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Director David Mackenzie is heading to FX to helm a new crime series after making a string of feature films such as the robbery thriller “Hell or High Water,” the Scottish historical epic “The Outlaw King,” and the prison drama “Starred Up.”

Read More: David Mackenzie Talks Re-Editing ‘Outlaw King,’ Shrugs Off ‘Braveheart’ Comparisons, & Thinks Theaters Are Overrated [Interview]

A report from Variety has revealed that Mackenzie will bring his extensive directing experience to FX’s “Under The Banner of Heaven” with actors Andrew Garfield (“Red Riding 1974,” “The Social Network“) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Normal People,” “War of The Worlds“) taking key roles on the project.

Continue reading ‘Hell Or High Water’s David Mackenzie To Direct Andrew Garfield & Daisy Edgar-Jones In FX Crime Series ‘Under The Banner Of Heaven’ at The Playlist.

While Armando Iannucci‘s “Veep” failed to turn any of its nominations in to wins at this year’s Emmys, the writer/director is all but certain to get some love from the BAFTAs and Oscars for his new film “The Personal History of David Copperfield.” Iannucci’s lovingly crafted adaptation of his favorite of Charles Dickens‘ novels opened the BFI London Film Festival and was very well-received.

The cast is refreshingly diverse for a period piece. This color blind casting makes the film feel very modern. Today’s audiences will recognise and relate to these Victorian era characters. In the titular role, Dev Patel stands out even among a collection of more colorful characters. Hugh Laurie, Gwendoline Christie, Daisy May Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw, Benedict Wong, Paul Whitehouse and the (ex) Doctor himself Peter Capaldi all have standout moments in the film with Christie being my personal favorite...

A movie that for a long time seemed stuck in development with folks like Dakota Fanning, Juno Temple, Olivia Williams, Paddy Considine, and Jeremy Irvine attached at various points, "A Royal Night Out" eventually rolled in front of cameras with a no less promising ensemble of actors. And the result looks like a pretty frothy little period piece that's a bit of spirited fun. Julian Jarrold ("Kinky Boots," "Becoming Jane," "Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974") directs Sarah Gadon, Bel Powley, Emily Watson, Rupert Everett, and Jack Reynor in this comedy that takes place just at the close of World War II, and follows the teenage Princess Margaret and the future queen of England, Elizabeth II as they are granted one night from Buckingham Palace to join a celebrating London. And of course, comedic misadventure follows as they step out of the royal world they've always known...

Red Riding: In The Year of Our Lord 1974 / 1980 / 1983

Directed by Julian Jarrold / James Marsh / Anand Tucker

Written by David Grisoni (from the novels by David Peace)

2009, UK

There’s a much quoted line from David Fincher’s Seven, found in one of many notebooks scribbled by horrific serial killer John Doe, that reads: “Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light”. The sentiment and association is very appropriate when musing on the visceral sledgehammer assault on emotions, morality and senses represented by David Peace’s Red Riding series, a sprawling nine year epic of neo-noir, adult fear and a simmering stew of all forms of human evil. Brought to the screen in the form of a condensed movie trilogy (the second novel, 1977, is sacrificed) by the hand of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas writer Tony Grisoni, adaptation does not spell compromise on style or content.

Santa Monica – Battleship star Taylor Kitsch has signed on to star in Exit 147, a thriller directed by British helmer Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) which UMedia is presenting to buyers at the AFM. The Friday Night Lights alum will play a sadistic cop who stops a traveler driving through the desert at night and begins playing mind games with him. Jarrold, whose credits also include Kinky Boots and Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974, will direct from a script by Travis Milloy (Pandorum). Production is set to begin in the second quarter of 2014. Mandalay Vision

read more...

It's fair to say that Andrew Garfield has inhabited the role of Spider-Man to an impressive extent. After he was first announced as the frontman for Marc Webb's reboot, he appeared in character at Comic-Con to make a heartfelt speech about what the character meant to him, and made a return appearance in Hall H this year.

So don't get us wrong: we are big fans of Garfield as Spidey. But it's been more than two years since he had another film out, and there's nothing but The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on the horizon until 2015, when he's lined up a role in Martin Scorsese's period drama Silence. But for now, we've got Garfield withdrawal.

To celebrate Garfield's 30th birthday, we look back on the five most significant roles from his pre-webslinging days.

Boy A (2007)

Garfield earned a TV BAFTA for his achingly moving breakthrough performance in John Crowley's drama,...

Because of movies like Battleship, John Carter and The Savages, I will shudder at the sight of Taylor Kitsch.s name for at least the next five years. Granted, I didn.t watch Friday Night Lights, so I.ve never experienced the power of the Kitsch bandwagon. All I.ve seen are his feature-length films, and they.ve been abysmal, so I.m cautious about Exit 147 right off the bat. The horror site Bloody Disgusting reports that Kitsch has signed on as the lead for Exit 147, which Julian Jarrold will direct. Kitsch will play a small-town sheriff who arrests a stranger who is speeding through the desert. But getting detained is all part of the man.s sadistic game, and now Kitsch.s lawman has to play along if he wants to prevent more tragedy. Jarrold previously helmed Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974, so very few...

Will Ms. Hall meet Mr. Stark?

The "Frost/Nixon" beauty has been offered the role recently vacated by Jessica Chastain in "Iron Man 3," according to Heat Vision.

The role has been described as a "sexy scientist" who goes toe-to-toe with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), but insiders say that it's a supporting role at best. The female lead in "Iron Man 3" will apparently be Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who will reportedly have a much larger role in this film now that she's Stark's official love interest and business partner.

Hall would be joining a cast that includes Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley, who are currently in different stages of negotiations to play the film's villains. Don Cheadle will also be reprising his role as James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine.

Rebecca Hall is certainly no stranger to keeping company with superheroes. She appeared in "The Town" with Ben Affleck...

Clip number three has come our way for Nick Murphy's upcoming chiller The Awakening, and as always we have every single second of it just waiting for your peeled eyes to drink in! Check it out!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

The flick opened in UK cinemas November 11th.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

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Time to add a bit of international flavor to our coverage of Nick Murphy's upcoming chiller The Awakening in the form of a brand new one-sheet. Get ready for an eyeful!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Look for it in UK cinemas on November 11th.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Wake up naked in the comments section below!

Some new stills have come our way for Nick Murphy's upcoming chiller The Awakening, and we've finally gotten around to getting them into a gallery for ya! Dig it!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Look for it in UK cinemas on November 11th.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Wake up naked in the comments section below!

Clip number two has arrived for Nick Murphy's ghostly chiller The Awakening, and as always we're on the spot with it on tap for a quickie supernatural fix for ya! Check it out along with yesterday's clip!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Look for it in UK cinemas on November 11th.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Another ghostly chiller is poised to send some shivers down your spine, and we've got the first clip from it right here for your perusal. Does it get the job done? Pique your interest maybe? You tell us. Read on for some ocular candy from Nick Murphy's The Awakening!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Look for it in UK cinemas on November 11th.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

A new quad one-sheet for Nick Murphy's supernatural spooker The Awakening has hit this crazy little thing we call the interwebs and we have every frigid pixel of it for you right here!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Wake up naked in the comments section below!

Fresh off on nailing down distribution at this year's Toronto International Film Festival comes the international trailer for the period horror film, Nick Murphy's The Awakening, and dare we say it, it delivers some shivers!

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of her fiancé, Florence Cathcart is on a mission to expose all séances as exploitative shams. However, when she is called to a boys’ boarding school to investigate a case of the uncanny, she is gradually forced to confront her skepticism in the most terrifying way, shaking her scientific convictions and her sense of self to the very core.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Wake up naked in the comments section below!

More distribution news coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival! The new supernatural thriller from Nick Murphy, The Awakening, has been picked up by the Cohen Media Group for a Stateside release.

"Set in post-World War I England in 1921, the film follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs."

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) star in the film.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Wake up naked in the comments section below!

Bloody Disgusting got exclusive confirmation today that Julian Jarrold will be directing The Commuter for Gold Circle Films. Byron Willinger and Phil de Blasi penned the screenplay that plays out like so: "On a day like any other, an ex-cop boards his routine New York City train, where he receives a call from a mysterious voice telling him he must discover an unknown person before the train reaches its final stop. His one clue? The name "Devlin"." Gold Circle's Paul Brooks, Scott Niemeyer and Guy Danella, with Anonymous Content's Jeff Okin will be producing the action/thriller with casting underway. Jarrold directed the popular Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 starring Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Hall and Sean Bean.

If you look at Hollywood actors that dies a lot in movies, Sean Bean must be up there with one of the highest death counts going! If you see a movie or TV series with him in, more than likely he’ll be dead before the credits begin to roll!

Our favourite video editing maestro, Harry Hanrahan (who’s previous work you can catch here) has been at it again and has compiled a rather gory collection of scenes in which we get to see Mr. Bean (not that one) die over and over again.

I’ve placed the list of movies in which you get to see here below courtesy of Pajiba who hosted the video in the first place.

Please note, this video is rather gory in places.

Iframe Embed for Youtube

00:07 – Don’t Say a Word (2001)

00:24 – Equilibrium (2002)

00:33 – Outlaw (2007)

00:39 – Airborne (1998)

00:43 – Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974...

Everyone knows that Sean Bean is, in fact, the balls. In addition to being Boromir, Ned Stark, and 006, the man has had unnumerable classic roles, yet has flown mostly under the radar for much of his career. But if you need a tough but good looking dude to glower menacingly and hurt people, either for the angels or the devils, then Sean Bean is your man.

The downside is that, well, he dies a lot. A Lot. It's like he entered the extra lives code and is determined to use every single last damn one of them. And thus, the wickedly brilliant Harry Hanrahan has given us this most precious of gifts -- an entire video dedicated to nothing but Sean Bean death scenes. It should go without saying that spoilers abound, so beware -- it's basically an entire video of spoilers. But it is so worth your while. Trust me on this.

There are just as many folks out there looking to disprove the existence of ghosts as there are those who are trying to prove they exist. Yet, what if said debunkers ran across a case that changed their minds? That's the premise for the latest spooker looking to haunt our friends across the pond in The Awakening.

The film marks the feature film debut of UK TV director Nick Murphy and stars Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Centurion) and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland).

The flick is in post production now so look for more on it soon. In the interim check out the plot crunch and first image below courtesy of the BBC.

Synopsis

"A ghost-debunker comes to a boy’s school to disprove the existence of ghosts, only to find her own beliefs challenged. A classic...

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Centurion) and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) are finished filming the supernatural thriller The Awakening, which marks the feature directorial debut of celebrated UK TV director Nick Murphy. Now in post-production, inside you'll find a long synopsis and first official image thanks to BBC. Set in post-World War I England in 1921, the film follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs.

The UK may be struggling to keep up with the rest of the world in the arena of football, but we’re at least producing some top quality actors. Here’s Matthew’s pick of upcoming talent…

In a review I read for the BBC film, Dive, it stated, "It is lucky that, at a time when we are failing miserably to produce young footballers, we are producing such wonderful young actors." I'm not exactly sure why one would make up for the other, but I agree with the assertion. We have some great young actors and our young footballers are rubbish. For me, that's the best way round, though.

Here's a list of ten young British actors whom I expect to be making big moves in the world of entertainment in the near future, if they aren't already. The list is based on some completely subjective criteria such as talent,...

I was hoping to spotlight the "Red Riding" trilogy this week in lieu of doing a DVD pick. The three films (fully titled, in order, "Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974," Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980" and Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983") won't physically be released on DVD and Blu-ray until August 31, but they all hit the digital platform a few days ago via Netflix's Watch Instantly service. I think exclusively. There is a lot of mainstream appeal with the trilogy at the moment, including new Spider-Man Andrew…...

Andrew Garfield is the new Spider-Man.

The "Red Riding" star takes over the lead role in Sony's reboot of "Spider-Man" being directed by Marc Webb. The studio will release the film in 3D on July 3, 2012. James Vanderbilt wrote the screenplay.

The new iteration, which will veer off from the Sam Raimi-directed trilogy that starred Tobey Maguire, begins production in December.

Cannes -- Cannes may be the celebration of Le Cinema, but increasingly, European filmmakers are turning to the small screen to get their movies made.

Oliver Assayas' Out of Competition entry "Carlos," which had its first market screening Saturday ahead of its festival bow, is just the latest in a flood of hybrid productions that span the gap between film and TV.

Examples include Swedish crime sensation "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," the critically acclaimed Brit noir trilogy "Red Riding" or German Oscar contender "The Baader Meinhof Complex." All were made simultaneously as films and as TV series, giving producers a double-dip of commission cash and film subsidies to build their budget.

"This is almost the standard way to produce in Germany. There are virtually no German movies made without TV money in them," said Regina Ziegler, who found the $20 million needed to bankroll Jo Baier's "Henry of...

Even though shooting doesn't officially begin until June, some early sales art for Nick Murphy's supernatural thriller The Awakening has surfaced at Cannes, and we've got a quick look for you!

"Set in post-World War I England in 1921, the film follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs."

Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) are all set to star.

Check out the artwork below courtesy of Slash Film.

- Uncle Creepy

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Wake up naked in the Dread Central forums!

It was announced a few days back that Rebecca Hall (Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Centurion) and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) have been cast in the supernatural thriller The Awakening which marks the feature directorial debut of celebrated UK TV director Nick Murphy. While shooting won't begin until June, below you'll find some early art from Cannes. Set in post-World War I England in 1921, the film follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs.

Rebecca Hall ("Dorian Gray", "Red Riding: In The Year Of Our Lord 1974"), Dominic West ("300", "Hannibal Rising", "Centurion") and Imelda Staunton ("Alice In Wonderland") have joined the cast of "The Awakening" for StudioCanal and BBC Films reports Deadline. Hall plays a paranormal investigator in post-WW1 England who sets out to debunk claims of spiritualism. She soon comes across an actual haunting in a countryside boarding school. Nick Murphy ("Surviving Disaster And Occupation") will direct from a script he co-wrote with Stephen Volk. David Thompson will produce. Filming kicks off in the UK in late June....

More things are getting set to go bump in the night as a new modern ghost story is under way courtesy of the good folks over at StudioCanal.

According to Screen Daily celebrated UK TV director Nick Murphy is making his feature film debut with the supernatural thriller The Awakening.

"Set in post-World War I England in 1921, the film follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs."

Rebecca Hall (pictured right; Dorian Gray, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974), Dominic West (Hannibal Rising, Punisher: War Zone, Centurion), and Imelda Staunton (Alice in Wonderland) are all set to star.

Shooting will begin this June. Keep it here for more as it comes.

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

The one-week only roadshow presentation of the "Red Riding" trilogy at New York's IFC Center led all specialty films this weekend, according to estimates provided by Rentrak earlier this afternoon. Adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni from David Peace's series of novels, the trilogy consists of three separate films directed by Julian Jarrold ("Red Riding: 1974"), James Marsh ("Red Riding: 1980") and Anand Tucker ("Red Riding: 1983"). The 305 minute ...

Coming to you weekly from my vantage point in good old Blighty, it’s Slashfilm UK. Anglos and Anglophiles rejoice as every Friday I’ll be bringing you a round up of news, links and coverage specific to the motion picture comings and goings here in the UK. Sometimes we’ll be talking about films that have already played in the Us, other times it will be films that won’t make it to the Us for a good while yet, and from time to time you’ll read about films that will never make it to the Us at all. Empire got the exclusive first look at a UK quad poster for Kick-Ass. Here it is. By the way, I've seen Kick-Ass but I'm under embargo. Red Riding: 1974 director Julian Jarrold is moving on to a Boy George biopic. Broadcast reveal that Worried About the Boy will star...

Andrew Garfield in Red Riding: 1974

Photo: IFC Films Tedious is the first word that comes to mind after taking in the five hour Red Riding Trilogy made up of three separate films directed by Julian Jarrold, James Marsh and Anand Tucker. The films set out to tell the story of a ten year period in which the "Yorkshire Ripper" terrorized northern England during the 1970s and '80s. Produced by Channel 4, the trilogy first aired on BBC in the UK back in March of 2009 and is now making its rounds as a roadshow screening offering three films for the price of one, courtesy of IFC. Unfortunately, while sitting through Jarrold's first installment, titled 1974, you aren't going to get a similar satisfaction from what's left to come.

Beginning with 1974, Jarrold's film offers the best story of the trilogy and the best performance from his installment's lead Andrew Garfield who...

This is apparently a very popular week for independent distributors to release new titles. I count at least nine films opening in limited release either Wednesday or Friday (though one-third of those are parts of a lumped-together trilogy). And in a way it seems an unfortunate time because a lot of moviegoers will likely spend their time this weekend catching up on movies that just received Oscar nominations instead of seeing anything new.

Of course, two of the new limited releases are up for Academy Awards. The Israeli drama "Ajami," which opens in NYC Wednesday, is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," which is already playing in NYC and will be expanding to other cities on February 12th, is nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Because I only spotlight three films a week (and I'm actually sort of...

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

This year was a difficult one for me in film. I felt let down by Hollywood, whose offerings were underwhelming, and pushed back release dates, and last minute changes were more distracting than the films themselves. However, this forced moviegoers to look harder, and in places we're not used to, which actually provided some great film experiences, so I can't find myself complaining too much. Here are my picks for the Top Ten Movies of 2009.

A Single Man

A Single Man weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man. Using the word ‘tortured’ brings to mind cliches and worn out devices. I promise, this is not the case here. First time director Tom Ford shows a remarkable amount of promise. His well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.

One of my favorite moviegoing experiences of last year was spending an entire day with the Red Riding trilogy. Three British films, each from a different director, each shot in a different film or video format, each set in a different year and each terrific as a stand-alone work -- though the last installment does function as a conclusive wrap-up, as well. Red Riding: 1974, Red Riding: 1980 and Red Riding: 1983 present the intertwining stories of multiple characters involved in ongoing cases of murder, child abduction and police corruption in West Yorkshire, England. All were adapted from a series of novels from David Peace (The Damned United) by occasional Terry Gilliam collaborator Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

IFC will release the trilogy, originally presented as a TV miniseries in the UK, in marathon form for one week only beginning February 5th at NYC's IFC Center --...

The recent UK miniseries "Red Riding" condensed four lengthy crime novels into three feature-length episodes. Now Columbia Pictures wants to squish everything into a single movie, and the studio is looking to Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List") to handle that task, according to Variety.

Columbia is also said to be negotiating with Ridley Scott to direct the adaptation, but it's hard to imagine the "Blade Runner" director having room in his pipeline to commit to anymore films. After he finishes his "Robin Hood" movie, Scott is attached to helm the board game-adaptation "Monopoly," the prequel to "Alien" an adaptation of "Brave New World" and his sci-fi pet project "The Forever War."

And he's been offered about 43,968,034,960,394 other gigs in the past year. So, even if Columbia wanted him to merely produce "Red Riding," he would seem to be too busy. This is likely just one of those cases in...

Variety writes that Ridley Scott is in talks with Columbia to direct a feature-length adaptation of the British mini-series Red Riding. Columbia recently acquired the rights, and the studio is courting Scott and screenwriter Steven Zaillian as potential collaborators on the project. The two worked together previously on American Gangster and Hannibal.

The miniseries was based on a series of novels by David Peace and aired in March 2009 as three feature-length episodes, which took place in 1974, 1980, and 1983. The first story centers around a reporter (played by Andrew Garfield) who investigates the abductions of several Yorkshire-area girls. His efforts are hampered by corrupt local police, who have been paid off by a greedy businessman (played by Sean Bean) trying to build a mall in the area.

Scott and Zaillian, should they agree to take on the project, would move the action to the Us and condense all three episodes into one feature-length movie.

Chicago International Film Fest 2009 – Review: Red Riding: 1974 & 1980

Red Riding, a British crime drama in three parts, comes to us from across the Atlantic courtesy of Tony Grisoni (Tideland, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas), who adapted the movies from the similarly titled novels by David Peace.

The first installment is set in 1974–as the title suggests–and plays like a 70’s era noir piece. The story centers on young and reckless investigative reporter Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield), following the story of three brutally murdered young girls and the possibility of a single serial killer responsible. In his search for a scoop, he crosses paths with corrupt cops on the take, a shady real estate mogul, and a femme fatale in the character of Paula, young widow and mother of one of the murdered children.

To be blunt, it’s not terribly difficult to finger the culprit before the movie is even halfway over.

The first day of Telluride screenings kicked off Friday with IFC’s North American debut of Brit TV’s Red Riding trilogy, produced by Andrew Eaton and directed by Juian Jarrold, James Marsh and Anand Tucker. I screened Red Riding: 1974, the first installment of Tony Grisoni’s adaptation of four novels by David Peace. Cocky young journalist/womanizer (Andrew Garfield) faces his own Chinatown in Yorkshire as he investigates a possible serial killer/rapist. Garfield …...

Miramax Films released a brand new theatrical movie trailer for the upcoming film “Brideshead Revisited” by director Julian Jarrold (Nineteen Seventy-Four) and starring Matthew Goode, Thomas Morrison, Anna Madeley and David Barrass. Synopsis: A provocative and suspenseful drama, “Brideshead Revisited” tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the pre-wwii era. In the film, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode, “Match Point,” “The Lookout”) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte(Ben Whishaw, “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”), and then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell, “Cassandra’s Dream” and the upcoming “The Duchess”). The rise and fall of Charles’ infatuations reflect the decline of a decadent era in England [...]...