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UPDATED: Fresh Images From Miyazaki's THE WIND RISES (KAZE TACHINU)

Fri, 24 May 2013 01:50:00 -0500

Updated the gallery with new large, clean images of two of the film's posters, and we should be getting two more within the next 24 hours!Great news everyone! This summer the latest work from genius animation director Miyazaki Hayao, The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu), will receive its release in cinemas across the land of the rising sun. Surely a person like me could write on for ages on what it is about and why it is so interesting, but let's just forget about that. Don't you just want to see a trailer of it? Well sadly that is where the disappointment cuts in, as we don't have it yet. As it has been a kind of tradition, every time "Miya-san" brings the world a new masterpiece,...

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Cannes 2013: Well Go Picks Up Erik Matti's ON THE JOB

Fri, 24 May 2013 01:30:00 -0500

Just hours ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Director's Fortnight, Erik Matti's long-awaited Filipino thriller On the Job has been picked up for distribution by Well Go USA Entertainment. Featuring a bevy of top Pinoy stars such as Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, Joey Marquez, Joel Torre, Angel Aquino, Rayver Cruz and Leo Martinez, On the Job is based on a real case of top Filipino political brass issuing day passes to incarcerated criminals in order to carry out hits. It's been almost four years since Twitch first caught wind of the project and following early test footage and a pair of recent trailers highlighting the film's stellar technical specs, expectations are sky high as the thriller hits...

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Review: FAST & FURIOUS 6 is Faster, Furiouser

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:28 -0500

Only a week or so ago I'd never seen any of the series that I've dubbed the Fast Furii. Sure, I knew them to be a bunch of eye candy racer movies with action interspersed, but somehow the travails of these petrolheads had slipped me by.I'm a fan of car chases as much as the next person, but I expected these films to be nothing more than stupid eye candy and interminable and overly ponderous plotting. Still, I gave myself a challenge, and in a short few days I marathoned the hell out of these films.It's somewhat revelatory to proceed in this manner - the first Fast and the Furious film is exactly as terrible as you'd expect it to be. Rob Cohen's not exactly...

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Hey Australia, Melbourne's Cinema Nova Creates A Cultastrophe!

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:21:09 -0500

Chalk this up as reason number 666 to visit the iconic Cinema Nova in Melbourne's hip north; every Friday a very diverse and strange happening coordinated by fanatical film devotees Zak Hepburn and Ben Buckingham is set to upset your brain and possibly stomach in the best way possible.The true definition of cult films (and not just a kitsch marketing throw-away term) will be playing every Friday night; from carnivorous classics (including two Cronenberg joints), to current buzz titles such as Citadel. You can take it all in if you happen to be a fan of, or are curious about punk sci-fi, blaxploitation, grindhouse, hardcore horror or Korean apocalypse anthology - huh? Well if you are into some of the above, the Cultastrophe program has...

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LA Happenings: VERTIGO And AGUIRRE At The Egyptian, LOVE EXPOSURE, ALTERED STATES & More At Cinefamily

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:00:00 -0500

The back half of May is looking to be a mighty fine time for film fans of all kinds who call the greater Los Angeles area their home. The following are a few choice cuts from the many special and repertory calendars that peppermint our fair city. While I am learning quite gosh darn fast that there are always things of note going down at The Cinefamily, the evening of May 31st proves to be quite the juggernaut. First up it's Sono Sion's 4-hour epic Love Exposure. A long checked Twitch favorite (I'm dreaming of those glory days at NYAFF 2009), Sono's manic meditation on Christianity, cults and devotion (let's call it love), is sure to draw diehard fans, but if you have yet to...

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Take A Moment And Learn HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:45:35 -0500

Every bit as bold and confrontational as its title and articulate and well researched enough to defend itself from the inevitable backlash, Matthew Cooke's How To Make Money Selling Drugs is a detailed dismantling of the American war on drugs as told by an array of insiders ranging from street dealers to major importers to activists to law enforcement officials.A shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an insider's guide to the violent but extremely lucrative drug industry. Told from the perspective of former drug dealers, and featuring interviews with rights advocates Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, and David Simon (creator of "The Wire"), the film gives you the lessons...

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Enjoy A Charming Family Meal With Clip From Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:15:09 -0500

Everything you think you know about Kristin Scott Thomas? Yeah, throw that away. Because Nicolas Winding Refn is about to make you see her very, very differently with this clip from Only God Forgives.Julian (Ryan Gosling), a respected figure in the criminal underworld of Bangkok, runs a Thai boxing club and smuggling ring with his brother Billy. Billy is suddenly murdered and their crime lord matriarch, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives from London to bring back the body. When Crystal forces Julian to settle the score with his brother's killers, Julian finds himself in the ultimate showdown.Scott Thomas has quite the mouth on her in this clip so do be aware of who is in the immediate vicinity before hitting play. Check the clip below....

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Review: EPIC Follows The Blue Sky Blueprint For Family Entertainment

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:01:05 -0500

The latest production from Blue Sky Studios draws inspiration from The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Bug's Life, Antz, Avatar and others to tell a family-friendly tale of environmental harmony. I need to expand my critical vocabulary, though, because "clever and amusing" were the first adjectives that came to mind after watching Epic, and that's what I tweeted, and that's how I intended to begin this review. And then those words started to sound familiar to me, as though I'd read them before, and I checked our archive and was abashed to realize that I used those exact same adjectives to begin a lengthy article about 2012's Ice Age: Continental Drift and Blue Sky Studios. Indeed, Epic is not only cut from same cloth as the...

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Step Into The Ring With A Gorgeous Clip From Masked Wrestling Noir OUR HEROES ARE DEAD TONIGHT

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:00:16 -0500

It was just yesterday that we were blown away by the first images from Our Heroes Are Dead Tonight (Nos Heros Sont Morts Ce Soir), the debut feature from David Perrault fusing masked wrestling with film noir. And now we have a first clip from the Cannes selected film which more than lives up to the promise of those images.France in the early 60s. Simon, a wrestler, wears a white mask. In the ring, he is known as "The Specter". He suggests to his friend Victor who has just returned from combat to be his adversary in the ring and wear a black mask, and be known as "The Slaughterer of Belleville". But for Victor, still shaken from his experience in combat, this is too...

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Cannes 2013 Review: NEBRASKA is a Long Drive with a Charming Destination

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:40:25 -0500

Alexander Payne is on some kind of hot streak with all four of his major features receiving Oscar nominations and his last two (Sideways and The Descendants) both earning Best Picture noms and taking home statues for Best Adapted Screenplay. His latest, Nebraska, may have a bit of an uphill battle to keep the streak alive. Set to be released on the heels (by Payne's standard) of 2011's The Descendants, the charming film is a fair bit less accessible due to some pacing problems and the odd decision to shoot it in black and white. But once it gets going, the comic moments are pure Payne gold -- and the kind of heartwarming fare that the Academy might just flip for once again. Set...

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Review: BEFORE MIDNIGHT, Older, Wiser, Still Talking

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:01:12 -0500

Not every movie needs its audience to know nothing about the plot or story going in. We live in a world of trailers and Twitter and even spoilers from Lego toys. But the plain fact is, you will enjoy the third installment of Richard Linklater's 'Before...' series, Before Midnight, more if you know nothing. The knowledge that nine years have passed in the lives of Ethan Hawke's Jesse and Julie Delpy's Celine is all you need. Therefore, many of the details revealed here, while not spoilers in the traditional review context, could lessen the wonderful revelatory impact the film delivers. Consider yourself warned. Before Midnight opens as Jesse says goodbye to his 14-year-old son Hank at a Greek regional airport. It doesn't take long to...

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Watch An Exclusive Clips From Steven Sheil's Action Horror DEAD MINE

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:30:01 -0500

Steven Sheil's Indonesian set action-horror Dead Mine is available now on VOD and with the DVD release coming next week Twitch is happy to offer up an exclusive clip from the film.The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is to go further in.Though this particular clip does not feature The Raid and The Fast And Furious 6 star Joe Taslim it does show off the stellar creature makeup. Take a look below....

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First Shots From Axelle Carolyn's SOULMATE

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:30:05 -0500

In many ways it has been a weirdly uphill climb for Axelle Carolyn to gain acceptance as the talented writer-director she clearly is. Female directors in any genre are somewhat of a rarity and always looked at somewhat differently - "Oh, she's not bad for a woman," etc - and that factor is amplified tenfold if you happen to be a woman working in horror, where social graces are often somewhat lacking. And in Carolyn's case the gender factor is only amplified by the fact she also happens to be married to Neil Marshall, director of Centurion, Dog Soldiers and The Descent. Which means she not only gets to deal with the pressures of being a girl playing in what is largely a boy's club...

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There Are A Few Things DON JON Really Cares About In Life!

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:00:00 -0500

Oh my. This is not your mom and dad's JGL. I bet your dad wishes this was his Scarlett Johansson though. Prepare to feast your eyes on a meaty Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a delectable Scarlett Johansson in the trailer for JGL's feature-length directorial debut, Don Jon. A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.Before Chase Wale moved on from reviewing films to distributing them he caught the film for us at Sundance. You can find the link to his full review below but here are a couple choice snippets for you. "Don Jon('s Addiction) is filled with a lot of masturbation, pornography, and the wholesome,...

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Universal Plans TIMECOP Reboot. With No Van Damme, Damnit!

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:23:25 -0500

In my mind this is how I picture JCVD took the news that Universal was planning to reboot one of his most successful films without his involvement. Universal is presently searching out writers to reboot and re-imagine the concept of the 1994 sci-fi actioner Timecop. You will remember that the story of the film is about a police force called the Time Enforcement Commission that regulates time travel. Van Damme played the cop who crosses a crooked politician using time travel to further his career. Can we just take a second to remind Universal what happened to Sony and the near disastrous performance of a reboot of a much more idolized sci-fi action epic Total Recall. The film bombed domestically here in North America. If it were...

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St Kilda 2013 Preview: 13 Essential Shorts

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:00:23 -0500

The St Kilda Short Film Festival is turning 30 this year, and to celebrate it is running an extended 10 day program that includes 100 Australian short films, a special program of music videos and retrospective screenings, industry open days and workshops, plus four sidebars showcasing the best of the iconic South By Southwest Film Festival. All in all there will be about 150 shorts and close to 40 music videos, so how does one figure out what to watch amid all the choices? Working at Twitch and its comrade company XYZ Films I get to watch a hell of a lot of short films, many long before they see the light of day. I've picked 13 shorts from across the Australian program that I feel...

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Now on Blu-ray: We All Shout For Scream Factory! THE BURNING, THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, VAMPIRE LOVERS

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:06 -0500

We should all just surrender our credit card info to Scream Factory right now and acquiesce to the fact that we'll just be working to support our habits into the foreseeable future. This week saw a pair of fantastic releases and there are many, many more on the way. We'll also take a brief look at a release we missed over the last few weeks that definitely deserves recognition. But first...The BurningI've owned The Burning on DVD since the 2007 special edition DVD came out from MGM, but had never made the time to actually watch it. Thankfully this Blu-ray release from Scream Factory forced me to make the time and I'm damned glad I did. Not only is the film one of the better...

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Elijah Wood Carves Through US Poster And Trailer For MANIAC

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:55 -0500

Last year around this time the horror set in Cannes was all abuzz about Maniac, the Elijah Wood starring, Alex Aja produced remake of the cult hit horror film. A year later the film finally has a US release date schedules - June 21 - and a new trailer and poster has arrived for the US market.A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in the present day, MANIAC is a reboot of the cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made. Frank (Elijah Wood, in a tour de force performance) is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops...

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DVD Review: OFFENDER, Expressing Stylish Outrage At England's Young Offender System Of Justice

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:05 -0500

Sometimes I've gotten so angry that it felt as though steam would blow out of my ears and the top of my head would blow off, like a cartoon character. A similar depth of emotion roils through Ron Scalpello's Offender. The film seethes with anger about England's treatment of young offenders, especially the institutions where law-breakers between the ages of 18 and 21 are housed in overcrowded conditions under the oversight of guards who, by and large, don't give a toss about the young men in their charge. The script by Paul Van Carter, however, confuses the issue by introducing a protagonist who assaults a police officer without apparent provocation and then smiles when he is sentenced to two years behind bars. Tommy (Joe Cole)...

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Review: THE CHILD FROM MARACAIBO, Life, Death, Noir, And The Fantastic

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:04 -0500

The Child from Maracaibo is Miguel Curiel's second film. His previous movie, Una Noche Oriental was released more than 25 years ago (!), so I will treat this one as his real 'first film.' Watching it, I couldn't stop thinking how similar it is to some of the films from Jess Franco, the maverick Spanish director/composer/sometimes actor, sadly deceased not long ago, in the way that Curiel's film mixes genres, sometimes quite opposite elements from specific genres, into one package. In that regard, the movie is a little uneven, because the mixing of those aforementioned elements never goes anywhere. Nevertheless, what it lacks in closure it gains in atmosphere. That atmosphere puts the viewer through an experience. Storytelling-wise, the film really fails to achieve any...

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DVD Review: FRACTALE, More Than Just A Pretty Anime-By-Numbers?

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:21 -0500

(Is it original, or an infinite spiral of repeated anime tropes?) Many recent Japanese animation series look good on the technical front, but seem to have trouble distinguishing themselves from the many series which came before them. It's always the same jokes, the same plot twists, the same actions, and frankly a lot of these anime are populated with interchangeable stereotypes. And I haven't even mentioned the similarities in artwork and design which plagues anime in general. But this is generally not the case with those series which are aired in Fuji Television's famed noitaminA slot. These are less obviously aimed at the teenage crowd, and most feature adult subject matters, differing art or both. Which brings us to Fractale, an eleven episode science fiction...

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FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 3: EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL AND I'M TRIPPING BALLS

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:00:11 -0500

CHAPTER 6: THERE'S NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN A PURPLE BEACH SMOTHERED IN MELTING TROMMETTES DURING A CRIMSON TINGED SUNSET ON THE FRENCH RIVERIA, HOLY SHIT I'M TRIPPING MY FUCKING FACE OFF.It's night. When the fuck did it become night? I'm naked. Where the fuck did my clothes go? I'm on the beach. Why the fuck did I leave the film market?I think this is the Plage de la Balterie, Cannes' infamous nude beach. Ok, at least I'm not calling attention to myself by being naked since it's supposed to be a nude beach.But it's also raining, so no one else is nude right now.I'm sprinting along the beach. I don't know why, but it feels great. I think I see Anne Hathaway taking a stroll...

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Review: THE HANGOVER PART III Is Barely a Comedy

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:33 -0500

Remember how The Hangover Part II was a lukewarm rehash of The Hangover, almost beat-for-beat the same story, with little originality? Todd Phillips evidently heard our complaints and has addressed them in The Hangover Part III, which is nothing like the first two and features no hangovers. It is barely a comedy. Heck, it's barely a movie. Our focus this time is Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the Kramer of the series, a man-child who is mentally unwell and perhaps mentally handicapped. His behavior has gotten more erratic lately, so his family and friends -- including the Wolf Pack, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) -- gather to stage an intervention and send him to a rehab facility. What it is they...

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Cannes 2013 Review: ONLY GOD FORGIVES and the Art of Violence

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:01:01 -0500

Nicolas Winding Refn may have burst onto the Hollywood scene with his slow burn but relatively straightforward actioner Drive, but before that film, Refn made a name for himself with considerably more abstract narratives such as Valhalla Rising. Refn returns to this mode in his latest film Only God Forgives; an art film disguised as another bloody crime actioner. But where Drive impressed with its taut story, Only God Forgives relies on its technical elements to bring the viewer along. Fortunately, these elements are immaculately executed, serving up one of the most impressive films of the year -- and a true feast for the senses. Set in Thailand, Only God Forgives reteams Refn with Ryan Gosling as the drug-slanging Julian. While little is explicitly...

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TIFF 2013: World Premiere of Godfrey Reggio's VISITORS Announced As First Selection

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:12 -0500

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced their first film for the 2013 edition. It's a world premiere no less, and sure to be a popular choice.The film is titled Visitors, and "will have its world premiere at the Festival in September in stunning 4K digital projection with live accompaniment by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Michael Riesman," according to a prepared statement by the festival. TIFF has also tagged Steven "I'm retired, no really" Soderbergh to "officially present" the film. If that guy's not careful, he might get used to still being in the Hollywood spotlight.Director Godfrey Reggio is best known for his "Qatsi" trilogy of films, meditative and beautiful films about our planet and its inhabitants, traditionally scored by the...

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Gorgeous First Images From Cannes Selected Masked-Wrestling Noir OUR HEROES ARE DEAD TONIGHT (NOS HEROS SONT MORTS CE SOIR)

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:10:14 -0500

Yes, you read that headline correctly: David Perrault's debut feature Our Heroes Are Dead Tonight - a selection of the Critic's Week sidebar in Cannes this year - is a crime noir set in the world of masked wrestling in the 1960s. Somehow the world is a better place because of this.France in the early 60s. Simon, a wrestler, wears a white mask. In the ring, he is known as "The Specter". He suggests to his friend Victor who has just returned from combat to be his adversary in the ring and wear a black mask, and be known as "The Slaughterer of Belleville". But for Victor, still shaken from his experience in combat, this is too much : for once in his life, he...

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Hoist Another Pint With The US Trailer For Edgar Wright's THE WORLD'S END

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:35 -0500

The end of the world is coming and if Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost et al have any say in the matter we'll all be too drunk to notice. Yup, the third collaboration from the team behind Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz is on the way and on the heels of the recent UK trailer there is now also a new - and very much different - US trailer to entice you.Twenty years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals...

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Destroy All Monsters: I Think We've Been This Way Before, Mr. Spock

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:00:50 -0500

They can remember it for you wholesale, and they do. At some point, we licensed our pop cultural nostalgia to a handful of multinational conglomerates (well, to be fair, they always owned the licenses) and now they're selling them back to us - though, I guess, not at wholesale, but rather at a horrible markup that is tallied in both dollars and broken hearts. The reboot, the prequel-sequel, the Further Installments Of... this train ride has been chugging along for a while, but bouncing around the vapid hall of mirrors of Star Trek Into Darkness, I began to wonder if it isn't time to get off. We can, appropriately enough, blame The Phantom Menace for all this; appropriately because a) most people blame The Phantom...

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Interview: Twitch Talks to HANGOVER III's Ken Jeong

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:02 -0500

Ken Jeong may often play a lunatic on both big and small screen, but in person it's quite disarming to see just how calm and considerate he comes across. While he got his big screen start in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, Jeong's real breakthrough was taking a small-on-paper role of Chow in the first Hangover film and ratcheting things up many, many notches from the character on the page. Between Chow and his Señor Chang / Kevin role on Community, Jeong has established himself as a fearless, unique comedic actor unafraid to throw himself completely into the characters he plays.The third Hangover film provides an epic, worthy finale for the Wolf Pack, with Ken Jeong's Chow again stealing the show in his inimitable way....

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Cannes 2013 Review: Claire Denis' THE BASTARDS Throws A Bleak, Sneaky Sucker Punch

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0500

Clair Denis' The Bastards begins as a simple, slow-burn revenge thriller, and then very quietly morphs into one of the bleakest, most twisted neo-noir films of the decade. As is often the case with Denis (35 Shots of Rum, White Material, Trouble Everyday), the implications of the story settle in slowly, and don't even fully reveal themselves until a fair amount of post-viewing reflection, and maybe even discussion.Not to say the film is a difficult watch. In terms of pacing and plotting, this is some of Denis' most accessible work. From the opening, exquisitely shot images of dense rain, a suicide crime scene and a naked woman wandering the dimly-lit streets, Denis establishes a sublime sense of intrigue that deepens as the film continues in...

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PAINLESS's Juan Carlos Medina to Direct DAN LENO AND THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:15:00 -0500

Fresh off a successful festival circuit run of his historical thriller Painless, director Juan Carlos Medina's next project will be an adaptation of the Peter Ackroyd novel, Dan Leno & the Limehouse Golem. Announced at the Cannes film festival today, the script is written by Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class), and will be produced by Stephen Woolley (The Crying Game, Byzantium). I read the book, a crime thriller set in the the dance halls and libraries of Victorian London, last year, and it is wonderfully dark and delicious. Ackroyd's work is full of great detail of the rich atmosphere of the era. Certainly, Victorian London has been seen a lot on film, but I think a fresh perspective, especially from a non-UK director, is...

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Fate of Earth Lies in the MAN OF STEEL's Hands in New Trailer

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:45:00 -0500

Following a great trailer a few weeks ago, Warner Bros. have upped the ante again with another impressive look at their summer tentpole Man of Steel with a new trailer called 'Fate of Your Planet.' Less about Superman than General Zod, this new look shows us how big a threat the Man of Steel will go up against in this latest reboot.Besides the formidable villain, played by celebrated indie thesp Michael Shannon, we also get a better look at the scale of the film's effects and the design of Zod's army. Last trailer already had me sold and this is doing nothing to dissuade me. ...

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Cannes 2013 First Impression: ONLY GOD FORGIVES Is A Hyper-Violent Feast For The Senses

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:24:55 -0500

Few films are as anticipated around Twitch as Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to Drive and re-teaming with Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives. The film has had its premier at Cannes and boy is it going to be divisive. More art film than drama, this is an immaculately constructed production where every shot is a masterpiece. Just try to look away. From Cliff Martinez's score that alternates between full orchestral and electronic piano to some of the most exquisite production design and cinematography ever put to film, this is a cinematic feast for the senses. Even the special effects makeup work is brilliant with every sliced off body part squirting out just the right amount of practical blood. Oh and there is plenty of blood....

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Watch the Trailer For Stephen Gaghan's CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:01:14 -0500

Yep, you read that right. The Academy Award winning writer of Traffic and director of Syriana Stephen Gaghan has lent his pen to the phenomenally successful Call of Duty game franchise, writing the story (and presumably the screenplay) for the next installment in the series, Call of Duty: Ghosts. Apparently Gaghan didn't just drop off a script but worked from an office at developer Infinity Ward throughout the game's production.As a fan of the series and as a massive fan of Syriana which was my favourite film of 2005, this is fantastic news. While playing Black Ops with Sam Worthington's voice was oddly jarring, I think this will be a much more seamless fit while adding more depth to the gameplay experience. Watch the trailer...

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Winterbottom! Coogan! Brydon! THE TRIP TO ITALY Starts Shooting This Week!

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:24 -0500

There will be more food, there will be more bickering, but will there be more Michael Caine?Following the runaway success of The Trip - the Michael Winterbottom directed BBC comedy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as somewhat fictionalized versions of themselves on a food tour of northern England - word has been circulating for a while about a follow up in which the duo pack up and do it all again in Italy. Yes, it's happening and more to the point it is scheduled to begin principal photography a mere three days from now.Coogan, Brydon and Winterbottom all return in their respective roles, with The Trip To Italy once again existing as both a six part BBC comedy series and a shorter feature film....

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New WOLVERINE Trailer Features More Jean Grey, More Swordplay

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:15:20 -0500

Logan is sad in the new trailer for James Mangold's The Wolverine. And when Logan gets sad he likes to stab things. That about sums it up, right?...

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Hollywood Beat: Notes On Cutting The Cord And NBC's Genre Programs

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:30:11 -0500

I cut the cable cord last year, but I'm not always happy about it. I had to wait a year before seeing Season 2 of Game of Thrones, for example, and will have to wait to see Season 3 until next year. I only have to wait to see Mad Men or Breaking Bad until the day after the episodes air, but then I have to buy the individual episodes via a Video On Demand service. Other than my own impatience, though, and frequent irritation with social media over spoilers, I'm very happy to remain within my limited budget and not feel completely deprived of the television experience. Even with poor over-the-air broadcast reception, I can keep up with a decent number of programs, either...

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Johnnie To Talks ELECTION 3, Retirement and Five Films He Has Put The Most Effort Into Making

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:28 -0500

Master director Johnnie To, the man behind such classics as Election, Running Out Of Time, A Hero Never Dies and Throw Down, has been in Cannes promoting his latest film, Blind Detective. Three pieces of news have come out of his recent media interviews, and each has resulted in a different reaction in me. One has me excited, another surprised and the third leaves me a little sad. Here are the news:1. To is planning to film Election 3 in 2015, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the original Election. This is exciting news because Election and its sequel are both great films. And I am hoping that all of the survivors of the two triad elections in Election and Election 2...

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Donnie Yen Cometh In ICEMAN 3D. Watch The Trailer Now!

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:33 -0500

Donnie Yen is all thawed out and ready to go in Iceman 3D, the Law Wing Cheong directed remake of the 1989 Clarence Fok directed The Iceman Cometh, with Yen playing the role of a Ming era warrior frozen on a mountaintop only to be thawed out in modern times. Action ensues.Production has been quite difficult on this one with principal photography running well behind schedule and the budget ballooning to double the original amount but the first trailer has arrived and the footage they've got on camera is certainly attractive enough, although fans will note the extensive use of the tight shots and rapid edits that often denote the heavy presence of body doubles. Take a look at the trailer below....

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IFFR 2013 Review: ME TOO Is Balabanov's Final Wave To Us All

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:10 -0500

(Instant happiness or instant death, the end is the end...) Russian director - and enfant terrible - Alexey Balabanov wasn't exactly a stranger at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Nearly all of his films were screened at this festival upon release, often with the director present. This year was no exception: Balabanov was in town and so was his newest film, Ya Tozhe Khochu, known in the West as Me Too. As long as Twitch has been covering the IFFR we've been trying to get an interview with Balabanov, but the man was never interested. He only did a few interviews each year anyway, and those were with local printed press. But this year Alexey Balabanov proved particularly elusive. The rumors amongst press and industry...

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Watch The Trailer For Jodorowsky's LA DANZA DE LA REALIDAD

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:45:28 -0500

An old master makes his long awaited return to the big screen with La Danza de la Realidad, and while it must be said that CGI visual effects and digital photography are not particularly Alejandro Jodorowsky's friends long time fans will, nonetheless, be pleased to see that his signature style has survived intact.Jodorowsky's first directorial effort since 1990s The Rainbow Thief is a fictionalized account of his own childhood in Chile and fresh from the film's premiere in Cannes the first trailer has arrived online. Like all of Jodorowsky's work it's more meant to be experienced than talked about so take a look below and let us know what you think....

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Contest: Win One Of 3 TEEN WOLF: SEASON 2 DVDs

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:09 -0500

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, we've got DVD copies of Teen Wolf: Season 2 for three of our lucky readers. Here's the official synopsis: "Teen Wolf" jumps full force into season two with even more suspenseful drama than season one. Scott McCall, a teenager with a wild secret, continues to find himself caught in a supernatural war between hunters and werewolves. Scott must keep his forbidden romance with Allison a secret while keeping his friends and family safe from new Alfa wolf Derek. What's included on the set: Teen Wolf Season 2 at Paleyfest - celebrate Season 2 of MTV's critically acclaimed series Teen Wolf with a panel discussion featuring the show's cast and creative team Teen Wolves: Meet the New Pack -...

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Cannes 2013: Jerry Lewis In First Clip From MAX ROSE

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:30:01 -0500

Now 87 years of age, Jerry Lewis returns to the big screen in Max Rose, which is set to have its world premiere at Cannes on Thursday, May 23. Written and directed by Daniel Noah, the drama also stars Claire Bloom, Kevin Pollak, and Kerry Bishe (seen above with Lewis). 87-year-old Max Rose (Jerry Lewis) is a jazz pianist who had put his professional ambitions aside for the sake of his marriage, his life's passion. But when his wife Eva dies suddenly, Max discovers something troubling amongst her private possessions - an old compact with a very personal note from another man. To add to his grief, Max must grapple with the possibility that his 65-year marriage might have been built on a lie. In...

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We Have The Treasure: A FIELD IN ENGLAND, First Trailer

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:08 -0500

The first trailer for Ben Wheatley's A Field in England looks very much like its title indicates: A field. In England. But, clearly, something more is going on than merely a search for buried treasure. The official synopsis gives a hint: England during the English Civil War. A small group of deserters flee from a raging battle through an overgrown field. They are captured by two men: O'Neil and Cutler. O'Neil (Michael Smiley), an alchemist, forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field. Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that...

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Cannes 2013 Review: Sci-Fi Horror Flick LAST DAYS ON MARS Is As Lifeless As The Planet Itself

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 -0500

After the screening of Last Days on Mars in the director's fortnight competition, many were wondering why exactly the clunky, derivative Mars-zombie movie was programmed at a high-class festival like Cannes. Fair enough, but the bigger, even more nagging question in my mind is why the movie was made at all. Clearly, director Ruari Robinson has considerable visual talent. Coming from an effects background, his shorts like BlinkyTM and Fifty Percent Grey gave him enough clout to direct a feature, and it's easy to understand why. Despite being made for probably a tenth of the budget of most Sci-Fi blockbusters, the Mars landscapes, complete with epic dust storms, and space travel are beautifully rendered. A few shots even carry an ethereal, haunting power that belong...

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Cannes 2013 Review: BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Plays A Familiar Tune

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:24:55 -0500

It's become somewhat common for HBO to premiere their bigger movies at notable festivals and Cannes makes perfect sense for Steven Soderbergh's so-called final film, Behind the Candelabra. It also makes sense that the Matt Damon and Michael Douglas starrer will be making its stateside premier on HBO. The film is well-produced and well-acted, but at its heart, this is a TV movie. Adapted for the screen by Richard LaGravenese from the tell-all of the same name, Behind the Candelabra is the story of that book's author Scott Thorson (Damon). An animal trainer in 1970s Hollywood, Scott leaves his aspirations for veterinary school behind when he is seduced by the ridiculously famous and much older Liberace (Douglas) -- or as he prefers to be...

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Sydney Film Festival 2013 Preview: Documentaries

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:53 -0500

"In this age of digital video - in which there are cheap cameras, editing software, and funding to be had (if rarely big money to be earned) - the cool kids are making docs. The form is not just good for you these days. It's incredibly sexy." - David Edelstein, New York Magazine. I just love this quote. For me, the joy of watching documentaries comes not only from experiencing something interesting, challenging or thrilling, but also the knowledge that it will teach me something about the world that I live in. The Sydney Film Festival, which is due to start in just over a couple of weeks, has a strong tradition of featuring incredibly good documentaries, and the following are a few of my picks from...

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Melbourne Cinematheque May Round-up: Petri And Italia Scorned

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:11 -0500

Welcome back to my ongoing coverage of the Melbourne Cinematheque's fantastic program for 2013. I have made an executive decision that my singular reviews are much too insular and often miss the point of promoting the holistic concept of this seasonal schedule, so will instead be breaking down what you shouldn't miss out on and a brief tiding as to why. For the rest of May 22-29 is the excellence of the bizarre and thrilling Italian auteur Elio Petri: A filmmaker above suspicion.About the Auteur:Elio Petri (1929-1982) was one the most uncompromising and eclectic of political filmmakers. His often underrated, incendiary, satiric work exposed the moral complacency and corruption of postwar Italian politics and religion. He was awarded with a (non-collected) 1970 Best Foreign Language Film...

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Park's SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE Remake Moving Ahead

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:30:13 -0500

It was really only a matter of time before the first chapter in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, was optioned. Again. With the Oldboy remake by Spike Lee on the way this Fall and plans for Sympathy For Lady Vengeance somewhere out there in the production ether it is no small wonder that it took this long for someone to pick up where Warner Bros left off. A partnership between Silver Reel and Lotus Entertainment has picked up the remake. They will be working with CJ Entertainment and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.There was a script written by Broken City screenwriter Brian Tucker back in 2010. No word yet on a director or casting. If the producers are moving ahead with Tucker's script we...

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WE ARE WHAT WE ARE Director Jim Mickle Adapting Joe R. Lansdale's COLD IN JULY

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:15:54 -0500

Financing has come through and Jim Mickle, writer and director of Mulberry Street, Stakeland and We Are What We Are, and frequent collaborator Nick Damici can continue adapting Joe R. Lansdale's Cold In July for the big screen. This is their fourth silver screen collaboration together and will be produced by Belladonna Productions who produced their previous three films. I for one, am an enormous fan of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard novels and will have to extend my reading into the rest of his canon now. Read the plot details below to get an idea of how crazy good this is going to be...Richard Dane shoots and kills an armed burglar in his living room. It's a clear-cut case of self defense to everyone but the burglar's...

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