Plot Summary

 Richard (Paddy Considine) has always protected his simple-minded little brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell). When Richard leaves the rural village where they have grown up to join the army, Anthony is taken in by Sonny (Gary Stretch), a controlling and vicious local drug dealer and his gang of lads. Anthony becomes the gang’s pet and plaything. Seven years later, Richard returns to settle the score. “Dead Man’s Shoes” is a genre-defying film blending horror, supernatural elements, comedy, and social realism. Set in a Midlands village, it explores the underbelly of contemporary rural Britain in communities where crime is unchecked and drugs, intimidation, and power games are blandly accepted as the fabric of daily life. Read more: Dead Man’s Shoes – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

Acting:

This is the first time I had seen Paddy Considine and he blew me away. Empire said he was “Potentially Britain’s answer to De Niro”, and I completely agree. He is completely fearless in this portrayal and his onscreen presence is noting short of mesmerising.

Film Techniques:

This was also my introduction to the director, Shane Meadows, whom I have since become to love. This film is no frills, low budget and totally British.

Conclusion

]]> http://www.filmnotion.com/dead-mans-shoes-a-must-see-2004/feed/ 0 http://www.filmnotion.com/sam-mendes-blogs-first-video-007/ http://www.filmnotion.com/sam-mendes-blogs-first-video-007/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:45:50 +0000 Josh Barry http://www.filmnotion.com/?p=1207 Here is a little interview with Sam Mendes on his Bond film, Skyfall. This is the first video he has blogged on the official website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRY55wrWSwM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXMdxKHm67Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Bfy4GwhO8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoKYy_XuTww

MAD MEN IS BACK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERyTKbGu6jc

I know this is FILMNOTION, but this Tv is just too good not to report on. Mad Men Season 5 has been a long wait between drinks, due to production disagreements and negotiations. The new teaser trailers have hit the net and have definitely got me extremely excited again about this insanely stylish series. Bring on the 50′s!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAfcYuLbMa8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoTNqK3UCPE

THE CAST IS BACK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAWBW-F9dsc

Here’s my top 5 Hardy films thus far.

RocknRolla
Directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch). When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, and all of London’s criminal underworld wants in on the action. Everyone from a dangerous crime lord to a sexy accountant, acorrupt politician and down-on-their-luck petty thieves conspire, collude and collide with one another in an effort to get rich quick.

Bronson
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive).  In 1974, a hot headed 19-year-old named Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy) decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawed-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob apost office. After making off with only 26.18 British Pounds, he was swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to seven years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and ‘Charles Bronson,’ his superstar alter ego, took center stage…

Inception

Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in “Inception,” an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, butit has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse; their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime. apple

Warrior
Two estranged brothers and Mixed Martial Arts fighters confront the forces that tore their family apart as they prepare to do battle in the ring in this drama from director Gavin O’Connor (Pride and Glory). Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) is an ex-Marine fromPittsburgh who’s never quite shaken his troubled past. Upon learning that the purse in an upcoming MMA tournament is the largest in the league’s history, Tommy recruits his father (Nick Nolte), a former coach and recovering alcoholic, to whip him into shape in time for the competition. Meanwhile, as Tommy steadily ascends the ranks by defeating one powerful opponent after another, his brother Brendan struggles to provide for his family with his job as a public school teacher. A former MMA fighter with a devastating punch, Brendan begins to wonder if he, too, could have a shot at winning the coveted purse.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 

Directed byTomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In).  In 1970s England, Control (John Hurt), the head of MI6, dispatches a spy (Mark Strong) to meet with a Hungarian general who knows the identity of a Soviet spy within the organization’s ranks. However, the mission goes wrong, and the general dies before he can reveal the information. Undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney) calls veteran agent George Smiley (Gary Oldman) back from forced retirement to ferret out the mole and stop the flow of vital British secrets to the Russians.

Next up, Bane in The Dark Knight Rises .

And then John Hillcoat‘s Wettest County 

Plot Summary

Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father to train for SPARTA, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan, an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan s unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart.

Acting

Outstanding. Hardy, Edgerton and Nolte deliver great performances. Notle still has it!!

Film Techniques

The film has a great build up which leads to the inevitable final fight, which is intense, edge of your set stuff. The fight sequences are extremely good!

Conclusion

]]> http://www.filmnotion.com/warrior-dvd-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmnotion.com/brick-a-must-see-2005/ http://www.filmnotion.com/brick-a-must-see-2005/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:39:30 +0000 Josh Barry http://www.filmnotion.com/?p=1138 I have always liked Joseph Gordon-Levitt, starting when he was knee high to a grasshopper, in 3rd Rock From The Sun. Then I watched him in 10 Things I Hate About You along side Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. When I heard about the movie ‘Brick’ I was extremely excited. I had read that he had been extremely passionate about the film and had even had a hand in producing it. Rian Johnson, the writer/director, only had amazing things to say about Gordon-Levitt and how much he had helped get the movie off the ground. Brick was reportedly made for around the $500, 000 mark and a lot of this money was borrowed from family and friends. I love the premise of this film, being a film noir, crime drama set in a high school, and the dialogue is something else. The first time I watched it, I found it a little hard to follow, just due to the pace and strangeness of the dialogue, but thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted more.

Plot Summary

After receiving a frantic phone call from his ex-girlfriend, teenage loner Brendan Frye learns that her dead body has been found. Vowing to solve her murder himself, he must infiltrate high-school cliques that he previously avoided. His search for the truth places him before some of the school’s roughest characters, leading to a confrontation with a drug dealer known as “the Pin.”

Acting

Joseph Gordon-Levitt really started to shine here and he got noticed by many, including Christopher Nolan who cast him and  Lukas Haas (The Pin) in Inception. So I assume Nolan liked the film as well.

Film Techniques

Johnson used beautiful cinematography here and he completely commits to the film noir genre. The films dialogue is a huge part of the film and although it’s sometimes hard to follow on the first watch it is a major part of why the film is so good! The film was edited a Johnson’s Macintosh at home.

Conclusion

]]> http://www.filmnotion.com/brick-a-must-see-2005/feed/ 0 http://www.filmnotion.com/the-debt-dvd-review/ http://www.filmnotion.com/the-debt-dvd-review/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:43:20 +0000 Alex Finn http://www.filmnotion.com/?p=1125 The Debt unfortunately suffers from a few immediate prejudice bi-products: a great cast, phenomenal reviews, and a crack production/direction team. I would like to say that none of these influence the watching of a film, but living in the world that I do, these are factors. At a few points in particular, I thought to myself ‘If I had known nothing about this film coming in, I would be blown away by it’. Alas, I knew of it, the stars, and the behind the camera folks, and had certain judgments and expectations. Thankfully, they were all met.

Plot Summary

The espionage thriller begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin.

Acting

With Helen Mirren, Cirian Hinds and Tom Wilkinson the cast is already a cut above. But the young cast of Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas and Jessica Chastain somehow manage to outshine the veterans.

Film Techniques

You expect it to be well made, cut, acted etc. and it is. I expected it to entertain and to thrill me. It did. I also expected it to do something above and beyond that, something that I cannot wholly explain, to resonate with me long after the credits role. It does that as well. It is everything you expect it to be. It is nothing that will or should win best picture, but it should win best picture of the night, weekend, and week in your house.

Conclusion

]]> http://www.filmnotion.com/the-debt-dvd-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmnotion.com/blue-like-jazz-trailer/ http://www.filmnotion.com/blue-like-jazz-trailer/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:06:07 +0000 admin http://www.filmnotion.com/?p=1115 Trailer for a cool looking indie film below. No release date for Oz yet. It starts in the US on April 13.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller spent 43 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. The semi-autobiographical story was adapted for the screen by Miller, Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson. In Blue Like Jazz, Don (Allman), a pious nineteen-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college, impulsively decides to escape his evangelical upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at one ofthe most progressive campuses in America, Reed College in Portland. Upon arrival, Reed’s surroundings and eccentric student body proves to be far different than he could possibly imagine from the environment from which he came, forcing him to embark on a journey of self-discovery to understand who he is and what he truly believes. The film boasts a cast of rising stars including Marshall Allman (TRUE BLOOD), Claire Holt (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS), and Tania Raymonde (LOST). apple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpijCpla09g