NOON (Short Film)

 NOON

Unlike most short-films, NOON is actually a scene from a completed feature screenplay.

The short sets up the world’s unique premise and introduces our protagonist, Gray, a coyote numbed to the cruelty of the world and his part in it. We watch Gray struggle to salvage what humanity still exists within him when profit is pitted against morality.

Noon is well shot, visually impressive short, with high intensity about itself. It certainly showcases the talent that went behind this film. A grade visuals on a minor budget is something of note, but add to that a great intense atmospheric pressure and you will be left with one awesome short, which should be developed into a feature film.

Heres their website http://www.noonfilm.com

Visit Facebook and Like them at Http://www.facebook.com/noonthefilm

"NOON" Short Film from Kasra Farahani on Vimeo.

UPDATE: 

Im very glad to report that Noon is headed to the big screen through Chernin Entertainment, says a story at The Hollywood Reporter. Farahani, best known in Hollywood for his work as an art director, will make his directing debut with the feature version.

Im always glad when I hear news like this, as it really reminds tenacious filmmakers that their original ambitious ideas might get made. Noon certainly looks amazing and I will definitely be waiting for this film to hit the big screen.

LOBOLA (SA Film News)

LOBOLA

Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, a contemporary romantic comedy about love and tradition in an evolving South African society opens the 2013 Jozi Film Festival on Friday, 15 February 2013 at Villa Arcadia in Johannesburg and releases nationwide on 1 March 2013, ScreenAfrica Reports.

The film addresses cross-cultural relationships with humour and honesty.

Directed by Henk Pretorius (Bakgat!, Bakgat! 2) and co-written by Pretorius and Janine Eser, Fanie Fourie’s Lobola stars newcomer Zethu Dlomo as Fanie’s love interest and Eduan van Jaarsveld (Jozi, Goodbye Bafana, Tsotsi) in the title role.

“At its core, the movie is a real love story between two quirky characters who are deeply attracted to each other,” says co-writer and producer Eser. “But the South African context brings a fresh and unique backdrop to the obstacles they have to overcome. It’s really heartening to hear test audiences say, ‘This is such a great date movie!’”

The film also stars Chris Chameleon, Connie Chiume, Motlatsi Mafatshe, Jerry Mofokeng, Richard van der Westhuizen and Marga van Rooy, among others.

Fanie Fourie’s Lobola was inspired by the book of the same name, written by Nape à Motana. 

LINCOLN - REVIEW

 LINCOLN - REVIEW

Spielberg is undoubtedly a master of filmmaking. None will object to that, as Lincoln is another top-notch masterful addition into the legendary Filmmakers Hall of exemplary films.

The film is focused on the final Months of Lincoln's life as he battles to end the war and abolish Slavery for once and for all.

The exceptionality that accompanies this film would come from its depiction of Abraham Lincoln played so eloquently by Daniel Day Lewis.

Many Legendary figures stories have made it to the big screen. Their presence, wisdom and actions would have you believe that these legends were somewhat of a different breed entirely. Although Lincoln certainly does have this same aura that surrounded many of these legends, we see that Lincoln was just a man. A well-spoken, self taught, practical and down to earth man.

The movie is riddled with Lincoln's idiosyncratic rhetoric stories, which were construed as humour yet persuasive in nature. When Lincoln spoke, the multitudes became silent as each and every person clutched on to his every word.

It's clear as day that the aim of the film was to educate one on how well Lincoln was not only respected and revered by everyone around him, but also shows us the quieter side of his life, his family and his fears. The film celebrates Lincoln in his entirety while making him relatable, which couldn't be done if not for the gracious performance by Daniel Day Lewis.

Lewis fully embodied Lincoln, playing the great president, with power, poise and style. Its goes without saying that the praise he is receiving for his performance is indeed warranted.

Lewis might be the star of the film, as he is playing the titular character after all, however the film has quite the stellar cast. You will certainly see quite a lot of familiar faces as the film trudges along.

The one-standout performance for me personally though, comes from Tommy Lee Jones, who gives his best performance to date as Radical Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens. Jones prowess is as clear as day, as he glides through tongue twisting narrative with such ease.

Truthfully there are a quite the number of actors and actresses who really put on quite the performance for this film, as each and every one of them certainly brought the A-Game.

Lincoln is a film that gives us intimate insight into the life of one of America’s Greatest Presidents, blending a splendid narrative, with exceptional performances by a talented ensemble cast and wonderfully paced experience that manages to keeps ones attention throughout, makes Lincoln certainly one of the best historical dramas ever.

Our Rating

8.5/10

MY TOP 6 FILMS THAT YOU PROBABLY MISSED IN 2012

MY TOP 6 FILMS THAT YOU PROBABLY MISSED IN 2012

This is my list of movies that was pretty good last year, however these films haven't performed as well at the box-office. So these are my five films, which you may have over-looked when you went to the cinema last year. Therefore you should be renting or purchasing these movies now!

6. SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

Collin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken, what more could you want??

Directed by Martin McDonagh, this was a good black comedy that failed to pull in the crowds, even with its star-studded cast. The film has a awesome plot, a lot of humor and its basically a well written story with a Fresh 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which should count for something!

Make sure to check it out.

Budget: $15M

Box-Office: $23M

5. HAYWIRE

What do you get when you take a female MMA Champion fighter (Gina Carano) put her in front of the camera under the direction of Ocean 11’s director Steven Soderbergh?? Not exactly a masterpiece but still one vigorously fashioned spy thriller that beckons audiences attention to catch up on narrative twist and plots.

Gina Carano makes her big screen debut in this film, and although her acting was less then stellar, her background as a Mixed Martial Artist’s certainly makes for some impressive fight scenes.

The film is certainly beautifully shot, edited and sound mixed. It holds a Fresh 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes proving, its more then just Gina’s pretty face, that will hold your attention

You can see Gina opposite Dwayne Johnson in Fast Six releasing later this year.

Budget: $23M

Box-Office: $33M

4. DREDD

I have to admit, I wasn’t too excited for this film upon initial release. After all we got the Stallone Judge Dredd film a few years back and that was horrible! As for this remake, there was nothing that convinced me for a split second that this film would actually be good, especially the trailer which made the film look lacklustre. But surprise, surprise DREDD was quite good and very entertaining.

The film plays everything straight. It doesn’t take unnecessary detours by trying to add insignificant plot details or twist. Instead it’s a straight up action with some deadpan humor and a small touch of self-satire. As a character Dredd doesn’t have any sort of arc, his stunted as a character but in a very good entertaining way.   

The film holds a Fresh77% approval Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Budget: $45M

Box-Office: $36M

3. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Unlike previous films mentioned who just about managed to cover their production budget, Silver Linings Playbook, managed to actually make some profit. However, there are still a lot of people who havent watched this film as yet, and I strongly suggest that you should.

The film is based on a book of the same name by Matthew Quick and its quickly establishing itself as one of the best films of the year. It received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for O. Russell, in addition to achieving the rare feat of being nominated in all four acting categories, (Best Actor – Bradley Cooper, Best Actress – Jennifer Lawerence, Best Supporting actor – Robert De Niro and Best Supporting Actress – Jacki Weaver) Four Golden Globe Award nominations (Jennifer Lawrence won for Best Actress), Three BAFTA nominations, Four Screen Actors Guild nominations and Five Independent Spirit Award nominations.

A Fresh 91%approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Budget: $21M

Box-Office: $48M

2. BEAST OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

This film came out of nowhere really, from a director that I have never heard have before in my life, with a cast that nobody has ever heard of in their lives. Yet, Beast is considered to be on of the best films of the year and its really not that difficult to understand why.

The film is an emotional charged story that has a underlying allegory in it that could pertain to so many different things. The film is bold in its imagination and creativity, mixing human emotion, with love, drama and a touch of mythical fantasy. It certainly goes beyond most Hollywood conventions, but this piece of a film is truly a small remarkable miracle that doesn’t happen all so often. Aided by wonderful performances and heart felt moments, you will find yourself laughing, smiling and cheering the characters on in the endeavours.

A Fresh 86%approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has already picked numerous awards and is nominated for dozens of awards including four Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nomination for young Quvenzhane Wallis.

Budget: $1.8M

Box-Office: $11M

1. CLOUD ATLAS

This has to be the most divisive film of the year. This is probably the most polarizing ambitious movie experience ever in the history of film.

Cloud Atlas is a film with six different narratives where each narrative takes place in a different period of time in history, beginning in 1849, 1936, 1973, 2012, 2144 and ending in 2321. 

Like half the people that watched the film, I absolutely adored this film. Its scope, visuals, aesthetics, intertwining of stories and just the sheer size and ambition of this film, was really something of wonder. From beginning to end I was amazed and entertained.

While the other half of the population who managed to watch the film didn’t like it as much. For them the story was to unwieldy,  they got caught up trying to identify the six main actors who play the roles in the six different stories. Some also failed to see how all these stories correlate to each other, trying to find a thread between each tale. However truth be told, each narrative only has one simple truth behind it, and that’s human nature. As the film goes from 1849 to the year 2144 or 1973 or 2321, for all the differences in culture, clothes, language and technology, the one thing that remained the same is, good, evil, love, joy, pain, jealousy, passion and all these inherent forces that keeps human the same in an ever changing world. That’s the only connection. Each story is its’ own.

While this film has been snubbed by the Academy, and will not be picking up an outrageous amount of awards (which quite frankly is shocking) and has completely bombed at the box-office, I think that regardless of what anyone says about the film, everyone should watch this and make up their own mind about what’s undeniably the most ambitious film made. Then you can decide whether it’s a masterpiece or masterful failure.

Barely a Fresh 66%approval Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Proving that even Critics are Polarised by it.

Budget: $102M

Box-Office: $71M