I think it is fair to say that too many horror films have used the ‘mirror scare‘ cliché.

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Adventureland (Walt Disney): Director Greg Mottola followed up Superbad (2007) with this marvellous coming-of-age comedy set in the summer of 1987 about a recent college grad (Jesse Eisenberg) who takes a nowhere job at a local amusement park, where he falls in love and learns a few life lessons.

Superbly made and acted it features some terrific performances from Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds (seriously) and Bill Hader. Although it didn’t make a huge amount of money at cinemas, it was one of the best films of last year and will almost certainly become a cult favourite in the future.

Plus, it has a memorable use of Falco’s ‘Amadeus‘ and the line “status obsessed witch” is one of the killer movie phrases in recent memory.

Extras include:

• Deleted Scenes
• Just My Life: The Making Of Adventureland
• Feature Commentary — With Writer/Director Greg Mottola And Actor Jesse Eisenberg
• A Satiric “How To” On Inflicting Unexpected Pain

* Buy Adventureland on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon UK *

Mystic River (Warner): A release on Blu-ray for Clint Eastwood’s 2003 adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel, which is set in Boston and deals with three childhood friends (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon) who are reunited after one of their daughters gets killed.

A powerful and well acted drama, it features fine supporting performances from Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden and Laurence Fishburne. Tastefully shot (by Tom Stern) and edited (by Joel Cox), it bears all the hallmarks of Eastwood’s classy dramas over the last decade and won Sean Penn and Tim Robbins Oscars for their performances.

Gary Tooze of DVD Beaver has posted some screen shots of the Blu-ray and is impressed with the transfer and the overall package, saying:

“…contrast and colors leap ahead. …this looks very good and occasionally even impressive with some desirable depth. Dependant on your system – the superiority is moderate to heavy over the previous SD-DVDs”

This includes all the extras from the R1 DVD release that were never included on the UK R2 DVD.

• Commentary by Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon
• Dennis Lehane Tours the Boston Neighborhood Setting of His Novel in Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
• Featurette Mystic River: From Page to Screen
• The Charlie Rose Show Interviews with Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon
• Theatrical Trailers

* Buy Mystic River on Blu-ray from Amazon UK *

Paper Heart (Anchor Bay): A new film starring Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera as fictionalized versions of themselves in a “hybrid documentary” about love. Directed by Nicholas Jasenovec, it also features Yi travelling across America asking various people about their experiences of love.

Extras include:

• Paper Heart Uncut
• “The Making of Paper Heart”
• Live musical performances by Charlyne Yi
• “Heaven” music video by Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera
• Love interviews with the comedians
• Deleted scenes
• Trailer

* Buy Paper Heart on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon UK *

ALSO OUT

Blue Dragon Complete Series 1 (Manga) [Buy it on DVD]
Couples Retreat (Universal) [Buy it on DVD | Buy it on Blu-ray]
Death Note Relight: Visions of a God (Manga) [Buy it on DVD]
I Love You, Beth Cooper (Fox) [Buy it on DVD]
In the Electric Mist (High Fliers) [Buy it on DVD | Buy it on Blu-ray]
Kamikaze Girls (Special Edition) (Third Window Films) [Buy it on DVD | Buy it on Blu-ray]
Lala Pipo (Third Window Films) [Buy it on DVD]
Long Weekend (2008) (Showbox) [Buy it on DVD]
The Time Traveler’s Wife (EIV) [Buy it on DVD | Buy it on Blu-ray]
The Ugly Truth (Sony) [Buy it on DVD | Buy it on Blu-ray]
The Unit Season 4 (Fox) [Buy it on DVD]

> The Best DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2009
> UK cinema releases for Friday 5th February including Invictus and Astro Boy

Charlie Rose recently had a discussion about the Apple iPad on his show recently with Walt Mossberg of the WSJ, David Carr of the NYT and Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.

Several good points are made, which makes a change from the complaints about it being a big iPhone and having no Flash (the latter hasn’t affected sales of the iPhone and iPod touch has it?).

Whilst I don’t think it will change how people watch long form films or TV (there’s still cinemas and large TVs for that) my gut feeling is that that it will revolutionise how we casually browse and experience the web.

When it comes to newspapers, magazines and regular content that we read, like RSS feeds, blogs and shorter form media, I think advanced touch tablets are the future.

It could be the iPad, the Google’s upcoming device (which apparently launches this autumn), or succeeding versions, but after years of desktops and laptops sticking to the same keyboard and operating systems, this feels like a new era.

NATIONAL RELEASES

Invictus (Warner Bros.): Clint Eastwood’s latest film is based on the true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unite South Africa in a moment of sporting solidarity with the help of national team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon).

Although this was touted as a likely awards season contender, the expected nominations (apart from two acting nods for Freeman and Damon) have failed to materialise, mainly because it isn’t quite up to the high standards of Eastwood’s best work behind the camera.

That said, the two leads are convincing and there is a pleasing directness to the material which gives it an undeniable punch. Although it can’t resist obligatory sporting clichés (slow motion being a major culprit), the central drama is well handled and the technical work behind the camera is what we’ve come to expect from latter day Eastwood films. [Nationwide / 12A]

Astro Boy (E1 Entertainment): A CGI animated film about a young robot (voiced by Freddie Highmore) with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost.

Based on the long running Japanese series, it features a decent voice cast including Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland and Nicolas Cage. The middling reviews in the US and poor box office performance suggest that it won’t set UK cinemas alight. [Empire Leicester Square & Nationwide (Previews 30/31st Jan)

Youth In Revolt (Paramount/Momentum): An adaptation of C.D. Payne's epistolary novel starring Michael Cera as a teenager who sets his sights on a local girl (Portia Doubleday) and creates an alter ego to win her over.

Directed by Miguel Arteta, it co-stars Jonathan B. Wright, Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifianakis and Ray Liotta. Positive reviews from the US would suggest that it's weak box office performance has more to do with the woes of The Weinstein Company than the quality of the film. Fans of Michael Cera and hip teen audiences may be the target audience. [Vues Fulham Broadway, Islington, West End & Nationwide / 15]

ALSO OUT

Malice In Wonderland (Kaleidoscope Entertainment): A modern take on the fairytale, set in the North East of England. [Key Cities / 15]

Tony (Revolver Entertainment): A low budget British film about a serial killer getting a limited theatrical release before being released on DVD this Monday. [London & Key Cities / 18]

The Island (Artificial Eye): A drama set in a small Russian Orthodox monastery about an unusual man who people believe has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. [Curzon Renoir & Selected Key Cities from 19th Feb]

Holy Water (Kaleidoscope/Centurion ): British comedy about a once a thriving spa town that is livened up after a stash of Viagra is hidden down its famous Holy Well. [Key Cities / 18]

> DVD and Blu-ray Picks for Monday 1st February including Broken Embraces and Sin Nombre
> Get local cinema showtimes for your area via Google Movies

Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon have recently been filming their latest movie Hereafter at the Charles Dickens Museum in London.

Scripted by Peter Morgan, the IMDb plot summary says it is:

A supernatural thriller centered on three people – a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy – who are touched by death in different ways.

Check out more photos here and some production info at Wikipedia.

DJ Mayhem and Mouthmaster Murf of The Anomalies and DJ crew The Farcical 3 have done a rap based on Aliens.

They say:

‘This video is in no way trying to take credit for this almost flawless masterpiece, it is merely a tribute to how spectacular it is’

Right on.

(N.B. I wouldn’t watch this unless you have seen the film as it reveals major plot points)

The Oscar nominations have been announced and Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the field with 9 nominations each.

Nominations were announced this morning by Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president Tom Sherak and Anne Hathaway.

The final ballots get mailed out on February 10th and are due back at PricewaterhouseCoopers offices on Tuesday 2nd March (my birthday as it turns out).

The actual awards take place on Sunday 7th March at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

Here is the list in full:

Best Picture

• Avatar (James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers)
• The Blind Side (Nominees to be determined)
• District 9 (Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers)
• An Education (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers)
• The Hurt Locker (Nominees to be determined)
• Inglourious Basterds (Lawrence Bender, Producer)
• Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers)
• A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers)
• Up (Jonas Rivera, Producer)
• Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers)

Best Director

• James Cameron, Avatar
• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
• Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon in “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Supporting Actress

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Animated Feature Film

• “Coraline” Henry Selick
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
• “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
• “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
• “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

• “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

• “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design

• “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Documentary (Feature)

• “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• “The Cove” Nominees to be determined
• “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing

• “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9” Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

• “Ajami” Israel
• “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
• “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
• “Un Prophète” France
• “The White Ribbon” Germany

Makeup

• “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)

• “Avatar” James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
• “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Short Film (Animated)

• “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
• “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
• “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
• “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
• “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
• “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

• “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

I’m not sure if these videos of a man filming his wife crying at films are real, fake or part of some kind of internet spoof.

The deal is that the husband claims his wife:

‘cries after almost every movie we see with a happy or sad ending’.

It started when they watched all 6 episodes of Star Wars (one per day) and she started to lose it.

He then filmed it and uploaded it to YouTube (I hope with her permission).

He then filmed her after watching The Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, AI and Marley and Me (she really loses after this one).

I should add a dash of scepticism by saying that the husband claims to work for a company that “handles ninja affairs” but he’s probably joking of course.

Spoof or not, it does highlight that one of the primary reasons people watch films is for an emotional release.

Although one frequent complaint by mainstream audiences is that something is ‘too depressing’, some of the most successful films of all time like Love Story (1970), E.T. (1982) and Titanic (1997) were openly sad at their core.

One of the ideas Ancient Greeks had about drama was for it to provide catharsis and purge us of our negative emotions within a social situation.

Tragedies and their modern movie antecedents are a form of art based on human suffering, that paradoxically offers the audience pleasure.

Despite all the joking around in these videos, they actually hit upon this truth.

What films should this guy show his wife next? I’d go for Up, Stand By Me or The Shawshank Redemption.