Continue reading...Comment Now
Back To TopEmpire States: Screen To Stage: Once
Posted on Friday April 26, 2013, 02:42 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
The movie Once is a musical so subtle that most people don’t even realise it is a musical in the first place. The indie feel, low-key guitar songs and musician characters mean that it’s easy to miss the way characters unfailingly sing their feelings, or the miraculous ability they all have to pick up one another’s songs (which, let’s face it, talented musicians can actually do to a greater or lesser extent, so it only seems miraculous to the rest of us). All of that makes it a non-obvious choice for a stage adaptation – but the further non-obvious choices made in staging that adaptation make this a show that’s as delightfully low-key as the film was. Despite the fact that this is a Broadway smash transferred to the West End, it could hardly be further from the Lloyd Webber / Cameron Mackintosh extravaganza we’re accustomed to seeing.
For one thing, this is a musical with only one set – an Irish pub, its walls lined with mirrors hung haphazardly at var...
Continue reading...
Comment Now (3 comments)
Back To TopWords From The Wise: Cannes 2013: Some Thoughts On The Official Lineup
Posted on Saturday April 20, 2013, 14:38 by Damon Wise in Words From The Wise
Although the internet very nearly ruined any surprises this year, the Cannes Film Festival remains a somewhat bespoke event that makes it almost literally impossible to predict, even though the guessing game starts earlier every year. As ever, the initial reactions pointed out what's NOT there, something which also started earlier this year when new films by regulars Pedro Almodóvar, Woody Allen and Lars Von Trier were all nixed by the rumour mill in the run-up to Thursday's announcement. Having said that, most of the anticipated titles seem to be in the mix, the only notable no-shows – mostly because they simply won't be ready – appear to be Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, Spike Jonze's Her, Terry Gilliam's Zero Theorem and Jonathan Glazer's Under The Skin. Personally, I was relieved that Lee Daniels' The Butler ...
Continue reading...
Comment Now (1 comment)
Back To TopSmall Screen: Hannibal: The Pilot Review
Posted on Friday April 19, 2013, 09:47 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
Quid pro quo, dear Clarice. What was your reaction – be honest now – when it was first announced that a Hannibal Lecter prequel TV show was in the works? A dismissive sigh? An audible groan? A dismissively audible sigh-groan? An angry forum rant about how the character should be left alone? All of the above? All of the above whilst guzzling a nice Chianti?
Such scepticism could be forgiven, of course, given the diminishing nature of Hannibal's screen returns. Like many discerning film connoisseurs, I’m a big champion of both Michael Mann’s Manhunter (the first Lecter film, starring Brian Cox as ‘Lecktor’) and Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning The Silence Of The Lambs (which saw Anthony Hopkins propel the character into pop culture consciousness). But after a trio of increasingly disappointing outings - Ridley Scott’s underwhelming Hannibal; Brett Ratner’s uninspired Manhunter re-do Red Dr...
Continue reading...
Comment Now (6 comments)
Back To TopUnder The Radar: 2013 IIFF - The Winners
Posted on Thursday April 18, 2013, 09:56 by Simon Braund in Under The Radar
The 32nd International Istanbul Film Festival drew to it conclusion Sunday night with a closing gala and awards presentation at the city’s distinguished Cemel Resit Rey Concert Hall. A capacity 1000-strong crowd were treated to an endearingly non-ritzy production (dress code seemed to be less black tie than dress-down Friday) at which shouty, placard-brandishing outbursts protesting the demolition of Istanbul’s historic Emek movie theater were not met with violent repression (see last report) but positively encouraged. “Now I’ve seen how you defend the things you believe in,” quipped International Jury President Peter Weir, “I’m not surprised we lost at Gallipoli.” Weir was then presented with the IIFF’s Honorary Award by festival director Azize Tan (note to other eminent filmmakers looking to swell the contents of their trophy cabinets: do mention The War.)
Reflecting the extremely high standard and sheer wealth of quality films on offer at thi...
Continue reading...
Comment Now
Back To TopUnder The Radar: 2013 IIFF - Lifelong
Posted on Saturday April 13, 2013, 18:48 by Simon Braund in Under The Radar
There’s not a lot of glitz and glamour at the Istanbul Film Festival. Paparazzi are thin on the ground, gala charity events are conspicuous by their absence; red carpets remain resolutely rolled up. This is a festival that makes its purpose plain: to announce that cinema as an art form is not only alive and well but positively thriving in Turkey and its environs. The emphasis here is on serious films made by serious filmmakers tackling serious subjects. The fact that contenders for the Golden Tulip Award (top prize in the International Competition) must have an overarching artistic theme or be adapted from a notable literary source could hardly be a clearer statement of intent. And it’s refreshing to be reminded that film not only has the ability to entertain but also to make you think, to confront often uncomfortable truths about the world around us and the vagaries of the human condition.
Take director Ash O[umlaut]zge’s Tulip contender Lifelong for example. Its...
Continue reading...
Comment Now
Back To TopUnder The Radar: 2013 IIFF - Peter Weir Masterclass
Posted on Friday April 12, 2013, 18:26 by Simon Braund in Under The Radar
Among the many screenings yesterday at the festival, one that struck a particular chord was F Type Film, which is in competition for the FACE Human Rights Award.
Produced by Turkish rock band and political activists Grup Yorum, it’s a compilation of nine short films by ten directors addressing the conditions in Turkey’s notorious F Type prisons (or F-type High Security Closed Institutions for the Execution of Sentences, as they are officially known). The prisons were introduced in the 1990s, substituting individual cells for the old dormitory blocks to house members of armed organizations, drug offenders and those facing aggravated life imprisonment’, which replaced the death penalty in Turkey in 2002.
Director Hu[umlaut]seyin Karabev described how he an other filmmakers worked closely with F Type inmates to expose conditions in the prisons. One audience member, who had served six years in an F Type, thanked Karabev for the film’s accuracy.
The highlig...
Continue reading...
Comment Now
Back To TopUnder The Radar: The 2013 Istanbul International Film Festival
Posted on Thursday April 11, 2013, 20:13 by Simon Braund in Under The Radar
The Istanbul International Film Festival scores instant brownie points in Empire’s book for two reasons. Firstly, its press welcome pack includes a free tee shirt (far from a regular occurrence); and secondly, it takes place in Istanbul. Despite its nightmarish traffic and crowded, ramshackle suburbs, Turkey’s largest city is a magical place. Straddling Europe and Asia, facing each other across the Bosphorus, it has the raffish air of an ancient port town, the gateway to the East. Its skyline is dotted with modern skyscrapers and the slender minarets of mosques and churches. Teeming with life, it is steeped in history and tradition. It also played host to the jaw-dropping pre-title chase sequence in Skyfall, which makes it ineffably cool.
Celebrating its 32nd year, the IIFF has come on a bit since it began in 1982. Back then it was a minor appendage to the International Istanbul Festival called International Istanbul Film Days. It comprised 36 films shown over the course of a month. It ...
Continue reading...
Comment Now
Back To TopEmpire States: Empire's Sneak-Peek Iron Man 3 Footage Reaction
Posted on Thursday March 28, 2013, 10:31 by Chris Hewitt in Empire States
If you read my cover feature on Iron Man 3, then you’ll know that back in January I was lucky enough to see approximately 15 minutes of footage from Shane Black’s Avengers-following threequel in LA. There’s a brief rundown of the footage in our Iron Man 3 cover feature (and if you haven’t read it, be sure to check it out on iPad, where it's still on sale), but I was largely shying away from revealing major details, conscious of the spoiler brigade.
But, with some of the key elements of the footage now in the public domain, it’s fair game. And today I was invited by Disney to see the footage again, and jumped at the chance. Thankfully, this time around, I was just as impressed – the return of Tony Stark is the first chapter of Marvel Studios&rsq...
Continue reading...
Comment Now (4 comments)
Back To Top
