Author: Alton Williams

Wonder Woman 1984 Holds Strong

Wonder Woman 1984 lands a second week at Number 1 on the Official Film Chart.

Still holding strong ahead of the competition following its chart-topping debut last week, the Gal Gadot-starring sequel leads a freshly shaken-up Top 10 following a week of Unforgettable Entertainment, as film fans flocked to new and classic titles alike via offers across all major digital retailers.

Former Number 1 Joker rockets 18 places to Number 2, landing just ahead of Luc Besson’s 1994 action Leon – which enters the Official Film Chart for the first time at Number 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home holds on to a place in the Top 5 at Number 4, while Avengers: Endgame climbs three to Number 5 to claim its 18th non-consecutive week in the Top 10.

Zombieland: Double Tap makes a return to the Top 10 at Number 6; 2001: A Space Odyssey enters the chart for the second time at Number 7; Captain America: The First Avenger flies in at Number 8 thanks to a new 4K steelbook, and former Number 1 Sing zooms back into the Official Film Chart at Number 9 after some time away.

Finally, Trolls World Tour zooms 14 places to round off this week’s countdown at Number 10.

This week’s Official Film Chart online show features a sneak peek at sci-fi rom-com Superintelligence starring Melissa McCarthy & James Corden, which is available to Download & Keep from 30 March.

Now, as well as OfficialCharts.com, the Official Film Chart can also be found on FindAnyFilm.com – the ultimate site for Film and TV fans to discover all the legal ways to buy the entertainment they want on disc and digital formats.

The Official Film Chart Top 10 – 24^th March 2021

LW	Pos	Title	Label
1	1	WONDER WOMAN 1984	WARNER HOME VIDEO
20	2	JOKER	WARNER HOME VIDEO
NEW	3	LEON	STUDIOCANAL
3	4	SPIDER-MAN – FAR FROM HOME	SONY PICTURES HE
8	5	AVENGERS – ENDGAME	MARVEL FILMS
RE	6	ZOMBIELAND – DOUBLE TAP	SONY PICTURES HE
RE	7	2001 – A SPACE ODYSSEY	WARNER HOME VIDEO
RE	8	CAPTAIN AMERICA – THE FIRST AVENGER	MARVEL FILMS
RE	9	SING	UNIVERSAL PICTURES
24	10	TROLLS WORLD TOUR	DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

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

24th March 2021

Naga Munchetty Edition: Bits & Pieces

Naga Munchetty Edition: Bits & Pieces – London, 1974. As Britain prepares for electrical blackouts to sweep across the country, trainee nurse Val (Rose Williams) arrives for her first day at the crumbling East London Royal Infirmary. With most of the patients and staff evacuated to another hospital, Val is forced to work the night shift, finding herself in a dark, near empty building. Within these walls lies a deadly secret, forcing Val to face both her own traumatic past and deepest fears in order to confront the malevolent force that’s intent on destroying everything around her.

The fourth feature from South African director Oliver Hermanus, MOFFIE explores the life of a closeted young boy serving his mandatory military service during Apartheid in 1980s South Africa.

A Star-Studded Cast Assembles for the Party of the Year. A Boy Becomes a Man, Secrets Come Out, Lives are Lost & Nobody Will Ever Be the Same after Donny’s Bar Mitzvah. Opens in New York at the Film Noir Cinema March 26th. Available on iTunes and Prime Video March 23rd.

Apple TV+ released the trailer for the new genre-bending thriller “Calls,” which will premiere globally with all nine episodes of the first season on Friday, March 19, 2021. Based on the buzzy CANAL+ French series of the same name created by Timothée Hochet, “Calls” is a groundbreaking, immersive television experience that masterfully uses audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell nine bone-chilling, short-form stories. Directed by Fede Álvarez (“Don’t Breathe”), each episode follows a darkly dramatic mystery that unfolds through a series of seemingly average, unconnected phone calls that quickly become surreal as the characters face growingly unsettling experiences.

Kevin and his girlfriend Evelyn are camping in the woods when she is abducted and impregnated by otherworldly beings. As the entity inside her begins to grow at a rapid rate, Evelyn’s cravings can only be satiated by the taste of human flesh. When she brutally attacks a doctor, they go on the run to the big city where they can find help to remove the embryo that is slowly taking over Evelyn’s body.

Dublin 2003. Aimless teenager Matthew (Chapman) and his disaffected friends leave school into a social vacuum of drink, drugs and thrill-seeking in one last Summer of adolescence. Matthew romantically yearns after his free-spirited friend Jen (Taylor-Joy) and struggles to maintain his increasingly disturbing relationship with the magnetic but sadistic Kearney (Cole). Whilst their precocious friend Rez (Walsh Peelo) has started to succumb to paranoia and depression. Matthew and the group are soon led by the deranged Kearney into a world of nihilistic violence, falling into shocking acts of transgression that will irrevocably change their lives.

THE FATHER stars Anthony Hopkins who plays the eponymous role of a mischievous and highly independent man who, as he ages, refuses all assistance from his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). Yet, such help has become essential following Anne’s decision to move to Paris with her partner. As Anne’s father tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) discovers Viola (Daisy Ridley), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets.

Peanuts Worldwide’s newest global initiative “Take Care with Peanuts,” draws inspiration directly from Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strips featuring favourite characters such as “Snoopy” and “Charlie Brown,” the initiative reminds all of us to be good global citizens, especially in these tumultuous times. In honour of Women’s History Month, Peanuts is debuting “Take Care of Yourself: Find your Voice” today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKZGNB-SzU

GUNDA recently screened at the Glasgow Film Festival and Dublin International Film Festival, receiving rave reviews from critics and public alike. GUNDA won the jury award for best cinematography (Egil Haskjold Larsen and Victor Kosakovsky) in Dublin. Ahead of the UK release GUNDA will also screen digitally nationwide from the Borderlines Film Festival from 11-14 April.

Ammonite will be available for premium rental at home on all digital platforms from March 26.

Naga Munchetty Edition: Bits & Pieces

19th March 2021
Sir Ian McKellen On Independent Film Via Paus

Sir Ian McKellen On Independent Film Via Paus: Last night at a live virtual screening event for his new film Infinitum: Subject Unknown (Starring Tori Butler-Hart, Sir Ian McKellen, Conleth Hill), Sir Ian McKellen spoke about the need the film industry has for new voices to be heard.

Written and produced by Matthew Butler-Hart and Tori Butler-Hart, Infinitum: Subject Unknown is a low-budget indie sci-fi film that stars Tori Butler-Hart with cameos from Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill and Sir Ian McKellen. The film was written during the first UK lockdown and shot on an iPhone 11.

Speaking about independent film with the husband-and-wife duo, Sir Ian said “But of course you want independent filmmakers to be given the scope and finance to get on with the job because they are going to come up with something original like this movie. It needs independent minds like the Butler-Harts.”

The online event was held by independent film streaming start-up paus. Founded by Rishi Kapoor, a former media professional at Sony Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros, the company offers up-and-coming filmmakers the ability to connect directly to their fan base and to be financially rewarded via digital tips.

Founder Kapoor commented, “This was the first time we have screened an independent feature film on our platform and it was an honour and privilege to receive the support of such an adored and revered actor such as Sir Ian.”

Kapoor reflected, “Virtually meeting Sir Ian was certainly a bucket list moment. I’ve now watched an indie feature with a Knight and a Wizard all in one!”

The unique digital tipping feature on paus allows audiences to tip any film or filmmaker they want to support – any amount from 50p to £1,000+, at any time on their iOS and Android apps or desktop version. paus will soon be integrated with digital payment methods, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, so the process is quick and easy, and gets the tip to the filmmaker with no friction. Unlike other video platforms, the scales are weighed in the creator’s favour as they keep 80% of every single tip.

All of the filmmaker’s earnings from the screening and Q&A were donated to The Film and TV Charity, who offer a wide range of financial, practical and emotional support to people who have clear talent, spark and dedication and yet find obstacles in their way. With a 24/7 free support line, The Film and TV Charity helps support the people behind the camera in our nations’ ever-expanding sector.

With regular new arrivals on paus on a wide range of budgets, filmmakers with films made for only a few hundred dollars could be earning £600 — £1,500 with an average overall tip of £11 (approx. $15) currently. This is equivalent or more than monthly subscriptions to services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ ,and a greater percentage of revenue goes directly to the filmmaker.

Earlier this year, debut filmmaker, Tori Time, enjoyed success on paus with her film ‘Girl on the Side.’ The 12-minute short drama racked up over $4,400 within only an hour of going live on the streaming platform, with the average ‘tip’ at $75, despite the film being free to watch.

Paus’ virtual cinema was born during lockdown with huge success. With 20 shows and hundreds of thousands of minutes of watch time, paus is at the forefront of innovating the relationship between audiences and filmmakers in a rewarding culture for both viewer and creator.

Join the paus community and support independent filmmaking during this difficult time for the arts. Visit paus.tv for more info.

18th March 2021
A Glitch In The Matrix: Review

A Glitch In The Matrix: Review. By Luke Foulder-Hughes.

A Glitch in the Matrix was a documentary that’s premise I found very intriguing, the whole theory behind life being a simulation is something that I’ve never really considered being a possibility, so this documentary was a chance for me to learn more about a topic that I’m open to knowing more about. However, after finishing it, I had no more information about this theory than I’d had prior to viewing.

A huge issue I had with this documentary was that it didn’t use experts on its subject matter, opting for people who had no real evidence or proper reasoning for believing that we live in a simulation, relying on nothing more than conspiracy theories.

This made the film feel like a feature length YouTube video from Shane Dawson, especially backed up when they actually used a clip from a Tana Mongeau video. The problem with this is that these videos are mainly for entertainment purposes, whereas A Glitch in the Matrix takes itself way too seriously to be viewed in this way so there’s no way it can be enjoyed casually.

Another negative problem I have with it was the overuse of clips from Elon Musk, a man who I personally do not admire whatsoever, and the usage of these made the film feel like an homage to him, which doesn’t really work with the subject matter and felt very forced and unnecessary to the documentary as a whole. This left a bad taste in my mouth, and went hand in hand with the use of clips from Rick and Morty, a show I like but once again was completely unneeded and were chosen over using videos that may scientifically work with the theories.

Something I can say that I found impressive was the animation, they used animation over the faces of the guests and to tell some stories and it looked very clean and it was obvious the animators were at the top of their game. It’s good to see great animation in a smaller scale, independent documentary as with a lower budget you’d expect that the level of animation would take a hit. I also quite liked that a lot of the reasoning for their theories were based around a film I really like, The Matrix (hence the title). From the first time I watched the Wachowski Sisters’ masterpiece, the themes it presented intrigued me, and whilst I felt this film didn’t explain these theories well, I enjoyed hearing the thoughts of the people on the documentary.

In all honesty, this documentary felt like it was made for an audience that likes people like Elon Musk and are interested in conspiracy theories, neither of which resonate with me very much. I did enjoy very brief moments in A Glitch in the Matrix, however overall I found it very boring and uninformative, particularly through its reliance on coincidental evidence as opposed to scientific evidence, which I find necessary for every documentary unless it is done for entertainment over trying to sway the audience to this point of view.

A Glitch in the Matrix is available on Dogwoof on Demand now and DVD and Blu-ray released on 10 May 2021.

12th March 2021
BFI Presents: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

BFI Presents: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – To celebrate the UK release of Shaka King’s JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, the BFI and Warner Bros. Pictures have collaborated to offer audiences the chance to immerse themselves in this vital and compelling film via a series of online events and expertly curated content.

Going live over 3 days from Tuesday 9^th March, audiences will be treated to virtual discussions with members of the cast and crew, a film collection specially curated by Shaka King for subscribers to BFI Player, and spoken word poetry content from collective Poetic Unity in collaboration with We Are Parable, available exclusively on BFI Player.

Special events premiering for free on BFI YouTube will include:

·       JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH CAST & DIRECTOR Q&A with Shaka King, Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfieldand Dominique Fishback, hosted by Akala – Tuesday 9^th March, 7pm

·       CREATING THE LOOK OF JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH with Charlese Antoinette Jones (Costume), Rebecca Woodfork (Hair), Sian Richards (Make-up), hosted by Matimba Kabalika – Tuesday 9^th March, 8pm

·       THE JOURNEY TO SCREEN with Shaka King and producer Charles D. King, hosted by Amon Warmann in partnership with NME – Wednesday 10^th March, 7pm

·       DANIEL KALUUYA IN-CONVERSATION, hosted by Akua Gyamfi in partnership with The British Blacklist – Thursday 11^thMarch, 7pm

Available from Wednesday 10^th March, ‘SHAKA KING SELECTS’ will feature the director’s top choices from the Subscription section on BFI Player. Including titles such as A PROPHET (Jacques Audiard, 2009), which King dubs one of his favourite moviegoing experiences ever; MOTHER (Bong Joon-ho, 2009) – King’s favourite end to any movie, or what he refers to a “God level tier filmmaking”; and the film that made King want to work with LaKeith Stanfield, and SHORT TERM 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2013). The collection of 8 titles is available to subscribers of BFI Player (14-day free trial then £4.99 a month), alongside hundreds of other classic and contemporary films, with new titles being added every week. Also, on BFI Player from Thursday 11^th March, a freecollection of shorts featuring Daniel Kaluuya.

ABOUT “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH”

Inspired by true events, “Judas and the Black Messiah” was directed by Shaka King from a screenplay by Will Berson & King, story by Berson & King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas. Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King produced the film with Shaka King. The executive producers were Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Kim Roth, Poppy Hanks, Ravi Mehta, Jeff Skoll, Anikah McLaren, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Cloth, Ted Gidlow, and Niija Kuykendall.

The film stars Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton in a performance that recently earned hima Golden Globe Award, and LaKeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, as well as Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders and Martin Sheen. The ensemble cast also includes Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Thorne, Amari Cheatom, Caleb Eberhardt and Lil Rel Howery.

BFI Presents: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – You can rent the movie premiere of Judas and the Black Messiah at home from 11^th March.

5th March 2021