In what is quite possibly one of the most interesting pieces of news I’ve heard recently, YouTube have announced that they will be launching a film festival next month, entitled Your Film Festival, that will start off online and then send ten finalists to this year’s Venice Film Festival, which will run from 31^st August to 10^th September.

Yahoo Movies report that Your Film Festival will be accepting submissions of short films up to fifteen minutes in length from 2^nd February to 31^st March, from which fifty semi-finalists will be selected by Scott Free Productions, Ridley and Tony Scott’s production company, whose credits include Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and American Gangster.

These fifty semi-finalists will then be launched on their own YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/yourfilmfestival, where viewers can watch and vote for their favourite short films. Ten finalists will then be jetted off to the 69^th Venice Film Festival, where a jury led by Ridley Scott himself will judge the winning short, which will receive a $500,000 grant from YouTube to produce a work with Scott Free Productions.

(Translation: This could be a chance of a lifetime.)

YouTube are set to be promoting the competition at Sundance Film Festival this month and then South By Southwest (SXSW) in March to encourage young filmmakers and producers to consider YouTube as a serious pathway to industry attention, and with a film competition like this launching, you have to believe that they’re taking themselves and filmmakers seriously.

“Short filmmaking is exactly where I started my career 50 years ago, so to be helping new filmmakers find an entry point like this into the industry is fantastic,” said Scott.

The competition is open to entrants across the globe, with subtitles added to international films. All you have to be is 18, and have not had your short distributed prior to 1^st January, 2010. And with a bit of luck, hopefully it will be held annually, to give filmmakers this kind of chance every year.

Taken from YouTube’s description of Your Film Festival:

“The global search for the world’s best storytellers.

This is Your Film Festival. You have until March 31st to submit a short, story-driven video. There’s no entry fee. It can be any format – short film, web-series episode, TV pilot – and any genre. In June, audiences around the world will vote, sending 10 deserving storytellers to open the 2012 Venice Film Festival where a Grand Prize Winner will be be rewarded with a $500,000 grant to create a new work, produced by Ridley Scott and his world class team.”

YouTube have put together a brilliant and inspirational video to promote the competition below, interviewing directors Fede Alvarez, Jon M. Chu, and Josh Raskin, all of whom started out in short films. Alvarez has since signed on to direct the upcoming The Evil Dead remake with Lily Collins in the lead; Chu has directed the second and third Step Up films, as well as the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary, and the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation; and Raskin’s short film I Met The Walrus was nominated back in 2008 at the Academy Awards.

So if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, or you know someone who is, this is definitely something to pay attention to.

You have until 31^st March.

Go.

Although his strike rate is far from flawless (Pelham? Domino? Days of Thunder?) Tony Scott has some solid gold in his back catalogue as well – Man on Fire, Crimson Tide, Top Gun, True Romance – and is very rarely wholly off his game. It is therefore always good news to hear that he has something else in the pipeline, especially since he is returning to the milieu of what could be argued is his previous high water-mark – the afore-mentioned Crimson Tide.

Yes, it’s submersibles again for Tony Scott. Although plot details are hard to come by, the title Narco Sub refers to submersible vessels used by Latin American drug traffickers to get their wares into the US and the suggestion is that tonally the film is reminiscent of Tide and Man on Fire. Frankly, anything even vaguely up those streets will be something to treasure. Fox are producing this one, with David Guggenheim (Safe House, Stolen) on scripting duties.

Source: SlashFilm.

To celebrate the release of Colombiana, the new film from Luc Besson and the writers of TAKEN, in cinemas from September 9^th, we have a limited number of tickets to give away to preview screenings on Tuesday September 6^th at selected Odeon cinemas (list below). If you’ve not see the trailer for the movie yet, you can watch it here. The movie stars Zoe Saldana, Jordi Molla, Lennie James with Michael Vartan and Cliff Curtis and is directed by Olivier Megaton.

Synopsis: This Autumn vengeance is beautiful as Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek) stars in action adventure Colombiana, produced & written by Luc Besson (The Transporter 1-3, Taken and Leon) and directed by Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3). 1992.  Colombia.  Nine-year-old Cataleya witnesses her parents’ murder.  Barely escaping the massacre herself, she takes refuge in the United States with Emilio, her gangster uncle…Fifteen years later, Cataleya works for him as a hit woman.  Her calling card — an orchid drawn on the chests of her victims — is a message to her parents’ assassins.  For Cataleya is determined to see her vengeance through to the bitter end… even if it means losing everything she loves.

Colombiana hits cinema’s Sept 9th.  You can find out more about the movie on their official facebook page or all our coverage can be seen here.

To receive your pair just log onto www.showfilmfirst.com and enter the reference code 727579 which will take you to a special page where you can download your tickets to bring with you on the night (Subject to availability). Remember its first come first served so be quick to avoid missing out!

Click here to get your tickets but be quick!

Locations of Odeon cinemas below:

• Birmingham
• Brighton
• Bristol
• Edinburgh Wester Hailes
• Glasgow Braehead
• Leeds Bradford
• Liverpool One
• London Covent Garden
• Manchester Printworks
• Newcastle Metrocentre

Terms and conditions: Tickets are subject to availability and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis via www.showfilmfirst.com. Each reader may claim up to two tickets. Readers who successfully book tickets must present this page with the ticket and have ID available if required. No photocopies of the page will be accepted. The tickets are not for resale. No cash alternative. No late admittance. The cinema reserves the right to refuse admission. In the event of a dispute, the cinema manager’s decision is final.  For full terms and conditions visit: www.showfilmfirst.com

 © 2011 EUROPACORP – TF1 FILMS PRODUCTION – GRIVE  PRODUCTIONS

Zoe Saldana is Luc Besson’s latest leading lady and this tale of revenge and gunplay comes to us on the 9th of September from the hands of Olivier Megaton.

We’ve seen the film and reviewed it here and it’s unlikely you’ll see this poster in the wild so it’s interesting to bring this to you international variant. In truth it’s far more obvious and less interesting than this one and sadly opts for our old friends Mr. Orange and Mr. Blue.

And I can work out that Zoe Saldana’s name is emblaoned across the poster (the word Avatar rathe rgives that away) but I’d be really interested to know what is written above the title, particularly as the words NON-STOP are untranslated. Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Here’s the poster,

IMPA FTW

Luc Besson, French auteur turned Hollywood-friendly, action-themed hit factory (his EuropaCorp studio has churned out The Transporter and ‘District 13’ series, as well as the Liam Neeson surprise hit, Taken) returns with his newest writing and producing venture, Colombiana.

Beginning in the Colombian capital in 1992, a young woman named Cataleya witnesses the death of both parents via the local crime lord. After a genuinely exciting and action-packed chase scene (think a mini Bourne scarpering around, and replace Tangier with the back streets of Bogota) the plucky tween manages to escape her captors and find her way to US shores, where she begins to rebuild her life by hooking up with her tough, yet nurturing uncle (Cliff Curtis), whom she is insistent on teaching her how to be a professional hitwoman.

The film then brings us in to present day, where Cataleya, now in her early thirties (and played by the luminous Zoe Saldana) is a lean, mean, killing machine who has made good on her career plans. Still unable to find her intended target, due to his cover being guarded by a shady operative from the CIA (wouldn’t she just venture back down there anyway?) she presses on regardless, forsaking love and a normal life in her pursuit for retribution.

The first 20 minutes or so of Colombiana suggests a Latino-flavoured, high-octane remake of Leon may be on the cards, but unfortunately, the film pretty much runs out of steam shortly after Saldana is revealed as the grown-up Cataleya. This is not to suggest that any fault lies with the actress. She actually gives it everything and really helps sells the preposterous notion of the methodical female assassin with acute, almost superhuman, combat training (and unlike Angelina Jolie in last year’s Salt, regardless of her svelte figure and small frame, she looks like she could feasible kick some serious ass). She’s let down by a barebones script (the likes of which Besson and co-scribe, Robert Mark Kamen, most probably knocked out over a bottle or two of Chateauneuf du Pape) that, while establishing why she would look to avenge the death of her parents, never really explores her inner psyche or the reasons behind her wanting to work in such a crazy profession. The film also exists within a  reality-bending universe from that of our own, where the software on the PC belonging to dedicated cop (British export Lennie James) is capable of doing anything and finding anyone at the touch of a button, and all air conditioning vents magically possess ample space for a human figure to freely roam around in.

The film also features perhaps one of the worst-written male parts ever, in the form of Catalina’s bit on the side – an artist named Danny (Michael Vartan) who she has managed to keep at arms length, emotionally. He is one of the least ineffectual characters ever to grace the big screen (or maybe this is Besson having a sly role-reversal dig at the tropes which are usually attached to this male-dominated genre?)

None of these gripes will probably bother the intended core demographic (horny, male adolescents) and when the director goes by the moniker Oliver Megaton, this was hardly going to be a subtle portrayal of one women’s emotional plight at losing both parents at an early age. Nevertheless, the film suffers greatly from a severely underwritten and uninteresting lead role (despite the best efforts of Saldana), and even the potentially interesting euro-flavoured aesthetic, mixed in with the Michael Bay and Tony Scott school of big bangs fails to come alive, and (even more annoyingly for a film of this kind) grows increasingly tiresome and lifeless as the action intensifies.

If you’re looking for a strong female character to hold your attention in this kind of film, do yourself a favour and rent Besson’s own Nikita (and the aforementioned Leon, for that matter). Unlike Colombiana, both films take a similar character and really make you care about her predicament and journey.

**~~~ (2/5)

On the mean streets of Kinshasa where fuel is a sparse and pricy commodity, Viva (a charismatically-laidback Patsha Bay), a mercenary-type and thrill-seeker with a devil-may-care attitude rolls into town with a lorry-load of stolen fuel. Hooking up with an old sidekick he begins hitting the local night spots, flaunting the money he’s made as far. His curiosity and voracious sexual appetite brings him into contact with the local gangster’s moll, Nora (Manie Malone), and soon he’s trying to avoid her vengeful boyfriend and his henchmen.

To make matters worse a trio of men from Angolan, led by the vicious and flamboyantly-dressed César (Hoji Fortuna) are also in the neighbourhood to hunt down the culprit who has stole a large consignment of fuel from them. Aided by a lesbian army commander who has been emotionally blackmailed into helping with their retrieval scheme, they will stop at nothing to take back (by extreme force) what was once theirs.

A highly confident debut by the Congolese-born writer-producer and director Djo Munga, Viva Riva! is a violent, engrossing and incredibly sexually-charged thriller. Shot on the Cannon D5 camera, it also looks really fantastic. What is obviously a modest budget has been stretched well and by placing all of the action within real locations helps to add a real authenticity to the piece. The rundown, seemingly lawless milieu is populated by a whole host of colourful and utterly corrupt characters (even the local clergyman is not above taking in criminals if the price is right).

With elements of gangster, action and film noir, it’s clear that Munga has drawn his inspiration from a number of tropes from those genres (particularly the stunning Malone’s modern day representation of a femme fatale) and at times the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo even resembles some kind of post-apocalyptic landscape where bartering and dodgy deals are a daily occurrence and casual swapping of bodily fluids is easily initiated.

Part of what sets this aside from just another Hollywood knock-off however, is the director’s resistance in ramping up the visuals and that distinct lack of flash on display and that very liberal attitude towards sex and sexuality makes for a refreshing and visceral viewing experience. The film has been likened to the works of Tony Scott by some critics but this comparison is lazy and unjustified. If any of Scott’s recent output was anywhere close to what has been achieved here, he would be considered on the same par as his brother.

A fittingly downbeat and uncompromising ending again helps reinforce the realistic situation and further distances the film from those many predictable, cut and dried pictures from the west.

Picking up a number of top awards at the African Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria this year, on the strength of Viva Riva! it won’t be long until Hollywood comes a-knocking for Munga and it just may well help to kick-start a film industry of sorts in the Congo too. It’s heartening to see this kind of genre film come from such an unlikely place and it’s further encouraging to see it done so incredibly well.

****~ (4/5)

The fourth sequel in the seemingly unending Fast and Furious series is out in cinemas now and has proved to be a surprise hit with critics, playing heavily to the crowd with great success and if the notion of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and The Rock driving around very fast in exotic locations doesn’t have you interested why not check out this clip?

It’s fast and a little furious, director Justin Lin knows his way around the material all too well and the result impressed our man Adam Lowes and you can read his review right here.

Here’s the clip,

The Sun came out and gave the clip to the world.

“11 million. Sounds like a whole lotta vaginal activity to me!”

With that immortal line and such a failsafe concept, Fast & Furious 5 (aka Fast 5) will likely win the hearts and minds of every adolescent, popcorn-chomping gamer in the land. In years to come, cinematic scholars will use this film as a glowing example of Hollywood making what is possibly the most unashamed attempt in all of movie history at trying to please the intended demographic.

The action begins two minutes in with a bone-crunching escape sequence which results in a prison bus holding a shackled Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) doing the kind of multiple flips not seen since the halcyon days of the small screen A-Team escapades. We are then greeted to Rio de Janeiro receiving the swooping Tony Scott-esque landscape treatment (and mightily impressive it is) as the old gang reassemble.  Diesel in joined by series veterans Jordana Brewster and Paul Walker, alongside a ‘best of’ of faces from previous instalments (including the likes of Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) as they form a tight-nit crew for one last job (of course!) to take down corrupt Brazilian businessman (Joaquin De Almeida) and relieve him of his $100 million fortune gained via the drugs industry. Also on their trail is federal agent (a CGI-looking Dwayne Johnson) who, together with his team of meatheads, is determined to bring the team down once and for all.

If the theme running through the previous entries in the series (which is now been running for an incredible ten years!) was all high speed, souped-up motors and pedal to the metal action, 5 is intent on spreading the family love and what it means to be a solid unit. That’s not to say that it’s lacking those other thrills however, but the Oceans Eleven-type camaraderie is where much of the laughs are mined and relationships are cemented. Walker (graduating here from balsa wood to oak, performance-wise) has a little future FBI member-turned-petrolhead baby on the way with Brewster (the film’s attempt at raising the emotional stakes a little higher).

Johnson (who has been experiencing less-than-stellar box office action recently) must have jumped at the chance of coming aboard here. He delivers a hilariously knowing, wink-wink performance (regardless to whether he is aware of this) as the insanely ripped police offer, who (literally) tosses away the rulebook at one moment early on in the film. Director Justin Lin (who has made three of the five films) is operating from the same viewpoint too, and any regard to even capturing one iota of logic and reality is completely absent here. We’re treated to some (admittedly) thrilling action beats. A rooftop chase sequence atop of the favelas tries to out-Bourne Bourne and mostly works (if you can go with the conceit that humans are basically indestructible) and the final bank vault car chase features the most wilful disregard for the automobile ever commented to celluloid.

As with many films in this genre, the plot (and anything else for that matter), merely serves as a function to get the characters closer to that next piece of action. Exposition is spouted every 10 seconds or so, and every scene ends with a dramatic line reading and plot reveal before we’re delivering into the next shot (completing with a pounding blast on the soundtrack). Dwayne and the gang also seem to have in their possession the kind of tech-tech crime-busting equipment which looks like it’s a good 10-20 years away from being a reality. It’s also funny to observe Brewster refuse a beer on account of her being pregnant, when earlier on we’ve seen her take a 30-plus foot blind leap into an incredibly dangerous-looking and unstable corrugated roof.

None of these are criticisms as such, as it’s hard to be tough on a film which absolutely succeeds in what it initial sets out to do. This was never a film designed to explore the finer details of the human psyche and its relationship with the motor. This is action cinema at its most outlandish and uproarious. Apart from the much-anticipated meeting of the muscles, wrestling bout between Diesel and Johnson (which you half expect to end with a roll in the hay and a quick make-up kiss) the sweaty, testosterone macho posturing on display is an unadulterated joy to behold.

In keeping with the oft-used food fast parallels towards modern, mainstream Hollywood cinema, Fast & Furious 5 is a bit little buying a Big Mac, only this time, discovering that it actually tastes much better than what you’ve been previously been accustomed to, although you’d never glance at the ingredients for fear of it spoiling your enjoyment and stopping you from taking that last delicious bite.

***~~ (3/5)

While specificity clearly isn’t Kiefer Sutherland‘s strong point, the actor has managed to narrow the release margin for upcoming 24 movie down to a single year-sized window. 2012 since you asked.

In conversation with the women from The View, America’s take on our very own Loose Women, Sutherland took time off from his promotional duties for Broadway play That Championship Season to discuss the feature film based on his Emmy award winning show.

Having previously suggesting that production might start this year, in reality the start date is still as much of an enigma as who may inevitably direct.

The story so far leaves Billy Ray’s (State of Play) script dead in the water, a loyal star battling for a big screen adaptation and 20th Century Fox in cahoots with Tony Scott (Man On Fire).

“Billy did a fantastic job and there are aspects of that story [that will remain]. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

If Sex and the City and The X-Files are anything to go by, 24 may have one half-decent film left in it.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Denzel Washington’s new movie, Unstoppable is released today in UK cinemas. We’ve been fortunate enough to meet him and interview him for the movie and you can check out the interview here. Our review is also up and can be seen here. And if that’s not enough, we have a competition for you to win merchandise from the movie here!

Unstoppable is directed by Tony Scott and marks his  fifth collaboration with Washington. The movie also stars Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson and we think you’ll rather like it!

Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable” is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.  A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper — and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.

When I started HeyUGuys just over two years ago, I never thought that it would take me to a place where I’d get the chance to interviewing Oscar winning actor and all round legend, Denzel Washington! Well, with his new movie, Unstoppable coming out this Wednesday in UK cinemas, I got just the chance and it was one of the highlights of the past two years and 25 minutes spent that I’ll never forget!

Hope you enjoy in the interview and check out my review of the movie here.

—————–

You’ve done five films with Tony Scott Now – What is it about working with him that you like so much?

In the past 18 years, we’ve done 5 movies. He calls me! That’s the only way it’s going to happen. He says “hey you wanna do this” but he also makes excellent films and it’s a good mix for me with good character based film or good character based action films.

Cant we look forward to you working together again in the future?

(Leans into the microphone and says slowly…) He hasn’t called me for Top Gun 2 yet!

Are you heavily involved in the casting process and did you get involved in casting Rosario’s character?

Well I do have casting approval, yes! I didn’t have to get involved in Rosario’s character as he said what do you think about Rosario and I said ‘yes’. In the true story, it was the woman who was the boss.

Did you see some of the footage of the real event?

I did. Tony got all the tapes. And these guys really unhitched their train, went backwards and caught it! They didn’t run on the top of it like we did! And I’m sure there was no seventy piece orchestra playing as they were doing it!

Was that you running on top of the train?

A lot of it was, yeah. A stuntman did an overwhelming amount but I really did it, I had to do it, running on top of a train going 50mph… like a fool!

What did that feel like, was it scary?

Yes it was. Well, I got used to it, being up there. One of the most frightening ones was when we were about to go over that big turn on top of the train and the train was up in the air 100 feet at that part of the movie. I didn’t have to do any running at that part – and I wouldn’t have! I wouldn’t have been running up there. It was bad enough when it was on the ground. I wouldn’t have been running up there! No sir!!

Ho w has your relationship working with Tony changed over that time?

I’m sure I’ve got more to say now just cos I know more. I was just glad to be there the first time. He wants my input. He’s the director. One of the best things about working with him on so many films now is that I trust him, I know he’s going to shoot the heck out of it. My whole thing is script development and then, personally character developments.

You’ve shot two films with trains now. Can you actually drive a train?

The first film (The Taking of Pelham 123) was more about the hostages. This one, it’s all about the train and I did learn how to drive a train.

Were the scenes with Chris Pine actually shot on an actually train?

Nothing was shot on a set. I didn’t shoot anything with green screen or CGI. They built a platform around the front of this car, then they cut the back of the car off and they put a circle track around the front half of that car. So you see those scenes where we’re talking and we’re heading down a track at 50mph with this big contraction going around in a circle. It was a real challenge for him. There were two sections we were shooting there was a road alongside. They were in a pickup truck with 5 cameras flying along with us. Helicopters were keeping up with us and they were kinda frightening too cos they got real close and were right on top of us!

What do you think of 3d?

I think the industry will jump onto whatever the new thing is; bleed them until they’re useless or till people get sick of it until the next thing comes along!

What did you think of Avatar?

I haven’t seen it! He doesn’t need my money! Trust me. He doesn’t need my money, he’s doing alright! (Laughs)

What did have you liked this year?

I’m not really a movie buff. I liked Hurt Locker, An Education, and the other one with Cary Mulligan, Never Let Me Go, The Other Guys, Public Enemies.

Are there are roles you’ve turned down that you’re regretted?

Seven and Michael Clayton. I would have been the kid in Seven…. I was younger then! (Laughs!)

Which life stories would you be interested in as you’ve done a few now?

None. There’s no check list, they just happen. Dickie Attenborough asked if I wanted to Steve Beco, Spike asked if I wanted to be Malcolm X – Yeah!

Is there a checklist with other directors or actors you’d like to work with?

No. Although there’s the obvious ones like Scorsese or Tarantino….. they haven’t called!

You have this amazing profile now. Has fame changed your life or have you remained the same person?

Everything changes your life; the rain changes your life! You can’t walk around as much!

Do you resent that?

I lead a great life. I have no complaints! It’s a job for my publicist to keep me on a low profile. And I think that to a degree you can control that by not doing something stupid number one. I’m a low key guy who’s not looking to be at every premiere. I’m just a normal guy who’s an actor.

What did you do to prepare for the movie?

Hit the trains. Met the guys, learnt to drive a train, drove a train, by myself. Met the guy who I play! He’s the one who talked about his daughters working at Hooters so we put that right into the movie!

Did you see the train as the enemy / the villain of this film?

I think so. He definitely shot it like that. Low angle shots making it more imposing. It’s the beast and we even call it the beat. It’s like a monster He tweaked the music and the sound to make it like that.

Which role that you’ve played are you most proud of?

I don’t really think about it that way. I don’t look back, I look forward. I watch my movies so I can talk to the press so I can know what I’m talking about but after that, I don’t want them. It’s gone; I’ve spent that money (laughs!)! I don’t get any joy out if it. For me the best part of it is making it. It’s the process, I’ve just never been one to live in the part!

There’s a moment in the film when a badger runs in front of the train! Was that a stunt badger!

(Whole room laughs!) Did you see that?! Down the track! I’m not at liberty to say cos I know Fox are going back and forth with the badger union! That was a trip! That had to be real, that couldn’t have been a CGI badger! He made it though, he was like I’ve done this before!!

Unstoppable is released in the UK this Wednesday 24th November.

Unstoppable is the latest movie to reunite Tony Scott and Denzel Washington in what turns out to be their fifth movie together. The previous outings including Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Deja Vu and more recently, The Taking of Pelham 123 and as you might notice, they all have a similar formula – action! I’m a big fan of both Tony Scott and Denzel Washington so when I got the chance to see this movie, I was very much looking forward to seeing it.

Unstoppable is based on a true story about a runaway train which is unmanned and under power thundering through the towns across Ohio with hazardous chemicals on board and a train load of kids heading straight for it. With the train smashing through everything in it’s path, two men (Chris Pine and Denzel Washington) decide to take it upon themselves to try and stop it be devising an ambitious plan that if successful, could stop the train in it’s tracks – quite literally! This goes against all their orders from the men in suits back at head office,  more interested in saving money and saving face than saving lives. Denzel and Chris do have one allie however in the form of Rosario Dawson who plays Connie, and is in charge of mission control back at the train depot. She’s able to help them with the details on where the train is at any given moment and is really well cast in the movie.

Let’s face it, watching a train pootle along a track at speed for 90 minutes is never going to be that exciting but when Tony Scott adds the multitudes of helicopters, loads of police cars, children on another train in imminent danger and a horse on the track, it’s always going to make it that little bit more interesting! He even manages to get an explosion in there in true Tony Scott style! By using loads of close up shots of the characters and the train, it really feels like the train is out of control and you do actually begin to care about what happens to the people involved (can you see I’m still thinking about my Skyline review!). I was never overwhelmed by the chemistry between Pine and Washington and Pine’s back story was a little lame. It basically focuses around a messy court case around the access to his daughter and ends in a rather silly fashion where they all live happily ever after by the time the credits roll! I guess it is a film and it had to have this backstory for you to want Pine’s character of Will to suceed.

Overall though, I’m pleased to report I did very much enjoy this movie. I always think of myself as a very mainstream kind of movie goer. I love all that over hyped over done action genre and Unstoppable is exactly that! Denzel is back on form, running over trains and the sound was excellent, especially in the Fox screening room where the floor shakes when the train comes roaring at you head on!

If you’re a fan of all things Denzel Washington and Tony Scott, then this one is yet another to add to the collection and I’d definitely buy it on DVD when it’s released next year.

Unstoppable is released in UK cinemas next Wednesday, 24th November and if you haven’t already entered, click here to win merchandise from the movie.

Denzel Washington re-teams with director, Tony Scott for new movie, Unstoppable which hits UK cinemas next Wednesday, 24th November. To celebrate, Twentieth Century Fox have been kind enough to give us some merchandise for you, our lovely readers.

Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable” is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.  A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper — and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.

Unstoppable also stars Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson and we have five sets of Unstoppable promotional packs to give away, which includes a  keychain, a beanie, and a t-shirt.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, all you need to do is answer the following question using the form below.

What’s the name of Denzel Washington’s character in Unstoppable?

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only.
• Only one entry per household will be counted.
• The competition will close on Friday the 26th November at 23.59 GMT.
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received.

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

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Megamind has managed to hold its position on the top spot at the American box office for the second week running. It made an estimated $30.1 million this week, bringing the total to nearly $90 million ($89,757,000). It’s been a great year for the studio so far, having scored a huge money-making hat trick with this film and both How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After.

Tony Scott’s new action thriller Unstoppable (starring Denzel Washington) has debuted at number two, having earned approx $23,500,000. It’s not the biggest opening for the Scott’s and Washington’s work together (that was last year’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) but it’s earned some great reviews and strong word-of-mouth should mean that the film will gain momentum in the coming weeks.

Due Date takes the third position with an impressive total of $59 million so far, although it still has a long way to go before matching director Todd Philipps’ last feature The Hangover, which managed an incredible final US box office gross of over $277 million.

Figures from Box Office Mojo.

Tony Scott’s new action packed movie, Unstoppable hits UK cinemas 24th November and to get us ready, Twentieth Century Fox have sent us this brand new TV spot for the movie.

Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable” is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.  A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper — and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.

Unstoppable stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Jessy Schram, Kevin Dunn and Ethan Suplee.

We’ve been bringing you lots of juicy pics and clips for Tony Scott’s latest, Unstoppable and we also hear that Scott is planning Top Gun 2. Added to that, Collider have news that Scott will also direct Mickey Rourke in an as yet untitled project, previously known as Potzdamer Platz.

Potzdamer Platz as a German train station, however the action now will take place in Puerto Rico. A previous synopsis had the story being about two soldiers in a New Jersey crime family looking to expand internationally, however Collider now give the synopsis as:-

Two Jersey mobsters are sent on a simple mission: send a message to their boss’s rival by wiping out his Puerto Rican compound.  The hit takes on new meaning when they discover a six year old girl in hiding.  Suffering an uncharacteristic bout of conscience, they allow her to live.  All hell breaks loose when the hit men later learn the little girl was the actual target and they were set up to execute a plan of cold-blooded revenge by killing the child of the woman the mob boss once loved.

That’s certainly an enticing sounding synopsis and given his work on Man on Fire, Scott clearly has what it takes to portray the Latin American underworld. Where this might fit into Scott’s schedule is less clear. Although Top Gun 2 will apparently not be his next film, he does still have rumoured connections to adaptations of Mark Millar’s Nemesis, John Grisham’s The Associate and  Sonny Barger’s Hell’s Angels.

Also rumoured to be involved are Javier Bardem and Jason Statham, though only Mickey Rourke is signed on so far. We will bring you more news as we get it.

Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable”  (released in cinemas 24th November) is an adrenaline rush fuelled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.  A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington®) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper – and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area. 

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox and Show Film First, the preview screenings will be taking place at the following locations, on Monday 15th November:

CINEWORLD:  :  Aberdeen, Ashford, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol,  Cheltenham, Chichester, Crawley, Didsbury, Glasgow Renfrew, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Wandsworth, West India Quay, Wolverhampton and Yeovil.

Just visit https://www.showfilmfirst.com/pin/206980 to claim your free tickets – subject to availability

Be sure to tell us what you think on Twitter by using the hash tag #unstoppable. Random Tweets will be selected daily between 7th – 18th November to win Unstoppable prizes!

• Cast: Denzel Washington®, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson
• Director: Tony Scott
• Official Website: www.unstoppablemovie.co.uk
• Facebook http://tinyurl.com/UKunstoppableFB

Just visit https://www.showfilmfirst.com/pin/206980 to claim your free tickets – subject to availability

TM & © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved

This nice new look behind the scenes of Tony Scott’s latest film, Unstoppable, has everything you’d expect from the man himself: cigars and cinematic hyperbole of the explosive kind.

Chris Pine joins Scott regular Denzel Washington on this story of a runaway train and this clip has cast and crew talking about a particularly large action scene. It’s worth watching, if for nothing else you get to see Tony Scott playing with his toys and setting up two dozen cameras to capture the action.

Clip Ahoy!

Ripe Maze Enigma gave this to the world. Gawd bless them.

Twentieth Century Fox have sent us a couple of new clips from Tony Scott’s new movie, Unstoppable which will be hitting UK cinemas on November 24th. The movie sees a runaway train smashing though various objects across America while Denzel Washington and co-star, Chris Pine do their best to figure out a way of stopping it before the train, (the size of the Chrysler Building) finds and end to it’s path.

Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable” is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.  A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper — and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.

Clip One – Losing Breaks

Clips Two – Going After Train

Christopher McQuarrie, the guy who penned The Usual Suspects, has just confirmed with The Vulture that Maverick will return as the lead in the upcoming Top Gun 2 sequel.  With that said, Tom Cruise will be reprising his role as the famed pilot.

If this movie does actually come to fruition, Tony Scott will be the man with the directorial reigns with Jerry Bruckheimer most likely producing.  My only question is will Iceman actually have a prominent role in the flick because if he does, Kilmer better be the only man playing him.

So what are your thoughts on the film.  Does it make you feel better that Cruise will have the lead in the sequel since they are most likely going forward with this project?  Please leave your comments below.