Mafia Game in Prison (2019)

(Release Info London schedule; March 13th, 2020, ArtHouse Crouch End, 159A Tottenham Ln, Crouch End, London N8 9BT, United Kingdom, 6:20pm) https://film.list.co.uk/listing/1384260-and-then-we-danced/ "And Then We Danced" A passionate coming-of age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, "And Then We Danced" follows Merab (Levan Gelbakhiami), a competitive dancer who's thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli. (Bachi Valishvili), a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak. A passionate tale of love and liberation set amidst the conservative confines of modern 'Georgian' society, "And Then We Danced" follows Merab, a devoted dancer who has been training for years with his partner Mary (Ana Javakishvili) for a spot in 'The National Georgian Ensemble'. His world is suddenly turned upside down when the charismatic and carefree Irakli arrives and becomes both his strongest rival and desire. The arrival of Irakli, gifted with perfect form and equipped with a rebellious streak, throws Merab off balance, sparking both an intense rivalry and romantic desire that may cause him to risk his future in dance as well as his relationships with Mary and his family. In this conservative setting Merab finds himself having to break free and risk it all. In Georgia there are three things that are upheld as the paragon of 'Georgian Tradition' and 'National Identity'; 'The Church', 'The Traditional Polyphonic Singing', and 'The Traditional National Dance'. This film is about the traditional 'Georgian' dance culture. It has a very large role. The lead person we follow in the film is a dancer and we imagine being him in an alternate reality. It's a story of how gender conservative and strict 'The Georgian Dance' scene is. 'The Georgian Dance' represents the old and the burgeoning love between two of the dancers represent the new. Homosexualiy is a big problem in 'Georgian' dance. The real lives of the people in the film and what’s going on in Georgia now affects the story. It's ever evolving. Telling the story of young 'LGBT' people and their struggles on a smaller scale but also showing the history and situation of Georgia today on a larger scale. All children in Georgia go to dance classes from a very young age, just like perhaps 'Karate' plays a large part in 'Japanese' culture. The inclusion of 'Georgian' dance in the film comes from the interviews with Georgian's dancers. That dance plays a great part in 'Georgian' history and culture. To juxtapose the traditional with the new 'Georgian' dance is an obvious choice for the film. This film is not only a very interesting look into a part of the world not so many people are familiar with but also a heartfelt movie about the importance of being free. Love stories in their different forms can catch us off guard. The world of the traditional dance as a micromodel of society. When we witnessed some brave kids trying to have a pride parade in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2013 be attacked by a mob of thousands organized by 'The Orthodox Church', we've to address this issue in some way. Everything is based on real stories. The young generation now is like any kid anywhere in the world, everything is globalized and they grow up with the same pop culture. However, in Georgia there's a great divide between this generation and the older generation who lived during 'The USSR'. The circumstance that Georgia and other former 'USSR' countries are in at the moment is very fragile. All of these countries are unique, of course, and in Georgia’s case the strong ancient traditional values play a large part in the current situation. Western values are considered a threat to 'The Old Georgian' ways. And for a country that has been conquered over and over again throughout the centuries, keeping their cultural identity becomes a matter of survival. 'The Georgian' language, their ancient alphabet, wine culture and food culture etc. are extremely important for them. We've a differences of opinions and flaring tempers is the norm. Confines of tradition and forbidden love. People are getting more tolerant towards the questions of gender and sexualities worldwide. In many ways it seems as if we're going backwards in many 'European' countries. It seems the polar opposite sides are becoming more severe regarding these types of questions everywhere in the world. The film shows that even though you open up and move into a different direction you can still own and keep your traditions. "And Then We Danced" tracks the intensity of desire brilliantly through the leaps and whirls of the dance steps. The fluidity and sensuality of the film is quite impressive. In a world in which the golden rule is submission, 'The Georgian' dance cannot be or express anything else but virility. And what happens when a teenager’s first crush meets beliefs that deny him the right to happiness? A disconcerting romance set against a wave of conservatism in Georgia that preaches tolerance to difference.

(Release Info London schedule; February 28th, 2020, Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BY, United Kingdom, 3.25pm ● 8.45pm) https://princecharlescinema.com/PrinceCharlesCinema.dll/WhatsOn?f=15887572 "Color Out Of Space" After a meteorite lands in the front yard of their farmstead, Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage) and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism as it infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a technicolor nightmare. "Color Out Of Space" is a cosmic nightmare about Nathan Gardner and his family, whose recent retreat to rural life is quickly disrupted by a meteorite that crashes in their front yard. 'The Gardners' peaceful escape quickly becomes a hallucinatory prison, as an extraterrestrial organism contaminates the farmstead, infecting everything and everyone it can. 'The Gardners' are a family who moves to a remote farmstead in rural 'New England' to escape the hustle of 'The 21st Century'. They're busy adapting to their new life when a meteorite crashes into their front yard. The mysterious aerolite seems to melt into the earth, infecting both the land and the properties of space-time with a strange, otherworldly color. A meteorite crashes near 'The Gardners’ Farm', releasing an alien organism that will turn the family’s quiet rural life into a colorful and hallucinogenic nightmare. Nathan, Theresa (Joely Richardson), and their three children Lavina (Madeleine Arthur), Jack (Julian Hillard) and Benny (Brendan Meyer) start to notice strange occurrences after one night when an earth-shaking event deposits a strange object in their front yard. The mysterious aerolite seems to melt into the earth, infecting both the land and the properties of space-time. The object soon sinks into the earth and that's when the incidences escalate, animals and people acting very oddly. Soon, the place is overrun by the shadows. Mutant forms of technicolor flora start sprouting, while local animals begin to display bizarre deformities. Death stalks the town, madness reigns, and it starts to look like the rest of the world might follow. To their horror, 'The Gardner Family' discover that this alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it touches; including them. Soon, 'The Gardners' realize that they too are susceptible to the extraterrestrial pathogen, and must escape the contagious cloud that has consumed their farm. With the help of friendly hydrologist Ward Phillips (Elliot Knight) and eccentric neighbor Ezra (Tommy Chong), the family attempts to battle a nebulous entity that they can barely begin to understand. What chance can a few humans have against a force capable of traversing the gulf between worlds, a nightmarish being that exists beyond the limits of the human spectrum? The rural tales are queer. They might be even queerer if city men and college chemists could be interested enough to analyze the water from that disused well, or the grey dust that no wind seems to disperse. Botanists, too, ought to study the stunted flora on the borders of that spot, for they might shed light on the country notion that the blight is spreading, little by little, perhaps an inch a year. The color of the neighboring herbage is not quite right in the spring, and that wild things leave queer prints in the light winter snow. Snow never seems quite so heavy on the blasted heath as it's elsewhere. Horses grow skittish in the silent valley; and hunters cannot depend on their dogs too near the splotch of grayish dust. The mental influences are very bad, too; numbers went queer in the years after Nathan’s taking, and always they lacked the power to get away. Then the stronger; minded folk all left the region, and only the foreigners tried to live in the crumbling old homesteads. They could not stay, though; and one sometimes wonders what insight beyond ours their wild, weird stories of whispered magic have given them. Their dreams at night, they protest, are very horrible in that grotesque country; and surely the very look of the dark realm is enough to stir a morbid fancy. What it's, only God knows. In terms of matter we suppose the thing Nathan describes would be called a gas, but this gas obeyed the laws that are not of our cosmos. This is no fruit of such worlds and suns as shine on the telescopes and photographic plates of our observatories. This is no breath from the skies whose motions and dimensions our astronomers measure or deem too vast to measure. It's just a color out of space; a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all 'Nature' as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra; cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes. But whatever demon hatchling is there, it must be tethered to something or else it would quickly spread. It fastenes to the roots of those trees that claw the air? One of the current Arkham tales is about fat oaks that shine and move as they ought not to do at night. H.P. Lovecraft's short story, 'The Colour Out Of Space', was published in 'Amazing Stories' in September 1927, making it a 'Public Domain' work in Europe. 'The Colour Out of Space' is a first-person narrative written from the perspective of an unnamed surveyor from Boston. In order to prepare for the construction of a new reservoir in Massachusetts, he surveys a rural area that's to be flooded near Lovecraft's fictional town of Arkham. He comes across a mysterious patch of land, an abandoned 5-acre (20,000 m2) farmstead, which is completely devoid of all life. At the centre of the farmstead is an old well. The site fills him with an unnatural sense of dread, and he hurries past it. In the early 1880s, the farm had been productive, run by a Nahum Gardner and his family. Then, one afternoon in June 1882, a large meteorite crashed into the farm, beside the well. It was metallic and contained a substance of an indescribable color that proved toxic. While scientists were never able to tell what or who the meteor contained, it's effects were undeniable; the entire Gardner family was struck by insanity, illness, and worse, whilst the land around them was slowly drained of life. "Color Out Of Space" follows the disastrous fall out in Arkham after it's struck by a meteorite. One of H.P. Lovecraft’s most emblematic stories now comes to the big screen It's a genuine lineup of fantastic visionaries. That’s a sure-fire recipe for cinematic delight. But what does a colour fallen from the sky look like? How will the monstrous creatures inhabiting the 'Blasted Heath' look? And what about the famous 'Lovecraftian' terror that defies description? It's a ominous and colorful world in which the characters live. The film brings the classic sci-fi story to life with the traditional alien aspects while also bringing it up to date with modern technology. Although numerous H.P. Lovecraft adaptations have been done over the years, it’s easily argued that many of these adaptations have done a disservice to the legacy and memory of the late Lovecraft’s works. Although H.P. Lovecraft has been adapted both directly and indirectly over the years, rarely has there been a faithful adaptation that truly captures the cosmic dread that he was known for. Many of "Color Out Of Space" predecessors fall into the horror comedy genre, something Lovecraft purists decry is in direct opposition to the complete and utter lack of levity in his work. There’s nothing funny about Lovecraft. He believes that 'The Holy Grail' was a black stone 'Aerolite' that was the fragment of a meteorite that had slammed into earth many, many, years ago which had potentially been the basis of a number of religions. If you rubb them together, you can see how they bled when friction is created between the two stones. It seems like magic, but the film believes that these are merely alien metals that secreted some sort of high-density substance in the iron family. It's a film about a meteorite slamming into a family farm on planet 'Earth' that brings an almost spiritual; like change, for the worse, in this case, to the humans and all life forms that it comes into contact with. 'The Holy Grail' itself may have been a meteorite that changed humanity in so far as it led to the birth of many organized religions that survive to this day. In this moment, the film makes reality appear just as magical as H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction.

(Release Info London schedule; December 23rd, 2019, Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare St, London E8 1HE, United Kingdom, 20:30) https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/000/HO00010390/ip-man-4-the-finale-plus-q-a "IP MAN 4" Mixed martial arts superstar 'Ip Man' (Donnie Yen) is back for the final installment of 'The Ip Man Universe Franchise' in "Ip Man 4: The Finale". 'Ip Man' reprises his role as the legendary 'Wing Chun' master in the grand finale of the revolutionary martial arts series. Following the death of his wife, 'Ip Man' travels to San Francisco to ease tensions between the local 'Kung Fu' masters and his star student, Bruce Lee (Danny Chan), while searching for a better future for his son Ming (Jim Liu). From the action visionary behind "Kill Bill" and "The Matrix", witness the heroic sendoff to the saga that inspired a new wave of martial arts movie fans. Donnie Yen ignites the screen in a return to his iconic role of 'Ip Man', the real-life 'Wing Chun Kung Fu Master' who mentored Bruce Lee. A kind father, a gentle and caring husband, a just and involved citizen. 'Wing Chung' legend 'Ip Man' is a brave and righteous national hero and martial arts master who has impacted an entire generation. A 'Grandmaster Of Wing Chun' from 'Foshan', 'Ip Man' spent his heydays in Hong Kong. He survived 'The Japanese' invasion of China and endured the injustice of colonial Hong Kong but still managed to defend Chinese dignity through martial arts. Not only is he a highly respected martial artist but also a family man devoted to his wife and children. After his wife’s death, he and his son gradually grew apart. While looking for a school in America for his son, he encounters racial discrimination. The injustice faced by overseas Chinese prompted him to take on the responsibility of a martial artist once again. A 'Tai-Chi' expert who emigrated to San Francisco with his father as a young man, Wan Zong Hua (Wu Yue) has started a new life abroad and has put up with years of racial discrimination and injustice. He set up 'The CCBA' in Chinatown to unite and help fellow overseas Chinese. But when Bruce Lee defies the rules of Chinatown and starts teaching martial arts to foreigners, enmity developed between Wan Zong Hua and 'Ip Man'. The grandmasters also failed to see eye to eye on the issue of national spirit. When 'The U.S.' Immigration gives him undue trouble, he decides to fight back. Deeply influenced and inspired by 'Ip Man', Bruce Lee is an arrogant and gifted boy, a practitioner pursuing perfectionism and a rising star. In addition to 'Wing Chun', he also practiced other martial arts styles and is actively promoting Chinese martial arts. He invites 'Ip Man' to watch him perform at 'The International Karate Championship' in America. He starts teaching martial arts to foreigners and published manuals on Chinese martial arts in English. In doing so, he offenders 'The CCBA' but he receives endorsement from 'Ip Man' regarding his martial arts philosophy. The film uses 'CG' techniques to revive Bruce Lee on the big screen. All rights are generally divided between his surviving brother, Robert Lee, for the work Bruce Lee completed before his marriage; and the late Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce Lee’s widow, for the work that Bruce Lee completed after his marriage. Bruce Lee remains to be 'Master Ip Man’s' most accomplished disciple, and the film presents the best visual representation of Bruce Lee for this installment of 'The Ip Man' films. Hartman Wu (Van Ness) is a 'Chinese-American' officer of 'The U.S. Marine Corps'. He takes an interest in Chinese martial arts after reading Bruce Lee’s book. He becomes Bruce Lee’s protégé and wants to incorporate Chinese martial arts into the hand combat training of 'The Marine Corps'. But his white supremacist commanding officer Barton Geddes (Scott Adkins) is repulsed by the idea and caused a series of conflicts between east and west cultures. He arranges for 'Ip Man' to fight Barton to prove that different cultures have their own merits. As hand combat instructor of 'The U.S. Marine Corps', Barton is a white supremacist who subscribes to 'American Imperialism'. He vehemently stopps Hartman from bringing Chinese martial arts into 'The Corps' and orders Collins to defeat the representatives of different martial arts sects and mercilessly beat up Wan Zong Hua as a manifestation of white supremacy. When he personally takes on 'Ip Man', he finally got a taste of his own medicine. Outsourced 'Karate' instructor for 'The U.S. Marine Corps', Collins Frater (Chtis Collins) is a firm believer that karate is invincible and sneers at Chinese martial arts. On Barton’s order, Collins shows up in 'Chinatown' on 'Mid-Autumn Festival' and defeats the representatives of different sects. He’s ultimately defeated by 'Ip Man'. Practiced by 'Ip Man' in the film and in real life, 'Wing Chun' is initially derided as only being suitable for girls. They change their tune quickly, however, after seeing the ferociousness with which 'Ip Man' effortlessly defeats opponents. Accounts on the origin of 'Wing Chun' differ, but the most common version names southern 'Shaolin' nun 'Ng Mui' as it's founder. While visiting 'Foshan' in 'Guangdong' in the late 'Qing Dynasty', 'Ng Mui' came across 'Yim Wing-Chun', the beautiful daughter of a tofu vender who was often harassed by local gangsters. To help her defend herself, 'Ng Mui' then taught her select moves that were suitable for girls. Being a talented learner, 'Yim Wing-Chun' soon gained a grasp on the essence of the moves. She developed a series of moves for practice and named them 'Wing Chun'. Developed as a method of self-defense for women, 'Wing Chun' is a practical school of boxing characterized by it's tall and narrow stance, relaxed softness, and directness of action in contrast with the low and wide stance and high-impact moves of other schools. Toward the end of the reign of 'Emperor Jiaquin', 'Master Yim' married 'Leung Bok-Sau' and taught him all she had learned. Leung eventually taught 'Wing Chun' to 'Wong Wah-Bo' and 'Leung Yi-Tai' on a boat in exchange for the manual of the six and a half point pole, which has since become an essential weapon used by 'Wing Chun' practitioners. 'Wong Wah-Bo' passed his 'Wing Chun' skills to 'Leung Chun', a respected local doctor with a very good reputation, extensive social network, and a passion for martial arts. Despite his wide exposure in martial arts, he was hardly satisfied with his skills until he learned 'Wing Chun' from 'Wong'. Recognizing the superb tactics and mastery of power and stance in 'Wing Chun', 'Leung' put his heart into it and mastered 'The Siu Nim Tau', 'Chum Kiu' ('Seeking Bridge') and 'Bil Jee' ('Darting Fingers') forms, as well as wooden dummy boxing, the six and a half point pole, and eight slashing knives. He also put 'Wing Chun' to practical use and gave local bullies and gangsters a hard time. 'Wing Chun' became well-known in 'Lingnan' as a result, while 'Leung' acquired fame as 'The King Of Wing Chun'. However, being a philanthropist, 'Leung' spent most of his time on his medical practice instead of 'Wing Chun' teaching, and only 'Chan' and 'Leung Bik' learned 'Wing Chun' from him. Although the legend was known by many, it was only practiced by a few and was therefore regarded as a mystery. Living in 'Chan' village in 'Foshan', 'Chan Wah-Shun' worked as a money changer in his youth and was known as 'Money Changer Wah'. He frequently visited Leung’s clinic for work and eventually became 'Leung’s' pupil and learned the essence of his art. After the death of 'Leung', more and more people approached 'Wah' for guidance on 'Wing Chun'. 'Wah' then quit his work as a money changer and concentrated on 'Wing Chun' teaching. He was the first 'Wing Chun Master' to establish his own wushu school. Apart from boxing sequences and individual moves, 'Chi Sau' ('hand-sticking') is another important element of 'Wing Chun' that requires extensive training to master. One-on-one coaching is required and 'Wah' was obliged to keep only a few pupils and charge expensive rates. Therefore, most of his pupils were boys from rich families and 'Wing Chun' acquired a reputation as boxing for rich boys. Among 'Wah's' pupils were 'Ng Chung-Sok', 'Ho Hon-Lui', 'Lui Yu-Chai', his own son 'Chan Yu-Gum', and 'Ip Man', his last pupil, who would eventually turn 'Wing Chun' into one of the most popular Chinese martial arts. 'Ip' joined 'Wah’s' wushu school at the age of seven. Then an old man, 'Wah' was very fond of the boy and taught him with great devotion. After the death of 'Wah', 'Ng Chung-Sok', his first pupil, took very good care of 'Ip' and continued to guide him in his practice. After three years of hard work, 'Ip' had learned the essence of 'Wah's' skills. Relocating to Hong Kong to pursue his studies, 'Ip', then 16 years old, met 'Leung Bik', the second son of 'Leung Chun'. 'Ip' then studied under 'Leung Bik' for three years. It proved a great opportunity for him, and Ip saw great advancement in his skills. Upon his return to 'Foshan', 'Ip' supported the cause of justice with his expertise in martial arts and once again brought great fame to the art of 'Wing Chun'. However, with the invasion of 'The Japanese', 'Ip' fled with his family and did not have a chance to teach. After 'The Sino-Japanese War', 'Ip' revisited Hong Kong and settled down to teach 'Wing Chun'. After painstaking scouting, he found a teaching job at a restaurant employees union on 'Tai Nam' street in 'Sham Shui Po' with the recommendation of his friend 'Li Man', and took up a career in teaching. Well-educated in western science and reason, 'Ip' taught 'Wing Chun' in a scientific manner, stressing the importance of logic, line, and angle of attack, control of force, and psychology, among other things. He also abandoned the traditional way of teaching and encouraged learners to look further than specific moves and instead try to grasp the essence, and strike as their hearts pleased. Ip taught differently according to the abilities of each pupil, ensuring each of them learned efficiently and developed their own talents. The art of 'Wing Chun' flourished with 'Ip’s' new way of teaching. Unlike many other teachers, 'Ip' encouraged his pupils to engage in combat with outsiders in order to understand their own weaknesses. This helped spread the name of 'Wing Chun' throughout the city and attracted many talented young people to 'Ip’s' school. The late kung fu superstar, Bruce Lee, who introduced Chinese martial arts to the world, was one of them. 'Ip' spent a lifetime teaching 'Wing Chun' and many of his pupils enjoyed great success, gaining enormous fame for the art of 'Wing Chun' in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and 'Southeast Asia'. With his invaluable contribution to the development of 'Wing Chun', 'Ip" came to be regarded as one of the greatest masters by 'Wing Chun' practitioners. From a method of self-defense for women, 'Wing Chun' developed into a powerful practical combat martial art over several decades, and from it's origin in 'Foshan', it has established fame and a keen following in different corners of the world. Highly regarded around the world, it's now the most popular form of 'Chinese Wushu' among foreigners. There's an agreed account on it's origin and development; founded by 'Yim Wing-Chun', the art took roots in the hands of 'Leung Chun' and blossomed under 'Ip Man'.