Colin Firth Joins Before I Go To Sleep A reunion with Nicole Kidman 07 February 2013 | Written by James White (EMPIRE)| Source: Variety

Colin Firth clearly passed muster with Nicole Kidman while starring alongside her in The Railway Man. Because she’s persuaded him to mount a reunion for Rowan Joffe’s thriller Before I Go To Sleep.

Joffe adapted the script from SJ Watson’s eponymous book, and the plot sees a woman with amnesia (Kidman) waking up every morning not knowing who she is. To help her rebuild her life each day, she keeps a journal, and relies on her husband (Firth) for help.

But then she discovers some terrifying new information, which throws everything she knows into question. It remains to be seen what that new information is. Perhaps she’s been scoffing jam on her toast every morning when she really prefers marmalade? Or perhaps it’ll be a little more serious than that.

READ MORE: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=36433

Nicole Kidman Wants To Reteam With Colin Firth For 'Before I Go To Sleep' NEWS BY KEVIN JAGERNAUTH (INDIEWIRE)

It was just at the beginning of the month that Mark Strong joined Nicole Kidman in the upcoming thriller "Before I Go To Sleep," and now the actress is eyeing a recent co-star to work with her again.

According to THR, Kidman wants to reteam with her onscreen husband Colin Firth in the upcoming "The Railway Man" for this movie, where he's play the same role. Stay on your toes Keith Urban! Based on S.J. Watson’s bestselling book, and set to be directed by Rowan Joffe ("Brighton Rock"), the thriller follows a woman (Kidman) who wakes up each morning with no memory  and her husband (Firth's role) telling her that she's suffered a trauma and needs to stay at home. One day she sneaks off to a doctor (Strong) who gives her a recorder, and tells her to playback her thoughts to help piece things together. What she discovers is that her husband....may not be her husband at all.


READ MORE: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nicole-kidman-colin-firth-before-i-go-to-sleep-20121116

The Raven: John Cusack talks about his role (HUFFINGTON POST VIDEO)

John Cusack says his turn in "The Raven" is the role of a lifetime, which is high praise considering the 45-year-old has acted in over 50 films and is attached to no fewer than seven projects in 2012 alone.

In the film, which opens today in the UK and April 23 in the States, Cusack stars as the 19th-century American poet Edgar Allan Poe. In this fictionalized version of events, Poe must scramble to stop a serial killer from taking innocent lives in the style of Poe's often macabre work.

Cusack, who won eternal fan favor with his roles in the '80s classics "Sixteen Candles" and "Say Anything" (he says he's still eager to do a sequel of the latter), told Sky News that actors dream of playing a character as complex as the infamously neurotic poet.

 "There couldn't be a richer, more iconic character to play," he said. "So if I can find things like this I'm as happy as I can be."


READ MORE:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/the-raven-john-cusack-edgar-allan-poe-movie_n_1334396.html

Cleanskin Movie Review (IRISHTIMES.COM)

Clearskin Directed by Hadi Hajaig. Starring Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, James Fox, Peter Polycarpou 16 cert, general release, 108 min

Hajaig wants to make the British Parallax View and he’s halfway there.

By the third act we’re aware that no one in the world of black ops and terrorism cells can be trusted. (Who new?) In common with TV’s Spooks and current critical wow Homeland , Hajaig’s script incorporates sneaky nods to recent political scandals and conspiracies.

This is a big movie trapped inside a tiny one. Tussles over British- Islamic identity are seamlessly incorporated. A boorish Middle Eastern assassin with a fondness for diabolical jumpers and Mr Bean marks an audacious and deftly handled shift between dark Borat comedy and unvarnished horror.

There’s a lovely frisson between Bean and Rampling that makes you think what James Bond and M could be. Unhappily, budgetary constraints do tell on the finished product. Cleanskin works hard with make-do joins, library music and tiny interiors but can’t quite rise above them. As for that fake headline about Spurs winning the Champions League . . . Still, we can name 10 Hollywood attempts to grapple with the war on terror that don’t work nearly as well.


Read further:  http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2012/0309/1224313046424.html

The Raven Review: Poor Direction Hampers Cusack’s Solid Performance (WHATCULTURE!)

March 5, 2012 7:39 am
Shaun Munro

Director James McTeigue‘s two films to date have been polar opposites as far as quality is concerned; his debut V For Vendetta was a visually stunning, meticulous distillation of Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novels, while his follow-up, the almost universally-panned Ninja Assassin, was directed with a curious lack of enthusiasm and staggering level of anonymity.

Quite apt it is then, that his third feature, The Raven, is a perfectly mediocre excursion; a promising yet ultimately disappointing outing which falls somewhere between his first two films in terms of quality.

Even when Poe stands alone in the fog, trailing an assailant, the mood is promptly derailed as McTeigue’s heavy-handed direction takes hold, throwing some unnecessary and awkward CGI bullets into the mix. The helmer’s distressing lack of restraint carries through from the overuse of CGI gore – appropriate for his previous film, but not this one – to the ending, not-so-predictable with its reveal, yet positively unable to resist a distended epilogue which includes, you guessed it, another CGI bullet used as an exclamation point.

Cusack delivers a solid performance albeit one people won’t be talking much about precisely because McTeigue’s sloppy direction is so distracting. The supporting cast is meanwhile a mixed bag; Brendan Gleeson is fun and well-placed as the beardy, pissed off Colonel, though Evans is an underwhelming fit as Fields, lacking the intensity which might have made him a more compelling figure. The inherently likeable Cusack fares surprisingly well in one of his darkest roles, but The Raven’s clever premise is totally undermined by James McTeigue’s tactless, bumbling direction.


Read further:  http://whatculture.com/film/the-raven-review-poor-direction-hampers-cusacks-solid-performance.php

James McAvoy: "Welcome to the Punch" (Cinema Blend)

MOVIE NEWS

Welcome to the Punch opens September 7, 2012 in the U.K. It should hit North American cinemas sometime this year. It stars McAvoy, Strong, Peter Mullan (awesome) and the lovely Andrea Riseborough. 

First Look At James McAvoy In British Thriller Welcome To The Punch

Jesse Carp

Read More:  http://www.cinemablend.com/new/First-Look-James-McAvoy-British-Thriller-Welcome-Punch-29094.html

Welcome to the Punchnot only features a great cast, headed by McAvoy and the sensational Mark Strong, but also a really interesting action premise. The film follows Detective Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) who's still steaming about the one that got away, namely, criminal Jacob Sternwood (Strong) who successfully fled to an Icelandic hideout. But when Jacob's son finds himself in some trouble, Papa Sternwood has to come back to London to sort everything out. Hearing about his return, Lewinsky jumps at his final chance to bring the man to justice, that is, until something forces them to put aside their differences, work together and uncover an even larger conspiracy. Weren't expecting that part were you?

While we may have seen many good and bad guys form unlikely partnerships (3:10 to Yuma and next month's Safe House instantly come to mind) the prospect of McAvoy and Strong as an on-screen pair is incredibly enticing. Screen Daily was able to catch up with the creative team behind the project, detailing the entire journey from putting Shifty together to approaching this second film without worrying so much about budgetary limitations. On the screenplay, Creevy said that “We wanted to be as ambitious as possible. People are held back by a budget and a concept sometimes, but I knew that if I made it good enough it wouldn’t matter.” And good it must be since the script for Punch placed third on the 2010 Brit List (the British version of the Black List).

James McAvoy: 'Filth' firms up financing (Variety)

By Dave McNary

Financing and production plans for Steel Mill Pictures' comedic thriller "Filth" have firmed up, with principal photography set to start next week.

Cast includes James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt and Imogen Poots. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh ("Trainspotting"), "Filth" is written and directed by Jon S. Baird ("Cass"), who's also producing through Logie Pictures.

Story is centered on an Edinburgh police detective who manipulates everyone in his path to secure a promotion and win back his wife and daughter.

Shooting is set for Scotland, primarily Glasgow, as well as locations in Sweden, Belgium and Hamburg.

Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

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