Soon to make its world premiere at the Film4 Frightfest in London, the producer of Wolf Creek will be making waves again with Coffin Rock - the feature debut from writer-director Rupert Glasson. Here’s how the festival describes it:
In the small coastal town of Coffin Rock, Rob and Jess live an almost idyllic life, their relationship marred only by their inability to have children. In a weak moment Jess sleeps with a stranger and later learns she’s pregnant. But the shocking truth is Evan targeted her the moment she walked into the fertility clinic where he worked. Now Jess’ guilt turns to full-blown horror as Evan begins a petrifying transformation from menacing stalker to unhinged psychopath….
But don’t take their word for it, we’ve got the trailer below the break and it’s truly unsettling stuff!
Continue Reading "Obsession Turns Ugly In Australian Thriller COFFIN ROCK"...
Bunny And The Bull is a comedy road movie set entirely in a flat. Stephen Turnbull hasn’t been outside in months and when he finds his mind hurtling back to the disastrous trek he took around Europe with his friend Bunny, a catalogue of adventures unfold. Starring Edward Hogg (Brothers Of The Head ) and Simon Farnaby (‘The Mighty Boosh’, ‘Jam & Jerusalem’), Bunny And The Bull promises to be a touching journey to the end of the room.
I am disappointed in you, Britain. Very disappointed, indeed. The promo reel for Paul King’sBunny and the Bull remains the favorite thing that I saw during my time in Cannes this year and I have been anxiously awaiting the chance to share King’s lo-fi Gonry-esque fantasy with the likes of all you Twitch readers. But, alas, despite an upcoming autumn release date in the UK there is no trailer yet released officially anywhere online and apparently, there’s not a soul alive who managed to capture the trailer when it aired on the UKs Channel Four a couple weeks back. Foresight, people! Foresight!
But all is not lost as the good people at Channel 4 have, at least, seen fit to release a new block of stills from the picture online and they’re looking fantastic. With its cardboard and duct tape approach to special effects and the imaginary road trip that propels the story, this is one that fans of Michel Gondry and Spike Jonez are going to die for ...
It is obvious to any Twitchfilm reader who has been around long enough that we are big fans of English director Shane Meadows and his films A Room For Romeo Brass, Dead Man’s Shoes and This Is England. His latest film Le Donk & Scoz-ayz-ee just premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival but he gave Empire the skinny on his next big film, a horror film, and one we’ve known about for a while now, Beware the Devil...
“It’s based on a book of the same name, based on the life of a guy who, by getting involved with Ouija boards and the occult by trying to disprove it, trying to take the piss out of it, got possessed, had to be exorcised, and later became an exorcist himself. The guy it happened to has died, but his son’s a novelist, and he helped him turn it into a book before he passed away, and now I’m working with him to turn it into a film.” Empire also said Meadows described Beware the Devil to us as “making Dead Man’s Shoes look like Play School”
Twitch has not as yet given the work of Jonathan Nix any attention. That will change. Better late than never, right? Jonathan’s work producing animated shorts and soundtracks for the same has won him critical acclaim at festivals across his native Australia and beyond, and his latest project is the very wonderful-looking The Missing Key. This planned 25-minute short appears to build on the whimsical baroque setting for his earlier piece Hello (2003), a melancholy Italianate fantasy world with a distinctive touch of the surreal, and so far it looks to be absolutely gorgeous. Find the synopsis and a two-minute preview trailer from YouTube embedded after the break.
Continue Reading "Gramophone! Teaser for Jonathan Nix’s THE MISSING KEY"...
So, Ricky’s first feature film as director, writer and lead actor is on its way. I’ll make no bones about it, I am a fan, and although Ghost Town was a slightly underwhelming first foray into leading man territory it was affable enough with charm and sarcastic wit to spare. Taking more creative control this time round, The Invention Of Lying should see him hit his stride with more of the edgy humour from his stand-up routines and The Office, though at first glance the trailer has a whiff of 12A muting. An eclectic if not entirely undesirable supporting cast includes Patrick Stewart, Rob Lowe and an ever expanding Jonah Hill. I’m hopeful.
The Invention of Lying takes place in an alternate reality in which lying - even the concept of a lie - does not even exist. Everyone from politicians to advertisers, to the man and woman on the street speaks the truth and nothing but the truth with no thought of the consequences. But when a down-on-his-luck loser named Mark (Ricky Gervais) suddenly develops the ability to lie, he finds that dishonesty has its rewards. In a world where every word is assumed to be the absolute truth, Mark easily lies his way to fame and fortune. But lies have a way of spreading, and Mark begins to realise that things are getting a little out of control when some of his tallest tales are being taken as, well, gospel. With the entire world now hanging on his every word, there is only one thing Mark has not been able to lie his way into: the heart of the woman he loves.
You can check out the trailer below the break. It’s due an October 2009 theatrical release in UK.
Continue Reading "Ricky Gervais in a trailer for THE INVENTION OF LYING"...
Though I have no idea what it’s like from the local perspective, to an outsiders eye it looks as though now is an interesting time to be making films in Australia. Though several of the big, high profile genre films have failed to find the international traction they were expected to post-Wolf Creek the country has turned out a string of small, sharp thrillers and indie dramas that just look to be dead solid. Films like Acolytes, Beautiful, Last Ride and Van Diemen’s Land. And Van Diemen’s Land takes me to where I want to go - to the resurgence of the hard edged Australian period drama, the Aussie western if you will, post The Proposition.
It’s a genre pretty uniquely suited to Australia, a land with stark landscapes and an even starker history, and another very solid entry in the genre is just around the corner. Kriv Stenders’ Lucky Country is due to hit Australian screens in mid-July. The just-released trailer starts off looking like a period-set family drama but things quickly take a darker turn and it is obvious something is lurking below the surface. Beautifully shot with a strong cast, this story of a failing farm and gold-seeking ramblers looks like a keeper. Check the trailer below the break!
Continue Reading "Australia Goes Western In LUCKY COUNTRY"...
[Our thanks to Bryan from Cinema Suicide for the following review.]
Franklyn caught me off guard. I managed to see the trailer on a site much like this one and it wasn’t clear what the movie is about. The trailer is a testament to misleading advertisement. A studio pays for a movie to be produced and agrees to distribute it. They see the script, of course, and like what they see, but if you’ve ever read the shooting draft of a script and then see the released feature, they often differ in some fundamental ways. It’s a great script but what often looks great on the page sometimes doesn’t translate to the lens well and changes must be made on the fly. The studio then sees the final project and realizes that this is not what they paid for. The marketing machine cranks to life and produces a series of marketing materials that makes their challenging feature look like something it’s not and gets as many asses in seats as it can before everyone leaves the theater and starts texting everyone in their address book to tell them the movie sucks.
Continue Reading "FRANKLYN Review"...
You can do little wrong when you decide to go to Montreal for the Fantasia International Film Festival and this year’s lineup proves to be no exception. Want a taste? David Morley’s MUTANTS, Adam Mason’s BLOOD RIVER, José Mojica Marins’ EMBODIMENT OF EVIL, Tom Shankland’s THE CHILDREN, Park Chan-wook’s THIRST and Satoshi Miki’s INSTANT SWAMP are just some of the titles at this year’s festival.
There is a lengthy announcement after the break. Take your time and we are sure you’ll find some must-sees. Then we’ll see you in Montreal between July 9th and 27th.
Continue Reading "FANTASIA 2009 announces lineup. She be a doozy!!!"...
It’s good to be a Bowie, apparently, with word that Duncan Jones’ Moon - Jones is the son of David Bowie - has just scooped the award for Best New British Feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Also scooping a big prize was Tomm Moore’s stellar animation Brendan And The Secret Of Kells, which took home the Audience Award for Best Feature. Personally I’m of the opinion that Moon is just okay but the Brendan win is very much deserved. Check out the trailers for both below the break!
Continue Reading "MOON And BRENDAN AND THE SECRET OF KELLS Take Home The Hardware In Edinburgh."...
To hold us over while we await the arrival for the trailer to the kiwi fantasy adventure film Under the Mountain from Jonathan King, the director who brought us the horror comedy Black Sheep, take a look at the new poster in our images gallery.
When teenage twins Rachel and Theo investigate the creepy old house next door, they discover the Wilberforces - shape-shifting creatures that lurk beneath Auckland’s ring of extinct volcanoes.
Guided by the mysterious Mr Jones and with the help of their older cousin Ricky, the twins must rekindle the unique powers they once shared if they are to destroy this ancient evil - before it destroys them.
The film will have its world premiere during the 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in July.
Nicholas Winding Refn’s much debated biopic of Britain’s most notorious inmate is making its UK DVD and Blu-ray debut on the 6th July. In Bronson the director of the matchless Pusher trilogy has created a stylistically flamboyant interpretation of 34 violent years in prison, 30 of which spent in solitary confinement. Inevitably compared to A Clockwork Orange, when released theatrically in the UK it benefitted from a canny PR stunt of having a pre-recorded message from the real Charles Bronson played at the premiere (included on the DVD). Needless to say certain people questioned how appropriate it was to have a convicted criminal promote his own biopic, particularly amidst claims of glorified violence. The Prison Officer’s Association weren’t happy but the marketers rubbed their hands together…
You can watch the DVD trailer below the break.
DVD extras will be:
Exclusive Monologues From the Real Charles Bronson : Words From Inside Prison
Making Bronson: The Making of the Film
Tom Hardy’s Workout
Stills Gallery
Director’s Commentary
Trailer / Teasers / TV Spots
Valhalla Rising Promo
Continue Reading "BRONSON barrels onto UK DVD"...
[Because covering the New York Asian Fest for us apparently wasn’t enough to keep him occupied, our thanks now go out to Joshua Chaplinsky for sending along this review of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Bronson as well.]
(The NY premiere of Bronson took place as part of the BAMcinemaFEST in Brooklyn. It opens in October.)
Directed by Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn (The Pusher Trilogy, Fear X) Bronson tells the story of Michael Peterson, Britain’s most notorious prisoner. After a botched robbery at the tender age of 22, Peterson was sentenced to 7 years in jail. His life then became a whirlwind of fisticuffs, hostage taking and prison transfers. Fast forward 35 years and Peterson has been incarcerated for most of his life, spending the majority of that time in solitary confinement. Somewhere along the way, he became a larger than life character by the name of Charles Bronson.
Continue Reading "BRONSON Review"...
A major highlight of the Worldwide Short Film Festival this year was the opportunity to talk at length with British animator Osbert Parker, who was on hand for a retrospective screening of some of his key work, including the stop motion animated Film Noir. Now don’t start thinking you know how this one is going to play out because it’s stop motion. Parker does entirely unique things with the technique, blending cut outs with physical props and fully three dimensional sets to fuse styles in an entirely unorthodox and very compelling way. Compelling enough that Film Noir was nominated for a BAFTA and very deservedly so.
We’ve got a minute long clip for this one embedded below the break. Check it out and have your mind blown.
Continue Reading "A Clip From Osbert Parker’s BAFTA Nominated FILM NOIR"...
The Worldwide Short Film Festival just wrapped up yesterday and a great favorite of mine - one that I would have surely snapped up for the midnight programs if the official selection types hadn’t nabbed it first - was The Black Dog’s Progress, a black and white, flipbook style animation. Really, the less you know about this one the better but the narrative starts with a boy being given a puppy for a present and descends rapidly from there. It’s pretty much brilliant and also embedded below the break.
Continue Reading "Weep For THE BLACK DOG’S PROGRESS"...
A while back I was asked to help out as a judge for New Zealand’s 48 Hours competition - a forty eight hour film making challenge in which contestants had just 48 hours - and no budget - to create a film that had to include certain set elements. The submitted films ranged across a huge spectrum of styles and genres but the runaway winner ended up being Charlotte, a piece of line drawn animation that I think is pretty fantastic work, regardless of how long it took to make. We’ve got it embedded below the break, check it out!
Continue Reading "Behold New Zealand’s 48 HOURS Competition Winner CHARLOTTE!"...
