Alien Covenant Red Band Trailer
Ridley Scott returns to the iconic universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape. Check out the official trailer below:
Rogue One Review
Warning: This review may contain spoilers
The Plot
A group of lost causes band together in a plot to retrieve the plans for the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star.
The Good
Director Gareth Edwards joins the Star Wars saga in this, the first Star Wars Story set between the main episodes (unless you count the infamous Holiday Special), in this case between the prequel and original trilogy, telling the story behind the plans for the Death Star.
Opening with an interesting though perhaps not necessarily planned alternative take on the opening crawl, synonymous with the saga, Rogue One instantly sets itself up as a film both completely removed from the usual formula yet still honouring its roots. Felicity Jones heads the cast as Jyn Erso, daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelson) chief engineer of the Death Star, who is recruited by the rebellion in an effort to find her father for information.
What sets Rogue One aside from its brother saga is undoubtedly its action sequences. Edwards manages to bring harrowing war sequences to life both on the ground and in the air with real gravitas. It’s a refreshingly realistic take on sci-fi war that instantly apes any attempts previously made in the series so far.
The Bad
With Rogue One chronicling the timeline leading right up to A New Hope, it’s inevitable that some familiar faces will return to the screen. The main face of course being everybody’s favourite Sith Lord, Darth Vader. His return to the big screen is quite simply triumphant, albeit only in the latter half. His one scene preceding the already much discussed fight sequence does dampen things slightly thanks to an awkwardly placed pun which just feels out of place and out of character.
The other main returning face is that of Peter Cushing’s General Tarkin. Just as with Vader, Tarkin is a vital role that would make Rogue One feel extremely lacking if it wasn’t included. And in the few scenes he turns up it’s clear that the production team have put every effort into rendering the likeness of Cushing. Unfortunately all this work feels ultimately pointless. While the effort is admirable the simple truth is that it still looks obviously fake. Due in large part to the fact that any Star Wars fan would know as soon as Cushing appears that it can’t be. What’s especially disappointing is the fact that this could have been so easily averted by either recasting the role or keeping the appearances minimalistic, perhaps covering his face in shadow which would have been just as effective if not more so. Instead Tarkin begins to stick out like a sore thumb the more he is used.
The third and last issue of returning faces comes from the two faces who are the constant s throughout the entire franchise and ironically aren’t technically faces. R2-D2 and C3PO make the briefest of cameos in what feels like a very shoehorned in scene that serves just to keep the record going. It’s a shame that they don’t make one final appearance at the very end to make the appearance feel warranted.
The Ugly Truth
Rogue One manages to successfully stand apart from the Star Wars Saga while still able to keep it’s connections. While the attempts to do this through returning characters doesn’t tend to work particularly well, Gareth Edwards’ fantastically realistic action sequences and Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso are more than enough to bring you back into A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away.
Review by Johnny Ellis
37th London Critics Circle Film Awards Nominations
The UK’s leading film critics today announced the nominations for the 37th annual Critics’ Circle Film Awards, with Barry Jenkins’ drama Moonlight and Whit Stillman’s comedy Love & Friendship garnering seven nominations each. Both are up for Film of the Year, as well as multiple acting honours. The gala ceremony will be held on Sunday 22nd January at The May Fair Hotel.
Following close behind is Maren Ade’s German comedy Toni Erdmann with six nominations, while La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and American Honey have five citations each. The winners will be voted on by 140 members of The Critics’ Circle Film Section.
The nominations were announced at The May Fair today by actress Chloe Pirrie and actor-filmmaker Craig Roberts. The 22nd January ceremony will again be hosted by actor-filmmakers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, who won the critics’ Breakthrough Filmmakers prize in 2012 for their screenplay for Sightseers and have gone on to write and direct Prevenge and Aaaaaaaah!, respectively.
Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Awards said:
“Our critics nominated more than 160 titles for Film of the Year alone, representing the range of wide opinions and the sheer number of movies critics watch each year. There was love for everything from Aferim to Zootropolis, including Captains America and Fantastic, plus acclaimed women from Jackie, Julieta, Moana, Christine, Krisha and Victoria to Miss Sloane and Florence Foster Jenkins. Making it onto that final list of nominees is never easy.”
British actors Naomie Harris, Andrew Garfield, Kate Beckinsale and Tom Bennett each received nominations both for specific performances and for their body of work in 2016. Unusually, the writer-directors of four Film of the Year contenders are also nominated for both Screenwriter and Director: Moonlight’s Jenkins, Toni Erdmann’s Ade, La La Land’s Damien Chazelle and Manchester by the Sea’s Kenneth Lonergan.
In addition to Film of the Year, Gianfranco Rosi’s immigration-themed film Fire at Sea is also nominated for both Foreign-Language Film and Documentary. Also contending for Film of the Year are Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, László Nemes’ Son of Saul and Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake.
Last year’s ceremony saw George Miller winning both Film and Director for Mad Max: Fury Road, with three awards going to Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years and the Dilys Powell Award presented to Kenneth Branagh. The red carpet event is sponsored by The May Fair Hotel and Suqqu, along with Audi, Remy Martin, Sacred Spirits, Voss and Cameo Productions.
The full list of nominees for the 37th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR
American Honey
Fire at Sea
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Love & Friendship
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Fire at Sea
Son of Saul
Things to Come
Toni Erdmann
Victoria
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
Cameraperson
The Eagle Huntress
Fire at Sea
Life, Animated
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
American Honey
High-Rise
I, Daniel Blake
Love & Friendship
Sing Street
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver – Paterson
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nocturnal Animals
Peter Simonischek – Toni Erdmann
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Amy Adams – Arrival
Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Sandra Hüller – Toni Erdmann
Isabelle Huppert – Things to Come
Emma Stone – La La Land
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Shia LaBeouf – American Honey
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Viola Davis – Fences
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Riley Keough – American Honey
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
László Nemes – Son of Saul
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Whit Stillman – Love & Friendship
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship, Life on the Road
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge, Silence
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Dave Johns – I, Daniel Blake
David Oyelowo – A United Kingdom, Queen of Katwe
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Rebecca Hall – Christine
Naomie Harris – Moonlight, Our Kind of Traitor, Collateral Beauty
Ruth Negga – Loving, Iona
Hayley Squires – I, Daniel Blake
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER
Ruby Barnhill – The BFG
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Sennia Nanua – The Girl With All the Gifts
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Witch, Morgan, Split
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo – Sing Street
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER
Babak Anvari – Under the Shadow
Mike Carey – The Girl With All the Gifts
Guy Hibbert – Eye in the Sky, A United Kingdom
Peter Middleton & James Spinney – Notes on Blindness
Rachel Tunnard – Adult Life Skills
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM
Isabella – Duncan Cowles & Ross Hogg
Jacked – Rene Pannevis
Sweet Maddie Stone – Brady Hood
Tamara – Sofia Safonova
Terminal – Natasha Waugh
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
American Honey – Robbie Ryan, cinematography
Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare, sound design
High-Rise – Mark Tildesley, production design
Jackie – Mica Levi, music
Jason Bourne – Gary Powell, stunts
La La Land – Justin Hurwitz, music
Moonlight – Nat Sanders & Joi McMillon, editing
Sing Street – Gary Clark & John Carney, music
Rogue One – Neal Scanlan, visual effects
Victoria – Sturla Brandth Grovlen, cinematography
Gold Official Trailer
Studiocanal has released the new official trailer for Stephen Gaghan’s GOLD, starring Matthew McConaughey, Bryce Dallas Howard and Edgar Ramirez.
Arriving in cinemas 3 February 2017, GOLD is the story of Kenny Wells (McConaughey), a modern-day prospector, hustler, and dreamer, desperate for a lucky break. Left with few options, Wells teams up with an equally luckless geologist to execute a grandiose, last-ditch effort: to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
Check out the first official look below:
Going In Style Trailer
Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (“Tommy,” “Carnal Knowledge”) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one. Joey King (“Wish I Was Here”) stars as Joe’s whip-smart granddaughter, Brooklyn; with Oscar nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) as FBI Agent Hamer; and Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future” trilogy) as the guys’ lodge buddy, Milton. John Ortiz (“Silver Linings Playbook”) also stars as Jesus, a man of unspecified credentials who agrees to show the guys the ropes, and Peter Serafinowicz (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Joe’s former son-in- law, Murphy, whose pot clinic connections may finally prove useful.