The Week in Film

News

• Harry Potter helmer David Yates has revealed plans to make a Doctor Who movie. The film will apparently start completely from scratch and not relate to the long running TV show, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Confused fans have plenty of time to collect their thoughts, as Yates believes the script alone will take several years to complete.

• It would seem nothing is safe from the Hollywood treatment as Warner Bros have confirmed that a Lego movie has been slated for release in 2014. Troublingly, it seems that the film will be a mixture of live action and animation. Rumours that the plot will be a grander retelling of Bruce Willis's film 16 Blocks remain as yet unconfirmed.

• Sacha Baron Cohen is the latest name to be attached to Quentin Tarantino's next project, Django Unchained. Baron Cohen will join an increasingly impressive cast, which includes the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christopher Waltz and the obligatory Samuel L Jackson.

• Despite an internet campaign for The Muppets, Billy Crystal has been chosen to replace Eddie Murphy as host of the 2012 Oscars - which will be his ninth appearance doing so. Clearly last year's Franco-Hathaway disaster has led the Academy to give up on trying to bring new life to the award ceremony. Ever.

New Releases

• The Awakening

Period British horror starring Rebecca Hall, Imelda Staunton and the inimitable Dominic West. Set in the 1920s, Hall investigates some ghostly goings on in a boy's Boarding School. That's right: a haunted manor, creepy schoolchildren, a suspicious matron - if nothing else, this will be a welcome break from Paranormal Activity and its imitators.

• Twighlight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Broody, Mopey and Abs return for more angst-ridden drama. Edward (Robert Pattison) and Bella (Kristin Stewart) finally commit their lives to one another and look forward to a happy life together as husband and wife. However, Bella falls pregnant and finds out that giving birth to a vampire baby has its difficulties. And there's no help in her baby books. Early reviews have been poor, but that won't stop this fourth instalment from dominating at the box office.

• Justice

Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage in a film about justice. When Cage's wife (January Jones) is raped, he accepts a stranger's (Guy Pearce) offer to kill the perpetrator in return for an unspecified favour in the future. I can;t imagine what could go wrong.

• Snowtown

Based on real life events, Snowtown tells the story of a 16-year-old boy unwittingly befriending Australia's most famous serial killer, John Bunting. Winner of the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival, this looks like a worthy successor to last year's superb Australian crime-driven drama Animal Kingdom.

Films on TV

If you can't afford to pay to see him in the cinemas, you can instead catch Nicholas Cage in all his crazy-faced glory this Saturday at 9pm on Channel 4 in the premiere of number-based thriller Knowing. Alternatively watch Mission: Impossible III at the same time on E4. Film 4 has a repeat screening of Bronson, starring te excellent Tom Hardy at 10.50pm on Monday. For the cult film fan, Gremlins is on ITV1 at 10.35pm on Tuesday whilst Donnie Darko in on Wednesday at 11.55 on BBC1.

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.