Tag: the road

Categories
blu-ray DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 17th May 2010

[ad]

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Minority Report (20th Century Fox Home Ent.): Steven Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi thriller arrives on Blu-ray and has already garnered high praise for the quality of the transfer and extras. Adapted from Philip K Dick’s short story, it is set in Washington, 2054 where crime can be predicted by a specialised police unit using advanced technology and three psychics. When the head of the ‘Precrime’ unit (Tom Cruise) is shocked to see himself as a future murderer, he goes on the run and tries to figure out a murder he is going to commit.

Possibly Spielberg’s best film of the last decade, Minority Report featured a stellar supporting cast (Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max Von Sydow) and a convincingly dystopian view of the future. Like Blade Runner it combines a film noir narrative with a vision of a divided society where technology throws up recurring ethical dilemmas. The production design and distinctive look of the film, especially the visual effects, have made it a favourite in tech circles as the touch screen technology appears to have had an influence on devices (iPhone, iPad) and operating systems (Windows 7) since its release.

The Blu-ray has already got raves for the quality of the transfer. Gary Tooze of DVD beaver has described it as:

“impeccable – representing the film with pin-point authenticity. Achieving the intended appearance so succinctly I’d have to say this image quality is quite perfect – as perfect as I have seen in a while. It appears to look EXACTLY as the film was meant to. If you aren’t keen on the appearance blame the filmmakers not this pristine transfer”

There is actually a second Blu-ray disc featuring a lot of extras in HD as well as the features that were included in the standard 2002 DVD release.

The extras break down like this:

  • The Future According to Steven Spielberg (18-part – 34:03 in HD)
  • Inside the World of Precrime (10:11 in HD)
  • Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg and Minority Report (14:19 in HD)
  • Minority Report: Future Realized (6:22 in HD)
  • Minority Report: Props of the Future (9:42)
  • Highlights from Minority Report From the Set (2 pieces): The Hoverpack Sequence (6:06 in HD); The Car Factory Sequence (2:57 in HD)
  • Minority Report: Commercials of the Future (3:55 in HD)
  • Previz Sequences: The Hoverpack Sequence Previz (1:43 in HD); Maglev Chase Previz (2:10 in HD)
  • Previously Released Special Features (duplicated from the last DVD – all in SD)
  • From Story to Screen (19:03 in total): (2 pieces): The Story/The Debate (9:36); The Players (9:27)
  • Deconstructing Minority Report (42:06)
  • The Stunts of Minority Report (26:45)
  • ILM and Minority Report (6-part – 20-minutes in total)
  • Final Report (3:59)
  • Production Concepts / Storyboard Sequences
  • Three Trailers in HD

[Buy Minority Report on Blu-ray]

The Road (Icon Home Entertainment): The film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel is a haunting tale of survival in a post-apocalyptic world featuring two outstanding lead performances. It depicts the journey of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) across an America which has descended into savagery after an unspecified environmental and social collapse. Part of the story’s raw power is the absence of any explanation as to why the world is collapsing, which shifts the focus on to the central relationship and the day to day struggle to survive.

Given that the story involves suicide, cannibalism and humans acting like savages you have to give credit to director John Hillcoat (who made the gritty Australian western The Proposition in 2005) and screenwriter Joe Penhall (author of the acclaimed play Blue/Orange) for properly translating the horrors and emotions of the novel into a film. It was this authentic rawness that probably meant that it was never going to be a huge box office hit, but there is much to admire here. The visuals look particularly striking: cinematographer Javier Aguirresa opts for a brownish palette to depict the harsh, ash-ridden environment; the art direction and production design also makes very clever use of rural US locations to create a chilling post-apocalyptic world.

Audiences unfamiliar with the novel may be taken aback by how bleak the story is and the film certainly doesn’t pull its punches: roaming gangs of cannibals, potential suicide and houses filled with half alive bodies are just some aspects that will disturb, although the most notorious scene from the book is omitted. Another thing to look out for is the interesting supporting cast, which is filled with excellent performances – most of which are extended cameos – from Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce. The soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis strikes an appropriately mournful tone with a notable piano motif reminiscent of Arvo Paart.

The special features on the Blu-ray include:

  • Special features include:
  • Director’s commentary
  • Deleted and extended scenes
  • The Making of The Road
  • Two theatrical trailers
  • BD-Live
  • movieIQ+sync

[Buy The Road on Blu-ray / Buy it on DVD]

ALSO OUT

About Last Night (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Atonement (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Creepshow 2 (Boulevard Entertainment Ltd) [DVD]
Institute Benjamenta (BFI) [Blu-ray & DVD]
Night of the Living Dead (Boulevard Entertainment Ltd) [Blu-ray]
Ninja Assassin (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray & DVD]
Porcupine Tree: Anesthetize (Kscope) [Blu-ray & DVD]
Pride and Prejudice (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray]
Privilege (BFI) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Rhythm Is It! (Wienerworld) [Blu-ray]
Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll (EV) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Slugs (Boulevard Entertainment Ltd) [DVD]
Spread (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / DVD]
St Elmo’s Fire (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray]
The Man Who Would Be King (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [DVD]
The Party’s Over (BFI) [Blu-ray & DVD]
The Pleasure Girls (BFI) [Blu-ray + DVD]
True Blood: Season 2 (Warner Home Video/HBO) [Blu-ray / DVD]
True Blood: Seasons 1 and 2 (Warner Home Video/HBO) [Blu-ray / DVD]
Valhalla Rising (Momentum Pictures) [Blu-ray / DVD]

> The Best DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2009
> UK cinema releases for Friday 14th April including Robin Hood, American: The Bill Hicks Story and Lebanon

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 8th January 2010

[ad]

NATIONAL RELEASES

It’s Complicated (Universal): A romantic comedy in which a self-reliant divorcée (Meryl Streep) with three grown children ends up in a romantic triangle with her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) and an architect (Steve Martin).

Directed by Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give) it is aimed squarely at the female market and Streep has even been pushed for some OScar and BAFTA consideration. Universal will expect healthy business from the expected audiences although adverse weather conditions could impact the box office. [Odeon West End & Nationwide / 15]

The Road (Icon): The film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s devastating 2006 novel depicts the journey of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they struggle to stay alive in an America which has descended into savagery after an unspecified environmental and social collapse.

Given that the story involves suicide, cannibalism and humans acting like savages you have to give credit to director John Hillcoat (who made the wonderfully gritty Australian western The Proposition in 2005) and screenwriter Joe Penhall (author of the acclaimed play Blue/Orange) for properly translating the horrors and emotions of the novel into a film. Icon will be another UK film distributor cursing the weather and the bleak subject matter is another challenge that has dogged this film. That said, it is based on a major bestseller and is a timely and moving drama. [Vue West End & Nationwide / 15]

* Listen to our interview with Joe Penhall about adapting The Road *

Daybreakers (Lionsgate): A sci-fi horror set in the year 2017, after a plague has transformed nearly all humans into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival whilst a researcher (Ethan Hawke) works with a covert band of vampires on a way to save humankind.

Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, it co-stars Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill. Although DVD is probably where this will make its real cash, the concept could see it do reasonable theatrical business. [Vue West End & Nationwide/ 15]

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Entertainment): A music biopic of Ian Dury starring Andy Serkis in the lead role which follows Dury’s rise to fame and documents his personal battle with polio.

The title of the film is derived from the classic 1977 hit, “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” and although word of mouth on this hasn’t been stellar, it could appeal to a certain audience (i.e. readers of Mojo and Uncut). [Nationwide / 15]

[ad]

ALSO OUT

It Might Get Loud (Blue Dolphin): A documentary by Davis Guggenheim which explores the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. [Odeon Panton St. & Nationwide / PG]

Exam (Hazeldine Films/Miracle): A British horror film about eight talented candidates for a job interview at a mysterious corporation who have 80 minutes to answer one simple question with three rules. [Key Cities / 15]

Mugabe and the White African (Dogwoof): Documentary directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson that explores a white Zimbabwean family’s stand against Robert Mugabe’s land reform campaign. [ICA Cinema & selected Key Cities]

Treeless Mountain (Soda Pictures): Korean film from director Kim So Yong about two young sisters sisters who have to live with their aunt and grandmother after their mother leaves them.  [Renoir & Key Cities / 15]

Fireball (Premiere Films): Bollywood film directed by Thanakorn Pongsuwan and starring Preeti Baraneean [Key Cities]

Mitti (Eros): Bollywood film of which there is little information to be found via Google. [Cineworlds Feltham, Ilford & Key Cities / 12A]

> Get local cinema showtimes for your area via Google Movies
> UK DVD & Blu-ray picks including District 9 and The Hurt Locker

Categories
Cinema Interviews Podcast

Interview: Joe Penhall on The Road

Joe Penhall is the screenwriter of The Road, the new film adaptation of the best selling novel by Cormac McCarthy.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it depicts the journey of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they struggle to stay alive in an America which has descended into savagery after an unspecified environmental and social collapse.

Directed by John Hillcoat, who made the gritty Australian western The Proposition (2005), it premiered at the Venice film festival last September and is eagerly awaited by many as the book won the Pulitzer prize for fiction, was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and went on to become an unlikely bestseller.

Joe came to prominence as a playwright with Blue/Orange and later penned the screenplay for Enduring Love (2004) before being given the onerous task of translating the horrors and emotions of the novel into a film.

I spoke with him in London recently about the film and you can listen to the interview here:

[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Joe_Penhall_on_The_Road.mp3]

You can download this interview as a podcast via iTunes by clicking here

The Road is out at UK cinemas on Friday

> Download the interview as an MP3 file
> Official UK site for The Road
> Joe Penhall at the IMDb
> Read my review of the film
> Find out more about Cormac McCarthy and the novel at Wikipedia

 

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: January 2010

[ad]

FRIDAY 1st JANUARY

Did You Hear About The Morgans? (PG) / Sony Pictures
Post Grad (12A) / 20th Century Fox
Spread (15) / Optimum
I’m Gonna Explode (15) / Artificial Eye
Tokyo Story (U) (R/I) / BFI

TUESDAY 5th JANUARY

It Might Get Loud (PG) / Blue Dolphin

FRIDAY 8th JANUARY

Daybreakers (15) / Lionsgate UK
Exam (15) / Hazeldine Films/Miracle
It’s Complicated (15) / Universal
Mugabe and the White African / Dogwoof
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (15) / Entertainment
The Road (15) / Icon

FRIDAY 15th JANUARY

44 Inch Chest (18) / Momentum Pictures
All About Steve (12A) / 20th Century Fox
Crude / Dogwoof
The Book of Eli (15) / Entertainment
Up In The Air (15) / Paramount
Still Walking (U) / New Wave Films

FRIDAY 22nd JANUARY

A Prophet (18) / Optimum
Armored (12A) / Sony
Brothers (15) / Lionsgate UK
The Boys Are Back (12A) / Walt Disney
Toy Story 2 3D (U) / Walt Disney
Blur: No Distance Left To Run / Arts Alliance
Burlesque Undressed (15) / More2Screen
Ninja Assassin (18) / Warner Bros.
Veer / Eros

FRIDAY 29th JANUARY

Adoration (15) / New Wave Films
Edge of Darkness / Icon
Precious: A Novel by Sapphire (15) / Icon
The Princess And The Frog (U) / Walt Disney
Breathless / Terracotta Distribution
Late Autumn (PG) / bfi Distribution

Keep a look out every Friday for a breakdown of the weekly releases with more detail on each film.

If you have any questions about this month’s cinema releases or any upcoming titles then just email me or leave a comment below.

> Get local showtimes via Google Movies (just enter your local postcode)
> Find out about films showing near you at MyFilms

Categories
Cinema Festivals London Film Festival Thoughts

LFF 2009: The Road

Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road / Icon

The film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy‘s devastating 2006 novel is a haunting tale of survival in a post-apocalyptic world featuring two outstanding lead performances.

The Road depicts the journey of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they struggle to stay alive in an America which has descended into savagery after an unspecified environmental and social collapse.

Part of the story’s raw power is the absence of any explanation as to why the world is collapsing, which shifts the focus on to the central relationship and the day to day struggle to survive.

Given that the story involves suicide, cannibalism and humans acting like savages you have to give credit to director John Hillcoat (who made the wonderfully gritty Australian western The Proposition in 2005) and screenwriter Joe Penhall (author of the acclaimed play Blue/Orange) for properly translating the horrors and emotions of the novel into a film.

Central to why it works is the focus on the day to day struggle to survive and the resistance of  horror movie clichés which have stunk up the cinema in recent years with the plethora of zombie movies this decade and the likes of Saw and Hostel which contain plenty of gore but little genuine emotions.

Key to making this film so affecting are the two  central performances which convey the love, anguish and desperation of their appalling situation and their deep love for one another. Mortensen as the unnamed father is (as usual) terrific but Smit-McPhee is more than his match, especially as the film progresses and he gradually becomes the moral heart of the piece.

The visual look is particularly striking: cinematographer Javier Aguirresa opts for a brownish palette to depict the harsh, ash-ridden environment. The art direction and production design also makes very clever use of rural US locations to create a chilling post-apocalyptic world.

Audiences unfamiliar with the novel may be taken aback by how bleak the story is and the film certainly doesn’t pull its punches: roaming gangs of cannibals, potential suicide and houses filled with half alive bodies are just some aspects that will disturb, although the most notorious scene from the book is omitted.

But the oppressive tone is there for a reason as it is part of the book’s power. It adds to the tension of the journey but also makes the stakes for the father and son all the more real. Unlike horror films where victims are meaningless pawns, the characters here are rounded people you desperately care about.

Another thing to look out for is the interesting supporting cast, which is filled with excellent performances –  most of which are extended cameos – from Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce. The soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis  strikes an appropriately mournful tone with a notable piano motif reminiscent of Arvo Paart.

The Road was supposed to come out in the US last year and there has been some chatter that it was a troubled production the US distributors The Weinstein Company were nervous about. Given that the novel was one of the most acclaimed of the decade, no doubt they felt they had a good shot at awards glory.

When it premiered in Venice, it divided opinion but it really is an admirable film on many levels. The filmmakers have preserved the uncompromising nature of the McCarthy’s source material but also crafted a deeply moving drama of love in a time of death. In McCarthy’s words they have ‘carried the fire’.

The Road screened today at the London Film Festival and opens in the US on November 25th and the UK on January 8th 2010