Film Guide

Despite more weather issues and a tighter schedule, Andrew Adamson thinks his second Narnia film is better than his first.

The Aucklander’s first Narnia film, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, grossed $US739 million ($NZ960.86 million) worldwide, continuing his superb record for the man who is also behind the Shrek series. All four of his films have grossed at least $US450 million.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was Adamson’s first live action film and he’s confident he’s done a better job with the second film based on CS Lewis’ popular Narnia books, Prince Caspian.

Darker and more complex in tone, it tells of the return of the four Pevensie siblings to Narnia. Though they have grown only one year older, 1300 Narnian years have passed, and the Pevensies find Narnia has been taken over by men called the Telmarines. It is the Pevensies’ job to help the rightful Telmarine king, Prince Caspian, claim the throne.

“It’s more complex, bigger, more epic film, and a little more emotional. The last one had its emotionally intense moments, but this film just seems a little more character-based,” Adamson said.

“Last time there was a big story of good and evil and it was symbolic. This time it is more human. Even within the evil there’s three schools with their own agendas, which made it a more intriguing story I think. It’s nice to have those politics as part of the evil.”

Unlike the first film, for which the vast majority was shot in New Zealand, only a small proportion was filmed in Adamson’s homeland this time.

Most of the film was shot in the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovenia, in part for the supposedly more stable weather where changes were easy to see.

“It ended up to be completely not true,” he said.

“There was one location we shot near the border of Germany, it was near a mountain range, and the weather changed so much I swore I was in New Zealand. We would go through days where we would start in the sun and have hail in the afternoon.

“I think basically as soon as you turn a camera on it creates some kind of disturbance in the ether and the weather just goes chaotic. I was thinking of offering my services to nations dealing with drought.”

Another reason for moving out of New Zealand was to access a better sound stage. The upgraded Henderson studio had not been finished when Prince Caspian was made, but Adamson said it still wasn’t quite big enough for a big production.

“The stage itself is big, but we were shooting in Prague on I think eight stages,” he said.

“There are films that are contained within one environment, but in my case there would be sets I was building that I would only shoot on for 3-4 days.

“Those sets may take a month to build, or two months to build, so in some cases you really need that space to be able to keep up with the shoot.”

Adamson also faced having three fewer months to finish post-production work (which includes effects by Weta Digital), and eventually finished all the editing three days before the film’s world premiere.

But he made it on time and on budget, in part with the help of a different editing screen.

“Usually you edit watching a small screen and you find yourself subconsciously making decisions based on that screen size,” he said.

“This time I actually edited the whole film high definition, and I actually had a projection screen in my editorial suite, so most of the time I was actually looking at a 24 inch screen.

“It just meant I had a tendency to stay in wider shots. It was kind of like forcing myself to go through that educational experience and it was really helpful.”

So far Prince Caspian has done respectable trade, grossing about $US100 million in its first two weeks.

“We may have opened the film a little bit too early in the US because it’s a family film and there isn’t a school that’s out yet in the US,” the film’s American co-producer Mark Johnson said.

“It’ll ultimately get to where we want it to, it’ll just be a little bit slower.”

Work is now under way on the third film in the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which will have one major difference to the first two – Adamson will not be directing, choosing as he did for Shrek 3 to be a producer.

It will instead be helmed by British director Michael Apted, best-known for the 7-Up documentary series but also the director of a Bond film, The Coal Miner’s Daughter and Gorillas In The Mist.

“It will be hard for me because Andrew is a great partner and he’s become a true friend and I just adore him. I’d walk through fire for him,” Johnson said.

“But I’m excited that Michael is with us. He primarily started as a documentarian but I think of his movies really standing out for their performances and I think that’s what the Dawn Treader can really take advantage of.”

Johnson said Apted had scouted New Zealand for locations and there was a chance some of the third film would be shot here. However, two thirds of the film will be shot at a specialist water tank for film making in Mexico as it is mainly set at sea.

Adamson will be moving back to Auckland in July, in part to have a break but mainly for the benefit of his wife and two daughters, aged five and 2½.

He plans to take a long break before even considering what his next move is, which could be a much smaller budget film.

“I’ve been very fortunate with the financial success of my films and the feedback is generally positive. But already there is a little bit more negativity based on the fact we’ve been successful. People start to be a little bit more contrary,” he said.

“It’s all about expectation. It’s one of the problems of life in general, to keep your expectations in check, because that’s the thing that’s going to make you unhappy.

“People have these ridiculously high expectations based on former success, and that’s why to some degree I’m looking forward to doing something that doesn’t carry the weight of all those expectations.” [stuff]

It’s 3:07am and two girls burst into a run down London toilet. Joanne is crying her eyes out and her clothing is ripped. Kelly’s face is bruised and starting to swell. Duncan Allen lies in his bathroom bleeding to death. Duncan’s son, Stuart, has found his father and wants answers. Derek, Kelly’s pimp, needs to find Kelly or it will be him who pays. Kelly and Joanne need to get through the next 24 hours alive… Such is the premise to this raw and gritty directional debut by Paul Andrew Williams.

London to Brighton isn’t an easy film to watch, the subject matter is disturbing to say the least with the central focus being that of forced child prostitution. A parallel theme is that of child abuse in it’s many forms that drives the characters to be where they are when the story begins. The storyline slowly reveals itself through the progression of the movie, utilising flashbacks to illuminate the movies and situations.

Quality wise the movie has been done on a budget and it shows in places, mainly in the quality of the image and occasionally in the acting. For the most part however, the un-tapped acting talent lends an authentic edge to the movie, especially that of Kelly and Joanne. The rough look and feel of the film help add to the atmosphere and help with the social commentary that one can’t help but think about whilst watching.

Entertainment wise, the movie does have a well managed pace, and for the most part keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen. But it’s not really a movie that you’re going to rave about to your workmates; it’s not a feel good night in with a bowl of popcorn. It will however challenge you to think about issues that our fragmented society would rather ignore and pretend don’t happen.

Food for thought (spoilers):
Evil raises it’s ugly head throughout this movie, from the rich sexual predator who gets people to find 12 year old girls for his pleasure, to the pimp who forces one of his girls to find a 12 year old street kid to sell. This is the ugly reality of life for street children around the world, forced by desperation to sell their bodies just to survive. But all is not lost as the prostitute who finds the 12 year old also becomes her saviour and mother figure, determined to right her wrong by looking after her, and trying to keep her alive for the duration of the movie. By the end of the movie she succeeds in her mission and gives Joanne a new opportunity at life, but weather she has found redemption for herself is left up to the audience to decide.

Special Features
# Deleted scenes
# Georgia Groom audition
# Q&A
# Behind the scenes featrurette
# Outtakes
# Director’s commentary

If you have the stomach, I would recommend that you watch the deleted scenes as it sheds more light on the movies central scene, and gives another reason for the actions of the central characters.

Warning: This is a film intended for mature audiences and my not be suitable for all 18 year olds. We recommend discussing the themes of this movie after watching.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read.
Rating: R18 – Contains Violence, Sexual Themes & Content That May Disturb.
Duration: 85 mins.
Genre: Drama.
Director: Paul Andrew Williams.
Actors: Nathan Constance, Johnny Harris, Georgia Groome, Sam Spruell, Alexander Morton, Lorraine Stanley.
Distributor: Vendetta.
Release Date: Available now.

Warner Bros has released new details on The Wachowski Brothers-produced Ninja Assassin. As you probably already know, Ninja Assassin is directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) from a screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski. The film stars stars Korean pop star Rain (Speed Racer) as Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world.

“Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them… and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.

In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated. Now, entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of Europe, Raizo and Mika must trust one another if they hope to survive… and finally bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan.”

The film also stars legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi (Revenge of the Ninja) as the ruthless leader of the Ozunu Clan. Sounds like it could be a very cool Ninja action film. I was really impressed with McTeigue’s V for Vendetta, but The Invasion was a disaster, although I’m not sure McTeigue can really be blamed for not being able to fix the mess that was handed to him.

he behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Karl Walter Lindenlaub (Independence Day, Prince Caspian), production designer Graham “Grace” Walker (Pitch Black, Gothika), costume designer Carlo Poggioli (Cold Mountain) and editor Giancarlo Ganziano. The Wachowski brothers’ longtime stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are also on board as second unit co-directors. Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are producing, with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and William Fay serving as executive producers.

Principal photography has started at Babelsberg Studios and on location in various parts of Berlin. [/film]

The Tremeloes once sung the spell-binding lyric “silence is golden”, a sentiment that speaks volumes into the hectic and busy lives that many of us lead.

For some, the idea of silence invokes romantic pictures of peace and bliss, yet it is a romantic notion that many find extremely difficult to bear in reality. For most, silence, if practiced, is done in short bursts.

While some of us romantically dream of spaces dedicated to silent contemplation, others live it. Not as some romantic notion, nor as a scheduled space taken advantage of from time to time, but as a daily reality lived out mostly in solitude after vowing to do so for life.

Such are the lives of the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse monastery nestled in the beautiful French Alps, as depicted in the film Die Grosse Stille (Into Great Silence).

Into Great Silence is a film that most people would categorise in the documentary genre as it factually depicts the day to day lives of the monks. I believe it deserves a different type of categorization though. We will get to that shortly.

This is a distinct film. In 1984, Philip Groening (the director) contacted the monastery to gain permission to enter and film the lives of the monks in order to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him.16 years later they replied and said they were ready, but his entry into the monastery came with conditions.

No artificial lighting was to be used. No other crew were allowed in the living quarters. No soundtrack was to be added and no narration was to be used either. What results is a nearly 3 hour movie dominated by silence and beautiful, often grainy, imagery.

To depict and give the viewer a feel and understanding of the monk’s lives with no narration requires the director to be masterful in the use of image and editing. The focus most certainly becomes the story told by the sequence and pace of the images.

Through the imagery and the editing of sequence, pace, rhythm and routine are displayed beautifully. What one gets a sense of is not only silence, but time – sacred time.

The imagery is beautiful and works through the seasons in sequence, drawing on the beautiful imagery of the French Alps to convey the time of year. Within this daily routine of the monks is played out, including prayers, meals and the rare moments of interaction.

The pace is slow – painfully so at the beginning as one expects music, narration and faster cuts between shots. An introverted examination of the pain one feels as the film moves though, will quickly reveal that the pace of the movie acts as a window into our own rushed lives where the expectation is noise and hectic activity.

Once one is able to move past this painful reaction to the pace of the film and embrace the rhythm and silence of the film, a new world is opened to the viewer. I started to hear the snow falling, the sounds of shuffled steps as the monks walked and the razor as their hair was cut offered a beautiful sound. I noticed the sound of the cutting of fabric, coughs, wind. In the silence a whole new world of sound broke forth.

I also dramatically noticed my own heightened awareness and slowed pace at the end of the film. My state had been changed. I had not just watched a documentary, I had been drawn into a meditative exercise and that is how I would categorise it.

Into Great Silence is not just a film, it is a welcoming into sacred space and time. It is a film that not only depicts the lives of the monks throughout the days, weeks and seasons, but invites the viewer to join the pace of that life for three hours. It is an invitation to silent meditation.

It is intimate. This is the first cinematic window into the lives of these monks and it may well be the only one ever to be done. It shows their initiation, their daily routine, their innocence and their joy as they are able to talk together once per week. It shows their humility, their wonder and their solitude; yet in their solitude it shows the strength of their community.

It revealed to me how strange it is to live in a city where you can be surrounded by people, free to live life communicating with them, yet be alone. Contrasted against this, these monks live a vow of silence where they can only talk to each other once a week and they spend most of their time in solitude, yet the film shows their bond and their community to be strong.

Into Great Silence is stunning. It is both painful and beautiful at the same time. Into Great Silence is to the world of film, what Michael Angelo’s Sistine Chapel is to painted art. There is no comparison.

If you see it on DVD, I would encourage you to get the 2 disc edition with all the special features that will educate you on the Carthusian order, give you extra footage and also show you various notes etc involved in making the film. All the special features maintain the silence as well.

Reviewed by: Frank Ritchie.
Rating: G – Suitable for General Audiences.
Duration: 162 mins.
Genre: Documentary.
Director: Philip Gröning.
Distributor: Magna Pacific.
Release Date: Out Now.

Well surprise, surprise… after the success of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Paramount has realized that nostalgia equals big money and they are officially resurrecting another classic franchise from their vaults: Beverly Hills Cop! That’s right, Eddie Murphy is in talks to reprise his role as Axel Foley for the first time in 14 years. Brett Ratner is in negotations to direct. The movie will head into production in 2009, with an eye towards making it a tentpole release for summer 2010. [filmjunk]

Rumor has it that James McAvoy will play Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s The Hobbit. A source tells British newspaper the Daily Express:

“A number of names have been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James McAvoy is the one the film’s bosses really want. They’re expected to have talks soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future.”

Daniel Radcliffe? Jack Black? Really? The Daily Express isn’t exactly the most accurate source of information and these names seem more random than believable. In Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, Baggins was played by Ian Holm. Guillermo said in an online chat last week that he still has plans to utilize Ian Holm “in some fashion for sure” and that “the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after” the screenplays are completed. del Toro told Empire Magazine last week:

“We are writing based on [Ian Holm’s performance], but other than that, we have ideas [of who could play him],” Del Toro told us. “I can tell you that it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. And that our first choice…completely, magically, we said the same name. All of us!”

del Toro also said that we can expect “at least a year before we announce any casting”. So true or not true, don’t expect an official selection for a while. [/film]

1 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon)
3 Second-Hand Wedding
4 In the Shadow of the Moon
5 Iron Man
6 4
7 What Happens In Vegas…
8 Lars and the Real Girl
9 I’m Not There
10 The Painted Veil

Early life
McAvoy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse, and James McAvoy, a builder. McAvoy’s parents divorced when he was seven, and he subsequently lived with his maternal grandparents, Mary and James Johnstone in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow. His mother lived with them intermittently but McAvoy has not been in contact with his father since childhood. McAvoy attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow, a Catholic school, and briefly considered joining the priesthood. He was in the Pace Youth Theatre for over six years, trained by Mhari Gilbert, and graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2000. His sister, Joy McAvoy, is a singer.

Career
McAvoy’s first roles were in David Hayman’s The Near Room in 1995 and then as Anthony Balfour in Pat Barker’s Regeneration in 1997. McAvoy got his first big international break with a role in the Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries Band of Brothers. His first international starring role was as Leto Atreides II in the 2003 Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune (adapted from Frank Herbert’s novels). The same year he also appeared in several episodes of the BBC sitcom Early Doors and co-starred in Paul Abbott’s acclaimed thriller serial State of Play. In 2004 he starred as Steve McBride in another Abbott-written drama series, Shameless on Channel 4, for which he was nominated for the British Comedy Award for Best TV Newcomer. He also appeared in Wimbledon as Paul Bettany’s obnoxious brother, Carl Colt. In 2005, he played Ben in the Royal Court Theatre’s production Breathing Corpses, He also played Macbeth in the four-part BBC production Shakespeare Retold. In 2005 he also played Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, in The Chronicles of Narnia.

In 2006, McAvoy starred alongside Forest Whitaker as Dr. Garrigan in The Last King of Scotland. The film is an adaptation of Giles Foden’s novel of the same name and gives a fictionalized account of the regime of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin during the 1970’s, as seen by his (fictional) personal physician and advisor. The character of Garrigan is a composite of several men who were close to Amin, most notably Englishman Bob Astles, who was a top advisor to Amin during his regime and became known in Uganda as “The White Rat.” In a none-too-subtle parallel in the film, Dr. Garrigan is referred to as Amin’s “White Monkey.”

McAvoy also took the lead role in 2006’s Starter for Ten. The film follows the exploits of the nerdy Brian Jackson as he navigates his first year at Bristol University during the mid-1980’s. Starter for Ten was adapted from the novel of the same name by David Nicholls. McAvoy won the new Mary Selway/Orange Rising Star Award at the 2006 BAFTA Awards. He also completed filming of Penelope in 2006, co-starring Christina Ricci, but due to distribution problems the film was not put in wide release until 2008.

In 2007 McAvoy appeared in two critically acclaimed films — Becoming Jane and Atonement, the latter of which is based on Ian McEwan’s award-winning 2001 novel. McAvoy was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Atonement. He also workshopped scenes for the movie Three Way Split for directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger, but will not take part in the actual film.

McAvoy has a new film set to be released on 27 June, 2008 called Wanted, loosely based on the comic book miniseries by the same name. McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, a twenty-five year old employee who works in a cubicle. He is offered the opportunity to avenge the death of his father, who was an assassin. He is then trained by his father’s partner, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), and by Sloan’s second-in-command, Fox, played by Angelina Jolie.

He appears in the forthcoming films The Last Station, based on the 1990 novel by Jay Parini about the final year of Leo Tolstoy’s life, and Perrier’s Bounty, a comedy/thriller set in Dublin. Both movies will also star his wife, Anne-Marie Duff. Also McAvoy has been rumoured to be high on the list to take over the role of Spiderman from Tobey Maguire in the fourth installment. [wiki]

Filmography
The Last Station (2008) (filming)
Wanted (2008)
Atonement (2007)
Becoming Jane (2007)
Starter for 10 (2006)
Penelope (2006)
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
[imdb]

Starter For 10 is a delightful romantic comedy starring the ever-capable James McAvoy as Brian. Brian is working class all the way, but he has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and dreams of being on University Challenge. Of course being a comedy and a bit of a coming to age saga, not everything is smooth sailing for Brian as he falls in love with two girls, alienates his old friends without really managing to make new ones.

Featuring an exceptional array of 80’s hits and a cast of lovable if clichéd characters, Starter For 10 is the perfect movie for a relaxing night in, that will bring back memories of what live used to be like.

Food for thought:
Choices. Life is made up of choices, some little, and others big. It’s what we do with these choices that defines who we are. But choices also affect those around us. Brian is faced with numerous choices in Starter For 10, and occasionally he makes the wrong choice, his biggest lesion however is making the choice to face up to his mistakes.

See also: Jacob’s review.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read.
Rating: M – Contains Violence & Sexual References.
Duration: 96 mins.
Genre: Romantic Comedy.
Director: Tom Vaughan.
Actors: Mark Gatiss, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Woods, Alice Eve, Rebecca Hall, Elaine Tan.
Distributor: Warner.
Release Date: Available now.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said Wednesday that “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” isn’t performing as well as expected because its May 16 release date was too competitive.

It’s an interesting thesis, considering Disney purposely moved the film to that date and, in doing so, turned the seemingly natural Christmas franchise — the first installment featured a cameo from Santa Claus — into a springtime experience.

Disney originally had “Caspian” set for the 2007 Christmas season but made the change in deference to “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” a fantasy vying for the same audience.

Disney might also have been taking into account the feelings of Walden Media, its production partner on “Narnia” and the production company behind “Water Horse,” which was distributed by Sony. That film earned $102.6 million worldwide at the boxoffice.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” scored $744.8 million worldwide as a Christmas release in 2006.

Iger, speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York, said “Prince Caspian” is a better movie than the first installment but because it was released between a couple of the year’s biggest hits, audiences are overlooking it.

“Prince Caspian” was released May 16, less than two weeks after “Iron Man” and just six days before “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” It has grossed $151 million worldwide so far.

Iger lamented the “very delicate, very fragile marketplace” for movies in general, given that “there’s just too much out there.”

As of now, the next movie in the “Narnia” series is set for release May 7, 2010. [thr]

See also: Iron Man Kills the Prince.