With rumours of another film from the series in the air and a well-deserved Oscar nod for Gary Oldman now is a good time to revisit Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John LeCarre’s Tinker Tailor Solider Spy.

The story is no stranger to the small screen with the Alec Guinness fronted BBC series being, until now, the definitive version. Alfredson’s film is a meticulously crafted and intriguing thriller, taut in execution and bold in its refusal to sex up its dossier.

This is a superficially complex story of deceit and betrayal, told with confidence and benefitting from an exceptional cast and in revisiting the film there is a real sense of the depth of emotion in this collection of lonely men who are fighting what seems like an endless war against an oncoming network of internal and external enemies. If you want a more in-depth look at the film you can check out my review from last year.

Oldman’s Smiley is a masterclass of the understated leading man and watching the film for the second time you become aware of the delicacy of his movements and the deep well of emotions which briefly break the surface (two clear examples are the Christmas party and the arrogance of a high ranking MP) and it is a powerful performance which rewards further viewings.

A key indicator of the well told nature of le Carre’s story is the enjoyment to be had even though you know from the beginning who the mole is. Partially this is because everyone, even Smiley, knows in their hearts who the man at the centre of the betrayal but also because the mystery is so well revealed that you hang on every slight development.

Maria Djurkovic’s evocative production design, itself something of an awards magnet, is a treat on the Blu-ray, with its plethora of detail every bit as important in immersing us in this world as Jacqueline Durran’s costume work or Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography. The world is so dutifully created, with great skill, that it fades into the background as the story takes hold though without the explicit attention to period detail the film wouldn’t work nearly as well.

It’s rare that a cast is as uniformly this good, particularly with such a sizeable ensemble, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy impressing in particular, and each subsequent viewing is a rewarding experience. In taking us back in time once again Alfredson’s maturation as a director is evident in his ability to inspire his actors to surrender any sense of ego to the story. Despite the complex nature of the plot there’s a wealth of character here and it is their revelation, as much as that of the spy within, that is the film’s triumph.

****~ (4/5)

Extras:

It’s a well stocked affair with the usual back-slapping interviews giving a genuine sense of affection for the film and the people involved. There are a number of small featurettes focusing on a character or the institutions but the real meat is to be found in the sections devoted to le Carre and the interviews with the main cast. Each redoubles the enjoyment of the film and what comes across is partly where the film is at its best – that there is a great deal of unseen and necessary depth to the film.

***~~ (3/5)

Following all of the recent images of the upcoming LEGO renditions of The Lord of the Rings films, we’ve now got another great set of images for toy-ified versions of the characters from the Nolan brothers’ conclusion to their Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises.

*Potential spoiler warning* I don’t know whether these toys directly relate to what happens in the film, so if you want to fly fairly blind when it hits cinemas this summer, look away now.

A handful of terrific images have surfaced for the new toys over at Hero Complex, via Collider, in which we get a look at the adorable little figures for Bane and Catwoman, both with super-large, adorable eyes that you just can’t help but fall in love with. The Batman toy seems to come from a different set to the Bane and Catwoman figures, with Mattel making the former, and Funko making the vinyl POP! Heroes figures of the latter.

Directed by Christopher Nolan from a script by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, from a story by the director and David S. Goyer, The Dark Knight Rises of course brings back the familiar faces of Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine, with a terrific set of actors joining the cast for the final film, including Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, and Joey King

The Dark Knight Rises will be with us in cinemas on 20^th July, and is naturally set to be one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters, if not the biggest film of the year. You can catch up on all the rest of our coverage for the film here, including the latest and first full-length trailer that dropped at the end of last year. As usual with these new images for the ridiculously cute toys, you can click to enlarge. How much do you want Bane and Catwoman to just be stood on your desk?

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy hits DVD and Blu-ray shelves across the UK today and if you want to know what we thought of it, keep your eyes peeled for Jon’s review. The movie has a stonking British cast which includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, David Dencik, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke and Ciarán Hinds. The movie is based on the book by John le Carré and is helmed by Tomas Alfredson.

We’ve been sent this great featurette which you’ll find on the Blu-ray extras and it centers around George Smiley played by Gary Oldman in the movie. As you’ll see when you watch the featutrette, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is very much not a James Bond esk spy tail but it’s even describe it as an ante-bond.

I’ll let you watch to find out more but if it whets your appetite, click here to order your copy or click here to enter our competition.

To mark the release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on DVD and Blu-ray this Monday, 30th January, Studio Canal have given us five copies to give away on Blu-ray Double-Play.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy finds George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a recently retired MI6 agent, doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the service, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects – all experienced, skilled and successful agents – but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.

An acting masterclass from the crème de la crème of British film (Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Tom Hardy (Inception), Mark Strong (Kick Ass), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and inspired direction from Let the Right One In’s Tomas Alfredson make this gripping and tense adaptation of John le Carré’s classic spy novel essential viewing.

DVD Extras: Commentary with Gary Oldman & director Tomas Alfredson / John Le Carré interview / deleted scenes

Blu-Ray extras: Commentary with Gary Oldman & director Tomas Alfredson / John Le Carré interview / deleted scenes / Smiley featurette / ‘Inside The Circus’ featurette / Shadow World featurette / Interview with Gary Oldman / Interview with Colin Firth / Interview with Tom Hardy / Interview with Director Tomas Alfredson & screenwriter Peter Straughan / UK premiere featurette / Sky Movies featurette / Photo gallery / Trailers

To be in with a chance of winning the prize, simply head to the next page to answer the question using the form.

*Spoiler Warning* If you want to stay spoiler-free for the Nolan brothers’ epic conclusion to their Batman trilogy, you may want to look away now.

This month, we’ve seen some terrific new things from next year’s The Dark Knight Rises, one of the most highly anticipated films of 2012, including the awesome first character poster of Bane, and of course, the first trailer that was really quite good. And by that, I of course mean it was incredible.

The plot of Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s conclusion to their trilogy is being kept under wraps, and there’s very little that we know about it for sure. There now comes a new description for a scene from the film, via Hero Complex and Collider, and here is your spoiler warning once again.

I’m personally all for the secrecy, and so whilst I did watch the trailer, I’m steering clear of this scene description below (and so will just paste it below without reading it myself), but I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will relish the chance to read it. Given that I’ve not read it, I can only relay that it’s meant to be spoiler-ful, and so if you want to stay relatively the dark too, look away now.

“Gotham City is a war zone. A ruthless madman named Bane has ripped away any sense of security and the citizens, haggard and clutching suitcases with refugee anxiety, sit behind barbed wire waiting to see what will blow up next. A hooded prisoner is dragged in – it’s Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham’s most famous faces – but the eyes of the crowd go instead to the woman in black standing at the top of the staircase.

“Sorry to spoil things, boys, but Bane needs these guys himself,” says sultry Selina Kyle, played here by actress Anne Hathaway, navigating the steps with stiletto heels that, on closer inspection, turn out to have serrated edges capable of leaving nasty claw marks in a fight. She also wears high-tech goggles that, when not in use, flip up and resemble feline ears.”

Christian Bale will of course be reprising his role as the Dark Knight, alongside Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine, with Tom Hardy joining the cast as the notorious Bane, along with Nolan’s Inception stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Juno Temple, and Josh Pence.

The Dark Knight Rises will be coming to the big screen next summer on 20^th July, and judging by what we’ve seen so far, it’s going to be incredible. I could naturally be proven wrong, but I have a feeling that everything we have seen so far (all of which you can catch up on here) hardly scratches the surface with what we can look forward to next year. I think the Nolan brothers will be keeping plenty secret right up until the film reaches cinemas, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Well, it is Christmas time and all I want for Christmas is a Dark Knight trailer, a Hobbit trailer and a Prometheus trailer… oh and some new images from The Dark Knight Rises!

Well, we can source most of these for you and in a few hours, we’ll also have a nice shiny new trailer for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus but to tide us over (it’s now here!) while we wait, here’s some nice new images from The Dark Knight Rises. We’ve seen most of them before but they’ve always been obscured by a magazine cover or been low res. Now they are nice and high, especially the one of Christian ‘Christmas’ Bale shooting his taser!

The Dark Knight Rises will be with us summer 2012, is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Josh Pence, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy.

Click them below to enlarge:

In the past week, we’ve seen the ad campaign for Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s final instalment in their Batman trilogy take an interesting new turn with the release of three documents regarding a man by the name of Dr. Leonid Pavel.

We’ve also been granted our first, ridiculously incredible Bane character poster for the film, and are expecting the film’s first full-length trailer to come any day now – with any luck, tomorrow.

The folk over at SuperHeroHype, via ComingSoon.net, have been treated to an awesome package adding to the film’s advertising campaign, and they’ve been nice enough to upload a few photos of what arrived for them in the mail: an awesome Bane t-shirt (which we should all be jealous of), and a cylindrical map of Gotham City upon which is written five strike zones. Whether we can take the zones on the map to be true to the film itself is of course a different question entirely, and one we’ll probably be debating until the film’s release next summer. In case you don’t want to take a look, I won’t spoil it for you, but some of the locations targeted sound like they’d make for epic battle scenes if they are true to the film.

The Nolan brothers look to be going all out for this final instalment and are sure to be bringing us something absolutely immense with The Dark Knight Rises. The tagline on the Bane poster we saw just a few days ago, ‘The Legend Ends’, is just so damn perfect; this really is going to be an epic conclusion.

Christian Bale​ will be reprising his role as the Dark Knight, alongside Gary Oldman​, Morgan Freeman​, and Michael Caine​, with Tom Hardy​ joining the cast as the notorious Bane, along with Nolan’s Inception stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt​ and Marion Cotillard​, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Juno Temple​, and Josh Pence.

The film’s six-minute prologue has had a few select screenings here and across the Atlantic, and you can read our review of those first six minutes here, and catch up with everyone else Batman-related right here. Without further ado, here are those all-important shots of the Bane t-shirt and the Bane Strike Map. As usual, click to enlarge. Can you imagine waking up to something so cool in your mail?

Batman trilogy filmmaker Christopher Nolan made his mark on the 70mm IMAX screen in London on Wednesday with studio Warner Bros showing the first six minutes of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, out in July 2012.

Next year’s highly anticipated epic conclusion to The Caped Crusader saga sees terrorist leader Bane (Tom Hardy) arriving in Gotham City, set to push its hero Batman (Christian Bale) to breaking point and cause mayhem in the process.

Producer Emma Thomas was on hand to introduce the clip, saying Nolan’s vision was to make the latest experience as “immersive an experience” as possible, harking back to the days of the filmmaker’s childhood memories of large-screen epics.

True to Nolan’s style of introducing some of his films with a flashback and reference to Batman’s previous escapade, the six-minute clip opens with embattled law man Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) speaking at a fallen city hero’s memorial. Nolan adopts his hard cut method to instantly project us to a far away, war-torn land to be confronted by a trio of captured hooded men – presumably mercenaries – bundled by special forces onto a military plane. It’s clear that one of this faceless cargo is top priority, but what happens next is straight out of any daring action film, with some courageous aerial acrobatics and mid-flight toppling of power that use the 70mm IMAX screen to its best ability.

Uncovering the mask, we get to meet Batman’s main arch nemesis in this film, Bane, a psychotic, muzzled beefcake of madman hell-bent on grabbing glory and power in Gotham. Bane’s prominent face-piece looks menacingly like something out of Predator. The trouble is if these first few minutes are anything to go by, understanding Hardy’s muffled, gravely tones as Bane are going to prove pretty tricky. Still, with a pedigree of playing psychopaths, from his Cape Wrath TV days to Bronson, steely-looking Hardy’s actions speak louder than his garbled words.

These first few minutes flew by, but Nolan certainly sets the scene for some jaw-dropping stunts in the 2012 instalment, combined with each of his tormented characters’ determination to seek their own form of justice or some sort of vengeance over a death. July 2012 never seemed so far away…

2012 will be a big year for BAFTA Guru, the online resource from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts designed to inspire, educate and throw open the doors to young filmmakers and cinephiles  alike.

We’ve seen some excellent and inspiring lectures, Q&As and interviews already from Martin Scorsese, Charlie Kaufman and Nolan Bushnell among others, each opening up about their particular field of expertise and giving their advice to young filmmakers, writers and video game designers.

BAFTA is perfectly placed to offer this service and it’s great to see BAFTA Guru being put together with such care and the latest video is a forty minute interview with Gary Oldman, whose recent turn in Tinker, Tailor, Solider Spy reminded us of the variety and depth of his performances, not a bad feat considered he had to step out of the considerable shadow of Sir Alec Guinness in order to do so.

It’s a fascinating watch, and if you’re so inspired I’d highly recommend bookmarking the page and then clicking around, there’s much to enjoy.

You can whet your appetite with a coming soon trailer below,

and then click here to watch the full Gary Oldman interview video.

If ever there were a poster to guarantee itself as deserving a spot on your wall, this is the one. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s conclusion to their Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, is sure to be one of 2012’s biggest films – and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to predict it making the Top 10 list of all-time highest grossing films, a list in which its predecessor, 2008’s The Dark Knight, currently sits – and everything that we’ve seen from the film so far points to an immense finale.

In the past few days, we’ve seen the film’s advertising campaign move into a new direction with the release first of two documents, followed yesterday by a third, with rumours surfacing that the release of the full-length trailer was imminent.

Sadly, that wasn’t to be last night, but we’ve now got an utterly epic poster to share with you for the film now instead, via ComingSoon.net, with the perfect tagline, ‘The Legend Ends’. We got the film’s absolutely brilliant first poster back in July, followed swiftly by the first teaser trailer, which was every bit as awesome as the poster. This new poster definitely maintains that high level of brilliance, and given the amazing posters that Nolan put out for his last film, Inception, I’d be willing to bet that we’ve got more incredible posters to look forward to in the campaign to promote The Dark Knight Rises.

Christian Bale will be reprising his role as the Dark Knight, alongside Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine, with Tom Hardy joining the cast as the notorious Bane, along with Nolan’s Inception stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Juno Temple, and Josh Pence.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, and this new poster will almost certainly set off a huge spark among fans as to what we can expect from it – we see Bane walking away in the pouring rain from a shattered Batman mask. Oh wow.

The Dark Knight Rises will be hitting cinemas on 20th July next summer, and I think we can all agree that we should all agree right now to clear our calendars for that day to make sure we see it at the first possible opportunity, because it’s going to be incredible. Without further ado, feast your eyes upon this amazing first poster of Bane. As usual, click to enlarge, and give yourself even more awesomeness to soak up.

[Updated] Just two days ago, we saw The Dark Knight Rises’ promotional campaign take a turn in a new direction with the release of two documents related to the film, regarding an unknown character, Dr. Leonid Pavel, which is already sparking much discussion on the Internet as to what the documents mean.

A third document has surfaced over at @thefirerises, with thanks to Empire for the tip-off, that continues the information that we saw from the first two documents, talking now about the exfiltration of Dr. Pavel, under the code name, Operation Early Bird, which in turn points us to this website. As the document notes, the exfiltration is set to take place at 1000 hours PST, which is 6pm on our time here in the UK. The Operation Early Bird site has a countdown that will run down at exactly 6pm tonight, so be sure to check back here to see what happens when the clock reaches zero!

It’s thought that we’ll be treated to the film’s first full-length trailer when it does, which is definitely an exciting possibility. We got the film’s first teaser back in July, and it was absolutely brilliant, and you just know that getting a full-length look at Christopher Nolan’s conclusion to his Batman trilogy is going to be immense. The film itself is going to be nothing short of incredible, no doubt about that.

Christian Bale will of course be reprising his role as the Dark Knight, alongside Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine, with Tom Hardy joining the cast as the notorious Bane, along with Nolan’s Inception stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Juno Temple, and Josh Pence.

The Dark Knight Rises will be hitting the big screen on 20^th July, and is naturally expected to be one of the biggest and best films of the year, and I can’t wait for the trailer to hit when the clock reaches 6 tonight. Be sure to check back in then. Without further ado, here’s the third document released as part of the new campaign. As usual, click to enlarge. And if you want a re-cap of everything we’ve seen so far, just click right here.

[Update:] Alas, we sadly weren’t treated to our first look at the trailer last night, as we were all hoping we would be. Instead, the Operation Early Bird site listed free screenings of the six-minute prologue for the film, which they’ll be playing in Manchester, Glasgow, Bradford, and London, on 14th December, ahead of the film’s release next summer. With any luck, we’ll be treated to that highly anticipated trailer very soon, and you can be sure we’ll be bringing it to you as soon as it hits.

Three Horcruxes down and long past the point of no return, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) – alongside best friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) – are busy planning their next assault on Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) divided soul. With Gringots Wizarding Bank and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry both harbouring Horcruxes, the trio must draw on their six years of education, their combined ingenuity and a number of assorted peers and allies if they are to destroy He Who Must Not Be Named and liberate the wizarding world once and for all.

Film: Eight movies in A Nightmare On Elm Street had spilled over onto Camp Crystal Lake, James Bond was on its third 007 and The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze was languishing at the bottom of bargain bins on home video. Harry Potter, meanwhile, has acheived a feat of which there has been no precedent: it has continued to grow both in scale and quality, maturing in tandem with an ever-increasing ensemble of returning characters and cast-members. Whether the latest – and last – instalment in Hollywood’s most lucrative franchise was a good film in its own right or not, it was already ear-marked as a movie-making (and story-telling) achievement of truly staggering proportions.

Apparently despite the so-called law of diminishing returns, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is one of the most exciting, moving and spectacular films of not only the franchise itself, but the year so far. Boasting a truly breathtaking array of explosive set-pieces, one of the most organic and tender romances of all time and a final confrontation which pays dividends to just about everything that came before, returning director David Yates has crafted what is simultaneously the perfect conclusion to a much loved cinematic series and a truly astonishing film in its own right.

While the film, importantly the second instalment in a two-parter, might resume with somewhat of a muted introduction, the audience is efficiently and effectively brought up to speed at Shell Cottage before they – along with Harry, Ron and Hermione – are thrust back into the action with a spell-binding assault on Gringotts. Such issues as needless tension (why do they cause a scene at the bank when they could just present Bellatrix’s wand and progress unnoticed?), incongruous mispronunciations (can Alan Rickman really not pronounce pensieve? Sirius?) and unfortunate deviations from the book (am I the only one who wanted to see Sybil Trelawney bombard werewolves with her crystal balls?) are easily forgivable, however, as the rest of the film proves so thoroughly entertaining. Even the epilogue – a scene which most fans would have quite happily seen lost in translation – is wonderfully realised.

There are quite simply too many memorable moments to note: The Battle of Hogwarts is flawlessly executed, Ron and Hermione’s embrace in the Chamber of Secrets is utterly charming and our brief insight into Severus Snape’s enigmatic past proves hugely rewarding. Radcliffe too impresses with an unexpectedly astute and nuanced performance, his reaction to a last-act revelation reminding you just how complex a character Harry Potter actually is. While a few deaths and character beats may fall unfortunately by the wayside, it is to Steve Kloves’ credit that so few characters fall victim to the equally impressive but potentially overwhelming stunt-work and special effects. Whether it’s Seamus Finnigan (Devon Murray), Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) or Molly Weasley (Julie Walters), each of Rowling’s creations gets at least a line or scene in which to shine.

Boasting assured and franchise-best performances from the central cast, welcome and carefully woven references to the extant series, a truly magisterial score from composer Alexandre Desplat and a core relationship that roots the action and adventure in very human territory, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is one of very few films that lives up to the hype. Beautifully sold – and incidentally reviewed – by its advertising campaign, this really is the motion picture event of a generation.

Extras: While the culmination of thirteen years’ solid investment – as stated by J.K. Rowling in a welcome introduction – alone should be enough to make this DVD nothing short of essential buying, the filmmakers have gone to great lengths to ensure that you remain entertained long after the credits have finally rolled. Perhaps most revealing is a documentary titled When Harry Left Hogwarts, an eight-part series chronicling production on the final movie. Set amidst the ruins of Hogwarts at Leavesden Studios, we pay witness to cast interviews, read-throughs and discussions with workmen who are just looking to finish up and get home for the night.

Also nestled among the special features are focus points which cover everything from an introduction to Aberforth Dumbledore, to costume changes and the creation of Hogwarts’ magical shield, a heartfelt and insightful spotlight on the women of Harry Potter, the usual deleted scenes and a set of adverts for both the Pottermore website and the tour in London. With an indelibly misty-eyed atmosphere, if you thought the première footage was devastatingly nostalgic and unexpectedly upsetting, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

***** (5/5)

What a way to start the day! Having reported just last night about the list of actors testing for the second of the male co-leads in Jaume Collet-Serra’s upcoming Akira remake, the brilliant casting news surrounding this project is literally getting better every day.

TRON: Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund and The Twilight Saga’s Kristen Stewart have already been offered the leading roles of Kaneda and Kei, respectively, and I think they are both fantastic choices.

News came last month that Warner Bros. had reached out to Gary Oldman for the role of The Colonel, and though the actor was approached and had been talking about the possibility, no firm offer was made.

Twitch now report, via Collider, that none other than the immense Oscar-nominated actor, Ken Watanabe, has been offered the role in place of Oldman. Watanabe is one of, if not the, most recognisable Japanese actor in English language cinema, and I think he would be an impeccable addition to the cast, so I’m really hoping that the offer will go through smoothly.

Though there are no doubt many sceptical of an American remake, especially fans of Katsuhiro Otomo’s original manga and anime, I have really high hopes and expectations for the project, and think that it’s going to be nothing short of immense. The cast so far sounds brilliant, and Watanabe would only be furthering that brilliance.

The actor has worked on some of my all-time favourite films, including Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, the latter of which earned him his Best Supporting Actor nomination, and being cast in the Akira remake would give us yet another opportunity to see him on the big screen here in the UK, something we don’t often get to do. With two Japanese projects currently in post-production, his schedule is looking open enough to fit Akira into his calendar next year, which would be perfect.

Though at the moment, it’s just an offer that’s been made, I’m staying very optimistic and hopeful that it will become more concrete soon. With production set to begin early next year, Collet-Serra will no doubt want his leading cast confirmed as soon as possible, so we’ll hopefully have more news to bring you soon. Keep your fingers crossed that it’s going to be good news for us and Watanabe.

The past few weeks have seen some excellent progress being made on the Akira remake front. Garrett Hedlund has been selected to star as one of the film’s two male leads, given the role of Kaneda. Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter have both been approached to star. And just last week, Kristen Stewart was offered the lead female role of Kei, which I think is a brilliant choice.

News now comes from Collider that there are some great names in the mix for the other male lead, Tetsuo, with seven names having tested for the role yesterday and the day before: Logan Marshall-Green, D.J. Cotrona, Toby Kebbell, Richard Madden, Rami Malek, and Paul Dano and Alden Ehrenreich retesting for the part.

Unknown’s Jaume Collet-Serra is taking the helm for the project, which has a $90m. budget, and it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to. I think Hedlund and Stewart are both going to be awesome in this, and the list of co-leads has some excellent names on it.

Personally, my vote is torn between Marshall-Green and Kebbell. I admit I don’t have much experience with the others’ roles, but Marshall-Green and Kebbell have both been so great in what I’ve seen them in that I’m rooting for either of them.

Marshall-Green may not be a household name, but with a leading role in Ridley Scott’s upcoming Prometheus, I think he’s going to be quickly rising by the time next summer rolls around.

And Kebbell was nothing short of brilliant in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, and I’d love to see him in more and more roles in the future. We’ll next be seeing him in the Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans, next March. And he’s currently filming the indie film The East, alongside Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgård, and Brit Marling, and that stellar cast makes me think that that film’s going to be so good.

With the Akira testing having been done over the past two days, I’m hoping it won’t be long before we’ll get confirmation of who’s been chosen. This is definitely a film to be keeping your eye on, and as always, we’ll be bringing you more news as and when we get it.

Unless you’ve been in hibernation for the past several months, you’ll be fully aware that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan will be bringing us the conclusion to their Batman films next year with The Dark Knight Rises, and there’s every reason to expect that it is going to be nothing short of being utterly immense.

Photos and footage from the set have been unusually frequent through the filming stages of The Dark Knight Rises, with plenty of unofficial set photos and videos surfacing for quite some time.

What we’ve seen officially has been few and far between, but it’s all been brilliant. We first got a look at Tom Hardy as Bane back in May. Then came an awesome first poster for the film in July, followed swiftly by the first teaser trailer, which was just a little bit epic. And most recently, we got our official first look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and needless to say, it was ridiculously cool.

We’ve now got two more great official photos to share with you, which are gracing the January 2012 edition of Empire magazine. The issue will be coming in two forms, one with Batman on the cover, and one with Bane, so choose wisely (or choose both, if you can’t choose between them).

The covers boast more official set photos inside the issue, so we can no doubt look forward to more excellent images surfacing soon. As much as I love the first two of Nolan’s films, I have to admit that my knowledge of Batman isn’t extensive beyond them, and so I can’t say whether what Batman’s holding in his cover is something entirely new or something that ties into his comic book history. I can say that it looks ridiculously awesome, whatever it is; judging by the way Christian Bale is looking down the top of it, as if taking aim, I’d guess it is some sort of weapon, but naturally only time will tell.

Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman will all be reprising their roles – and Cillian Murphy has reportedly been seen on the set – and they are joined by a further fantastic cast, including Hathaway, Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, and Josh Pence.

Despite the numerous unofficial images and videos from the set, I think Nolan still has so much about the film being kept under wraps – not least of which being the plot – and I think we’ve got a lot of surprises to look forward to next summer. The Dark Knight Rises will be hitting the big screen on 20th July next year, and by all accounts, it looks like it’s going to be incredible. Without further ado, here are the great new images. As usual, click to enlarge.

Though some might disagree, this is a project that’s been shaping up pretty damn nicely in my eyes recently. Based on Katsuhiro Otomo’s original Japanese manga/anime, Akira is set to make its big-screen American adaptation with Unknown’s Jaume Collet-Serra in the driving seat behind the camera.

TRON: Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund, who I think has deservedly been making a name for himself lately, has been tapped in one of the two male leads as Kaneda, and Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter have both been approached with offers.

Kristen Stewart has now also been approached with an offer, Collider report, to play the female lead, Kei, a love interest for Hedlund’s Kaneda.

The specifics for Steve Kloves’ script are still being kept under wraps, though it’s been known for some time that the location of the originals has been moved from New Tokyo to New Manhattan – you’d perhaps think that the names of the characters would change to match that switch, but maybe not.

Regardless, I think Stewart would be a fantastic choice for the remake. Though I admit that I’ve never yet seen any of the Twilight films, I’ve loved her work in other films, and think she would be great in this. With the Twilight series almost over, Stewart has been actively seeking roles that go beyond what she could have been typecast as, which I think is both brilliant and brave.

She’ll next be seen in the first part of the Twilight conclusion, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I, before starring as one of the female leads in Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. She’s also been hard at work filming Snow White and the Huntsman of late, and moving on to Akira in the new year, with production expected to begin in February/March next year, sounds like a perfect fit. More news as we get it.

It appears those working on Wall Street have had quite an exciting time recently. Christopher Nolan has chosen that iconic location to film an immense fight scene between Batman, Bane and Gothom Police – and we can watch it too thanks to modern technology.

The businessmen and women of New York have filmed the scenes from their phones and we can see in detail the enormity of this set, along with the huge amount of action it involves.

There are a few of these videos roaming around on Youtube, but here’s some of the best:

Batman and Bane fighting:

Tumblers being driven:

Huge amount of extras:

A closer view of the fight:

An even closer view

The film comes out in July 2012.

It seems that Hollywood is finally starting to wise up to a little fact that moviegoers have known for quite a while; Gary Oldman is simply put, a badass.

Oldman has already taken up some iconic roles with films like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional, and Nolan’s Batman flicks to name a few.  However it seems like his newest role as an M16 espionage specialist in Thomas Alfredson’s new Cold War drama, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, is generating quite a bit of awards buzz, as well as putting him in high demand for some studios.

According to Deadline one such studios, Warner Bros., is now linking Oldman to two of their upcoming 2013 releases.  The first, will be alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Garrett Hedlund as the rugged Colonel Shikishima in the perhaps inescapably Americanized retelling of the classic Anime/Manga, Akira.  More recently, Oldman has also signed on for perhaps an even more iconic role as Merlin for Dave Dobkin’s film, Arthur & Lancelot.

Now I can’t personally speak as to whether or not Oldman will finally grab himself that ever elusive Oscar, after all, I still have yet to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  However if this win does actually come to pass, I am predicting dark times in the future for Mr. Oldman.  More often than not we see actors follow up award-winning performances with a slew of terrible films that aren’t even worth their weight in 1′s and 0′s (Remember Jamie Fox’s and Halle Berry’s careers after their wins?).  Akira has just about every fandom nerd worried and has been teetering on the edge of disaster for years now.  Then you have this other film, Arthur & Lancelot, which if David Dobkin’s last 3 films are any indication, will be yet another piece of comedy drivel that fails to hit home.

I will try though to stay the optimist and hope for nothing but the best from Oldman in the upcoming years.  He’s proven his worth time and time again, so perhaps he can find it himself to conjure enough of that special something of his to keep these Warner Bros. projects from collapsing in on themselves.

Casting news should always be taken with a pinch of salt when in relation to Warner Bros’ Akira remake – Leonardo DiCaprio, Zac Efron and Morgan Freeman have previously been linked to the project to little effect – so don’t get all riled up just yet, but Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter have allegedly been offered roles as The Colonel and Lady Miyako respectively.

With Tron: Legacy‘s Garrett Hedlund leading up the contenders for the film’s leading parts, Oldman and Bonham Carter – if cast – would see the former responsible for unleashing the powerful Akira and the latter aiding rival Kaneda in his quest to put a stop to the resultant destruction.

Both actors have a history with the studio, having starred in its immensely lucrative Harry Potter franchise, and as such it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that they might accept. With around six months remaining until director Jaume Collet-Serra plans to go before the camera, however, it is likely that it will still be some time yet before we have casting news of any real certainty.

IndieWire had it first.

In an opening scene which sees Peter Mullan’s character kick his faithful mutt to death after a night (and indeed day) on the tiles, it’s safe to say Paddy Considine’s feature-length directorial debut (he won a BAFTA in 2007 for the short which formed the basis of what’s on offer here) won’t be touted as the feel-good hit of the Autumn.

This is British cinema which has its roots firmly in that type of oppressive, downbeat kitchen sink drama which first gained prominence in the 60’s. It’s brought bang up to date here, with a steadfast refusal to pull any emotional punches. For those who have the stomach for miserablist drama (granted, this isn’t everyone’s idea of an evening out at the cinema), the film offers a gruelling, yet ultimately cathartic experience.

Mullen is Joseph, a jittery misanthropic alcoholic who has recently been widowed and seems to spend most of his waking hours in the local boozer, wallowing in a perpetual state of anger and loathing of the world around him. His world collides with that of Hannah’s (Peepshow’s Olivia Colman), a meek and repressed employee at the local charity shop. She’s a devout Christian who lives under content fear of her unbearably jealous and volatile husband James (Eddie Marsan).

The dysfunctional odd couple slowly begin to find some kind of connection and peace with each other, albeit in a platonic (and at times) strained manner, but it isn’t long however before the forces around them conspire to put an end to any chance of emotional stability.

A number of gifted actors to step behind the camera in the past have managed to draw out some indelible performances from their leads (a glowing example is Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth, a film which Tyrannosaur shares some DNA with) and Considine is no exception. He knows how to get the very best from his two main stars, and both are truly outstanding. Mullan has tread similar ground in the past with Ken Loach’s My Name Is Joe, but the disturbing behaviour of his character from the outset and the constant self admission that he’s far from what could be considered a nice human being, sets this role apart from any previous variations in his work. It’s to both Mullan’s and his director’s credit that the audience can still form some kind of empathy for such a troubled individual as the film progresses.

As fantastic as Mullan is, it’s Colman who is truly the revelation here. This is an abrupt, devastating u-turn for the performer, who is best known for lighter, comedic knockabout stuff. She’s heartbreaking as Hannah, a woman who has tried to live a virtuous life and through no fault of her own has been constantly downtrodden and abused. She goes where many actresses would fear to tread and offers a truly gut-wrenching portrayal, which is incredibly difficult to watch at times (Considine tends to mainly frame his actors in unflinching close-ups, adding to the sometimes unbearably bleak atmosphere). Marsan, yet again, does another fine job of playing a truly repugnant, wholly unsympathetic character, and the tension created by his mere presence in a scene is palpable.

This is another fantastic string to the bow for Warp films. Having established themselves as the go-to company for filmmakers with bold, uncompromising visions (their Australian offshoot has another equally hard-hitting slice of suburban malaise in the form of Snowtown, which is due for release on these shores next month), Considine’s film can sit proudly alongside the work of labelmate (and frequent collaborator) Shane Meadows.

During the publicity trail for Tyrannosaur Considine has repeatedly expressed an interest in concentrating more on directing in the future. It would be a shame to see him slip away from screens as a performer, but on the evidence of the film he’s made here, he may forge an equally impressive career behind the camera.

****½ (4.5/5)