This week's releases

Argo: Ben Affleck's third film as director which sees him develop a true story of the escape of six American hostages during the Iranian hostage crisis using a daring escape plan.

Full Preview here

Keep the Lights on: A sexual journey to the heart of a real relationship which in this case is a homosexual one. We see the rise and fall of Erik and Paul as they find love but then suffer through relationship problems as well as addiction problems. Can two impulsive people really co-exist?

Here comes the Boom: Kevin James stars in this ''action comedy'', he plays a biology teacher who needs to raise money for his school so he takes up martial arts and fights in UFC (no holds barred cage fighting basically). Nothing novel here but Henry Winkler does co-star!!!

The Sapphires: Chris O'Dowd stars after his successful role in Bridesmaids, it was only a matter of time really. Based on a true story and set in the 1960's against the back-drop of the civil rights movement (popular period of time for movies at the moment), the all-aboriginal group called 'The Sapphires' are spotted by Dave (O'Dowd) and become popular after entertaining the troops in Vietnam.

Latest Oscar Buzz

With the end of the year fast approaching and everybody now going completely barmy for Christmas, I thought it would be a good time to look at what the latest rumblings are in Hollywood regarding the Oscars and the award season in general. Now is the time that films that hoped to be considered for the Oscars will be released and will move release dates to be included as well as maximise the opportunity to be noticed.

The first movement was to bring forward the release date of Silver Linings Playbook (preview here) which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, capitalizing on the lavish praise from critics it has opened early and is hoping to be a real contender during awards season. It is a film whose chances of success are certainly trending upwards which is in stark contrast to Denzel Washington's latest film Flight (preview here) which is suffering due to many fans of Denzel's organising a boycott of the film. Realistically it is unlikely to affect his stock to adversely but the boycott due to the stereotypical nature of Denzel's character certainly won't help.

Tradition dictates that Steven Spielberg will release a film ahead of awards season for consideration, last year it was War Horse that garnered a shocking number of nominations at the Oscars and Golden Globes but fortunately didn't actually win any. I'm pretty sure if you take Spielbergs name off the film and it would have gone nowhere. This year looks more promising though with Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis as America's 16th president but is looking more likely to win a Best Actor gong than a Best Picture.

Other films that have been mentioned are Anna Karenina, Life of Pi and even the final Twilight movie but realistically these are unlikely to feature due to the mediocre reviews from critics and the predictable nature of the films. Saving the best for last, Untouchable (review here) is the French foreign language entry to this years award season and is proving that last years success for The Artist wasn't just a fluke. I seriously believe that Untouchable will be a real contender for the main categories at the Oscars and am currently tipping it for Best Picture..............watch it fail!

Film Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Director: Benh Zeitlin

In a Bayou community called 'the bathtub', we find our setting that appears to be off the coast of Louisiana and the levee. A surreal world is created featuring Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) who is 6 years old and her Dad who is called Wink (Dwight Henry), there world is all changed when the polar ice-caps begin to melt during a storm which means that their entire village is washed away. They stubbornly resist being placed in a shelter home as they try and maintain their way of life.

Dwight Henry owned a bakery and deli before this movie and had never aspired to be an actor but got involved after many of the producers used to visit his deli regularly. Unfortunately you can tell he isn't an actor as his passion is often misplaced and over the top, he is familiar with the subject matter having been involved in Hurricane Katrina. Whilst Quvenzhané Wallis performance as the young naive Hushpuppy is impressive, it certainly isn't worthy of the excessive praise being lavished in the media.

Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) and Wink (Dwight Henry)

Sometimes it's hard watching the film that is half surreal and half real, you feel you get handle on the film and then it does something quite unexplainable within its own world. The plot has scarcely enough material to cover an hour which means that it feels like a long drawn out movie despite a run time of approx 90mins. It is clearly a film inspired from the events of Hurricane Katrina and the fact that the people in the region had their way of life taken from them by not only the storm but by the local authorities too. But it largely runs out of ideas in the second part especially during a bizarre scene at a local brothel where the children dance and play with the woman.

1/4 lacked the magic it promised and suffers from a lack of direction in the plot

Film Review: In the Loop

Director: Armando Iannucci

In this day and age, the cinema is king in terms of profitability when ranked against TV programmes. Especially in the UK where we have already seen hit TV shows like  and The Inbetweeners with an Alan Partridge film also in the pipeline for release in 2013 (also directed by Armando Iannucci). In the Loop is a big screen version of the superb The Thick of it which will air its final series quite soon.

The film satirises Anglo-American politics and is widely believed to based around the start of the war in Iraq in 2001. Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) is the Minister for International Development who on a Radio 4 show says that a war in the Middle-East is ''unforeseeable''. He then makes a catalogue of errors in trying to cover his tracks for not remaining neutral on the subject, much to the ire of Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi believed to be based on Alastair Campbell). They then have to deal with a war committee in Washington who also have differing opinions on the war.

Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi) and Lieutenant General Miller (James Gandolfini)

The first thing that stands out is Peter Capaldi's performance as Malcolm Tucker who is Director of Communications. His foul mouthed tirades are clever, funny and very realistic based on the knowledge we have from inside Downing Street and parliament. The whole film works well as it subtly mocks the ''special'' relationship the UK government has with the Americans. It is a cynical film when looking at the world of politics that suffered at the box-office in America as it coincided with Barack Obama being made President which meant the Americans weren't in the mood for political satire.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010 for Best Screenplay which is an impressive accolade; the screenplay is extremely clever and has all the hallmarks of something Iannucci has helped to write. Another key man involved in the writing is Jesse Armstrong who also co-wrote the immensely popular Peep Show. It is the writing that makes this film what it is.

3/4 witty and funny satire just lacks the legs to last for a full movie.

Film Preview: Cloud Atlas

Based on the book of the same name written in 2004 by David Mitchell (not the British comedian from Peep Show), David and Lana Wachowski have written and directed the movie adaptation along with Tom Tykwer. After they created the Matrix trilogy there is always a lot of intrigue about any movie involving the Wachowski's although this one has been marred by the 'racism' allegations about hiring Caucasian actors to play Chinese characters using makeup and prosthetics which feature heavily around the eyes.

Movie Poster

The film looks at 6 different stories and shows the impact of our lives on the past, present and future of the world. The 6 worlds are the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century, Edinburgh in 1936, San Francisco in 1975, UK in 2012, Seoul in South Korea in the 22nd century and a beautiful ocean island in a distant post-apocalyptic world. Slowly these stories are revealed and are pulled together to form one narrative.

The trailer is embedded below and the movie comes out in the UK on 22nd February 2013 despite already being released in the US.

Film Review: Tyrannosaur

Director: Paddy Considine

Having heard quite a lot about this film through word of mouth, I was expecting a lot from this film that promised not to be an easy ride. Even with that in mind I was shocked by how harrowing and depressing Tyrannosaur proved to be, certainly not a film I'd rush to go back and see but that doesn't deny that it's a superbly realistic spectacle. This was Paddy Considine's first feature film and he pulls no punches in this drama set in the North of England in an un-named town.

Joseph (Peter Mullan) is a widower who lives on his own without a job; his life is plagued by alcohol and violence which includes fighting with random youngsters in a pub over noise. He is desperate to change his ways and ends up befriending Hannah (Olivia Colman) who is a religious charity shop worker, their friendship steadily increases before a secret in Hannah's private life threatens their bond.

Joseph (Peter Mullan)

The first thing to note is that the leading performances are superb by Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman, they both create characters of real depth and sorrow which pull you into caring about their world. Whilst Eddie Marsan as Hannah's husband James is also impressive in a supporting role that helps to build around Hannah's character which is actually the more complex of all. Joseph is a troubled soul but is much easier to understand as he purely acts on impulse but Hannah's actions are much more intriguing.

The subject of rage being linked to alcoholic consumption in a town with a very bleak outlook is something increasingly overlooked in today's society. The film is clearly set around a struggling town in Yorkshire judging by the accents but could easily be applied to towns throughout the North of England where there is little hope for the future. It is quite often a bleak film and I have seen it described as a hopeless tale but that certainly isn't true, underneath it all there is something to cling to.

3.5/4 brutal and harrowing look at two troubled lives

This week's releases

Rust and Bone: A tragic love-story which tells the story of Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), who is forced to look after a young son he barely knows so decides to move him to sunnier climbs for a better upbringing. There he meets Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) who he believes will make his life complete again.

The trailer looks very good for this and I would recommend you go see it.

The Master: Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a World War Two veteran who returns to the USA to start a new religion with the help of a persuasive drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) which slowly grows into a cult. Although things turn sour when the members start questioning the groups purpose and the real intentions of the master.

For a Good time, Call........ : Two cash-strapped flat mates (Ari Graynor and Lauren Miller) decide to start their own phone sex line in this romantic comedy. They find it a fun way to make more money than they could ever dream of and the film is billed as a 'no-holds barred' account of what happened next. Also starring Justin Long (Dodgeball).