Off The Screen Magazine August 2012

August 2012

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Contents Cover Story: The Webslinger Returns: The Amazing Spiderman Review

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Features: Supreme Leader A Festival of Film Birthday Gift to Perpetuate Madiba V For Veronique Teaching Duchess

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Reviews: Feature Reviews The Dark Knight Rises Film Act of Valor Rock of Ages The Woman in Black The Dictator Sound of my Voice DVD Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance The Great Ghost Rescue Contraband Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

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Editors Letter Thanks you for picking up this very first issue of Off

The Screen. We hope you enjoy it and join us for future issues.

This month’s issue is all about the superheroes, with The Amazing Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises hitting our screen bringing with them two of the most loved superheroes of all time, Spiderman and Batman respectively.

Check out our feature reviews for these two titles.

We also have an interview with The Dictator, an Idol and a Duchess.

Regular reviews for the latest and best films and DVDs being released are also within these pages, so check them out.

Off The Screen Magazine wishes to send condolences to all of those affected by the mindless violence that took place at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado.

We all hope that someday we’ll live a world free of that kind of insanity.

Hope you all have a great August, and don’t forget to look for the next issue hitting the shelves first week of September.

Best Wishes Jon Broeke Editor

Supreme Leader Admiral General Aladeen is The Dictator of the Middle Eastern country of Wadiya. We sat down with him to discuss what it means to be The Dictator, in this day and age.

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dmiral General Aladeen sweeps in like a Middle Eastern sandstorm. He’s followed closely by his personal body guards, several uniform clad beautiful woman carrying AK-47 machine guns. His robes flow behind him as he walks, and then takes a seat opposite me. I look nervously at the body guards, who I know could shoot me at any moment. He looks at me, and I start the interview by asking how he came to power in Wadiya.

“I came into power at the age of six after my father died in a tragic hunting accident when he was hit by 97 stray bullets and a stray grenade. Some people say it was actually suicide and I hope they're right, because it would mean he died doing what he enjoyed the most - killing people.”

He feels it’s a lot harder nowadays to become The Dictator.

“It used to be easy to become a tyrant – in the days of “Gentleman Dictatorships” you simply had to murder your parents, now you have to do sneaky things like ignoring UN resolutions, rigging elections and committing a little bit of genocide.”

He doesn’t think of himself as The Dictator, though, which he explains.

“I do not actually refer to myself as a “dictator” – my full title is Admiral General Aladeen, Supreme Leader, Chief Ophthalmologist, Invincible and all Triumphant Beloved Oppressor of the People of Wadiya and Excellent Swimmer (Including butterfly). I also have 118 Phds. And a diploma in spray tanning from Qatar Community College. Regarding use of the term “dictator” – it seems to be an insulting and hypocritcal term used by the West for leaders of my region. There are so many double standards – I simply inherited power from my father: in the United Kingdom I would be called a King and in the United States I would be called a Bush.”

He loves his country, though he’s not to partial to the people who live there.

“Wadiya is a lovely place. It is 1,300 miles from Tel Aviv as the Scud flies and has a happy population of 10 million (obviously that figure varies depending on my mood). There are many great tourist attractions: I really

“I came into power at the age of six after my father died in a tragic hunting accident when he was hit by 97 stray bullets and a stray grenade.” recommend the ‘Hanging Gardens of Falechjaya’. It’s such a wonderful place to hang people. The gardens aren’t much, but it has some of the best hanging west of Bagdad.

We do have are problems too though - it is a shaming statistic that 1 in 4 Wadiyan women can read. I really want to improve that figure and make it one in a hundred. But let me be clear, in my country – women have the same rights as men – absolutely none. If you want to visit, there are regular arrivals of hi-jacked international airliners, or alternatively, just hike near our border and we'll do the rest.”

But his life isn’t all fun and games.

“It’s not all good; dictators are now actually the world’s most oppressed minority the way America and the West is trying to wipe us all out is nothing short of genocide.

But I do want the world to know I am not a monster. What is a monster anyway? A hairy creature who hides under children’s beds while they sleep? Ok, sometimes I do that. But

“Say what you will about Castro, he did pull of the JFK assassination, then paid Oliver Stone to pin it on some other guy.

Oh, The West doesn’t know about that yet?” my point is I don’t have green fur or giant claws.”

A person in Admiral General Aladeen’s position needs to have certain skills.

“Fairness of course and this is why in Wadiya everyone - black, white, male, female, straight and gay - has the exactly the same rights. None. A good dictator is also one who moves with the times – Wadiya has gone green. All our torture implements are now solar powered and we don't just dispose of western journalists, we recycle them – in fact for everyone I behead, I plant a new one in the ground. Alive. And I’m very careful about my uranium footprint.”

Deep down he’s a regular person. He even has role models.

“It would, of course, be very easy just to say “Hitler and Stalin” – but that’s so obvious, it’s like saying “The Beatles” when someone asks who your favourite band is. I was a huge fan and close personal friend of Kim Jong-il and I miss him terribly. He did so, so much to spread compassion, wisdom and herpes throughout South East Asia. I have to admit that I am also inspired by Barack Obama. He did not let being an ex Kenyan Al Qaeda child soldier stop him from seizing control of the most powerful nation in the world. For many Americans, he has forever tainted the word “hope” -- and for that I applaud him.”

He also thinks very highly of Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba.

“He is a hero! What a beard! What a guy! He’s looking a little worse for the wear these days though. I keep offering to send him the blood of Swedish virgins to inject in order to stay eternally young (the medical science is

weak, I admit – but the psychosomatic affect really works), but you know Fidel, so stubborn about accepting charity. But say what you will about Castro, he did pull of the JFK assassination, then paid Oliver Stone to pin it on some other guy. Oh, The West doesn’t know about that yet? As soon as I get round to transferring my father’s old Super 8 movies to DVD, I’ll put the footage up on YouTube.”

He also has a big heart, and mourned about the recent death of his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-il.

“The hardest part was losing a great friend – Kim Jong-Il (or “Lil Kim” as I knew him) was an amazing man. All the North Korean people are left with now are fond memories – and 300 grey jumpsuits from his wardrobe. The country’s main source of income is actually selling them on Ebay. Be careful if you buy one though – it says “one size fits all”, it should be, “one size fits all 5 year olds”. Kim Jong-Il’s fat son, Kim Jong-Un, actually has some pretty big shoes to fill... well, I say big shoes, they’re actually very small shoes, but they do have really high heels.”

So underneath all the weapons of mass destruction and the public executions lies a real person with real feelings, I write this, of course, while there’s a gun pointed to my head. But it is all true. Really. Really.

At the end of the day he just wants to be remembered for the important things.

Being a great leader for his country, being a good husband and father, of 200 wives, of which he’s married to about 20 of them, and over 2000 children, all of them boys. But there are more important things he’d like to be remembered for too.

“Most of all I’d like to be remembered as the inventor of the Pentium Processor a 7time winner of Aladeen’s Next Top Model and for being 2.43 metres tall.”

Of course this is all a little bit of nonsense, Admiral General Aladeen is the character played by Sacha Baron-Cohen in the new film The Dictator. If you enjoyed Cohen’s other films check this one out to for a bit of amusing lunacy to help pass a few hours.

A Festival of Film Presenting over 290 screenings of both South African and international films, the 33rd Durban International Film Festival is standing shoulder to shoulder with the biggest film festivals in the world, turning Durban into Cannes or Sundance for a short time.

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fter a film maker has made a film the big question becomes what to do with it. The obvious want is to get the film on the big screen so audiences can see it, but that’s easier said than done. Most distributors, the companies that put the films on the screens, especially international ones, don’t want to put a film on, or rather spend the money to put a film up, unless they guaranteed to see a profit.

This is where film festivals come in. These distributors travel to the film festivals and watch the films that are being offered to decide if they want the film or not. The biggest film festival in the world is Cannes, but the biggest festival in our country is the Durban International Film Festival, and it is a great honour, especially for our home grown film makers, to get their films shown at the festival.

The festival, now in its 33rd year is a mixture of different types of films. From features, which are the 1 and a half hour to 2 hour films that most of us watch at the cinemas, to documentaries, to short films, films under 30 minutes. Each type of film has its place.

This year the films where shown at several different locations over a ten day period. The principal venues were the Blue Waters Hotel, Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre, Ster Kinekor – Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau – Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre – University of Kwa-Zulu

Natal and Suncoast Cinema – Suncoast Casino.

Other venues included Bay of Plenty Lawns, Luthuli Museum, The Upstairs and Wave House – Gateway Shopping Centre.

An interesting first time section of the festival this year was the Wavescape Surf Film Festival, showcasing surfing films for those that love the waves as much as they love the celluloid.

Back again this year was the Talent Campus, to help up and coming film makers to perfect their craft, and the Durban FilmMart where aspiring film makers can come and try to sell their, still to be made work to investors.

There were also workshops for those in the industry that are looking for help, or just wanting to perfect what they’ve been doing all their careers.

But the point of any festival is the films, and this year there were a bunch of amazing features in the competition. These films are judged over the ten days and on the final night the winners in categories: Best Feature Film, Best First Feature Film, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress, is announced. The award for Best Film carries with it a R50 000 cash prize, and the winners of the Best South African Feature, another category, as well as Best First Feature Film also win R25 000 and R20 000 respectively.

There are 22 films competing this year. They are:

Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin (United States, 2011) For 6-year-old Hushpuppy, who lives almost parentless in an isolated bayou community, the natural world is a fragile web of living things that depends on everything fitting perfectly together. When a hundred-year storm raises the waters around the town, her father falls ill, and fierce prehistoric creatures awaken from their frozen graves, Hushpuppy sees the natural order of everything she holds

dear collapsing around her. Universally engaging despite its idiosyncratic heart, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a rare, revolutionary work. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Fipresci Award at Cannes, this film is unmissable.

Filmmaker in attendance English, 91 min

Beautiful Miss Jin by Hee-chul Jang (South Korea, 2011) An impressive first feature from writerdirector Hee-chul Jang, Beautiful Miss Jin tells the story of Soo Dong, a guard at an isolated train station whose uneventful existence perks up when he meets a homeless middle-aged woman named Miss Jin who is accompanied by an orphaned young girl and a talkative alcoholic named Dong Jin. The ever-

cheerful Miss Jin and her two companions transform life at the remote outpost and help Soo Dong to see the world anew. But when Jin and the little girl have to part, the limits of their libertarian approach to life are called into question.

Filmmaker in attendance Korean with English subtitles, 98 min

Elelwani by Ntshaveni wa Luruli (South Africa, 2012) This was the opening film of the festival this year.

Elelwani is a young university-educated woman who has been brought up in an environment steeped in tradition. Her parents have promised her hand in marriage to the Venda king and, as a dutiful daughter, she wants to obey their wishes. But in order to fulfil her promise, Elelwani must abandon her dreams of travel, further education and –

most importantly – her commitment to her one true love. This thought-provoking film comes from acclaimed filmmaker Ntshavheni wa Luruli, whose film The Wooden Camera was Best South African Film at DIFF 2004, and was awarded the Crystal Bear for best youth feature at the Berlinale in 2004. World Premiere.

Filmmaker in attendance Venda with English subtitles, 98 min

Fynbos by Harry Patramanis (South Africa, 2012) Set against the dramatic backdrop of contemporary South Africa and the harsh but physically beautiful landscape of the Cape Peninsula, Fynbos tells the story of a real estate developer who is trying to sell a lavish and rambling property when his wife inexplicably goes missing.

Anxious to sell, he is angered by her disappearance and stifled by a sense of looming distrust and financial pressure. In

this maze of missteps and uncertainty, his anxiety is intensified by the presence of a potential buyer from England. Beautifully photographed, this taut psychological thriller maintains its enigmatic tensions until its unsettling final moments. World Premiere.

Filmmaker in attendance English, 93 min

Gog' Helen by Adze Ugah (South Africa, 2012) Gog’ Helen lives a forgotten life in a South African shackland. When her granddaughter, the unsuspecting Agnes, buys Gogo a new mattress, she throws away the old one without Gogo’s knowledge. But Agnes doesn’t know that her grandmother keeps her money inside the mattress, and when she returns home, the joy of seeing her granddaughter is quickly replaced by the agony of losing her

life savings. With the mattress already on its way for recycling, Gog’ Helen and Agnes follow in hot pursuit. Along the way, they are forced to make some big decisions about what truly matters in life.

With an A-list cast, the film includes stars like Lillian Dube, Kagiso Rakosa, Patrick Shai and Winnie Modise. World Premiere.

Filmmaker in attendance Zulu with English subtitles, 80 min

Goodbye (Be Omid E Didar) by Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, 2011) This latest film from Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (Iron Island, The White Meadows, Best Feature at DIFF 2010) tells the story of a young lawyer who is trying to get a visa to leave the country. Noura has recently been debarred for participating in campaigns against the government, while her husband has been exiled to the desert. When Noura discovers that she is

pregnant, and has no one to support her, she becomes fed up with Iran and considers terminating her pregnancy as part of a scheme to leave the country.

Goodbye won Best Director honours in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes last year.

Filmmaker in attendance Persian with English subtitles, 104 min

Just the Wind (Csak A Szel) by Bence Fliegauf (Hungary, Germany, France, 2012) Mari lives with her invalid father and two children in a Romany community next to a forest.

For centuries, their kind has been referred to as gypsies, and now, more than ever, they must exist in a state of stealth. Five families in the area have already been gunned down in their homes, and every Romany family lives in fear of being next.

Inspired by real events, director Benedek

Fliegauf presents his characters almost as ghosts, invisible to the surrounding world.

Shot on location in Romany settlements, this spare, naturalistic drama is intercut with lyrically moving shots of the natural landscape.

Filmmaker in attendance Hungarian with English subtitles, 87 min

The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin Au Vélo) by Luc Dardenne and Jean-Dardenne (Belgium, France, Italy, 2011) This deeply moving film from the Dardenne Brothers chronicles the emotional life of a troubled young boy.

Cyril is almost 12 years old and has two key ambitions in life – to find his father, who has left him, supposedly temporarily, in a children’s home, as well as establish the whereabouts of his bicycle, which had

disappeared from his family home and which Cyril clutches as an icon of hope.

Vibrating with desperation and frustration, and rendered in a graceful, unstudied realism, The Kid with a Bike is a contemporary masterpiece. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes last year.

French with English subtitles, 87 min

Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, 2011) This latest film from absurdist Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki centres on Marcel Marx, a former author who has retreated into exile in the harbour city of Le Havre and taken up the humble job of a shoemaker. Marx lives a small but happy life within a triangle defined by his favourite bar, his work and his wife Arletty.

But when fate throws an underage African refugee named Idrissa in his path, his cozy existence is interrupted. The understated and gorgeously executed Le Havre is one of Kaurismäki’s most accessible films and a delightful introduction to his body of work.

French with English subtitles, 93 min

Lena by Christophe Van Rompaey (The Netherlands, Belgium, 2011) Lena is a chubby but attractive schoolleaver who grants sexual favours to boys but receives no emotional reward or public acknowledgement in exchange. When she meets the likable and intelligent but volatile Daan, he is instantly struck by her, and the sensitive and sensible Lena soon moves in with him. But when Daan’s dad develops an attraction to Lena, her new

living arrangements become more than a little complicated. Made with care and precision, and backed by strong writing, Lena is a revelation in the way it fuses its realism with its own cinematic elegance.

Filmmaker in attendance Dutch and Polish with English subtitles, 119 min

Love (Amour) by Michael Haneke (Germany, 2012) This latest film from Michael Haneke is free from the sheen of existential terror that has defined much of his oeuvre.

Bathed in intimacy, the film tells the story of Georges and Anne, a married couple in their eighties. When Anne has a stroke and her health begins to decline, the couple's long established bond of love is

severely tested. But when she tells Georges that she doesn’t wants to return to hospital, he respects her decision.

Featuring superb performances, Love won Haneke his second Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.

French with English subtitles, 125 min

The Loneliest Planet by Julia Loktev (United States, Germany, 2011) Based on a short story by Tom Bissel, The Loneliest Planet follows Nica (Hani Furstenberg) and Alex (Gael Garcia Bernal) as they journey across the wilds of the Republic of Georgia. Young and in love, Alex and Nica are engaged to be married. But when, in a momentary misstep, Alex responds to the threats of a rural wanderer with a gesture that takes

only two or three seconds, it threatens to undo everything the couple believes about themselves and each other. Written and directed with poignant precision by Julia Loktev, this is a dazzling portrait of a relationship under fire.

Filmmaker in attendance English, 113 min

Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau (Canada, 2011) After a teacher at a Montreal high school hangs herself in her classroom, the school’s principal, struggling to find a replacement teacher, reluctantly accepts the services of an Algerian immigrant named Bachir Lazhar. While Monsieur Lazhar’s classical approach to teaching is a little disruptive at the progressive school, his tenderness and compassion helps his

students to deal with their collective grief.

Yet Lazhar has his own burdens, having recently experienced heart-breaking loss.

This warmly observed slice of 21st Century life was Canada’s Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012.

French with English subtitles, 94 min

Nairobi Half Life by Tosh Gitonga (Kenya, Germany, 2012) Mwas is a young man from rural Kenya who dreams of becoming an accomplished actor.

In pursuit of this dream, he leaves for the bright lights of Nairobi but is soon liberated of all his money and belongings. Finding himself utterly alone in an unknown city, Mwas forms a friendship with a small-time gang leader who takes him in. He is quickly drawn into a world of crime but continues with his dream of becoming an actor. An inspiring story of a young man who pursues his dream against all odds, Nairobi Half Life is a co-production between Tom Tykwer’s One Fine Day Films and Nairobi-based Ginger Ink. World Premiere.

Filmmaker in attendance Swahili, English and Gikuyu with English subtitles, 96 min

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, 2011) This dark, complex film from leading Turkish director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, begins in the dead of night in rural Anatolia. A group of men and a murder suspect named Kenan are looking for a victim that Kenan, along with his mentally challenged brother, confessed to having killed. But as the men progress through the winding

roads and rolling hills of the countryside, it gradually becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems and that what we are watching is anything but a normal police procedural. Gorgeously shot, the film is a mature and philosophically resonant work.

Turkish with English subtitles, 157 min

The Pirogue (La Pirogue) by Moussa TourĂŠ (France, Senegal, 2012) In this illuminating film about illegal immigration, Souleymane Seye Ndiaye plays Baye Laye, a fisherman who is forced by economic and moral pressures to captain a refugee boat for a peoplesmuggling operation. When he is offered the job of leading one of the many fishing pirogues that head towards Europe via the Canary Islands, Baye reluctantly accepts,

knowing full-well the dangers and challenges that lie ahead. Directed by respected Senegalese filmmaker Moussa TourĂŠ, La Pirogue is a colourful and compelling drama that gives a human face to issues that are more often expressed in abstracted politics.

Filmmaker in attendance French with English subtitles, 87 min

A Simple Life (Tao Jie) by Ann Hui (Hong Kong SAR China, 2011) This deceptively simple film from Hong Kong-based director Ann Hui tells the story of a woman in her 70s who has been working in the Leung family house all her life. After six decades, Ah Tao is taking care of the needs of Roger, the last family member still living in Hong Kong. When Ah Tao has a stroke and is rushed to hospital, she decides that she wants to

retire and move into a nursing home.

Roger finds her a room in a home, and Ah Tao begins acquainting herself with a new 'family'. But as Roger starts to pay attention to the needs of his former housekeeper, he comes to realise how much she means to him.

Cantonese with English subtitles, 117 min

Sleeper's Wake by Barry Berk (South Africa, 2012) Based on the novel by Alistair Morgan, Sleeper’s Wake is a riveting slice of psychological film noir from local television director Barry Berk. Shot on location in Port Edward and Johannesburg, the film follows John (Lionel Newton), a man who has recently lost his family in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel.

Taking refuge in a small coastal town, John encounters Roelf, who is on holiday

with his teenage children. Immediately struck by Jackie (Jay Anstey), Roelf’s provocative 17-year-old daughter, John ends up entwined in a dangerous relationship with the beautiful young woman. World Premiere.

Filmmaker in attendance English and Afrikaans with English subtitles, 94 min

Sleeping Beauty by Julia Leigh (Australia, 2011) From author-turned-director Julia Leigh comes this remarkable debut about a young woman who turns to highly niched sex work. Lucy, a beautiful college student, begins by working as a naked waitress at decadent, high-end dinner parties. As her work becomes more specialised and unusual, the young

woman begins to enter a sexual limbo where perversity and innocuity join forces to strange and sinister effect.

Immaculately art directed, perfectly paced and highly stylised, Sleeping Beauty is a quiet, bloodless horror film that interrupts the conventions of the male gaze.

English, 101 min

Tabu by Miguel Gomes (Portugal, Germany, 2012) Tabu tells the story of the temperamental Aurora, an elderly Portuguese woman who lives in an imposing Lisbon tower block with her Cape Verdean maid, Santa, and a compassionate Catholic woman named Miss Pilar. When Aurora falls ill, the two women learn of an intriguing episode from her past – a tale of love and crime set in colonial Africa – and Miss Pilar is assigned

the task of finding Aurora’s long lost companion. Steeped in nostalgia, this third film from acclaimed Portuguese director Miguel Gomes was shot in black and white, echoing the romantic era of 1930s Hollywood.

Filmmaker in attendance Portuguese with English subtitles, 110 min

Tey (Aujourd’Hui) by Alain Gomis (France, Senegal, 2011) Tey begins with a young Senegalese man named Satché (Saul Williams) starting a slow, mournful walk down a hallway, surrounding by teary friends and family.

Seated in a room surrounded by his elders, Satché listens to the announcement of his imminent death at the end of the day. No specific reason is given other than "he has been chosen,"

and Satché accepts his fate. Walking through the streets of his home town, he visits the sites of his past, seeing them for the last time but also with fresh eyes. This moving allegorical film from writer-director Alain Gomis plays like a poetic, existential ghost story.

Filmmaker in attendance French with English subtitles, 86 min

Tyrannosaur by Paddy Considine (United Kingdom, 2011) The directorial debut from respected actor, Hannah’s religious conviction and general Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur tells the story kindness, but he gradually develops a of Joseph, an unemployed alcoholic widower grudging admiration for her. A challenging who is incapacitated by his own internal rage. and thought-provoking work, Tyrannosaur When Joseph meets Hannah, a respectable won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance last Christian woman who works at a charity shop, year. Unmissable. it seems as if his guardian angel has suddenly English, 91 min appeared. At first, Joseph is contemptuous of

This year’s winning films were announced on Saturday July 28th prior to the closing film.

The winner of the Best Film Award, along with the R50 000 prize money, was Love (Amour) directed by Michael Haneke. The jury said that the film was “unmissable” and praised Haneke as a “contemporary master with an astute understanding of his cinematic world”. Very high praise from the likes of Tsitsi Dangarembga, the Zimbabwean filmmaker and novelist, South African director Oliver Hermanus, producer and television presenter Kgomotso Matsunyane and Canadian producer, director Peter Wintonick.

Winner of the Best First Feature, and the R20 000 in prize money, went to Australian Julia Leigh for her feature Sleeping Beauty, starring Emily Browning, most recently seen on our screens in the fantasy epic Sucker Punch.

The winner of the highly coveted Best South African Feature, along with the R30 000 prize money, went to animated film Adventures in Zambezia, directed by Wayne Thornley. Jury said of this film that it was “strong writing and direction, and beautiful animation infused with the spirit of the continent…” They said that the film is one that “tells an African story from an African perspective while having clear global appeal.”

The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award, and the €2 500 prize money, went to Call Me Kuchu, directed by Malika Zouhali-Worral and Katherine Fairfax Wright, which focuses on attacks against gay people in Uganda.

Other winners at the festival were: Best Director: Benh Zeitlin for Beasts Of The Southern Wild (USA) Best Actress: Deanie Ip in A Simple Life (Tao Jie) (Hong Kong SAR China) Best Actor: Joseph Wairimu in Nairobi Half Life (Kenya, Germany) Best Cinematography: Gökhan Tiryaki for Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da) (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey)

“[Love (Amour) is] unmissable, and [Michael Haneke (the director) is a] contemporary master with an astute understanding of his cinematic world” Best Screenplay: Ercan Kesal, Ercan Ceylan and Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da) (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey) Special Jury Mention Feature Film: Goodbye (Be Omid E Didar) (Iran), directed by Mohammad Rasoulof Best Documentary: 5 Broken Cameras (Palestinian Territories, France, Israel, The Netherlands), directed by Guy Davidi Best South African Documentary: The African Cypher (South Africa), directed by Bryan Little Documentary Special Jury Mention: Calvet (Costa Rica, France, Nicaragua, United Kingdom, United States), directed by Dominic Allan Best Short Film: The Bird Spider (La Migala) (Spain), directed by Jaime Dezcallar Best South African Short Film: Doppelganger (South Africa), directed by Joshua Rous Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award: Call Me Kuchu (USA), directed

by Malika Zouhali-Worral and Katherine Fairfax Wright DIFF Wavescape Audience Choice Award: The Art of Flight (USA), directed by Curt Morgan The two Audience choice awards went to: DIIFF Documentary Audience Choice Award: Searching for Sugarman (Sweden, United Kingdom), directed by Malik Bendjellou DIFF Feature Film Audience Choice Award: The Lady (France, United Kingdom), directed by Luc Besson

Palace of Justice, Pretoria

Birthday Gift to Perpetuate Madiba’s History Photos courtesy of Videovision Entertainment

To celebrate everyone’s favourite South African, Mr Mandela’s, birthday, Videovision is working with the Nelson Mandela Museum in creating exhibits that will take the general public into Mr Mandela’s life.

F

ilm producer Anant Singh, currently in production on the only official film based on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom together with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory announced on the eve of Mandela Day the production’s involvement in perpetuating the legacy of Madiba and Mandela Day. This marks the continuation of the relationship between Singh’s Videovision Entertainment with Mandela Day which began at the inception of the initiative with the adoption by Videovision of the Durban based NGO, Streetwise.

Leading the list of Mandela Day support is the endowment of key sets created for the film to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. These sets will be housed in the Nelson Mandela Museum in Qunu and other associated heritage facilities. These realistic sets will allow the public to be transported through time and experience places that have great significance in Madiba’s history. Among these sets are the Courtroom of the Palace Of Justice, Madiba's Robben Island Cell, Robben Island Visitors’ Centre, and the interior of Madiba's Orlando West home over four decades. Also created are a range of outdoor sets which include the multi-level B Section of the Robben Island Prison and the prison courtyard as well as a section of Orlando West including the iconic Vilakazi Street. All of these sets were designed by Production Designer, Johnny Breedt and were built by a team of local artisans with intricate detail and authenticity.

The production which filmed the iconic release of Mr Mandela at the Drakenstein Prison (formerly Victor Verster) will also support the initiative of the prison which has teamed up with the Department of Basic Education in the Western Cape to renovate schools which are in dire need of repairs.

Singh and some actors from the film will participate in the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory container library project at the Aha Setjhaba School in Parys. SAFM’s Tsepiso Makwetla is the ambassador for the project.

Through the participation of Singh and his team, a new element will be introduced into

“The Nelson Mandela Museum is lost for words and grateful for the donation that Mr Singh, Videovision and the film are making to the Museum. This will go a long way in ensuring that we comprehensively tell the story of President Mandela through visual artefacts.”

Robben Island, B Section Corridor

Robben Island, Censor's Office

the container library project, i.e. The inclusion of films that tell the history of South Africa.

Singh also announced that the 500 strong creative and technical team behind the film, Long Walk To Freedom have also committed themselves to support the Mandela Day initiative with individual activities for the 67 minutes. This will form part of the Mandela Day Campaign with activities that go beyond Madiba’s birthday, making every day a ‘Mandela Day’.

Singh commented, “The team working on Long Walk To Freedom have created historically significant places and objects and we are delighted to share this with the public through the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and the Nelson Mandela Museum to ensure that our people can benefit from these creations in locations that are easily accessible. We are pleased that in addition to the film, we can further contribute to the preservation of Madiba's amazing history and legacy.”

“We are so grateful for this gesture from Anant Singh and the cast and crew of

Long Walk to Freedom,” said Achmat Dangor, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. “This gift will ensure an added dimension to our public outreach once the repurposed and refurbished Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory opens in mid-2013,” added Dangor.

Chairperson of the Content Committee of the Nelson Mandela Museum, Dr P Dyantyi said, “The Nelson Mandela Museum is lost for words and grateful for the donation that Mr Singh, Videovision and the film are making to the Museum. This will go a long way in ensuring that we comprehensively tell the story of President Mandela through visual artefacts. In addition, it will bring three important sites into one space in Qunu which is geographically the fourth space. What makes us more excited as the Nelson Mandela Museum is that Videovision shares the same values and vision that we hold dear – that the story of President Mandela is bigger than any individual and that it must be shared with the rest of the world using all technologies available to us.” (– Issued by Videovision Entertainment)

Robben Island, Prison Courtyard

V For Veronique Veronique Lalouette is best known for her appearance on Idols SA season 3, but that was just a small part of the career of this star.

We sat down and chatted to her about her Idols experience, how she got into the industry and where she’s headed.

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ith her hair cut into a short bob Veronique Lalouette, or, as she’s better known, V from Idols SA season 3, cuts a striking image and the bubbly personality that made her a favourite with the fans while she was on the TV show still shines through. Since her stint on Idols SA Veronique has become a household name, but she’s been in the music industry for almost as long as she can remember.

“I started dabbling with the idea of singing in standard five. I went for my first singing lesson,” she says. “Because my dad was in the industry I got the opportunity to start singing with a bit of jazz in standard eight, so I was 14, which is quite nerve racking.”

Her dad is Denny Lalouette one of South Africa’s foremost bass players and a serious heavyweight in the South African music industry. Soon after though she moved off on her own and joined her first band, Black Ice. “We performed every weekend, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while [I was] trying to finish matric. It was quite hectic, but it was good.”

The band broke up after just over a year and Veronique moved on to other things.

“Through various connections I got into the corporate scene, backing vocals and singing jingles and things and, it was kind of a seamless transition from school into working life.”

The working life that she found herself in included a little TV show called Idols SA. “I’d never do it again,” she says about her Idols SA experience. “It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. I don’t think people realise how much work goes into it. It was hectic, it was intense. Week in, week out relentless.”

She isn’t watching the current season of Idols SA. Her DSTV is out of commission at the moment, but she feels that Idols may need to step up their game.

“With The Voice in America kind of lifting the standard a bit, the whole Idols franchise needs to step up their game, as Randall likes to say.”

Veronique attests that getting into Idols, even if you win, or any reality singing competition

“Through various connections I got into the corporate scene, backing vocals and singing jingles and things and, it was kind of a seamless transition from school into working life.” for that matter, isn’t an automatic shoot to fame a fortune.

“It’s your fifteen minutes of fame spread over three months, or however long you’re in the competition, but then afterwards… People are so disposable in this industry. Disposable songs, disposable talent, everyone is gobbling everything up at a furious pace, so you’ll be the greatest thing this and then next year, but next year people will be like, weren’t you that person on Idols? I’m sure I saw you.”

But she does feel that the Idols experience did help her career.

“I don’t think I marketed myself correctly after the show. I quite like my name Veronique and was quite bummed to have to change it to V, so afterwards I went straight back to Veronique, and I think I should have stayed with the V persona a little longer, but it definitely did help. The gigs got better and I

“People are so disposable in this industry.

Disposable songs, disposable talent, everyone is gobbling everything up at a furious pace, so you’ll be the greatest thing this and then next year, but next year people will be like, weren’t you that person on Idols?”

was able to make an album which I probably wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”

The album was her first album entitled As I am which she released back in 2006. She released a second album of covers of some of her favourite songs entitled chosen Memories in 2007. Now she’s releasing a third album of totally original songs, but doing it a little differently.

“I think it’s going to be a digital release, on my website and itunes will also carry it. I might release a few EP’s, stick to one genre for one EP of four songs, then release another one that’s a little different, that’s always been my problem I like singing ballads, I like singing country, I like singing rock.”

She’s already in the process of getting the first single released to South African radio.

“When I got married I wrote a song for my husband, it’s called Home, a bit of a love song, and we have feelers out there.”

She loves married life too.

“I like it. It’s like not being married, if it’s cool before it’s going to be awesome afterwards.”

Veronique is also branching away from strictly music with a foray onto the stage. She was supposed to co-star with PJ Powers in the new show Dusty, which has been indefinitely delayed.

“It was an intense rehearsal period and the production was just not ready, which was so sad, I was so looking forward to it because I got to act and dance.”

There is talk on releasing the show later on in the year, so we’ll have to wait and see if they do, but whether or not she’s on stage singing the songs of Dusty Springfield, or her own work, Veronique will be out there doing her thing and creating great music for the rest of us.

Teaching Duchess Photos by Mark Craddock

Ballet is one of the most expressive art forms in the world. We sit down with Samantha Howard, who doesn’t only dance beautifully, but is also learning to teach others to do the same.

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ost little girls dream of becoming ballerinas.

There’s something inherently beautiful about a girl in a tutu floating around the stage, but, for most girls that is as far as it goes, a dream. Others, however, become Angela Malan’s, or Kitty Phetla’s. But where to begin? How do you go from being a dancer in a studio to an immaculate swan upon a stage, being watched by thousands? Of course it takes hard work, but a good way to get your foot in the door and to be noticed is to take part in a youth company. One such youth company is the Roodepoort Youth Ballet, and one such aspiring ballerina is Samantha Howard.

Sam recently performed in the Roodepoort Youth Ballet’s latest offering Alice in Wonderland as the Duchess, a character adapted from the film version done by Tim Burton.

“She’s a bit like in the movie, the White Queen, but in the book there’s no White Queen, so she’s the Duchess.”

It was a big role for Sam. “It was one of the main roles. She’s a second to the Red Queen; she ends up not liking the Red Queen and befriends Alice, and is with Alice until the whole off with her head thing, and is against the whole off with her head thing.”

Though aspects from the film were ignored, the Jabberwocky for example, doing that on stage is simply not feasible, other aspects were included in the stage productions, such as the croquet game that Alice plays with the Red Queen.

“We had fake stuffed flamingos. The littlest girls, like five years old, they were the hedgehogs and for the croquet game we’d hit them with these stuffed flamingos and they would roll over. It was quite cute.”

The rehearsal period wasn’t all fun and games though. “[We rehearsed] every Saturday, depending on what role you had, if you were a main one you were basically there all day.

Closer to the show we had more rehearsals.

The week before the show we had rehearsals every day. After school.”

“We had fake stuffed flamingos. The littlest girls, like five years old, they were the hedgehogs and for the croquet game we’d hit them with these stuffed flamingos and they would roll over.

It was quite cute.”

This was quite a schedule for the kids, but also for the choreographer of this production Leigh-Anne Gorrie, a teacher in Randburg. She started performing in the Roodepoort Youth Ballet, but took over the reins of the company after Joel Morris’ departure for Australia, but she wasn’t alone.

Sam helped out quite a lot this year.

“Leigh-Anne knows I‘m doing my Associates so she asked me if I can help with teaching them and getting them to look good and helping them with steps that they don’t understand. It was a good experience.”

Nicholas Lai (left), Liam Milella (centre) and Byron McCabe (right) along with Cindy Sampson as the Red Queen

The Associates is the teacher’s exam that must be taken by every ballet teacher in the world. Sam is currently studying to take the mammoth three hour exam with Josie Pretorious, another well-respected teacher.

She’s planning on doing the exam in September this year.

“It’s hectic. There’s so much to learn.

For about two hours you go in and dance and talk at the same time. They ask you questions and things. Then there’s a break for half an hour, and then you bring in your little class of four girls and actually teach in front of the examiners. Then [the kids] go out and [the examiners] ask you a couple questions on the class.”

It sounds like a daunting experience, but it’s what Sam wants to do with the rest of her life.

“Next year I’m going to be teaching around, at nursery schools and things. I’ve already started teaching at a nursery school

and I’m hoping to grow a studio. I’d like to dance professionally, but it’s so hard to get into a company these days. Your only other option is to teach. Next year I’ll be with RYB again, helping out quite a bit more than I did this year. We’ve got some big plans for next year.”

The plans are big indeed.

“We’re planning on doing The Wizard of Oz, but we’re not sure yet. It depends on the big boss [Dirk Badenhorst, Artistic Director of the company] if he approves it or not, because we’d have to source music ourselves, and everything from scratch, because it’s never been done as a ballet.”

Another daunting task, but with Sam and Leigh-Anne working with Dirk they’ll be able to pull it off and set this company higher and higher, producing some of the best dancers that will then be listed with Malan and Phetla in stories to come.

The Web-Slinger Returns Everyone’s favourite neighbourhood wall crawler is back on our screens with The Amazing Spiderman, and it is exactly that… Amazing.

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piderman is one of the most popular superheroes, and superhero film franchises, in history. When Spiderman 3 released in 2007 it smashed all box office records that had stood until that point.

Now, very much like the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, Spiderman has been reinvented in The Amazing Spiderman, and it’s going to be just as popular as the previous franchise.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a regular, underachieving high school student.

He lives with his uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). The only difference between him and the other guy walking the halls of his high school is that his parents left him at his Uncle and Aunts in the middle of the night, after their house was broken into in the middle of the night, and disappeared, only to die in a plane crash a little while later. When Peter discovers his father’s old suitcase in the basement he also stumbles onto a clue that leads him to Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), a man that used to work with Peter’s father. This clue leads Peter to Oscorp, where Connors works.

While he’s trying to find the doctor he stumbles onto a room full of genetically engineered spiders and gets bitten. At first he doesn’t even try to use his new powers, he just continues with his life the best way he can, until a guy, ripping off a supermarket where Peter is trying to buy milk, shoots and kills his uncle. Peter then sets off on a mission of revenge, trying to find the guy that shot his uncle, but soon the mission becomes something more as he discovers that he could be helping people in the city instead of just following his selfish cause. All this comes very clearly into focus by the appearance of a

“This film is by far superior to the original franchise, and that’s saying something since the original franchise was so good. What makes this film better, in no small way, are the actors that have the leads.” seven foot tall lizard that starts attacking the city, and suddenly Peter realises his true destiny, to be an Amazing Spiderman.

This film is by far superior to the original franchise, and that’s saying something since the original franchise was so good.

What makes this film better, in no small way, are the actors that have the leads. First and foremost is Andrew Garfield as the Amazing Spiderman. He brings a depth of emotion to the characters that Tobey Maguire, while good, was lacking in the original franchise.

He’s funny when he needs to be, serious when he needs to be and heroic with a natural flair that you really believe that he is a young man put in this complicated situation.

In short he is fantastic in the role. Next is Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, Peter’s love interest at school and the only person who knows who he really is. Emma is one of the best young actresses out there at the moment, which she proved with Easy A, she proves it again with this film. She is sweet, and shy, and strong, and independent and works so well with Garfield that the two should do every movie together. Rhys Ifans is also great as the smart man that is willing to do whatever it takes to get his arm back, even if that means doing something that he knows is stupid, and dangerous. His depth of emotion makes him an identifiable character that the audience can really relate, and sympathise, with. The other actors that need to be mentioned are Sally Field and Martin Sheen. She is wonderful as the loving doting aunt that tries to keep Peter on the straight and narrow, and he is fantastic as the uncle trying to instil responsibility on a young man that’s hurting with all the unanswered questions about his parent’s death.

This is one of the movies of the year, and if rumours are correct, the first in a trilogy. We are all waiting with baited breath for the sequel, which, if it’s half as good as this one, will blow us all away.

The Dark Knight Rises The Bat returns to our screens with the final instalment of the trilogy that revamped the Batman Franchise.

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t all began with Batman Begins, then continued with The Dark Knight, now it concludes with, what might be, the best film out of the three.

A lot is expected from the third film in the franchise and it doesn’t let you down.

It has been eight years since the events of The Dark Knight. The people of Gotham City think that Harvey Dent, the man that was the district attorney and became the criminal Two-Face at the end of The Dark Knight, was there knight in shining armour and the light of the city, snuffed out by the Batman, who is the city’s most wanted. After

his death the Harvey Dent Act was passed in the city and those involved in organised crime were arrested without possibility of parole, in essence cleaning up the streets once and for all. The Batman, also known as billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), has been in hiding since Harvey’s death. Bruce has become a shut in, and the years of being the Bat has damaged his body to such an extent that he can hardly walk. He’s pulled back into the real world when a mysterious woman (Anne Hathaway) steals his mother’s pearls.

Soon after he discovers that things in the real world, including his company, are not as great as he thought and he needs to come out of hiding to deal with events unfolding around him. Unknown to him though, there is far more going on than even he can imagine as the masked mercenary, Bane (Tom Hardy) enters Gotham and begins a rampage even worse than the rampage the Joker (Heath Ledger), from The Dark Knight, took him on.

And with Bruce not at his best, and Alfred trying to convinced the Dark Knight to hang up the cowl and live, it seems unlikely that he can stop this monster.

I have a feeling that die-hard fans of the Batman aren’t going to love this film. To

“I have a feeling that die-hard fans of the Batman aren’t going to love this film. To see the Dark Knight, who has always been virtually indestructible, even though being only human, in a state that makes him look old and weak is sobering, to put it mildly.” see the Dark Knight, who has always been virtually indestructible, even though being only human, in a state that makes him look old and weak is sobering, to put it mildly. It was hard for me, as a huge fan, so I’m not sure what the reaction of the die-hards will be. Especially to the end, which I won’t give away. I loved it, but…

That being said, this is a great film.

The action is on-the-edge-of-your-seat good, and the plot, which I’m not allowed to give much away of, is compelling and makes you want to keep watching to see what happens next. Christian Bale is his batty best as the conflicted, gravel voice anti-hero that is so popular with the superhero fans. Anne Hathaway as the thief who becomes a Catwoman, of sorts, is great. She’s strong and

ruthless, but with a heart of gold which I always loved about the Catwoman character.

Tom Hardy is frightening as the masked man Bane, and he has certainly beefed up for the role. Gary Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon, Batman’s only friend, and he’s as good in this film as he was in the previous two. Joining the cast is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake, a young cop that learns the truth about Dent’s death, and Batman’s identity from Gordon. He then becomes something far more interesting, but I can’t give that away.

Rounding off the cast is Michael Caine as Alfred, Bruce’s loyal friend and butler, with a much more emotional role this time as he tries his hardest to save his boss, and friend, from his worst enemy, himself, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, a business partner of Wayne Enterprises with a mysterious destiny, which I can’t give away either.

In short, there’s not much I can tell you about the plot, or the characters, but if you’re a big fan of the previous movies, and you’ve followed the gossips since the start of this film, then you’ll figure out the plot as soon as the film starts. If not, it may surprise you. Either way, you’ll love this film, but watch The Dark Knight first… Ha, as if you haven’t.

Act of Valor

Starring Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez, Nestor Serrano Directed by Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh

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ollowing the missions of Bandito Platoon of the American Navy SEAL’s, with a mixture of true events and dramatized scenes, Act of Valor is a none-stop thrill ride.

When the members of the SEAL unit save a CIA operative (Roselyn Sanchez) from the clutches of drug lords the information she provides leads them to a far more dangerous mission. A terrorist is on his way to the US with a bomb that could kill thousands of people and it falls on the SEAL’s to find him and put a stop to his plans before it’s too late.

This film has some of the most impressive action sequences that I have ever seen. The action is so close to real-life that it feels as if you should pick up an m-4 rifle and join in the

fray. The realism of the missions are great too, the way the SEAL’s move and infiltrate the enemy, as well as the way they take them down as the well trained, mission orientated, warriors that they are. Where the film falls though, is the acting, which is not great. I’m not sure, but the consensus is that the soldiers in the film are soldiers, not actors, and you can tell. The only performance that is believable is Roselyn Sanchez, and she’s in the film for only a few minutes before losing the ability to speak. The moments in the film that are supposed to be dramatic, such as the touching moments between families and between team mates, only diminishes the film. It should just be action and nothing more. Sorry.

Rock of Ages

Starring Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise Directed by Adam Shankman

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traight off the train into late 1980’s Hollywood, Sherri Christian (Julianne Hough) finds herself robbed, with nowhere to go. He runs into Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), a barman at the legendary rock club the Bourbon Room, and manages to help her get a job after convincing owner Dennis Dupree (Alex Baldwin) to take a chance on her. Things suddenly look up for the girl, until Drew, who becomes her boyfriend, gets bitten by the fame bug, and mistakenly thinks bad things about Sherri and visiting rock god Stacey Jaxx (Tom Cruise).

Suddenly things that looked so good start to fall apart and Sherri needs to try and keep herself together, while holding onto the one thing that connects all the people in this crazy world. The rock and roll.

This film rocks. The music is great and the singing is pretty impressive, from everyone involved. Boneta especially sings all the songs expected of him with a vigour that would make the biggest rockers proud. Hough has a lovely voce, to go with her lovely face as she glides through her set. Even Baldwin and Russell Brand, as his helper in the bar, are competent in their performances. And the few songs done by Catherine Zeta-Jones are great. The standout is Tom Cruise, not just for his singing, which he does a lot, but also for his acting in this film. He steals every single scene that he features in, whether it’s a moment or a full scene. He moves across the scene like a man that’s taken a few too many uppers, and downers to match them, but it works so well. It’s his best role in absolute ages. While this isn’t the best movie, by far, that acting is weak, apart from Cruise, the story is absolute drivel, and the sets are rather haphazard, that’s not the point. The point is the music. If you love the 80’s, take no prisoners, stick it to the man and have a great time doing it attitude of the music, than you’ll love this film. If not, you’re probably a republican and nobody wants you in the theatre anyway. Long live Rock and Roll!

The Woman in Black

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds Directed by James Watkins

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rthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a solicitor from London travels to a small English village to go through the papers of a recently deceased woman in order to sell the house in which she lived. When he gets there he’s immediately treated like they don’t want him there. He ignores the feeling and goes about his work, but soon strange deaths begin to occur in the village. The deaths of young children, and he begins to see the spectral figure of a woman in black around the house he’s trying to sell. At first he’s unsure of what is going on, but soon learns the connection between the woman and the deaths, and how he may be partly responsible. So now he needs to stop this ghostly figure from taking any more children, but it’s a race against the clock as his own young son is on his way to the village, and could be the woman’s next victim.

This is a good film if you like the horror genre, which I do. The story is taut and frightening at

moments. There are a lot of the there’ssomething-making-a-noise-so-I-better-goinvestigate moments, followed closely by the look-into-a-dark-corner-and-have-a-handjump-out-at-you moments. Daniel Radcliffe is good, and grown up as Arthur Kipps, a man dealing with the death of his wife, and trying to raise a son alone. He’s moved on well from his Harry Potter days and I look forward to many more things from him. The Woman in Black is a frightening figure, casting my mind back to the Tooth Fairy back in Darkness Falls, and as such I would have liked a bit more of a knock down fight between the two, instead of the more psychological approach they took in this film, but that’s just me. The highlights of the film are the locations. The moor road leading to the house, which gets covered in water when the tide comes in, is a metaphor for Arthur’s grip on his life, as well as the people in the village, and looks amazing.

The Dictator

Starring Sasha Baron-Cohen, Sir Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris Directed by Larry Charles

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dmiral General Aladeen (Sasha BaronCohen) is the dictator of Wadiya, a small country in the Middle East. When he’s summoned to address the U.N because of concerns over Wadiya’s nuclear program he travels to America to spit in their collective faces. Others have plans of their own and hire an American assassin to kill the supreme leader. The plan fails and all the assassin manages to do is cut off Aladeen’s beard.

Without it he is not recognised and is helped by a feminist (Anna Faris) while he tries to figure out a way to get back his life.

Meanwhile, replaced with an easily controlled double of Aladeen that he can control, his second in command, Tamir (Sir Ben Kingsley), sets in motion a plan to sell the oil rights to Wadiya to world conglomerates to get rich and destroy the county Aladeen so lovingly oppresses.

This film is complete load of nonsense, but it’s a funny load of nonsense.

The satire, especially in the speech Aladeen close to the end of the film, is biting and very clever, but the vast majority of the humour in the film is way below the belt and way over the line, but that’s what we expect of Cohen.

Faris is back to doing the silly comedies hat started her career and carries herself as she did in the Scary Movies that rose her to fame.

Kingsley takes the abuse handed to him by Cohen with a straight man handle that rings of Dean Martin next to Jerry Lewis.

If you liked the other films that Cohen has done you’ll love this one, if he’s not your cup of tea stay well away, or you may regret it.

Sound of my Voice

Starring Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling Directed by Zal Batmanglij

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hat starts off as a documentary gets complicated when Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) go under cover and infiltrate a cult that worships a young woman, Maggie (Brit Marling) who claims to be from the future. At first the only thought that the two film makers have is to get footage of the girl and the cult for their film, but soon they begin falling for the crazy girl. Especially Peter, who had a hard childhood. Things go from bad to worse though when Maggie asks Peter to do something insane. Something illegal.

Something incredibly dangerous. Something he begins to consider doing.

This film has got to be among the worst films I’ve seen this year. The film

making is amateurish and shoddy. There’s a scene when one of the cultist’s are expelled from the cult, but then in the next scene he’s sitting around the plastic, throwing up with everyone else, don’t ask, as if he’d never left, but then in the next Maggie talks about why she kicked him out. It’s just poor editing and directing. The acting a sub-par, making porn films look like they may be in Oscar contention. The endless talking for the sake of talking, and the singing, again don’t ask, makes you want to slit your wrists. The worst thing though is the plot holes that are so large you could drive an eighteen wheeler through them. If you have any sense of selfpreservation, do not watch this film. Avoid it at all costs.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

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he Rider is back. This time he’s somewhere in the former soviet bloc, trying his best to run from the monster inside, when he gets recruited by the French man, Moreau (Idris Elba), for a mission that could save, or damn the entire world. The evil force that turned Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) into the Ghost Rider, is back, and this time he is trying to fulfil a prophecy.

One in which his spirit will enter the body of his thirteen year old son, Danny (Fergus

Starring Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds and Idris Elba Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor Riordan), so his full power can be unleashed on the world.

This is not a sequel to Ghost Rider (2007). I repeat, this is not a sequel. This film is so different to the original that the creators didn’t even put 2 in the title because it is not a sequel. It is darker and scarier, and far creepier. In fact the only similarity is Nicolas Cage plays the Rider in both films. Do not watch this film with any preconceptions from the first film. If you don’t, it’s quite a good film. The CGI effects are awesome, especially the Rider himself, and his cool vehicles. If you like your films dark and horror like you’ll like this film, if you prefer superhero films, then skip it.

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The Great Ghost Rescue Starring Jason Isaacs, Emma Fielding and Georgia Groome Directed by Yann Samuell

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hen young Humphrey (Toby Hall) dies he finds himself a member of the Crabbyford family of ghosts. Hamish (Kevin McKidd), the legless highland warrior dad, Mabel (Emma Fielding), the headless former mistress of a King, Winifred (Georgia Groome), the drowned, accused witch and George, the floating, enflamed skull that used to be a human cannonball in a circus. He lives with this family, wishing he could be among

the living again for a little under a hundred years, until the house where they all live is destroyed, leaving them homeless. They go in search of another home, and the man that destroyed their old one, Brad (Steven Mackintosh), but there is more to all their misfortune then they realise, and it may already be too late for all the ghosts.

Everywhere.

This is a fun film about life, after death, but not what I expected. If you rent this film thinking it’s a fun film for the kids, think again. It is rather frightening for children, and a lot of it needs further explanation if the kids are too young. The acting is as good as can be expected, and the special effects are good too. All in all this isn’t a bad film. If you enjoy the British work, in the vein of Doctor Who, then you should enjoy this.

Contraband

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hris Farraday (Nicolas Cage) was the best smuggler in the business, but now he’s retired and living on the straight and narrow. It doesn’t last long though when his brother-inlaw (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a job for a

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Beckinsale Directed by Baltasar Kormákur job for a drug lord, Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris has to get back in the game and travel to Panama to bring back a package big enough to get enough money to pay off the bad guy, but things at home are getting worse with his wife (Kate Beckinsale) being threatened, will Chris be able to get back in time to save her?

This is a great popcorn movie for a Saturday night. The action is thick and fast, being pushed forward by a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the end. The acting is tight and strong by Wahlberg, Beckinsale and Ben Foster as Chris’ best friend. If you want a film that you’re sure to enjoy, and the whole family will like too, rent this one and you won’t be disappointed.

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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Starring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock Directed by Stephen Daldry He keeps his mission a secret from his mother (Sandra Bullock), as well as keeping another secret from her, one that is eating him away with guilt.

This is a poignant, touching drama about a little boy trying to make sense of a senseless act. Many people lost loved ones in the 9/11 attack and this film is a heartfelt memorial to those people, but especially to those who were left behind. Those trying to make sense of why those they loved were taken. Hanks is strong and memorable as the father that leaves a lasting impression on his son. Bullock is moving as the mother trying to help her son, but feeling him pull away from fter Oskar Schell’s (Thomas her more and more each day. The stand out Horn) dad (Tom Hanks) dies in performance in the film is young Horn who the World Trade Centre attack carries the loss of his father, and the guilt he on 9/11 he finds a mysterious key. With the feels for it, throughout the film like a ball and key in hand he sets off on a city wide search chain around his neck, but also manages to for the lock that the key fits, hoping that have an air of hopefulness at the same time. finding the reason for the key will help him This is a great film, but have the Kleenex find a reason for what happened to his father. handy, it is definitely a tearjerker.

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