Catherine Pearson Jun 14, 2017
With an anniversary reunion in the pipeline, we celebrate macabre, inventive, brilliant comedy series The League Of Gentlemen...
“Would you describe yourself as an egregious person?” I asked Reece Shearsmith at a recent Q&A. I was nervous. Everyone else had asked questions about his writing, complimented his performances and asked about the upcoming series of Inside No 9. I just wanted to see how he’d respond. “Piss off,” he said. Actually, I shouldn’t put that in quotation marks because that’s not really what he said. What he really said was much more blue but very jovial and the audience all laughed. Phew. I was initially apprehensive that no one would get the reference but I needn’t have been. It turns out The League Of Gentlemen has a timelessness to it and a special place in the hearts of comedy fans that no other show,...
With an anniversary reunion in the pipeline, we celebrate macabre, inventive, brilliant comedy series The League Of Gentlemen...
“Would you describe yourself as an egregious person?” I asked Reece Shearsmith at a recent Q&A. I was nervous. Everyone else had asked questions about his writing, complimented his performances and asked about the upcoming series of Inside No 9. I just wanted to see how he’d respond. “Piss off,” he said. Actually, I shouldn’t put that in quotation marks because that’s not really what he said. What he really said was much more blue but very jovial and the audience all laughed. Phew. I was initially apprehensive that no one would get the reference but I needn’t have been. It turns out The League Of Gentlemen has a timelessness to it and a special place in the hearts of comedy fans that no other show,...
- 6/13/2017
- Den of Geek
New film being billed as a British echo of Us epic tells the tale of one woman's role in abolition struggle
As Steve McQueen's film 12 Years a Slave captivates audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, Britain's own slaving past is to be given the Hollywood treatment.
A series of new books and projects have already been linked to a surge of interest in a subject that has often been overlooked. This spring, in what is already being spoken of as Britain's answer to McQueen's epic, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Miranda Richardson will star in Belle, which will open in British cinemas having successfully premiered at last year's Toronto film festival.
Directed by Amma Asante who, like McQueen, was born in Britain but lives in the Netherlands, the film tells the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of an enslaved mother in the Caribbean, who went on...
As Steve McQueen's film 12 Years a Slave captivates audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, Britain's own slaving past is to be given the Hollywood treatment.
A series of new books and projects have already been linked to a surge of interest in a subject that has often been overlooked. This spring, in what is already being spoken of as Britain's answer to McQueen's epic, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Miranda Richardson will star in Belle, which will open in British cinemas having successfully premiered at last year's Toronto film festival.
Directed by Amma Asante who, like McQueen, was born in Britain but lives in the Netherlands, the film tells the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of an enslaved mother in the Caribbean, who went on...
- 1/12/2014
- by Jamie Doward
- The Guardian - Film News
Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season,’ James Earl Jones in ‘Cry the Beloved Country’: Apartheid movies (photo: Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season’) (See previous post: “Nelson Mandela: Sidney Poitier and ‘Malcolm X’ Cameo Apperance.”) Besides the Nelson Mandela movies discussed in the previous two posts, South Africa’s apartheid has been portrayed in a number of films in the last few decades. Among the most notable ones are the following: Zoltan Korda’s Cry the Beloved Country (1951). Based on Alan Paton’s novel, this British-made film features Canada Lee and Charles Carson as two men struggling to deal with the disastrous consequences of apartheid. Ralph Nelson’s The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine star as, respectively, an anti-apartheid South African activist and a British engineer on the run from South Africa’s secret police, headed by racist Nicol Williamson. Chris Menges’ A World Apart...
- 12/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
David Koff's documentary Occupied Palestine caused a storm in the 1980s. What will today's audiences make of it? The film-maker relives a life of controversy
David Koff is remembering what happened at the premiere of his film Occupied Palestine in San Francisco in 1981. "There were probably 1,000 people in the audience," he recalls. "Ten minutes after the film started, there was an announcement: 'There's been a bomb threat – please evacuate the building.' The police and fire department were called. There was a remarkable atmosphere in the cinema when the film finally went ahead."
Koff, now 73, is an American documentary film-maker, writer, union organiser and activist. He grew up in California, graduated in political science from Stanford University, then worked in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and London before returning to the Us. His documentary-making career has never lacked controversy. In the early 1970s, with the assistance of colleague Anthony Howarth...
David Koff is remembering what happened at the premiere of his film Occupied Palestine in San Francisco in 1981. "There were probably 1,000 people in the audience," he recalls. "Ten minutes after the film started, there was an announcement: 'There's been a bomb threat – please evacuate the building.' The police and fire department were called. There was a remarkable atmosphere in the cinema when the film finally went ahead."
Koff, now 73, is an American documentary film-maker, writer, union organiser and activist. He grew up in California, graduated in political science from Stanford University, then worked in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and London before returning to the Us. His documentary-making career has never lacked controversy. In the early 1970s, with the assistance of colleague Anthony Howarth...
- 5/1/2013
- by Duncan Campbell
- The Guardian - Film News
From Iran's atomic research facility to a whaler off the Falkland Islands, the state visits of the 50s and 60s took the Queen and her family to some of the world's most extraordinary places. And wherever the royals went, the official camera teams were on duty. Now those film reels have been uncovered. Christopher Stevens reports
Forgotten footage of royal tours abroad in the 1950s and 60s reveals the sheer glamour of the Queen's travelling wardrobe, in an era when she rivalled film stars such as Elizabeth Taylor as the world's most photographed woman.
Films made by the Central Office of Information (Coi) for screening in cinemas overseas show the young monarch in sables and furs and bare-armed in dramatic satin dresses with elbow-length silk gloves or long, gauzy jackets.
More than four hours of film, released this week by the British Film Institute (BFI), overturns the perception of the...
Forgotten footage of royal tours abroad in the 1950s and 60s reveals the sheer glamour of the Queen's travelling wardrobe, in an era when she rivalled film stars such as Elizabeth Taylor as the world's most photographed woman.
Films made by the Central Office of Information (Coi) for screening in cinemas overseas show the young monarch in sables and furs and bare-armed in dramatic satin dresses with elbow-length silk gloves or long, gauzy jackets.
More than four hours of film, released this week by the British Film Institute (BFI), overturns the perception of the...
- 5/19/2012
- by Christopher Stevens
- The Guardian - Film News
Oliver Litondo, The First Grader The five nominees for the Gothams' Festival Genius Audience Award have been announced. They are: Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, Buck, Girlfriend, The First Grader, and Wild Horse, Wild Ride. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, Constance Marks' documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey traces the life and career of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Sesame Street's Elmo. Cindy Meehl's Buck is a documentary about Buck Brannaman, the man who inspired the book The Horse Whisperer and the ensuing Robert Redford-directed movie. Justin Lerner's Girlfriend revolves around a young man with Down's Syndrome who financially assists his object of desire, a woman stuck in an abusive relationship. Set in Kenya, Justin Chadwick's The First Grader tells the story of an eighty-something ethnic Mau Mau (Oliver Litondo) eager to learn to read and write. Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus' documentary Wild Horse,...
- 11/8/2011
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
"It's a lasting regret of mine that he wasn't around to see the finished film, but I'm happy at least that his story has been told."
Director Justin Chadwick is lamenting the loss of Kimani Maruge, a veteran Kenyan farmer whose personal history he has turned into an African epic of a film.
The First Grader, which has already won numerous festival awards around the world, tells how, when Maruge heard on the radio in 2003 that his government were offering free education for all, he knocked on the door of the local primary school and demanded to take his place next to the six-year-olds - despite being in his eighties at the time.
By the time the film-script came to Chadwick, whose previous projects include The Other Boleyn Girl on the big screen and the hit BBC drama Bleak House, Maruge, played by Oliver Litondo with Naomie Harris as his indefatigable teacher,...
Director Justin Chadwick is lamenting the loss of Kimani Maruge, a veteran Kenyan farmer whose personal history he has turned into an African epic of a film.
The First Grader, which has already won numerous festival awards around the world, tells how, when Maruge heard on the radio in 2003 that his government were offering free education for all, he knocked on the door of the local primary school and demanded to take his place next to the six-year-olds - despite being in his eighties at the time.
By the time the film-script came to Chadwick, whose previous projects include The Other Boleyn Girl on the big screen and the hit BBC drama Bleak House, Maruge, played by Oliver Litondo with Naomie Harris as his indefatigable teacher,...
- 7/13/2011
- by Caroline Frost
- Huffington Post
Naomie Harris gives a lovely performance as "Teacher Jane" in this true-life story about an 84-year-old Kenyan man Maruge who takes to heart a new government's message about "free education for all" and enrols at his local primary school to learn to read. His story makes news around the world and his saying, "the power is in the pen", becomes a propaganda message throughout Kenya – and it remains so today. All this is wholesome and uplifting in the classic carpe diem manner and Harris is a lot more attractive than Robin Williams.
Sadly, the film complicates matters by exploring Maruge's past as a Mau Mau independence fighter, tortured by the British colonial army. However laudable and well intended its inclusion, this is too elaborate a piece of history to handle in beautifully shot flashbacks, and it sits uneasily with the inspirational classroom scenes.
DramaNaomie HarrisRobin WilliamsJason Solomons
guardian.co.uk...
Sadly, the film complicates matters by exploring Maruge's past as a Mau Mau independence fighter, tortured by the British colonial army. However laudable and well intended its inclusion, this is too elaborate a piece of history to handle in beautifully shot flashbacks, and it sits uneasily with the inspirational classroom scenes.
DramaNaomie HarrisRobin WilliamsJason Solomons
guardian.co.uk...
- 6/25/2011
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
An interesting true-life story about a Kenyan in his 80s who insists on his right to education has become a somewhat sappy and unsubtle film
A true story from Kenya has unfortunately become a slightly hackneyed and insipid feelgood movie. In 2004, Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, here played by Oliver Litondo, was an 84-year-old man who had never gone to school; he responded to the government's announcement of free universal education by calmly presenting himself at a primary school and demanding to enroll. He even had an adult-sized uniform with big baggy shorts. Maruge was to get himself an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest primary school pupil. Yet Justin Chadwick's movie shows old wounds being reopened. Maruge is a former Mau Mau fighter, tortured by the British in the 1950s. Government administrators and politicians are nervous of these memories being reawakened; they are suspicious of...
A true story from Kenya has unfortunately become a slightly hackneyed and insipid feelgood movie. In 2004, Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, here played by Oliver Litondo, was an 84-year-old man who had never gone to school; he responded to the government's announcement of free universal education by calmly presenting himself at a primary school and demanding to enroll. He even had an adult-sized uniform with big baggy shorts. Maruge was to get himself an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest primary school pupil. Yet Justin Chadwick's movie shows old wounds being reopened. Maruge is a former Mau Mau fighter, tortured by the British in the 1950s. Government administrators and politicians are nervous of these memories being reawakened; they are suspicious of...
- 6/24/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Former Mau Mau freedom fighter Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge was 84 when he first went to school. Now, a new film celebrates his campaign to raise the profile of primary education in Kenya
The venue for the film's premiere was a tent erected over the hard-packed earth of the school playground. Instead of a red carpet, there was a dusty green tarpaulin, and the white plastic chairs were a little unsteady. Two classrooms had temporary screens set up, with the rough-hewn wooden desks piled up outside, under a tree.
Never can an audience have been so riveted. For the children of the village of Kisames, in the Ngong Hills, an hour's drive south of Nairobi, the capital, this was the first sight of a screen. "Who has seen a movie before?" asked Justin Chadwick, the director, of the 200 or so youngsters. Not one hand went up. Though they were newcomers to cinema,...
The venue for the film's premiere was a tent erected over the hard-packed earth of the school playground. Instead of a red carpet, there was a dusty green tarpaulin, and the white plastic chairs were a little unsteady. Two classrooms had temporary screens set up, with the rough-hewn wooden desks piled up outside, under a tree.
Never can an audience have been so riveted. For the children of the village of Kisames, in the Ngong Hills, an hour's drive south of Nairobi, the capital, this was the first sight of a screen. "Who has seen a movie before?" asked Justin Chadwick, the director, of the 200 or so youngsters. Not one hand went up. Though they were newcomers to cinema,...
- 6/19/2011
- by Tracy McVeigh
- The Guardian - Film News
London-based award-winning actress Naomie Harris couldn't just act like a Kenyan teacher in her latest movie, "The First Grader" -- she had to become one. The actress, who starred in "28 Days Later" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," sat in a schoolhouse outside of Nairobi and taught lessons to children in order to prepare for her role as Jane Obinchu, teacher of an 84-year-old Mau Mau fighter whose desire to learn to read landed him in a classroom of first-graders. Based on the true story of Kimani Maruge, "The First Grader" is a lesson in lessons. Essence.com spoke with Naomie about her role, perfecting a Kenyan accent, and what we can all learn from the movie...
- 6/10/2011
- Essence
She was unforgettable onscreen as the seductive and dangerous Witch Queen Tia Dalma in two Pirates of the Caribbean outings and ran with the best of the undercover agents in Michael Mann.s Miami Vice. But Naomie Harris, one of England.s hardest working actresses, found that a different kind of a role scared her more than those . playing a teacher in a remote Kenyan primary school. Harris stars as Teacher Jane in The First Grader, the fact based story of an elderly man who decides he wants to go to school and learn to read. His desire to seek an education at age 84 touches Teacher Jane. His difficulties during the Mau Mau Uprising against the British...
- 5/20/2011
- by Anne Brodie
- Monsters and Critics
For an actress playing a strong-willed, decidedly inspiring teacher who stood up against institutionalized racism and accusations of self-interest in The First Grader, one would perhaps assume Naomie Harris had a similarly intrinsic relationship with education and school.
Not so, she says.
"I wanted to leave school at 16 but my mom forced me, well, pleaded with me, to go onto further education." And along with her mother's forceful encouragement, there was one teacher who made a huge difference in her life.
"Mr. Murdock…changed the course of my life in some respects because he was the teacher that made education relevant to me," she revealed while in Toronto to talk about the film.
The UK-born actress got a chance to embody a life-changing teacher for her part in Justin Chadwick's true story of Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, an 84-year-old, Mau Mau freedom fighter who takes the Kenyan government's announcement of free education for all literally,...
Not so, she says.
"I wanted to leave school at 16 but my mom forced me, well, pleaded with me, to go onto further education." And along with her mother's forceful encouragement, there was one teacher who made a huge difference in her life.
"Mr. Murdock…changed the course of my life in some respects because he was the teacher that made education relevant to me," she revealed while in Toronto to talk about the film.
The UK-born actress got a chance to embody a life-changing teacher for her part in Justin Chadwick's true story of Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, an 84-year-old, Mau Mau freedom fighter who takes the Kenyan government's announcement of free education for all literally,...
- 5/19/2011
- by Andrea Miller
- Cineplex
“Reading will end poverty. Free education for all.” ~ Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, The First Grader
Have you ever wanted something that would change your life that should never have been placed beyond your reach in the first place? Can you imagine for a moment being 84 and not knowing how to read? What would you do? This is the premise for the remarkable film The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick and based on a true story.
Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge is an 84 year old veteran Mau Mau freedom fighter who lives in a village in Kenya, Africa. When the Kenyan government declares that it will offer free education for all, Maruge decides that he will finally get the education that was denied him. He decides to go to First Grade at an isolated primary school so that he can learn to read. Once, he fought for his country’s right for freedom from colonialism.
Have you ever wanted something that would change your life that should never have been placed beyond your reach in the first place? Can you imagine for a moment being 84 and not knowing how to read? What would you do? This is the premise for the remarkable film The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick and based on a true story.
Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge is an 84 year old veteran Mau Mau freedom fighter who lives in a village in Kenya, Africa. When the Kenyan government declares that it will offer free education for all, Maruge decides that he will finally get the education that was denied him. He decides to go to First Grade at an isolated primary school so that he can learn to read. Once, he fought for his country’s right for freedom from colonialism.
- 5/14/2011
- Cinelinx
Reviewed by Jay Antani
(May 2011)
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Written by: Ann Peacock
Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe
The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.
The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.
Hailing from the fiercely resilient...
(May 2011)
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Written by: Ann Peacock
Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe
The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.
The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.
Hailing from the fiercely resilient...
- 5/11/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Reviewed by Jay Antani
(May 2011)
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Written by: Ann Peacock
Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe
The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.
The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.
Hailing from the fiercely resilient...
(May 2011)
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Written by: Ann Peacock
Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe
The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.
The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.
Hailing from the fiercely resilient...
- 5/11/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Our critics pick the season's highlights: From Lady Gaga to Harry Potter, Coppélia to Tony Cragg, this summer has something for all
May
4 Film The Tree of Life
The much-delayed fifth feature from director Terrence Malick, snapped up by Icon for UK release ahead of its Cannes showing, is a multi-generational drama featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn – and, reportedly, dinosaurs.
5 Classical From the House of the Dead
Opera North's production of Janáek's final work, directed by John Fulljames and conducted by Richard Farnes. Stars Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Alan Oke and Roderick Williams. Leeds and touring
Dance By Singing Light/Romance Inverse
National Dance Company of Wales bring Stephen Petronio and Itzik Galili's arresting double bill to Dance City in Newcastle, with the former set to the poetry of Dylan Thomas.
6 Theatre Shrek
Nigel Lindsay plays the lime-coloured, lovelorn ogre, with Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona and Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad,...
May
4 Film The Tree of Life
The much-delayed fifth feature from director Terrence Malick, snapped up by Icon for UK release ahead of its Cannes showing, is a multi-generational drama featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn – and, reportedly, dinosaurs.
5 Classical From the House of the Dead
Opera North's production of Janáek's final work, directed by John Fulljames and conducted by Richard Farnes. Stars Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Alan Oke and Roderick Williams. Leeds and touring
Dance By Singing Light/Romance Inverse
National Dance Company of Wales bring Stephen Petronio and Itzik Galili's arresting double bill to Dance City in Newcastle, with the former set to the poetry of Dylan Thomas.
6 Theatre Shrek
Nigel Lindsay plays the lime-coloured, lovelorn ogre, with Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona and Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad,...
- 4/30/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Once a trademark of the fringe right, Obama birth conspiracies are dominating the Gop's discourse-and now, Amazon's bestseller list. Michelle Goldberg on why that's good news for Democrats.
There probably are some politicians who are very nervous about the fact that Jerome Corsi's new book, Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President has already rocketed to the top spot on Amazon weeks before its publication date. None of them are Democrats. Throughout the last two years, the conservative movement has mainstreamed once-fringe elements, encouraging ever more outré speculation about our president and his origins. Now the Republican Party has a birther problem it can't control.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Should We Hit Gaddafi Next?
The list of prominent conservatives who have winked at birtherism is long. Earlier this month, Rush Limbaugh said, "We've got somebody about whom there are legitimate citizenship questions here,...
There probably are some politicians who are very nervous about the fact that Jerome Corsi's new book, Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President has already rocketed to the top spot on Amazon weeks before its publication date. None of them are Democrats. Throughout the last two years, the conservative movement has mainstreamed once-fringe elements, encouraging ever more outré speculation about our president and his origins. Now the Republican Party has a birther problem it can't control.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Should We Hit Gaddafi Next?
The list of prominent conservatives who have winked at birtherism is long. Earlier this month, Rush Limbaugh said, "We've got somebody about whom there are legitimate citizenship questions here,...
- 4/22/2011
- by Michelle Goldberg
- The Daily Beast
How did Dirk Bogarde get from Doctor in the House to The Night Porter? With a wilful desire to destroy his matinee idol status. And the signs were there for all to see in his early work
The Odeon, Leicester Square, 1960. The red-carpet premiere of a film that will change the story of British film and British society. The lights are killed, the crowd falls silent. The roar of industrial machinery thrums from the speakers. And over the noise comes the voice of the hero, a Brylcreemed lathe-operator with greasy overalls and insolent good looks. "Don't let the bastards grind you down," says Dirk Bogarde, and with those words, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and its star give instant definition to the new decade.
In some fairly proximate parallel universe, this is how the 1960s might have begun. It could have happened here, too, if the owner of Pinewood studios...
The Odeon, Leicester Square, 1960. The red-carpet premiere of a film that will change the story of British film and British society. The lights are killed, the crowd falls silent. The roar of industrial machinery thrums from the speakers. And over the noise comes the voice of the hero, a Brylcreemed lathe-operator with greasy overalls and insolent good looks. "Don't let the bastards grind you down," says Dirk Bogarde, and with those words, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and its star give instant definition to the new decade.
In some fairly proximate parallel universe, this is how the 1960s might have begun. It could have happened here, too, if the owner of Pinewood studios...
- 3/25/2011
- by Matthew Sweet
- The Guardian - Film News
Togetherness Supreme is a film that’s been screening on the festival circuit lately and recently made its Us debut at the Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival. It screened at this year’s Pan African Film Festival. Based on a true story, it’s been described as a “slumdog without the millionaires.”
Synopsis:
Set in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, specifically in the famous community of Kibera (the Soweto of East Africa) against the backdrop of the recent elections held between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kibaki represents the Kikuyu (first president of Kenya and leader of the Mau Mau Jomo Kenyatta’s people) and Odinga represents the Luo (President Obama’s people). Kamau, an artist, rebels against his father and tribe to join his friend Otieno to fight for change. Kamau and Otieno both compete for the attention of Alice, a preacher’s daughter. After a contested presidential election,...
Synopsis:
Set in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, specifically in the famous community of Kibera (the Soweto of East Africa) against the backdrop of the recent elections held between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kibaki represents the Kikuyu (first president of Kenya and leader of the Mau Mau Jomo Kenyatta’s people) and Odinga represents the Luo (President Obama’s people). Kamau, an artist, rebels against his father and tribe to join his friend Otieno to fight for change. Kamau and Otieno both compete for the attention of Alice, a preacher’s daughter. After a contested presidential election,...
- 3/22/2011
- by Cynthia
- ShadowAndAct
Or in other words, Tom Hanks is attached to play Captain Richard Phillips in the upcoming film version for Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin, based on Phillips’ true life experiences when he and his cargo ship, Maersk Alabama, were captured by Somali Pirates in 2009.
Phillips, as you may recall, gave himself up as a hostage to save the lives of his crew, and spent three days alone in a small lifeboat with his kidnappers, until he was saved by Navy Seals marksmen.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not too particularly excited about seeing a movie about some “wild-eyed,” “crazed,” “violent” Africans terrorizing a helpless white guy. Though I’m sure it’s going to be big with the crowd who still believe that President Obama is a radical Muslim terrorist, born and raised in Kenya, who wants to start a Mau Mau rebellion in America…...
Phillips, as you may recall, gave himself up as a hostage to save the lives of his crew, and spent three days alone in a small lifeboat with his kidnappers, until he was saved by Navy Seals marksmen.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not too particularly excited about seeing a movie about some “wild-eyed,” “crazed,” “violent” Africans terrorizing a helpless white guy. Though I’m sure it’s going to be big with the crowd who still believe that President Obama is a radical Muslim terrorist, born and raised in Kenya, who wants to start a Mau Mau rebellion in America…...
- 3/15/2011
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of cultural references on The Colbert Report. From Darcy to Danger Mouse, String Theory to Shakespeare, we’ve got the keys to this week’s obscure, oddball, and occasionally obscene cultural shout-outs (hey!).
Sholem-aleykhem Zoners! I hope your Daylight Savings Time was…ok, maybe not enjoyable, but I sure hope you remembered it! Hey, it’s the only bit of time travel I’ve ever done, so at least I have that going for me. It was a great week of shows, and it sure challenged my fact finding noggin, which I always enjoy. I do have to add that I wouldn’t mind showing Stephen my advanced degree for a few beads! Which segments did you enjoy?
Monday
On Notice/Dead to Me – Mike Huckabee
The Kenyan view of the Mau Mau Revolution is far different from the American view, which...
Sholem-aleykhem Zoners! I hope your Daylight Savings Time was…ok, maybe not enjoyable, but I sure hope you remembered it! Hey, it’s the only bit of time travel I’ve ever done, so at least I have that going for me. It was a great week of shows, and it sure challenged my fact finding noggin, which I always enjoy. I do have to add that I wouldn’t mind showing Stephen my advanced degree for a few beads! Which segments did you enjoy?
Monday
On Notice/Dead to Me – Mike Huckabee
The Kenyan view of the Mau Mau Revolution is far different from the American view, which...
- 3/15/2011
- by Toad
- No Fact Zone
Stephen Colbert had harsh words for Friend of The Colbert Report Mike Huckabee on last night’s show. To begin with, he took offense to Huckabee using Oscar winner Natalie Portman as an example of someone glorifying having children out of wedlock. “Look, I’m no fan of single mothers either. But it’s Natalie Portman we’re talking about. That kid she’s pregnant with is Luke Skywalker,” Colbert said, mouthing think, think. “So logically, if you’re against her pregnancy that means you’ve aligned yourself politically with Emperor Palpatine. You’re alienating all of Tatooine. It’s a swing planet.
- 3/8/2011
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW.com - PopWatch
Mike Huckabee supposedly "misspoke" when he said Barack Obama grew up in Kenya. The potential 2012 candidate and other Obama bashers need to accept that the president was born in the U.S. and is Christian-and try to beat him with ideas, argues Mark McKinnon.
Mike Huckabee has really stepped in it. I only wish I could believe it was entirely accidental. But, boy, there sure is a lot on his shoes. People like Mike Huckabee. I like Mike Huckabee. Or, I did anyway. But just because he can be charming and self-effacing doesn't mean we should excuse him from appropriate standards of conduct and character assassination.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Obama's War on Schools
Huckabee said in an interview this week that President Obama grew up in Kenya. His spokesman tried to mop up by suggesting he misspoke and meant to say he grew up in Indonesia, which...
Mike Huckabee has really stepped in it. I only wish I could believe it was entirely accidental. But, boy, there sure is a lot on his shoes. People like Mike Huckabee. I like Mike Huckabee. Or, I did anyway. But just because he can be charming and self-effacing doesn't mean we should excuse him from appropriate standards of conduct and character assassination.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Obama's War on Schools
Huckabee said in an interview this week that President Obama grew up in Kenya. His spokesman tried to mop up by suggesting he misspoke and meant to say he grew up in Indonesia, which...
- 3/4/2011
- by Mark McKinnon
- The Daily Beast
The sophomore film from the director of Ex Drummer, Swedish thriller Bad Faith, Pablo Trapero's Carancho (my personal favorite film from Cannes 2010), Tsui Hark's Detective Dee, Tom Tykwer's Three and a host of others populate one of the more exciting lineups for the Tiff Contemporary World Cinema Program in recent years. Here's the complete lineup:
22nd of May Koen Mortier, Belgium World Premiere
The director of Ex-Drummer returns with an artful meditation on political violence. A security guard fails to prevent a horrific explosion in a shopping mall, then lives through the aftermath as a series of overlapping what-ifs.
Africa United Debs Gardner-Paterson, United Kingdom World Premiere
Africa United tells the extraordinary story of three Rwandan children and their bid to achieve their lifelong dream - to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Football World Cup in Johannesburg.
Aftershock Feng Xiaogang, China North American Premiere...
22nd of May Koen Mortier, Belgium World Premiere
The director of Ex-Drummer returns with an artful meditation on political violence. A security guard fails to prevent a horrific explosion in a shopping mall, then lives through the aftermath as a series of overlapping what-ifs.
Africa United Debs Gardner-Paterson, United Kingdom World Premiere
Africa United tells the extraordinary story of three Rwandan children and their bid to achieve their lifelong dream - to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Football World Cup in Johannesburg.
Aftershock Feng Xiaogang, China North American Premiere...
- 8/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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