January Movie News and Reviews

Wow it's been a busy month! I've been rushed off my feet with screeners, screenings and even the Flight premiere to attend. I've been continuing my writing for Filmoria with many opportunities being thrown my way. My policy is to say 'yes' to anything I get offered in the hope that my enthusiasm and diligence will allow me a better shot at getting the opportunities that I REALLY REALLY want when they come up!

This means any time a PR company send over an offer of a screener, I try to ensure if no one else wants it, that I take it. This month I've had a few TV shows which isn't really my specialty but I've given reviewing them my best shot. The UNIT ONE TV series DVD boxset has Mads Mikkelsen and was a clear influence on The Killing (which I've just started watching after receiving the series one for Christmas) and JACK IRISH Bad Debts and Black Tide are two Australian TV movies starring Guy Pearce and were also pretty good.

I also got the opportunity of writing my first book review. After spending most of the Christmas period racing through the GANGSTER SQUAD book, I think I fairly successfully reviewed it ahead of the film's release (which I have yet to see but keep reading unfortunately middling reviews of).

The DVD and Blu-ray releases I reviewed were THE SWEENEY Blu-ray and DJANGO PREPARE A COFFIN DVD release. It's always interesting to watch a re-release of an old film particularly if there is a reason for a PR company trying to make a buck out of it. Django Prepare a Coffin is rated highly by Tarantino so I got to see where he was taking perhaps a little inspiration from for his latest.

Finally I got to review FLIGHT starring Denzel Washington, as well as chatting to him on the red carpet of the film's London premiere and I also reviewed CHAINED and MAY I KILL U? These last two I saw last year but were only being released this month.

I also reviewed I Give it a Year for Static Mass Emporium here.

Below are all the news stories I covered in January for Filmoria:

Entourage Movie Green Lit

The Sweeney Publicity Stunt

Before Midnight New Stills

New Warm Bodies Poster

Gremlins Reboot Rumours

A Good Day to Die Hard R rated

The Last Exorcism Part 2 Poster

If all that isn't enough, I also wrote a Tarantino retrospective so was kept busy re-watching his old films. I'm also re-watching The Dark Knight Trilogy in preparation for an article for Media Magazine on how conservative the films actually are. I also re-watched The Shawshank Redemption and American History X in preparation for an upcoming article to be published in Splice Cinema Journal.

I also reviewed The Hobbit, The Impossible, Les Miserables and Wreck-It Ralph right here on this blog.

Other films that I watched but didn't review are Videodrome, The Amazing Spiderman, The Angels' Share, Red Tails and How I spent My Summer Vacation.

I have reviews in the pipeline for: The Bay, Rebellion, Lisa and the Devil, No and Black Sunday.

I think The Impossible is my favourite film of the month and May I Kill U? is without a doubt my least favourite.

What was the best film you watched this month?

Most anticipated 2013 Movies (Jan-March)

2013 is looking like it will get off to a sound start judging by what I've been reading about upcoming releases in the first quarter of the year. John McClane returns in the fifth of the Die Hard franchise, a guy called John Dies at the End of his movie, Danny Boyle gets back to making films after fussing over Frankenstein and the Olympics, Leatherface saws up screens in 3D and the fourth deadliest natural disaster of the last century gets a cinematic rendering.

I originally intended to do a post on the films of 2013 that I'm most looking forward to but found so many to excite me just in the first three months that I thought it best to stop there. No doubt the summer will have its blockbusters including Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z and Man of Steel and December will bring another round of hobbit adventures but for now here's my top 10 films to look out for in the first three months of 2013.

10. Side by Side
 

A documentary that will finally help me to get the differences and the pros and cons of shooting on film or digital. Produced by Keanu Reeves, it takes an in-depth look at the digital revolution in filmmaking. 'Through interviews with directors, cinematographers, film students, producers, technologists, editors, and exhibitors, SIDE BY SIDE examines all aspects of filmmaking — from capture to edit, visual effects to color correction, distribution to archive.'

9. Texas Chainsaw 3D

I shouldn't get too excited. It's not going to be better than the original. While I enjoyed the remake, I don't remember a thing about the prequel that followed it. The trailer looks trashy as hell with sexy looking model-types getting semi-undressed and all that crap but I can't help hoping that the return of Leatherface and his trusty tool will get me buzzing with excitement once again. Yikes that sounds dirty.

8. Trance

Danny Boyle directs a fantastic cast including I Love That Film favourite Vincent Cassel. Say no more.

7. Compliance

Sounds disturbing and intriguing: 'When a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, no-one is left unharmed. Based on true events.'

6. John Dies at the End

It's got Paul Giamatti and it sounds mental. 'A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return as no longer human.'

5. The Bay

Found footage gets a kick in the ass by Barry Levinson in this sick looking shocker. 'Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.'

4. Gangster Squad

I'm currently reading the book and it promises to be a great gangster flick. Love the look of the cast and director Ruben Fleischer showed real promise with Zombieland. 'A chronicle of the LAPD's fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s.'

3. Django Unchained

I thought this was going to be released in 2012 and with an even better cast than it has now. Unfortunately lots of great cast members dropped out and the film is now set for a January release but early reviews have been great and I'm still very excited to see what could be one of Tarantino's last films if his retirement goes ahead as planned.

2. The Impossible

I'm a sucker for a real life tragedy, as sick as that sounds. Titanic and United 93 reduce me to a tearful wreck every time and I know The Impossible will do the same. While I'm gutted the filmmakers have decided to focus on just one family and then change them from Spanish to English for some reason, it still looks epic, tragic, and ultimately uplifting. However there were over 200,000 lives lost in the Boxing Day tsunami and a film about the local people affected must be made in the future and I hope the producers of this film give a lot of money to the people who are still struggling with the consequences of the disaster.

1.  A Good Day to Die Hard

I love John McClane. The original Die Hard trilogy are some of my favourite all time action films, particularly the first one. I thought Die Hard 4 was a major misstep but I can't help but hope that this will see McClane back on form cracking wise and cracking skulls.

There's my list of January to March UK releases. What are you most looking forward to in 2013?

Fascinating Faces: Looper, Lawless and Gangster Squad

I've seen some fascinating faces in trailers over the last few weeks.  Three stars many of us know and love, still recognizable but undeniably transformed.  I am stunned by these faces and already itching to see more of the performances.  But how much of my excitement is just down to the make up and how much is due to the men behind the masks?

I offer you exhibits A, B and C as evidence.

Exhibit A: Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper

The Holly wood Reporter um... reported that 'Thanks to three hours in the makeup chair each morning, the actor transformed into a younger version of Bruce Willis for the role – in which the duo plays the same character at different ages.'

If you're not convinced about the transformation or just sad to see the handsome JGL mutilated, check out this little video I found on YouTube for a close comparison of the two actors.



Exhibit B: Guy Pearce in Lawless

Now I'm not sure what they've done to Pearce's face here but watching the trailer suggests this is going to be another fantastic performance to look out for.  In fact I don't even think this is down to make up.  Instead I think it's a combination of Pearce's slicked back hair, accent and tone of voice and most of all the faces he pulls in the trailer below.  Some might say this is bordering on OTT but I can't wait to see this performance.



Exhibit C: Sean Penn in The Gangster Squad

MTV says: 'A centerpiece of the trailer, it's hard to miss Sean Penn even under all of that makeup... The trailer gives lots of screen time to Penn, and when you also consider the prosthetics on his face, it's not hard to imagine that Warner Bros. would make a Best Supporting Actor push for him come Oscar season'.

He looks almost like something grotesque out of Dick Tracy.  But it's not just the make up and prosthetics, Penn seems totally transformed here.  It's another performance that looks incredible and will no doubt be a lot of fun to watch.



So are we in for a treat with these three or what?  And how much of these performances will come down to the physically transformed faces of the actors and how much is down to their acting skills.  It's a question that has bugged me ever since seeing one of my favourite performances ever on screen.  No doubt aided by magnificent make-up, but also a testament to the incredible talent of Charlize Theron, if you haven't seen Monster, I highly recommend it.  Never has a star been so unrecognizable and so brilliantly lost within a real-life character.