Film Guide

Wolverine, looking very much like a French fashion poster!

Kate Winslet wins an oscar for her role in The Reader, a film about the holocaust, and here she is approx 5 years ago playing herself as an actress talking about how she is only in the current holocaust movie they are working on in hopes to get an Oscar:

My god, I’m not really doing it for that. I don’t think we really need another film about the Holocaust, do we? It’s like, how many have there been? We get it! It was grim! Move on! No, I’m doing it because I’ve noticed that if you do a film about the Holocaust? Guaranteed Oscar…

It has finally been confirmed that Samuel L. Jackson will indeed reprise his role as Nick Fury in a number of upcoming Marvel films, including Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. Last month, Jackson went to the press and complained about the fact that Marvel was being a little tight-fisted with their funds. Considering that this immediately followed the replacement of Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2, it left a lot of fans feeling worried and confused.

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson has signed a massive nine-picture deal for the role, including the possibility of starring in his own S.H.I.E.L.D. movie. [filmjunk]

After the stunning Oscar night success of Slumdog Millionaire, I didn’t think it would be possible to be an even bigger fan of Danny Boyle (especially after his heartfelt speech and infectious child-like excitement throughout the night’s proceedings) but yet again, the man has pleasantly surprised me. According to The Daily Mail, Boyle and producer Christian Colson have agreed to buy new apartments, worth £20,000 each, for Slumdog child actors Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (young Salim) and Rubina Ali (young Letika).

This move follows accusations that Boyle and the film’s producers had exploited the children in making the film, claims that were fueled when photos of the children still living in squalor surfaced on the web. Of the new homes that Boyle will be placing the children and their families in, Boyle told The Daily Mail:

These are bricks and mortar flats. They will have electricity, running water and good sanitation. They will still be close to their friends and extended family. Their community is very important to them, and they don’t want to move too far away from them

.

To ensure that the homes are not immediately sold, Colson and Boyle have placed the home in a trust, and will released property ownership when the kids turn 18. For the next eight years, the film company has also agreed to paid for a rickshaw drive to take the kids to and from school.

In addition to Boyle/Colson’s offer, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority in Mumbai have also said they want to give each of the children a new home. According to the organization’s chairman,

These children have made the country proud and have an equal hand in the film winning the Oscar. These children are special and have won laurels for the country and we want to felicitate them.

All in all, this presents a dramatic case of how Oscar gold can dramatically change the course of someone’s life. [/film]

Trust No One. Deceive Everyone is the tag line for Ridley Scott’s latest film, Body of Lies. Starring DiCaprio as Roger Ferris, the CIA’s man on the ground in the Middle East, and Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman, the eye in the sky controller.

What starts out as an edge of your seats action ride tracking down a new terrorist group who seem to have the upper hand soon turns into a through provoking thriller that investigates the differing ways we all go about finding out the truth.

Terrorism may be the canvas to which this story is painting upon, but really it’s a parable and a warning. It’s a parable about the value of truth over human life, and on another level it’s a warning that the so-called war on terror cannot be won using ‘Western’ methods.

As far as the two main roles go, both DiCaprio and Crowe do a great job portraying radically different characters. DiCaprio’s Roger is passionate about his job and the people he works with. He lives on the ground; living day to day in what Ed would call the cesspool of life. You see Crowe’s character Ed lives the comfortable life in the suburbs. He gets to watch Roger on a wall of monitors from a satellite feed. He’s cynical about life, truth, trust, and is a man who needs results instantly.

It’s easy to hate Ed and love Roger and I think that’s the point of the movie – we’re supposed to like Roger, he’s the one good guy in the whole movie. He plays the honest card for most of the movie.

But then he’s cornered and has to lie. There’s no other way around the situation he’s painted himself into, and through lying he losses the trust of a man he needs on his side.

Roger also looses a little bit of respect form the viewer.

The movie turns into a cat and mouse game that pushes you ever slowly to the edge of your seat as the payoff comes closer, and the explosive twist at the end is exposed.

In the end however, the movie end on an unexpected and slightly muted note, but for the lack of action in the movies final canvas, it’s a pleasing result that wraps up the entire movie very nicely.

When you think out Body of Lies for a while, you start to realise it’s a story about sifting through the lies. The lies we tell ourselves, the lies we tell others and the lies others tell us. Sifting through them to discover who we really are and embracing peace that comes with the reality of knowing who we really are.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: R16 – Contains violence and offensive language
Released on: February 25th, 2009
Year of Original Release: 2008
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Vince Colosimo, Clara Khoury, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Ali Suliman, Alon Aboutboul, Simon McBurney, Mehdi Nebbou, Michael Gaston, Kais Nashif, Jameel Khoury
Length (Minutes): 128
Media Format: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Languages: English
Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Scott, Ridley
Studio: Warner Bros

The makers of would-be biblical epic Kingdom Come have, for the first time, acknowledged their difficult financial state.

But despite empty sets, cancelled accommodation bookings and workers being kept in the dark, they insist the movie about the life of Jesus will go ahead, saying they expect filming to start in April.

After repeated requests for information, Kingdom Come spokesman Ernie Malik has confirmed that the film-makers were seeking bridge financing to pay “outstanding creditor debts”.

Delays to filming throughout January and early February were due to “financial issues” and cementing a distribution deal, he said. That deal was now firmly in place, and film-makers had also secured an investor “in principle” to fund the film.

Banks were performing due diligence on South Vineyard, the company that is making the film, and funding was expected in two weeks, Mr Malik said.

Filming was now expected to start in April, with pre-production work to begin early next month, he said.

The company’s repeated delays have cost Wellington workers and businesses alike.

Museum Hotel owner Chris Parkin said the film-makers had initially booked as much accommodation this year as he would expect from his largest client.

“We were expecting some business from Kingdom Come, but we’re not holding any rooms for them at the moment,” he said.

The gates were locked at South Vineyard’s base in Miramar this week, while a large, elaborate set on Defence Force land near Mt Crawford prison in Maupuia was empty except for piles of timber and the occasional security guard.

A Defence Force spokeswoman said South Vineyard had been given a licence to use the land, which included a requirement to return it to its original condition once filming finished.

After rumours about financial problems, the Defence Force had “sought and received assurances that the movie production will continue”, she said. [stuff]

Jack’s back, but this time he’s only got two hours to save the world, and surprisingly, it’s not precious American lives he’s saving this time, but African children from a missionary school he’s working at. Don’t worry, Jack hasn’t found religion, just a place of solace to hide from his past and his future. But as with all things Jack, trouble seems to know where he’s hiding and always comes calling, not realising that Jack Bauer is a one man army about to smack trouble in the face, all in real time.

So what’s the deal with 24 Redemption and where does this story fit into the Bauer universe? Basically it’s just a bridge between season 6 and 7. It’s a way to help set up the new season without wasting a second of those precious 24 hours. And set it up it does, because of the two hours of redemption, Jack and his Africa missions trip takes up little more than an hour, with political intrigue in the States taking up the rest.

It’s not as action packed as a stand alone Jack Bauer special could be, but it sets the scene for season 7 allowing the season to kick off with a bang, and it does. Part of the special features on 24 Redemption is the first 15 minutes of episode 1 of season 7, and let me tell you, not a single second of those fifteen minutes is wasted, it’s promising to be the best season yet.

All in all, 24 Redemption is one for the fans, or a handy introduction to Jack Bauer for those few people who have never seen an episode of 24.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: M – Contains violence
Released on: February 24th, 2009
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Carlyle, Cherry Jones, Gil Bellows, Tony Todd, Jon Voight, Powers Boothe, Eric Lively, Colm Feore, Peter MacNicol, Carly Pope, Bob Gunton, Sprague Grayden, Sebastian Roche, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sean Michael, Mark Aiken, Roshawn Franklin, Zach McCall
Length (Minutes): 96
Media Format: DVD
Languages: English
Director: Jon Cassar
Studio: 20th Century Fox

This German poster for Fast & Furious takes the concept from the latest American poster and manages to make it a little more dynamic with the use of typography. It also suggests a pairing up of the lead male/female roles. It does however stick to the philosophy that male heads are way bigger than female heads.

The Huffington Post has some great images of the neighbours of the kids who played roles in Slumdog Millionaire. Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Ali Qureshi were flown to Los Angeles to attend the Oscar ceremony, but no one thought to send a TV crew to cover the reaction of friends and family in Mumbai.

The photo certainly rings true to the story of Slumdog, where in Danny Boyle’s movie, we see similar scenes as people watch the coveted TV show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The billion-dollar mining outposts in northern Canada sit on top of a treasure trove of gems just waiting to be harvested.  The only problem being that it takes a lot of machinery and supplies to keep the mines running.  Generally getting stuff to a mining outpost would be relatively simple, but as the title of this DVD suggests, the remote mines in Canada require a special type of truck drivers to make deliveries.

350 miles north of civilisation, the mining outposts can only be reached during a two month period over winter, when the many lakes are frozen and special ice roads are constructed for the ice road truckers to drive as many overloaded trucks as possible up to the various mines.

Fraught with live threatening dangers, most of the drivers come because of the lure of being able to earn a years wage in just eight hard weeks, but those who stick with it come back year after year not just for the money, but the competitive camaraderie that makes the hard work worth while.

It’s a compelling series to watch, one that keeps you wondering why on earth these crazy truckers keep putting their life on the line to feed the insatiable hunger of the diamond industry.  You get to follow a mixture of rookies and veterans on an adventure of a lifetime, where only a few rookies will last the entire season and you get to meet some real characters.

The only down side to the whole series is that it has that typical American TV documentary style that tries to over dramatise everything, keeps re-hashing things that we’ve already been told or seen.  I’d almost say that with some tighter editing, Ice Road Truckers would become a much more engaging series, and one that would only run for half as long!

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: PG – Parental guidance is recommended for younger viewers.
Released on: February 5th, 2009
Length (Minutes): 528
Media Format: DVD
Languages: English
Subtitles: English – HI
Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Surround 2.0
Studio: ABC