Directing debut film of Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart follows the down and out country singer Bad Blake on his daily trials and tribulations. Sweeping country landscapes introduce the sensibility of the deep rooted country music genre that fills this film with enigmatic quality.
BY LAURA SHEARER
Jun Ichikawa’s stunning film launched the QFT Girls on Film festival last night. The festival is a touring programme by the Japan Foundation that promotes contemporary Japanese cinema and sometimes by women in the foreground. The unique collection is only showing in five cinemas during February and March, so it’s a real cinematic treat that the QFT are offering. With more than a modest Filmography in both directing and writing, Jun Ichikawa seems the perfect choice to open with, and the film is one of the most interesting studies of society I’ve seen in a long time.
BY LAURA SHEARER
www.queensfilmtheatre.com
Peter Jackson’s film adaption of Alice Sebold’s novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ has been greatly anticipated, but also eminently feared by fans of the book. The final release shows a very mainstream narrative with a focus on the director’s style rather than the remaking of the novel. Sadly, Jackson has taken any depth that may have existed out of his adaptation in favour of aesthetic.
BY LAURA SHEARER
Disney’s latest animation sees the welcomed return to original hand drawn animation that defines the extremely recognisable, and much loved, Disney Studio style. Fans will revel in the indulgent colours of the New Orleans, jazz infused setting. With its array of marvellous characters, from every walk of life and, traditionally unique in true Disney fashion. Disney has managed to capture that level of awe in which children view the everyday through wonder, curiosity and enthusiasm.
BY LAURA SHEARER
One of the greatest anticipated films of 2010, and definitely a must see, ‘The Road’ is set in a world that has fallen apart after an unexplained post-apocalyptic event, and follows the trials and tribulations of a man and his son as they attempt to travel south to the coastline. As director John Hillcoat has adapted from the original Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, there’s a high level of expectations after the seamless transition of ‘No Country for Old Men’ to the silver screen by the Cohen Brothers in 2007. I’m confident to say that if you’ve read the book or not, Hillcoat has successfully translated the encapsulating feel of the novel into a powerful and intense drama.
BY LAURA SHEARER
‘A Prophet’ is the first crime thriller of 2010 and it’s already been deemed superior to the likes of ‘Mesrine’ and ‘Public Enemies’, films that raised the bar in the genre in 2009. If you thought things couldn’t get any better, then prepare to be shaken-up by Audiard’s explosive insight into the French prison system. At the tender age of 19 Malik is sentenced to 6years for police violence. We follow him as he finds himself entering the strange and highly developed world of the professional criminal.
BY LAURA SHEARER
www.queensfilmtheatre.com