So a certain type of British film gets a bit of flack now and again. Normally its to do with East End gangsters usually has the line “You Mug” in it and it becomes something that those highbrow critics “love to hate.” Each to their own, however these films make huge amounts of money, they’re well made, open gateways to new actors and really portray the passion from their film makers like nothing I’ve ever seen.
So, as part of The Reel Deal, I will be fronting a brand new strand of content, which celebrates this type of film, why? Because I personally love them, and think that even if it doesn’t fit into everyone’s taste, we should be encouraging British cinema in all ways shapes and forms. Throughout this series I’ll be celebrating everything from first time British directors through to those considered some of the most prolific in the industry. I’ll also be looking at the taboo surrounding British cinema and what makes us love and loathe it.
To start with, I took the team off to the deepest darkest depths of Essex to meet with prison guard, come writer, come director (of films like Tower Block) Ronnie Thompson to talk about his brand new SAS based drama I Am Soldier – which hits cinemas today.
This film shocked me with how good it was. My dad was in the SAS and Paratroopers so it definitely has some personal interest and meaning to me, but I loved everything from the performances, to the story lines and even the grading! Every detail was thought about brilliantly and is a perfect example of why this type of film should be celebrated, so start saluting great cinema, because this is Becks’ Best of British.
Get ready Efronites, as the High School Musical star is all grown up! Not only is he more of a twenty something man magnet rather than a tweenie twisting jazz hand sensation, its pretty clear from his new film That Awkward Moment that he’s trying to break free into the more adult marketed rom-coms. However the question remains, is this such a good thing?
Well lets take a look at That Awkward Moment, not just a film that Zac Efron stars in, he also Exec Produced it, so there’s definitely something a bit more grown up about this actor, he’s branching out. However the content of the film can still draw his stable audience of young (and not so young) fans.
The film follows Three best friends as they find themselves where we’ve all been – at that confusing moment in every dating relationship when you have to decide “So…where is this going?” They end up making a pact to stay single and enjoy avoiding “that awkward moment” and the moment the agreement is made, of course, they start to meet the girls of their dreams, sort of…
This is ultimately a fun film which you can take or leave. It’s more one for the girls who want to drool over the male eye candy rather than take away any deep and meaningful message about relationships and the like. However, it is fun in parts, there are some memorable scenes, particularly the mis-hap fancy dress scene where Efrons character Jason makes quite an impression on Imogen Poot’s (Ellie) parents, and it does show you how relationships can be fun and exciting when they’re just starting out. There is also the Viagra/toilet scene (which has been used to market the film where possible), where we see a naked Zac Efron trying to go to the toilet ‘post pill’ which caused one or two chuckles from the audience.
However, there are key factors in this film that really do bring it down. As it progresses, there are such cliché moments of chauvinism and male ‘wolf-pack’ bonding that really makes you feel like this film is just trying a bit too hard. There is also excessive dropping of the ‘F-Bombs’ which at times feel unnecessary and something that only the scriptwriter felt would make the film resonate with the 20 something generation of today’s society, sadly that is altogether slightly misunderstood.
On the plus side, the characters are fun, likeable in parts and laughable in others, so its not a film that you will go and see and wont like. It is a more mature performance for Zac Efron, he definitely is trying to strike that balance of trying something new whilst not alienating his current fanbase, which is a wise move. Michael B. Jordan plays the married too young, quarter life crisis character with ease and believability and Miles Teller’s ‘Geek Chic’ sidekick completes the boys club well. Imogen Poots is great as the slightly quirky, pretty love interest and provides the voice of reason throughout.
So That Awkward Moment, isn’t totally awkward in itself. Its definitely one for selective audiences of the Efronite movement and maybe a few more, the acting is good and if you can believe that young twenty-something’s can really live in those large bare-bricked Manhattan apartments with cool creative jobs designing book covers for a big publishing house, then this film is the film for you.
To celebrate not only last weeks release but also triumph at the box office, for the new Scorsese flick The Wolf of Wall Street, I thought I’d take a quick look down the road of all things Wall Street, and in essence I came to one big conclusion… Greed is Good!
Well, Gordon Gekko may have not necessarily been right but he was certainly on to something. As made clear by the recently revealed 2014 Academy Awards nominees the concept of greed remains a relevant (and prevalent!) topic in film. The reason being that we can all relate, on some level, to feelings of avarice. It’s not as if we must hold those feelings on any intimate level, but it’s merely the fact that money, more often than not, is seen as the solution to, and the reason for so many problems.
And in just the past seven years alone, there have been a number of notable films that dive headfirst into the topic to expose and investigate each and every part of it. A majority of these have been nominated for Oscars in the past and they’re now still available for you to view on either Blu-ray/DVD or through on-demand video services. One of them, the great American Gangster, is featured on the growing (and rather unique) Picturebox, where a panel of movie buffs handpicks the choices and rotates them every two months or so. This allows for a constantly fresh stream of films, which means other picks on this list should show up on there soon.
Now, here are seven movies about greed from the past seven years.
There Will Be Blood (2007)– This best film nominee brilliantly portrayed goldminer Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) conversion to the oil business—and the immense lust for greed that came with it. All you have to do is remember the once-popular phrase “I drink your milkshake!”, which Plainview growled to make it clear that he would stop at nothing to take down every other oil man in Southern California.
American Gangster (2007)– As is the case with any film of this ilk, American Gangster deftly examines greed through the activities of a crime lord and the police. It’s an gripping, true-to-life look at how avarice can lead to corruption (the cops) and inevitable downfalls (Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas) in 1970s Harlem, New York.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) – Greed serves as the driving force behind this Oscar winner through the juxtaposed lives of two brothers. One (Salim) sees money as the be-all, end-all solution and constantly chases it, no matter what. The other (Jamal) is fueled more by love. As you may guess, this leads to two very different outcomes for the siblings, with Salim struggling to overcome his feelings of avarice brought on by poverty.
The Social Network (2010)– Rather than stick to greed in the purely monetary sense, the Social Network explores it through an unwavering desire to be accepted. That right there is the downfall of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), who pushes away and pulls in everyone he can in his endless quest to fit in. It becomes clear that he doesn’t mind the money, either, but it’s not all about the bottom line.
Margin Call (2011)– In looking at the financial crisis that slammed the U.S. in 2007 and 2008, this slept-on indie film takes on the greed that spurred said issues. In particular, it presents a long night at the start of the crisis and how one investment banking firm “dealt” with it. The only downside is that Margin Call could have better presented how everyone else (the rest of the world) was impacted.
American Hustle (2013)– In the context of this film, the subject of avarice deals more with ambition and the desire to capture the “American dream” of success and wealth. But the “hard work” done by the movie’s protagonists (played by Christian Bale and Amy Adams) is conning everyone they can, in particular the also-greedy politicians they are trying to take down with the FBI.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2014)– As the trailers have shown you, Martin Scorcese’s latest is all about living in excess after amassing millions through working on Wall Street. That overindulgence leads to more than money, though, as sex and drugs also play a major role. It’s basically a crash course in Greed 101.
Well its been a busy start to 2014 for me, I’ve brought together some of my favourite people and my favourite subject to develop a brand new film show for YouTube called The Reel. Its launching in February, but we wanted to start getting some of the content out there, including a very quick round up of the weeks hottest films that will be hitting the cinema every weekend.
So, introducing the pilot episode of Gone in 60 Seconds, our top tips to watch at the cinema this weekend. As it is a pilot episode please forgive the couple of technical hitches that have been happening (mainly the sound) but regardless of this you get the gist, so it would be great to see what you all think.
If you like this please do share it, follow our brand new Twitter handle @thereeldeal2014 and subscribe to the channel on YouTube. We want to create something fun for all you film fans out there, so hoping that this could be the start of something great! Stay tuned, wish us luck and please, do send me your thoughts and suggestions.
Gravity leads the way as the spectacle of cinema in 2013 gets 11 nominations with 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle hot on its heels!!! Who’s got your vote??
Best film
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Outstanding British film
Gravity Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr Banks
The Selfish Giant
Best actress
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)
Best actor
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Best supporting actress
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)
Best supporting actor
Barkhad Adbi (Captain Phillips)
Daniel Bruhl (Rush)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Best director
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
David O Russell (American Hustle)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Best adapted screenplay
12 Years a Slave
Behind the Candelabra
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best original screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Best documentary
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim’s Vermeer We Steal Secrets
Best animated film
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
Rising Star award
Dane DeHaan
George MacKay
Lupita Nyong’o
Will Poulter
Lea Seydoux
Cinematography
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Costume design
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
Saving Mr Banks
Editing
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Rush
The Wolf of Wall Street
Make-up and hair
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Butler
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Music
12 Years a Slave
The Book Thief
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Saving Mr Banks
Production design
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Sound
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush
Visual effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Short animation
Everything I Can See From Here
I Am Tom Moody
Sleeping with the Fishes
Short film
Island Queen
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Orbit Ever After
Room 8
Sea View
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
Colin Carberry, Glenn Patterson (writers, Good Vibrations)
Kieran Evans (writer-director, Kelly + Victor)
Scott Graham (writer-director, Shell)
Kelly Marcel (writer, Saving Mr Banks)
Paul Wright. Polly Stokes (writer-director and producer, For Those in Peril)
In space no one can hear you scream, or cry or even contact you…worst case scenario right? Well that’s what Sandra Bullock found in the electrifying Gravity which premiered at the London Film Festival and is now on general release. From its outset, the film follows a very simple storyline, however Director Alfonso Cuaron manages to create something truly magical with the use of brand new technology, which took four and a half years to perfect, and shoot, and boy was it worth it!
The story follows Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. On a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone – tethered to nothing but each other and spiralling out into the blackness.
From the moment the film starts, as an audience member you feel like you’re out there with them. My advice if you’re planning on catching a showing, is that it would be best to definitely sit as close to the screen as possible, or even better, catch it in IMAX format so you can feel completely absorbed, which makes the cinematic experience even more powerful. The genius element behind Gravity is that every movement feels weightless, and the camera panning is so seamless its like there is a crew out in space with them at all times. Cuaron most definitely has thought of every detail, and although the performances (particularly Sandra Bullock) are brilliant, it’s not the powerful acting that you walk away from feeling captivated by, it’s the thought of…how did they film that? To be honest, if I hadn’t have dug a little detail for clarification, and you told me it was shot in space, judging by the quality I’d be inclined to believe you – yes readers, Gravity is that good!
The 3D element is used in a subtle yet powerful way. The odd bits of debris that come hurtling towards you are not over used, but timed perfectly, as by that point, you’re probably on your second or third anxiety attack! With the 3D element, the depth in which Cuaron demonstrates space is amplified, and helps to make you feel claustrophobic in ironically the most open space in the universe, yet again proving that every element of this film has been plotted and explored extensively.
It’s with little doubt that Sandra Bullock should lead the way at awards season, her performance, or should I say for the majority solo performance, is commanding, compassionate and determined. Her dance skills also came into play with demonstrating weightlessness within the various space capsules she eventually finds herself in, and judging by the way she pulls them off, that would have taken months of preparation and provides beautiful shots. On the other hand, George Clooney plays a brilliant supporting role as a cool and calm mentor to the rookie throughout.
The third element, which helps viewers truly absorb this film, is the sound design. It’s very rare that the audio elements can affect one in a way quite like this, but from the outset Glenn Freemantle’s inventive sound mix. From the opening credits the design is so over powering you feel it rattle in your chest only to then be faced with the vast universe and silence – its mind blowing how deeply this affects you from the outset, but very much sets the scene in a way never really been seen or heard before.
So its not a question of whether or not you should bother to see Gravity or not, its more a question of how best to see it. The film has had the nod of authenticity from Buzz Aldrin and hailed as the greatest space movie ever made by James Cameron, so if you need clarification as to whether or not this is worth spending your hard earned cash on, then those testimonies should hopefully be enough. Undoubtedly there will be some sort of meteor storm around the Oscars and general award season and it will be very hard to find a competitor to pip Cuaron and his team to the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Cinematography and Sound.
Fass fans fear not, he’s back in this slick looking tale of a lawyer (Fassbender), who finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.
From Sir Ridley Scott, The Counsellor stars Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt
Fancy having a picture of Chris Hemsworth as one of motor racings biggest playboys on your wall… well lucky for you Studiocanal have released these fab character posters for Ron Howard’s feature Rush…
About the film
Two-time Academy Award® winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon), teams once again with fellow two-time Academy Award® nominee, writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), on Rush, a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.
Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.
Also starring Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy) and Alexandra Maria Lara (The Reader), Rush is produced by Andrew Eaton (A Mighty Heart), Howard, Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind), Eric Fellner (Senna, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Morgan and Brian Oliver (Black Swan) and executive produced by Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media, Todd Hallowell and Tim Bevan.
Rush will be released in cinemas on 13th September 2013
Here you go folks…Vin Diesel once again showing off that deep voice we love, in Riddick…family friendly version and naughty version (redband!) Enjoy!
Greenband trailer
Redband Trailer
What to expect from the film:
Having been betrayed and left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick must fight for his survival against the deadly alien predators that exist in this barren land. After activating an emergency beacon Riddick soon finds himself battling teams of mercenaries from around the galaxy who are determined to bring him home as their bounty.
Riddick plans to seek his retribution and return to his planet at all costs.
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