Like the giant beast of the title, Peter Mullan's Joseph is a lumbering old thing, his creased, cracked skin looks like the scales of a great lizard and he functions on a pure primal instinct with a predatory awareness of everything around him, only ever a moment away from reacting with ferocious violence.
Steve Carell has been given the lead role in the true story of John du Pont, Foxcatcher, directed by Bennett Miller.
Du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic, built a wrestling training facility on his 800-acre Pennsylvania estate where he subsequently shot and killed Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler David Schultz in 1996. After locking himself in his mansion for two days the authorities were finally able to lure him out when they shut off his power and heat. He died last year in a Pennsylvania prison at the age of 72.
If you’re a fan of Marvel’s The Avengers, this week has seen a big haul of images released to help promote the film. With headshots, magazine covers and set photos, it seems we’ve been a little bit spoilt.
The photos come from Entertainment Weekly, who have gone The Avengers mad this month. They've published a series of character headshots for The Avengers team which have also used on their cover. Their feature also includes a character profile for each member which you can read more about here. And here are scans of photos featured in the magazine.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon, The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson and is set to be released on May 4th, 2012.
Earlier this week we saw Kristen Stewart all armoured up for her role in Snow White And The Huntsman. Yesterday, even more photographs were put online, showing Stewart getting a bit wet on set for Universal Pictures whilst filming in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
First adapted for the big screen in 1995 by Paul W. S. Anderson, Mortal Kombat remains one of the most popular and iconic video game brands of all time. A second cinematic release in 1997 (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) followed, and the games also spawned television series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (animated) and Mortal Kombat: Konquest (live action). The end of the '90s saw the televisual and filmic aspects of the franchise well and truly dry up. The games, however, have endured throughout the post-millennial era despite their developer Midway filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
A trailer has been released for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Reader, Billy Elliot), it is based on Jonathan Safran Foer's novel of the same name. A rather poignant illustration of the impact on Western culture caused by the tragedy on September 11th 2001, it tells the story of prodigiously gifted 9-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn, real-life winner on the Teen Jeopardy quiz programme) and his adventures in New York following the death of his loving and supportive father (Tom Hanks) in the 9/11 attacks.
An aspect of Thor's (slightly unlikely) success earlier this year was arguably the presence of Kenneth Branagh at the helm. Always considered an off-the-wall selection by Marvel Studios, Branagh did his homework on the Asgardian hero and produced a film that had action, wit and an indisputably distinct aesthetic.It seems that what made it different from the other franchises in the Avengers canon ended up contributing to it's success.
The trailer for new thriller Contraband is online. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Beckinsale with the Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur at the helm.
Dreamworks are planning a live-action version of Roald Dahl’s classic story, The BFG. From Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr Fox to Mel Stuart’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Dahl’s magical stories have proven themselves popular on the big screen. So this could be a good choice.
Similar to Tree of Life from earlier in the year – in fact it would make a great double bill – Melancholia won't be to everyone's taste. Some will find the pace ponderous, whilst some like myself will find it pensive and awe inspiring. As a movie about the apolocalypse, depression and narrow minded philosophies Von Trier has brought to the screen a movie of beautiful, nausea-inducing artistry and skill.
