Finding Dory UK Premiere Pictures
Ellen Degeneres, Dominic West and the creative team behind box office breaking Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory gave the film a colorful London Premiere in Leicester Square today. British aquatic sports stars Rebecca Adlington and Tom Daley were among VIP guess enjoying the latest Disney Pixar slice of underwater movie magic. Check out a full gallery of pictures below from both the UK and recent World premiere events:
Underworld Blood Wars Delayed Till 2017
Underworld: Blood Wars the fifth film in the Underworld franchise had been scheduled to hit cinemas on October 14th this year, but the release has now been delayed until January 6th 2017.
The long gestating sequel will see lead actress Kate Beckinsale reprise her leather clad role as Vampire heroine Selene. Theo James also returns in a prominent role having starred in the most recent installment Underworld Awakening. Charles Dance is another familiar face set to return alongside newcomers Bradley James, Tobias Menzies and Lara Pulver.
Blood Wars will be directed by Anna Foerster, who has worked as second unit director on a series of blockbusters, including The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day. The new Underworld movie will mark her debut as a director. A move welcomed by the film’s star Beckinsale.
The previous four films in the Underwold series have hauled in a combined $458 million at the box office alone, with additional DVD and VOD sales boosting the finanical appeal of yet another sequel.
Check out our recent chat below with Beckinsale about returning t the franchise and finally welcoming a female director to the series.
The Neon Demon Review
The Plot
When aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.
The Good
Director Nicolas Winding Refn mixes his art house style with the world of fashion in this dark and disturbing tale of beauty and youth. With Elle Fanning as the main subject, the Drive director has a demanding presence for the films centerpiece and Fanning provides an utterly compelling performance as 16 year old Jesse.
Two of The Neon Demon’s biggest assets come from the tantalising score that harkens back to the electro style of Winding Refn’s previous films, and the fantastically dazzling lighting used throughout. Whether it’s the dark red lighting or the bright white or the elegant use of strobe lighting, it’s difficult to find a shot in the two hour runtime that doesn’t drip with beauty.
The Bad
Unfortunately the score and cinematography aren’t enough to give The Neon Demon much accessibility for general audiences. If you’re not one for art house films but perhaps were won over by Refn’s previous films such as Bronson or Drive, this is much harder to sink your teeth into. While the surface of the film is easy enough to follow, the many directions the plot takes some drastic twists and turns giving it an incredibly uneasy tone. Themes of unspeakable sexual taboos and cannibalism are also thrown in. Such provocative elements could have worked without an elaborate art house facade, but instead they only serve to make the film more unbearable and uncomfortable viewing.
Even then, the story feels far too thin, with the film ultimately feeling more like beauty over substance, which is ironic given the very theme it is attempting to explore. Aside from the overall look and sound of the film, the story never really takes flight, instead moving from scene to scene looking like it’s trying desperately to pay homage to art house styles from obscure films which the majority of the audience will perhaps not even have heard of.
Clocking in at nearly 2 hours, The Neon Demon emits a notion of being long for longevity’s sake. Take away thirty minutes (including the unnecessary addition of Keanu Reeves as a creepy motel owner) and you would still have the exact same film. At the very least you’d have something more economic and watchable. A tighter runtime would at least have afforded Refn less time to waste on strange scenes of a cougar trashing a motel room.
The Ugly Truth
Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest is a beauty to behold, but it’s story lacks any real interest. Alongside the stunning visuals and fantastic music, The Neon Demon drags out some frankly unsettling sequences without offering much justification. The films apparent efforts to shock and outsmart audiences will not be welcomed outside of a dedicated art house crowd.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Anna Kendrick Table 19 Trailer
Here’s the first trailer for Table 19, another wedding themed comedy starring Anna Kendrick fresh on the back of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Written by the Duplass brothers the film finds Kendrick’s character resigned to table full of undesirable wedding guests. Joining her on the table on undesirables are the familiar faces of Stephen Merchant, Craig Robinson, Lisa Kudrow, Tony Revolori and June Squibb. RSVP to the film with a look at the trailer below:
Daniel Radcliffe Imperium Trailer
