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Articles: 1, 2

Funny Games
2008-03-27 11:47:00
Michael Haneke certainly likes to provoke polemic around his work. His penultimate film, Hidden (2007), stirred and intrigued audiences. But it also left many of us disputing that unresolved ending, burrowing for exactly what was hidden in that final scene and pondering over what it all meant. Haneke’s latest offering, Funny Games , is an English language remake – and near carbon copy – of his 1997 French thriller of the same name. Every scene has been recreated and even the house where most of the events take place is modelled on the original. If you go into the auditorium knowing nothing about this film, you’ll get a snippet of what’s to come from the heavy metal soundtrack that thumps along to the red-blood credits. As the first scenes unfold, we see a couple and their young son arriving at the family holiday home for their summer vacation. They’re all in good spirits and happily slip into the normal gender: George (Tim Roth) and George junior (Devon Gearhart) roll...

Horton Hears a Who
2008-03-22 20:06:00
The animation in Horton Hears a Who is impressive, right from the opening sequence. The colours of the whole film are vibrant, with impressive water drops and flowers shown in minute detail. The ‘Seussian’ look of the film captures the charm of the original 1950s book, and echoes the unusual swirly look of the two previous Dr. Seuss adaptations, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat. In fact, everything about the film is wonderful, the story is lovely, the dialogue funny and snappy, and the characters well-rounded and likeable. Horton is an elephant living in the forest of Nool. One day, teaching the little ones all about the forest, he hears a faint sound coming from a speck of dust. He knows in his heart that this is something, and he is quite right, as the spec houses an entire universe - Who-ville. Horton tries to speak with the noisy spec, and his voice travels down to the Who-ville Mayor’s drainpipe, where the two realise that Who-ville is in mortal danger unle...

10,000 BC
2008-03-14 17:28:00
10,000 BC is an extremely impressive film visually, Roland Emerich’s imagining of ancient civilisations is a tour de force of CGI wonderment with natural breathtaking vistas. Filmed in New Zealand, South Africa and Namibia, this film would be worth seeing even without the storyline, as it captures the best locations this earth has to offer.  But it gets even better with the woolly mammouths, sabre-tooth tigers and dino-birds, not to mention the dreadlocked, animal-skin-wearing hunters.10,000 BC is a stirring epic, comprising a touching love story and a rousing battle for a tribe’s survival in the face of brutality. D’Leh (Steven Straight) is in love with Evolet (Camilla Belle) from the moment he sees her when they are children. She is adopted by his tribe (Yagahl) as an orphan, the sole survivor when her own tribe is massacred. The Old Yagahl Mother predicts the tribe’s greatest warrior will marry her and save them from their near-starvation existence. Years later, Evol...

Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
2008-03-12 16:07:00
Who? I hear you ask, especially if you are over the age of 20. Miley Cyrus is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus (he of “Achy Breaky Heart” fame) and is the star of the hugely successful Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. Miley plays a Malibu teenager with an alter ego rock star persona, Hannah Montana, alongside her real and on-screen Dad. This is a clever, post modern play on celebrity status versus real life, reminiscent of 80's cartoon Jem.  First came the TV programme, then the mega-profitable CD soundtrack, followed closely by merchandise (video games, clothing) and finally, sell out tours. So now Miley Cyrus has made her first film of her second concert on the road, as herself and her on-screen persona, Hannah Montana. This documentary was specially conceived for 3D filming before rehearsals started, so not only is the film a 3D extravaganza of Miley/Hannah’s show, but also shows the hard work, meticulous planning and the dramas backstage of a sell-out tour of t...
More About: Concert , Worlds

UK Box Office February 29 - March 2
2008-03-04 12:21:00
This weekend, for the first time since September 2007, no film took more than £1 million at the UK box office over the Friday-to-Sunday period. Four films opened in wide release, The Bank Job, Semi-Pro, The Accidental Husband and Untraceable; and none truly set the market alight. Best among them was The Bank Job, which landed at the top spot with £950,000, including Thursday previews of £95,000. The British 1970's set crime caper is based on true events, and features Jason Statham orchestrating a bank heist. Next came Will Ferrell flick Semi-Pro, another picture with a 1970s setting. The basketball comedy took £775,000.The Accidental Husband, a romantic comedy starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (PS I Love You) and Colin Firth, wasn't so far behind, with £704,000. Finally, internet-themed serial-killer thriller Untraceable, starring Diane Lane, managed £550,000. All four films opened with a screen count in the 280-345 range. Among holdovers, declines were a troub...
More About: Office , March , February

The Boss of It All
2008-03-03 18:28:00
Acclaimed director Lars Von Trier has taken a surprising step away from his trademark dramas, such as Dogville and Manderlay, by making his first comedy since The Idiots (1998) and his first Danish language film for 10 years. The Boss of It All wouldn’t be a Trier film if it just delivered brainless laughs. Instead, it mixes acidic humour with measured satire, and makes intelligent observations on corporate relationships and power games. When an IT owner decides to sell his firm, he finds himself in a bit of a pickle. For years he’s been deceiving his staff and blaming unpopular decisions on the ‘real’ company head. So to appease his prospective buyers, who want to negotiate with his boss, he hires an actor to play the part.An Interview with the Director, Lars Von Trier You issued a “Statement of Revitality” earlier this year in which you said you planned to reschedule your professional activities in order to rediscover your original enthusiasm for film. Havin...
More About: The Boss

U2 3D
2008-02-21 11:00:00
A gig you just don’t want to miss!U2 3D is a stunning digital 3D film of U2, live on stage and in true high-energy form, during their Vertigo tour of South America. It was shot at various concerts but you get the feeling that you’re part of one massive event. Even if you’re not a die-hard U2 fan (they sing tracks from across the decades), or don’t aspire to their political and religious beliefs, you can still revel in the adrenaline that pulsates throughout this movie. U23D is not just about watching a series of performances, you actually become part of the show. Once you’ve got over the fact that you can’t stand up, dance and sing along to your favourite tracks – and that reaching out to grab Bono remains a fantasy – you’ll still really enjoy this great visual indulgence that makes you feel ALIVE!The digital 3D effects are so incredible they give you the best seat in the house, let you float above the crowd and put you up close to the edge of the stage so Bono ...

Penelope
2008-02-20 17:30:00
Penelope has all the makings of a modern classic. In fact, it has all the makings of a classic, classic thanks to the addition of heartfelt performances by Christina Ricci and James McAvoy.  Penelope is a fairytale romantic comedy – Beauty and the Beast meets Matilda. The twist is that this time the young woman is the beast. She is born with a snout for a nose from a long-ago curse by a vengeful old hag. The spell can only be broken by true love. Our handsome Prince Charming turns out to be a total cad and card shark, yet inside is a traditional hero with a good heart.Like many great fairy tales it is wonderfully politically incorrect. All her potential suitors jump straight out of the window rather than gaze a moment longer on her piggy features. The most unbelievable aspect of this production is not the snout but the suitors’ reaction to it. She is hardly ugly enough to have them flinging themselves through glass windows to escape the family mansion.  Today, inu...
More About: Penelope

Be Kind Rewind
2008-02-20 16:47:00
Be Kind Rewind is an unusual but charming little film. It stars Jack Black, the god of comedy, and Mos Def, who is infinitely less irritating in this film than in 16 Blocks. Jack Black is great. He does ‘man on the edge who doesn’t give a damn’ wackiness to perfection, seeming simultaneously vulnerable and arrogant. He is so effortlessly funny, I find him a joy to watch in most films, with the exception of The Holiday. Be Kind Rewind , if you are wondering what the title means, is a crumbling video store in a digital age. When the owner, Mr Fletcher, (the adorable Danny Glover) leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge, to check out his competition and spy on the DVD store, disaster strikes. Mike’s friend Jerry (Jack Black) wears colanders on his head as he thinks the local power plant is melting his brain and “controlling us, making us buy things and do things”. Jerry finally snaps and tries to sabotage the plant, only to be left suspended upside down by the electricity. When a...

Oscars Preview
2008-02-20 13:45:00
After an arduous campaign that makes the US Presidential primaries seem like the election of a class milk monitor, the awards season finally climaxes at the Oscars on Sunday. Arguably beginning with the unveiling of No Country For Old Men and The Diving Bell And The Butterfly at last May’s Cannes Film Festival, the awards race kicked into high gear last autumn with the arrival of Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood. Following the Golden Globes, awards from the various US guilds (Screen Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers) and critics groups, and the BAFTAs, the big one has finally arrived. Here are my predictions. Best ActorNothing is ever certain when it comes to American Academy voters, but if they fail to award the prize to Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, it will be a major shock. Some will inevitably find his egomaniac oilman a little rich, but few can argue that this is the performance of the year. George Clooney in Michael Clayton is emerg...
More About: Preview

My Blueberry Nights
2008-02-20 12:30:00
Scriptwriter-turned-director Wong Kai Wai has been making features for almost two decades now and his fan base has grown significantly over that time. It was Chungking Express (1994) that really gave him international exposure and a cult following, but he’s also been popular on the festival circuit and somewhat of a Cannes darling for a good while now, having been nominated for, and won, several awards over the years. I’ve got to say that my first experience of Wai, in the form of In the Mood for Love (2000), was rather bemusing. I couldn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about. It’s not that I hated it, but I waited and waited for a story that didn’t really materialise. That said, the look of the film was absolutely amazing, and I’ve now come to realise that one of Wai’s key strengths is his unique visual style. He also delves into emotive themes that we can all relate to, contrasted with relatively sparse dialogue. However, for his latest project, My Blueber...
More About: Nights

The Bucket List
2008-02-15 16:27:00
It’s hard to believe how much three-times Oscar® winner Jack Nicholson has aged. In my mind, he will forever be the guy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with the edgy sparkle and the cheeky but dangerous glint in his eye. Well, he still has that of course, which makes his pairing with Morgan Freeman, who is a still and calm presence on screen, perfect. The ying to his yang. Not forgetting of course that Freeman played God in Bruce Almighty, and is also an Oscar® winner. Both actors in The Bucket List , incredibly, were born in 1937, and these two septuagenarians are wonderful in this film, having both been struck down by fatal illnesses and forced into sharing a room in hospital. Each is from two very different walks of life, Nicholson is Edward, a philandering, wealthy businessman and Freeman plays Carter, a car mechanic and loving family man. Look out for Freeman's real life son, Alfonso Freeman, playing the part of his son. Immediately wary of one another, they soon...
More About: The Bucket List

UK box office February 8-10
2008-02-13 13:18:00
When Twentieth Century Fox UK set about releasing its teen-pregnancy comedy Juno, it could look to an established pattern of success with its previous crossover indie hits Sideways (2005) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006). Both films took between £3 million and £4 million in the UK. But Fox had its eyes on a bigger prize, believing the film could also perform as a mainstream teen comedy, like Mean Girls (approx £6 million) did. The confidence has proved well-placed. Including paid previews from the previous weekend of £401,000, Juno has opened here with just over £2 million. That compares favorably with Mean Girls’ debut weekend of £1.39 million. Thanks to Oscar nominations, rave reviews and teen appeal, the film was able to score across the demographics, convincingly beating the Working Title romantic comedy Definitely Maybe, which debuted at number six with £698,000. (This picture should get a big boost from Valentine’s Day, however.)But Juno failed to take the box-off...
More About: Office , February

Juno
2008-02-12 13:08:00
If you see the poster for Juno without knowing anything about the film, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s yet another teen movie with jokes that you didn’t even think were funny when you were at school. But hopefully you will have heard some of the talk around this relatively small film that’s been getting lots of attention recently and is pulling in the punters. Juno is an intelligent, spiky and quick-witted 16-year-old who, after deciding to have sex with her school pal Paulie, finds herself up the duff. But being a practical and level-headed kind of girl, she enlists the help of her best friend and finds the perfect adoptive parents for her unborn child; a well-to-do couple living in the suburbs. After breaking the news to her surprisingly supportive parents, meeting the prospective mum and dad and sorting out the legalities, Juno seems to have found the ideal solution to her sticky situation. But then the unexpected happens.Some may say that writer Diablo Cody ...

Interview with Ellen Page (Juno)
2008-02-08 17:11:00
Ellen Page ’s role as a smart and witty teenager in the film Juno is winning her international acclaim and a number of award nominations, including best actress nods for the upcoming BAFTAs and Academy Awards. In a special BAFTA interview with Charles Gant, Page spoke to us about how she got the part and what it was like working on this breakthrough indie hit.Charles Gant Congratulations on your incredible contribution to the movie. I came in to see it again this evening and enjoyed it all the more the second time. As a journalist we often get told that we can take the whole awards thing a little bit more seriously than the actual contenders. But have you found yourself swept up in the excitement today? Ellen Page Yeah, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. As a young actor, it’s an incredible acknowledgement to receive and remarkably humbling to be nominated with women I respect and admire so much. It’s hard to really wrap my head around it to be honest.  ...
More About: Interview , Ellen

Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest
2008-02-08 17:09:00
In Azur and Asmar – The Prince’s Quest , Azur is the blue-eyed, blonde son of a well to do aristocrat in France. Asmar is the dark haired son of Azur’s North African Nanny. The boys are raised together until Azur’s father sends him away to school and dismisses the Nanny and Asmar. When Azur grows up, he sets off to North Africa, inspired by his Nanny’s stories of the beautiful, imprisoned Djinn fairy, who he hopes to free and marry, but Azur finds that his blue eyes are considered evil, and experiences hostility and racism in the land he has always dreamed of visiting. I was struck by the beauty of the film. which bursts with sumptuous colour. The animation is truly reflective of the difference between the cold weather of Western Europe and the warmth of North Africa. It also deals with some fairly heavy themes, like racism, poverty, religious and cultural differences and the pressure of parental expectations. Perhaps the most daring aspect of the film is ref...

Sweeney Todd preview – the Tim Burton season at the BFI Southbank.
2007-12-25 00:32:00
The Cinema of Tim Burton – talk at the BFI given by Mark Salisbury, author of “Burton on Burton.” What’s not to love about Tim Burton films? Not much, according to Mark Salisbury who started writing “Burton on Burton” in 1994 as a homage to Tim Burton films. Well, all of his films barring Planet of the Apes. He sees Burton as a visionary, with a unique visual style, conveyed through the sets and costumes. Salisbury describes how films such as Sleepy Hollow and Ed Wood have an atypical, exquisite look, with Burton’s signature curves, skeletons, and toys. And the oft-used black and white stripes which you see from the desert monster in Beetlejuice to Johnny Depp’s stripy swimming costume in Sweeney Todd . “If you think he’s brave singing,” Salisbury says, “you will find him doubly so in that costume!” Even Lemony Snicket, the only Burton film not directed by Burton, uses this unique visionary style, evident from the set and costume design. Salisb...
More About: Preview , Season

UK box office December Dec 14-16
2007-12-18 16:25:00
Christmas is coming and that can only mean one thing: a near-complete takeover of family flicks at the nation’s cinemas. The Golden Compass held steady at the top of the charts, despite a hefty fall from its debut last week. Below it is Disney’s tongue-in-cheek fairytale Enchanted, with an encouraging start of £2.548 million from 471 screens – a good result, given that it’s not based on a familiar property, and the lead actors are little-known Amy Adams and TV’s Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy). Reviews were strong. Third place is Bee Movie, which debuted with £2.281 million from 435 cinemas – although this includes preview takings of £923,000. Not counting previews, Enchanted scored a significant margin over its rival from DreamWorks Animation. The top five is rounded out with two more family films: Fred Claus, and new entrant Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. The latter got off to a shaky start, with £460,000 from 342 screens. But the Dustin Hoffman magical fab...
More About: Office , December

Enchanted
2007-12-17 12:24:00
Enchanted is a wonderful film, and of all the films out over Christmas, this is the one that I would recommend most. Following hot on the heels of Ratatouille, this is Disney’s next offering, though this is part animated, part live action. Enchanted tells the story of Giselle (Amy Adams), a bona fide Disney princess-in-waiting, who gets transported to a world where "There is no Happily Ever After" just before her wedding, by her mother-in-law--to-be, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), who is reluctant to lose her crown. This is of course, modern day New York. Disney sends up it’s own classic fairy tales of yesteryear (like Snow White and Cinderella), without ruining the sentiment that makes them so enduring. Despite obvious advancements in the world of animation, the colour of the old Disney animated films make them so much more enduring than their live action black and white counterparts. This explains the longevity of the Disney back catalogue, as animation ages a lot...
More About: Enchanted

My Kid Could Paint That
2007-12-14 18:58:00
Don’t dismiss the documentary I’ve just had the opportunity to see two contrasting documentaries, both US-based, but each taking a different approach and raising the question of whether you offer the viewer the chance to make up their own mind or impress your own opinion on them. My Kid Could Paint ThatMy Kid Could Paint That is about a four-year old girl, Marla Olmstead, who loves to paint and whose paintings have been sold for over $300,000 dollars. The documentary presents this remarkably able child without prejudice, taking you along the roller-coaster ride that her family goes through after discovering that she is a prodigy. At first fêted by the international press, Marla and her family are then denounced as fraudsters, and subsequently learn that even the director is revealing his own doubts during the course of the film.  Despite these reservations, the story is presented honestly without bias to either party, and absorbs the viewer in its unfolding. We are then...

Bee Movie
2007-12-14 12:25:00
This isn’t Ratatouille, by any stretch of the imagination, and as a Brit, the Seinfeld-like humour of the main character was a little lost on me. However, Bee Movie is still very funny. Honey is produced by Honex Industries, where all bees go to work after school, each having their own role in its production, including those responsible for colour correction – something that’s not so far from the truth in reality. Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) wants to be a Pollen Jock, one of the brave, strapping bees that risks life and wing to collect the pollen in the outside world. When Benson manages to wrangle a place on this elite squad, he finds himself stuck on a tennis ball and unwittingly transported into the home of Vanessa the Florist (Renée Zellweger), who saves his life when her boorish admirer tries to squash him. Becoming more and more a part of the world outside of the hive, Barry is outraged to discover that humans have the cheek to steal their honey, and s...
More About: Bee Movie

UK box office December Dec 7-9
2007-12-12 13:19:00
Since summer ended there’s been a paucity of major blockbusters at the UK box office, with only Ratatouille exceeding the £20 million benchmark. Now, with Christmas coming, the big guns are arriving again, beginning with The Golden Compass. The expensive fantasy adaptation opened with £7.244 million, including Wednesday and Thursday previews of £1.548 million. The UK proved the best territory for the $185 million-budget film, apart from the US, where it opened on $25.8 million. But given the disparity in populations and currency values, the British result is actually much better than the American one. Indeed, the US gross has already been branded a significant disappointment by industry commentators. Four weeks ago Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture animation Beowulf opened at 454 cinemas, of which around 50 showed the film in 3D. Thanks to reviews encouraging cinema-goers to catch the film in the 3D version, screen averages at the 3D sites have consistently out-performed the o...
More About: Office , December

UK Box Office October 26-28
2007-10-29 19:21:00
Box office takings have been running behind 2006 levels throughout the month of October , so big smiles all round as the half-term holiday filled up the nation’s cinemas once again. Ratatouille jumped 17% from the previous weekend, and has now taken a solid £17.3 million after 17 days – more than Pixar’s last film Cars managed here in total. Similarly, Stardust increased 18% from its opening, and has taken £6.9 million in 11 days. Ratatouille will have to reach £30 million here to match its best result outside the US, which occurred in France. The UK is already the top non-US market for Stardust, thanks to the British setting, the particular local fame of British cast members such as Ricky Gervais, and the impact of the film’s tie-in song, Take That’s Rule The World. This weekend’s highest new entry is Saw IV, which took £2.483 million from nearly 400 screens. This result is only marginally behind the £2.522 million UK opening of Saw III exactly a y...
More About: Office

Sicko
2007-10-26 11:08:00
We all know about the terrible plight of the 50 million or so Americans that don’t have health insurance, and this economically disadvantaged group would make a worthy topic for a film in its own right. But this is not the subject of master polemicist Michael Moore’s latest documentary, which examines the US health service. Directly addressing the concerns of “ordinary” Americans, Moore shows how those that do have health insurance also suffer, how the profit motive of the providers inevitably causes them to deny treatment whenever the small print allows them legally to do so. And there’s a lot of small print. By turns funny, incredible, heartbreaking, Moore uses every populist trick in the book to engage us in the stories of everyday folk getting a raw deal from a corporate system that demonises the spectre of “socialised medicine” to retain a grip on health care – never mind that the US provides education, policing, fire fighting and many other services through ...
More About: Sicko

UK box office October 19-21
2007-10-24 14:18:00
Stardust, the romantic fantasy adventure from director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), didn’t exactly set the box office alight in the US earlier this year, possibly because backers Paramount couldn’t successfully communicate who the audience was for its grown-up fairytale. But no such problems plagued the UK release, with an impressive £2.245 million opening, including Thursday previews of £271,000. A British setting, the local fame of screenwriter Jane Goldman (aka Mrs. Jonathan Ross), and a raft of familiar British faces in the cast – all of these helped the film in Vaughn’s home country. It’s safe to assume that an even bigger factor was the concurrent release of Take That’s 'Rule The World', which is used in Stardust and is getting huge airplay. The band performed the song on ITV1’s National Movie Awards a few weeks ago, and it is currently number 2 in the unofficial “midweek” singles chart. Stardust’s impressive opening couldn’t dislodg...
More About: Office , October

Stardust
2007-10-18 17:07:00
Fantasy is my all-time favourite film genre so when I heard about Stardust , I was excited, as I am about the forthcoming The Dark is Rising and The Golden Compass. When the film began, lots of thoughts came to me – will it parallel the greats like Labyrinth or Dark Crystal? Or will it bitterly disappoint like Eragon? Well, despite being slow to start, Stardust most certainly does not disappoint. The costumes are sumptuous, the storyline satisfying and the film is a feast of colour and special effects. Tristan (Charlie Cox) is desperately in love with Victoria (Sienna Miller) – the prettiest girl in his village, but his love is unrequited. So in order to win her heart, he goes on a quest to a mystical land, which borders the walls of his village, to retrieve a fallen star. En route, he finds that there are threats from all sides as others are seeking the star too, including an evil witch (Michelle Pfeiffer), three royal sons and the spirits of their four dead brothers.Flyi...

Once
2007-10-18 11:48:00
Once is a lovely, rambling, dream of a film about dealing with the emotional fall out from break-ups, and those unexpected friendships that you stumble across which enable you to achieve what you really want out of life. Glen Hansard plays an unnamed, broken-hearted, Irish busker living in fair Dublin. His girlfriend has left him, and to supplement his busking, he helps his father mend broken vacuum cleaners. Then an unnamed Czech girl (played by Markéta Irglová) who sells the Big Issue befriends him and they go on to make beautiful music together. The start of the film – which opens with a drug addict whisking off with the busker’s earnings and his guitar case, and results in a chase through the streets of the city – is a blinder of a comedy scene. That’s the beauty of Once; it gets a hold of your emotions and takes you from genius funny moments like this to the difficult emotional lows that the characters experience.The lead actors in the film are unknowns (Ha...

Tough Enough
2007-09-13 12:20:00
Set in a poor, hostile neighbourhood in Berlin and filmed without gloss, Tough Enough presents life in real terms; the people, the situation and the tension all feel very real.15-year-old Michael Polischka (David Kross), the protagonist, is trying to learn how to survive in this mixed up, racially tense, struggling society that he’s been thrown into. Kicked out of his mother’s boyfriend’s house, living with her in a rough neighbourhood and faced with a string of her loser-lovers, Michael’s been dealt a raw deal. He’s also grappling with the angst of teenage life, with fitting in at school and with the gang of “happy slappers” who keep picking on him.David Kross – making his feature film debut – is brilliant in his honesty of expression and movement. Director Detlev Buck, an actor himself, has been careful not to over-direct the film but rather lets the actors play out the sequence of events. Tough Enough moves at a good pace balancing this with moments of much appr...

Withnail and I
2007-09-05 12:42:00
Withnail is a drunken, ranting, self-deluded waster with phenomenal charm. Grant’s indelible, outrageous, elegantly wasted performance – in his first major role – is brilliant, particularly from a teetotaller who only got drunk once, at the urging of Robinson, to experience it. McGann’s wide-eyed, innocent I  (“How DARE you tell him I’m a toilet trader!”) is a bundle of anxieties but the comparatively sensible one whose opportunity to move on signals the universal, if delayed, coming of age. The muddy Penrith sojourn  – “We’ve gone on holiday by mistake”, Withnail whimpers to a hostile local – presents a gamut of  trying moments which include turning a live chicken into dinner, a randy bull, a psychotic poacher, a scare in the night, the sexual harrassment of I by Monty, and the famous tea room incident in which Withnail demands “We want the finest wines available to humanity. We want them here, and we want them now!” Robinson doesn’t w...
More About: Nail

UK box office August 31 – September 2
2007-09-04 15:40:00
As the summer movie season transitions into autumn, cinemas are drawing breath. The season of prestige awards contenders kicks off on Friday (September 7) with Atonement, but in the meantime mainstream horror picture 1408 hoped to pick up some cash now that the big blockbusters are out of the way. The strategy worked reasonably well, with the scary John Cusack picture banking £1.07 million on its opening weekend. That number put it in third place, behind The Bourne Ultimatum and Knocked Up, which both enjoyed relatively modest declines from the previous weekend of 22% and 10% respectively. With £17.74 million in the bank, the new Jason Bourne film has already taken £6 million more than The Bourne Supremacy did three years ago. The film will easily crack £20 million, and may even reach double Supremacy’s £11.5 million total haul. Romantic dramedy No Reservations, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, fared less well, opening on £513,000, half the amount of 1408, despite a big ad ...
More About: Office , August