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  • Trolls World Tour Earns Seventh Week

    Trolls World Tour Earns Seventh Week

    Following two weeks away, Trolls World Tour enjoys an encore at Number 1 on the Official Film Chart.

    In total, the film has now scooped a total of seven weeks at the Official Film Chart peak – having held on for six consecutive weeks at Number 1 before The Fifth Element (1997) and then Black Panther (2018) each took a week at the top. To date, the sequel has sold over 215,000 copies across DVD, Blu-ray and digital download.

    This week’s highest new entry, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, comes in at Number 2 – with the 1999 space opera entering the Official Film Chart for the first time following its release on a limited edition 4K SteelBook version. At Number 3, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sits just a handful of sales behind its counterpart after climbing three places up from last week.

    Last week’s Number 1 Black Panther drops to Number 4, landing just ahead of 1917 at 5. Spider-Man: Far From Home starring Tom Holland swings up 9 places to Number 6; Bad Boys for Life rises three to Number 7.

    Sonic The Hedgehog drops to Number 8, while Jumanji: The Next Level holds on at 9. Finally, Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation ofLittle Women returns to the Top 10 for the first time since June. Starring Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen, this adaptation was nominated for six academy awards this year, winning one for Best Costume Design.

    Tune in to this week’s Official Film Chart online show to see Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce in Terry Gilliam’s long-awaited fantasy adventure, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which is available to buy on DVD & Blu-ray from September 21st.

    The Official Film Chart Top 10 – 16th September 2020

    LWPosTitleLabel
    31TROLLS WORLD TOURDREAMWORKS ANIMATION
    NEW2STAR WARS I – THE PHANTOM MENACEWALT DISNEY
    63STAR WARS IX – THE RISE OF SKYWALKERWALT DISNEY
    14BLACK PANTHERMARVEL FILMS
    451917ENTERTAINMENT ONE
    156SPIDER-MAN – FAR FROM HOMESONY PICTURES HE
    107BAD BOYS FOR LIFESONY PICTURES HE
    28SONIC THE HEDGEHOGPARAMOUNT
    99JUMANJI – THE NEXT LEVELSONY PICTURES HE
    1410LITTLE WOMEN (2019)SONY PICTURES HE

    © Official Charts Company 2020

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

  • Nomadland: The BRWC Review

    Nomadland: The BRWC Review

    Winner of this year’s Venice Film Festival, Nomadland is the latest naturalistic wonder from The Rider director Chole Zhao. An upcoming auteur, Zhao has already established a distinct vision onscreen, centering on modest tales of modern American lore (she’s also dipping into Marvel tentpoles with her next project The Eternals). In her latest film, Zhao conveys another refined portrait that will surely resonant with Oscar voters. 

    Nomadland follows Fern (Frances McDormand), a widow who has been financially impacted by the Great Recession. In the search for her own sense of home, she embarks on a nomadic journey through the American west in her scantly-supplied van. 

    With Nomadland, Zhao continues to demonstrate her authentic voice behind the camera. Magnifying the plight of disenfranchised Americans lost through the widening wage gap and outsourcing of jobs, the writer/director cleverly employs a cast of non-actors to convey the lingering wounds left behind from the financial crisis. Many of the film’s marquee moments rely on their presence, portraying genuine sentiments centered around the aging nomads’ search for independence and self-actualization amidst their twilight years. Zhao’s embrace of a free-flowing structure allows these tender beats to register with raw, emotional impact. While the non-actors are great, it’s impossible to discuss this film without highlighting Frances McDormand’s awards-worthy turn. The beloved stalwart seamlessly integrates herself into the character while extenuating her understated abilities in full force, fitting this film’s unique sensibility like a glove.

    For a film that boasts quaint pleasures, Nomadland still reflects impressive prowess in its craftsmanship. Cinematographer Joshua James Richards breathes a poetic beauty into Fern’s odyssey, shooting the naturalistic environments with a balanced temperament. Among all of the richly textured locals, Richards and Zhao never forget to portray the harsh realities of this lifestyle, never sugar coating Fern and her peers in a simplistic folksy light. Ludovico Einaudi’s score hits the right notes with its low-key extenuation of dramatic beats, with the film thankfully never grasping for overly-theatrical moments.   

    Nomadland’s glowing reactions are certainly deserved, though there is an unevenness that held the film back for me. The first half truly excels, allowing audiences to marinate with the characters’ trials and tribulations through its uniquely authentic scope. Once the film starts introducing more narrative-heavy frames (David Strathairn plays an old nomad infatuated with Fern), some of the authentic charms dissipate as the screenplay suffers from some stilted frames. While it doesn’t deter Zhao and company from reaching a satisfying conclusion, there’s a sense that the film would’ve been better served by fully-embracing its ingenious core design.

    That being said, Nomadland mines a poetic portrait from its well-textured subjects, showcasing writer/director Chole Zhao as a boundless talent with a bright future in the industry.

  • Free Solo: Disney+ Talk

    Free Solo: Disney+ Talk

    When it comes to fears and phobias, I can happily say that heights don’t scare me. If anything, I like the feeling of being high up and looking down at my surrounding below. It’s fascinating and awe-inspiring. And it’s even better when I know I’m safe and can enjoy these views in a safe way. Which is why I felt extremely nervous watching ‘Free Solo’.

    ‘Free Solo’ is a National Geographic documentary that follows rock climber Alex Honnold through his 2-year preparations to climb the 3,200 ft El Capitan Mountain in Yosemite National Park…without the use of any safety equipment. 

    There’s thrill-seeking…and then there’s this! This is not only an incredible achievement that Honnold fulfilled, but also a terrifying one once you think about it; one little mistake and that’s it. And the cinematography captures the scale of the mountain fantastically, with the use of regular low angle shots when the mountain is displayed. 

    The amount of research that goes into a project like this was surprising, but ultimately understandable. Before the climb could be made, the El Capitan had to be climbed, with the use of harnesses, and analysed. These were in terms of the various surfaces and cliff heights the mountain had, which route was best to take when climbing to the top to even calculating what time of day would be the best time to start, otherwise the sunlight would be a distraction. It’s something I’ve never had to think about, but it was an eye-opener into how these types of feats are practised.

    The film not only looks at Alex’s approach to the dangerous task and his thoughts on this, but it also points the camera at the film crew itself, and the way in which they would have to film the actual climb. Halfway through, it’s quickly realized that, during his first attempt at making the solo climb, the crew can’t film Alex at a close range, whilst on harnesses following him, because it becomes a distraction and an annoyance.

    His mindset is different because he’s aware he’s being filmed. Therefore, the crew had to use a powerful camera zoom, a drone and be at an extremely far distance from El Capitan to film the final climb, which is shown near the end of the film. It was interesting to see the two perspectives of the project: the rock climber and the film crew. The latter perspective is something that isn’t often shown in documentaries, so this was a fascinating route to take that worked seamlessly.

    And then the last 15-20 minutes of ‘Free Solo’ was essentially the audience being given a front row seat to the main event: the solo climb of El Capitan. The third act is nail-biting but intriguing; I wanted to look away but couldn’t bring myself to do so; this had to be seen to be believed. Even one of the film crew members looks away after a certain point!

    ‘Free Solo’ is a fascinating but stressful experience. It provides a unique perspective into solo climbing, as well as how the filming of the climb would’ve been done. The cinematography does a fantastic job of showing this achievement as incredible, but also dangerous.

    This was a project that took years to prepare for, and it shows. And, while I was holding my breath for a lot of this film, I’m glad I watched it and I hope more people watch this incredible documentary too.

  • The Argument: Review

    The Argument: Review

    Coming from director/musician Robert Schwartzman (his score for Palo Alto is wildly overlooked), The Argument is an absurdist comedy that observes common relationship spats through a surrealist lens. While the humorous sparring matches render a few promising moments, the end result is a wishy-washy film that doesn’t engage with the substantive conceits of its premise.

    The Argument follows Jack (Dan Fogler) and Lisa (Emma Bell), a couple three years into their relationship. After Lisa’s performs her first big play, Jack decides to have a gathering to celebrate, inviting his agent/best friend Brett (Danny Pudi) and his stern partner Sarah (Maggie Q). When Lisa’s flirty co-star Paul (Tyler James Williams) shows up with his girlfriend Trina (Cleopatra Coleman), Jack and Lisa have a fight that ruins the entire night. To find out who was right, the two decide to recreate the night the next evening, driving them down a seemingly endless wormhole of situations.

    Pushing its simplistic premise to its zany extremes, The Argument mines some laughs out of its audacious approach. Much of the credit goes to its skilled cast of character actors who sell the bizarre frames with their committed delivery. Maggie Q and Danny Pudi are the standouts of the bunch, with Q’s steely deadpan persona generating uproarious laughs while Pudi throws himself into each gag with reckless abandon (I also loved Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in a surprise third act role). Zac Stanford’s script operates well at its most unhinged, dreaming up a plethora of creative scenarios for the characters to get lost in (Schwartzman’s direction also makes the most out of the film’s single setting approach).

    The Argument’s creative framework shows promise, which makes its middling execution frustrating to endure. Despite bolstering a likable cast (Dan Fogler has been an affable funnyman throughout his career), the characters here are unlikable in a flat manor. There’s no dimension or humanity to define their shallowness, with Stanford’s screenplay lacking a clear direction portraying these characters. There also isn’t enough of a satirical edge to fully condemn them either, leaving audiences in a murky middle ground of mediocrity. I wish Stanford’s script showed more balance in its story structure, saving most of its inventive twist for the conclusion while burying the first two acts with largely repetitive set-up.

    Weak characterization is just the start of the script’s problems, as The Argument presents a vapidness that derails the entire endeavor. One would think the film’s high-concept premise would be a gateway to reflect honest truths about relationships, potentially displaying how petty disagreements can manifest into stark reflections of grander issues. Much of Stanford’s script seemingly ignores this nucleus, settling for a mixed bag of laughs that cant compensate for the film’s overwhelming emptiness. I wish Schwartzman stepped in to guide the screenplay more, as his previous features The Unicorn and Dreamland exemplified a steadier tonal balance this film is desperately missing.

    While promising in its conception, The Argument’s creative spark can’t compensate for its uneven execution.

  • Ernest Sturm, Runway Influence: A Quick Chat

    Ernest Sturm, Runway Influence: A Quick Chat

    By Eleanor Klein. Today we had the pleasure of Interviewing the Founder of Runway Influence, Ernest Sturm. Runway Influence collaborates with some of the world’s most influential celebrities on Instagram and other social media platforms.

    Thank you for speaking with us today! Please tell us more about Runway Influence…

    I am a seasoned entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the marketing industry. I started Runway Influence about 5 years ago and in a short period of time have expanded its operations globally. Prior to Runway Influence I was in the Luxury Events marketing space, I’ve ran a high-end nationwide events company called Runway Waiters. A luxury events firm that provides agency signed models from top modeling agencies in the US for high end events.

    Through that I’ve successfully built relationships with some of the worlds biggest and most luxurious brands in the world such as Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Ferrari, Rolls Royce etc.. I started that company when I was around 22 years of age and have built it into to a nationwide phenomenon that was and still is revered by some of the most well known brands as the best events marketing company in the US.

    After a successful run in the events space I started building Runway Influence, a premiere social media marketing company that works with top model influencers in the US, UK, AU and runs some of the most successful influencer campaigns in the world. We work with the biggest names in the social media influencer space and produce campaigns for some of the most renown brands in the world such as Adidas, Mclaren and many others.

    How did you start Runway Influence and what sparked the idea?

    The idea was simple, put together the best group of influencers and deliver the best results possible.

    What has been your greatest success to date?

    I think one of my most successful jobs was for WildFox Couture for which we booked incredibly talented influencers that brought a ton of exposure to the brand in a matter of days. We organized a 2 day Coachella shoot with girls like Rachel Cook, Jena Frumes, Kylie Rae, Celine Farach and Kyra Santoro. Not only did this campaign bring quite a bit of exposure to the brand but it also was visually stunning and so it produced incredible content!

    The girls did an amazing job and our client was extremely happy with the results. The key to successful influencer campaign is of course the talent you book. We look not only for influencers with strong numbers but also talent that fits the brand and their image. We also focus on influencers that perform when it comes to generating exposure as well as ROI. Not every girl or guy with a million followers will bring the needed and wanted results. It’s important to know who to book, number of followers and engagement rate is of the essence but what’s even more significant is how their audience reacts to certain brands and products.

    Not every influencer will be good for your brand no matter how extensive is her or his reach, however, from our experience model influencers perform the best as they know how to entice their audience and advertise a product/brand in a way that will appeal to their followers.

    How do you make yourself unique from your competition?

    We’re very different from competitors as we have personal relationships with every influencer we work with. They’re not just a number on our roster, we speak to them on regular basis and know their strengths and weaknesses which helps us to assemble the best team possible for our clients’ campaigns. Another strength of ours is that we work both with Macro as well as Micro-influencers, our network is very diverse and has the most influential and far-reaching audience on social media.

    Are you working on anything exciting right now? 

    Right now we’re working on expanding on the network of both Micro and Macro influencers as well growing our list of industries. So far we have found great success in CBD market, apparel, fashion, beauty industries as well as medical, cosmetic, alcohol and water business. 

    You can follow Runway Influence on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/runwayinfluence/?hl=en