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An Adult’s Guide To Animation
here are a selection of animated films that run the gamut from outrageous and erotic to surreal and irreverent; you should perhaps watch when the little ones are tucked in bed!
KELLY REICHARDT speaks to Carlie Newman about her new film Certain Women
Sitting quietly in the hotel room, it is hard to believe that Kelly Reichardt is responsible not just for directing the film CERTAIN WOMEN but also for writing and editing it.
A Look At The OSCAR Nominations, With A Glance At The BAFTA Nominations
The Oscar nominations are, in many ways similar to those put forward by BAFTA. What is particularly interesting is the films that have been omitted from the lists.
Mexican New Wave Horror – Things are getting bloody strange south of the border
The turning point for the modern Mexican horror genre occurred in 1993, when a certain Guillermo Del Toro burst onto the scene with his inventive and brilliantly creepy film Cronos.
Giveaway: Wiener-Dog starring Greta Gerwig and Danny DeVito on DVD
We have one dvd copy of Wiener-Dog starring Greta Gerwig and Danny DeVito to giveaway.
Close-Up encounters… ‘E.T. in Concert’ at The Royal Albert Hall
On Wednesday 28th December, The RAH played host to the ET: The Extra-Terrestrial leg of its current ‘In Concert’ series of live orchestra accompanied films. Previous mightily musical movies featured, include Jurassic Park, Amadeus, Independence Day, Gladiator, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Godfather and Frozen.
More Highlights From The London Film Festival
The London Film Festival 2016 has finished but the new films that have been shown are or will be on general – or limited – release over the coming year.
Contact on Arrival: how aliens connect us
Watching Arrival in a spectacular fashion and later Contact (1997) in the comfort of my own home it made me think about how science fiction, while seeming so distant with ideas of space and aliens is actually so very tuned in to exploring how close humanity is, or at least can be.
Some Highlights of The London Film Festival 2016
The London Film Festival 2016 has just finished but the new films that have been shown will be on general – or limited – release over the coming year. Three which will be worth catching are LION and QUEEN OF KATWE and A UNITED KINGDOM
Close-Up with… Billy O’Brien and Alice Diop
The London Film Festival is a busy time for both filmmakers and press. However, an excellent part of it is the opportunity to meet the directors behind some of the films on show in a more informal way than unusual.
60th London Film Festival – Preview Round-Up
The LFF is thrown open to the press and industry for two weeks before the public can get their hands on tickets. Here is Close-Up’s guide to what’s hot and what’s not from the vast array of films available.
When Marnie Was There: A New Book in the Ghibli Fairytale
As the Studio celebrated its 30th birthday last year it was also experiencing a huge transition. Co-founder and figurehead Hayao Miyazaki had stepped down from creating feature films.
Johnny Depp confirmed as “Guest of Honour” at Cineramageddon
Cineramageddon is a unique five-day film festival within Glastonbury Festival, conceived and curated by director Julien Temple.
Felicity Jones’ “Jyn Erso” The Most Popular Star Wars Character In The UK
To tie in with Star Wars first premiering 40 years ago (on 25/05/77), new search trends analysis research today reveals that British actress Felicity Jones’ “Jyn Erso” is the UK’s most popular Star Wars character.
Holocaust film ‘Destination Unknown’ released 16th June
Making a unique contribution to the history of the Holocaust, the film captures the pain which still haunts Holocaust survivors 70 years after liberation and the resilience which has enabled them to live with the memories.
FIlm4 Summer Screen
Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House brings the best of cinema to one of the most spectacular settings in London.
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ in production
Production is now underway on Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, a fun, and heartwarming holiday story brought to life in beautifully realized CGI animation.
Kong: Skull Island (12A) | Close-Up Film Review
All things special effects considered, it’s possibly true to say that nothing has bested the sheer spectacle of Fay Wray and King Kong in 1933. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped Hollywood trying to make a monster out of the huge ape again and again.
‘Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo’ To Arrive On Demand 14th April
As the world watched the outcome of the Apollo space missions, crowded around televisions and radios, the heroes of NASA – the controllers and support teams inside Mission Control – clenched their fists and sweated every detail through each liftoff and descent.
Marco Pontecorvo to introduce screening of the newly restored THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
The cinematographer Marco Pontecorvo will be in London to introduce the screening of the newly restored version of The Battle of Algiers, at the Ciné Lumière on Sunday 5th March at 2 pm.
NFTS Wins British Short Animation BAFTA 4th Year in a Row
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) announces it is adding two courses to its successful animation department in 2017
Leeds Young Film Festival, the UK’s largest family film event, announces programme for 18th edition
Leeds Young Film Festival has announced the programme for its 18th edition, taking place 10-20 April across Leeds. The Festival, part of Leeds City Council with support from the British Film Institute and Arts Council England, is now the largest family film event in the UK
‘letters from baghdad’ released in uk cinemas by verve pictures from 21st april
Today Verve Pictures and Between The Rivers Productions are delighted to announce that their documentary LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD, about the extraordinary life and times of Gertrude Bell with Tilda Swinton featuring as her voice, will be released in UK cinemas from 21st April 2017.
London Critics announce winners
The UK’s leading critics spread the love among a range of films at the 37th Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday night at The May Fair Hotel in London.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (12A) | Close-Up Film Review
Although Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge has not received particularly thunderous applause, it is most enjoyable and provides a lot of laughs even if some are not in places where they are intended.
Whitney: Can I Be Me (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Unparalleled access to footage from Whitney Houston’s 1999 World Tour and contemporary interviews with those who were closest to her gives this documentary extraordinary insight into the pressures that pushed the singer to a tragic early death five years ago.
Churchill (PG) | Close-Up Film Review
Winston Churchill has been portrayed many times on film and television. And the further away in time we get from his life, particularly the war years, the more freedom it give us to speculate on the man. The role has almost become another “King Lear” for the older actor. Brian Cox has already given us his Lear onstage. Now he tackles Winston on film.
Dying Laughing (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Although this is a documentary about stand up comedians, part of its purpose is to show the serious side of the job and the fact that it isn’t all laughs.
Berlin Syndrome (15) | Close-Up Film Review
The story of this Australian film appears at first to be the somewhat familiar one of the young woman held prisoner by a man, reminiscent of films such as “Room” and “The Collector”. But this one has a somewhat different take on the theme.
Der müde Tod (Destiny) (PG) |Close-Up Film Review
This early film from the immensely inventive director Fritz Lang contains some haunting images and fascinating examples of early special effects. The framing narrative is unusually spooky, told with an unsettling mix of eerie set designs and fast-moving story.
My Life As A Courgette (PG)| Close-Up Film Review
Celine Sciamma (director of Tomboy and Girlhood) adapts this Gilles Paris novel to create a beautifully poised and textured little stop-motion animation about an orphaned French child called Courgette.
Baywatch (15) | Close-Up Film Review
With a contemporary cast and a couple of cameos from original Baywatchers David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, it is an affectionate spoof on the original, which although largely screened in the nineties had very much an eighties feel
Interlude in Prague (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Any film involving the eighteenth century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is inevitably going to be compared to Milos Forman’s “Amadeus” (1984), written by Peter Schaffer.
The Other Side of Hope (12A) | Close-Up Film Review
Finland is not a land with which many of us we are very familiar. Although geographically close to the Scandinavian countries, it is not Scandinavian and the Finnish language is totally different, being related to Hungarian and Estonian. So Aki Kaurismäki’s film gives us some interesting insights into the country.
The Levelling (15) | Close-Up Film Review
What a super little film this is! Well directed, beautifully filmed and superbly acted, this British film by Hope Dickson Leach is a little gem.
Whisky Galore (PG) | Close-Up Film Review
As you may have guessed from the title, this is a remake of the Ealing Films classic made in 1949 by Alexander Mackendrick, based on Compton MacKenzie’s novel of the same name.
The Fisher King (15) | Home Ents Review
This carnivalesque love story, conquering the nihilism of 1980s New York through the lenses of a former radio show DJ and a PTSD-suffering homeless man comes to Blu-ray.
La Strada (PG) | Home Ents Review
The great Italian director’s breakthrough film still packs a huge emotional wallop, primarily because of the beguilingly poor rural milieus Fellini conjures up and the restraint of the final tragic turn.
Harmonium (12) | Home Ents Review
A sombre, intriguing family drama cum thriller, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, Harmonium is slow burning but finally emotionally overwhelming.
Death in the Garden (12) | Home Ents Review
A jungle adventure story with a defiant existential trajectory and some surreal inflections, Death in the Garden looks fantastic – the lovely Eastmancolour has been restored perfectly.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (15) | Home Ents Review
Dario Argento’s directorial debut is out in a brand new 4K restoration. It doesn’t luxuriate in violence like some of the later films but it’s still stylish as hell.
Prevenge (15) | Home Ents Review
A pitch-black British comedy that still manages to have serious mood swings, Alice Lowe’s labour of love=hate is even more disturbing than Sightseers (her previous film) and takes us into darker territory.
Headshot (15) | Home Ents Review
The Bourne Identity meets The Raid in this periodically very violent Indonesian action film, which showcases the silat (Indonesian martial art) fighting skills of the great Iko Uwais (from the great The Raid films and some recent Star Wars shit).
The Naked Civil Servant (15) | Home Ents Review
Issuing from a time before gay sexual identities were set in stone, culturally speaking, The Naked Civil Servant’s restrained and nuanced approach to its larger-than-life hero has aged well, offering today a tightly drawn perspective on gay culture back then.
Umberto D (PG) | Home Ents Review
Verging on, but never crossing over into sentimentality, despite featuring a cute little doggy, Umberto D has aged much better than the more famous The Bicycle Thieves.
Drunken Master (15) | Home Ents Review
The great Jackie Chan’s breakthrough hit is a relentlessly frenetic, madcap kung fun carnival – and it looks better than ever in this glorious 4K restoration.
The Life of Oharu (12) | Home Ents Review
Tragic, miserable, set in Edo Period Japan, 65 years old and telling the life story of an aging street prostitute – what is it that makes The Life of Oharu such a compelling watch?
The Innocent (15) | Home Ents Review
The Innocent was Luchino Visconti’s last film but it is highly regarded as a tight, taut little tale. I’d say that while it doesn’t have the wow factor of Visconti’s greatest films it’s a good way to start a relationship with the great director.
MCLAREN – First Official Clip
The inspirational documentary account of one man’s pioneering spirit, unswerving tenacity and endless passion,McLaren is the untold story of a motor racing icon, directed by Roger Donaldson (Thirteen Days, The World’s Fastest Indian).
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – the first trailer
The first trailer for The Last Jedi has been released
The Hatton Garden Job: ‘Easter Weekend’ Clip
An all-star cast prove that there really is life to be found in some old dogs as the real-life heist of the century becomes the most anticipated British film of the year when THE HATTON GARDEN JOB arrives in cinemas from April 14th, courtesy of Signature Entertainment.
Park Circus to release American gothic horror ‘The Eyes Of My Mother’
Park Circus has today announced that it will release the critically acclaimed American gothic horror THE EYES OF MY MOTHER, directed by Nicolas Pesce, in UK cinemas on 24 March 2017.
Trailer: Elle
ELLE, directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Isabelle Huppert, is set for release across the UK on 10 March 2017.
Trailer: The Hatton Garden Job
The first teaser trailer for The Hatton Garden Job, which depicts the eight men responsible for the infamous Hatton Garden heist and charts how they planned and carried out the biggest burglary in British history.
Swallows & Amazons – Clip starring Harry Enfield
There’s just a few days until Swallows And Amazons is released in UK cinemas on August 19th, and to celebrate this final countdown take a look at this new clip from the film.
Trailer: The Idol
A young boy in Gaza, Mohammad, dreams of singing in the Cairo Opera House and for the world to hear his voice.
Trailer: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
New trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, about the unlikely heroes who unite to undertake a daring and seemingly impossible mission to steal the plans for the Death Star
New Clip From The Colony
A tense face off between Emma Watson’s character, Lena, and Michael Nyqvist as the notorious, charismatic and unflinching Paul Schäfer, leader of the German sect in Chile, Colonia Dignidad.
Trailer: Ouija: Origin of Evil
It was never just a game. Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board, Ouija: Origin of Evil tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit that opened at number one.
Trailer: Keeping Up With the Joneses
An ordinary suburban couple (Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher) finds it’s not easy keeping up with the Joneses (Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot) – their impossibly gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated new neighbors
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