New Dark Knight Rises image shows battle-worn Bane
Warner Bros has released a new image from The Dark Knight Rises which gives some idea of the kind of rough and tumble lifestyle Tom Hardy’s Bane has been living over the years…
The Most Influential Filmmaker You’ve Never Heard Of:
I still refer to Lenny Lipton’s 1972 book Independent Filmmaking as a resource for low-cost celluloid (not digital) production. A recent interview by Don Diego Ramirez showed me that Lenny has done more in his life than just write a few books on 8mm and 16mm production. I was amazed by the breadth of his work. Creativity that truly knows no bounds. Some highlights:
- He pioneered early documentary filmmaking - with films such as Revelation of the Foundation.
- He pioneered 3D cinema. Note the photo above. The man is holding two Super 8 cameras: this is, in essence, how 3D films are shot today. Lenny even wrote an article in that magazine about shooting 3D Super 8 films in the 1970s.
- Authored the seminal book Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema (1982).
- His 3D work was used by NASA in the Mars Rover.
- James Cameron acknowledged Lenny’s work in the making of Avatar.
- He wrote Puff, the Magic Dragon with Peter Yarrow, later made popular by Yarrow’s group Peter, Paul and Mary.
- He also kept company with Tim Leary and Ken Kesey, novelist of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and lived with Salvador Dali.
Don’t just be a filmmaker. Be an artist. Read more about this fascinating filmmaker here.
~ü
From the lost film To the Stars (1906, dir. Georges Méliès) (via)
This was the first film to ever be pirated in 1902 which led to him going bankrupt.
Peter O’Toole, William Wyler, and Audrey Hepburn on the set of How to Steal a Million (1966, dir. William Wyler) Photographer: Terry O’Neill
(via)
She Is one of my favourite actresses
And one of the best actresses to have lived
New trailer for Mirror Mirror
Relativity media has sensibly decided to release a new international trailer for Snow White saga Mirror Mirror, after the first, uber-camp teaser set about irritating the hell out of anyone unlucky enough to watch it.
And is it just us, or does it really sound like Armie Hammer drops the F-bomb at 38s in?
One thing people outside the industry don’t understand is how incredibly difficult it is to make a film. If a film actually manages to get into production, the production itself is not only a logistical monster, but the stakes are often very high. You have to have a schedule and you have to stick…
Marvel reveals five new Avengers images
Marvel has thrown a bone to all those Avengers obsessives counting down the days until the film’s April release by unveiling a handful of new images…
My Week With Marilyn Review
My week With Marilyn
Film Details:
Certificate: 15
Cast: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson, Dame Judi Dench, Eddie Redmayne, Zoë Wanamaker
Director: Simon Curtis
Screen Writer: Adrian Hodges
Inspired by Colin Clarks ‘My Week with Marilyn’ and ‘The Prince, The Showgirl and Me’
Running Time: 99 mins
Plot: My Week with Marilyn is a film about a young man called Colin Clark who is an inspiring film director who gets a job at his Idol Sir Lawrence Oliver’s production company as a third director in the film prince and the showgirl, it is here where he meets costume maker Lucy (Emma Watson), however just as we feel they are going to embark on a blossoming relationship, he meets the infamous Marilyn Monroe. it is here where we see Olivier trying to keep up with Miss Monroe’s demands whether it be her persistence of having Patricia her acting coach with her at all times or turning up hours late to set and not beginning able to remember her lines, in My week with Marilyn we get to witness a real look at Marilyn Monroe as we get to see her in her vulnerability and struggle to be seen as real actress rather than a bombshell, this is where we also meet her power hungry business partner Milton Greene (Dominic cooper) who constantly drugs her to keep her under control, and the relationship between her husband Arthur Miller, however it is only after Miller leaves we see Marilyn at her most beautiful and her most vulnerable
Verdict: Overall this is an absolutely beautiful film it is an excellent portrayal of the iconic Monroe. Williams does a breathtaking job of playing Monroe and it is when we catch Monroe at her most vulnerable times is truly beautiful and heartbreaking to see her as a woman who just wanted to be taken seriously and garner love, brannagh does an exquisite job at play Olivier, but it is Redmayne who plays Colin who is just positively superb job at playing Colin Clark as an audience you truly feel every moment of his journey. My week with Marilyn is a definite Oscar contender as it is a visually stunning picture which will take you on an emotional roller coaster and if you have a fascination of old Hollywood like me this is definitely for you.
The Help Review
Film Details:
Certificate 12A
Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Allison Janney, Bryce Dallas Howard and Octavia Spencer
Director: Tate Taylor
Screen Writer: Tate Taylor
Running Time: 146 Minutes
Plot: The Help is set in 1960’s Mississippi in the civil rights era where Black maids raise white children and aspiring journalist Skeeter (stone) decides with the help of Aibileen (Davis) And Minnie (Spencer) to write ‘The Help’.
Review: The Help written by New York best seller Kathryn Stockett has already proven to be a hit at the US box office as it has been number one for five weeks (as seen in November issue of Empire). The Help Is an emotional journey which will make you laugh and cry and feel so much anger and confusion in your heart. Emma stone who plays the sparky heroine Skeeter is at her best in this film as it is her down to earth personality and lovable wit which helps bring depth to the character and makes you feel that if you where in that situation you would stand up and fight for the maids to have a voice. However I feel that in other reviews I have read on the help critics undermine the performances of Aibileen and Minnie who really make the film, as even when we see Minnie lose her job from the racist employer Hilly Hollbrook she still holds her own and gets her revenge which in fact is probably the funniest film on the scene and fits for her families freedom, and Aibileen who raises the kids like they where their own and is more of a mother to the child ass there actual mother and hurled abuse still fights for her voice to be heard and keeps the whole project grounded even though she feels she has nothing to lose.
Bryce Dallas Howard gives an incredible portrayal of the backward thinking prejudice a just sheer racist socialite Hilly Hollbrook. Hollbrook is the Mastermind behind the act to get the help separate bathrooms and instilling fear in others, which is why the moments when the character is vulnerable and weak is the most beautiful, and Allison Janney character as Skeeter’s mum Charlotte helps bring the balance to the film as she is neither for or against the civil rights movement and the scene between Stone and Janney are just heart warming, particularly when we find out about Constantine Skeeter’s maid warning you will need tissues it is a tear jerker
Even though some American Critics have pointed out, that the maids only gain the courage to stand up to their employers thanks to white woman. All in all there isn’t a weak character in this film and stone’s portrayal of Skeeter and Davis’s portrayal of Aibileen is just heart-warmingly breath taking and Spencer as Minnie is the just what you need to this film to bring life and occasional comedic relief to an otherwise intense but would be conceived as boring civil rights era drama.
Verdict: overall this is a must see it is the best film I have seen in a while and will be defiantly telling people to see it. The performances are just terrific and defiantly Oscar worthy. It gives a realistic look in the ear and stays true to the 60’s whether it is the JFK assignation and the talk of martin Luther king to the fashion and cars. If you where a fan of great debaters I would defiantly recommend this.
