Wednesday, 25 July 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
Na na na na na na na na Batnoms...
Need some nibbles to go with your Nolan? Why not try baking your own the Dark Knight Rises cupcakes?
All you need is:
100g Butter
100g Self-raising flour
100g Sugar
2 Eggs
Vanilla essence
1/2 tsp baking powder
Mix them together, shove them in the oven (180ºC) for 15-20 minutes - and don't forget the baking powder. You know, just to make sure the Dark Knight cupcake (ahem) rises.
Then you can start having fun with the icing...
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Film review: The Dark Knight Rises (spoiler-free)
Thursday, 19 July 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple
Certificate: 12A
“A storm is coming…” The last time we heard those words, it was back in 2005 and Bruce Wayne (Bale) was putting on his Batsuit for the first time. It’s no mistake that we hear them again now, at the conclusion of The Dark Knight trilogy: Christopher Nolan’s epic finale is full of flashbacks and echoes that pick up on the smallest of details from the preceding instalments: tiny asides turned into big, loud plot points.
And when I say "big", I mean BIG. The same goes for LOUD.
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Monday, 09 July 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
Like any normal person, I love looking at Guy Pearce's face with no eyebrows. But with the new Lawless trailer hitting the internet over at Yahoo!, the time comes when you just have to say: enough is enough, John Hillcoat. Just give me Lawless now.
Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Noah Taylor and Mia Waskowska will all wear hats and be awesome on Friday 7th September.
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
"You don't owe them any more. You've given them everything." "Not everything… not yet."
That's the sound of The Dark Knight Rises claiming back the summer. Just as people get blown away by The Avengers and wax lyrical about the latest Prometheus trailer, Warner Bros hit back hard with this final trailer - and it looks good. More importantly, it sounds good too.
Yes, Tom Hardy's Bane can actually be understood here, while the music, chanting and general growling set the tone for a nice, moody blockbuster. Well, that and the constant talk about death, burials, "rising" and giving Gotham everything. Will Bruce be bumped off? Will Joseph Gordon Levitt save the day? Who knows? My only question is this: where's Gary Oldman?
Read on for the final Dark Knight Rises trailer and marvel at the sheer scale of the thing - and the breathtaking speed of the internet hype cycle. From superheroes to aliens back to superheroes in 72 hours. All I can tell you is I'll be booking tickets to both this and Prometheus at the IMAX very soon.
The Dark Knight Rises is out on Friday 20th July.
Thursday, 26 April 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
You know when you're so busy shouting "YES, YES, YES" that you have to re-watch a trailer three times? Yeah, that.
Hot on the heels of The Road, John Hillcoat has gone badass for this period gangster flick. Set in Depression-era Virginia, it follows a band of bootlegging brothers (Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf) as the authorities (Guy Pearce - with some crazy facial hair and eyebrow stuff going on - and Gary Oldman) try to muscle in on their operation. Think guns. Think illegal booze. Think Tom Hardy in a hat.
Oh, and Jessica Chastain is in it.
Lawless is at Cannes this year and shoots its way into UK cinemas on Friday 31st August. You can stop hyper-ventilating now.
Monday, 30 January 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Toby Jones
Certificate: 15
Release Date: Monday 30th January
RRP: £19.99
"I'm retired." Those are the first words spoken by George Smiley (Oldman), and they don't occur until 15 minutes in. But even before then we've spent enough time with Tinker Tailor's hero to know what he's about. We see him forced out of MI5 ("The Circus") alongside the paranoid chief, Control (Hurt), and follow him home during the muted opening credits. Throughout, Smiley says nothing.
It's a hugely effective sequence that sees allegiances change, powers shift, and paperwork go up and down in a lift. Welcome to Tomas Alfredson's take on John le Carré's world. It's a quiet, tense, and stylish place to be betrayed. How British.
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Tuesday, 24 January 2012 Written by Ivan Radford
As you already know, I have an unhealthy obsession with Jean Dujardin's eyebrows. So rather than rant and blather on about the 2012 Oscar nominations, I'll let The Artist's facial hair do the talking for me. Until I get home from work this evening when I'll probably start blathering on anyway - because that, apparently, is what the internet is for.
Mostly, the Oscar nominations this year are as we all expected. But not quite. To begin with, Hugo is leading the pack. Yes, Martin Scorsese's Hugo has 11 nominations compared to Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, which has 10. Add to that Melissa McCarthy's Best Supporting Actress nod for Bridesmaids...
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Monday, 12 December 2011 Written by Ivan Radford
"There's a mole. Right at the tippy top of The Circus..."
If you haven't spent at least 5 minutes this year pretending to be the slippery Simon McBurney, you're probably more normal than me. But his undersecretary Oliver Lacon is just one of the cast members who relish the enigmatic dialogue of Peter Straughan (The Debt, The Men Who Stare at Goats) and Bridget O'Connor's winding adaptation of John le Carré's seminal novel.
It's hard to follow for many - the beginning is way too jumpy - but combined with Tomas Alfredson's impeccable visuals, this slow-burn story of betrayal and decay is a sumptuous bit of cinema (here's our Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy review). Which is why the Tinker Tailor Soldier Screenplay makes the Christmas reading list in our Advent Calendar this week.
For those who appreciate Gary Oldman's almost total lack of speech, but want to memorise his electrifying monologue about Russian gangster Karla, it's perfect material for post-Boxing Day lunch. And for those sleepy relatives who still don't understand who the mole was, this streamlined version of the book is great for brief recaps - or just hitting them over the head with.
Thanks to Focus Features and their sexy awards campaign, you can download it for yourself. To read the Tinker Tailor Soldier Screenplay, head this way.
Friday, 16 September 2011 Written by Ivan Radford
Ask anyone at The Circus and they'd agree that Tinkers and Tailors are a load of Ferret loving Housekeepers who hunt scalps all day and make shoes for Janitors. Or something.
And if, like me, you didn't understand a word of that, then you need the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy dictionary, to teach you to speak like George Smiley. Learn it and you'll have your own secret language that only you and Gary Oldman can understand (along with everyone else who has ever read John Le Carre's novel, seen the film, or glanced at the glossary definitions below).
You may not understand what happens in the movie, but you can fool everyone into thinking you're a super spy expert by chucking in the odd codeword here and there. So read this Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy dictionary and start dropping those words now. Unless you'd rather be a babysitter for a pavement artist. Or whatever.
Tomas Alfredson's spy thriller is out in UK cinemas today. Head this way to read our Tinker, Tailor review.
Monday, 12 September 2011 Written by Ivan Radford
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Toby Jones
Certificate: 15
"I'm retired." Those are the first words spoken by George Smiley (Oldman), and they don't occur until 15 minutes in. But even before then we've spent enough time with Tinker, Tailor's hero to know what he's about. We see him forced out of MI5 ("The Circus") alongside the paranoid chief, Control (Hurt), and follow him home during the muted opening credits. Throughout, Smiley says nothing.
It's a hugely effective sequence that sees allegiances change, powers shift, and paperwork go up and down in a lift. Welcome to Tomas Alfredson's take on John le Carré's world. It's a quiet, tense, and stylish place to be betrayed. How British.
Read more...
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