Armin Van Buuren - Armin O...
The world's #1 DJ allows his awe inspiring 9-hour show to be butchered into a... [more]
THE DARK KNIGHT
The much-awaited continuation of a franchise once considered dead in the water, The Dark Knight is now a bittersweet proposition. Following the tragic death of its central talking point Heath Ledger, whose performance as the Joker is said to be a career best, there’ll be an entirely unscripted darkness to the film. Here’s hoping it’s a testament to the actor’s abundant talent.
The Dark Knight opens 18 July
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Let’s face it: Daniel Craig has saved James Bond more thoroughly than any invisible car ever could. After too many samey instalments populated by ham-fisted baddies and nuclear scientists played by Denise Richards, Casino Royale was lean, mean and unmistakably Bourne-like. At the centre of its success was a brutish performance from Craig, shifting the focus from winking one-liners to credible drama.
Which brings us to Quantum Of Solace, aka Bond 22. The upcoming film picks up mere moments after Casino Royale’s conclusion (another trick borne of Bourne), when the sting of Vesper Lynd’s betrayal is still fresh. With the assistance of M ( Judi Dench ), our man takes on the shady organisation that led to his woes.
Quantum of Solace is helmed by Marc Foster, director of Monster’s Ball and The Kite Runner, so it’s in sure hands. Plus the Bond girls are played by actress/models Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton. No Denise Richards. Consider this saga well and truly revived.
Quantum of Solace opens 27 November
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
If Sylvester Stallone is allowed to revive the dirty red bandanna for another outing as John Rambo, it’s more than fair that Harrison Ford dusts off his battered fedora one more time. Despite its verbose title, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the talk of Tinseltown. There’ll even by a tie-in Lego set! What could possibly go wrong?
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens 22 May
FUNNY GAMES
And now a break from blockbuster-dom. We can only hope Michael Haneke’s American update of his own 1997 film Funny Games is as uncompromising and incendiary as the original.
A holidaying family has their idyll interrupted when two nihilistic young men take them hostage…just because. If you’re hoping for another fix of torture porn, it’s probably best to wait for the next Saw. This is sure to be psychologically rattling rather than blood-soaked. The cast includes Naomi Watts, Michael Pitt and Tim Roth.
Funny Games opens 14 March
MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
Arthouse darling Wong Kar Wai is incapable on making an ugly film. For that alone, his English language debut My Bluberry Nights will be worth a look; despite the absence of regular cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
The narrative sounds characteristically loose, following the heartbroken Elizabeth ( Norah Jones in her film debut) in her wide-ranging journey across America. She encounters a cast of similarly lost characters – played variously by Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman. Expect to “ooh” and “ahh” at every frame.
My Blueberry Nights opens 4 April
tigger says...
What about 'We Own The Night'? With an unbeatable cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Duvall, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes, director James Gray invites you into the enthralling and glamorous world of New York’s night clubs, their dirty underbelly and family intrigue. With the title of the film taken from the late 1980s motto of the NYPD street crimes unit WE OWN THE NIGHT has it all, cops and bad guys, drugs, disco and gangsters. With these trusty plot lines dealt with unique flair and in a haze of cigarette smoke, WE OWN THE NIGHT is American cinema at it’s harrowing best. Bobby Green (Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, he had changed his ast names and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party, as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada (Mendes), in a haze of cocktails and disco music. But it’s 1988, and New York City’s drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub, a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph (Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt (Duvall), Opens Feb 28.