Weekend box-office – 21st to 27th of March 2015 – will Cinderella have a ball and outrun Liam Neeson?

Disney’s classic properties are now constantly being rebooted with grand financial success. Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz the Great and Powerful, Maleficent and Into the Woods (although the latter is more based on Grimm’s tales) have all been smash hits and now Cinderella is now launching. Thor director and Shakespeare veteran Kenneth Branagh is at the helm of the fantasy drama (starring the likes of Lily James, Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter) but its opponent is the action thriller Run All Night (starring Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris). Last week, we predicted Cinderella would hit the mark but lets find out.

US:

1. Cinderella – Director: Kenneth Branagh – $67.8 million
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra – $11 million
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $6.2 million
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $5.7 million
5. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp – $5.7 million

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £1.4 million
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra – £0.8 million
3. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – £0.8 million
4. Suite Francaise – Saul Dibb – £0.5 million
5. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £0.5 million

Cinderella has made a very impressive debut, running into the ground all other competition. Run All Night is relatively disappointing in comparison to Neeson’s action hits Taken, Non-Stop and The Grey. Robo-thriller Chappie has slipped significantly from first to fifth. In the UK, the sequel to Best Exotic Marigold Hotel enjoys a third week on top of the box-office and period drama Suite Francaise (starring Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas) makes a surprise arrival in fourth. This week we’ve scored 4/10.

US:

1. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke
2. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
3. The Gunman – Pierre Morel
4. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn

UK:

1. Insurgent – Robert Schwnetke
2. Home – Tim Johnson
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
4. The Gunman – Pierre Morel
5. The Voices – Marjane Satrapi

Lily James in Cinderella, this week’s US number one.

Judi Dench and Bill Nighy in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 14th to 20th of March 2015 – is Chappie rebooting at the box-office?

In the aftermath of the smash hit Fifty Shades of Grey, various films have been scrambling for the top spot. Last week, hustling romance Focus (starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie) took top spot but now Neill Blomkamp (the South African behind the Best Picture nominated District 9, Matt Damon sci-fi thriller Elysium and the next Alien film) is releasing his third feature, Chappie – a robo-action with Sharlto Copley (Maleficent), Hugh Jackman (X-Men), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar) and the rap duo Die Antwood. Its rival is the equally star studded The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring Judi Dench (Philomena), Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Richard Gere (Chicago).

US:

1. Chappie – Director: Neill Blomkamp – $13.4 million
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $10 million
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – $8.5 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $8.3 million
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $6.7 million

UK;

1. The Second Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £2 million
2. Focus – John Ficarra, John Requa – £1.3 million
3. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £1.1 million
4. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp – £1 million
5. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £0.8 million

Chappie’s opening is slightly disappointing but it is still set to surpass the $50 million budget. The comedy sequel to Marigold Hotel is performing well but not well enough to outgross its predecessor. The Vince Vaughn comedy Unfinished Business has flopped, landing in 10th. This week I’ve scored 5/10.

US:

1. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
3. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
5. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
3. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
5. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp

Sharlto Copley in Chappie, this week’s US number one.

Maggie Smith in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 7th to 13th of March 2015 – is Fifty Shades going to lose Focus?

Controversially graphic romantic drama Fifty Shades of Grey has had an undisputed reign on the past couple of box-office results but now it faces its first serious challenge in the form of hustling thriller Focus, starring rising star Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) and Will Smith (I am Legend, Hancock). The latter will be hoping for greater things following the commercial and critical bomb After Earth. Last week, we predicted that Focus would win but we’ll soon find out. Meanwhile, the ensemble of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere, Dev Patel and Bill Nighy lead the sequel to smash hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is hoping for big things in the UK.

US:

1. Focus – Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $18.7 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $11.9 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $10.8 million
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – $10.6 million
5. The Lazarus Effect – David Gelb – $10.2 million

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £3.8 million
2. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £2.2 million
3. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – £1.9 million
4. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £1.2 million
5. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £1 million

While nabbing the number one spot, it’s a slightly underwhelming debut for Focus in a generally slow moving week. The only other new entry is Evan Peters horror The Lazarus Effect. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, should it follow the pattern of the first, may well begin to rise in takings next week. This week, we’ve scored a poor 1/10.

US:

1. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
2. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
3. Unfinished Business – Ken Scott
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
2. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
3. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
5. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams

Will Smith and Margot Robbie in Focus, this week’s US number one.

Judi Dench in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Snyder’s Batman vs Superman delayed to 2016, American Hustle wins big at SAGA plus news for Marvel, Star Wars and Bond

We know we’ve done a lot of award season coverage of late and that continues today with the Screen Actors Guild Awards but we’ll try and fit in some other stuff too.

Best Ensemble Performance:

American Hustle

12 Years a Slave

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyers Club

The Butler

Best Leading Actor:

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Forest Whitaker – The Butler

Best Leading Actress:

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Judi Dench – Philomena

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks

Best Supporting Actor:

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Daniel Bruhl – Rush

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

June Squibb – Nebraska

Oprah Winfrey – The Butler

In TV, Breaking Bad won both Best Ensemble and Best Actor (Bryan Cranston) in a drama series. Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) won Best Actress in drama but Julia Louis Dreyfus (Veep) picked up the corresponding award for comedy and Helen Mirren (Phil Spector) for mini-series/TV movie. Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra) and Ty Burrell (Modern Family, which also won Best Comedy Ensemble) respectively won Best Actor in a mini-series/TV movie and comedy series.

We move onto the surprising news that one of 2015’s major releases will follow in the footsteps of Pirates 6, Star Trek 3, Warcraft and Finding Dory to escape from the avalanche of film releases that 2015 brings, such as The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Cinderella, The Good Dinosaur, Fast and Furious 7, Fifty Shades of Grey, Star Wars: Episode VII, Terminator: Genesis, Jurassic World, Assassin’s Creed, Seventh Son, The Fantastic Four, Pitch Perfect 2, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Bond 24, Mission: Impossible 5, Inside Out, Tomorrowland, The Minions, Frankenstein, Kung Fu Panda 3, Ted 2, Crimson Peak, Silence, Insurgent, Point Break, San Andreas, Poltergeist, In the Heart of the Sea, The Gambler, Queen of the Desert, Insidious 3, Chappie, Cyber, The Penguins of Madagascar, The Bourne Betrayal, The Secret Service, The Wedding Ringer and Killer Crow.

It’s Batman vs Superman which has pulled out into 2016. You’d think that this’d be one of the highest grossing films of the year so it’s backed out not because of competition but because of development difficulties. Fox cites that writer/director Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel, Watchmen) and co need “time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story.” Pan, a prequel to Disney classic Peter Pan, is the Fox release that’ll replace it in 2015. That’ll be directed by Joe Wright (Hanna, Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, The Soloist) and may star Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Real Steel, Australia, Les Miserables, The Prestige) The Man of Steel sequel will star Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishbourne and Gal Gadot and is rumoured to star Joaquin Phoenix and Jason Momoa.

There’s a few other quick snippets of news. Agents of SHIELD, which returns to Channel 4 in late February, recently confirmed that Bill Paxton will join the team. The show must be trying to up the anti by adding another major star. Asgardian warrior Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), who featured in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World, will be the focus of an upcoming episode. Initial ratings for the series have been lower than expected but ABC boss Paul Lee is confident a second series will be on the way.

While we’re on Marvel’s Disney side of things, we’d like to share with you the first promotional art of James Gunn’s (Slither, Super) stellar new comic-book adaptation which stars Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Glenn Close and John C Reilly: Guardians of the Galaxy.

We swiftly move onto the James Bond franchise which we reference earlier. The yet untitled Bond 24 will be directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition, American Beauty, Away We Go, Jarhead) will return to the franchise after the huge success he had with Skyfall, which grossed over a billion dollars, nearly over double what any previous instalment had gained. Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw are all set to revive their roles and John Logan is confirmed to be writing the script. As well as Skyfall, he penned Hugo, Rango, Coriolanus, The Aviator, The Last Samurai and Gladiator to much critical success so he should be able to astound us again with Bond 24.

“My goal is to write a great movie that’s appropriate, to build on what we did on Skyfall, but make it its own unique animal,” Logan said. “The themes, ideas and the characters from Skyfall can obviously continue on, because it is a franchise, and it is an ongoing story. So I think there’s resonance from Skyfall in the new movie.”

The fourth and final quick snippet of news is staying in the realm of scriptwriting. While Logan is starting his work on a new production, JJ Abrams has confirmed that the screenplay for his epic reboot Star Wars: Episode VII is finished. The Star Trek Into Darkness and Super 8 director/Felicity, Lost and Alias creator and his colleague Lawrence Kasdan (scribe of the original Star Wars’ The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark) have finished their work writing. Also, producer Kathleen Kennedy told the ToysrEvil blog this about the franchise’s future as a whole.

“The canon that he created was the Star Wars saga. Right now, Episode VII falls within that canon. The spin-off movies, or we may come up with some other way to call those films, they exist within that vast universe that he created. There is no attempt being made to carry characters from the standalone films in and out of the saga episodes. Consequently, from the creative standpoint, it’s a roadmap that George made pretty clear.”

Batman vs. Superman – May 6th 2016

Pan – July 17th 2015

Bond 24 – November 6th 2015

Agents of SHIELD – Channel 4 in late February

Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1st

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

12 Years triumphs at People’s Choice Awards and new Amazing Spider-Man 2 posters

After director Steve McQueen and star Michael Fassbender were snubbed for both Hunger and Shame, they’re finally getting award recognition for 12 Years a Slave, which won Best Film at the Golden Globes and People’s Choice and shone out at the Academy Award nominations. Here’s the full list

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Saving Mr Banks

Best Actor

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Robert Redford – All is Lost

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Judi Dench – Philomena

Brie Larson – Short Term 12

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Philllips

Daniel Bruhl – Rush

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Scarlett Johansson – Her

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

June Squibb – Blue Jasmine

Oprah Winfrey – The Butler

Best Young Actor/Actress

Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue is the Warmest Colour

Asa Butterfield – Ender’s Game

Liam James – The Way Way Back

Sophie Nelisse – The Book Thief

Tye Sheridan – Mud

Best Acting Ensemble

American Hustle

August: Osage County

The Butler

Nebraska

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Spike Jonze – Her

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay

Spike Jonze – Her

Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell – American Hustle

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Joel and Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Tracy Letts – August: Osage County

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight

Billy Ray – Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – Philomena

Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Cinematography

Emmannuel Lubezki – Gravity

Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis

Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska

Roger Deakins – Prisoners

Sean Bobbit – 12 Years a Slave

Best Art Direction

The Great Gatsby

Gravity

Her

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

12 Years a Slave

Best Editing

Gravity

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Rush

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Costume Design

The Great Gatsby

American Hustle

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Saving Mr Banks

12 Years a Slave

Best Hair and Make-up

American Hustle

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Butler

Rush

12 Years a Slave

Best Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Animated Feature

Frozen

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Monsters University

The Wind Rises

Best Action Movie

Lone Survivor

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Iron Man 3

Rush

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Actor in an Action Movie

Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

Henry Cavill – Man of Steel

Robert Downey Jr – Iron Man 3

Brad Pitt – World War Z

Best Comedy

American Hustle

Enough Said

The Heat

This is the End

The Way Way Back

The World’s End

Best Actor in a Comedy

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Christian Bale – American Hustle

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Simon Pegg – The World’s End

Sam Rockwell – The Way Way Back

Best Actress in a Comedy

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Sandra Bullock – The Heat

Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

Julia Louis Dreyfus – Enough Said

Melissa McCarthy – The Heat

Best Sci-fi Horror Movie

Gravity

The Conjuring

Star Trek Into Darkness

Iron Man 3

Best Foreign Language Film

Blue is the Warmest Colour

The Great Beauty

The Hunt

The Past

Best Documentary Feature

20 Feet From Stardom

The Act of Killing

Blackfish

Stories We Tell

Tim’s Vermeer

Best Song

Let it Go – Frozen

Atlas – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Happy – Despicable Me 2

Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Please Mr Kennedy – Inside Llewyn Davis

Young and Beautiful – The Great Gatsby

Best Score

Stephen Price – Gravity

William Butler, Owen Pallett – Her

Thomas Newman – Saving Mr Banks

Hans Zimmer – 12 Years a Slave

Gravity has won the most awards with an impressive six wins but it’s 12 Years a Slave’s day as it picked up Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. American Hustle gained four wins while Frozen, The Great Gatsby, Blue is the Warmest Colour and Lone Survivor got two. I’m not going to do in depth analysis but I’m stilled surprised Her is being praised as an “original” and “fresh” premise as it has exactly the same plot as a Big Bang Theory episode where a lonely Raj (Kunal Nayyar) falls in love with his I-Phone’s Siri. I’m probably not the first to say it but I haven’t heard anyone else pick up on it.

The only other major piece of news is the stunning new poster for Marvel and Sony’s superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Marc Webb directs and Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Dane DeHaan and Chris Cooper star but today’s focus is the hopefully terrifying new villain Electro, played by Ray, Collateral and Django Unchained’s Jamie Foxx.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – April 18th

The 2014 Academy Awards nominations are in!

After the tense but unfocused Argo triumphed over the brilliant Les Miserables, Lincoln and Beasts of the Southern Wild at the last Oscars, I’m not sure that the Academy Award Best Picture is the best judge of what really is the best film of the year but it’s certainly the most prestigious honour any movie can receive. This year features plenty of strong contenders but some stars have seen some shocking snubs.

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Alexander Payne – Nebraska

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay

Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell – American Hustle

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club

Spike Jonze – Her

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Billy Ray – Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – Philomena

Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater – Before Midnight

Best Actor

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Judi Dench – Philomena

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Animated Film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Frozen

The Wind Rises

Best Original Score

Philomena – Alexander Desplat

The Book Thief – John Williams

Gravity – Stephen Price

Saving Mr Banks – Thomas Newman

Her – William Butler, Owen Pallett

Best Original Song

Alone Yet Not Alone – Alone Yet Not Alone

Happy – Despicable Me 2

Let it Go – Frozen

The Moon Song – Her

Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography

The Grandmaster – Phillipe Le Sourd

Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki

Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel

Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael

Prisoners – Roger Deakins

Best Editing

American Hustle

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Best Production Design

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Her

Gravity

The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design

American Hustle – Michael Wilkinson

The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin

The Invisible Woman – Michael O’Connor

The Grandmaster – William Chang Suk Ping

12 Years a Slave – Patricia Norris

Best Make-Up

Dallas Buyers Club

Jackass: Bad Grandpa

The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing

All is Lost

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Inside Llewyn Davis

Lone Survivor

Best Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness

The Lone Ranger

Best Foreign Language Film

Broken Circle Breakdown – Belgium

The Great Beauty – Italy

The Hunt – Denmark

The Missing Picture – Cambodia

Omar – Palestine

Best Animated Short

Feral

Get a Horse

Mr Hublot

Possessions

Room on the Broom

Best Documentary

The Act of Killing

Cutie and the Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

20 Feet From Stardom

Best Documentary Short

Cavedigger

Facing Fear

Karama Has No Walls

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Best Live-Action Short

Aquel No Era Yo

Just Before Losing Everything

Helium

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything

The Voorman

The unsurprising leaders are 12 Years a Slave, eight nominations, Gravity, ten honours, and American Hustle, also ten nominations. Both Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street gained five, Captain Phillips and Nebraska scored an impressive six while Her and Philomena followed up with four. Blue Jasmine got three while, with its two star actresses, August: Osage County scraped into the shortlists with two, as did animations Frozen and Despicable Me 2 and documentary The Act of Killing and martial-arts based The Grandmaster. In the more technical areas, Captain Phillips and Gravity made a big impact while The Great Gatsby, The Lone Ranger, Lone Survivor and Inside Llewyn Davis got two, The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug got three and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Jackass: Bad Grandpa, The Book Thief, All is Lost and The Invisible Woman pushed their way in with just one nomination each.

There are some shocking snubs. Blue is the Warmest Colour is the most obvious one. I thought that this Palme D’Or was bound to not only win Best Foreign Language Film but also pick up nominations for Best Leading Actress, Best Director and Best Picture but didn’t even get one honour. Captain Phillips’ Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass were respectively left out of Best Actor and Best Director. Saving Mr Banks, All is Lost, Prisoners and Inside Llewyn Davis were left of some of the awards they were favoured for while the hugely popular The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Rush were completely bereft of recognition. Saving Mr Banks was one of the most loved efforts of the year and yet only finds itself with one nomination; Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrel and director John Lee Hancock were all snubbed. I also think that Lone Survivor and The Book Thief will be disappointed with their small hoards.

In terms of potential winners, Gravity will no doubt win the most awards but 12 Years a Slave may just beat off the main competition from Gravity and American Hustle to win Best Picture. I think the winners of the “big five” will be Alfonso Cuaron (director of Gravity), Leonardo Di Caprio (actor of The Wolf of Wall Street), Cate Blanchett (actress of Blue Jasmine), Michael Fassbender (supporting actor of 12 Years a Slave) and Jennifer Lawrence (supporting actress of American Hustle).

The show itself will be on ABC in America or Sky Movies in the UK on March 2nd and will be hosted by Ellen Degeneres.

The 86th Academy Awards – March 2nd on ABC and Sky Movies

Golden Globes winners plus Fassbender, Weaving and more for Star Wars 7

It’s over a month it’ll we reach what I consider to be the main events of the award season, the Oscars, Academy Awards, and BAFTA, British Academy of Film and Television Awards, but the Golden Globes possibly give the most accurate early insight into who’s leading the way to bringing home Best Picture. The show, hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, was held on Sunday and heralded these results.

Best Motion Picture – Drama:

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Rush

Best Actress – Drama

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Judi Dench – Philomena

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks

Kate Winslet – Labor Day

Best Actor – Drama

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Robert Redford – All is Lost

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

American Hustle

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor – Comedy or Musical

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis

Joaquin Phoenix – Her

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Julie Delpy – Before Midnight

Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

Julia Louis Dreyfus – Enough Said

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Daniel Bruhl – Rush

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Screenplay

Spike Jonze – Her

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell – American Hustle

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne – Nebraska

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Best Animated Feature

Frozen

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Best Foreign Language Film

The Great Beauty

Blue is the Warmest Colour

The Hunt

The Wind Rises

Best Original Score

All is Lost

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Gravity

The Book Thief

12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song

“Ordinary Love” – Mandela Long Walk to Freedom

“Atlas” – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

“Let it Go” – Frozen

“Please Mr Kennedy” – Inside Llewyn Davis

“Sweeter Than Fiction” – One Chance

American Hustle leads the way with three wins but it’s Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity and 12 Years a Slave that’ll be remembered for last night’s success. The victories Alfonso Cuaron, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo Di Caprio and Matthew MacConaughey were expected but there’s some real surprises with Spike Jonze, Amy Adams and Jared Leto picking up Globes.

I’ll give a quick review on the TV results. As expected, the final season of Breaking Bad won Best Drama and Best Actor, for Bryan Cranston, while Robin Wright won the Globe for Best Actress with Netflix’s House of Cards. In comedy, brand new cop show Brooklyn Nine-Nine caused an upset for the bookies as it starred taking Best Comedy and Best Actor (Adam Sandberg) in a Comedy from favourites such as The Big Bang Theory, Arrested Development, Girls and Modern Family. Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra won both Best Mini-Series or TV Movie and Best Actor in a Mini-Series for Michael Douglas while Elizabeth Moss (Top of the Lake) won the corresponding Best Actress award. Jacqueline Bisset (Dancing on the Edge) and Jon Voight (Ray Donovan) respectively won Best Supporting Actress and Actor.

Star Wars: Episode VII, as you know, is an upcoming sci-fi reboot of George Lucas’ classic ’77 – ’83 trilogy that gained an poor name thanks to Lucas’ failed prequel ’99 – ’05 trilogy. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness, Super 8, Lost, Felicity) will direct the new instalment that’s seen a number of intriguing cast rumours.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Day Lewis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor have gone round the rumour mill while Soarise Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Michael B Jordan and Sullivan Stapleton are confirmed to have had auditions. The Episode VII producers took a tour of Britain with open auditions across about five or six cities to find fresh face and old Star Wars favourites Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis, Samuel L Jackson and Anthony Daniels are rumoured to reprise their roles.

Now, four fresh entrants to the series are in contention but, before you accuse this as a wild guess, consider that the closer we get to the film’s release, the more accurate the rumours’ll be. The latest batch of potential Star Warriors are Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, Jesse Plemons and Adam Driver.

The Irish/Germanic Fassbender is probably the most known of the four. He’s equally spread between mainstream and award worthy performances after leading box-office success with Prometheus, Inglorious, X-Men: First Class and 300 and winning the critics in the more art-house Shame, Hunger and 12 Years a Slave, for which he’s tipped for Oscar success. I’m not sure if Fassbender will sign on as he’s already doing X-Men: Days of Future Past, Frank, Untitled Terrence Malick project, Assassin’s Creed, MacBeth and Prometheus 2 already lined up.

The other three are much more likely candidates. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix’s Mr Smith, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit’s Elrond, Captain America’s Red Skull, V for Vendetta, Cloud Atlas’ Mrs Noakes), Adam Driver (Frances Ha, Lincoln, Inside Llewyn Davis and Girls’ Adam Sackler) and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad’s Todd, Friday Night Lights, Battleship, Paul) are the other three stars rumoured for Star Wars. Casting venerable stars such as Weaving is fine as long as they don’t waste them on pointless politician roles, see Terence Stamp as Chancellor Valorum. There was a rumour that a casting call went out for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s daughter or granddaughter but that may just be fiction.

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

BAFTA Nominations for 2014 are in: American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Philomena and 12 Years a Slave lead the way

A couple of days ago, we brought you the scoop on the nominees for BAFTA’s Rising Star Award. Now the rest of the nominations have come in and there’s a couple of the usual surprises and snubs.

Best Film

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Outstanding British Film

Gravity

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Philomena

Rush

Saving Mr Banks

The Selfish Giant

Outstanding Debut For a British Writer, Director or Producer

Colin Carberry (Writer), Glenn Patterson (Writer) Good Vibrations

Kelly Marcel (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks

Kieran Evans (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor

Paul Wright (Director/Writer), Polly Stokes (Producer) For Those in Peril

Scott Graham (Director/Writer) Shell

Best Director

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay

Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell – American Hustle

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron – Gravity

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Richard LaGravense – Behind the Candelabra

Billy Ray – Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – Philomena

Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Leading Actor

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Best Leading Actress

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks

Judi Dench – Philomena

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Daniel Bruhl – Rush

Matt Damon – Behind the Candelabra

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Oprah Winfrey – The Butler

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

Best Foreign Language Film

The Act of Killing

Blue is the Warmest Colour

The Great Beauty

Metro Manila

Wadjda

Best Documentry

The Act of Killing

The Armstrong Lie

Blackfish

Tim’s Vermeer

We Steal Secret: The Story of WikiLeaks

Best Animated Film

Despicable Me 2

Frozen

Monsters University

Best Original Music

12 Years a Slave – Hans Zimmer

The Book Thief – John Williams

Captain Phillips – Henry Jackman

Gravity – Stephen Price

Saving Mr Banks – Thomas Newman

Best Cinematography

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Saving Mr Banks

Best Editing

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Rush

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Production Design

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Behind the Candelabra

Gravity

The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design

American Hustle

Behind the Candelabra

The Great Gatsby

The Invisible Woman

Saving Mr Banks

Best Make-up and Hair

American Hustle

Behind the Candelabra

The Butler

The Great Gatsby

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Best Sound

All is Lost

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Rush

Best Special Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best British Short Animation

Everything I Can See From Here

I am Tom Moody

Sleeping with the Fishes

Best British Short Film

Island Queen

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Orbit Ever After

Room 8

Sea View

The EE Rising Star Award

Dane DeHaan

George MacKay

Lupita Nyong’o

Will Poulter

Lea Seydoux

12 Years a Slave has an impressive haul with 9 nominations, as did American Hustle, but Gravity leads the way with 11. Captain Phillips scored 6 and Philomena, Saving Mr Banks, Behind the Candelabra, The Wolf of Wall Street, Blue Jasmine, Nebraska and Inside Llewyn Davis all made a great impression. Rush, The Great Gatsby, Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug all dominated the technical awards. Something I’m not convinced by is the nominees of the Best British Film award. Mandela, Philomena and The Selfish Giant are fair enough but is having a Brit on the producing credits really justifying Gravity (directed by a Mexican), Rush (directed by a Oklahoman) and Saving Mr Banks (directed by a Texan).

As for who will win, Best Film I’d narrow it down to 12 Years, American Hustle and Captain Phillips. Sandra Bullock (Gravity) may just pip Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) to Best Leading Actress while I reckon Tom Hanks has Best Actor in the bag. Oprah Winfrey and Daniel Bruhl seem  like the most likely to respectively win Best Supporting Actress and Actor.

Alfonso Cuaron is my favourite for Best Director and I also predict American Hustle to win Best Original Screenplay and either The Wolf of Wall Street or Philomena for Best Adapted. I’d bet on Frozen for Best Animated Film but Gravity would probably win the most awards on the night but it’ll miss out on the main award of Best Film.

The event itself is on February 16th and here, on Tuorhoth Movies, we hope to be bringing live as-it-happens news updates so stay tuned. By for now!

BIFA nominations unveiled and Alan Taylor’s Terminator auditioners announced

Brie Larson is the 24 year old 21 Jump Street and Scott Pilgrim star who’s recently stunned the critics in new drama Short Term 12. Margot Robbie started her career with TV roles on Pan Am and Neighbours but is going big after a role in About Time and soon stars with Leonardo Di Caprio and Matthew McConaughey in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street and is in IMDB’s Top 100 on the Starmeter (ranked 51st currently). Emilia Clarke, Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s legendary Game of Thrones, is ranked at 44th on that same meter and recently starred with Jude Law in the comedy Dom Hemmingway. It’s announced that they’ll be going head to head for a very important role.

Sarah Connor, the focus of the first two Terminator films, is that role but what we said about going head to head isn’t quite true. The Hollywood Reporter, well, reported that the three stars were under consideration by director Alan Taylor. He’s just released his Marvel epic Thor: The Dark World and is also known for Palookaville. At first glance, Clarke looks like a real contender as she and Taylor will know eachother through their work on Game of Thrones.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rumoured to be starring in the new reboot of the James Cameron classic but not much more is known. We could guess of a switch of time zone from the most recent instalment, Salvation, seeing as they’ll be casting a young Sarah Connor.

Finally, we’ve find out the nominations for the BIFA, or British Independent Film Awards. They were unveiled via Scot star Ewan MacGregor reading them out. This year, there’s particular focus on Filth, Philomena and Le Week-End. There also appears to be an effort to bring in youth with Scarlett Johansson, Felicity Jones and Saorise Ronan given nods. You can find out who wins on the event itself, December 8th.

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Metro Manila
Philomena
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up
Le Week-end

BEST DIRECTOR
Jon S Baird, Filth
Clio Barnard, The Selfish Giant
Sean Ellis, Metro Manila
Jonathan Glazer, Under The Skin
David Mackenzie, Starred Up

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Charlie Cattrall, Titus
Tina Gharavi, I Am Nasrine
Jeremy Lovering, In Fear
Omid Nooshin, Last Passenger
Paul Wright, For Those In Peril

BEST SCREENPLAY
Jonathan Asser, Starred Up
Clio Barnard, The Selfish Giant
Steven Knight, Locke
Hanif Kureishi, Le Week-end
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan, Philomena

BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench, Philomena
Lindsay Duncan, Le Week-end
Scarlett Johansson, Under The Skin
Felicity Jones, The Invisible Woman
Saoirse Ronan, How I Live Now

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent, Le Week-end
Steve Coogan, Philomena
Tom Hardy, Locke
Jack O’Connell, Starred Up
James McAvoy, Filth

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Siobhan Finneran, The Selfish Giant
Shirley Henderson, Filth
Imogen Poots, The Look Of Love
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Invisible Woman
Mia Wasikowska, The Double

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
John Arcilla, Metro Manila
Rupert Friend, Starred Up
Jeff Goldblum, Le Week-end
Eddie Marsan, Filth
Ben Mendelsohn, Starred Up

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Harley Bird, How I Live Now
Conner Chapman / Shaun Thomas, The Selfish Giant
Caity Lotz, The Machine
Jake Macapagal, Metro Manila
Chloe Pirrie, Shell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
A Field in England
Filth
Metro Manila
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Shaheen Baig – Casting, Starred Up
Johnnie Burn – Sound Design, Under The Skin
Amy Hubbard – Casting, The Selfish Giant
Mica Levi – Music, Under The Skin
Justine Wright – Editing,  Locke

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer
The Great Hip Hop Hoax
The Moo Man
The Spirit Of ’45
The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone

BEST BRITISH SHORT
L’Assenza
Dr Easy
Dylan’s Room
Jonah
Z1

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
Blue Jasmine
Frances Ha
The Great Beauty
Wadjda

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Everyone’s Going To Die
The Machine
The Patrol
Sleeping Dogs
Titus

Terminator – July 1st 2015

British Independent Film Awards – December 8th

The Must Sees of November 2013

This one comes a few days late but we need a round up of November’s huge releases. First up, we’ve got the new film from Stephen Frears (two time Oscar nominated director famed for The Queen and High Fidelity). Philomena is the true story of a pregnant Irish teenager who’s child was stolen by nuns and put up for adoption in America. Decades on in the present day, the old woman’s (Judi Dench – Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love, Iris) story is found by political journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan – Alan Partridge, The Look of Love, Despicable Me 2) and they set out to America to find Philomena’s son. This bitter comedy is sweeping up recognition from everywhere, BAFTAs are certain and Oscars are a possibility, and opens November 1st.

Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall and Jim Broadbent star in Closed Circuit. John Crowley is the director of this mystery thriller which sees a regular court case uncovering a huge terrorist plot (Nov 1st). Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden, James Badge Dale and Paul Giamatti play characters in their response to the death of President John F Kennedy in 1963 for the new drama Parkland from director Peter Landesman (Nov 8th). Last Vegas is the new big billing comedy. The premise is four sixty something guys (played by four Oscar winners – Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline) hitting Vegas for the final bachelor party of their lives as the last on of them ties the knot. Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) is the director (Nov 8th).

The biggest release of the month has got to be Gravity. It’s burst into IMDB’s Top 250 films of all time and sits at about 50th. Alfonso Cauron (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) is the director of what’s being praised as one of the most technically astonishing films of all time. Sandra Bullock plays Dr Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first trip to space. She’s on a spacestation with veteran Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) when debris crashes into them leaving them stranded and tumbling towards Earth (Nov 7th).

Kill Your Darlings is the new biography drama set in 1944. A murder draws in great Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Also with Dane DeHaan, Elizabeth Olsen, David Cross and director John Krokidas (Slo-Mo) (8th). Shia LaBeouf (Lawless, Transformers) is the titular character Charlie Countryman. Rupert Grint, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelson, Melissa Leo, James Buckley and John Hurt. Countryman is an American traveller who falls for a Romanian criminal. Frederick Bond is the director (Nov 8th).

The Counsellor is Ridley Scott’s new thriller. Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Javier Bardem star in this Oscar tipped feature about a lawyer getting too deep into drug trafficking (Nov 15th). Iain De Caestecker is currently starring on the small screen as one of the Agents of SHIELD. He’s also starring with Alice Englert for In Fear. Jeremy Lovering’s horror sees a young couple thrown into the tormenting of a dark forest after a night out (Nov 15th). Richard Shepard (The Matador) directs and writes his new crime filled comedy Dom Hemmingway where Jude Law has the role of the ex-con titular lead alongside Richard E. Grant and Emilia Clarke (Nov 15th) while Joseph Gordon Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Looper) directs, writes and stars in edgy rom-com Don Jon about a regular guy struggling to maintain a happy relationship. Also with Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. Rounding off the stellar releases of November 15th is Blue is the Warmest Colour, winner of the Palme D’Or award earlier this year at the Canne Film Festival after being voted by an elite panel of judges including Steven Spielberg. This foreign language hit is from Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche and is tipped to be this year’s Amour.

Escape Plan sees the 1980s’ two greatest action stars,  Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Predator) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo), teaming up for the first proper time, The Expendables wasn’t really about them. They play two prison experts locked away in the most secure cell on the Earth and devise a route out in this mystery thriller from director Mikael Hafstrom. Also with 50 Cent, Sam Neill and Vinnie Jones (Nov 22nd).

We now have a trio of award contenders. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones star in The Family. Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) is the director and the story is the one of the Manzoni family, a notorious Mafia clan now hiding out in Normandy, France, but are soon noticed (Nov 22nd). A Most Wanted Man is the story of a Muslim immigrant in Hamburg caught  in the crossfire of the international war on terror. Rachel McAdams, Daniel Bruhl, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright and Phillip Seymour Hoffman all star for director Anton Corbjin, famed for The American, (Nov 22nd). Nicole Kidman is the current Oscar favourite for Grace of Monaco. It’s the true story of legendary actress Grace Kelly who, at the age of 25, has just one her first Oscar and is the rising star of the moment, that moment being 1955. But she gives up her career just as it was taking off she marries the Monacan Prince Ranier III (Tim Roth). Director Oliver Dahan explains frequently that it’s not a biography but an exploration of the reasons behind a seemingly bizarre decision (Nov 29th).

Three other films will finish our November preview. Their all likely to make great box-office hits but two of them are in contention for Oscar noms. Carrie is one of them and I reckon stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore are in the running for an Academy Award shortlist. The story, based on the Stephen king novel and Brian De Palma film, is of the titular teenage girl Carrie who finds herself with strange abilities as she enters puberty. She decides to use them to gruesome effect against her tormentors. Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry which won Hilary Swank an Oscar) is the director (Nov 29th).

Homefront boasts an impressive cast in the form of Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth and Frank Grillo as well as screenwriter Sylvester Stallone and director Gary Fleder (The Express, Runaway Jury). A former DEA officer hopes to start a new life when he moves to a new quiet town with his young daughter but he gets on the wrong side of local meth dealer Gator and violence soon follows. We like to call it: Breaking Dad! (Nov 29th)

Destined for greatness is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the sequel to last year’s surprise sci-fi success and adaptation of the Suzanne Collins young adult novel. Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) is the director this time as Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) realises that her Hunger Games victory with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) may have sparked the ideals of revolution within the starving people of Panem. Confronted by President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), she must dampen the rebellious fire before it causes a head on collision with the Capitol. Also with Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffery Wright, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, Willow Shields and Phillips Seymour Hoffman (Nov 21st).

Thanks for reading the whole of this one through. It means that you now have November 2013’s releases laid out in front of you for you to pick and that you have a much longer attention span than I d