In Cinemas This Week

Alice In Wonderland - Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands) finally realises his big-screen green-screen laden adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic that many fans have been drooling with anticipation over. Relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska is Alice alongside usual Burton regulars Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham-Carter as The Red Queen with a host of major talent embodying the rest of the roles on offer - Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, Alan Rickman as Blue Caterpillar and especially Stephen Fry as The Cheshire Cat. This looks to be an absolute visual feast (or at least tea-party), especially since it is being screened in 3D (and even IMax!) on many screens. Burton also looks to have infused this with his signature dark sense of humour which I think will translate wonderfully to the dreamlike logic of Carroll's original intent.

Mao's Last Dancer - True story of Li Cunxin and his rise from folk dancing in rural China to his explosion on the scene as one of the greatest Chinese male ballerinas of all time. His auto-biography on which this is based is, by all reports, a fascinating rags-to-riches story and this cinematic adaptation looks richly shot and quite meditative. If you hold any interest in ballet, Chinese history or culture, go see it.

Herzog reads Madeline

There seems to be something creepy about legendary film-maker Werner Herzog reading Roald Dahl's classic Madeline. Creepy and cool...

Ash In Clay

Some of us in the office are quite big fans of Sam Raimi's original horror-comedy epic The Evil Dead. This homemade extremely abridged claymation is one of the best tributes we've seen!

Evil Dead done in 60 seconds with CLAY - 2010 from Lee Hardcastle on Vimeo.

Don't Trust What You See on TV

Wow, I had no idea of the extent of green screen usage on TV. It's obvious for special effects-heavy shows like Heroes, but for ordinary scenes of people walking across the street or just standing outside a building?? Quite impressive when they can make it all look so seamless.

Remembering the Laserdisc

This clip made me laugh and a little nostalgic for that dinosaur of a format, the LASERDISC! I recall way back when I watched things like Star Wars and Reservoir Dogs first on LD at my cousin's thinking it was the greatest invention ever. Looking at it now, it's easier to laugh (in fondness of course). Is it just me or do they look way more primitive than VHS? The size of the disc looks positively prehistoric, like some short-lived artifact that time forgot. When the commentator of this clip initially pulls out the disc it's enough to make you gasp in awe. And you gotta flip the damn thing! But he also makes some interesting points on the differences between LD and DVD (exclusive extra features, the cool vinyl-like gate-fold packaging etc) that acknowledges its collectibility and advantages. (warning: contains offensive language)



After watching that I recommend checking out this article about the Art of the Japanese Laserdisc Jacket. Very cool. Man that Crash cover design is awesome. So anyone out there used to own an LD player? (or still own one?)

In Cinemas This Week

9 - The trailer for this has been doing the rounds since the middle of last year and those of us into this sort of digital animation have been getting quite excited by the dystopian steam-punk asthetic on show here. Directed by newcomer Shane Acker, based on his 2005 short film of the same name, and starring the vocal talents of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau and a host of other massive names. I deliberately have avoided any spoilers on this one, because I want to be surprised by what looks like a wonderfully dark wee piece about finding individuality in a post-apocalyptic world. (I just hope it doesn't get lost in the slew of other movies with "nine" in the title that have been gracing screens lately!)

Crazy Heart - Jeff Bridges stars in this absorbing character piece from first-time writer-director Scott Cooper. Bridges plays boozing country singer Bad Blake, trying to turn his life around and find meaning in a dying career and seems to channel the likes of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson (who at times Bridges looks uncannily similar to). A highly able supporting cast, (Maggie Gylenhaal, Robert Duvall, even Colin Farrell in yet another breakout role as a highly popular American country singer) give this film a richness and depth that lend it the texture of a bio-pic. One of the most extremely watchable character pieces in some time. Well worth a look.

From Paris With Love - Action-thriller from director Pierre Morel (Taken, District B 13), written & produced by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Leon). John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers team up as an American spy and a young worker from the US Embassy who have to foil a terrorist plot in downtown Paris. Just those four names attached to this make it look like it will be a fun gun-totting action-packed chase flick.

For the Star Wars Fan with Everything... #6

You can rent the DVDs. You can own the toys. You can play the video games and you can register by census as a follower of the Jedi religion.

Now it appears Adidas "Originals" have exploded the Star Wars zeitgeist into an entire lifestyle choice. Sports shoes, street wear, gym gear and any other grossly overpriced product Adidas can squeeze a Rebel Alliance logo onto, I'm sure...