Archive for Film & DVD Reviews

CONTAGION

November 27, 2011 at 5:03 pm · Filed under Drama, Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

CONTAGION. Certificate: 12A

Directed by Stephen Soderbergh. Runtime: 1hr. 46min.

Scare stories in the media about SARS, West Nile Fever, the Ebola virus and Bird flu have fallen flat.  So far, each of these potential threats have come to naught.  Only a handful of people – generally people who handled infected animals or birds, or people with other health problems – have died from any of these infections.  But what if the next scary prediction comes true?  Then we really will be in deep trouble.

That’s the background to Stephen Soderbergh’s Contagion.  Starting on Day 2 of the virus outbreak we see a clearly ill Gwyneth Paltrow (as Beth Emhoff) atChicago airport as she travels home toMinneapolis from a business trip inHong Kong. Just like the TV ad on food poisoning, we see the virus spread as Beth dips into a bowl of nuts at the airport, as she hands over her credit card from the barman’s hand, to the till, to the glass on the bar. She spreads the virus to her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and her young son as well as most people she came in contact with on the way home. Mitch is somehow immune. The youngster dies. Other folk who were in her company spread the virus in Kowloon (Hong Kong), London (population 8.6 million) and Guandong province (population 98 million) starting off a chain of events in which millions fall ill and die.

In this exciting race against time Dr Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) of the Centre for Disease Control sends his Epidemic Intelligence officer, Dr Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to find out how the virus started. Meanwhile, Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) of the World Health Organisation flies toChina– where she gets a big deal of trouble with the angry locals.

As the days mount up an Australian conspiracy blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) causes worldwide panic with outlandish theories and quack ‘cures’.  The CDC races against time to come up with a vaccination against the MEV-1 virus in the face of universal criticism led by Krumwiede.

Soderbergh’s movie also looks at the human scale of the virus’ effects on individuals;  Damon’s widowed Mitch Emhoff and his daughter, as well as the personal side of Fishburne’s Dr Cheever and his wife Aubrey (Sanaa Lathan).

A strong cast and a compelling storyline make Contagion well worth seeing. It shows how helpless we are in the face of such natural disasters.  It will make you think.  How many times a day do you touch your face?  Are you sure you want to shake hands?

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Les Claypool – 5 Gallons Of Diesel

July 17, 2011 at 6:06 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Les Claypool – 5 Gallons Of Diesel

Release Date – 2005
5 Gallons Of Diesel presents a collection of live performances, music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and other bonus material from renowned bassist Les Claypool’s non-Primus ventures, including Oysterhead, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, Sausage, Frog Brigade, and Holy Mackerel.

SOUND:  After the release of Primus’ Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People in 2003, bass virtuoso Les Claypool released a DVD of 3 1/2 hours of material covering his various side projects over the years, including rare live footage, music videos and exclusive behind the scene footage.  Covering bands from Sausage (containing the original Primus line-up) to Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains (Claypool’s latest group at time of release) there is a wide variety of music produced taking in Claypool’s creative music and many other famous musicians putting their stamp on it including Buckethead, Stewart Copeland (of Police fame), Trey Anastasio (of Phish fame), Brain (Primus, Praxis, Guns N Roses), Bernie Worrel (Funkadelic, Parliament), Skerik (Critters Buggin) and the list goes on.  The music each band produces is one of a kind and you are unlikely to find anything like it anywhere else.  10/10.
CONTENT:  The DVD contains 3 1/2 hours of footage including each of the bands performing live/music videos, as well as the extras of Claypool fishing and having a “bass battle”.  The various content can be seen as follows:

Sausage
01. Riddles Are Abound Tonight (video)
02. The Making Of Riddles
03. Prelude To Fear (live)

Holy Mackerel
04. Hendershot (live)

Oysterhead
05. Shadow Of A Man (live)

Frog Brigade
06. Here’s To The Man (live)
07. Running The Gauntlet (live)
08. David Makalaster (live)
09. Long In The Tooth (live)
10. Whamola (live)
11. Granny’s Little Yard Gnome (live)
12. Ding Dang (live)
13. Buzzards Of Green Hill (live)

C2B3
14. Opening Jam (live)
15. Encore Jam (live)
16. Tyranny Of The Hunt (live)
17. Scott Taylor (live)

Les Claypool
18. Riddles Are Abound Tonight (live)
19. The Awakening (live)

Extras
20. 3 Guys Named Schmo (live)
21. Buzzards Of Green Hill (video)
22. The Making Of Buzzards
23. The Recording Of Buzzards
24. Fly Fishing The World 2004 Idaho
25. Fly Fishing The World 2005 Quebec

I personally would have enjoyed more footage from Oysterhead, Sausage and The Holy Mackerel, but it has to be appreciated that footage for these bands is quite hard to come by.  However the overall content provided is excellent.  10/10.

PRODUCTION QUALITY:  The videos are extremely high quality showing good camera work and high quality picture and sound.  The footage on the DVD was recorded and produced professionally with the exception of the behind the scenes videos which are done with a camcorder, similar to the Animals should not try to act like people behind the scenes.  10/10.

IMPRESSION:  I was anxious to get this after scouring the internet and my local music shops for it and I was not disappointed.  It is a great DVD and if you love Les Claypools music or his stage presence and sense of humour you will really enjoy this DVD.  If you are not a fan of Les Claypool or haven’t heard any of his music before I would suggest this DVD as a good introduction to the variety of music he plays.  Most of the different bands on this DVD are jam bands which mix metal, alternative rock, funk and experimental music together in an original and entertaining way which could definitely be enjoyable for anyone who likes those genres of music.  It must be warned though that Claypools zany sense of humour and his approach to music is a bit of an acquired taste.  However even if you do not enjoy the music you most definitely have to hear it just to appreciate the brilliance in composition and showmanship seen on this DVD!  10/10.

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Film & DVD Review: What Dreams May Come

June 12, 2011 at 10:09 am · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews, Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , ,

What Dreams May Come

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What Dreams May Come [DVD] [1998]
Robin Williams (Actor), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Actor), Vincent Ward (Director) | Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over 113 mins

The books I was reading and the books ordered for future reviews tied in perfectly with the film What Dreams May Come – so I was anxious to watch. Despite the warnings (mainly about themes) I decided to view with my 12-year-old son (who when we talked about the film afterwards thought it had been made for children and was surprised about these warnings!). The film won an Academy Award for its visual effects and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. It also won the Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design.
Perhaps the first thing to consider is that the book the film is taken from is probably one of ideas – and ideas don’t translate well to the screen – in fact the book’s author, Richard Matheson claims in its introductory note that only the characters are fictional, and that almost everything else is based on research. The screen (and the BIG SCREEN particularly) wants action and – naturally – visual power. The latter is there…hence the awards – but somehow I found the whole experience lacking. The ideas are so profound how can they be espoused in under two hours. Matheson’s research appears to dissolve into cringing sentimentality – is this slushiness from the book or straight from the ‘depths’ of Hollywood?
The character Christy ‘Christian’ (played by actor Robin Williams) falls in love with Annie (they meet while boating on a lake in Switzerland) and subsequently marry and have two children…Annie’s an artist he’s a doctor – life seems pretty damn good for them (a few problems with communication with the children) but they seem to spend their whole lives together giggling – and getting on well. Then the children get killed in a car crash – for which Annie holds herself responsible, as she wasn’t driving… And there is a very moving scene at their children’s funeral (some of this action is viewed through flashback). Then Christy gets killed while helping someone in a car crash – and he goes to Heaven. This is a Heaven his thoughts have created. And his Heaven begins (because it’s ‘safe’) as a reflection of one of his wife’s paintings – visually this is very beautiful if not highly viscous – wading through painted water in one scene.
Heaven seems to be without time (yet there is movement) and explained as a dream (dreams have no or little time yet also appear – when dreaming – to be perfectly normal); indeed it is a Heaven composed of thoughts. Often seemingly anarchic and pointless (but are we seeing ‘true’ Heaven or differing people’s thought-ideas – or only Christy’s?) there are some nice touches; ‘souls’ often seem to take on different guises of age/race/sex so as to make the meetings of people who knew each other – perhaps were related to each other – equal and without the usual baggage and preconceptions.
So Christy begins to get used to Heaven but then finds out that his wife has committed suicide. This means she will go to Hell (though Hell is explained as being not quite as we imagine) and there is nothing Christy can do about this. He refuses to believe he can do nothing and decides to find his wife and bring her back with him to Heaven. (They are explained as soul mates as a tree has appeared in Christy’s Heaven, which has been painted by his wife when on earth, an apparently  ‘remarkable’ occurrence.) His guide – whom he calls ‘Doc’ – is not actually the Black doctor he thought but rather his son – and their relationship (with notions of the father expecting more than the son could or wanted to achieve) partially explained in flashback. The psychiatrist helper/guide ‘Sigmund Freud’! turns out to be the Black doctor…More flashback shows that his wife has had a nervous breakdown and how Christy tries to help her and how there is a significant conversation at the hospital where she vows to carry on (and not give in to either madness or death).
The journey to Hell is impressive visually – though it could have been more so – it made me recall Dante’s Inferno at times but Christy’s reaching of Annie is too quick (unless of course this all takes place in his thoughts and is his illusion). During this journey we find out his guides are his son as well as his former doctor/mentor. If all this is his illusion (his dream) then everything is excusable – but finding Annie amongst a sea of faces (seemingly trapped in thick mud) stretches credibility to the limit. He then attempts to enter ‘her’ illusion (his, hers or both?!) and mustn’t be caught by her (therefore remaining there within ‘her’ illusion) – this mirrors a conversation he has had with Annie in the grounds of the mental hospital. The dialogue is clever but not wholly convincing – he decides to stay there with her and by doing so (sacrifice?) manages to persuade her to leave with him and it’s all – considering – much too easy. As my son pointed
out – if people are in Hell for a punishment or through judgement how can they travel to Heaven so easily? Wouldn’t that interfere with some higher judgment?! Also – it seems the age-old notion of a suicide being condemned for taking away God’s gift is brushed aside and it’s rather a matter of self-worth/self belief. I’m not passing judgement here – but balancing it against religious teaching (Oh and God is referred to as being ‘up there’ somewhere! A Heaven in Heaven?)…
It also seems that despite the whole of humanity (to that point) dying and going to Heaven or Hell – and all the noble figures; all those who have lead strict and difficult lives; all those who have loved through UTMOST difficulty – it seems only ‘now’ that ANYONE has got someone out of Hell  – it’s taken a couple of giggling Americans to do what none other has EVER done.
Everyone gets reunited – father, mother, two children and the dog (of course)…now, dogs in Heaven? Okay as part of an illusion but if dogs really get to Heaven where are all the animals people have eaten? And the amoebas – wouldn’t there be all forms of life there? Where would this line of life be drawn? (And umm…how about the dinosaurs?)…
Again – and it really boils down to this – if we are witnessing everything as Christy’s illusion ONLY – then anything goes…it’s his dream and his rules…the fact that we are TOLD or apparently shown others ‘realities’ or dream-states or Heaven Experiences could simply be Christy’s illusion. So now then…what to do in Heaven for an eternity eh?
Well Christy persuades Annie to get reborn (a ‘Christian’ goes Buddhist?) so they can find each other again and fall in love – for what purpose? – hey, and guess what – the last sickeningly sentimental shots are of a little boy and girl meeting and you know it’s them finding each other (not a lake this time more a large pond with toy boats not real ones!)…A near ‘perfect’ reduction of some of the greatest and most profound questions on (Heaven and) earth to simpering Hollywood schmuck!!!
I’ll leave you with this reported quote from the film’s Wikipedia entry:
When asked his thoughts on the film adaptation of his story, Richard Matheson said, “I will not comment on What Dreams May Come except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, ‘They should have shot your book.’ Amen.”

Review by Tim Bragg

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Documentary Review: War By Other Means

May 25, 2011 at 8:26 am · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , , , ,

War By Other Means

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War By Other Means is a 1992 documentary film by John Pilger and David Munro. In this documentary Jon Pilger points out that in the year of Live Aid in 1985 Africa gave twice as much to us as we gave to them. On Red Nose Day the 12m raised by the public came back in interest payments on loans. Developing countries pay more interest on loans then they ever receive in international aid.

Pilger sees the debt system as a form of war:

“In many ways it’s like a colonial war. The difference is that these days people and their resources are controlled not by Viceroys and occupying armies but by other, more sophisticated means of which the principal weapon is debt.”

Pilger traces the international debt system back to Bretton Woods in 1944 where the IMF and World Bank were formed.

The documentary looks at the effects of this system on the Philipines. 44 per cent of the Philipines national budget goes to paying interest on foreign debt. The effects are shown with graphic scenes of poverty. People are filmed picking through rubbish on ‘Smokey Mountain’to find a few things to sell and buy food. Debt is rightly described as a contemporary form of slavery.

The effect of Structural Adjustment Plans is to make sure that debt repayment takes priority over everything else. No environmental or humanitarian concern is given greater weight than that goal.

Despite optimistic comments in this documentary from a World Bank interviewee little has changed. The Phillipines economy is still geared toward paying back interest payment on debt. Although it once boasted one of the region’s best-performing economies, the Philippines is saddled with a large national debt and tens of millions of people live in poverty. In 2004, public debt as a percentage of GDP was estimated to be 74.2%; in 2008, 56.9%.Gross external debt has risen to $66.27 billion and the daily income for 45% of the population of the Philippines remains less than $2.

Pilger makes a passionate case for debt cancellation. He argues that the World Bank and IMF should be abolished and replaced with a real development agency based on the national interest of the countries concerned. Watch and learn how developing nations are enslaved by debt and how we could help them.

Reviewed by Pat Harrington

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Documentary review: Supermarket Secrets 1

May 24, 2011 at 3:34 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , , ,

Supermarket Secrets 1
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The stranglehold of Supermarkets is changing the way we eat as well as the way we shop. This documentary ‘Dispatches. Supermarket  Secrets 1′ looks at the price we pay for cheap and convenient food.

Jane Moore compares now starts by looking back at the 1950s when Chicken was an extra special treat. Even in a more recent past we are eating four times as many chickens as thirty years ago. In 1970, 200 million a year but by 2004, 850 million a year.

Chickens are big business and are produced using factory farms. The talk is of ‘growing’chickens. Chicken rearing is an industrial process. Ross 308 is  the favourite type as it  fattens quickly. It can grow in 42 days reaching maturity in half time of 50s chickens.

The programme shows that animal suffering is one price that to pay. The horrific undercover footage from a farm in Norfolk is distressing.  This factory farm supplies Grampian Country Food group which in turn supplies the big supermarkets.

Donald Broom, Professor of Animal Welfare Cambridge University, explains part of the  problem is  with the  legs of the chickens as weight is added too quickly and they are unable to support it.  This leads to trampling and falling into contact with their own urine.  Prof. Broom shows that hockburns caused by the ammonia in the urine are visible on many chickens bought from supermarkets. In an earlier scientific survey Prof. Broom found 82 per cent of chickens bought from the major supermarkets had  hockburn -  the tell-tale brown round mark found on the scaly part of the  leg.

Supermarket Secrets 1 also questions the quality of the meat produced. Traditional butcher John Chadwick looks at some of the meat bought from supermarkets. He identifies ASDA passing off cutlets as loin chops (loin chops should have a  t-bone) and the fact that  Tesco add preservatives to pork chops and fat from another animal to their topside rump. A jury of 12 people blind taste meat from a traditional butcher and from the more expensive supermarket ranges.  The results are conclusive. In every test the meat from the traditional butcher is rated more highly.

Top Chef Raymond Blanc takes us through an ‘autopsy’of a supermarket chicken showing its abnormal growth and comparing it to a free-range chicken.

This documentary will make you think about the food supply chain and whether you are getting such a good bargain at your local supermarket. It shows that for a lower price you must accept animal suffering and poorer quality. Are you prepared to pay this price?

Reviewed by Patrick Harrington

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Battle of the Bone

May 15, 2011 at 8:54 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

BATTLE OF THE BONE

Written, directed and produced by George Clarke

Certificate:18. Run time: 90 minutes.

Billed as Northern Ireland’s first kung fu/zombie film, George Clarke has achieved nothing short of a miracle with this fast-paced tale of three friends battling against sectarian thugs and drug-crazed zombies. Owing much to the work of George A Romero and Japanese gore-fest movies, Battle of the Bone was shot on a micro-budget of just £10,000. Despite this, Clarke managed to get a cameo role from popular UTV newsreader Pamela Ballentine playing herself. Most of the shooting of this film was done on location, so virtually no money was spent on expensive sets. Action takes place in the open air, a pedestrian subway, a grain silo and a paper warehouse in the docklands, a city centre multi-storey car park and shopping mall, and culminates on the steps of an inner city church.

The story takes place in Belfast on the Twelfth of July as three friends; David, Scott and Jill, try to get back home to East Belfast in the aftermath of a huge inter-communal riot. All the river bridges are blocked by burning cars except for a pedestrian bridge guarded by a bunch of thugs. David falls foul of these guys and finds himself and his two friends running and fighting for his life though the city docklands.

In the meantime, an accidental spillage of a new drug has turned the staff and inmates of the local mental hospital into crazed zombies. These create havoc as they attack loyalist bandsmen in their practice hall, Twelfth revellers waiting at ‘the field’ to see the bands and a courting couple in the Botanic Gardens.

The three friends think they’re safe having eluded the thugs from ‘the other side’ only to run into a greater danger; the zombie hordes pouring into the city centre.

Battle of the Bone is fast-moving with a pulsating soundtrack that really moves the action along. There’s genuine tension at times, but it’s also a lot of fun with plenty of over-the-top fake blood and gore. It’s obvious that the young inexperienced cast had a ball making this frenetic film.

The last couple of minutes are a wee bit lame but not enough to spoil the fun. The best scene is where two doctors in the ‘nuthouse’ lark about singing and playing the piano totally unaware of the frenzied zombies menacing them. It’s great stuff.

George Clarke has come up with what ought to be a genre classic. If he can do such a fine job with this kind of a budget, what will he be able to do in future efforts with a bigger budget? Things look promising for him and his Yellow Fever Productions.

The DVD bundles an interesting documentary showing how the film was made, a number of deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer with the main feature.

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Film Review: Pina

April 18, 2011 at 7:23 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , , ,

Pina

Pina
Country: Germany | France | UK
Language: German | French | English | Spanish | Croatian | Italian | Portuguese | Russian | Korean
Release Date: 22 April 2011 (UK)
Runtime: Germany: 106 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp

Wim Wenders, director premiered, this film at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. The film is about Philippine Bausch, (affectionately known as Pina). She is considered one of the most influential figures in European contemporary dance.

I decided to see the film first and do my research afterwards, so that I was going in with an open mind.  After the film, I wanted to find out more and seek answers to some questions I had after seeing the film.

What were the dance pieces in the documentary?
This is what I found out. The dance pieces in Pina  are expressionist dance; a form of dance known as Tanztheater  originating from Weimar Germany in 1927 and Vienna in 1920’s.

In fact, some believe that “the particular artistic and historical  context of post war Germany informs the genesis of Tanztheater in the  1970s”.  Birringer (1986) and Schlicher (1987)

What’s the story behind Pina’s involvement?
As for the dance pieces in this film, they were chosen by Pina herself  before she died. Pina was going to perform them herself and filming  had been scheduled for 2009.  However, five weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, and one week before filming, Pina died very unexpectedly.  The filming of Pina’s dance sequences was to commence on 30 June 2009.  She was aged 68 when she died.

The original film project came to a halt when Pina suddenly died. The finished film documentary resulted in part from the dancers’ requests, after a period of mourning. They felt this was what Pina would have wanted, with Wim Wenders as director.

What’s the relationship  between Wim Wenders and Pina?
According to the website, WorldCrunch, Wim and Pina both had the same taste for radical experiences, and the same fear of words. “Me and her, we couldn’t trust the past,” Wim Wenders said. “We always had to discover things on our own. So when I saw Café Muller 20 years ago, I had to admit — even as a man who had always rejected dancing — that Pina said more about the relationship between men and women in 40 minutes than a thousand hours of cinema ever could.”

After seeing Café Muller , Wenders decided that a film on Pina Bausch that would focus on her way of looking at things and on her capacity to make body movements express human relations in their most profound and precise form was essential.  However he would have to wait years for technology to catch up with his ideas for the film.

Wenders has kept to Pina’s original film ideas and despite her absence in  performing the dance pieces; she is still part of the film, through historical interviews and films of her earlier career in dancing. True to her original ideas, the film is not about choreography, nor is it a biography.  This film is not about her life; it concerns her creative pieces of dance.

In her lifetime Pina avoided giving any interpretation or explanation about her dance pieces. She requested there be no language, just movement and expressionist dance, in this film production.

Wenders seems to have understood her quite well and this is what has made this film so special, a great honour to Pina’s memory and a celebration of her life!

I can’t help but to believe that Pina would have been the first person to stand up  and clap. I believe that this film documentary will go on to win top awards, for director, cinematography and stereography.

Why shoot in 3D?
This film in 3D has captured the natural movements fluently, precision of movement and dance, in a limited space, looking natural.
Separate to this film, I watched an interview, where Wenders describes his reasons for filming in 3D; “to enter space of dancers, experience and presence of their dances and emotions; to experience aura of each dancer”.

He also describes complexities of filming in 3D; “it is a mathematical process, not simple”. Those interested in the 3D process can find an article by Producer Erwin M. Schmidt on the topic here.

Why were some scenes performed outdoors?
The director, cinematographer and stereographer have all captured space and body movements with great precision, the movements and expression involving two themes of dance. The first theme being dance pieces performed of various sets. The second theme, dance pieces performed in public places; industrial landscapes, the sweeping countryside, the Bergisches land, the Wuppertal Suspension Line.

I particularly liked how the film went back and forth between the two  themes, and between the sets and public places.  The dance pieces without language were interesting in the absence of a story line.

The dance pieces were originally chosen by Pina before her death. They include:

  • one of her best-known dance-theatre works the melancholic Café Müller (1978), where the dancers stumble around the stage crashing into tables and chairs.
  • the thrilling Rite of Spring (1975), where the stage is completely covered with soil.
  • Masurca Fogo, which sees half of the stage taken up by a  giant, rocky hill, with water splashing down.

There are also several scenes of dance and dialogue about male-female interaction, a common theme which runs throughout her work.

The film describes how Pina’s dance pieces consist of short units of  dialogue and action, surreal in nature. Repetition is common in her dance pieces, as the large productions often involve elaborate sets and dance set to eclectic music.

Neither does the film need language, Pina was right: “only the expression of movement and dance was needed, without language”.  The only dialogue in this film is from comments taken from interviews with the cast of dancers, who had worked with Pina.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film; it is a great way to celebrate Pina’s life. It has  set the benchmark in modern film directing. A great film documentary, it honours two geniuses! Wim and Pina met in Venice in the mid-1980s; Pina the dancer, choreographer and Wim Wenders Director.  I highly recommend this for all to go and see.

Let me end with a quote from Wenders: “Only through Pina’s Tanztheater have I  learned to value  movements, gestures, attitudes, behaviour, body language, and through her work learned to respect them”.

Credits to all the people behind Pina!
Alain Derobe, Stereographer, Helene Louvart, Cinematography; Francois Garnier, 3D Supervisor; Erwin M. Schmidt, 3D Producer; Toni Froschhammer, Editor; Thom Hanreich, Composer; Rolf Borzik – Set and Costume Design until 1980; Marion Cito, Costumes; Robert Sturm, Artistic Consultant; Dominique Mercy, Artistic Consultant; Peter Pabst, Art Director; Gian-Piero Ringel, Producer, and last but not least Wim Wenders, Director

Credits to Pina Bausch, A few of her Awards -
2006 – Laurence Olivier Award, London, for Nelken
2007 – Japan Kyoto Prize, the 2007 Laureates, Arts and Philosophy Category for Theatre, Cinema
2008 -  City of Frankfurt Goethe prize, 2008, presented by Wim Wenders, also The Goethe Prize of Frankfurt-am-Main
2009 -  Laurence Olivier Award ‘The Best New Dance Production’for Café Müller and Das Frühlingsopfer The Rite of Spring

REFERENCES

http://www.pina-film.de

http://www.goethe.de/uun/bdu/en4778045.htm

http://www.pina-bausch.de/en/dancetheatre/index.php

http://www.nowness.com/day/2011/3/11/1355/berlin-film-festival-2011

http://www.wim-wenders.com/news_reel/2011/03-March/wim-about-pina.htm

http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies_spec/pina/interview/english/PINA-02-3D.mov

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Film: The King’s Speech

February 13, 2011 at 9:49 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews, Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

  • Certificate: 12A
  • Runtime : 118 minutes
  • Director: Tom Hooper

When a film receives the amount of hype surrounding The King’s Speech; nominated for 14 BAFTA awards. 12 Academy Awards and already having given leading man Colin Firth a Golden Globe for Best Actor; it’s understandable that some folk might be determined to resist the tide. Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail had a go, excoriating the film as historically inaccurate and another symptom of why Britain is going to hell in a handcart.

This time, however, the hyperbole is justified. The King’s Speech is an impressive piece of work. Colin Firth excels as a man who finds himself thrust unwillingly into a role he had never expected to fill. After his ne’er-do-well brother, David the Prince of Wales, abdicates the Throne in order to marry an American divorcee, Bertie the Duke of York becomes King George VI.

Bertie’s big problem is that to the despair of his ailing father, King George V (Michael Gambon in a cameo role) he suffers from a dreadful nervous speech impediment. He is unable to even begin to overcome this problem until he meets up with Lionel Logue, an unconventional Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush).

The King’s Speech derives from the point of view of the then Duchess of York, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon who later became the Queen Mother, played here by Helena Bonham-Carter. This is fascinating as I had always been brought up with the romantic story of Edward VIII; the king who gave up everything in order to marry the woman he loved. As the Duke and Duchess of Windsor the former king and his wife Wallis Simpson always seemed to be ostracised from the rest of the Royal family who never disguised their hostility towards them. In this film, the romantic Prince of Wales comes across as a blustering bully with no sense of duty or propriety.

This is a snapshot of a class-ridden Britain that has long disappeared along with the infamous London fogs. It’s not to be missed.

David Kerr

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DVD Review: Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming

December 29, 2010 at 6:37 pm · Filed under Film & DVD Reviews

Greenroom released the adrenaline filled, non-stop dancing, Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming on DVD November 29th, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Synopsis:

Stomp the Yard

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It’s National Step Off time, and rivalries are running hot.  The Theta Nus have new pledge Chance Harris (Collins Pennie).  Chance is caught up in his own troubles, too caught up to stay focused on the competition.  He has problems with his dad, problems with his girl and problems with the local gangs.

This is the sequel to the US box office hit, Chance tries to find balance in his life while training, working and performing in a famous national televised dance event.  Stomp the Yard: Homecoming unites a powerful cast featuring Terrence J and Pooch Hall with a soundtrack packed with pulse-pounding tracks.

The cast also includes Terrence J ( #1 Rated ), Stephen tWitch Boss (TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance), Pooch Hall (The Game), Kiely Williams (The Cheetah Girls), Keith David (Death at a Funeral, The Princess and the Frog), Tika Sumpter (TVs “One Life to Live) and a featured appearance by Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard, Death at a Funeral).


This energetic dance film is centred on the countdown to a national step-off contest with the competition being very strong and full of talented dancers from all around the US. The story touches on family, relationships, street violence and the high-energy, thrill a minute dance routines that the stars make look effortless.

This video is being reviewed by Lulu, a 13 year old reviewer, since this deals with kids in a high school situation, we felt it was best represented by someone in that age group.

Lulu:

I felt the ending of this video was unexpected and worth sitting through the movie.  I had not seen the first movie, Stomp the Yard, however after watching this one, I would really like to see the first one as well. It is really exciting,  and you never really knew exactly what they were going to face.

The main character Chance, is trying to lead his life without any help, and that gets him and his friends into more trouble.

It’s exhilarating  and makes you think, I wanna dance like that, that’s awesome! It’s a great movie to watch with family or friends.  As its appropriate for both.  It’s like a drama dance movie, and everyone at some point wants to see one of those.  The plotline is very good,  throughout the whole movie, I didn’t at any point think it wasn’t interesting, or it was a dull part of the movie. Which you might do in other movies.

Chance, in my eyes, is trying too hard to handle all his problems by himself and that at some point, he’s going to hurt a lot of people, which he did in this movie.

All in all, it was a fantastic movie and I would recommend it to all teens, and families, as it is a great movie to sit and watch with your brothers, sisters and friends.

STOMP THE YARD:
HOMECOMING

Featuring Collins Pennie, Terrence J, Stephen “tWitch” Boss,
Kiely Williams, Pooch Hall, Tika Sumpter,
and a Featured Appearance by Columbus Short

Bonus Materials Include Deleted Scenes, a Behind-the-Scenes Featurette and Filmmaker Commentary

London, UK. 13/09/10 – The audience returns to the yard of Truth University on November 29th for the all new, explosive, high energy drama Stomp The Yard: Homecoming, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

which takes viewers behind-the-scenes of this high-energy dance romp.  Filled with all new phenomenal, step- routines, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming will be available on DVD for RRP £12.99.

Directed by Rob Hardy (The Gospel), Stomp the Yard: Homecoming is from a story by Albert Leon and a screenplay by Albert Leon and Meena Payne. Columbus Short served as executive producer, with William Packer producing.

DVD  Bonus Features Include:

  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette: “Stomp on the Yard: Choreography”
  • Filmmaker and Cast Commentary

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming has a running time of 84 minutes and is rated 12.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

TITLE Stomp The Yard: Homecoming
Release Date 29 November, 2010
Format Retail DVD
RRP DVD: £12.99
Certificate 12
Genre Drama
Running Time 84 minutes (approx)

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RED

December 16, 2010 at 9:38 pm · Filed under Drama, Film & DVD Reviews ·Tagged , , ,

Red

Sometimes it’s great just to walk into a cinema with no prior knolwed of the film you’re going to see. I often do this. For every dreadful clunker like Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, you find gems like Michael Clayton or Oh Brother, Where art Thou? I could have waited an hour for the latest Harry Potter episode or taken a risk with the unknown factor, Red.

This proved to be an excellent choice with a stellar cast of veteran actors; Bruce Willis Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and even Ernest Borgnine who isn’t dead after all.

Willis is a lonely, retired former CIA agent who sometimes tears up his pension cheques to get an excuse to talk to a pleasant girl in the call centre to whom he has taken a shine. One evening, just before Christmas, his past catches up with him as a team of assassins try to murder him.

In an effort to keep one step ahead of his pursuers, he teams up with the girl, a bunch of retired former colleagues and an old foe in order to find out who wants him dead and why.

This is one of the best chase movies for quite some time. Don’t think too much about the plot. Just strap yourself in for a fast-moving rollercoaster ride punctuated by helpful animated postcards to let you know where the action is. Oh, and Helen Mirren looks great as she coolly holds off the villains with a huge machine gun.

Director:

Robert Schwentke

Writers:

Jon Hoeber (screenplay), Erich Hoeber (screenplay), and 2 more credits »

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman
Runtime: 111 minutes
Certificate: 12A

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