Last week, we got to see a lovely new clip of Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in the upcoming romance-drama, The Vow, marking writer-director Michael Suscy’s feature debut.

Before that, we’d seen two trailers and two posters (which you can catch up on by clicking here), and now we’ve got four excellent new clips from the film to share with you, as well as eleven new images from the film and the set, courtesy of Collider.

“Paige and Leo are a happy newlywed couple whose lives are changed by a car accident that puts Paige in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, Paige has no memory of Leo, a confusing relationship with her parents, and an ex-fiance she may still have feelings for. Despite these complications, Leo endeavors to win her heart again and rebuild their marriage.”

The clips are amalgamated into one long video (which in fact includes the clip that we saw last week as one of five clips, four of which are new), and they really show off the warmth that we can expect from this film. The story sounds like a really heartfelt one, based on a true story, and it looks like it’s translated really well to the big screen.

Tatum and McAdams are both fantastic, and look wonderful opposite each other from what we’ve seen from the film so far. The Vow will be released here in the UK on 10^th February, so we’re just a couple of weeks away from getting to see it now. It looks as though it’s the only real romance-drama contender for this year’s Valentine’s Day, so if you’re looking for a film to go and see next weekend with your other half, this could well be the one. Here are the new clips and images to enjoy, and as usual with the latter, you can click to enlarge.

]]> http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2012/01/30/four-charming-clips-and-a-host-of-images-for-the-vow-with-rachel-mcadams-and-channing-tatum/feed/ 0 http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2012/01/24/lovely-new-clip-of-rachel-mcadams-and-channing-tatum-in-the-vow/ http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2012/01/24/lovely-new-clip-of-rachel-mcadams-and-channing-tatum-in-the-vow/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:07 +0000 Kenji Lloyd http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/?p=124495

Inspired by true events, writer-director Michael Sucsy’s feature debut in The Vow looks rather promising. Its leading couple, Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, have both seen their careers rising wonderfully in recent years, with McAdams getting her big break in Mean Girls and The Notebook that has since spawned so many great performances, and Tatum’s role in Step Up leading on to the likes of Dear John, G.I. Joe, Haywire, and the upcoming 21 Jump Street.

We’ve seen two trailers and two posters for the film already (which you can catch up on here), and now Yahoo Movies have a new clip to share with us from the film, entitled ‘Make Me Diabetic’.

“Paige and Leo are a happy newlywed couple whose lives are changed by a car accident that puts Paige in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, Paige has no memory of Leo, a confusing relationship with her parents, and an ex-fiance she may still have feelings for. Despite these complications, Leo endeavors to win her heart again and rebuild their marriage.”

In this clip, we get to see Leo (Tatum) taking Paige (McAdams) out for a meal, and trying to bring back past memories with dessert. And for anyone interested, the great music in the background, if I’m not mistaken, is the sound of Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly), by the American singer-songwriter Matthew Houck, who releases his music under the name Phosphorescent.

The Vow will be opening here on 10^th February, and looks to be the only real contender in the romantic-comedy category for the Valentine’s Day weekend, so hopefully it will see some good business from its target demographic. In the UK, though, Daniel Radcliffe’s The Woman In Black, David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and James Bobin and Jason Segel’s The Muppets all also open that weekend, so it finds itself facing some tough competition, even if their respective aimed audiences are different. Here’s to hoping that they all do well though, and that the UK box office will flourish with so many films with well-known stars coming out that weekend. For now, here’s the new clip to enjoy. The warm lighting really does set the mood.

Brian De Palma, director of such classic films as Scarface, The Untouchables, and Dressed To Kill, is set to go behind the camera for the first time since 2007’s Redacted, with Passion, a remake of the recent French thriller, Love Crime.

Noomi Rapace, famous for her role as Lisbeth Salander in the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films, is set to star as one of the two female leads, and her co-star on the upcoming Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (due out tomorrow), Rachel McAdams, is now in talks to join as the other female lead, Collider report.

The original film starred Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier in the leads, and the trailer (which you can watch below) looks pretty intriguing, making the prospect of an English language remake under the direction of De Palma, with Rapace and McAdams in the leads, pretty damn interesting too.

Rapace is expected to play the role of Sagnier, with McAdams thought to be taking on Scott Thomas’ role from the original. Courtesy of Fandango, Love Crime’s synopsis looks a little like this:

“Christine (Scott-Thomas) is the head executive at a top agribusiness firm in France. Ruthless and uncompromising, she revels in playing diabolical head-games with her staffers that include blackmail and seduction, and enjoys an almost pathologically close relationship with protégé Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier). The women also share a lover, accountant Philippe (Patrick Mille), who readily assumes a submissive role to the dominatrix posturing of each lady in the bedroom. The balance of power shifts, however, when a colleague (Guillaume Marquet) shows Isabelle how to “one-up” Christine in the office – which prompts Christine to respond with a nasty, humiliating trick involving a security camera. In the days ahead, retaliation escalates on both ends until each of the women begins contemplating felonious action against the other.”

De Palma’s Passion is scheduled to start production in March next year, filming in Berlin, with a $20m. budget, and with McAdams and Rapace in the leads, it’s definitely showing promise already.

We’ll next be seeing the pair alongside each other in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which Rapace will follow up with Prometheus next summer, and McAdams will follow up with The Vow in February and then the highly anticipated as-yet-untitled Terrence Malick project opposite Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Rachel Weisz, and Jessica Chastain.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might be turning in his grave at the use of his work but if he had a sense of humour he might appreciate Guy Ritchie’s more contemporary, humorous interpretation of his British sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and certainly admire Robert Downey Jr’s eccentric turn as the infamous detective again.

What is certain is Ritchie gets to play out his love of Cockney bromance once more, while taking a European action-packed tour, Orient Express style this time around.

Holmes (Downey Jr) turns sulky schoolboy when his right-hand man, Dr Watson (Jude Law), decides to give up bachelorhood and get hitched, leaving his detecting days behind. After taking over his stag do, ‘Best Man’ Holmes sabotages the happy couple’s honeymoon to Brighton, after discovering his arch nemesis, the brilliant mathematician Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), has hatched a bombing plan to set off a war in Europe, in order to peddle his arms wares. With ample action set-pieces and Matrix-style manoeuvres, plus the help of tag-a-long gypsy beauty Simza (Noomi Rapace), who is searching for her long-lost brother, the ‘brothers-in-clues’ set off on one finale adventure.

Downey Jr and Law have perfected their quick-fire, dry exchange and camp rebuffs in the second film with the finesse and the ease of a comedy duo with years of live performance experience. Downey Jr’s portrayal of Holmes’s borderline insanity is heightened in this film by a touch of transsexual tomfoolery that is inoffensive and relevant to the plot. With the delightful addition of the witty gentleman’s gentleman, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s equally absurd, ‘naturist’ brother in the mix, there has never been such a display of English idiosyncrasy on-screen in a long time to revel in, and although Downey Jr is always a tonic, Fry steals the scenes they share with aplomb.

Ritchie ramps up the action tenfold, with full slow-mo, sharp-angled purpose to extract every Holmes clue and acute observation while turning parts into impressive cat-and-mouse, war chase scenes that fuel your enthusiasm and adrenaline. The waterfall finale that encompasses a meeting of brilliant minds over a deadly chess match is breathtakingly honed for full effect, leaving us – and even Conan Doyle – wondering on the actual fate of the UK’s most notorious fictional detective; this might leave some Sherlock Holmes fans perplexed, even perturbed.

However, the film has its flaws. First and foremost is its padded length that although punctuated by the impressive action sequences has a lot of lag to it. All the sharp dialogue and subsequent action suffers when it could have been a more succinct viewing experience. For example, the brief appearance of Holmes’s love, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), at the start is merely present for the benefit of giving Holmes’s mission a deep-felt purpose and to pour salt on the wound that his best pal, Watson, has found happiness in true love.

In addition, although Rapace as Simza is a mysterious beauty to have along on the ride, apart from being there to offload Watson’s trademark knitted scarf and to detect her brother’s presence – which she fails to, is sorely underused and underdeveloped and merely part of a gypsy resistance group that those with historical knowledge on the World Wars might find interesting as a persecuted people still in the news today. Even the snatched sideways glances between Simza and Watson are left lingering in the ether. Thankfully, the climax does make up for any tedious areas, with Downey Jr opposite Harris’s devilish and equally insane villainy in a wonderful sporting standoff of sheer intellectual prowess that befits Conan Doyle’s exceptional literature.

A Game of Shadows is pure period action drama with a delicious camp twist (cross-dressing aside) that demonstrates Downey Jr has made Holmes as much a part of his nature, as Captain Jack Sparrow is to Depp’s. This alone will keep fans more than occupied throughout Ritchie’s second sleuthing romp – inflated run-time aside.

***½~ (3.5/5)

This evening, London plays host to the European Premiere of Guy Ritchie’s new movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which stars Robert Downey Jr​, Jude Law​, Noomi Rapace​, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry​ and Eddie Marsan​. Many of the main cast will be there including Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, Director Guy Ritchie and Producer Joel Silver but if you can’t be there in person, fear not as we have the live stream of the event for you right here!

The lovely Edith Bowman will be hosting the event and interviewing the stars as they arrive. They’ll also be a gypsy band performing to open the evening who are featured in the movie. It’s amazing what you can learn while they’re doing the live sync test!

The stars should be arriving on the carpet from 17:45 so go and get a cuppa and come back to watch it all as it unfolds! Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is in UK cinemas 16th December. While you’re waiting, you can see our extensive Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows coverage including trailers and posters here.

Here’s the first UK trailer for The Vow which stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. It tells the story of a newly-wed couple who attempt to recover from a car accident that puts Paige (McAdams) in a coma and when she wakes up, she has no recollection of her husband (Tatum)! Harsh!

The Vow also stars Jessica Lange, Scott Speedman, Sam Neill, is Directed by Michael Sucsy and is released 10th February 2012.

Starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, The Vow is based on the true story of a newlywed couple recovering from an accident that puts the wife in a coma. She wakes up with severe memory loss and can’t remember any of her life with her new husband…so he has to fight to win her heart all over again.

This trailer is the same one as the US version that came out a week ago. We didn’t put it up so here it is now in all it’s UK glory!

Twelve days separate us from catching up with Guy Ritchie’s latest fidgeting with Conan Doyle’s greatest creation with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows unleashed into cinemas.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return as Messrs. Holmes and Watson for another round of quick wits and fisticuffs, with a few new cast members along for the ride. Jared Harris enters as Professor Moriarty while Stephen Fry lends himself rather well to the role of the elder Holmes brother Mycroft with Noomi Rapace cast as a gypsy fortune teller who is dragged into the mysterious game of shadows.

Collider have nine clips from the film and present them here as one large chunk. Highlights include out first decent looks at Moriarty and Mycroft as well as Rachel McAdams returning as Irene Adler.

Here’s your eight minutes of Shadowy Games,

And the latest Photoshoppery has Holmes and Watson drawing guns while a train journey goes awry. I think that’s enough posters now, don’t you? As always, Click=big.

It seems the Korean Warner Bros. Marketing department have decided that going with the scary looking posters are the way forward as we have one here of Rachel McAdams from her new movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I think the word ‘scary’ is the most apt. Not sure what happened in Photoshop but anyway, here we are!

Sherlock Holmes is the second movie in the franchise directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Eddie Marsan. From what we’ve heard, McAdams only has a small cameo in this sequel but I guess time will tell. It’s set for release on Boxing Day, 26th December here in the UK and we can’t wait to see it!

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson​, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty​ (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

We’re hoping to have lots of Sherlock fun in the run up to release so keep your eyes peeled.

Click the poster below to enlarge.

Source: Cine1

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes has a second cinematic outing in a few weeks time with leads Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law returning to lead us through the titular Game of Shadows.

Yahoo have a nice new featurette which has Ritchie and his leads waxing lyrical about the film and what a lot of fun it was, and last year’s film managed to enjoy itself without seeming too indulgent. While the detecting duo have already shown their hand there are a few new faces in the mix, not least Jared Harris as Moriarty and Noomi Rapace who joins in the hijinks.

Feast your eyes on this synopsis before diving in.

“Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

The film is out next month and if it does well then we can expect another case from the team, as it’s certain that Warners enticed Ritchie with a boatload of cash to take another turn with Holmes and Watson and it’s not done his career any harm, has it?

Terrence Malick has never been the most prolific of directors, having tended to take a hiatus of at least several years after most of his films, but perhaps that trend is changing. After gaps of twenty, seven and then six years between Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World and The Tree of Life, he has suddenly become urgent in his development and scheduling of new projects.

First up will apparently be Lawless, with no less impressive a cast than Christian Bale (The Prestige, The Dark Knight), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, The Lord of the Rings), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Ryan Gosling (Drive, Blue Valentine). After that, apparently Malick will take the unprecedented step of rolling straight into his next project, Knight of Cups, which will feature Bale and Blanchett again, along with Isabel Lucas, who is due on our screens this month in Tarsem Singh’s Immortals.

There is no word on plots for either films, but given the critical praise generally heaped on his work, most will tend to enthusiastically greet news of new projects from Malick. Lest we forget, on top of both of those new projects, Malick already has another entire film in his locker, which remains untitled, but which was filmed in Oklahoma with Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Rachel Weisz. No word on when that one might see the light of day, though with Knight of Cups (that title will have to go, surely?) and Lawless both slated to shoot in 2012, you would think he would want to see the already completed project released before shifting his focus elsewhere.

More as we get it. Source-wise, this one’s down to Collider.

We’ve been getting a pretty great look so far at Guy Ritchie’s upcoming sequel to his brilliant first Sherlock Holmes film, entitled Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and it’s all looking likely that he’ll be repeating the great success he found with the first film.

If you’ve missed it, you can catch up on the full trailer here, which landed last month, and most recently the three TV spots that surfaced just a few days ago.

We’ve now got six brilliant new character posters to share with you, courtesy of ComingSoon.net, which follow in the same footsteps visually as the first two sets of posters we saw back in July and last month.

The film will of course see the return of Robert Downey, Jr. in the titular role, with Jude Law naturally reprising his role as Watson, Rachel McAdams returning for a small reprisal of Irene Adler, and Eddie Marsan returning as Inspector Lestrade, and they’ll be joined by Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty, Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft, and Noomi Rapace as the gypsy woman Sim, whose full name on the posters is revealed as Simza.

“Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

A Game of Shadows is due to hit cinemas on 16th December, just over a month away, which is a date I can’t wait for. Expect this to be awesome. Until then, here are the great new character posters to enjoy; two each for Moriarty and Simza, and one each for Watson and Holmes. As usual, click to enlarge.

More Holmes to welcome in the week, and there’s the requsite fast paced fists and quick wits on show here in Guy Ritchie’s sequel which has own favourite literary detective duo coming face to face with Professor Moriarty in the titular shadowy game.

Stephen Fry and Noomi Rapace are two of the new faces in the film and there is a surprising amount to live up to as the first film was so well received that this follow up was fast tracked into production and we have only a few short weeks until the film flies into cinemas on the 16th of December.

The Movie Box (via ComingSoon) have a trio of tasty TV spots to tease and tantalise.

We got the first official trailer and poster for the upcoming romantic drama, The Vow, back in June, and it took me a little by surprise by how good it looked. Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-winning writer-director Michael Suscy is making his feature debut, with a pretty solid cast led by Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) and Channing Tatum (Dear John), with support from Jessica Lange (Big Fish), Scott Speedman (Underworld), and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park).

We’ve now got another new poster to share with you, courtesy of IMP Awards, and it’s pretty much what you might expect, pandering a little to those that might go weak at the knees at the sight of Channing Tatum.

It looks like it captures the romance of the film pretty nicely though, which is of course a good thing. I’ll be interested to see if the film’s posters that are still to come will show off its more dramatic sides too, because the trailer certainly gives a good impression of doing well with both the romantic and the dramatic elements.

The Vow is due out here in the UK on 10^th February, the weekend before Valentine’s Day, which is naturally the ideal weekend for a film like this to be released. It does look like it won’t just be a run-of-the-mill ‘We have to put out a romantic film just because it’s Valentine’s Day’ film, and I have to admit that it has me fairly interested. Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum are both really talented, and have been deservedly gaining more attention over the years, and it will be good to see them starring opposite each other in this. Without further ado, here’s the new poster to enjoy.

Our friends over at MSN have just launched the first Full Length trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. We’ve had a teaser before but this one gives us a lot more footage and storyline.

Guy Ritchie returns to direct this movie after the success of the 2009 movie with a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry, Gilles Lellouche. We can expect to see it in UK cinemas 16th December. Scroll down for the brand new trailer.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder–a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty. Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction–all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history. Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returns to direct “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The sequel also reunites producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman serves as executive producer, with Steve Clark-Hall co-producing. Jared Harris (TV’s “Mad Men,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) joins the cast as the notorious Professor Moriarty. Also joining the cast, in her first English-speaking role, is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who gained international attention in the Swedish film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Stephen Fry (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) plays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother. Additional cast members returning from the first film include Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade; Kelly Reilly as Watson’s bride, Mary Morstan; and Geraldine James as Holmes’s long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.

We’re getting closer to our next appointment with Messrs. Holmes and Watson on the 16th of December and what better way to celebrate the oncoming consultation than by allowing our eyes to feast on two new posters?

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. return as the slueth and his sidekick with a host of new friends to play with. Not least we finally get to see Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty and Stephen Fry as the older Holmes brother but there’s a fine addition to the cast in Noomi Rapace who dashed through exploding forests with our two leads in the trailers and images we’ve seen so far.

As you can see in the posters Paris and London are represented, and unless those are two very large steam trains in the background we can assume a couple of parliamentary explosions as part of Guy Ritchie’s Game of Shadows.

Here are your posters, but first bow your heads in the direction of Yahoo, for twas they who bequeathed.

As a Brit watching Woody Allen’s latest European muse, the first thing that springs to mind is Only Fools’ Nicholas Lyndhurst’s time-travelling sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart about an accidental time traveller who discovers a time portal, allowing him to travel between the London of the 1990s and the same area during the Second World War. Time travel captures the imagination and has fascinated audiences, from Back To The Future to Quantum Leap. For this reason alone, Allen’s new romantic comedy has an instant awe – and not just as a result of the setting being the upmarket parts and cultural haunts of gay Paris.

An American family travel to Paris on business, but the engaged couple of the party, Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams), find the culture and lifestyle starting to interfere with real life, and they are forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Midnight In Paris is by far one of the best Allen films out for a couple of years. The film-maker has dabbled in other major cities around the world, such as Barcelona and London, with little charm or lasting impression. What Allen taps into in this is the natural mystique of Paris. Hence the rest of the tale feels more magical.

The charming trademark neurosis of Allen’s characters is back in full force – his 2010 film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, was just too self-absorbed and self-commiserating to allow audiences to really care for the characters they were watching. In this, Wilson is an absolute delight in one of his best roles for years as troubled writer Gil, who pines for past creative eras because he longs for a creative eureka moment. His ‘episodes’ with literary, artistic and film-making historical legends is incredibly quaint and light-hearted, and stirs a nostalgic passion we all sometimes feel of a better life lived that is now past.

Wilson is particularly apt at playing the wide-eyed innocent in his films, characters full of flaws and self-depreciation, that when he shares the company of the likes of Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) in this, it’s the same wonderful thrill you get watching an overly appreciative kid in a candy store, brimming with newfound confidence. In addition, fans of these great minds will revel in their quotes and references. It’s a gloriously amusing cultural jaunt, and although a lot of the episodes are brief, the snapshot moment is all it takes to beguile you.

McAdams is fresh and energetic as Inez and as stunning as Marion Cotillard as Gil’s yesteryear love, Adriana. Again, the sumptuous set design is as intoxicating as the location, showing all involved off in the very best light, and implying that Allen is in love once again with his characters. Cotillard simply illuminates the screen like a silver-screen legend in her heyday, captivating both admirer Gil and the audience. Back in the present, Michael Sheen as know-it-all Paul, one half of a couple who befriend Gil and Inez, is absolutely hilarious and a sheer, conceited tonic to watch as he talks his way around the cultural city with all in tow. Even France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni, makes an appearance to add to the film’s radiance.

Midnight In Paris is like a soothing, retrospective project for Allen, his very own journey to recapturing creative inspiration and fantasy, as he rekindles his character love affair that made him such a satisfying film-maker a couple of decades ago, and brought out the very best performances in his cast – as it does here. Although it suffers from a sobering moment of moralistic self-righteousness about ‘living in the present’ to be more fulfilled, Midnight In Paris is an effervescent, witty and absorbing tale lost in time.

****~ (4/5)

In the past few months, we’ve seen some brilliant things from Guy Ritchie’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes, entitled Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

We got the first trailer for the film back in July, along with some terrific posters introducing and re-introducing us to the new and returning characters alike, and most recently some great stills that included a shot of Holmes and Moriarty head-to-head in a game of chess.

The only thing that was missing from all of this was Rachel McAdams. In the first film, McAdams played the lead female role of Irene Adler, and she was terrific. When Ritchie announced the sequel, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not McAdams’ character would be returning, and for a long time it was thought that she wouldn’t be when Noomi Rapace was announced as the film’s female lead.

Thankfully, however, McAdams was finally confirmed for A Game of Shadows, in cameo capacity, back in February, and we’ve now got the first photos from the set, courtesy of Just Jared via ComicBookMovie.com, that show her looking wonderful opposite Robert Downey, Jr.’s Holmes, who is himself dressed up in one of his excellent disguises.

“Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty —and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade, points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.

Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim, a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

Along with Downey, Jr. and McAdams, the film will see the return of Jude Law as Watson, and will introduce Stephen Fry and Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother; Noomi Rapace as Sim, a mysterious Gypsy woman; and Jared Harris and the notorious Professor Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Thrones comes out on 16^th December, and I personally can’t wait to see how the sequel turns out. I’m a big fan of everything Ritchie does, and with less than three months to go now, it’s not too long before we get to see how the sequel unfolds. Without further ado, here are the great new set photos revealing Rachel McAdams’ return. As usual, click to enlarge.

Last month saw a brilliant early drive to promote the forthcoming sequel to Guy Ritchie’s 2009 Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. We got some awesome posters for the film, followed by a few new images, and then finally the excellent first trailer for the film.

Now we can see Robert Downey, Jr. on the cover of the latest issue of Empire, along with three great new images from the film, and it’s all adding to the anticipation of its December the 16th release.

Downey, Jr. and Jude Law will of course be returning in their roles of Sherlock Holmes and Watson respectively, after being received pretty damn well in the first film, which earned more than half a billion dollars at the box office. After some rumoured speculation either way, it looks like Rachel McAdams will also be reprising her role as Irene Adler, though Noomi Rapace will be the film’s lead female. Stephen Fry has also joined the cast as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft Holmes, and Jared Harris will be playing Professor Moriarty, Holmes’ notorious adversary.

Downey, Jr. has said of the films,

“Last time we were, I think, treated very kindly, considering that the movie had enough really good, bright, sweet parts and it kinda held up. However, it wasn’t exactly the most innovative or clever act three of any movie. But we’re all confident that, this time, for the bones of the story, we couldn’t work it out any better than we have.”

That suggests that they’re confident the sequel will be even better than the original, and if what we’ve been seeing for the film so far is anything to judge by, they should be finding a lot of success with A Game of Shadows.

We get a nice look at Harris as Moriarty in the third of the three new pictures, engaged in a game of chess with Holmes, and the pair both look the part in their tuxedoes, complete with white gloves. We also get a look at Rapace as the gypsy woman, Sim, and a picture of Ritchie, Downey, Jr., and Law behind the scenes, and either they’re all somehow enchanted by the awesomeness of a storage crate, or (slightly more likely) there’s a monitor in the back of the crate. Either way, December really can’t come fast enough. Without further ado, here’s the new Empire cover, followed by the three new images for the film.

As usual, click to enlarge.

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) is in negotiations to take the lead female role in The Silver Linings Playbook, an able-bodied role that has attracted interest from such names as Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs), Andrea Riseborough (Made in Dagenham), Blake Lively (The Town) and Rachel McAdams (Morning Glory).

If the deal closes, Lawrence will star opposite Mark Wahlberg in the adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel to be directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter).

The Silver Linings Playbook revolves around a former high school teacher (Wahlberg) who was institutionalized for depression and is then released into the care of his mother. He tries to win back his ex-wife but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbour (Lawrence) with problems of her own.

Filming is due to commence once production has wrapped on The Hunger Games, Gary Ross’s big screen take on Suzanne Collins young adult novel, which also stars Lawrence.

Source: Deadline

The recent marketing push for Guy Ritchie’s next sojourn to Baker Street has been leading up to this – our first proper look at Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

With the trademark quick witted banter and slow motion action scenes the second film has Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris and Stephen Fry joining the cast with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law doing their best to take on one of literature’s most famous double acts.

Certainly the first film was enjoyed by many people and this sequel takes place a year after the first and is partly based on Conan Doyle’s short The Final Problem, which as Holmes scholars will know, involves a trip to Switzerland and a visit to the Reichenbach Falls, giving a fairly obvious hint as to how this one will end.

Due out December 16th in the UK. Apple have just put up the trailer so get clicking…

Or head on over to Apple to watch it HD.