The last time I sat down with Hammer president Simon Oakes Let Me In was about to roll into cinemas and he was in similarly upbeat fashion this time, just returned from the Paris premiere of Hammer’s latest film, The Woman in Black and with a big opening weekend in America behind him we talked about the secret of the film’s success and where Hammer is heading next.

Oakes was heavily involved with the film’s production, with one eye in the enduring legacy of one of the most famous studios in the world and the other on the new direction he is taking.

The Woman in Black is a good old-Fashioned ghost story, and a damn effective one. With a focus on the oppressive atmosphere and serving up carefully timed moments of genuine terror it calls to life the spirit of Robert Wise’s The Haunting and succeeds as a well told ghost story, unencumbered by the post modern gorestory malaise.

Oakes expands on the decisions made in the adaptation, the thinking behind the revised ending and a few familiar faces we might be seeing resurrected from the vaults of the house of Hammer.

There are SPOILERS here, but I have marked those in the text below.

HeyUGuys:  The Woman in Black opened very well in the US last week, the biggest ever for a Hammer film.

Simon Oakes: It did, it was by far the biggest. CBS did a very good campaign, they didn’t emphasis Daniel [Radcliffe]‘s presence until the final weeks. There was an excellent campaign built online in which they created a nursery rhyme about The Woman in Black which gave the impression that it was a part of American cultural life. It was a very clever piece of marketing and we opened wide, on 2,800 screens.

And it’s done very well here critically, it’s a good old fashioned ghost story but done very well.

Well, look at the revival of Dickens at the moment, when something’s classic it has a longevity. Susan’s novel was a throwback to the Wilkie Collins novellas from the Victorian age. I don’t think people get tired of the haunted house trope. People are getting really scared, whereas what is, in modern terms, called horror you’ve got what I call the gornography of some of these films. I don’t think they have the same emotional response, there’s a visceral response certainly but [The Woman in Black] goes deeper. Very rarely do people say they don’t believe in ghosts…

Or tell me a good ghost story and I’ll believe you…

That’s it. I think what Jane [Goldman] did was to take what Susan Hill imagined on the page and made it happen, it’s a beautiful screenplay. Then James [Watkins] assembled a great team and they found a great location, we looked all over the country for the right house. It had to be gothic without being pastiche gothic.

What struck me was how straight everything was played, and when you’re dealing with a film centered around a haunted house, something which is almost beyond parody, you have to be very careful.

There’s been the observation that the film ‘does what it says on the tin’ and that’s fine. What I think James, Daniel and Jane brought to it is the thematic undertow about the sense of loss and children, how far would you go to protect your child… And if you remember at the start of the film he’s told by his boss that he has to complete this job so he’s trapped in this situation.

- – - SPOILERS FOR THE WOMAN IN BLACK BEGIN – - -

One of the elements which surprised me the most that ending, and how that thematic undertow find a release.

Yes, that was created for the film.

It’s different to the book of course, what made you go for a ‘happier’ ending?

I’d say it’s bittersweet, wouldn’t you? It’s a victory for both; it’s a victory for Kipps because he’s reunited with his wife and she with her child and for The Woman in Black because she’s seen him off. We played around with a couple of endings, but we never wanted to return to London but keep it within the same world. There was one ending we were toying with and that was having Kipps try to entice The Woman in Black into the light and Jane and James decided that it wasn’t really going to work. But I think it’s a brave ending, it’s an upsetting one certainly but one that leaves you fulfilled

Well, he’s free in the end, he’s not trapped in his job which he hates, not trapped in the world without his wife. In the end it’s the Woman in Black who frees him.

That’s true.

- – - SPOILERS FOR THE WOMAN IN BLACK END – - -

Did you have to change anything to get a 12A rating rather than a 15?

Not really – it was always going to be whatever we got. It was hovering between 12A and 15 but in this day and age having a film like this come out as a 15 certificate is pretty crazy. I’ve seen the film with 13, 14 year olds and they see so much on the internet now. There were a number of scenes which we thought might worry the censor, the burning girl for example. I mean, there are a few more frames you could have there but we didn’t tinker radically with it.

So, there’s nothing that was omitted?

No, a film that suggests things can be much more frightening that one which just shows it and the whole certification debate would have been around whether the film could have been psychologically disturbing for a young person. We’re working on the Blu-ray right now and there’s a lot of interviews we’re doing but there’s nothing horrific lying on the cutting room floor. Less is more, and to show too much could have a negative effect. So with the burning girl or the three girls at the beginning you make a choice about how to show it, and we left it to the imagination.

The Woman in Black, like the other films Hammer have recently been involved with (Wake Wood, The Resident, Let Me In), is a standalone film, and in an industry and a genre which has so many sequels, is this a deliberate choice?

If the properties lend themselves to a franchise then fine, in fact we’re looking at a situation right now where we might return to Eel Marsh House forty years later but we wouldn’t make a ‘sequel’ sequel. But Let Me In was interesting, I remember talking to Matt Reeves about Chloe’s character, who is a vampire – she never dies, so what happens when Chloe is 18 – does she come back and reprise the character. I said to Chloe ‘We’ve worked it out now – vampires age when they fall in love,’ which is a good twist… In terms of endless sequels I don’t think Hammer is designed like that really, unless the series is there already. We’ve found one called Boneshaker, which is the Cherie Priest steampunk novels, set in Seattle in the 1860s with zombies and we recently announced we have the film rights and the screenplay has just been delivered.

On the red carpet for The Woman in Black you spoke to my colleague Ben Mortimer and talked about looking back to the Hammer films and I wondered if you are considering remaking any of the classic Hammer horror films?

Certainly rebooting them, not remaking them. I think Hammer should make a contemporary Dracula and I think if we can find a route in, which we’re looking at right now, then the answer is yes. The thing is that most of the films are remarkable as such, they’re caught in a time capsule of their own but we should a contemporary Dracula, we should do our version of a Frankenstein film. We’ve done a vampire film, we’ve done a haunted house film, we’re looking at a monster movie right now as Hammer did The Abominable Snowman and The Reptile, so we are looking at them. But more rebooting than remaking. If you look back at the old Hammer films there was a strong literary background, it followed on the history of that. There’s an elegiac quality to the films and Let Me In carries on from that, and The Woman in Black is the same. We wouldn’t make a down-the-road exploitative horror, today we’ve announced that we’re starting pre-production on The Quiet Ones which is a poltergeist movie. So wherever possible we like to have a strong story base. I think you can achieve a lot with old-fashioned filmmaking.

We’ve talked about the horror side of Hammer but in the past there were sci-fi films, Quatermass for example, would you consider moving back into that genre?

Definitely, we are. We are developing Quatermass at the moment. Completely contemporary, but rooted in his character. If you look at the BBC’s Sherlock it’s got enough DNA there, so you could bring him forward and say that this is what Bernard Quatermass would be like today. So he’d still be gruff, an outside, contrary, fighting authority but what would he be doing today? He wouldn’t be doing the Rocket Group because the world has moved on since the 1950s. We’re going to be announcing something about that soon.

The Woman in Black is out in cinemas tomorrow. It’s great.

Hammer is a part of Exclusive Media.

One of the most lovable and popular children characters currently shown on television, Little Charley Bear was only released last year and yet it has already enjoyed success with the new series airing on the CBeebies channel and toys selling at shops.

The popular teddy bear has also enjoyed some DVD releases and with this week’s release being part of a big collection of merchandising, these six new episodes will appeal to children while also having some great appeal for grown-ups to enjoy watching with them.

Each of the six episodes included start with a white, blank screen with only a toy box sitting in the middle, with the narrator (voiced by James Corden) asking if Charley Bear is there and the teddy bear pops up from behind the box or playing with his toys in different scenarios that he is imagining.

We then enter his imagination to see him pretending to be another person, from an Antarctic adventurer to a zoo keeper in a different and colourful location with his toys coming to life and being part of Charley’s imagined stories. But there would always be a situation where he would either have to help or make amends with someone, reach a particular goal or to simply explore new things about the world that young children will also feel.

The ending of each episode sees his imaginative adventures finish and the narrator says goodbye to him, with Charley waving back and continues to enjoy playing with his toys.

All six of these episodes are really pleasant and charming stories that offer a surprisingly wide option of storytelling that has made the series and the main character really appealing towards young children.

As far as animated children’s shows go, this is not the most detailed use of computer animation compared to other CBeebies shows like the Octonauts or 3rd and Bird, but it is only because the settings, locations and some of the toys featured use a very simple design layout that doesn’t require a massive budget or too much detail. Even with Charley’s imagination coming to life, the animation team made it simple and recognizable enough so that children can just focus on the characters.

Character design is made in the same simple and recognizable style that really makes them each stand out in their own rights, especially with the star of the show. From Bellarina the ballerina doll to Frozo the toy penguin to Rivet the robot, each of the characters are given their fair share of screen time on all the episodes, being part of Charley’s imaginative stories.

Some grown-ups and people interested in animation might have some issues with the overall presentation, but the animation does well with the scripts and make the characters appealing towards children.

While young audience members will have enough appeal for the series, there is something for grown-ups to enjoy and that is the narration by James Corden.

The actor and comedian previously did a good job doing the voice of Mouse in both The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child and he does another good job as the narrator with a calm, approaching voice work and as he is also the only speaking character, he really does a good job at bringing the storytelling to homes in the UK.

Some people who are new to this series might be a bit surprised, especially if they have only seen his work in Gavin & Stacey and A League of Their Own and it’s great to see him working on different projects. This might even encourage them to watch these episodes with their children rather than putting the DVD on to keep them occupied.

Overall, the elements for both children and grown-ups blend together well enough that families might be invested in Little Charley Bear together rather than being solely for young children, something that the Big Barn Farm DVDs last week didn’t quite have. Who knows, you might even find yourself saying to the screen with Corden “Are you there, Charley Bear?”

 ****~ (4/5)

Sony linked up cinemas around the world last night to give eager Spider-Fans the chance to see a sizzle reel and the premiere of a new trailer for Marc Webb’s film.

Twitter fell into a predictable lovefest for the reboot, which has the (500) Days of Summer director take on one of the most beloved characters in the comicverse with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone bringing Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy to life on screen and, as is very much the custom these days, in three sparkling dimensions.

Dave and Adam were in attendance last night and you can read Adam’s take on what was shown here, suffice to say that when the 4th of July rolls around there’ll be plenty of webheads desperate to see if Sony’s sudden reboot tactic has paid off. Given the talent involved, and the hyperbole spun last night, it seems The Amazing Spider-Man may well live up to its name.

Here’s the trailer!

The Amazing Spider-Man is still a good six months from our cinema screens but tonight we were invited to a very special peek at the film’s new trailer, followed by a tantalising sizzle reel.

That wasn’t the only surprise of the night, as key figures from this new take on the iconic webslinger were present in a truly global capacity, with Rhys Ifans taking the stage here in London, Emma Stone and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach broadcasting live from Rio, and director Marc Webb and Peter Parker himself Andrew Garfield being beamed over from across the pond at LA and New York, respectively.

For anyone whose Spidey-senses were tingling a little after the first rather lacklustre glimpse of the friendly neighbourhood crime-fighter a couple of months back, you can all now relax. From the footage screened tonight, Webb appears to have made a sleeker and grittier version of the character, framing him in more of a real-world setting (or as close as can be for a guy who is able to crawl up walls) and re-tweaking the origin angle to provide a slightly different interpretation of the legend.

An early scene between Gwen Stacey and Peter Parker at school offered a funny and awkward interaction between the pair, echoing that same astutely-observed look at young romance which characterised Webb’s debut feature 500 Days of Summer. Thankfully, the director looks like he has more than what it takes when dealing with the bigger, action-heavy carnage, and the shots of Spidey swinging through his beloved Manhattan really benefit  this time around from the technology  being at a level which can really sell that web action. Everything looks a little ramped up this time around, and in particular, the sequences shown where Parker discovers and begins harnessing his new-found powers had a thrillingly visceral and grounded feel to them.

Time will tell if all these segments will add up to a truly spellbinding whole, but for the moment, I’m sure the lucky fans who had the chance to view this footage (the trailer is being released in the wee small hours of the morning) will undoubtedly be bumping The Amazing Spider-Man back up to the top of their most-anticipated summer features of this year, alongside the Bat.

Final Fantasy, eh? Die-hard fans are nigh-on rabid supporters, while RPG virgins are understandably terrified by the prospect of jumping aboard a franchise with over 40 games to its name.

Either way, despite aiming for somewhere in the middle, Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t quite what everyone was expecting. A far more linear affair than anything the Fantasy series had experimented with before, the less esoteric plot received ‘mixed’ reviews, and the new battle system combat was intriguing if not exactly refined.

Thankfully for pretty much everyone, Square Enix have not only listened to the criticisms aimed at its predecessor, but acted upon them.

Set three years after XIII’s rather epic finale, a lot has changed in the worlds of Cocoon and Gran Pulse. For one thing, Lightning (she of the pink hair and ass-kicking prowess) mysteriously vanishes upon being freed from stasis by her sister Serah.

Even worse, no one else seems to remember why or where she left – that is, until the mysterious arrival of one Noel (he of the floppy hair and a FF8 Squall-lookalike to boot) who not only reveals that he’s met Lightning, but he can take Serah to her. Cue a history-bending race through time and space to find Lightning and save the day from the even more mysterious enemy Caius.

Once the time-travelling plot gets underway, it’s instantly obvious that XIII-2 suffers from a mere fraction of the linearity that plagued its predecessor. Bouncing through time with paradoxes to solve, and endless side-quests and towns to explore offers up far more of a traditional, rambling RPG explorative feel.

Meanwhile the battle system (specifically the Paradigm Shifts) has been tightened up so it’s swifter and boasts a whole Pokémon-esque monster collecting angle which allows you to add all manner of wonderful and weird beasties to your fighting party.

Either way, this is Final Fantasy and an RPG at heart, meaning you should expect cutscenes and menus in abundance, a 20+ hour main mission and waffly monologues aplenty.

While there’s enough innovation and accessibility for fanboys and newbies both to enjoy, it feels like Square Enix are using XIII-2 as an exercise in making good on the quibbles many fans levelled at the original.

XIII-2 is far from perfect (some of the advancements and improvements still feel a little behind the modern RPG curve), but it’s beautiful to look at, thrilling in battle, and – like all the best Fantasies – insanely addictive.

And that’s something guaranteed to please just about everyone.

****~ (4/5)

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is out now and available on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Resident Evil fans are sure in for a treat this year with Resident Evil 6 being released at the end of the year and Operation Raccoon City set to be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March the twenty third (and the latest installment in the Paul W. S. Anderson film series, if you care about any of them).

But to start the year off, Capcom have released Resident Evil Revelations for the 3DS and with more horror games needed for the handheld, this is a warm welcome and is a worthy purchase for fans of the series.

Set between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, the city of Terragrigia had been destroyed by the bioterrorist group II Veltro with Bio Organic Weapons and resulted in the entire area to be evacuated. But the bioterrorist group then took over the city’s prized ocean liner, the SS Queen Zenobia, and infected one fifth of the ocean with a new virus derived from the T-virus known as the T-Abyss virus.

The Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) sent Jill Valentine and her partner Parker Luciani to the ship in order to find the missing Chris Redfield and stop II Veltro from infecting the world’s ocean.

But you soon find out that Chris is actually looking for the terrorists in European Mountains and has teamed up with another BSAA agent named Jessica Sherawat.

The series has always been known to be ridiculous at times, but the story was a bit confusing to start with. But as soon as I understood what was happening and got used to the game, it became an engaging plot filled with some intense scenes, creepy monsters and some of the best visuals currently on the console.

Some 3DS owners have probably already got an idea of how the game works with the free demo that was available at the eShop and the whole game plays in the tradition of having easy to use controls with new weapons and items to use during your eight to ten hour play through.

The game is split into two specific gameplay elements that works really well and adds variety to the game. When you play as Chris and Jessica on the mountains, it plays out very much in an action-packed shooter as you take on infected wolves and go through obstacles. Meanwhile, the levels on the SS Queen Zenobia is in the traditional suspenseful horror that the older games were and you must defend yourself on limited ammo and some herbal plants against the T-Abyss monsters that are based on deadly marine creatures.

But while the mountain levels are action-packed, they don’t offer much variety or colour as the levels on the ocean. The ocean levels see you go through so many different rooms, from dark control rooms to glorious restaurants that really makes the experience that much more interesting, especially when there are times when you will have to go through water to reach a particular destination. It’s a bit of a pity that they couldn’t add monstrous sharks or giant sea creatures in these water-filled sequences to add that much more to the game.

Gameplay is great most of the time as the controls are easy to operate after getting used to the buttons and going through the first ten minutes in the game that makes it a bit surprising that Nintendo bothered to release the Circle Pad accessory as the game plays fine without it. It does make it a bit bothersome at times that you can’t move backwards or forwards when using a gun and because it then puts the camera in a point-of-view perspective, you can only move right to left to aim and shoot at enemies. While it only gets annoying at times, it can work well to build intensity on the cruise levels when monsters are attacking you in tight corridors.

And that is all just on the single player story mode! The developers also added several missions that you can take on to get new guns and weapons, from either taking down a particular number of enemies or try to find fifteen handprints with a high-tech scanner. The plus side to these is that you can get more missions through SpotPass and Street Pass. You can also unlock Raid mode that acts as a replacement to Mercenaries, in which you have to try and get the best score in a short amount of time and it is still a shame that Capcom could not include Mercenaries 3D as a package, but there is still enough in this game to satisfy gamers.

With the mix of action and horror gameplay, a lengthy single player mode and a great looking game from start to finish, Resident Evil Revelations has started the year off to great expectations of what we can expect on the 3DS. Even if you have not played any previous games in the series, this is a good place to give it a go.

****~ (4/5)

The Woman in Black is a scary film. Ben reviewed the film and called it the scariest film he has ever seen and I can attest to that as I was sitting next to him in the screening

We’ve done our best to shout our love for the film from the rooftops of the internet and now, one week ahead of its release you can watch the first scene right now, if that’s your bag.

The Mighty Yahoos placed this online earlier and had Daniel Radcliffe do a little piece to introduce it. That was nice of them.

Here’s your video, it’s not that nice really. In fact it’s pretty nasty but it sets the tone just perfectly…

Here’s the first trailer for Dexter Fletcher’s directorial debut, Wild Bill. The movie stars Will Poulter, Liz White, Andy Serkis and Jaime Winstone. We got to see the movie at the London Film Festival and you can read our review of it here. Fletcher has been on our screens for years and became famous amongst teenagers back in the late 80s – early 90s when he appeared in the TV show Press Gang but this is the first time we’ve seen him behind the camera.

Have a watch of the trailer below and check out Andy Serkis as the bad guy!

Wild Bill is released 30th March.

The film follows Bill Hayward, out on parole after 8 years inside, as he returns home to find his now 11 and 15-year old sons abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves. Unwilling to play Dad, his arrival brings them to the attention of social services.

With the danger of being put into care looming, Dean forces his Dad to stay by threatening to grass him up for dealing. Dean soon connects with Jimmy and through this new bond starts to realize what he’s been missing.

He has a family and a place in the world, but when Jimmy gets into trouble with Bill’s old cohorts, he quickly has to decide what kind of Dad he wants to be. A good one, or a free one.

Source: Yahoo UK

[The following review features a number of spoilers]

Rolling Thunder is the story of Major Charles Ranes (William Devane), a Vietnam vet who returns from years of imprisonment and torture in a Vietcong POW camp to his home in Texas. He and his prison mate Johnny (Tommy Lee Jones) are greeted at the airport with a heroes welcome and Charles is given a brand new Cadillac and a suitcase of silver dollars in honour of his return. Charles is not the same man who went to war though and even comments that when in prison they referred to the time before imprisonment as when they were alive; the implication that he is now dead rings true in the cold performance by William Devane and the hollow and dark life that the character now lives.

Charles’ wife has moved on and is planning to divorce him and remarry, and his son cannot connect with this stranger that he cannot even remember. Charles seems unaffected by this though, as when his wife tells him she has been with another man he just sits and listens. Haunted by the memories of the torture he received at the POW camp, shown in abruptly cut black and white flashbacks, Charles is clearly suffering from post traumatic stress and has retreated inward, appearing almost dead inside.

When a gang invades his home demanding to know where the silver dollars are he refuses to tell them , leading to them putting his hand into a garbage disposal in a effort to make him talk. Charles has been tortured before though, previously disturbingly commenting to his wife’s new lover that the only way to beat the torture is to “learn to love the rope”. When the gang fail to make him talk they shoot him, his wife and his son. Charles alone recovers and refuses to tell the cops who killed his wife and son and robbed him of his hand. Instead when he recovers he embarks on a journey of revenge with a shotgun in one hand and his other replaced with a hook.

He forms a new relationship with Linda (Linda Haynes) who claims to be his groupie, a worn out blonde bar maid who is reluctant to get caught up in Charles’ revenge mission but goes along regardless. She comments at one point, “Why do I always end up with crazy men?” to which Charles replies, “‘Cause that’s the only kind that’s left.” Charles’ view of post-Vietnam America does not have much good in it, America is bleak and morally bankrupt. The pair head South to Mexico in order to find the gang, ending up near the home of Johnny who Charles eventually enlists to help him. Johnny is also living a hollow existence with his family who ramble on whilst Johnny sits coldly waiting, alert and like Charles, armed.

When Charles arrives at the house to pick up Johnny to help in the final showdown that provides a thrilling if disturbing climax to the film, Johnny is not surprised, he does not ask questions, he just puts on his uniform, grabs a shotgun and follows orders. Jonny is conditioned for war, in his mind he is still at war, he has not returned to life, he remains the walking dead. When in the whorehouse in the climactic scene and pulling out his shotgun, a prostitute asks him “What the fuck are you doing?” and he just replies simply “I’m gonna kill a bunch of people.” This is exactly what Charles and Johnny do, exacting vengeance upon those that mistreated Charles and in the process releasing through cathartic violence the rage bottled up inside them.

With clear mirrors to Taxi Driver in the dead inside, revenge motivated male protagonist, the explosively violent finale and the doomed romantic relationship, Paul Schrader (who wrote the film’s first draft) is revisiting similar material but the two films are also markedly different. One distinct difference is in the focus on back story; it is hinted that Travis Bickle was in Vietnam and he clearly had a troubled past but, unlike Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder dedicates almost half the film to exploring the main character’s past and the adjustments he has to make to an old life that is no longer relevant. The audience of Rolling Thunder also gets a chance to understand Charles in a different way to how an audience relates to Travis. In Taxi Driver, Scorsese directs with an excess of style, and the addition of a sweeping Bernard Hermann score. John Flynn’s direction on Rolling Thunder, however, is economical, gritty and follows in the tradition of directors such as Sam Fuller and Sam Peckinpah with a hard, violent and grimy aesthetic and a genuine and authentic approach to storytelling.

Rolling Thunder is often thought of as a exploitation picture, a 70s violent B movie and a nasty revenge piece. It can indeed be viewed in this way but it is also something much more interesting. Rolling Thunder says so much about the ‘Vietnam Syndrome’, about the failure of Vietnam vets to reconnect to the life that has moved on without them and it is also a brutal story of two men who no longer feel alive, exacting revenge for the suffering they have felt. A perfect embodiment of the 70s despair following the optimism of the 60s and a fascinating focus on the struggle of many to move past this dark post-Vietnam period.

Rolling Thunder has been somewhat difficult to see since its release with out-of-print VHS copies and quickly deleted DVDs making it something of a rarity. To have the film now widely available seems like some kind of miracle and to see the film in such good condition in this HD transfer makes it all the special. The brilliance of Jordan Cronenweth’s extremely low light cinematography, something he would go on to use to further great effect in Blade Runner, looks superb, with inky black shadows consuming many of the frames.

The Blu-ray also includes a commentary from co-writer Heywood Gould which is anecdotal but interesting, an interview with star Linda Haynes, the Trailers From Hell commentary from Eli Roth and a TV Spot for the film.

Film ****½ (4.5/5)

Blu-ray ****~ (4/5)

Rolling Thunder is available to rent or buy from the 30th of January.

Update – We interview Daniel Radcliffe on his role in The Woman in Black

A truly horrific horror film is something of a rarity. The Saw films are gruesome, the Paranormal Activity movies are jumpy and Sam Raimi’s output is schlocky fun, but if you know what to expect from them – or their lower budget clones – it’s easy to brace yourself, and diffuse their effect.

More to the point, they tend to rely on the same techniques – lull the audience into a false sense of security, then use loud noises, quick cuts, and all too often revolting visuals to shock the audience into submission. The Woman In Black works in a completely different, and much more effective, fashion by removing that sense of security.

From the very first moments, with a creepy opening sequence involving the demise of a group of young girls, the film uses our base fears and human nature to bathe the audience in an uncomfortable tension that only ends when the credits roll. This tension, which the film shares with the phenomenally successful stage adaptation, allows it to have an effect on a viewer entirely unlike any modern horror film. In the truest sense of the word, it horrifies.

Of course, constant tension and discomfort are not sufficient to create a satisfying scary movie. If it were, We Need to Talk About Kevin would be a favourite with the FrightFest crowd. A horror movie needs the catharsis of a good scare to punctuate the unease, and Woman In Black has that in spades. Sometimes they come in the form of a quick, unexpected jump – a cheap little shock, but more often than not they’re much more subtle, and infinitely more effective: a door suddenly open, a piece of furniture out of place or a glimpse of a figure in a dusty photograph. In most films these would only work with a long build up, combining clever camera work and a crescendo in the soundtrack. Here they’re almost thrown away, and they’re all the more successful for it.

That’s not to say that the film doesn’t have far less subtle moments; at some points director, James Watkins, confronts the audience with shots that wouldn’t be out of place in the most artless of low budget horror flicks, but the tense, unyielding atmosphere means that, far from being ridiculous and laughable, as they would be elsewhere, they are the most successful moments, causing audible shrieks from all corners of the screening I attended.

While Jane Goldman’s screenplay and Watkins’ direction are key factors in this, the film would stand no chance at all if it weren’t for the solid, effective performance of lead actor Daniel Radcliffe. Wandering around old buildings, looking startled is clearly familiar territory, but at no stage does this feel like ‘Harry Potter and the Scary Ghost Woman’, and within moments of being introduced to Arthur Kipps, all traces of his former life as a boy wizard have vanished.

There are a few things that don’t quite work. Some of the dialogue is a little clumsy, particularly an early exchange between Radcliffe’s Kipps, and Roger Allam as his boss. During this brief sequence, Allam sets up a key story point while berating Radcliffe’s character, telling him ‘This is your final warning’. It’s an anachronistic phrase, and jars badly in the context of the conversation. That said, it’s also a fairly minor quibble. Far less minor are the changes made to the original story.

This complaint isn’t based on some idea of sticking slavishly to the text, simply that they don’t work very well. An almost out of the blue moment in the third act sees Radcliffe trying to appease a vengeful spirit, while the final moments of the movie are much more saccharine than in the original story. It’s easy to understand why Goldman and Watkins chose to make these changes, for better or worse, they give the story a much more cinematic structure, but they also feel clunky when compare to the rest of the film.

Fortunately these problems come about so late in the story they’re almost irrelevant. To be honest, after the mystery and tension built over the first hour, Radcliffe could spend the remainder of the film dressed as a Smurf and it would still be both satisfying and scary. Quite simply The Woman In Black is the most effective horror film I’ve seen. Exquisitely terrifying, it is simultaneously near impossible to watch, and too compelling to turn away from. If you’re a fan of scary movies, this is a must watch – just be sure to bring a change of underwear and someone to hold your hand when you do.

****~ (4/5)

with a bonus point for creeping me out while I was writing this review.

To celebrate the release of Drive on Blu-ray and DVD on January 30th, we have 2 stylish Drive T-shirts and 4 copies of the brilliant novel written by James Sallis up for grabs.

Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).

After a heist intended to pay off Standard’s protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk—that they’re coming straight for Irene and her son—Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

Here’s our review of the film – we, like almost everyone else in the world, loved it. Click Next below for the question and the entry form,

I was late to the TV show which preceded this very successful big screen jaunt for The Inbetweeners and caught up with the entire run over the course of a month thanks to Channel 4′s OD service and found it easy to enjoy the foul-mouthed cocksure swagger which is a crudely constructed front to the pitiful sadness which holds the group of teenagers together.

If you’ve not seen the show you won’t be at a loss as how the group shapes up; Will is the eternal outcast, a public schoolboy thrust into the intimidating torrent of middle class education and given the name Briefcase Wanker early on, Simon is sick with love for his childhood crush (who breaks up with him after a doomed summer romance at the start of the film), Jay is an enthusiastic onanist whose outlandish boasts are as unlikely as his chances of getting his end away and Neil is the lovable idiot whose blind optimism is key to the group’s chief objective – to have actual sex with a real woman.

The group finish sixth form and jet off to Malia in search of sun, sex and that’s about it, and with a final send off from Mr Gilbert (Greg Davis’s sixth form tutor and all round hero to the teaching profession) the lads arrive to a cliché strewn holiday from hell. Terrible accommodation, pitiful bars and luckless nights on the prowl but slowly the story kicks in with the arrival of four girls, each one a perfect mirror for our boys. What follows isn’t subtle but the awkward courting of the female population of the island and the truly nasty depths to which the group fall foul are a lot of fun, and it is clear that the creative team behind the film are looking to do more than replicate the small screen experience while on holiday.

The crudity of the show is present in full force but it is the genuine love for the characters from writers Damon Beesley and Iain Morris which gives us a reason to care. The movie does feel like three episodes stitched together but that works in its favour as there’s not a moment wasted save for the obvious nods to the series’ more notorious elements – Neil’s dance, Jay’s snorkel, Will’s (now not so) absent father and Simon’s feckless heroism at the end.

Taking a successful TV series on holiday for a big screen incarnation is usually a warning sign that the bottom of the ideas barrel has been found and yet the four main characters are so reliably endearing that their foreign antics make for an entertaining hour and a half, and fans of the show will be pleased to see that several of the storylines from the three series are tied up nicely. It’s a fun film which meets its ambitions to not try anything new and despite the initial rebuff from the writers there’s talk of a sequel, and given the box office haul this is not surprising, and there’s a very good chance we’ll see another incarnation of the show in our future.

***~~ (3/5)

To mark the release of The Official 2011 Formula One Season Review on DVD and for the first time in high definition on Blu-ray, we’re offering you the chance to win one of three copies on DVD!

From December 26^th, sit back and let the revs build with the only official review of this year’s thrilling Formula One season!

Witness the stunning detail of 24 incredible Formula One cars and 19 spectacular circuits with exclusive footage, special features, pit-to-car radio and camera angles not previously broadcast. Available on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray, you can feel as if you are driving a Formula One car and experience the sound of the V8s in stunning 5.1 surround sound.

The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship exceeded expectations with another record-breaking year as Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever back-to-back FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Champion. He dominated from lights out in Australia with 11 wins out of 19 and creating a new record of 15 pole positions in a season.

With over five and a half hours of footage, you can relive the spectacle that was the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship this upcoming holiday season with The Official 2011 Formula One Season Review, an absolute must have for all motorsport fans, available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 26^th December 2011 from Universal Pictures UK!

Answer this question using the form below for your chance to win!

How many first place chequered flags did Sebastian Vettel take in the 2011 Formula One season?

1. 10
2. 11
3. 12

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 2nd January at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

© Universal Pictures UK

If there is one thing developers Volition know, it’s their market.

From the billboards of sexy ladies and ridiculously giant cat-headed bazooka-wielders, through to its surreal, looneytoon commercials starring cult comedians Tim & Eric, Saints Row: The Third has a humour and appeal aimed squarely at both the immature and the immature at heart.

Luckily enough, while I enjoy my Dostoyevsky, Proust and Mozart, I’m not averse to the odd fart, boob or willy joke either.

Saints Row: The Third builds on the greatly exaggerated stylings and successes of its predecessors, building a mammoth and ludicrous open-world adventure game that manages to differentiate itself from its competitors (and inspiration) by making everything as crazy, ridiculous and gratuitous as possible.

Case in point – while you start GTA IV with a slow, steady and introductory meander through the city streets, Saints Row: The Third will have you blowing machine-gunning helicopters out of the sky, and skydiving face first through planes (whilst shooting everything around you John Woo-style) within the first 15 minutes. Subtle, it ain’t.

Which is where Volition intends the fun to lie. With countless main and side missions to entertain, you’re guaranteed to be kept busy with all manner of explosive, destructive and OTT action adventure set pieces – piloting jet planes, beating passers-by to death with a giant purple dildo (recent stats suggest that over 2 million people have been bludgeoned with the ‘Inspirational Erotic Device’ since the game’s launch), and ordering airstrikes on rival gangs is all par for the course – and undeniably gigglesome.

Yes, that is EXACTLY what it looks like.

Throw in a whole heap of pop culture pastiches (everything from Star Wars to Japanese game shows is mercilessly and often brilliantly mocked), and you’ve got a game that guarantees a braindead, feel good time.

Ironically enough, it’s the endless onslaught that works against it, with such ludicrous albeit relentless bombasticity losing the intended ‘AWESOMELOLZYEAH’ effect every now and again.

But really, Saints Row: The Third’s success – and your inclination to buy it – boils down to one very simple, very puerile and very ridiculous point of view. If the thought of running down the street, stark bollock naked and beating people to death with giant dildos makes you smile, you’ve just found your funniest, most grin-inducing game of the year.

****~ (4/5)

Saints Row: The Third is out now and available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Puss in Boots hits UK cinemas this Friday, 9th  December and we’re very much looking forward to the whole of the UK getting this fabulous movie! Our review went up yesterday and you can have a read here. But before you do though, scroll down and have a look at this amazing progression concept art showing the transition from a hand-drawn storyboard into the computer animation and then to the completely rendered frame. I am unable to draw to save my life and I always find it fascinating watching these extremely talented animators turn something from a drawing into a 3D object on a movie screen! Love it! You can click each stage to enlarge.

Puss in Boots is directed by Chris Miller and has a voice cast which includes Antonio Banderas​​​, Zeus Mendoza, Walt Dohrn​​​, Billy Bob Thornton​​​, Amy Sedaris​​​, Salma Hayek​​​ and Zach Galifianakis​​. It’ll be with us 9th December.

Plot: Way before Puss ever met Shrek, our suave and furry feline hero goes on a swashbuckling ride, as he teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty​​ and the street-savvy Kitty to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs.

You can keep track of all our extensive Puss in Boots coverage here.

The characters are placed within the rough storyboard environment.

Puss In Boots - The characters are animated.

The final version of the scene, with full layout (camera placement), animation (characters performances) and lighting (color and textures).

In my opinion, 2011 has been a rather fabulous year for movies! There have indeed been some terrible films made but more importantly, there have been some absolutely brilliant ones. I’m sure as the year comes to a close, we’ll put up a post or two on what we enjoyed and what we didn’t over the course of the last twelve month but in the meantime, here’s a brilliant video made by ‘Hatinhand‘ which according to the info, took over a month to upload and edit, contains 166 movies, 6 songs and had over 40 untitled sequences in Avid (the programme used to edit the piece together).

The video is brilliant and I hope you enjoy it. Let us know in the comments section below your favourites and the ones you hated over the course of the last 12 months in the comments section below.

A full list of all the movies used in the video can be found here.

Shrek’s journey has been one of highs and lows, but it was running out of interesting places to go, something even Shrek the Third director Chris Miller would agree with. Concentrating on another of Shrek’s travelling companions was always going to be a tall order; making a supporting character stand alone in a film can go either way. Miller and co have definitely succeeded with Puss in Boots in the new 3D film of the same name, tapping into the older audience’s nursery-rhyme nostalgia while putting the ‘cool’ back into the time-old stories for the newer generation.

Long before he met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) was an orphan then a criminal then a local hero after an adventure to track down some magic beans and the Golden Goose with tough, street-smart Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and criminal mastermind Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis).

Puss in Boots is a hearty hoot with a fairy-tale twist created by feline experts who should count themselves as having got the cream and wiped the floor afterwards with other family animations out there at the moment. Puss is certainly one hell of a fun kitty to watch who revels in his lead role, stepping out of the shadows of Shrek. He gets a chance to reveal his full personality in this, all within a neat 90-minute run-time with some well choreographed action that makes full use of the 3D technology in the sword fights.

Banderas and Hayek conjure up as much sexy Latin charm in their hilarious sparring that a U-rated film can allow, enough to get things sizzling for those old enough to understand, while, thankfully, coming across as playful, squabbling kitties to those too young to know. Banderas’s Puss shows a more vulnerable side in this to his dashing, arrogant self, aided by a purposeful but brief back-story with Humpty Dumpty that balances misfortune and humour in equal, satisfying measure, as not to be over-sentimental. This also serves as Puss’s raison d’être for his spectrum of feelings for his egg-headed friend who betrays him and his subsequent redemption.

Hayek is the confident one to Puss’s self-deprecating side that marries very well in the confrontations – the old ‘opposites attract’ rule. Watching these characters interact is an absolute thrill and creates the film’s high-spirited, often frenetic energy. These ‘meeting of the minds’ moments are wonderfully interrupted by acutely observed feline antics, including the paw-grabbing light trick that is absolutely hilarious after some intense, suave patter.

In contrast, Galifianakis’s vocal performance as Humpty Dumpty adds a child-like innocence to proceedings then changes and becomes self-centred and greedy in nature. Humpty for the kids is like the school bully, hurtful but actually hurting and with more to lose. Galifianakis is a chameleon of charm and menace and an odd, welcoming distraction from the Latin amore at times. It’s this compelling trio of variable characters that make the film so strong in character concept. With Neanderthal-like criminal heavies Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris) on their case to shake up events, and a Godzilla-like Golden Goose rampaging through the town at the end, Puss in Boots is a well-crafted, well-intentioned romp through fairy-tale land – even if there are a couple of continuity gaffs some might spot, for example, the weighty golden eggs becoming as light as the chick’s feather back at camp.

Chaotic yet beautifully arranged, sensuous yet innocent, Puss in Boots is a fun-packed treat full of delightful, detailed contradictions and touching tales with a manageable-sized cast that you get well acquainted with and fully enjoy. Cat lovers will be in kitty heaven.

****~ (4/5)

Nintendo have pulled off one of the greatest celebrations in video game history, with 2011 marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.

With an Ocarina of Time remake for the 3DS, a free downloadable game in the form of Four Swords for Nintendo’s current handhelds and having three symphonies within three countries, the last treat for fans is what could possibly be the last great game released for the Wii and just in time for the Christmas holidays: Skyward Sword.

With a colorful and great art style, brilliant orchestral pieces throughout, a good character-driven story and a majority of great gameplay and control mechanics, this is one of the best games available on the console and among my favorite games of 2011.

The storyline for every game within the franchise has always ended up with Link saving his homeland, rescuing Princess Zelda and defeating the main villain. It’s no different here, but what does make the story more intriguing this time around are the small details that helps to make it more emotional and compelling. From Link’s reactions to certain characters to seeing the emotional connection which he and Zelda share, these small details really help to make the game more engaging than it needed to be and is something fans and newcomers would appreciate.

You start out in the floating island of Skyloft with Link as he takes part in a final test in order to graduate from his institute and become a knight. After you complete the final test (which in itself is an introduction to the control mechanics and some of the main gameplay elements that are featured throughout the game), you and your longtime friend Zelda are flying together until you both get caught in a deadly tornado and wake up on Skyloft to find that Zelda is missing. After Link obtains the Skyward Sword hidden within the island and is accompanied by Fi, a spirit who is the embodiment of the sword, you head down to the lands below in order to find Zelda and uncover the mysteries surrounding her disappearance and the involvement of Demon Lord Ghirahim, a new antagonist who is trying to resurrect his master and who is also after Zelda to accomplish his goal.

Some people might be a bit bored of the same mission of saving the heroine from an evil force by now, but the fresh changes like Zelda and Link as friends right from the start and competing against Ghirahim to find the heroine first really helps to keep things fresh.

The last game in the series to be released on the Wii was back in 2006 on launch day with Twilight Princess, which was also released on the Game Cube. It offered people a chance to see how motion controls could affect future gaming and the controls were surprisingly good at the time, but it wasn’t perfect as the limitations of the Wii remote itself would show at times during intense combat and when more complicated attacks have to be performed.

But with the development team for the latest installment focussing on the Motion Plus, the gameplay and control mechanics are surprisingly effective as the Motion Plus can detect your movements at the most accurate level. There has been an unfortunate lack of games that support this Wii remote attachment (including Wii Sports Resort, Red Steel 2 and Zumba Fitness) and there has finally been a great game that truly makes the experience shine with the amount of accuracy that the team have put in for making some of the finest and one of the more unique experiences that I have had on the Wii.

The game uses the combination of the Wii remote, Motion Plus and Nunchuk and at first the way you play Link is the same as he was in Twilight Princess until you finally obtain your sword and items that it stands on it’s own two feet. During the combat sequences (which are fortunately numerous throughout the dungeons and areas on the lands below Skyloft), your movement is surprisingly tight as no matter what kind of movements you do with the sword, Link will automatically copy on screen that really helps you to learn from any mistakes you do against the several types of enemies.

In previous games we had open fields and wide oceans to reach destinations and find treasure and this time traveling is done by flying. You do this by jumping off a platform over the clouds and whistle for your giant bird to pick you up, tilting the control and flapping it up and down to make it fly higher. You can speed up by pressing the A button three times before you need to wait to use it again. While it is not the most efficient way that you could have controlled the bird, it works enough for it to work and you don’t spend too much of your time in these parts of the game for it to be a distraction.

Taking full advantage of the Motion Plus, there are so many items that are each controlled in unique and clever ways that really help to give the game that much variety and I really have to complement how Nintendo have really pushed the gameplay mechanics for every type of gamer should enjoy.

Presentation could not have been better as not also is the artwork and designs very emotional and full of character, but the music is pushed to the next level as they are memorable and played by a full orchestra for the first time that all complement the characters and gameplay.

The art and designs uses soft textures and bright colors that gives it a resemblance to impressionist art to make the fantasy element of the game extremely visual and at times I wanted to just stop for a few moments in each location, admiring the look and feel they each give off. From dark forests to deserts to flying through the gorgeous skies, everything has been given great attention to detail and is one of my favorite games within the series in terms of it’s appearance. Even the way the background slowly blurs as you move away from it transforms into beautiful textures and shapes that really show how much effort the team have really put into it that can even make a blur effect truly beautiful. At times though, the bright colors and soft textures can hurt the eyes just a little bit as the collaboration can be a bit too much.

But what surprised me more than the art and just as much as the controls is the fantastic musical pieces that truly makes the entire experience unforgettable that I can happily compare it to the live Legend of Zelda orchestra that was performed earlier this year. Making the flying sections of the game feel as epic as the flying scenes in Avatar, giving Skyloft a peaceful and loving atmosphere and even making every encounter with the main villain and bosses a feeling of excitement and tension, this is probably the best soundtrack that I have ever heard coming from a video game. Nintendo will even feature a CD with both the regular and limited edition versions of the game that only makes each package that much more worthy of being purchased.

This is overall a Legend of Zelda game that is filled with so much content and control options packed into it that I couldn’t even mention everything into this review, but rest assured that they are all great treats awaiting for you to play.

Whether you get the Limited Edition version (which includes the game, soundtrack and a golden Wii remote) or the regular edition (which just includes a copy of the game and the soundtrack), your money will be well spent as they offer so much value and quality. It might not be as accessible for newcomers as the DS games, but rest assured that you will be able to delve into a great story and engaging gameplay. Fans shouldn’t worry as they will be treated to an interesting and fantastic entry within the series

***** (5/5)

In recent years there have been a number of highly original and intelligent depictions of modern warfare – The Hurt Locker (2009) and Green Zone (2010) to name but two. These films help give us a greater sense of what it’s actually like to experience the day-to-day life of conflict, which is never simply shoot-out after shoot-out. They also help remind us how narrow the view on our TV screens can be. Special Forces, I’m afraid to say, does not fall under this category. Far from it.

“One team. One mission. One chance.” – So reads the poster for the film. The mission for this particular Special Forces unit is to rescue a French journalist (Diane Kruger) who has been taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan. For the adept team, finding her is not too much of a problem. It is when they miss their pickup, however, that it becomes a relentless cat-and-mouse chase through a harsh environment, which in the end proves just as life-threatening as the team’s pursuers.

Having read the synopsis about a journalist in a foreign, war-torn country, I was half expecting something along the lines of The Killing Fields (1984) or The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) – two quality films around a similar theme – but what I actually got was something closer to the Owen Wilson film, Behind Enemy Lines (2001); needless to say I am not a huge fan of the latter. Special Forces is definitely in the realm of the high-octane, fast-paced film where story and characterisation, more often than not, fall by the wayside. That said, the action sequences in themselves are thrilling enough for a while. I repeat: for a while!

What makes this relentless action even more sleep-inducing is the predictable use of heavy rock music every time a gun is fired. It’s obviously trying to reflect the energy of the moment, but actually it works more as a sedative. Furthermore, it’s hard to be gripped by the action, or feel anything for the characters, when there’s a million cuts per second – not since Michael Bay’s Transformers (all three of them, that is) have I felt so bored during a shoot-out scene.

No stranger to French cinema, German-born actress Diane Kruger has previously starred in films such as Michel Vaillant (2003) and Frankie (2005). Although she’s not terrible in Special Forces, the character she plays feels thin and underdeveloped, no doubt because director Stéphane Rybojad (who previously made TV documentaries) has trouble seeing the story in anything other than black-and-white terms. In other words, he creates a cliché-ridden film that is painfully emphatic and overstated. Gung-ho heroism, anyone?

So if you’re into wholly unoriginal, macho films with copious amounts of gunfire, à la Behind Enemy Lines, then this could be right up your street. Or, if you’re more like me, and you like your films about modern warfare to give you a greater sense of the day-to-day conflict, à la The Hurt Locker, then you should avoid this one at all costs. Still, if I had to choose between an Owen Wilson film and a Diane Kruger film, I’d have to go with the Kruger.

**~~~ (2/5)

Review courtesy of by Oliver Lunn from Cinémoi.

While down at the Breaking Dawn Part 1 premiere at Stratford Westfield this evening we caught up with two men who know probably more about the film than anyone else, director Bill Condon and producer of all five Twilight films, Wyck Godfrey. They took the time out to talk us through the challenges they faced transforming Stephanie Meyer’s books into Hollywood blockbusters, the moments they’re proudest of and what it was like to work with three of the best known actors around.

In the interview, Wyck talks about how they made the baby adding more jam and cream cheese while Bill Condon gives hope to all Twilight fans over the globe saying that this may The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 may not be the end of the Saga. Watch till the end for the info.

If you missed out interviews with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lauther, click here to view, read our review here and see photos from the premiere here.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 hits UK cinemas this Friday, 18th November. You can read our review here and our photos from the Premiere here.

Post by  Laura Hills from Who’s Jack