January 2012

The Archives

  • 01.31.12
    Live webchat with The Avengers tonight! Blog Exclusives, Trade News | Comments Off
    Comic geeks of the world, unite! The Avengers are assembling - to save the world, obviously, but also for a live webchat, happening tonight! It’s been confirmed that director of S.H.I.E.L.D Nick Fury - also known as Samuel L. Jackson, donncha know - will be joining Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg and Joss Whedon in a global fan chat this evening to talk about the highly-anticipated The Avengers movie, coming out here on April 27! Assemble at 7pm - you can get involved and follow all the action here on the UK & Ireland facebook Page here.
  • 01.24.12
    The Oscar nominations are in…& they’re a joke. Blog Exclusives, Lists, Trade News | (1)
    So main Oscar nominations have been announced, & can we all just take this chance to say...what a load of BOLLOCKS. Not only did Michael Fassbender or Carey Mulligan get no nominations for Shame, Nicolas Winding Refn's incredible Drive - named practically everywhere as Film of the Year - only got one nomination. For bloody sound editing. I don't know what the hell they were thinking, but take solace in the fact that that's the only nomination Fight Club got back in the day too, so hopefully Drive will enjoy the enduring cult classic status of that film - though ...
  • 01.13.12
    Margin Call: Wall Street Jr. Reviews, Trailers, Twitter | Comments Off
    MARGIN CALL Directed by J.C. Chandor. Starring Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, Penn Badgley. 106 mins. Rating: Four/Five In cinemas January 13 SUPERB CHARACTER-DRIVEN BOARDROOM THRILLER IS THE WALL STREET MOVIE OF A GENERATION Ladies and gentlemen, please gather your pitchforks and form a disorderly mob outside – the sophisticated, stylish boardroom thriller Margin Call is the best Wall Street movie in years - and it’s going to make you very angry. A taut, tense, character-driven fictionalization of the collapse of the Lehman Brothers, J.C. Chandor’s stunning debut is what Inside Job would have been if ...
  • 01.13.12
    Shame: Shame & sex but not a priest in sight… Reviews, Trailers, Twitter | Comments Off
    SHAME Directed by Steve McQueen. Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan. 99 mins. Rating: Four/Five In cinemas January 13 FASSBENDER IS REMARKABLE IN RAW AND HARROWING DEPICTION OF SEXUAL ADDICTION Trust Steve McQueen, the King of Uncomfortable, to transform the punchline that is sex addiction – more commonly known as “what rich people call cheating”, or “Russell’s Brand’s specialist Mastermind topic” - into a one of the most fascinating, intense and harrowing addiction tales ever committed to film. Neither a rounded exploration nor cathartic explanation, the largely plot-free Shame isn’t really even a character study, more a deeply unnerving snapshot of a person whose addiction ...
  • 01.10.12
    IFTA nominations announced Blog Exclusives, Lists, Trade News | Comments Off
    So the IFTA nominations are out, with plenty of appearances from those lucky actors & filmmakers who appear on our Ones To Watch in 2012 list, which you can see in the next issue. Among them, Terry McMahon & Antonia Campbell-Hughes got noms but I imagine The Guard, Drive & Shame are going to sweep the boards at the awards, which will be held on February 11 & hosted by Simon Delany. Fun, vaguely-creepy fact: I once auditioned for Seacht, the Irish drama that's nominated for a Special Irish Language Award. The role was for a kind of rock chick rebel ...
  • 01.07.12
    The Artist: Cynics and naysayers, prepare to be silenced Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    THE ARTIST Directed by Michael Hazanavicus. Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell. 100 mins. Rating: Five/Five In cinemas now DELIGHTFUL, JOYFUL AND INFECTIOUS, THE ARTIST CELEBRATES THE SOUND OF SILENCE In a world where we Tweet, text and tell every irrelevant, random thought, it took a silent film to remind us of the unadulterated joy to be found in music, body language and shutting the hell up. As the charming, egotistic silent star of the times, George Valentine (Jean Dujardin, superb) oozes a charisma that’s a blend of Cary Grant and George Clooney, with the nimble toes of Fred Astaire. But when ...
  • 01.07.12
    Goon: Pucking hell, who knew Seann William Scott could act? Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    GOON Directed by Michael Dowse. Starring Seann William Scott, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber. 92 mins Rating: Four/Five In cinemas now SEAN WILLIAM SCOTT SCORES BIG IN THIS FUNNY, FOUL-MOUTHED AND FEEL-GOOD ICE-HOCKEY FLICK In a month where Streep ticks all the Oscar boxes embodying Thatcher and Michael Fassbender’s raw, naked performance in Shame may earn him two nominations – Best Actor and Best Boy Grip - who would have thought that January’s most surprising performance would come from American Pie’s Stifler? In a subtle, irresistible performance, Seann William Scott plays Doug, a good-hearted and dim-witted Forrest Gump character who doesn’t like fighting – but just ...