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Fred Perry Edition: Bits & Pieces – Scott (Pete Davidson) has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He’s now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister (Maude Apatow, HBO’s Euphoria) heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother (Oscar^® winner Marisa Tomei) and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys —Oscar (Ricky Velez, Master of None), Igor (Moises Arias, Five Feet Apart) and Richie (Lou Wilson, TV’s The Guest Book)—and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey (Bel Powley, Apple TV⁺’s The Morning Show).

This series is all written, filmed and edited at home (with a good production value), and features special guests from all over the world. The first episode had just one character – Jake – and the 5th featured 15 different actors!

Italian musician and film director Federico Zampaglione latest movie is BIANCA, a stylishly violent short horror thriller, shot in lockdown in Italy on his iPad in three days and starring his ten year old daughter Linda in the title role and his partner, actress Giglia Marra. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh7omUyROy8

A talented pianist, haunted by his past, searches for redemption when he meets a beautiful dancer at the ballet studio where he plays. When the dancer’s boyfriend sees the attraction between the two men, he wages war to win his lover back.

Two ghost hunters are called upon a distressed family who claim they are being tormented by an evil spirit known in their local town as The Candy Witch. But as the mystery of her curse is uncovered, surprising and sinister turns are discovered around The Candy Witch’s identity. Their hardest case yet, can they solve this evil curse before more people are killed by the demonic spirit?

Emerson Graham’s nights as a cab driver are filled with annoyances and inconveniences, but until tonight, never attacks and disappearances. After picking up a mysterious passenger her evening goes from working a job to performing a quest as they must race against the clock to stop demons from invading the world.

Get ready for an unforgettable summer this year when Vision Films and Be Your Own Hollywood proudly present Horse Camp: A Love Tail. This fun and charming film celebrates not only the grace and beauty of the horses that draw the girls to the camp but also kindness, strong female friendship and the courage to face your fears. Directed by Joel Reisig, Horse Camp: A Love Tail will be available on DVD and video-on-demand on May 19, 2020.

“The True Tale of Ole Splitfoot vs. The Lesbian Warrior Nuns of the Great White North” Indiegogo Campaign is set to launch on May, 22nd, 2020.  Horror-Fix Pictures delivers the NSFW Announcement Video which garners the WARNING: The Following Video Might Not Be Suitable For Anyone.  You be the judge!

Four Lions, John Wick, Dark Water: Quarantine Streaming – Alright, folks. So, we’re still in lockdown for the foreseeable, maybe? Not sure. Basically, my understanding is the rules are the same, except for the little bits that changed, and you still can’t go out unless you can. I’m not at work, because I work from home, but if I didn’t, then I wouldn’t be, and neither should you. Or something? I don’t know. It’s all very confusing, and since the insanity doesn’t seem to be any closer to coming to a close, even if people keep saying that it is, then I guess we’re all still inside or something.

Whatever your situation, the best bet is to not be going around meeting mates and having drinks on those park benches you can now sit on during your unlimited exercise time (unlimited sitting is very good for the bum and thigh area, I hear), so instead we’re al be at home still.

And since we’re all at home still I figured I may as well continue with this streaming recommendation thingy I’m doing. So here are some more of those if you want them. If you don’t, you don’t have to carry on reading, you can just, like, click off this page and go play games on Houseparty or whatever.

IT FOLLOWS – BBC iPlayer

David Robert Mitchell’s dark and dreamlike 2014 horror became an instant cult classic on release, with positive critic response and a decent reception from the audience. It draws upon horror master John Carpenter, creating a genuinely unsettling atmosphere that builds from the opening imagine to the closing shot. Telling the story of Jay (Maika Monroe), a carefree teen who, after sleeping with her boyfriend learns that she is victim to a fatal curse that will stop at nothing to kill her unless she passes it on to another unsuspecting victim through intercourse. Smart, creepy, and beautifully shot, It Follows is one to watch with the lights off.

FOUR LIONS – 4oD

Dark, savage satire from comedic mastermind Chris Morris, the man behind Brass Eye and The Day Today, Four Lions is a 2010 comedy about a group of young Muslim men from Sheffield who hatch a half-baked plan to become suicide bombers. This is smart filmmaking from someone who understands how to weave satire and drama together in equal measure, and the success lay within the films ability to both paint a genuinely honest portrayal of modern issues with laugh out loud funny, cringe inducing dark humor. This isn’t one for the easily offended, but if you’re willing to let Morris work his magic then there’s a lot to gain. Four Lions is great.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E – Netflix

Guy Ritchie puts his wham, flash, bang filmmaking style to good use in this 2015 update of the classic 60s television show of the same name. Starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer as two secret agents, one CIA the other KGB, who must set aside their differences at the height of the Cold War and work together to defeat a criminal organization who seek nuclear weapons. It’s dumb, silly, and sharp as hell, with some brilliant direction, gorgeous cinematography, and genuine chemistry between the two leads. It’s a shame the film didn’t do better on release, as a sequel could have been something really special.

JOHN WICK – Amazon Prime

When you can recommend John Wick, you recommend John Wick. Go back to where the madness all began with Chad Stahelski’s 2014 Keanu Reeves seek revenge action thriller. We all know the story, when thugs break into his home and kill the dog left to him by his dead wife, ex-hitman John Wick breaks retirement to seek vengeance. The plot is basically a line to hang a series of increasingly complex and insane action sequences onto (a model the sequels would continue to utilize), but really this is all about watch Keanu Reeves kick arse for 90 minutes, and in that respect it delivers. And then some. This is crazy, mad action movie filmmaking, and it’s so much fun I dare you not to have a blast.

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT – Disney+

If you haven’t seen Robert Zemeckis’ 1988 live-action meets animation comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit, then I would seriously question what you’ve been doing with your time. But, for those of you who haven’t, the plot sees Private Eye Eddie Valiant (played by an excellent Bob Hoskins) investigate the murder or a studio executive in an alternative 1940s Hollywood where live action people and animated characters live together. The visual effects on display were groundbreaking at the time and still hold up now, while the appearance of animated characters from bother Warners and Disney is a crossover not even Marvel could pull off. This one is a classic.

DARK WATER – Shudder

Remade in 2005 as a sub-standard American horror flick starring Jennifer Connelly, Hideo Nakata’s 2002 original is a moody, stark, and emotional horror drama. When newly single-mother Yoshimi moves into a new apartment with her young daughter Ikuko, she notices strange and unsettling occurrences involving water and a small figure in a yellow raincoat. As her bitter and difficult divorce battle rages, Yoshimi struggle to keep her sanity. Very much in the show don’t tell vein of horror cinema, Dark Water is a quiet piece, but one that really gets in under your skin. Sad, spooky, and above all engaging, you’d be crazy to skip out on this one.

Four Lions, John Wick, Dark Water: Quarantine Streaming

World War I epic 1917 debuts at Number 1 on this week’s Official Film Chart on digital downloads only.

Two British soldiers (played by Dean-Charles Chapman and George Mackay) race against time to deliver a message that will stop an isolated regiment marching straight into a deadly trap. Based loosely on a story that writer and director Sam Mendes’ grandfather once shared, the film was intended to feel like a tense, ticking-clock thriller, and was edited and filmed to appear as two continuous ‘real-time’ takes.

Our second new entry this week is Disney’s Onward which also enters with purely digital sales after it’s home entertainment release was brought forward by 8 weeks. The animated fantasy adventure follows two teenage elves as they set off on a quest to reunite with their late father for one day. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt star as brother elves Ian and Barley Lightfoot respectively.

Knocked from its three-week stint at Number 1, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands at Number 3. Taika Waititi’s award-winning Jojo Rabbit hops to Number 4; Birds of Prey is at 5. Frozen 2 climbs up a place to Number 6. Other films holding on to a spot in the Top 10 are Jumanji: The Next Level (7), The Gentlemen (8), Spies in Disguise (9) and Sonic the Hedgehog (10). 

If you’re planning a home movie night this week, make sure to check out FindAnyFilm.com for a comprehensive choice of classics, family-friendly watches and brand new favourites.

This week’s Official Film Chart features a sneak peek at Harrison Ford in the adventure film, The Call Of The Wild, available to Download & Keep from May 18.

The Official Film Chart Top 10 – 13^th May 2020

LW	Pos	Title	Label
NEW	1	1917	ENTERTAINMENT ONE
NEW	2	ONWARD	WALT DISNEY
1	3	STAR WARS IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER	WALT DISNEY
2	4	JOJO RABBIT	20TH CENTURY FOX HE
3	5	BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS	WARNER HOME VIDEO
7	6	FROZEN 2	WALT DISNEY
5	7	JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL	SONY PICTURES HE
4	8	THE GENTLEMEN	EIV
6	9	SPIES IN DISGUISE	20TH CENTURY FOX HE
8	10	SONIC THE HEDGEHOG	PARAMOUNT

© Official Charts Company 2020

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

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker – Disney+ Talk

Last week, on May the 4^th, saw this year’s Star Wars Day occur. And Disney+ immediately grabbed the opportunity to put the latest film in the Skywalker Saga on the platform now that they’ve owned the property for 5 years.

‘Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker’ is the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, the main story arc in the Star Wars universe. After hearing a transmission from the long-thought dead Emperor Palpatine, Fin, Poe and Rey journey to familiar lands to find the truth behind these transmissions.

Let’s get the first issue out of the way: this film summarizes a problem that Disney has with its Marvel and Star Wars films: characters in these films are never really dead, especially since ‘Rise of Skywalker’ brings back Emperor Palpatine. This was a character that died 40 years ago in ‘Return of the Jedi’ and has now been resurrected to once again try and rule the galaxy. 

Another classic character that returns is Lando Calrissian, with original actor Billy Dee Williams reprising the role. And, while his performance is a welcome sight, he’s given nothing to do. This film feels like it’s pandering on nostalgia and nothing else, purely because ‘The Last Jedi’ left nothing, plot-wise, for this film to do. While I hated ‘The Last Jedi’, I would’ve been happy if that film was the Saga’s conclusion and Rey had joined the Dark Side. If that had occurred, there would no need to scramble a plot together for ‘Rise of Skywalker’. It would’ve also made the new films different.

While I hated ‘The Last Jedi’, I will happily admit it’s the best-looking Star Wars film in the recent trilogy. So, I expected ‘Rise of Skywalker’ to have the same visual style, and was disappointed to see how dull it looked. Vibrant colours are replaced by murky browns and greys and even the lightsabers have lost their shine. Where ‘Rise of Skywalker’ does shine, however, is in its action sequences and sound design. The action scenes are fast-paced and exciting and, for some of the runtime, made me fall in love with the franchise again. The sound design is also fantastic, with some unique sound effects being introduced in this film. 

And lastly, ‘Rise of Skywalker’ really stretches what The Force can do. The Force has never been fully explained, making it mysterious. However, the downside to this is that the films can do anything they want and say it was The Force that was causing such actions. An example: ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ has sequences featuring ghosts of past characters, and hallucinations that can, somehow, pick up solid objects. This occurs numerous times, especially in the third act, and makes no sense the more this ‘ability’ is stretched. 

Overall, ‘Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker’ was enjoyable, but a waste of time. While the action scenes were exciting and the sound design was fantastic, it doesn’t cover up the fact that the Skywalker Saga should’ve ended with ‘The Last Jedi’.