Obscurity Files- Cash

That Jean Dujardin from The Artist, he's a nice guy isn't he? Well, since his success with The Artist a whole bunch of films from his back catalogue are slowly resurfacing, including Cash, his 2008 heist comedy. But is it any good?

INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE - Trailer

Maybe it's because I'm a child of the 80's and grew up in some sort of Nintendo fuelled dream world, but I just can't get on with modern gaming, with its hyper-realistic uncanny valley graphics and pre-occupation of setting everything in a war zone. Give me a miniature plumber over a 6 foot Navy Seal any day.


To that end, Indie Game: The Movie looks to highlight those games that are the perfect tonic to the massive worldwide released gaming behemoths that dominate the industry. Looking at a sub-section of the game design industry where people devote their lives to creating worlds for these 8 bit characters, these designers reveal themselves to be more obsessive than the people they're making the games for. Think King of Kong, but looking out from inside the machine.


First screened at Sundance this January, Indie Game: The Movie will be released worldwide on June 12th online (and as a nice touch, will be made available on Steam) and will be screened at this year's Sheffield Documentary Festival.

I Don't Know About You But...

... the last film I want to be thinking about when I eat a chocolate bar is The Human Centipede. Nice work Cadbury's.

Guess What My Favourite Line From The Metal Tornado Trailer Was?

Sorry, I've had a long weekend. I promise I'll write something better tomorrow.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

Rifling through the bargain basements of online retailers so you don't have to, here's this week's selection of terrible and terri-brill home entertainment titles that make up The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays.

ID Fest - Sunday

Sunday saw the final day of this year's ID Fest, and with it, my attempts to ruin the whole day for everyone else by coughing uncontrollably in as many cinema screens as possible.

ID Fest - Saturday

Back for my second day of ID Fest, a day dominated by a large Yorkshireman with the biggest voice I've ever heard and aspirations of going into space.

ID Fest - Friday

The festival kicked off on Thursday night with a Q & A with Mike Hodges followed by a screening of Get Carter, but for me, the festival started on Friday morning with a quick train journey over to Derby followed by my efforts to not ruin everybody's festival by coughing all over them.

ALBATROSS DVD review

Starring Jessica Brown-Findlay and Felicity Jones, this latest film from CinemaNX is now available on DVD.

VANISHING ON 7TH STREET DVD review

Can the director of The Machinist and the much maligned star of two not fantastically regarded Star Wars prequels come together for an interesting sci-fi?

ID Fest 2012 - Preview

The Cannes Film Festival may now be in  full swing over on the French riviera, but who needs all that travel? This weekend I'm going to be visiting a festival in an equally glamourous and sun-kissed location; Derby.

The Good, The Bad and the Blu-rays

Having now decided that, yes, that's a pretty good title for a DVD release round-up column, welcome to the second edition of The Good, The Bad and the Blu-rays.

ANCHORMAN 2 TRAILERS - Mirth Was A Good Choice

And lo, on this glorious day, the lord gave us not one, but two new trailers for Anchorman 2, each showing off a different series of gags that proves the old gang have still got it. Despite not showing us anything that will end up in the final movie (which technically hasn't been written yet) at least these trailers show that as long as you stick these guys together in front of a camera, they'll come up with something worth watching.

It must be said that in the 8 year interim between this film and the original, some of the cast members have got old. Will Ferrell looks far from his best in the Ron Burgundy get up and Steve Carrell's gained more than a few wrinkles. Of course this is counter balanced by Paul Rudd who, at the grand old age of 43 and hiding under a thick beard, has been frozen in time since his Clueless days. Still, they're all bringing the funny, and that's what counts.


Not hitting our cinema screens until sometime in 2013, it's reassuring to see that they're eager to build anticipation so early, as they clearly think they've got a surefire box office success this time around. The question that still needs to be answered is, why the hell did it take so long?

REAL STEEL BLU-RAY review

Starring Hugh Jackman, the robo-boxing/family drama Real Steel is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Analysis of a Movie Poster - STOLEN

The new poster for Nicolas Cage's upcoming action flick Stolen has just been released, and well, it looks quite a bit like a bunch of other posters.

Starting from the top down, that is most definitely Mr Nicolas Cage and his lovely, thick hair caught mid-stride in a heroic action pose. They've also gone with the "cool guys don't look at explosions" method. Hey, you can't argue with the classics.

Now, I can't quite put my finger on it, but the concept of this movie does seem a tad familiar... It also seems like we're still using the large blocks of text obscuring most of the poster. Thanks a lot, The Adjustment Bureau.

And so to the all important title (most films have got one), and they've gone with the font that seems to be the go to action movie font of late, showing up on the posters for Total Recall and Source Code. In fact, there's quite a few similarities between the poster for Stolen and Source Code, but I suppose you can't stop movie stars from running.

Can you really sell a movie on the presumed success of another movie that hasn't even been released yet? The director in question is Simon West, the director of the fantastic Cage-O-rama that is Con Air. Surely using that film's highly regarded status would have made more sense?


As for the plot of Stolen, it's the story of one man, working against the odds and against the clock to find his daughter who has been 'stolen' from him. C'mon Nic Cage, you're clearly TAKEN the piss.

JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME review

The latest from the mumblecore duo known as the Duplass Brothers, the Ed Helms/Jason Segel starring Jeff, Who Lives at Home is now in cinemas.

Entertainingly Ridiculous Producer Credits Of Our Time #1 - Fast Girls

If you like your inner city sports triumphs to come with lots of Noel Clarke and girl power cliches, feel free to check out the full trailer for Fast Girls below. Trust me though, the above freeze-frame is the best bit.

The We and The I Trailer

Ahead of its debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival, The trailer for Michel Gondry's upcoming indie urban drama, The We and The I, has just hit the internet.

Dan Aykroyd - Doing Weird Stuff For Entertainment Since 1975

That's the weirdest thing I've seen Dan Aykroyd in this month, and that's including Coneheads and Doctor Detroit.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

With a watchful eye veering wildly from Hollywood's finest to the bargain bin's lowest, The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays is my attempt to chart this week's best and worst DVD and Blu-ray releases, looking at which ones to buy and which ones are best avoided.

BATTLESHIP VS AMERICAN BATTLESHIP: This Means War

The Asylum, long-time purveyors of straight to DVD dross that looks suspiciously like whatever big budget action film is currently in cinemas, have recently found themselves on the receiving end of a lawsuit from Universal Pictures, thanks to their recent film American Battleship. I can see what Universal are saying, but surely THIS time it was purely coincidental? The Asylum couldn't have PLANNED to release such a similar film at the same time? They wouldn't release yet ANOTHER film just to try and piggy back some profit off Hollywood's best efforts again, would they? WOULD THEY?

ARTHUR BLU-RAY review

The next step for Russell Brand: Movie star was to find a suitable star vehicle for him. Taking the role of a partying, hard drinking playboy would be a perfect fit, right? Right?

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO BLU-RAY review

Released a mere two years after the Swedish original, David Fincher's take on Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

CAMPUS MAN: Probably The Most 80's of all 80's Movies That Ever Came Out of the 1980's

With a poster that looks like the unholy love child of Saved By The Bell and an issue of Playgirl, Campus Man may just be the quintessential movie about a college swim team and one man's desire to make lots of money by selling pictures of them. Although perhaps not quite as sordid a concept as it may first seem, the trailer does little to make it look like a classy affair, showcasing as many men in towels as it dares to dream of.

Starring John Dye, a man who manages to look like James Spader, Andrew McCarthy and Arye Gross all at the same time, Campus Man is actually the story of a Ferris Bueller-esque mid 80's chancer, seeing the opportunity to make a quick buck by exploiting some of his hunky classmates by making a calendar of them. Quite why he decides to do this rather than, oh, I don't know, getting a fucking job, I can't tell you. What I do know is that Campus Man (possibly the vaguest title I've ever heard), is not only directed by a man with the smallest filmography I've ever seen on the IMDb, it also commits the ultimate trailer sin by clearly giving away what the last shot in the movie is. Swimming pool high-fives, anyone?

You can keep your Patrick Bateman's. If there's a better symbol of 80's excess and success than a photo of a be-mulleted gentleman giving the thumbs up whilst wearing a bright yellow sweater with a dollar on it, I'd like to see it.

Greatest Trailers of all Time No. 1 - DOLLMAN

The best closing line to a trailer ever? I think so.

THE LIVING WAKE DVD review

After contracting a mysterious but very prompt deadly disease, K. Roth Binew (Mike O'Connell) along with his man servant Mills (Jesse Eisenberg), spend the day riding around in his rickshaw inviting the locals to K. Roth's wake, taking place that evening with K. Roth as the star attraction.

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE DVD review

So How I Met Your Mother's Ted Mosby decided to make a movie. But it is any good, or is it the saccharine piece of crap it looks like from the cover? There's only one way to find out.

Something Tells Me The Top Bit Of This Poster Isn't Accurate

MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE review

Marvel's epic in scale superhero smackdown The Avengers (or Marvel Avengers Assemble depending on where in the world you live) is now in cinemas. But after so many years of hype building, can it possibly meet such high expectations?

Not To Be Confused With... #7

To be fair to the makers of Seafood, they're not the first ones to copy the winning formula of smiling aquatic creatures with a bright yellow title. Still, at least the rest of these didn't attempt a tagline like "the fish are out of water!" despite the fact the fish are quite clearly in the water.

Remember kids, Sharks aren't your friends.

Obscurity Files - Doctor Detroit

You know Dan Aykroyd, right? Lovely, wholesome Dan Aykroyd? Can you imagine him playing a pimp with a metal hand and a name that makes about as much sense as his decision to make Blues Brothers 2000? Well, Aykroyd doesn't care what you think. He went and did it any way.

Ruby Sparks Trailer

So hip it's in danger of exploding in its own loafers and oversized spectacle frames, the new trailer for the upcoming Ruby Sparks looks to be one of the more intriguing films on the indie film calendar, thanks to a premise that brings a high concept to the story of a struggling writer looking for artistic inspiration.


Starring the real life couple of Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan, this new film from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine is so drenched in indie cred it must have Parker Posey as its fairy godmother. Based on a script from leading lady Zoe Kazan, there's so many independent films that trade on the idea of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, how long was it going to be before someone took the Dream Girl part more literally? 


As well as having the ever reliable Dano as the lead, Ruby Sparks looks like it will solidify Zoe Kazan's status as a MPDG and a talent to watch in the future. For now the question remains; can an indie film pull off the unlikely combination of Weird Science meets 500 Days of Summer? Or is it more Stranger Than Fiction meets Adaptation? Come July 2012 we'll find out.

SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK DVD review

Based on the writings of little known author Stephen King, the 1991 horror Sometimes They Come Back is newly available on DVD. But, twenty years later, is it still scary?