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(Release Info London schedule; September 22nd, 2019, BFI Southbank, London SE1, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, UK, SE1 8XT, 12:15 pm) https://film.list.co.uk/listing/667778-farmageddon-a-shaun-the-sheep-movie/ "A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" Strange lights over the quiet town of 'Mossingham' herald the arrival of a mystery visitor from far across the galaxy. "Farmageddon" takes the world’s favourite woolly hero and plunges him into an hilarious intergalactic adventure he will need to use all of his cheekiness and heart to work his way out of. When a visitor from beyond the stars, an impish and adorable alien called 'Lula' (Amalia Vitale), crash-lands near 'Mossy Bottom Farm', Shaun (John Fletcher) soon sees an opportunity for alien-powered fun and adventure, and sets off on a mission to shepherd 'Lula' back to her home. Her magical alien powers, irrepressible mischief and galactic sized burps soon have the flock enchanted and Shaun takes his new extra-terrestrial friend on a road-trip to 'Mossingham Forest' to find her lost spaceship. Little do the pair know, though, that they're being pursued at every turn by a mysterious alien-hunting government agency, spearheaded by the formidable 'Agent Red' (Emma Tate) and her bunch of hapless, hazmat-suited goons. With 'Agent Red' driven by a deep-seated drive to prove the existence of 'Aliens', 'The Farmer' (John Sparkes) unwittingly dragged into the haphazard chase, can Shaun and the flock avert 'Farmageddon' on 'Mossy Bottom Farm' before it’s too late? 'Shaun The Sheep' is already an 'A-List Star', beloved by millions of all ages worldwide for his hit TV series and cemented as a movie star in smash spin-off "Shaun The Sheep Movie' in 2015. But, for his second outing in cinemas, the film pushes the character to places he has genuinely never been. And in ways that are bigger, more like an epic, 'Sci-Fi Movie'. Trying to make it feel like a very big, cinematic, very much 'Sci-Fi Extravaganza', and open up Shaun’s world in a way that we’ve never seen before. Shaun is always naughty, you know he’s always going to be skirting the corner of trouble. Shaun is the guy who will always press the red button, but he’ll always know he’s done something wrong when he has. Shaun is always about a spirit of rebelliousness, but always with a good heart. He'll always know he’s done something wrong when he has. If you see Shaun walk past the sweet shop and see him stop and look in the window, you think aye-aye. Something is going to go on here. And 'Lula' doubles that jeopardy. She's even cheekier and more out-there than Shaun. Shaun has to keep 'Lula' secret from the world at large, hidden from 'Agent Red' and her cohorts. Shaun is a very clearly defined character and always has been. But in this movie, we definitely see new levels to Shaun. He's given responsibility. And we see how he deals with that. It starts off as organic and then themes start to emerge. The film contrasts the everyday, deliberate plainness of his home farm with the colourful and surreal alien world and hardcore military tech. Shaun’s world in the TV series feels quite contained, quite small in a way. And that 10,000 light years away there's another planet. Then his world just gets huge. The visual elements become more exciting the bigger the journey he goes on. He's excitable and naughty. He’s a flawed character, but in an innocent way. In "Farmageddon", 'Shaun The Sheep’s' blissful, if occasionally mischievous, everyday existence is upended entirely by the arrival of an extra-terrestrial, a cute, crazy, sparkly purple-blue one; 'Lula'. And she’s not just an excuse for some hilarious and action-packed set-pieces, but a character who throws Shaun’s beloved family dynamic into chaos. 'Lula' is an alien who has crash-landed on Earth and finds herself pursued by the dastardly 'Agent Red' and her hazmat-suited goons, a bunch of secret and sinister government types out to prove the existence of aliens and capture their quarry by any means necessary. It’s up to Shaun to get 'Lula' home safely. But he’s going to have to pull off all of his greatest ever tricks if he’s going to do it. We've some fun in space. An element of 'Lula’s home is her spaceship and we get to spend a lot of time in that. For him, the spaceship is like the most amazing toy he could imagine. It’s Shaun having to take on responsibility and discovering what it’s like to have to deal with someone who's like Shaun, his naughtiest sibling, basically. Because this new character we've, 'Lula', has emerged as this beautiful thing from a beautiful world. It's decided that she would have certain otherworldly skills and party tricks. But until you put them into the plotting, you don’t know how they’re going to reveal themselves. Also, everything she does has to reflect that character and those attributes. She has to be consistent. If we’re saying she's cheeky and a bit of a handful, she has to be that. 'Lula' is in real danger because there are forces out there that will take her away. Shaun has to step up. These are feelings that many people with siblings will identify with. 'Lula' is the key creatives talk this brand-new edition to 'The Shaun The Sheep' universe, his new alien best buddy who's blowing early audiences away. She's a new element of nuance, of Shaun growing up. She’s a young alien who has crash-landed on Earth, and who needs Shaun’s help to get back home. She's a puppet unlike any other in 'The Universe'. She’s stretchy. She moves at a speed that no other character can. Her eyes bug out. Where 'Lula' has ended up is that she’s got such a warmth and charm that she’s quite irresistible. Highlighting her vulnerability and innocence is key, showing that aliens could be just as scared and sensitive as us. You’ve got think about what works in the world of Shaun because she has got to stand next to these characters and feel like she’s from that universe. 'Lula' has emerged as this beautiful thing from a beautiful world, who's beautifully designed. She has certain otherworldly skills and party tricks. But until you put them into the plotting, you don’t know how they’re going to reveal themselves. Where Shaun can, you know, throw a ball and smash a window, she can levitate tractors. She's chaos on another level. It adds a bit of chorus fizz and unusualness. 'Agent Red’s' underground lair is all very 'James Bond'. The stakes are raised in that way. First you see the government agents just in their sinister black van, then you find out they've a secret base deep under 'Mossingham'. The base is called 'MAD', 'The Ministry Of Alien Detection'. It’s been where it's since way, way back, even though they’ve never actually found a 'UFO' before! That’s why 'The Bond Theme' fit, because this place is set up around the time of those earlier movies, in the ‘60s. Not that things ever get too sinister, of course. It’s not quite life or death, but you know they're out to get her. Get ready to meet the dastardly 'Agent Red'. The sci-fi genre is famous for it's iconic villains, and the film delivers on that. So, we've various meetings trying to figure out who she's. There are lots of different approaches. We've a character that isn't black and white, who isn’t a villain just for the sake of being a villain. And she really is a great villain, even if the people she's surrounded by are useless! In particular, she has a team of guys in bright yellow hazmat suits. They’re kind of a comedic troupe that acts almost like a single character. They tend to sort of run around in a little gang, like idiots. Really, when you’re editing them, you deal with them like one character. One failed, not very successful, alien detector character! They frustrate 'Agent Red' greatly, but she’s not just the ‘uptight boss, she’s got much more depth than that. All the way through the film wrestles with who 'Agent Red' is. We realised that if we're going to redeem her, she has to be misunderstood. It’s taken a long time to find the right combination of shots and backstory, to make you understand her. She’s not cruel, she’s driven. She’s misunderstood. It’s easier to have someone just be a plain baddie when you've no dialogue. In many ways, the film makes this way more difficult for us But 'Agent Red' isn't that simple. Her human story makes for a much better resolution. You know, this is a film for kids. At one point 'Agent Red’s' motivation is that she wants a promotion, but for kids that doesn’t mean anything. What she wants needs to be clear from a child’s point of view. Money or promotion doesn’t resonate with children. It has to have a deeper emotional connection. As the film wrangles a vast flock of creative types, it's perhaps no surprise that the favourite character is that of authoritarian big brother, Bitzer (John Sparkes). But while Bitzer is synonymous with taking himself too seriously, the films attitude is a mix of both the serious and the silly; the perfect qualities to steer Shaun on his biggest adventure yet. The most important thing when you're in a position to make decisions is to make a decision quickly and concisely and if you're wrong at a later stage then make the right decision and learn from the mistake you made. In the first movie, Shaun and his mates had a simple goal; they wanted a day off, to get out from the farmer rules. In this the film looks at the relationship between the brothers Shaun and Bitzer. How would that play out? Not that Shaun wants to get rid of Bitzer. He just wants to be free and always do what he wants. So, the film gives him a new character that would force him to take on the Bitzer role, where he has to feel what that feels like, where he would start to appreciate what he does for him. And through this whole story, Bitzer realises that he takes himself too seriously, that his rules are too much. Mischievousness is close to anarchy, in a good way. Youthful rebellion, that’s his modus operandi, isn’t it? There he's, in a very small world. The world of 'Mossy Bottom' farm is deliberately very small and domestic. 'The farmer', as far as he’s concerned, he keeps his sheep in the barn, that’s all he’s aware of. So, they should have a very constrained worldview. But good old Shaun, he doesn’t accept that. He's always pushing the boundaries. Usually the rebel of the stories, straining against the authoritarian rules of the long-suffering sheepdog Bitzer, while always trying to make sure his antics remain unseen by 'The Farmer', the film sees Shaun discover an all-new, and deeply terrifying, emotional frontier. In "Farmageddon" the world’s favourite woolly wonder goes where no sheep has gone before. "Farmageddon" at once elevating the world of 'Shaun The Sheep' to epic new genre heights, but never forgetting the sheer pure heart beating beneath it's woolly exterior. This is a movie that’s about friends and responsibility and what it’s about to meet someone and become best friends. But then we also bring some villains in. We've top secret government organisations, robots, gadgets and gizmos so this whole world opens up. We’re always asking ourselves questions like, ‘what if 'Lula' is as cheeky as Shaun? What does her planet look like? Why do they get along so well? Is her home a bit like his home?’ The film always plays with those ideas. Shaun’s farm is set up almost like one in 'The American Midwest', isolated, with an expanse of cornfields around it and a big horizon in the distance, so the film plays some great crop circle gags. But in terms of the mood, this movie is quite eerie at points. It’s quite cheeky. It’s high summer as far as the corn is concerned, but everywhere else it’s autumn. That gives you your misty forest stuff for the scary bits and also some stunning colouration for daytime in the woods. The difficulty, because of how simple Shaun is, is how to get a human expression out of him. It’s when you get something meaningful out of something simple, that's really quite magical. And Shaun does that. It’s funny. One idea often spawns the next, and you don’t even know it at the time. Shaun is almost a silent movie star with a big heart, and he appeals across the ages. He’s the perfect character for this divided world. It's very timely, isn’t it? This film is something that everyone, adults and children, can sit and watch and all laugh together. There’s nothing better than a laugh to let people forget their differences. What 'Shaun The Sheep' is good at is sending up the way we're as humans. A lot of the premise of 'Shaun The Sheep' is that a lot of what these characters are doing is behind the backs of humans, but we're privy to that. "Farmageddon" is at once a tribute to the classics, and an hilarious, Shaun-shaped reinvention of it's many established tropes. It really plays to that classic, Steven Spielberg-style 'Sci-Fi Genre'. Capturing that spirit of classic sci-fi, and appealing to all ages, is crucial for the film. Most great animation crosses divides, it reminds people that we’re all the same. This is a story about an alien coming to our world and getting accepted. It's a film that works for adults and kids. It's like a Amblin films, these big popcorn family movies. And animation has moved more and more into that space. All characters have a backstory written down somewhere. Because it’s important that everyone has the same understanding of a character. Because if you’ve got 20 animators all animating the same character, they've to all have the same idea of who that character is. It’s essential. You try to keep the characters as concrete as they can be. The only time you might break that's for comedy, for a moment that's funny. And people know these characters. If you talk to kids, they will be able to tell you who Shaun is, who the farmer is, who Bitzer is, and what they’re like. We grew up watching 'Wallace And Gromit', obviously. And Shaun has a tiny amount of screen time in ‘A Close Shave’, but he was just the most adorable and funny character. And his story that has come out of that since grew organically but had these really strong foundations, in that the characters are very clearly defined. Really, it’s all about family. Shaun’s stories are told through the eyes of a boy and his mates. And there’s limitless appeal to a sheep doing things in the human world that the humans don’t see. He’s a challenge to create because in some ways the possibilities are limitless. But there are certain rules without dialogue. A lot of this is based on ideas that relate to our lives. This is a bit of a learning-to-grow-up story. That's sort of the start point. Okay, so we've this alien story. Something happens, the character learns something and moves on a bit. But what does that mean?’ You’re working backwards, always trying to think what’s next for the characters, what’s next for the relationships? The other interesting thing about these films, unlike other feature films, is that they're a serial, so you’ve got to end up back at square one. You need to find accessible things, for a young audience. That doesn’t mean showing them their own lives, necessarily. The film takes the view that there are certain experiences that are fairly common to most people, and certainly one of those is having a younger sibling, or a younger friend, coming along and sort of taking some of the limelight, the spotlight. The experience of being obliged to take responsibility. Initially he has no desire whatsoever to take responsibility, to be a caring fellow. He just sees it as being great fun! An enormous potential for fun. It’s a selfish choice, initially. And then there’s the fundamentally comic idea of the guy who has always been the mischievous one, now getting a taste of his own medicine. We're preparing for our future. The creation of an employee trust is the best solution we've found for our highly creative culture. And of course, those that create value in the company will continue to benefit directly from the value they create. British comedy in America has always been a mysterious thing. A few things cut through and work really well, and it’s really hard to predict what. We've done incredibly well in that world, to make such an impact. We very consciously set out to not take ourselves too seriously, because Hollywood movies for children often contained a very, very strong moral message. It’s become part of the package now. It’s what people positively expect now. That’s okay. But we’re pretty subtle with that moral message! The most important thing is that goodness wins out. Goodness, optimism, humanity wins out, and cynicism and calculation and evil doesn’t. Goodness in the most profound sense. But you don’t have to labour that point. "Farmageddon" is an epic adventure featuring space travel, an alien, a sinister government agency and a quest for the perfect pizza.

Jonas said something attacked them. Something big enough to destroy a new submarine. I’m happy I’ve watched this movie on the big screen. On the silver screen, the Megalodon (hence the title “The Meg“) was even more impressive. But that’s the only thing that can be said about this film. Every film with a shark as the main subject that suddenly transforms into a psychopathic, bloodthirsty hunter, is of course mercilessly compared to the film of all films “Jaws“. A milestone in this genre and unbeatable. Give “The Shallows” and “47 Meters down” a chance and you’ll notice that you watch it rather apathetic without any sense of tension. If you want to stand out in the shark genre, you can throw in some tornadoes so sharks move around in a strange way. By air that is. In case of “The Meg“, they brought in a prehistoric shark who managed to swim through a sort of natural barrier in the ocean. If you want to exceed “Jaws“, you make it all even bigger and more impressive. But apart from the gigantic dimensions of “The Meg“, this film was nowhere truly gigantic. No fun, Statham no fun. I was looking forward to seeing “The Meg“, even though I knew it would be a fiercely exaggerated and brainless spectacle. The fact that Jason Statham plays in it was good enough for me to give it a try. You never get bored with Statham. And it’s always fun to see him kick someone’s ass. I was curious to see how he would handle this giant shark. That was the first thing I was disappointed with. It looked as if they had made a serious Statham out of him. No dry humor and witty one-liners. All the familiar humor gone. And probably they also threatened to wash his mouth out with soap every time he would start to swear and say the “F” word. Statham the deep-sea diver who’s pining away somewhere in an Asian bar because he’s feeling guilty about abandoning his former crew on the bottom of the ocean. And afterward, there’s also something romantic between him and the Chinese oceanographer Suyin (Bingbing Li). And he also takes care of the lovely daughter Meiying (Sophia Cai). Can it be cornier? This shark ignores all the tasty snacks. Yes, it can be even cornier when the giant shark also starts to behave civilized. Admit it. Don’t you think such a mega-shark is constantly hungry? So when he ends up near an overcrowded beach with an immense amount of young people splashing in the salty water, wouldn’t you expect a bloodbath with an unprecedented number of torn teenage bodies? It’s not that I look forward to such a scene, but you expect that a little bit anyway. Again this was a disappointing feature. I even began to doubt the proper functioning of the natural radar system of this giant shark. And furthermore, there was only one moment I almost jumped out of my skin when an innocent young whale bumped into a window. That says a lot about the eeriness of this movie. Show no mercy, sharky. Isn’t that what you want to see while watching a movie like this? The increasing tension and the redeeming end in which the endangered characters kill that vicious animal. You sigh with relief as you see the dismembered carcass of the shark sink to the bottom of the ocean. And you feel sorry for the attacked victims. In this film, it’s the other way around. I almost cheered the moment the most annoying character in the film saw the giant, razor-sharp teeth of the shark in close-up. In fact, I hoped that “The Meg” could somehow return to its natural habitat, after which mankind would finally realize not to break the rules of Mother Nature every time. And that final fight was like the battle between Achab and Moby-Dick. The popcorn was for free. All in all, this wasn’t really worth a visit to the cinema. I’m already glad they made a mistake at the candy stand and gave back too much cash, so the candy me and my wife bought was almost for free. The popcorn tasted twice as good during this popcorn film. And mind you, not because of the movie. It had nothing to do with that. In retrospect, “The meg” was a mega disappointment. My rating 4/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

(Release Info London schedule; December 8th, 2018, Electric Cinema, 12:00) "The House That Jack Built" America in the 1970s. We follow the highly intelligent Jack (Matt Dillon) through five incidents and are introduced to the murders that define Jack’s development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack’s point of view. He views each murder as an artwork in itself, even though his dysfunction causes problems for him in the outside world. Despite the fact that the final and inevitable police intervention is drawing ever nearer, which both provokes and puts pressure on Jack, he's contrary to all logic set on taking greater and greater chances. Along the way we experience Jack’s descriptions of his.personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verge (Bruno Ganz), a grotesque mixture of sophistry and an almost childlike self-pity, and in-depth explanations of, for Jack, dangerous and difficult maneuvers. Architect turned serial killer. Jack is a serial killer who accumulates bodies in a walk-in freezer while he tries to build his dream house. Meanwhile, he dialogues with the voice of his conscience, and makes more and more clumsy mistakes in his crimes. He leads us through his thought processes behind his increasingly more depraved acts of murder which he names 'incidents'. Lady 1 (Uma Thurman), Lady 2 (Siobhan Fallon Hogan), Lady 3 (Sofie Gråbøl) and Simple (Riley Keough) are all in the rank of unfortunate women who encounter Jack on his way. As he retells his crimes to mysterious Verge as if they're all individual works of art in themselves, the audience is invited to question the nature of artistry, where it's limits lie and when is far too far? Verge challenges and explores Jack’s stream of consciousness through a recurrent dialogue. Lars von Trier returns to the director’s chair to present the world with his most daring and provocative work to date, "The House That Jack Built". It's an overflowing, twisted, very black comedy with which he returned to Cannes years after being declared persona non grata because of his controversial statements. For many years he made films about good women. This is a film about an evil man. This time the topic of discussion is violence and art, and violence as art. It's a dark and sinister story, yet presented through a philosophical and occasional humorous tale. And with pitch black humour and undeniable cinematic vision, the film delights in taking us there. All is mixed with paintings, images from his own films and those of others, animated interludes, Glenn Gould and even images, yes, of the holocaust. The greatest cathedrals have sublime artwork hidden in the darkest of corners for only God to see.

The thing about getting older is looking back, it doesn’t matter how old you are, life always feels the same length. Like both forever and not very long. You’ve just seen “Uncut Gems” and you feel the nerves raging through your body after watching this ultra-nervous film? Well, I recommend you to watch the film “Colewell“. Believe me. After watching this film, you’ll feel completely relaxed again. There are no situations full of agitated behavior. No feverish activity. Everything is calm and peaceful. This cozy and pleasant film progresses at a leisurely pace. Like the gently rippling water in a quiet stream. Just about the pace of someone in old age who performs the same ritual every day and eagerly awaits his well-deserved retirement. Only Nora (Karen Allen) was not yet ready for that well-deserved rest that is now being forced upon her. The same routine every morning. Nora is an older lady who runs a local post office in the small village of Colewell, somewhere in Pennsylvania. And trust me on this, when I say you can admire her morning routine several times. A morning where she will check the chicken coop for freshly laid eggs. And every time she checks the state of one of the laying hens because it’s upset because of newly added fellow hens and thus refuses to squeeze such a fragile object through her poopybutthole. Then it’s time for breakfast (with a firm omelet made with fresh eggs) and a getting dressed ritual before she opens the door of the post office (located at her place) to welcome the villagers. Everything is performed dutifully and meticulously. And I’m sure she did this from day one. A changing world. “Colewell” is about aging and the preservation of certain values of life. At the same time, it’s also about the fear of losing these certain values. And the rapidly changing world around us. When a decision is made to forget about certain post offices and integrate them into the larger whole, Nora sees those values disappearing like snow in the sun. The day after she’s being confronted with this terrible decision at the US Postal Service headquarters, she sinks into an emotional pit and consciously skips her daily rituals. As if it all no longer matters. The choices that were proposed to her are both not adequate solutions for her. Relocating to a larger city to work there at the post office. Or retire. Both are alternatives that Nora disregards. The post office has a social function. The post office in Colewell has an additional function. It’s the meeting place for the local population. There’s gossiping, stockings are knitted, food is exchanged and life stories shared. In short, it’s the heart of a community. And the members of this community are heartbroken when they are told that their beloved assembly point is about to disappear. Initiatives are being taken to turn the tide and efforts are being made to safeguard Nora’s workplace. But as soon as they realize that this is a futile effort, everyone accepts the situation and the social contacts move to other locations. To the dismay of Nora. Do you want an action-rich movie? Skip this one. “Colewell” is endearing, serene and melancholic at the same time. A subdued drama about how it feels to grow older and then suddenly realize that your functional role has been played out and two arrogant younger people say this without hesitation in your face. Or you’ll be flexible or you pack it up and make room for the future generation. A realistic character study, without frills. But not entirely. The moment Ella (Hannah Gross) shows up at Nora’s place, realism turns into vagueness. It’s not really clear whether this is Nora’s free-spirited daughter or a figment of Nora’s imagination representing the younger Nora. Anyway. Do you like action-rich movies that are nervewracking exciting? Well, I suggest skipping this one. The easy-going nature of the film may well get on your nerves. My rating 5/10 Links: IMDB

"The Old Oak" (Picturehouse Fulham Road)     The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, it is the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once thriving mining community that has now fallen on hard times after 30 years of decline. TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) the landlord hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his hold is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village. An unlikely friendship develops when TJ encounters a young Syrian with a camera, Yara (Ebla Mari). Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about loss, fear and the difficulty of finding hope.   The ex-mining villages are unique. Sitting at the top of the village looking out over the rolling hills. A young mother had walked her child to primary school, come back home, and then hung herself.  This image and imagining her haunted us. Wandering around many of these villages it's striking to see the older members of the community who were miners, or family of miners. One remarkable older lady in her nineties was a nurse and tended the wounded (one was her neighbour’s father, who still to this day lived next to her) from the Easington mining disaster of 1951 in which 83 miners died.  Listening to vibrant people like her, and others who were involved in the miners’ strike in 1984, bore testimony to a powerful sense of community spirit, cohesion and political clarity which contrasted with the hopelessness of many in the present. It becomes apparent that the past ie a character in the film.   How did a once organised working class with militant unions end up in the world of TJ, the main character in the film. He’s a good man. Ex– miner, his father was killed in a mining accident and as a consequence of that his mother bought The Old Oak pub. She’s been dead 20 odd years and he wanted to help his mother, but his marriage has broken up, he’s living in the poverty zone and the pub is struggling, as are most of the village pubs around. It’s the only public space left in the village. Because of what’s happened to TJ, he’s lost. He had been an organiser in the village – previously he ran football teams; everyone knew TJ. But because of what’s happened to him he’s just been beaten down and he’s withdrawn into himself. Then one day, some Syrian families move into the village. And that’s where the story of TJ in this film starts.   TJ’s life did not happen by accident but by a series of political choices. It seems to us The Old Oak had roots stretching back, that might help us untangle many of the conflicts and contradictions of the present. It begs the bigger question of how hopelessness, unfairness, and lack of agency in our lives, play out in how we treat each other. This is how the character Yara comes in and helps us open up the story. She’s a refugee who came here with her family. She doesn’t know where her father is because he was taken to prison and that was the last she heard of him. And we know real people who still don’t know anything about their fathers, where they're. Yara wants to make life here easier and more friendly and to forge a friendship between the two communities. She's brave. She stands up for herself. She’s also sociable. She’s trying to see hope through the ugliness and unfairness of the world. The camera gives her hope. That’s very similar to what TJ’s role is, building bridges. You feel empathy towards Yara because she faces a lot of racism. Most of them were detainees in Syrian prisons and were tortured for doing nothing. But in the story of the film, they're not focusing on what happened in Syria.   Laura (Claire Rodgerson) is an old family friend of TJ’s. They used to be activists together, probably doing anti–austerity stuff. Then TJ has kind of lost his way but Laura has kept on fighting for the community while trying to build a family and hold down a job. When the Syrian families arrive she wants to be a positive force to bring the communities together. An irreverent force of nature, is how she was described in the script! She doesn’t take any shit but just believes that the community can be better. She’s a fighter. And she hasn’t given up like TJ. That’s we like in real life, you can’t just give up and accept the fate that’s been dealt to you by the powers that be.   The Northeast in particular is a really segregated place. There’s this idea from the Blair age of ‘problem communities'. It’s not problem communities, it’s problem systems, problem scapegoating and problem dumping. It’s a complex film, because normally in films you're dealing with one community. Here, we've two communities. We've to the local families and the local pub goers, and then within the pub group, we've people who are in favour of the refugees being here, and we've’vepeople who are against. It’s a complex tapestry of characters and people and families.   Photography is the thread that stitches the locations and the characters and all the narrative together. It’s the device that links Yara to her history, to her present, and to her exploration of a new place and a new people. It gives her the licence to look and see. And then photography is also the device of how we self–select. It reflects what we choose to see and what we choose to remember. Because what we don’t see, we then start to fill in with our imagination. So photography in the film is the prompt to what has happened, what is happening, but also what isn’t there. The film shows the pain that Syrian families must go through. It’s not easy to move your life from one country to another.   Written by Gregory Mann

(Release Info London schedule; May 29th, 2018, Curzon Soho, 18:20) "Double Lover" Crafting a deliriously cinematic web of suspense, shock, eroticism, and power dynamics, director François Ozon returns with "Double Lover". Chloé (Marine Vacth), who works as a guard at a museum in Paris, seeks to shore up her resiliency and enters psychoanalysis. In Paul Meyer (Jérémie Renier), the sensitive patient finds a caring psychiatrist who helps her overcome bouts with depression. Following the end of the treatment, both realize that they've fallen in love. A new chapter begins for Chloé when she and Paul move in together, yet Chloé soon comes to believe that Paul is keeping a secret. She impulsively visits another psychiatrist, Louis Delord (Jérémie Renier). Spiraling emotional and sexual stakes will push all three of them to extremes, forcing Chloé to take action in order to solve a mystery and save herself. It's an intense exploration of a woman venturing into dangerous romance. This movie is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates novel 'Live Of The Twins'. The book has a precise writing style, keen psychological observations, complex characters, and smart storylines. The book tells the story in a more realistic way. The film explores the American author’s themes of neuroses, sex, and the dark side of split personalities. The film follows Chloé’s therapy the same way a psychiatrist might listen to his patients, in a floating way. The visual effects and changing viewpoints in the first sessions almost play against the dialogue. Initially Chloé sits monologuing about her dreams, her feelings and emotions, her family; and the audience should listen carefully in these first 10 minutes. J.C. Oates’ book focuses on the young woman caught between two men. It's important to place Chloé at the center of the movie. Chloé interacts, from the opening scene, in surprising ways with older women. Each of them holds importance in her journey. These women can all be seen as mother figures. At the beginning of the film, Chloé mentions an absent mother during her session with Paul. She expresses herself very differently, depending on which man she’s with. When it’s Paul, she’s well-behaved and reserved. When it’s Louis, she reveals herself as more daring and provocative, even as she lets herself be dominated by him. Chloé’s evolution can be seen in how she chooses to dress, and how she expresses her femininity. Sometimes the rest an absence of femininity. Encyclopedic knowledge isn’t what leads her to the truth. Chloé is riddled with contradictions. She's never clear and yet she’s always transparent. She’s very alive in all circumstances. The film embodies Chloé’s truth and evoke the realism of each situation, bearing in mind the complexities of hernpersonality. There's a secret within Chloé; she seeks the key to unlock it, and we’re right there with her on her quest. The starting point for Paul and Louis is simple and binary; good guy/bad guy. It quickly becomes apparent that the trickier role of the two is actually Paul; he triggers the imagination. The Louis character can be seen as an avatar allowing Chloé to live out the desires and fantasies she forbids herself from experiencing with Paul; it’s as though her love for Paul were preventing her from satisfying a more uninhibited sexuality. In any love relationship, even a happy one, there's an element of frustration and a need for a mental space where fantasies can express themselves. Our partner can never satisfy all of our desires; we often need something more, or different. Paul comes across as a good psychotherapist whose exchanges with Chloé ring true. Louis, on the other hand, makes outrageous claims while transgressing all the rules and framework of psychoanalysis. It’s as though Louis were saying out loud everything that went unsaid with Paul, and saying it brutally; with no taboos or superego. Everything relating to the two men is conceived in mirror images, especially the décor. Paul’s consulting room is comfortable and inviting, with leather furniture, plush carpeting, and warm colors. Louis’ consulting room is glacial with marble accents, cold colors, and fake flowers. As for the mirrors themselves, Paul’s are horizontal and Louis’s are vertical. Paul and Louis have different sensibilities, but they both have something to hide, especially from Chloé. Paul and Louis add up to a complete man. Paul is attentive, an intellectual a good listener, gentle, reassuring; you can lean on him as a paternal figure. Louis is more animal, arrogant, violent, unruly, sexually ravenous. They represent two opposing male archetypes, but each of them responds in his own way to Chloé’s desires. Louis is more subtle in his relationship with Chloé. With "Double Lover" François Ozon returns to digital and Cinemascope, aiming for a sharper, more contemporary image that's at times almost surgical but always aesthetically pleasing. The film plays with symmetry, reflections, and geometry. The film creates the impression that something is being built, that a brain is developing a thought. "Double Lover" is continuously surprising, ingeniously imaginative, always ahead of the awed and astonished viewer. Like a dream it unfolds, always hovering at the brink of nightmare, resolved finally in an illumination that's as dramatic as it's unexpected. We're made to realize, in retrospect, that we've inhabited an intensely explored erotic mystery; only when the mystery is solved. This film is about our need for the imaginary in order to cope with reality. "Double Lover" provides a path back to reality; with something that exists yet is even more fantastical and monstrous than what we’ve seen up to that point, plunging us into the abyss of what nature is capable of doing to our bodies. There's a serenity at the end of the film. This ending is either positive or negative; it's brutal and unrelenting, like sexuality, the subconscious, and desire. We all share the desire to pursue a sex life outside a romantic relationship. Everyone, whether they're in a relationship or not, needs their own space of freedom; a secret garden. The film is a love story that asks questions that are essential to all couples. How do we imagine our partners? What are our expectations of them? How far are we willing to go in accepting their mysteries, or are we trying to figure out what they might be hiding inside? "Double Lover" also explores fantasies that some of us may, or may not, have a hard time accepting; and explores the degree of sexual freedom we allow ourselves to feel with someone. Maybe you can't have everything with just one person. That doesn’t mean you've to go looking elsewhere, but what do you do with your frustrations and desires when they start to take over?

(Release Info London schedule; April 17th, 2019, Cineplex Odeon Westmount Cinemas 755 Wonderland Road South, London, (519) 474-2152 Wed - Thu 4:30 7:20 10:20 pm) "Breakthrough" "Breakthrough" is based on the incredible true story of one mother’s unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. When Joyce Smith’s (Chrissy Metz) adopted son John (Marcel Ruiz) falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John’s recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction. The film is adapted for the screen from Joyce Smith’s own book 'The Impossible'. "Breakthrough" is an enthralling reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle.   "Breakthrough" is based on a true story of a mother, Joyce Smith, who prayed her son back to life after he fell through a frozen lake and died and how this miracle impacted an entire community. John Smith was underneath the ice for 15 minutes, with no oxygen. When 'EMS' workers rescued him, he has no pulse. They rushed him to the emergency room and worked on him for another 45 minutes. The doctors can not bring him back to life. When Joyce comes into the emergency room and she sees her son laid out on the table, dead, instead of saying goodbye, she grabs his feet and says, ‘holy spirit please bring back my son right now'. Immediately, 'The EKG' machine begin going off. When you’re underwater for that amount of time with no oxygen, the chances of medically recovering are slim to none. And so, for John to have no brain damage, no eye damage, no lung damage, for everything to have been healed, it's medically unheard of. For these reasons it's a medical miracle. The miracle of John coming back to life is only the beginning of the story and a catalyst for a series of other miracles that followed. Even before Joyce prays for John, it's miraculous that the firefighters and first responders are able to find him in the first place. 'Lake St. Louis' is massive, like finding a needle in a haystack. Fireman Tommy Shine (Mike Colter) hears this voice, telling him where he needs to go. He thinks it’s the chief talking to him, but later finds out it isn't the chief at all. The first doctor at the local hospital, Dr. Kent Sutterer (Sam Trammell), who happened to be the father of a friend of John’s, spent 45 minutes, an unusually long time, trying to revive him. Then Dr. Garrett (Dennis Haysbert), a world renown specialist, tells John’s mother, okay, Joyce, we're going to let 'God' do the rest. John’s recovering is a miracle. But the biggest miracle is the community itself. The thing that's so powerful is because of how the community rallied around John. Joyce is a fierce mama bear. She's not afraid to speak her mind. She's her faith. Her not giving up hope and her fight for John is what really brought him through this. She’s been through a lot, but man she's strong. She's a strong woman. Joyce Smith is a force. She has faith in what she believes in and she loves her son wholeheartedly. Joyce believes that John is created for a purpose and refuses to accept what the doctors say. Her faith stayed strong and she's just like a light of love, pure love. Brian (Josh Lucas) is Joyce husband. He's a man who's more introverted, Joyce is the one who speaks up and takes the reins. Brian loves his son so much that he can't even be in the room with him when he's like this, and it's not out of lack of love. It's out of so much love that he cannot bear it. And so it's a difficult and delicate character to play because he's not this sort of forceful father. Tommy's character represents the doubters and the audience members that don't necessarily believe in miracles. Tommy is that person's point of view, so they get to experience this film through Tommy's eyes. This is a modern-day resurrection story. 'God' is operating in miracles every day, but sometimes we're so focused in our day-to-day that we don't see them. This movie, and the story of John Smith and Joyce Smith and Pastor Jason (Topher Grace) will remind people that miracles are still happening. It will remind us of the power of prayer. It’s like a ripple in a lake when you throw a rock into it. The circle keeps getting wider. Those miracles just keep moving out. The humor in this film is wonderful. You will be laughing and crying throughout the entire movie. There's a fair amount of the audience that comes to a movie like this have some apprehension about believing the story and doubt that it really happened. It’s a great portrait of this town and this community. You meet all these different people and they all connected, and by a few degrees are all related to John in some way. They all come together to offer emotional and spiritual support. It’s just a really inspiring story about positivity in a town, and just believing in something and supporting each other. The music is very important. The favorite moment of the movie is the church scene. The film opens with 'Uptown Funk' and we've 'Can’t Hold Me Down' because of actual songs from when the incident happened over 'Martin Luther King' weekend in 2015. We also have 'Oceans' which, when it comes to worship music, is one of the biggest worship songs probably in the history of worship music. We've Kirk Franklin who's a good buddy come in and do a remix for a gospel version that's performed on camera during the prayer vigil scene. Roxann Dawson isn't familiar with 'Oceans', but it's love at first listen. The film uses it as the midnight vigil that's sung outside the window on the night before John is going to go off all medication and all machines to see if he can survive. When the community gets together and really prays as one for John. We've got music that John is actually listening to, music that's on his playlist. The audience can put themselves into John's shoes. The actions he takes, his attitudes, the things that he goes through will be identifiable. The film will be a catalyst for positive transformative change in the life of everyone who sees it. We live in a time so divisive, where everybody is on different sides of the political aisle, and have different points of view on so many things. That division can keep us from reminding ourselves, we're still brothers and sisters. We're still in this together. This movie can really stimulate and be a catalyst to get people back to praying together. Audiences take away from this movie, 'Hope', 'Faith', 'Love', 'Joy', 'Community'. And that all things really are possible. They may not always work out the way you want, and may not always fall in line, but when you're down you will see who really cares about you. Sometimes things don't work out the way we want, so that we understand we're more loved than we think. Anyone who watches it will believe there really is a plan for your life. Everybody will walk out of this movie feeling there's hope for us. In a world that feels chaotic, there's hope we can find common ground. Love really is at the core of everything, if you really distill it down, and if we can come back to remembering this. Maybe this movie can help remind us in one small way. Audiences that are not necessarily faith-based come and see the movie and see a story that makes them have some questions about what's faith, and their own faith. Whether you're a believer or not you take away something from this movie, and this story more than anything makes you go there's something bigger out there. Whatever your beliefs are. It's a movie where you go home and lay in bed that night and have some interesting thoughts and questions, and maybe some challenging ones about yourself, about what you're going through in your own life. Audiences take away that love can truly move mountains. In that collective consciousness or prayer, in that quiet still time, those moments really make a difference in that you can change your life and you can change your mind. And when you do that and you believe in the power of positivity and prayer you would be amazed what could happen.

(Ninjababy, Curzon Home Cinema, Available 10 September) "Ninjababy" When Rakel (Kristin Kujath Thorn), 16, way too late, finds out she’s six months pregnant after a not-so-romantic one-night stand, her world changes. Her boyfriend Mos (Nader Khademi), who’s not the father, is kind of ok with her having a baby. But Rakel is absolutely not ready to be a mother. Since abortion is no longer an option, adoption is the only answer. That’s when 'Ninjababy' (Voice/Hermann Tâmmeraas), an animated character who insists on making Rakel’s everyday life a living hell, turns up. He climbs out from her note book, jumps into her tea cup, and keeps reminding her what a terrible person she's. Rakel has greasy hair, a laidback posture and manspread while sitting, without it becoming too much of a cliché. Rakel is unique. Someone who breaks a little with the norms, a non-conformist. Her room is dirty and messy. She becomes pregnant by accident and has to figure it out by herself in her room; paradoxically, your most fertile age. "Ninjababy" has a multiplot story in which one of the characters accidentally gets pregnant. The main focus is on the relationship between Rakel and her best friend Ingrid (Thora Christine Dietrichson). The film explores the mental aspects of carrying a child. Being pregnant, the fact that another human is growing inside you, can be emotionally overwhelming. It's an amusing movie, but you can’t overload it with gags when the main story revolves around a young girl’s unwanted pregnancy. You've find right balance between humor and the seriousness of it all. The book ends right after childbirth, but the film wants to include more. The film mixes real-world imagery with animation, and although they don’t make up a huge part of the movie’s runtime, they’re extremely important to the movie’s overall tone. It's okay to stumble and mess up, you’re going to do that many times in your life, and as long as you get back on your feet, you’ll be fine. At the same time, the film wants to address the younger generation’s fear of getting pregnant. We live in a society where getting pregnant at your most fertile age is unusual. We believe a lot of people can sympathize with feeling stuck, being in a place you don’t want to be, not truly trusting you’ll be able to handle whatever life throws at you anymore, being a shitty person. Inga H Sætre’s comic strips about 'Møkkajentene' ('Dirty Girls') came out in the early 2000s. We recognized ourself in her comical, and at times melancholy point of view. She has a reckless pen that’s both sensitive and resilient at the same time. We've always been incredibly fascinated by animation as an art form. But ever since 'Covid-19', the digital form of work has become the new norm, and unfortunately; not as fun. May the portrayal of women in 'Norwegian' film isn’t good enough. It has improved in recent years. The film wants to show that there are variations within all genders and help build a more tolerant and diverse society. The film is also about taking responsibility, growing up, and being able to push through any situation you find yourself in. A lot of pregnant women have felt the fear of becoming a mother, even those who planned for it. And in turn the feeling of care and love that develops through a pregnancy in different ways. In several instances we use the animation to describe the bodily aspect of the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with it. A lot of people can sympathize with feeling stuck, being in a place you don’t want to be, not truly trusting you’ll be able to handle whatever life throws at you anymore, being a shitty person. And people of all ages can recognize themselves in the expectations of the outside world and how that contradicts with how you feel inside. It's okay to stumble and mess up, you’re going to do that many times in your life, and as long as you get back on your feet, you’ll be fine.

Lee Chandler experiences a life changing event, and with this internal transformation we witness an external transformation, thanks to the effective costume designs of Melissa Toth. During flashbacks showing Chandler’s earlier life with a wife and children, he dresses in light and colourful clothing, such as a bright mustard t-shirt and beige shorts. These colours reflect the presence of a brighter and more comedic personality at this point, and as well as the presence of purpose in his life as a father and husband. During the present, Chandler has lost his children and subsequently his wife. This is paralleled with the loss of colour and brightness in his wardrobe. He is now seen is dark shades of blue, grey and green. This loss of colour and variation evidences his loss of joy and expression of individuality. The absence of boldness/brightness matches his absence of purpose and love/emotions in his life. Black is the colour of grief, so utilising this colour predominantly works to evidence the enduring sorrow Chandler is facing. It also emphasises the mysteriousness of this character, highlighting his loss of ability to connect to those around him in the way he used to. Furthermore, the contrast in styles and colours expresses the change in his life. Flashbacks to Chandler’s previous lifestyle show a variety of activities, such as going fishing with his nephew, or hanging out with his friends, hence a wide-ranging colourful wardrobe. Now, Chandler is mostly seen working and spending time alone and therefore restricts himself to more monotonous styles and colours. These seemingly subtle yet important developments in wardrobe assist in the shifting of moods and circumstances, as well as helping to navigate where in time the scene lies.

Watch the official movie trailer for Journey's End starring Sam Claflin and Asa Butterfield.

(Release Info U.K. schedule; April 26th, 2019, Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen, 49 Belmont Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1JS, 14:00 PM) "Dragged Across Concrete" A stolid, old guard policeman, Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and his volatile younger partner, Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn), find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arming tactics going viral and become the media’s special du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers take it upon themselves, to delve into the criminal underworld, to gain their due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows. What they uncover is more than they were expecting. In keeping with his previous output. At the start of this story, two longtime police partners, Brett Ridgeman Anthony Lurasetti are suspended for use of excessive force during the arrest of a known criminal. These two flawed, but decorated officers are ostracized for their behavior and soon find themselves reconsidering their moral codes. They're neither innocent good guys nor amoral bad guys, but human beings who do both commendable and dubious things; these two cops have no easy choices if they want to provide for their loved ones. Apart from this pair, but no less conflicted, is the third protagonist, Henry Johns (Tory Kittles). This young black man, recently released from prison, soon discovers that his mother Lana (Vivian Ng) has returned to prostitution, which she practices in the house wherein his disabled brother Jeffrey (Andrew Dunbar) lives. Disgusted with the situation, the newly freed ex-convict returns to the underworld that sent him to jail to earn some quick cash. Surrounding this trio is a large supporting cast. Included in this group is the frustrated, Melanie (Laurie Holden), a tough former cop and Ridgeman’s wife who was forced to retire from law enforcement at a young age because of a disability. There’s also Biscuit (Michael Jai White), the slightly successful wheedling criminal, who's a childhood friend of Henry Johns and his partner in a new criminal undertaking, and Denise (Tattiawna Jones), Anthony’s fiancé, an inquisitive and very observant social worker. Elsewhere is Kelly Summer (Jennifer Carpenter), a distressed young mother who must return to her job at a bank and leave her newborn baby for the first time. Lieutenant Calvert (Don Johnson) is another distinct face Ridgeman’s high-ranking former partner who offers his cohort some critical advice that may or may not be heeded. Director Craig Zahler ("Bone Tomahawk"), returns with an unflinching and gritty tale that's sure to cement his reputation as one of the leading voices in genre blending film today. It's a film about police brutality that's as unsettling as it's violent. It's rich genre fiction that has multiple viewpoints, complex characters, scenes that breathe, and moments of drama, comedy, and surprise. The film has distinct characters, narrative momentum, and moral complexity, but the sum of these elements is a far greater thing. It's a vivid fictional world. When we watch this picture we've a sense of a world and the lives beyond the events shown in the movie. These are movies that turned us into a committed movie fan and works of art that will survive and make people ask questions rather than spoon feed them answers like so many didactic movies do today. As is often the case in novels and screenplays, the protagonists are in perilous circumstances against which they struggle in different and surprising though logical ways. The look of "Dragged Across Concrete" is carefully planned in terms of lighting, color palette, and use of shadows in order to create strong atmospheres and expressive tones with these visual elements. The music is also non-intrusive and precise. Because we've faith in the script and the actors, it's not necessary to tell the audience how to feel about what's happening. The emotions comes from the content of the film, and if they don’t, the film forces it down somebody’s throat with sad music or suspenseful music. In this modern concrete landscape, a jazz orchestra illustrates the many hues of Ridgeman, Anthony, Henry Johns, Biscuit, Melanie, Kelly Summer, and the others who struggle to find their melodies. The film shows influences of hard bop composers like Charles Mingus ('Black Saint And The Sinner Lady'), John Coltrane ('Africa Brass'), and Oliver Nelson ('Blues And The Abstract Truth') as well as the great modern jazz leader Maria Schneider ('Thompson Fields') and the jazzy 'Taxi Driver' score by Bernard Hermann, though the senses of melody and harmony are quite different and resulted in a unique take on composed, orchestrated jazz. The scope and amount of plotting of this large movie required a more detailed visual style than the hand-held kind that Zahler uses in his previous pictures, but the overall approach has the same end goal; never distract the audience from the characters and the story. Although there are many highly stylized movies the film is performance-centric. The camera never gets between the actors and the audience. The film wants the audience to connect as directly with the characters as possible, elaborate crane shots and canted shots and flashy filters and long lenses work against this idea, as do using close ups as the default shot size; most things in life are not viewed in close up and people often express themselves with their hands. The environment of "Dragged Across Concrete" is bigger than those pictures and there's a larger sense of American communities and how they do and don’t co-exist.