PREVIEW: Tales of the Night (PG)

From Bafta award winning French writer-director Michel Ocelot comes his new film Tales of the Night.


Highly regarded as an animator, his films such as Kirikou and Azur and Asmar display some of Ocelot's trademarks of silhouettes and storytelling. Tales of the Night is no different. Ocelot built his reputation on the conventional animated techniques and this film pushed the boundaries thither again with his use of 3D bringing the characters and their actions to life.

Every evening, a girl, a boy, and an old technician get together in an old cinema that, by night, becomes full of wonders as they tell stories to each other. There are witches and fairies, powerful kings and stable boys, werewolves and beautiful princesses, cathedrals and sequins, cities of gold and dark forests, harmonies of vast choirs and the spells of a single drum, devastating malice and triumphant innocence. Bathed in sublime, shimmering colours, this series of six tales featuring characters animated in the style of shadow puppetry is an instant classic and a constant visual delight for both children and adults.

Tales of the Night opens each of its six tales with Ocelot's trademark storytelling technique, the tales underpinned by a love story of two destined people forced apart by those around them and the animated characters brought to life with dominant eyes and abstract movement six fantasy fairy tales. As abstract as it may appear, Ocelot has done it again as he reignites his animation flame once more to bring us one of his most exciting, experimental and tender animated tales we have seen. It's a fairy tale of a film that will leave your eyes misted and your heart warmed.

Tales of the Night was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival for the Golden Berlin Bear Award and is sure to achieve more success along the way.  

*French animation luminary Michel Ocelot returns with a silhouette fable that will leave you eyes misted and heart warmed*

Adam Woodward

*Michel Ocelot's ravishing animation and magical storytelling is a delight from start to finish*

David Parkinson

Check out the trailer below to see what you think of this beautiful animation:

Michel Ocelot's Tales of the Night is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 5th October at 10.45am and Saturday 6th October at 3pm.

PREVIEW: Lawless (18)

Director John Hillcoat and his now established partner-in-crime screenwriter/composer, Nick Cave, are back with the aggressively macho, actor-packed, gun toting Lawless. Leaving behind the colonial-era of Australia, seen in The Proposition, and the post-apocalyptic America, which shaped the world in The Road, the pairing are back but with a new setting and time.

The smokey Virginia hillscapes and backroads take centre stage in this tribute to one of America's infamous past times. It's the 1930s and three rebellious, bootlegging brothers find the elusive American Dream within their reach, and fight to maintain their grip as powerful urban gangsters. At the height of Prohibition, ambitious country boy Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) dreams of becoming the law's nightmare while reaping all the benefits that go with the gangster lifestyle. 

By expanding his family's moonshine business, he plots to launch a vast criminal empire while winning the heart of beautiful Amish girl Bertha (Mia Wasikowska). With his older, intimidating brother Howard (Jason Clarke) by his side, Jack has the brawn to get the job done. But they need a strong leader to guide them, a responsibility that falls on their eldest sibling Forrest (Tom Hardy). Meanwhile, as the three siblings rise to power while battling treachery on both sides of the law, a mysterious woman named Maggie (Jessica Chastain) appears out of nowhere, prompting the thoughtful Forrest to question the true price of his outlaw ways.

Lawless has all the ingredients you'd expect from the moonshiner/bootlegger gangster sub-genre. It's not the first or last time American culture thought a little too well of its own criminal underclass and doesn't disappoint in doing so here. Some of these conventions include the cocky 20th century mountain peasant with no education, fearless of anything and anyone that holds any form of authority. With organised crime, bloody shoot-outs and an irresistible dame, this account on true events does not fail in staying loyal to its generic format. If you're a fan of this kind of flick then do not miss out. If you're a stranger tempted with curiosity then I'll repeat - do not miss out!   

''Everybody does well here. It has great suspense, everything''

Darren Richmond - IMDB

''The Moonshiner film is a rural subgenre of the Hollywood Gangster movie and it's back with a vengeance in its bloodiest incarnation yet courtesy of the Nick Cave-scripted Lawless''

Michael Atkinson - Sight and Sound

Check out the trailer below:

Lawless (18) is showing on Friday 5th Oct at 7.45pm, Saturday 6th Oct at 2pm & 7.45pm and Monday 8th Oct at 7.45pm

PREVIEW: A Few Best Men

Closing September's programme at The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall is British-Australian comedy A Few Best Men from writer-producer Dean Craig of Death At A Funeral fame, and director Stephan Elliot, best known for the flamboyant smash hit The Adventures Of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert.

The film opens with David (Xavier Samuel) and Mia (Laura Brent) meeting and falling in love whilst on holiday in Australia. After just a week, David proposes to Mia with them set to be married in just a matter of days. Travelling back to England to round up his three (very surprised) best friends: sensible Tom (Kris Marshall), naive Graham (Kevin Bishop) and recently-dumped and depressed Luke (Tim Draxl) the groom and his best men trek to the other side of the world for the wedding. But Mia's parents, Barbara (Olivia Newton John) and Jim (Jonathan Biggins) are somewhat sceptical of the sudden elopement and when Jim's prized sheep gets involved, all hell breaks loose.

Premiering at California's Mill Valley Film Festival in 2011 and featuring a soundtrack primarily sung by a rarely seen Olivia Newton-John, this has been dubbed by many as the Brit-Australian answer to The Hangover. It certainly boasts as many ludicrous scenarios as its American counterpart along with equal amounts of hilarity and tongue-in-cheek humour.

"Raucous, energetic and enlivened by a game Olivia Newton-John"

Henry Fitzherbert- Daily Express

"Charming and hilarious"

Phelim O'Neill- The Guardian

Check out the trailer below:

A Few Best Men (15) is showing on Friday 28th September at 7.45pm, Monday 1st October at 2.00pm (Screen Tea) and 7.45pm and Tuesday at 7.45pm

PREVIEW: Circumstance (15)

Circumstance is not only a story of an adolescent friendship between two young women but also tells us of the powerful needs for self-expression in the face of oppression. Whilst providing us with a highly stylised look into Iranian youth culture, the film’s basis is of a relationship up against the boundaries of class and culture.

Shireen and Atafeh are best friends, with opposite class backgrounds. Their relationship turns flirtatious and then eventually results in sexual discovery. Iranian cultural traditions and restrictions on women’s behaviour are tactically given to us through the characterisation of Atafeh’s brother, Mehran. A recovering drug addict, he displaces his addiction with policing at the local mosque and begins to spy on his family with CCTV cameras.

Meanwhile, the two women befriend two local young men, Joey and his American cousin, Hossein. After spending time enjoying their youth by driving around listening to music and clubbing, Hossein talks the girls into dubbing Farsi over the film Milk and TV series Sex and the City. Hossein believes there’s a political message in Gus Vant Sant’s Milk that could inspire Iranian culture. These scenes are interesting and telling as they give us an impression that the girls aren’t so motivated by their cultures’ traditional rules and conventions, but instead more charged by sexual freedom.

The film is confidently directed by Maryam Keshavarz. Take a look at the trailer and you’ll notice one of the taglines shown is: ‘In the eyes of some they are sinners. In the minds of others they are lost’. A very thought-provoking piece of art that we're sure you’ll enjoy.

Winner of the Audience Award prize and Nominated for The Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

*Persian-American film-maker deserves plaudits for her ambition.*

Catherine Shoard, The Guardian

*This visually arresting and emotionally articulate love story is quite a feat for the Iranian first-time director.*

Ashley Clark

Watch the trailer for yourself:

 

Circumstance is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Tuesday 2nd October and Thursday 4th October.

PREVIEW: In The Dark Half (15)

In keeping with our mission statement of supporting home grown cinematic delights, The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall will be screening In The Dark Half- one of three micro-budget films produced under the iFeatures 2012 scheme supported by BBC Films and Bristol City Council. Shot in the heart of the West Country and produced for only £300,000, this Bristol-set psychodrama centres on 15 year old Marie (Jessica Barden) who lives on the edge of the city with her mum Kathy. Living next door is single father Filthy and six year old son Sean. Filthy regularly takes his boy out hunting with him for rabbits on the hill behind their houses - spending nearly all their time together, they are very close. Marie also likes the hill and goes running on it every day. In a secluded spot near the top she has a secret den, which becomes her refuge from a world she is finding increasingly difficult to cope with as she appears to be losing her only friend and she doesn’t seem to be able to communicate with her mother.

One night Marie babysits for Filthy. Whilst in her care, Sean mysteriously dies. Nobody knows why and Filthy is devastated. Marie becomes convinced the death has something to do with the hill and becomes aware that she is being haunted by a frightening presence. What is this presence? Is it the spirit of Sean? Or something much more terrifying?

Premiering at Raindance Film Festival earlier this year, this marks the debut for director Alastair Siddons and it certainly demonstrates plenty of promise for his future career.

“Siddons maintains a threatening atmosphere and crafts suggestively with silence”

Dave Colhoun, Time Out

“As a calling card for director Alastair Siddons, it's polished and impressive.”

Catherine Shoard, The Guardian

Check out the trailer below:

In The Dark Half (15) is showing on Tuesday 25^th Sep at 2:00pm (Screen Tea) and 7:45pm, Wednesday 26^th Sep at 7:45pm and Thursday 27^th Sep at 7:45pm 

PREVIEW: A Cat in Paris (U)

Come along to see A Cat In Paris this week, a cosy and immensely enjoyable French kids' film with a difference (don't worry, it's overdubbed in English).  Follow the story of Dino the cat and Zoe, the little girl he lives with in a film that has perfect dialogue and a score which gives this classy, Oscar-nominated family feature an irresistible, jazzy elegance.

Dino is a cat that leads a double life. By day he lives with Zoe, a little girl whose mother is a detective in the Parisian police force, but at night he sneaks out the window to work with Nico, a slinky cat burglar with a big heart, whose fluid movements are poetry in motion as he slips and swishes from rooftop to rooftop across the Paris skyline. The cat’s two worlds collide when young Zoe decides to follow Dino on his nocturnal adventures and falls into the hands of Victor Costa, a blustery gangster planning the theft of a rare statue. Cat and cat burglar team up to save Zoe from the bumbling thieves, leading to a thrilling acrobatic finale on top of Notre Dame. A warm and richly humorous love letter to classic noir films with the stylized wit of the Pink Panther cartoons – here is a kids’ film the grown-ups will enjoy as much as the little ones.

The animation of this film is fantastic; a fantastic example of traditional ink and paint cartooning.  Paris has never looked so romantic or mysterious in cartoon form.

*A charming, visually sparkling Parisian fantasy with a dark edge.* Empire

*The picture sparkles, but in the nighttime way - its charms have a noirish gleam* Movieline

Watch the trailer here:

 

A Cat In Paris

is screening on Friday 21st at 10.45am & 3pm and Saturday 22nd at 3pm.



PREVIEW: Shadow Dancer (15)

Academy Award winning British director James Marsh brings you something different with his new film Shadow Dancer. 
Best known for directing Man on Wire, Project Nim and The King, this film establishes Marsh's status as one of the best British versatile film-makers we have.


The cast showcases a whole host of superb acting talent with the likes of Clive Owen (Sin City, King Arthur and The International) and Andrea Riseborough (Made in Dagenham, Happy-Go-Lucky) taking the lead, supported solidly by Gillian Anderson (The X Files), Domhnall Gleeson (True Grit) and Aiden Gillen (The Dark Knight Rises).

The screenplay is based upon the novel of the same name written by ITN political correspondent Tom Bradby from his work in Ireland from 1993-1996. All the way through the decades from the 1970's to as recent as last year, the unrest and hatred from the IRA in Northern Ireland towards the British forms the backdrop for Marsh's engaging thriller set in 1990's Belfast.

At the start of the film we join Northern Ireland's Colette McVeigh (Riseborough) on the London Underground as she nervously holds a bag. Whatever her intentions she is stopped by the arrival of British intelligence officer Mac (Owen). Mac offers her an ultimatum: become an informer for the British or go to prison. Reluctantly Colettee accepts and returns to Belfast, betraying family beliefs and becoming a British mole. However, watched over carefully by her two brothers Connor (Gleeson) and Gerry (Gillen), both active IRA terrorists, their suspicions of their sister grows.

As the net closes in on Colette and Mac they both take risks to protect one another and the people they love, whilst Mac's senior bosses seem ever more distant from the project. Is there something else going on between the two sides that neither Mac nor Colette know about?


Officially selected for the Berlin and Sundance International Film Festivals and winner of Best Performance in a British Feature Film for Andrea Riseborough, it's clear that Shadow Dancer has quality throughout from the cast right through to the screenplay.

*An intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama*

Dan Jolin

*Riveting performances and tense, water-tight plotting*

Neil Smith

Watch the trailer for yourself of this tense thriller below:

Shadow Dancer is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 21st September at 7.45pm, Saturday 22nd September at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 24th September at 2pm and 7.45pm.

SNIPPET: Searching for Sugar Man (12A)

Curious filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul turns detective in his new Documentary Searching for Sugar Man where he seeks to find out what happened to forgotten musician of the 70's Sixto Rodriguez whose music inspired a generation amidst the apartheid in South Africa.


CLICK HERE to read Hubert Vigilla's interview with director and filmmaker Bendjelloul as they chat about his ambitious project, how he finds documentary film making and what's his next project.

Searching for Sugar Man is a fantastic film with a soundtrack you'll fall in love with.


Searching for Sugar Man is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Tuesday 11th September at 7.45pm and Wednesday 12th September at 7.45pm.

REVIEW: Mystery Movie by Tom Wiggins

You might say that paying to see a mystery film is like entrusting a stranger with your wallet: you hope they’ll make the right choice, but there’s a possibility you’ll be left feeling short-changed.  Nevertheless, I was intrigued when I heard that a mystery film season would be coming to Gloucester Guildhall.  I had my doubts: did I really want to hand my evening over to the mercy of strangers?  After all, one man’s Citizen Kane is another man’s Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.  But this was a stranger with taste - a film programmer no less – whose opinion is relied upon to choose the very films we pay to see.  My film wasn’t being picked by Dave from the down the pub.  It was something that quickly captured my imagination.

And yet, curiosity got the better of me.  The advertising campaign provided the film’s running time and certification, which made way for educated guesses, which nowadays is known as a Google Search.  I didn’t want to do it but Google’s blank search bar looked so inviting.  The devil on one shoulder said I needed to know, while the angel on the other urged me to keep the faith.  The two had a bit of a scrap.  The devil won.  

A week or two later, I found myself queueing up at the Guildhall’s ticket kiosk.  I was burdened with an “educated guess” that hung like an albatross around my neck.  I was ashamed, guilt-ridden.  I felt as if I’d let both myself and Gloucester Guildhall down.  I believed I knew the name of this mystery film.  And then, from the mouth of a person a few places in front of me: “We think it’s Corpse Bride,” she said to the lady at the box office.  My heart sunk.  Her guess matched my—well, Google’s own. 

Not only that, but it was a film I’d seen and - more crucially - didn’t particularly like.  I held my £4 admission fee in a clammy palm.  As the queue to the booth got shorter, my fight or flight mechanism kicked in.  It was a 21^st century dilemma and I had just one debit card transaction to decide.  I peeled the four coins from the palm that had enclosed them, took a tentative step forward and handed them over.  There was no going back.

Ticket in hand, I sat back in the former council chamber with my fellow Mystery Moviegoers. I wondered how many of them knew what I knew.  The stop motion animation of Corpse Bride would polarise opinion, I was sure of it.  Would this be the right film to open a series of mystery films?  Tim Burton, its director, has forged an extremely successful career out of the macabre – enigmatic, pale-faced antiheroes that the whole family can enjoy.  And yet… he’s a little old hat.  His films remain massive box office draws, but his style was so distinctive when he burst onto the scene in the late eighties that he helped to define an era.  Even if you’ve only seen one or two of his films ('Beetlejuice', 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Sleepy Hollow' among others), you could describe the principles of the style ‘Burtonesque’ within (and this rather goes against them) a heartbeat.  And while he still enjoys a massive cult following and continues to attract a new generation of fans, his style has become predictable, which goes against the conventions he initially set out to subvert.  But enough of the Burton-bashing.  It's by no means an awful film, so I agreed with myself that I'd take the hit and enjoy it as much as I could.  

But the joys of a mystery movie is that you can’t count your corpses before they're exhumed.  As the title sequence began, I recognised it as a stop motion animation, but it didn’t have the usual Burtonesque feel to it.  I felt my eyes adjusting to the frenetic style, to the vibrant colours, to the sheer madness of the title sequence.  In fact, it had quite the opposite feel to Corpse Bride.  And it was Belgian.  I was so relieved! 

That film was A Town Called Panic, a Belgian stop motion adventure from 2009.  I don't know the Belgian for bonkers, but I would imagine that's how its creators would describe it.  Elements of the story often defy logic, but that's all part of the film's charm.  The carefully-constructed set pieces allow ample time for laughs and very little time for thought.  It's so relentless in its pace that the subtitles sometimes struggle to keep up.  But don't write it off as a silly labour of love from some crazy Europeans; it's rare for an animation to be selected at Cannes Film Festival, but it premiered there to wide critical acclaim.  It's something that would appeal to the whole family and I urge you to see it.  The following trailer should give you some idea of what to expect:     

Even the great Mark Kermode had problems synopsising the film without sounding barmy.  Description doesn't do it justice.  It's something that needs to be seen to be believed.   

This leaves one final question: have I given the next Mystery Movie an educated guess?  What?  And risk spoiling the surprise? 

The next installment in Gloucester Guildhall's Mystery Movie Nights screens at 7:45pm on Thursday 13th September.  Tickets cost just £4 per person and can be purchased at the box office or by calling 01452 503050. 

SNIPPET: Shadow Dancer

Academy award winning director James Marsh (Man on Wire) brings you something totally different with his new thriller Shadow Dancer set in 1990's Belfast.

With Clive Owen (Sin City, The International) and Andrea Riseborough taking the lead, aided by backup from the likes of Gillian Anderson, Domhnall Gleeson and Aiden Gillen, Shadow Dancer is a tense, gripping thriller.

CLICK HERE to see an interview with James Marsh as he talks to View's Matthew Turner, about the influences for the film, Marsh's documentary style and a very interesting new project he has in store.

Shadow Dancer is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 21st September at 7.45pm, Saturday 22nd September at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 24th September at 2pm and 7.45pm.

SNIPPET: Comes a Bright Day

Directing his first full length feature, British director Simon Aboud brings you his offbeat romantic thriller Comes a Bright Day.

With an incredible cast on display from the young talents of Craig Roberts (Submarine) and Imogen Poots (Fright Night) to the experience and class of Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), this film displays the best of British.
CLICK HERE to catch an interview with Director Simon Aboud as he chats to Indiewire's Jessica Kiang and explains the ideas and the making behind the film, and how he managed to assemble that amazing British cast.

Comes a Bright Day is screening a Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 14th September at 7.45pm, Saturday 15th September at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 17th September at 2pm.

PREVIEW: Dr Seuss' The Lorax (U)

This Friday sees the arrival of Dr Seuss' The Lorax from the curators of Despicable Me, as part of our continuing family film programme. 


So Dr. Seuss' grumpy forest-dwelling critter comes to life in this funny, touching and beautifully animated adventure. Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. Outwitting the powerful Mr O’Hare to leave the plastic village of Thneed-Ville for the first time, he tracks down the elusive Once-ler and discovers the incredible story of how The Lorax failed to save the forest from destruction many years ago. Entrusted with the one remaining Truffala Tree seed, Ted faces a race against time to plant the tree in the centre of town before Mr. O’Hare confiscates it. Infused with bright colours and catchy musical numbers, you can’t help but leave the cinema with a smile on your face.

The actors behind the animated characters include the famous Danny DeVito as The Lorax, Zac Efron as Ted, who is trying to win the heart of Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift).  This film really captures the 'Seuss-ness' which has been missing from previous adaptations.

*The catchy songs, personable characters and heartfelt message mean this is still a sweet and enjoyable concoction.*  Radio Times

*Musical numbers, gorgeous design and a brilliant motorbike chase through the deliciously surreal Thneedville lift this from being a preachy, eco-friendly plod to a witty and comical adventure.*  SFX Magazine

Watch the trailer below:

Dr Seuss' The Lorax is screening on Friday 14th at 10.45 am & 3pm and Saturday 15th at 3pm

PREVIEW: Take This Waltz (15)

From Canadian actress and director Sarah Polley comes her second film Take This Waltz, a warm and touching romantic drama. 

With Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams leading the cast, delivering a great central performance against the supporting cast of Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman, Polley creates a perfect portrait of a woman's state of mind, likely to earn her a second Oscar nomination.


The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and continued to be shown at film festivals throughout 2011 before its cinematic release in 2012, where it landed number one in the Canadian box office.

After a chance encounter on a flight, Margot (Michelle Williams) finds herself attracted to a young artist called Daniel. Upon returning home to her devoted husband Lou (Seth Rogen), she discovers that Daniel lives right across the street. Initially she goes out of her way to avoid him and suppress her attraction, but eventually she begins to wonder if he is what is missing from her life and  begins to question her seemingly perfect marriage to her husband. 
Not your usual romantic comedy, this is a film about attachments, desire and the self, a quiet but evocative portrait of a young woman in a state of uncertainty and denial. It's also a deftly drawn depiction of domesticity, of the cocoon of familiarity and the sensuous distraction of the seemingly unattainable. Illuminated by a rich performance from Michelle Williams, this is a surprisingly resonant tale about what can be recovered and discovered in the course of a life.

*Flush with beauty and truth, and is unerringly unnervingly accurate on love, desire and friendship*

Robbie Collin - Daily Telegraph

*A masterfully painted portrait of an ordinary marriage under threat, dominated by a central performance of exquisite subtlety and observation.*

David Hughes - Empire Magazine

Watch the trailer for Take This Waltz here: 

Take This Waltz is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Monday 17th September at 7.45pm, Tuesday 18th September at 2pm, Wednesday 19th September at 7.45pm and Thursday 20th September at 7.45pm.

PREVIEW: Comes a Bright Day (15)

From British director Simon Aboud comes his full feature debut Comes a Bright Day. This offbeat romantic thriller offers the best of British as we follow bellboy Sam Smith on a seemingly ordinary day.


Comes a Bright Day displays a hub of British talent offering the best of young up and coming stars such as Craig Roberts (Submarine) and Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later, V for Vendetta); these young stars are joined by the more established British talent such as Kevin McKidd (Kingdom of Heaven, Dog Soldiers) and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Sweeny Todd). If you're looking for a film that displays the best of British then Comes a Bright Day is for you!


On a day like any other, ambitious bellboy Sam Smith (Roberts) works at a 5-star London hotel. Sam is asked by his senior management to take a guest's watch to one of London's most elusive jewellery shops, managed by Charlie (Spall). Sam is blown away upon his arrival by the charming and elegant Mary (Poots); however, Sam's fairy tale ends abruptly as an armed gang raid the shop. Is this Sam's moment to shine in front of the lady he admires, and will this situation of life or death make their true feelings for one another surface?


Funny, dark and captivating this film is a great watch and with the talent on display you would be a fool to miss it. This is a calling card for both actors and director alike and on this evidence expect their careers to blossom even further.

*Roberts and Poots make a quaint couple, while Spall is typically engaging*

David Parkinson

*As funny as it is thrilling, Comes a Bright Day is a charming and sentimental coming-of-age story with plenty of action that’s not to be missed*

Jennifer Tate

Click the link below to watch the trailer for Comes a Bright Day below;

Comes a Bright Day is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 14th September at 7.45pm, Saturday 15th September at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 17th September at 2pm.