.

Adults will probably end up bored to death, while their young will enjoy it! So Moms and Dads take your kids to see Battle For Terra, but don’t switch off your Blackberries as you may finally have the time to catch up on some deferred emailing.

Rating: 40/100

Weekend TV Top 10

This is the first in what will be a series of regular Friday afternoon columns where we highlight the best films to watch on TV during the weekend beginning on Friday evening till Sunday. See what those films are after the jump.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is a daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep here in SA. In today's news we report on the search for the new Superman, Darren Aronofsky's dealings with Fox and the official entries for the Best Documentary Oscar. More details after the jump.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is your daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep over here in SA. In today's headlines, Tribeca Film has acquired the US distribution rights to the Bang Bang Club, Tom Hardy is rumoured to play the villainous Dr. Strange in The Dark Knight Rises and news on yet another alien invasion movie. Details after the jump.

New Trailer: Cowboys and Aliens

The first teaser trailer has just been released for Iron Man director John Favreau's Cowboys and Aliens. While I like the concept of a Western with cowboys taking on intergalactic baddies, I'm tired of Harrison Ford and I'd rather see Daniel Craig in another Bond film.

It's based on a graphic novel, which may make it quite imaginative. Maybe it will rejuvenate Mr Ford's career? Remember, he made Hollywood Homicide and other schlock like K19: The Widowmaker. But maybe Olivia Wilde of the OC and House fame will bring something interesting to the film. Also Brian Grazer and Steven Spielberg were involved in the producing which might be a good thing. Still, this may be the closest thing we get to a film of the fantasy Western that was Bravestar.

New Trailers: Green Lantern and Your Highness

Two new blazing hot trailers for Green Lantern and Your Highness came out in the last couple of hours so without further ado, lets have a look at both after the jump.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is your daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep over here in SA.

Today its all quiet on the western front and there isn't much in the way of major news headlines. I only have a couple of short snippets which you can have a look at after the jump.

New Trailer: Cars 2

In today's Morning News Bulletin I showed you a new image from Cars 2 as well the official plot synopsis and a teaser trailer. A couple of  hours ago Disney/Pixar released the first trailer for the film and I've gotten my hands on it so take a look and let me know what you think.



I obviously can't really tell from one full trailer whether this will be a great movie or not but this looks pretty good to me. The trailer is quite funny in certain parts and I'm certainly keen on seeing how the whole secret agent plot plays out. In case you are a bit sceptical about the whole sequel thing do keep in mind that this is from the master filmmakers at Pixar who so far seem to know how to do to sequels so this won't be like the Shrek series that got progressively worse with each subsequent film. Cars 2 will be in cinemas next year.

Moustaches in film

In the spirit of Movember, over the last few weeks, I have been studying moustaches and their place in society.
Film is a way through which we entertain ourselves but also a reflection of how we; society behaves. So, it should come as no surprise that moustaches have played a very important role in film.

Before I go further - some of you may not know what Movember actually is. Born in Australia, it is a campaign dedicated to grow moustaches for cancer charities - most specifically testicular cancer ones. Thus, blokes are growing tashes all month. While some people think they look like paedophiles, I think they look like ubermensches. Although, I'm growing a moustache myself.

So here is a list of mo bros from film:

Charles Bronson
Robert Redford
Brad Pitt
George Clooney
The cast of Anchorman - The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Clint Eastwood
Lee Marvin

I could go on.

Expect more Movember-related posts soon

Alistair Anderson

How do we determine good movies from bad?

There is an undeniable correlation between the level of one's exposure to various filmic modes, genres and categories of experience and one's ability to decide very quickly whether or not one will enjoy a particular movie. If one were asked in the process of watching what makes the movie good or bad, the difficulty of articulating the criteria according to which the movie is judged will become accentuated. Mostly, we (the viewers) know that certain genres, categories and movements within film appeal to us, and that others do not.

I, for one, struggle with science fiction and fantasy and but take rather easily to foreign language films. The reason is not that I consider sci-fi to be for computer geeks, and fantasy for juveniles or children. The problems that I experience with these genres lie within.

The bounds that are transcended by sci-fi and fantasy filmmakers, which are imposed in the first instance by a governing prejudice of what is real and what is not, reveal a level of creativity that I cannot seem to acquire and assimilate. Perhaps if I were to force myself to watch Blade Runner (again), Battlestar Gallactica, Star Wars, Star Trek and all the seminal sci-fi works I would, with time, be able to judge at an instant what constitutes good sci-fi and what would be bad?

Is the need to determine the good from the bad a problem within itself? I think not. We simply need, desire and thirst for good movies. This is an imperative we demand of those who seek to entertain us. With such little time in life people generally do not like wasting it unnecessarily. This is one of the reasons we go out of our way to avoid Banks, Home-Affairs Offices, and Police Stations. We simply do not like waiting in unpleasant locations without good reason. We tolerate bad movies even less.

I walked out of my first movie a couple of months ago after years of buying tickets and waiting patiently through-out for the end credits. And I owe this "first" to the opening moments of Resident Evil 3. I walked out and decided to go banking...

Box Office Report: Unstoppable crashes into 1st place while Despicable Me moves down to 3rd after 7 weeks on the charts

The final South African box office numbers for the last weekend are out and, to be honest, there are no real shocks or surprises here. See the full top 10 list after the jump.

Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is your daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep over here in SA.

Today's news include the official final list of films to be considered for nomination for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, our first look at Cars 2 and Cowboys and Aliens and a deleted scene that will be included in the upcoming Avatar Extended Edition DVD and Blu-Ray sets. See more details after the jump.

Cue the elevator music

Most people say elevator music is annoying but they're probably lying. It actually adds to the lift experience. Don't believe me? How else are you going to get over the awkwardness of being stuck in a lift? Yes, lifts do get awkward - check out the movie Devil when it finally hits SA and you will understand.

Its tag-line reads: Bad things happen for a reason.

Basically, a group of people trapped in an elevator realise that the devil is among them.

Unfortunately, it is co-written by M Night Shyamalan. I have noticed a trend where his next film is worse than the last, so you may be better off stuck in a lift for a week, than watching Devil.

Music adds to an experience. It adds to life. So when a film is made, it is used to add some magic quality to the overall experience. Yet, people often tend to overlook it when they watch films in favour of visual aspects often related to special effects.

But let's give scores and soundtracks some credit. Gladiator was awesome partly because of Hans Zimmer's score. Garden State and Juno were memorable for many people because of their awesome soundtracks. For about a year after its release, CD stores could not order Juno because there were such severe stock shortages.

Getting back to scores, there are reasons why Oscars are awarded to composers. Their work can make or kill a film. Surely, Walt Disney films of the 1990s were so special partly because of how brilliant they were musically?

So, maybe in future when looking for a film to watch, check who did the score, not just who was in it. Your ears deserve some entertainment too. In fact, why not watch Gladiator or the Lion King, with a blindfold on?

In the meantime, I am going to look for some examples of films that had rubbish scores.

Alistair Anderson

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 sneak preview screenings

Unless you're a Chilean miner and have been living under a rock for slightly longer than you planned to, you should be aware by now that there is a new Harry Potter movie coming to theatres next week. Based on the last book in the series which has been split into two parts for its cinematic adaptation, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 is opening next Wednesday and Friday at NuMetro and Ster-Kinekor theatres respectively. Both cinema chains are planning special preview screenings this Friday night at 8pm at all of their venues that will be showing the movie when it is released officially next week. Here's a sneak peak of what to expect:



If you want to see this before your friends do then head over to either the SterKinekor or the  NuMetro website and book your tickets now before they sell out!

Morning News Bullettin

Good morning all.

The Morning News Bulletin is your daily roundup of film news that happened over the last couple of hours while we were fast asleep over here in SA with the Monday bulletin including any major news that occurred over the weekend.

The last weekend has seen quite a few interesting things happening in the world of film both locally and in Hollywood including the Spud premiere at MonteCasino in Johannesburg, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart getting steamy at the filming of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in Brazil and my favourite US President of all time, Bill Clinton, (sorry Barack) making a surprise cameo appearance in the sequel to one of the funniest movies of 2009. Details on these stories and more can be found after the jump.

Opening Credits

Greetings everyone!

I'm not one for speeches, written or otherwise, so I will keep this very brief. This is a blog for film lovers of all shapes, sizes and varieties. Whether you're into art house thrillers or romantic comedies, this site is for you. It doesn't matter if you go to the cinema 5 or 50 times a year, if you've ever watched a movie in your life, this blog is for you. The aim is to keep you entertained and informed with news, reviews, and previews of films that are playing on TV and on the big screen in South Africa.

If you have any questions, comments, compliments and/or (constructive) criticism, please feel free to share your thoughts with the team via the comments section or via email which is screenforum@gmail.com.

We look forward to you joining us on this exciting journey into the world of film.

Lunga Gxumisa