UK New Film Releases Week 50: 11 December – 17 December 2009

New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 87 [20% of total film releases]

Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 444

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 11 December 2009 is:

• Carriers (USA)
• The Limits Of Control (USA)
• Mascarades (FRA/ALG)
• The Red Shoes (UK) Reissue
• The Stepfather (USA)
• Unmade Beds (Alexis Dos Santos, 2009, UK) #87 British feature film release 2009 
• Where The Wild Things Are (USA)
• Avatar (USA) 17 Dec

Just one new British feature film release this week – Unmade Beds - a quirky ‘anti-romance’ involving two young foreigners brought together in bohemian East London. On very limited release but almost immediately on premium TV and online download, a common pattern for British films these days.

UK New Film Releases Week 49: 4 December – 10 December 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 86 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 436

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 4 December 2009 is:

• The Box (USA)
• Cracks (Jordan Scott, 2009, UK) #85 British feature film release 2009
• Departures (JAP)
• The Descent: Part 2 (Jon Harris, 2009, UK) #86 British feature film release 2009
• Disgrace (AUS/SA)
• The Girlfriend Experience (USA)
• Me And Orson Welles (USA/UK)
• The Merry Gentleman (USA)
• Only When I Dance (BRA/UK)
• Paa (IND)
• Planet 51 (SPA/UK/USA)

Girls! Girls! Girls! A debut as director for Ridley Scott’s daughter Jordan, Cracks is set in an interwar boarding school for girls where the teacher and her gals react to the exotic new Spanish pupil. Sounds horrific! The Descent: Part 2 is part two of The Descent. Expect more screaming until they are all sick.

UK New Film Releases Week 48: 27 November – 3 December 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 84 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 425

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 27 November 2009 is:

• Bunny And The Bull (Paul King, 2008, UK) #82 British feature film release 2009
• De Dhana Dhan (IND)
• Law Abiding Citizen (USA)
• Mr Right (David & Jacqui Morris, 2006, UK) #83 British feature film release 2009
• Nativity! (Debbie Isitt, 2009, UK) #84 British feature film release 2009
• Seraphine (FRA)

Two Mr Rights making a wrong?

Not many films released this week, but a British comedy trio! The latest attempt to do Britcom is the ‘bizarre and brilliant (yeah right) Mighty Boosh-esque Bunny And The Bull, the unshelved (from 2006) gay romcom Mr Right, and the cutesy seasonal Nativity! (clearly the exclamation mark is everything!).

A real test-by-laughter then.

UK New Film Releases Week 47: 20 November – 26 November 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 81 [19% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 419

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 20 November 2009 is:

• A Serious Man (USA)
• Christmas In Wonderland (USA)
• Examined Life (CAN)
• The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life (FRA)
• Glorious 39 (Stephen Poliakoff, 2009, UK) #80 British feature film release 2009
• The Informant (USA)
• Machan (SRI L/ITA/GER)
• The Sea Wall (FRA/CAM/BEL)
• Southern Softies (Graham Fellows, 2009, UK) #81 British feature film release 2009
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon (USA)
• Ulysses (USA) Reissue
• Paranormal Activity (USA) 25 Nov

England, 1939

‘It’s not always a good place to go, the past” is the tagline of Glorious 39. I might change this to ‘It’s not always a good place to go, Stephen Poliakoff’, since that has been my unhappy experience with Poliakoff on TV. I have to admit that I am far more at ease in ‘Fellows land’ than I am in ‘Poliakoff country’ and so the ‘John Shuttleworth’ mockumentary Southern Softies is far more welcome.

Jersey, 2009

UK New Film Releases Week 46: 13 November – 19 November 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 79 [19% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 407

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 13 November 2009 is:

• 2012 (USA/CAN)
• Amelia (USA/CAN)
• Cold Souls (USA)
• Heer Ranjha (IND)
• Lala Pipo – A Lot Of People (JAP)
• Love The Beast (AUS)
• The Magic Hour (UK) Short films
• Taking Woodstock (USA)
• Tulpan (GER/KAZ/RUS/POL/SWI)
• We Live In Public (USA)
• The White Ribbon (AUST/GER/FRA/ITA)

No new full-length feature films this week, but a portmanteau consisting of five shorts made by disabled film-makers. This is an ongoing scheme to encourage groundbreaking short digital films with support of £10,000 per short production Details can be found at The Magic Hour website.

 

UK New Film Releases Week 45: 6 November – 12 November 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 79 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 396

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 6 November 2009 is:

• 1 Day (Penny Woolcock, 2009, UK) #77 British feature film release 2009
• Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009, UK/AUS/FRA) #78 British feature film release 2009
• Henri-George Clouzot’s Inferno (FRA)
• The Men Who Stare At Goats (USA/UK)
• Paper Heart (USA)
• Welcome (FRA)
• Harry Brown (Daniel Barber, 2009, UK) 11 Nov #79 British feature film release 2009

Approaching 400 films released in the UK in 2009 and almost 80 British feature films. Three new British feature films this week. Jane Campion’s worthy, thoughtful, biopic, Bright Star, the controversial Birmingham youth gang musical 1 Day, and Michael Caine’s grumpy old man revenger, Harry Brown-ed Off. The power of the word, the music, and the gun.

UK New Film Releases Week 44: 30 October – 5 November 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 76 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 389

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 30 October 2009 is:

• Aladin (India)
• An American Werewolf In London (UK/USA) Reissue
• An Education (Lone Scherfig, 2008, UK) #75 British feature film release 2009
• Citizen Cane (USA) Reissue
• Dead Man Running (Alex De Rakoff, 2009, UK) #76 British feature film release 2009
• The Horseman (AUS)
• Love Exposure (JAP)
• Philip Pullman’s The Butterfly Tattoo (NETH)
• Starsuckers (UK) Documentary
• Tales From The Golden Age (ROM)
• Animal House (USA) Reissue 3 Nov
• Disney’s A Christmas Carol (USA) 4 Nov
• Jennifer’s Body (USA) 4 Nov

Guys and gals (An Education), or guys and guns (Dead Man Running)? Take your pick – angst or gangsters?

UK New Film Releases Week 43: 23 October – 29 October 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 74 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 376

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 23 October 2009 is:

• Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (USA)
• Colin (Marc Price, 2008, UK) #74 British feature film release 2009
• The Cove (USA)
• Fantastic Mr Fox (UK/USA)
• The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (USA)
• Johnny Mad Dog (FRA/BEL/LIB)
• Made In Jamaica (FRA/USA)
• 9 (USA) 28 Oct
• Michael Jackson’s This Is It (USA) 28 Oct

Colin has been widely promoted as the ‘£45 zombie movie’. Clearly it has a micro-budget, but not so tiny as that. It has not got wide distribution, but then it doesn’t need it and it may do very well on DVD.

UK New Film Releases Week 42: 16 October – 22 October 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 73 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 367

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 16 October 2009 is:

• The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009, FRA/CAN/UK) #72 British feature film release 2009
• Ong-Bak: The Beginning (THAI)
• Pontypool (CAN)
• Thirst (S KOR)
• Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009, UK/AUS) #73 British feature flm release 2009

Two contrasting auteurs this week. Terry Gilliam’s latest dreamscape arrives on over 250 screens while Christopher Smith’s (Creep, Severence) latest horror film launches on a very decent 217 screens. Gilliam’s film earned nearly three-times as much per screen on its opening weekend. But which film will make the most lasting impression?

UK New Film Releases Week 41: 9 October – 15 October 2009

• New British Feature Films (Fiction) Released in 2009 – 71 [20% of total film releases]
• Total Film Releases in the UK in 2009 – 362

The UK film release schedule for the week commencing 9 October 2009 is:

• Died Young Stayed Pretty (CAN)
• Goodbye Solo (USA)
• Halloween II (USA)
• Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee (Shane Meadows, 2009, UK) #69 British feature film release 2009
• Love Happens (USA)
• Katalin Varga (Peter Strickland, 2009, ROM/UK/HUN) #70 British feature film release 2009
• Up (USA)
• Vanishing Of The Bees (UK) Documentary
• Couples Retreat (USA) 14 Oct
• WMD (David Holroyd, 2008, UK) Oct 15 #71 British feature film release 2009

Three very interesting British fiction feature films on release this week.

 

The new Shane Meadows film Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee - always a joy because he has been one of the most consistently interesting directors and champions of regional film.

Katalin Varga, an intriguing debut from Peter Strickland filmed in Romania, and WMD, a political thriller about the Iraq war.

But annoyingly not getting wide distribution- certainly not in Leicester.