{"id":5044,"date":"2009-03-06T03:06:44","date_gmt":"2009-03-06T03:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=5044"},"modified":"2009-03-06T11:50:45","modified_gmt":"2009-03-06T11:50:45","slug":"uk-cinema-releases-friday-6th-march-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2009\/03\/06\/uk-cinema-releases-friday-6th-march-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Cinema Releases: Friday 6th March 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Watchmen<\/a><\/p>\n

NATIONAL RELEASES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watchmen<\/a> <\/strong>(Paramount): The long awaited adaptation of\u00a0the graphic novel<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Alan Moore<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dave Gibbons<\/a>\u00a0finally reaches cinema screens after 20 years of development hell and legal wranglings.<\/p>\n

If you are unfamiliar with the story it\u00a0explores what happens to a group of superheroes in an alternative 1985 – a place where Richard Nixon is a 5-term president and the world stands on the brink of\u00a0nuclear Armageddon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The plot begins with the vigilante\u00a0Rorschach<\/a>\u00a0(Jackie Earle Haley<\/a>) investigating the murder of a former hero called the\u00a0Comedian<\/a>\u00a0(Jeffrey Dean Morgan<\/a>), and he uncovers a wider conspiracy involving his now retired colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The good news is that director\u00a0Zack Snyder<\/a>\u00a0has been given unprecedented freedom with the notoriously unfilmable book after the success of 300.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Visually it is a real treat with some stunning production design and SFX along with some fine performances by\u00a0Jackie Earle Haley<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Billy Crudup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros are releasing it in the US, with Paramount distributing it here in the UK. Both studios can expect a huge opening weekend, but the big question is how it will do after then.<\/p>\n

My gut feeling is that fans of the original comic and young males are going to eat this up but it may struggle with female audiences.<\/p>\n

It runs to 2 hours and 40 minutes, has a sombre tone, keeps much of the heavy flashback material and – even for an 18\/R-rated film – contains quite brutal scenes of violence, rape and even full frontal nudity.<\/p>\n

This may limit its word of mouth appeal but with 300 and The Dark Knight doing so well in recent times maybe the current climate is ripe for the dystopian fantasies of Watchmen. [Nationwide \/ Cert 18]<\/p>\n

[ad]<\/p>\n

The Young Victoria<\/a><\/strong> (Momentum): In what is probably the clearest example of counter-programming since Notting Hill<\/a> took on The Phantom Menace<\/a> ten years ago, this period piece about the early years of Queen Victoria should appeal to audiences not up for comic book material.<\/p>\n

Although on the surface it might seem like just another costume drama about rich people in large houses, it benefits enormously from having some real energy and talent involved. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In the lead role of Victoria Emily Blunt<\/a> brings a real sense of passion and feistiness to a character many still think of as a dour widow, whilst as Rupert Friend<\/a> does an equally impressive job as\u00a0Prince Albert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are also fine supporting performances from Paul Bettany (as Prime Minister Lord Melbourne<\/a>) and Miranda Richardson as Victoria’s mother,\u00a0the\u00a0Duchess of Kent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the key to why the film works is the combination of\u00a0Graham King<\/a>,\u00a0Martin Scorsese<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarah, Duchess of York<\/a>\u00a0as producers (an unlikely trio, to say the least) allied with screenwriter\u00a0Julian Fellowes<\/a>\u00a0(a shrewd observer of England’s social layers) and director\u00a0Jean-Marc Vall\u00e9e<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All of them have combined to make a much more substantial film than may have been expected which explores part of Victoria’s reign not really seen on screen before, namely the problems of her accession to the throne and her early relationship with Albert.<\/p>\n

Momentum can expect solid box office from those audiences who don’t fancy watching Watchmen. [Nationwide \/ Cert PG]<\/p>\n

* Listen to our interview with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend here<\/a> *<\/p>\n

[ad]<\/p>\n

IN SELECTED RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

American Teen<\/a><\/strong> (Optimum Releasing): A documentary\u00a0directed by\u00a0Nanette Burstein<\/a>\u00a0set in\u00a0Warsaw, Indiana<\/a>\u00a0that focuses on five graduating high school seniors as they struggle through school and life.<\/p>\n

The five students prominently featured in the film fit typical high school archetypes, such as a popular student, a nerd, a jock, and a loner (like The Breakfast Club<\/a>, which inspired the poster<\/a>).<\/p>\n

It competed in the Documentary Competition at the\u00a02008 Sundance Film Festival<\/a>, where it received the Directing Award for Documentary.\u00a0 <\/span>[Cineworld Wandsworth, Vue Shepherd’s Bush & Key Cities\/ Cert 15]<\/p>\n

Flame And Citron<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Metrodome): A World War Two film based on<\/span>\u00a0the true story\u00a0of two of the most active\u00a0resistance fighters<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Holger Danske resistance group<\/a>\u00a0during\u00a0World War II<\/a>,\u00a0Bent Faurschou-Hviid<\/a>\u00a0(known as\u00a0Flame<\/em>) and\u00a0J\u00f8rgen Haagen Schmith<\/a>\u00a0(known as\u00a0Citron<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The two resistance fighters are portrayed by\u00a0Thure Lindhardt<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mads Mikkelsen<\/a>, and it was directed by\u00a0Ole Christian Madsen<\/a>.[Barbican, Cineworld Haymarket, Renoir & Key Cities \/ Cert 15]<\/p>\n

Reverb<\/a><\/strong> (Guerilla Films): A\u00a0horror written and directed by\u00a0<\/span>Eitan Arrusi<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>set in a\u00a0recording studio<\/a>\u00a0where a musician discovers a voice hidden in an old record – one that sets into motion a series of horrific events.\u00a0It\u00a0stars Leo Gregory and Eva Birthistle<\/span>.\u00a0[London & Key Cities \/ Cert 15]<\/p>\n

Surveillance<\/a><\/strong> (Odeon Sky Filmworks): An independent thriller set in the\u00a0Santa Fe<\/a>\u00a0desert, directed by\u00a0Jennifer Lynch<\/a>\u00a0and starring\u00a0Julia Ormond<\/a>,\u00a0Bill Pullman<\/a>,\u00a0Michael Ironside<\/a>, and\u00a0French Stewart<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>[London & Nationwide \/ Cert 15]<\/p>\n

Wendy & Lucy<\/a><\/strong> (Soda Pictures): A drama directed by\u00a0Kelly Reichardt<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0adapted from\u00a0Jonathan Raymond<\/a>‘s short story\u00a0Train Choir<\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0It stars\u00a0Michelle Williams<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0an alienated woman who sets her sights on moving to Alaska in hopes of a new life with her dog, Lucy.\u00a0[London & Key Cities \/ Cert 15]<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Get the latest showtimes for your local cinema via Google Movies<\/a>
\n>\u00a0Check out our latest DVD picks<\/a>\u00a0(W\/C Monday 2nd March)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NATIONAL RELEASES Watchmen (Paramount): The long awaited adaptation of\u00a0the graphic novel\u00a0by\u00a0Alan Moore\u00a0and\u00a0Dave Gibbons\u00a0finally reaches cinema screens after 20 years of development hell and legal wranglings. If you are unfamiliar with the story it\u00a0explores what happens to a group of superheroes in an alternative 1985 – a place where Richard Nixon is a 5-term president and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[850,535,363],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}