Author: Alton Williams

The 2019 live-action retelling of Disney’s Aladdin flies to Number 1 on the Official Film Chart following its release across disc. Zooming past the quarter-million sales mark in just its second week, the much-loved story knocks Keanu Reeves’ John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum to Number 3.

The Secret Life Of Pets 2 starring Kevin Hart & Harrison Ford is this week’s highest new entry at Number 2 on digital downloads only. Continuing the story some time after events of the last movie, Max the dog faces brand new challenges after his owner gets married and has a child. 

Avengers: Endgame holds strong at Number 4 for a second week, while Pokemon: Detective Pikachu drops two to five. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters rises one place to Number 6 and Elton John biopic Rocketman drops two to Number 7.

Another brand-new entry comes from X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which takes a place at Number 8 on just one day’s worth of digital downloads. Starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and the titular Dark Phoenix, when a mission goes wrong, the much-loved Jean Grey is exposed to a dark and ancient power which begins to corrupt her – and the X-Men must choose between saving their friend, or saving the world.

The boxset of John Wick Chapters 1-3 drops three places to Number 9, just ahead of Bohemian Rhapsody which hangs on to its Number 10 position.

On this week’s Official Film Chart online show, check out an action-packed clip from Men In Black: International, which is available to Download & Keep from October 7.  Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson take the lead as the new MIB agents sworn to protect the Earth from the scum of the universe.

The Official Film Chart Top 10 – 1^st October 2019

© Official Charts Company 2019. Chart shows the Official Film Chart for the week ending 28^th September 2019

VIEW THE FULL TOP 40 – https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/film-chart/

The third season of The Crown sees a new guard sweep into Downing Street, as Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) and her family struggle to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing Britain. From cold-war paranoia, through to the jet-set and the space age – the exuberance of the 1960s and the long hangover of the 1970s – Elizabeth and the Royals must adapt to a new, more liberated, but also more turbulent world. Written by Peter Morgan, The Crown also stars Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Tobias Menzies as The Duke of Edinburgh, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Ben Daniels as Lord Snowdon, Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten.

Joan and Tom have been married for many years. There is an ease to their relationship which only comes from spending a lifetime together and a depth of love which expresses itself through tenderness and humour in equal part. When Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their relationship as they are faced with the challenges that lie ahead and the prospect of what might become of them if something were to happen to her. ORDINARY LOVE is a story about love, survival and the epic questions life throws at each and every one of us.

This October “It simply doesn’t get much better than the two Bills” (Pop Horror) as horror icons Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) and Bill Oberst, Jr (3 from Hell) team for director Jeff Broadsteet’s “Jolly” bloody horror epic Devil’s Junction : Handy Dandy’s Revenge. In L.A theaters for special splattastic screenings 10/18 and 10/19, with an On Demand and DVD release set for 11/5 from Midnight Releasing, the J.S Brinkley-scripted Halloween treat sees a shuttered TV studio in Detroit haunted by a magician ventriloquist from a 1960’s children’s show, and he’s looking for anew live, or dead, studio audience.

Molly Harrison is not exactly a “regular” mom. And that’s not just because she’s a mortician. She hasn’t left the house since her husband Peter died three years ago of a freak accident on her birthday. Now, on Molly’s fortieth birthday, her daughter Sam and mother, Ivy, present her with tickets to Moscow, hoping a trip just might finally be the thing to help get her out of the house. But the tickets come with a catch–a gag gift of a life-sized doll named Pedro. Pedro quickly goes from funny to fantastical, confounding Molly’s attempts to go outside, straining her ties with her family, and threatening her budding relationship with a kind but lonely documentary filmmaker named Joe.

The Netflix Television Event EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE reunites fans with Jesse Pinkman (Emmy-winner Aaron Paul).  In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future.  This gripping thriller is written and directed by Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad.  The movie is produced by Mark Johnson, Melissa Bernstein, Charles Newirth, Diane Mercer, Vince Gilligan and Aaron Paul, in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Eureka Entertainment have announced the theatrical release of Werewolf, an allegorical wartime thriller that is both a coming-of-age and survivor story, will be released in cinemas nationwide (UK & Ireland) and On Demand from 4 October 2019. Werewolf is a Polish World War II thriller about eight children who have escaped from a concentration camp and are hiding in a secluded villa to avoid the bloodthirsty hounds that have been released by the SS officers before their retreat.

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.

Like all Israeli youth, Atalya is obligated to become a soldier. Unlike most, she questions the practices of her country’s military and becomes determined to challenge this rite of passage. Despite her family’s wishes, she refuses military duty and is imprisoned for her dissent.

Poldark meets Games of Thrones in this epic historical action thriller focused on the dramatic Parisienne underworld battles that occurred during the Napoleonic early 1800’s. Under the reign of Napoleon, François Vidocq (Vincent Cassel, Black Swan) cuts a notorious figure in the Paris underworld: he is the only man to have escaped the country’s most terrifying penal colonies. After being falsely accused of murder, Vidocq makes a deal with the head of the Police: in exchange for his freedom, Vidocq will help the police fight the criminal classes. Despite obtaining exceptional results, he provokes the hostility of both the police and the criminals, who put a price on his head…  

The third instalment of Keanu Reeves’ iconic John Wick series claims the Number 1 position on the Official Film Chart following its release on disc. Climbing steadily to the top of the chart following its Number 3 debut two weeks ago, Keanu reprises his role as a former hitman – and this time, with a $14 million bounty on his head, there’s an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail.

The week’s highest new entry is Disney’s vibrant live-action remake of their classic animated film Aladdin (2) starring Will Smith, Naomi Scott & Mena Massoud.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu hops two places to Number 3, leapfrogging last week’s Number 1 and record-breaker Avengers: Endgame, which is knocked to Number 4. Elton John Biopic Rocketman drops to Number 5.

The John Wick: Chapters 1-3 boxset, featuring all three instalments of the series debuts at Number 6, just ahead of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, the sequel to the 2014 Hollywood reboot – which debuts at Number 7. IT (2017) tumbles four places, and the Final Cut of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now, starring Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, debuts at 9. Finally, million-seller Bohemian Rhapsody returns to the Top 10 at 10.

This week’s Official Film Chart online show features an action-packed clip of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and the titular Dark Phoenix, available to Download & Keep from September 28.

The Official Film Chart Top 10 – 25^th September 2019

© Official Charts Company 2019. Chart shows the Official Film Chart for the week ending 21^st September 2019

VIEW THE FULL TOP 40 – https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/film-chart/ This Week’s Film Chart 25.09

Cam Edition: Bits & Pieces – GARNERING CRITICAL acclaim on its theatrical release, one of Britain’s greatest actors of today Toby Jones ‘glows’ (The Guardian) as the lead in Kaleidoscope, a bleak, nightmarish psychological thriller written and directed by brother Rupert Jones in his feature film debut. This intense thriller ‘adds a decidedly 21st century bent to Hitchcockian suspense’ (Spectrum Culture) and is set to arrive on UK digital platforms on 12 August 2019, followed by its DVD release on 23 September 2019. The cast includes Sinead Matthews (Jellyfish), Cecilia Noble (Danny and the Human Zoo) and a stand out turn from national treasure Anna Reid, MBE (Last Tango in Halifax).

STUDIOCANAL and Amazon Studios today launch the teaser trailer and poster for RADIOACTIVE ahead of the film’s World Premiere on Saturday 14^th September, as it closes the Toronto International Film Festival.  Director Marjane Satrapi and stars Rosamund Pike and Aneurin Barnard, as well as producer Paul Webster, writer Jack Thorne and author of ‘RADIOACTIVE: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout’ Lauren Redniss are expected to attend.

Academy Award-winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in LE MANS ‘66, based on the true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

The Wave Festival Teaser 2019 from EchoWolf Productions on Vimeo.

Doc’n Roll, the UK’s Music Documentary Festival, returns for its 6th London edition from 1st to 17th November 2019 at eight of the city’s best-loved cinemas. Its diverse and dazzling lineup of 30 music documentaries spotlights music-makers and genres that run the gamut from Zambian rock to Krautrock, jazz to jungle; from prog to folk and noise rock to feminist punk; and from the selling of the soul of alt-rock to an unexpectedly moving portrait of two of its most devoted fans.

After aspiring fashion designer Rose (Laura Vandervoort) suffers a disfiguring traffic accident she undergoes a radical and untested stem-cell treatment. The experimental transformation is a miraculous success, transforming her into a ravishing beauty. But she soon develops an uncontrollable sexual appetite, resulting in several torrid encounters, which sees her lovers become rabid carriers of death and disease. As the illness mutates and the contagion spreads out of control, all hell breaks loose as the infected rampage through the city on a violent and gruesome killing spree.

Maciej Kawalski’s Atlas takes a look at mental health, identity, and perception. This wonderful comedy took home the top prizes at Bermuda International Film Festival and Huesca International Film Festival. The film stars Tomasz Kot (triple Oscar nominated Cold War) and was written/directed by Kawalski. 

Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie  searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind. As he struggles to reconnect with his family and reconstruct the community he longs for, his hopes blind him to the reality of his situation. A wistful odyssey populated by skaters, squatters, street  preachers, playwrights, and the other locals on the margins,  The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a poignant and sweeping story of friendship, community, and the true meaning of home. Joe Talbot’s directorial debut is a deep and resonant meditation on the stories we tell ourselves to find our place in the world. 

The critically acclaimed An Audience of Chairs, based on the novel of the Same Name, gets US release An extraordinary woman risks everything for a second chance to be a mother again in An Audience of Chairs, the critically acclaimed new film from director Deanne Foley, on digital September 24 from Indiecan Entertainment.

An uncommon story told on common ground by ten Londoners. All have lives shaped by loss and love, trauma and bravery, struggle and resistance. They grapple with a system stacked against them. They dance, steal and eat together; agree and disagree, celebrate their differences and share their talents.