Eisenberg’s Luthor revealed, Russos set for Infinity War, new Child 44 posters and Idris Elba in talks for Star Trek 3

We were worried that The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as the supervillain Lex Luthor (yet another billionaire tech entrepreneur) would be a case of the typecasting that halted Dane DeHaan in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and why great performances such as Heath Ledger’s or Tom Hardy’s come out of the blue and excel. This first look at him in the role is something to get us hopeful however.

Batman V Superman is directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Man of Steel) and stars Ben Affleck (Argo, Gone Girl), Henry Cavill (The Man From UNCLE), Amy Adams (American Hustle, Big Eyes), Gal Gadot (Fast and Furious), Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Hannibal), Scoot McNairy (Monsters), Holly Hunter (The Piano, The Incredibles), Diane Lane (Hollywoodland, The Perfect Storm) and Jeremy Irons (The Lion King, Reversal of Fortune).

As Avengers Assemble and Age of Ultron’s Joss Whedon ruled himself out from Infinity War. Now the two parted concluder to Phase 3 will be helmed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the sibling team who behind the Captain America instalments The Winter Soldier and Civil War. We still don’t know ant of the characters that’ll be surviving until the third and fourth Avengers films but we can expect the likes of Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game).

Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch will be a tough act to follow but the newest Star Trek instalment is looking to cast Idris Elba. The star of Prometheus, Pacific Rim and Luther is in talks for the lead villain role for director Justin Lin (Fast Five). The cast includes Chris Pine (Jack Ryan, Into the Woods), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar), Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Margin Call), Karl Urban (Dredd, The Lord of the Rings), Anton Yelchin (Fright NIght, Like Crazy), John Cho (American Beauty, Harold and Kumar) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible).

Finally today we’ve got our hands on the brand new posters for the thriller Child 44. The film depicts a detective in Soviet Russia who investigates a series of grim child murders. Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directs the amazing ensemble of Tom Hardy (Inception, Locke), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Public Enemies), Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Pride), Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, RoboCop), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, Trance), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Imitation Game) and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Child 44 – Apirl 17th

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25th 2016

Star Trek 3 – July 8th 2016

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 – April 27th 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 – Apirl 16th 2019

68th British Academy Film Awards Live

Welcome to our BAFTA hub for 2015. Tonight is the biggest night of the British film calender as the esteemed academy elects its triumphant films, directors and stars. Keep on refreshing the page for the latest updates.

If you’re not preoccupied before the ceremony, try out our prediction game. Rank the nominees for Best Film, Director, Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress, Cinematography, British Film and Rising Star from 1-5. If your number one pick is correct you receive five points, number two gets four, number three gets three and so on. Comment your score from a maximum of 59. Unsure where to start? Try our own predictions as a primer. Get the full nominations list here.

The red carpet lineup is amassing: Benedict Cumberbatch! Eddie Redmayne! Keira Knightley! Steve Carell! Ralph Fiennes! Ethan Hawke! Mike Leigh! Jack O’Connell! Michael Keaton! Mark Strong!

Here we go!

Stephen Fry begins his annual interrogation of the esteemed audience members. Rosamund Pike! Julie Walters! Edward Norton!

Outstanding British Film:

The Theory of Everything
Pride
Under the Skin
The Imitation Game
’71
Paddington

Beckham awards the first win of the night. Does that put Theory in the front seat for Best Film?

Special Visual Effects:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Guardians of the Galaxy

It missed out on the main categories but it made up here. Jones and Hawking’s humour shining through again.

Supporting Actor:

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Edward Norton – Birdman
Ethawn Hawke – Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Witherspoon on her way to Leading Actress as she awards J Jonah Jameson a BAFTA.

Next two British greats award a third.

Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema:

BBC Films (Revolutionary Road, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Jane Eyre, Made in Deganham, Notes on a Scandal, Billy Elliott, Coriolanus, Pride, An Education, Quartet, In the Loop, Philomena, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa)

The Butler’s Cuba Gooding Jr dishes out the second acting category.

Supporting Actress:

Rene Russo – Nightcrawler
Emma Stone – Birdman
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Imelda Staunton – Pride

A rising star and Bilbo himself award Birdman’s first win.

Cinematography:

Mr Turner (Dick Pope)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman)
Interstellar (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
Ida (Lukasz Zal)
Birdman (Emmanuel Lubezki)

The ever sharply suited Loki and MI6 Head celebrate a great career beginning.

British Debut:

’71
Northern Soul
Lilting
Kajaki
Pride

A fitting tribute to a true great, Lord Richard Attenborough, from Prince William and Robert Downey Jr.

Best Actress favourite Julianne Moore arrives.

Best Original Screenplay:

Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonalez Inarritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone, Armando Bo -Birdman
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler

Two JJ Abrams collaborators on stage. Shared universe? It’s all a conspiracy!

Foreign Language:

Leviathan
The Lunchbox
Two Days, One Night
Ida
Trash

He’s semi-bald! Future Lex Luthor Jesse Eisenberg and Noomi Rapace turn up.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
Anthony McCarten – The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore – The Imitation Game
Jason Dean Hall – American Sniper
Paul King – Paddington

We taking a minute off to honour the In Memoriam section.

X-Men’s James McAvoy arrives – we forgot he was Scottish again.

EE Rising Star:

Gugu Mbatha Raw
Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley
Jack O’Connell
Margot Robbie

Your new one to watch is Jack O’Connell, one of the many protogee’s of E4’s Skins who’s starred in the acclaimed likes of Starred Up, Unbroken and ’71.

Brick is back.

Director:

Alejandro Gonzale Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
James Marsh – The Theory of Everything
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Only God Forgive’s Kristen Scott Thomas compliments her opposite number.

Leading Actor:

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Another crossover in the work: Superman V Captain America!

Leading Actress:

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Amy Adams – Big Eyes
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon – Wild
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

That was a surprise: Tom Cruise!

Film:

The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Boyhood
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Fellowship:

Mike Leigh (Mr Turner, Life is Sweet, High Hopes, Career Girls, Abigail’s Party, All or Nothing, Topsy Turvy, Secrets and Lies, Naked, Vera Drake, Happy Go Lucky, Another Year)

Here comes the quickfire awards.

Original Music:

Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Documentary:

Citizenfour

Makeup and Hair:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Production Design:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

British Short Film:

Boogaloo and Graham

British Short Animation:

The Bigger Picture

Editing:

Whiplash

Sound:

Whiplash

Animated Film:

The Lego Movie

Costume Design:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

We managed 53/59 so comment how you did. Here’s the winners leaderboard.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – 5
Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash – 3
Ida, Interstellar, The Lego Movie, Pride, Citizenfour, Still Alice, Birdman – 1

The Imitation Game review

Director: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Allen Leech, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Matthew Beard, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong, Alex Lawther, Jack Bannon

Awards season goldmines are often the unknown true stories that suspend the audience’s belief. 12 Years’ Oscars triumph proved that but The Imitation Game’s predicament is that, not only are the stories of the Bletchley codebreakers frequently told, Turing’s own life is well documented on TV (by Derek Jacobi) and on stage. Is the established story still going to be relevant?

Upon his dubious arrest and interrogation in the 1950s, mathematician Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) recalls both his tormenting childhood and codebreaking days at Bletchley during World War II, hoping to crack the unbreakable code that the Germans use for every transmission. Winning the war and saving the world, Turing’s own personal secrets may be the downfall of his career in the secret service.

2013’s Captain Phillips may have proved that even a well publicised story, when its true events unfurl, can still be as engaging as the rest. Sadly, The Imitation Game is plagued by the odd inconsistent scene that knocks it back a peg. In the second of the three time settings, the film ought to make far more use of the potentially gripping race-against-time elements of attempting to beat Enigma but cutting off to picnics and bar-frequenting in the midst of it kicks out any possibility of tension building.

The shear human enormity of the story is still enough to entice though. It excellently capitalises on the horrific, savage injustice of Turing’s persecution. His sexuality, and its outlawing, enforce on him a clandestine and almost reclusive life. What Cumberbatch’s stunning performance best captures is the anti social and almost unlikeable elements of Turing’s personality, however courageous, but this also highlights the obvious typecasting of the Sherlock star.

He particularly shines in the scenes of Alan’s awkwardness and general obnoxious mistreatment toward his team of colleagues, hinting a connection to a condition such as Asberger’s, but they clash frustratingly with other moments. Screenwriter Graham Moore’s studious work runs dry as Alan somehow tunes in to the sub-text of conversations, a near improbable task for someone of that mind. Also the attempts of incorporating secrecy and espionage into the military intelligence’s involvement somehow devolves into childish “I’ll won’t tell if you don’t” demands and going behind backs to tell on the teacher.

Norwegian Morten Tyldum, who last helmed the thriller Headhunters, is the director of this biopic. His visual tone follows the traditional period-drama formula but maintains a meticulous style and elegance throughout. He especially gets to flex his artistic muscles when the story flickers off to the bloodbath of the war (happening concurrently with the main events) with some glorious effects shots.

The switches between each setting were fairly clunkily handled: “Popular at school, were you?” Cue flashback to Turing at school. Further disappointing was the lack of focus on Turing’s own intellect. The development of his beloved machine is non-existent: he appeals for for the money and it suddenly appears.

While Cumberbatch is outstanding, he isn’t alone in this fine ensemble. Keira Knightley, still meddling in her usual posh-girl demeanour, may not bring anything new but is still impressive. The back and forth of Cumberbatch and Charles Dance’s uptight commander is a delight while Downton Abbey’s Allen Leech, Southcliffe’s Rory Kinnear and Stoker’s Matthew Goode make good use of the roles supplied. Now venerable actor Mark Strong’s almost cameo like appearance is outshone by newcomer Alex Lawther as the young Turing who harbours love for his classmate and only friend, the doomed but tragically influential Christopher.

Again, the increasingly fictionalised elements of the plot are the major letdown. Events such as the team not revealing that they’ve cracked the code or the discovery of a mole would have taken place but their oddly condensed into some annoyingly implausible sequences. Still the might of Tyldum, Moore, music maestro Alexandre Desplat and Cumberbatch’s best performance to date create a truly worthy Oscar contender.

8/10

“Sometimes it is the people nobody imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”

Kate Mara in Ridley Scott’s The Martian, another Interstellar poster and Benedict Cumberbatch in new Imitation Game teaser

I was one of many who were perplexed when Kate Mara, seen before in mediocre supporting roles in Shooter and Transcendence, was cast as the superhero lead Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four. She’s since proved herself with a recurring role on House of Cards. It’s now rumoured that she’s set for a role in sci-fi thriller The Martian. Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien, American Gangster, Prometheus, Black Hawk Down, Blade Runner) directs and has assembled the cast of Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan, The Bourne Identity), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty).

Many of next year’s Oscar frontrunners are now just beginning to hit screens at festival’s around the world, months before their general release. Gone Girl, Interstellar, Fury, Inherent Vice, Big Eyes and Exodus: Gods and Kings seem to be keeping their cards close to their chests while Boyhood, Birdman, The Judge and Foxcatcher have gained acclaim from their limited audiences. A dark horse in the awards race is wartime drama The Imitation Game, a character piece centred on tortured codebreaker Alan Turing. A brand new poster has been released online. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina, Pirates of the Caribbean), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Matthew Goode (Stoker) and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

You may have noticed our focus on Christopher Nolan’s (Inception, Memento, The Prestige, Insomnia, The Dark Knight trilogy) epic sci-fi mystery Interstellar this week. One by one, awesome new posters have been revealed and today’s is now exception. Nolan’s secrecy shrouded ninth film, set around a century into our future as the Earth begins the deteriorate, sees lowly engineer Cooper (Matthew MacConaughey) recruited by a government figure (Michael Caine) to join a group of explorers (Anne Hathaway, David Oyelowo, Wes Bentley) in entering a recently discovered wormhole. Meanwhile, Cooper’s children (Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain) grow up alone on Earth. The film also stars John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn and Matt Damon.

Interstellar – November 7th

The Imitation Game – November 14th

The Martian – November 27th 2015

Robert Downey Jr weighs in on Black Widow and LFF line up announced

In just six years, Marvel have introduced and greatly developed seven central characters – Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury – three of whom now have their own mulit-billion franchises. There’s now a great demand for Black Widow, played by Lost in Translation’s Scarlett Johansson, to at last get her own standalone film; she’s so far only had supporting roles in Iron Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers. X-Men and Watchmen’s writer David Hayter and Game of Thrones’ Neil Marshall have both expressed interest in directing the project while Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) has criticised Marvel for not yet confirming the film.

Robert Downey Jr is now weighing in on the discussion. “It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it,” the star of Zodiac, Chaplin, Tropic Thunder and Sherlock Holmes explained. “The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise,” Downey continued. “I think Jeremy Renner is — when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron –  he’s just a rockstar. And Ruffalo is pumped. He does great work. I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and bold after the summer they’ve had.”

The British Film Industry’s London Film Festival (BFI LFF) is back this autumn and at last the full line up has been announced. The festival opens with wartime drama The Imitation Game. Headhunters’ Morten Tyldum directs the biopic of codebreaker Alan Turing. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Never Let Me Go), Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Kick-Ass), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, Gosford Park), Matthew Goode (Watchmen, Stoker) and Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, Southcliffe).

Also featuring in the festival are the following: Sporting drama Foxcatcher, although it is far from its wide release, is already an Oscar favourite after causing a great stir at Cannes. Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) directs the cast of Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller and Mark Ruffalo. Ansel Elgort, Adam Sandler, Judy Greer, JK Simmons, Jennifer Garner and Emma Thompson star in Jason Reitman’s (Juno) comedy Men Women & Children. Timothy Spall is the title character of multi-award winning Mr Turner, from Mike Leigh (Topsy Turvy, Another Year).

Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Mud) may be on her way to a second Oscar with Wild, the new directorial effort from Jean Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club, The Young Victoria). A slightly more mainstream event arrives in the form of epic sequel Monsters: Dark Continent, from first time director Tom Green. The festival’s conclusion will be marked by a screening of WW2 thriller Fury. David Ayer (End of Watch) directs the cast of Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jason Isaacs.

London Film Festival – October 8th-19th

Black Widow – 2017?

New stills from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Game of Thrones extends its run

We don’t often adventure to the world of television but when we do you now we’re talking about something big. Now that now that the previous series-turned-international-phenomenon Breaking Bad has come to its finale (or Felina), Game of Thrones is probably America’s biggest drama, although True Detective and Mad Men may have something to say about that. The recent season four premier was as big a success as ever with record breaking viewing numbers. It’s not too surprising then to hear that HBO have called for series 5 and 6.

This means one thing: George R R Martin – get writing! We can expect these future series to feature Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Jack Gleeson, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster Waldau and Charles Dance.

We’re pretty excited to reveal a new set of stills from simian sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. These pics confirm the tribal-like style of the apes who are still developing their civilisation. We also get a peak at how the ape/human confrontations could play out as well as some fantastic CGI, a feature which made the first film so impressive. Dawn is directed by Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves and stars Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings), Judy Greer (Three Kings), Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans), Keri Russell (Felicity), Kodi Smit McPhee (The Road) and Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty). Find all of the photos here (click next to cycle through).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – July 17th

Game of Thrones season 4 – continues Sundays on HBO and Sky Atlantic