Summer’s almost here, and you know what that means — from now until Labor Day, the Earth will be in near-constant danger of utter destruction every single weekend. At the box office, anyway. This week, we’re under attack from a crew of nasty aliens, and only Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna stand between us and certain doom. We’re talking about Battleship, of course, and all that aquatic derring-do got us thinking about other movies featuring thrilling peril, men and women of valor, and lots and lots of water. It’s time to celebrate some Victory at Sea — the Total Recall way!
If you’ve ever lost, say, an unfinished work spreadsheet or a uni essay you were working on to the technological abyss, you’ll be well versed with the panic that ensues. Imagine, though, losing an entire film.
If you’ve ever lost, say, an unfinished work spreadsheet or a uni essay you were working on to the technological abyss, you’ll be well versed with the panic that ensues. Imagine, though, losing an entire film.
A female juror at the Cannes Film Festival spoke out yesterday against the lack of women film directors, days after a row erupted over the absence of female nominees for this year’s Palme d’Or prize.
Marion Cotillard has been tipped for the prestigious best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival after impressing critics with her role in Rust and Bone.
Marion Cotillard has received widespread praise for her role in Rust and Bone (Picture: EPA)
The French actress stars in Jacques Audiard’s latest film as Stéphanie, a killer whale trainer who loses both her legs after a performance goes disastrously wrong.
As Stéphanie adapts to life as a double amputee she forms a relationship with a homeless single father, played by 34-year-old Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, and is inspired by his physical courage as a bare-knuckle boxer.
While the film has so far divided critics – some have hailed it the best film of the year, others have hated it – nearly all are united in praising Cotillard’s restrained performance as Stéphanie.
Marion Cotillard plays a killer-whale trainer in Rust and Bone (Picture: EPA/Cannes Film Festival)
Director Audiard said he wanted to work with Marion since seeing her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, for which she became the first person to win an Academy Award for a French language performance.
‘She is a very virile actress, and very sensual at the same time, someone who acts with real authority,’ he told a Cannes press conference.
‘She is capable of seeing an emotion through all the way.’
Marion Cotillard and co-star Matthias Schoenaerts have both earned plaudits for their roles in the film (Picture: EPA)
Cotillard wore special stockings during filming, which were erased at the editing stage to give the impression her legs had been amputated at the knee.
She said of her role: ‘Playing a character who spends most of her time in a wheelchair, you just have to use your imagination and imagine that you don’t have legs any more.
‘I really had to get under the skin of the character. When I read the screenplay I was overwhelmed.’
Marion’s co-star Matthias Schoenaerts has also been widely praised, with many tipping him for global success after his appearance in Rust and Bone.
Cotillard certainly feels he deserves the praise, saying: ‘I think Michael is a tremendous actor. I wish him a stupendous career.’
A teaser trailer for Anchorman 2 being shown to cinema-goers before screenings of The Dictator has been leaked online, showing Ron Burgundy, Champ Kind, Brian Fantana and Brick Tamland delivering more brilliantly absurd one-liners.
It’s jean-creaming time! The Anchorman 2 news team tease the highly-anticipated sequel (Picture: YouTube)
Great Odin’s raven, Anchorman is back!
The Channel 4 Evening News team step forward at the start of the trailer, back lit and showing off their always resplendent loafers and tailored suits.
Standing in a row, they then each dispatch a sentence in the hope of drumming up excitement for Anchorman’s return, with Ron Burgundy growling: ‘Get ready to ride the palomino stallion’!
‘We’re going to be broadcasting from a hot tub full of scotch,’ Champ Kind chimes in, as Brian Fantana adds: ‘Oop! It’s jean-creaming time!’
Lovable simpleton and channel weatherman Brick Tamland then bungles his one-liner, leading to prompting from the always testy Burgundy.
All the main players from the original Anchorman film appear to be returning for the sequel, though it is as yet unclear whether Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) or Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) will feature.
The one-minute teaser closes with Ron questioning: ‘Hey America, ain’t this an old fashioned shot to the nut sack?’
Ridley Scott, director of new sci-fi flick Prometheus claims that it only contains a small connection to the Alien franchise.
The legendary filmmaker, who directed the original 1979 film Alien, is returning to the genre where he made his name with one this summer’s most anticipated movies, Prometheus.
Promotheus director Ridley Scott hints at only small Alien connection (Allstar)
It follows the crew of the spaceship Prometheusas as they explore an ancient alien civilisation and try to trace the origins of the human race.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Scott revealed why he had decided to get back involved with the Alien saga.
‘For Prometheus, I came back to a very simple question that haunted me that appears in the first Alien, and no one answered in subsequent Alien films: who was the Space Jockey – the big guy in the seat?’
He added that while it bore loose links to the Alien films, ‘you might not even argue it’s a prequel’.
‘Once you start into the evolution of the story, it moves so far away from Alien that there’s only the mere DNA of the original in Prometheus.’
Prometheus is due for release on June 1st in the UK but fans of the director who can’t wait until then can check out a viral video released by 20th Century Fox.
The clip shows Noomi Rapace’s character sending a transmission to Peter Weyland in an attempt to secure a spaceship so that she can continue to study the origins of mankind.
It’s impossible to dress for this weather – one minute it’s sheeting down, the next it’s hotter than Jude Law’s crotch five seconds after he’s met the new nanny. So why bother to go outside at all? Hide in the multiplex all day and watch film after film after film, secure in the knowledge that all you really need to wear is some pants. Thank god for the OWLs!
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The third series of critically acclaimed drama Breaking Bad is out on DVD this month, and we’ve got three copies to give away! Read on to find out how you can win (it doesn’t involve making any meth)…
