A high school movie with a difference, Stay Cool offers both a contemporary and nostalgic glimpse into those formative years when a best-selling author Henry (Mark Polish) is invited back to his old school to deliver a speech at the upcoming senior graduation.

Now in his mid-thirties, his latest book is based around his own school experiences decades back where he attempted (unsuccessfully) to fit in with the popular crowd and win the affections of the girl of his dreams. Hooking up with best friends from that era, a gay hairdresser (Sean Ashton) and tattooist (Josh Holloway), he decides to sample life back in the classroom and encouraged by his old principal (Chevy Chase), attends some lessons. He soon discovers that school is still as daunting a place as it ever was when he finds himself having to fend off the romantic advances of an overly-mature student (Hilary Duff) and overcome even more obstacles to win over the heart of his once unattainable sweetheart (Winona Ryder)

Featuring a supporting cast comprised almost entirely of familiar 80’s faces (alongside the aforementioned trio of Chase, Ashton and Ryder, actors from the likes of ET, Family Ties, Blade Runner, Pretty in Pink and Beverly Hills 90210 also crop up) from the outset Stay Cool looks like it has the potential to be entertaining and involving delve into the past, but ultimately, it falls short of this.

The film is actually the unlikely product of cult filmmaker brothers, Mark and Michael Polish (directing under the pseudonym of Ted Smith here). The two won critical acclaim a number of years back with quirky and distinctive fables like Twin Falls Idaho and Northfolk. This film represents a marked change of pace and style for the two and therein lies its biggest problem. It can’t quite decide if it wants to be a gently humorous and (darkly) bittersweet look at the high school experience, or a broader, throwaway comedy.

On the whole, the cast do well and everyone is nicely restrained (Ashton even manages to dial it down despite being kitted out for the majority of the film in a garish yellow kimono) but it rarely comes to life and any genuinely funny moments are few and far between. For his part, Mark Polish (also who wrote the script) is an appealing and refreshingly unshowy lead actor, but the grossly misleading promotional DVD artwork would suggests otherwise, and lack of faith in the film (and it’s main star) by the distributer means it’s being marketed as some kind of anodyne Hilary Duff vehicle (Polish’s name isn’t even included on the cover!).

It’s also nice to see Winona Ryder back in a fairly substantial role, and along with Polish, she’s able to tap into the more engaging melancholic aspects hinted at in the script, as the ex-prom queen who is now in an unhappy place and is at first unaware of the instrumental part she’s played in Henry’s success as a writer.

Managing to remain fairly watchable (thanks mainly to its diverse cast) Stay Cool may be enough to please those in the mood for an undemanding 90 minutes of entertainment, but there are plenty of other films available which tackle similar themes, in a deeper and more emotionally enriching way.

**½~~ (2.5/5)

Tim Burton’s upcoming stop motion remake of his own 1984 short film, Frankenweenie, is definitely one of the most interesting projects that we can look forward to seeing next year.

We got our first official look at the film, which will be released in black and white in 3D, back in October with some brilliant images, before which we’d got a look at the film’s logo this summer and some concept art just over a year earlier.

We’ve now got some terrific new images from the set to share with you, courtesy of ShockTillYouDrop, who’ve visited the set and spoken to some of the filmmaking team:

“Tim always wanted to make it into a feature and into an animated feature,” explains Producer Allison Abate, “We had to open the story up a little bit. Pretty much, the whole first act is like the short. We meet Victor and his beloved dog, Sparky. There’s a terrible car accident tragedy and the dog gets killed. Of course Victor, being a clever guy, figures out how to reincarnate him. Where the story diverges is that Victor is now desperate to keep his dog a secret. He doesn’t really know if what he’s done is a great thing. He doesn’t tell his parents and he doesn’t tell his school friends… Of course, the other kids at school get wind of it and kind of want in.”

While it was only teased on the set visit, there’s every indication that we’ll be seeing a lot more pet-based monsters than just the titular canine. Each of Victor’s friends is based on an icon of classic horror cinema and endeavors to create a monster representative of that fact. Sketches on the production office wall point to everything from mummified hamsters to Gamera-scaled turtles.

Sounds pretty brilliant to me. If you’d like to read their full set report, you can click on over here. As he often does, the director is reteaming with a number of people with whom he’s worked in the past, and those lending their voices to the film include Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Conchata Ferrell, and James Hiroyuki Liao.

Burton is naturally a renowned filmmaker, and we can look forward to seeing not one but two of his films next year. First, Dark Shadows will be coming to the big screen on 11^th May, and then Frankenweenie will be following at the tail-end of the year on 5^th October. These new images are every bit as brilliant as the first we saw just over a month ago, and show a huge amount of promise for the film. The level of detail and care that has clearly been taken to create these characters and sets is truly impressive. As usual, click to enlarge. Enjoy.

A little later than we’d hoped to get a post up but here’s the first couple of images from Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. The voice cast in the movie includes Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and it’s expected for release October 5th 2012 so only a year to wait people!

Two of the images below show the models actually in their scene from the movie and the third shows Burton holding Sparky the dog.

From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience.

In Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

Click the images below to enlarge.

Initiate Productions have released the first trailer and poster for their new comedy which has pooled together a rather impressive cast called Stay Cool. The film is directed by Michael Polish and as well as Polish, also stars Hilary Duff, Winona Ryder, Sean Astin, Josgh Holloway, and Ashley Bell with some cameos from Chevy Chase and Jon Cryer.

After 20 years, a successful author Henry McCarthy (Polish) returns to his home town to give a commencement speech, only to fall in love with his old crush Scarlet Smith (Ryder) but is asked to the prom by a sexy high school senior Shasta ONeil (Duff). Henry faces tough decisions which cause him to consider his love for Scarlet whos the perfect girlfriend, but when Principle Marshall (Chase) give advise on love things start to become hilariously entertaining.

No sign of a UK release date as yet but we’ll keep you posted.

Walt Disney Pictures have unveiled the official logo for Frankenweenie, a full-length stop-motion animation based on the 1984 short.

Directed by Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Frankenweenie features the voice talents of Winona Ryder, Charlie Tahan, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron and Conchata Ferrell.

After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

Frankenweenie will be released on October 5, 2012.

Check out the official logo embedded below:

Source: Comingsoon

Entering the crowded arena of horror movies swoops Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, with grace and style enough to show up the borrowed nostalgia scares and toothless gorefrenzies of modern horror films for what they are, and in doing so giving me one of my favourite films of last year.

The merits of Darren Aronofsky’s latest were well argued in Ian’s review of the film back in January, and it was a clear favourite when it played the festival circuit last year.  Now that the film arrives on Blu-ray and DVD we can revisit it to see if the dark tale of perfection and perception holds up to a second viewing. Short answer: It does. Here’s why.

I cannot deny there was a tangible thrill when I opened the envelope containing the Black Swan Blu-ray; the film’s release in Japan has just pushed its earning past the $300 million mark proving two things: audiences will flock to challenging adult drama and that Aronofsky continues to develop as a filmmaker capable of producing work to critical and commercial acclaim.

Aronofsky’s film of a fragile ballet dancer finding her dark side in order to play both the white and black swan in Swan Lake is a masterclass is disorientation and seduction with Natalie Portman deservedly winning her Oscar for her portrayal of Nina, and the transformation she undergoes is painful and carefully handled. We are drawn into her rapidly enfolding world as the preparations for the opening night see her losing her grip on reality, ‘helped’ by Vincent Cassel’s domineering director and Mila Kunis’s flirtatious understudy. Aronofsky peppers the film with visual tricks and eerie images, but we never lose focus on Nina’s struggle and doomed triumph.

It’s my favourite of the director’s film; it’s an eerie and very serious fairy tale, dripping with paranoia and we watch the onslaught of a dozen psychological and physical terrors on our Swan Queen again and again, not because she it is fun to watch her crumble beneath the numerous weights, rather it is the constant tension between the light and dark, the real world and Nina’s constructed reality which gives the film its momentum.

The Blu-ray is a shining example of delivering a polished high-definition transfer of a film and embellishing it with some decent extras. Here we have a mixture of superficial portraits of its stars as well an essential ninety minute documentary, entitled Metamorphosis, taking us from the initial ideas, through design, choreography, shooting and post production. Aronosfksy and his cast and crew are a rightfully proud and gregarious bunch, happy to go into details of the challenges of shooting in a bitterly cold December New York as they are to tease us with alternative visual effects for the final transformation. Some of the film’s obvious symbolic elements, the overarching light and dark is one example, are given time and are illuminated by the comments made. The documentary’s style borrows from the vérité nature of the film itself and a feeling creeps upon you that Arnofsky’s passion pervades the production completely; the film is brighter and sharper on a second watch after the documentary has been viewed.

Character profiles of the main players are a nice thought as the film invites you to dive beneath the surface but the pleasure of this film is to notice what is not obvious, the moments that passed you by in the cinema, the moment the dance troupe are made up of Nina’s dopplegangers is one I missed and I have a feeling that there are more to be found. Aronofsky has created a disquieting and powerful film, reminiscent of Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and elements had me in mind of a lost Disney Horror The Watcher in the Woods, but this is so much more than The Red Shoes remade by David Lynch. The transfer is solid, the sound design tremendously effective in any half decent home cinema system and I was surprised at how little the film lost in translation to the smaller screen. If you haven’t seen it, you should and quickly.

Film: ****~ (4/5)

Blu-ray: ***~~ (3/5)

Special Features:

• Metamorphosis: A Three-Part Series–A behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process from Darren Aronofsky’s visionary directing, to the physically-demanding acting, to the stunning special effects. Illuminating and essential viewing.
• Behind the Curtain–An inside look at the film’s costume and production design. Worth a watch for the production design conversation.
• Ten Years in the Making–Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky discuss their creative journey, from “preparing for the role” to “dancing with the camera”, thankfully light on the “she’s such a wonderful actress” balls.
• Cast Profiles: Roles of a Lifetime–Fox Movie Channel Produced superfluities.

To celebrate the release of The Dilemma, on DVD and Blu-ray on 30^th May, we are offering three lucky readers the chance to win a Blu-ray copy!

Synopsis: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James headline an all-star comedy from director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer about a man who finds out that what you don’t say to a friend is just as important as what you do.  Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah join them in The Dilemma, a story of how far you can bend a brotherly bond before it snaps.

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) have been through thick and thin.  Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company.  With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable.

But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers.  As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own.  Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

To win this amazing prize all you have to do is watch the clip above and answer this simple question using the form below:

What does Vince Vaughn’s Ronny dupe Kevin James’ Nick into thinking?

1. His girlfriend is pregnant
2. His competitor had a near death experience
3. He is quitting his job to become a fulltime comedian

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 30th May at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

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

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan was an almost permanent fixture in critics’ Top Tens and Best Film award nominees for last year and the powerful film is out on Blu-ray and DVD on Monday the 16th of May, perfect time then to share this clip with you.

This video is part of the Special Features on the Blu-ray and if there’s a film that benefits from a thorough deconstruction it’s this one, thankfully there’s an extensive breakdown of the film included on the disc, with contributions from cast and crew with Aronofsky in particular in a generous mood and watching how he builds the mental landscape of Natalie Portman’s fragile Nina is fascinating.

We’ve got a clip for you which hints at the ideas behind the film, the comprehensive extras are well worth a look.

Black Swan is out on Blu-ray and DVD May the 16th and our review will be up shortly.

© 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LCC. All Rights reserved.

James Franco (127 Hours) and Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted) have signed on to co-star in The Stare.

The Stare will center on a playwright (Ryder) who finds her mind beginning to warp as she struggles to launch her next production. She’s plagued by dreams and visions of being watched, but can’t decide if she’s at the center of a manipulative plot or simply losing her grip on reality.

Franco will play one of the performers in the playwright’s production.

Directed by Jay Anania (William Vincent), The Stare will be the first project to be funded by Waterstone Entertainment, a new production company formed by producers Jeff Kalligheri and Steve Bowen.

Production is expected to begin next month in New York.

Source: Deadline

Have you ever seen a bromantic dark comedy? No? Nor had I until director Ron Howard and writer Allan Loeb teamed up with Vince Vaughn and Peter James, resulting in the bizarre and incongruous concoction that is The Dilemma.  With drama-movie gold such as A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon under his belt Howard isn’t exactly known for his comedic prowess so whilst The Dilemma appears to reflect the director’s flair for the dramatic the film strains to realize its full and in my opinion mis-advertised potential as a buddy-comedy against the wave of unexpectedly dark emotions thrown up by the characters.

Self-conscious smarty-pants Nick Brannen (Peter James) is the yin to Ronny Valentine’s (Vince Vaughn) silver-tongued and handsome yang. They’re best friends as well as independent business partners whose enduring love is supported by their doting and beautiful love-interests Beth (Jennifer Connelly) and Geneva (Winona Ryder). Ronny is a smooth-talking but self-centred romantic who views Nick and Geneva’s 20 years of marital bliss as something of a miracle and a personal inspiration until by chance he witnesses Geneva’s giggly, saliva-swapping infidelity with a young stud called Zip (Channing Tatum). To make matters worse he discovers Geneva’s affair at a pivotal moment in the duo’s careers as they are on the brink of signing a deal with Chrysler which will push their small electric-automotive company into hardcore business success. Ronny is thus faced with The Dilemma of when, where, how and whether or not he should confront his best friend with the crushing truth. Obviously, we all know Nick has to find out but Ronny is immature and egocentric – a most dangerous combination – and as far as we can make out until this point completely incapable of making committed and adult decisions that may influence his own life (for instance proposing to the wonderful Beth) let alone taking responsibility for his best friend’s happiness.

Now if you don’t like Vince Vaughn then don’t watch The Dilemma because it is in effect a two hour Vaughn marathon. This obviously has its downsides and creates a few glaring flaws, for instance in what universe could all 6ft and 5inches of Vaughn’s behemoth form go unnoticed by the various characters he ‘sneaks’ after whilst he plays private detective? But in many ways Vaughn is in his element and luckily the charm and appeal which has secured his place as one of the popular comedy titans shines through his otherwise quite unlikeable character. Saying that, Ronny rakes in a lot of the laughs and is the only character that appears to grow at all during the course of the film’s meaningful offerings. Sadly they are all under-developed.

Peter James’ Nick is an emotionally weak ergomaniac who is almost entirely obnoxious, his other half Geneva is an astonishingly manipulative piece of work whilst Beth is beautiful but bland.  This under-development means that although we understand what Howard is working towards, big grown-up emotions and real-life resolutions we just can’t subscribe to it. When Geneva proves that Nick is an indifferent and frankly rubbish hubby it is impossible to feel anything for her or justify her deception and it’s not helped particularly by the fact that we don’t really give a damn about Nick either. Howard has presented us with a melting pot of themes, intrigues and character traits which are too conflicting to rest comfortably within a comedy framework. Luckily, it appears myaudience and I all realized in the first 20 minutes that this wasn’t going to be the light-hearted, formulaic flick we’d anticipated which resulted in a steady stream of generous reactions.

Visually the film is quite rich and in places stunning due to a handful of choice locations and a clearly talented art director. Queen Latifah provides a refreshing (if regrettably short) piece of unrestrained comic brilliance in the cringe-worthily shameless role of Susan Warner, after-all, a bit of no-frills immodest fun is what we expected from the trailers… And I even quite enjoyed Channing Tatum’s fleeting and mostly naked presence but this is definitely due to Zip and Ronny’s ridiculous fight sequence which I must admit did tickle a few ribs. I am disinclined to dissect The Dilemma piece by piece because from the word go it’s not exactly what anybody expected but it does deliver a few decent laughs, a couple of feel-good moments and a rare opportunity to see mainstream comedy actors juggle a dark script and some deliberately difficult characters to relate to. But it is best to ignore the advertising hype, this film is not a simple comedy because it does bring a lot more to the table but whether the result is an appealing mixture or an unconvincing mess is hard to say. Overall I enjoyed The Dilemma and its attempt to break the mould but as I’ve mentioned, I was part of an indulgent audience and we were quick to spot the saving graces.

**½~~ (2.5/5)

The Dilemma hits UK cinemas today, January 21st

We’ve got two exclusive interviews for you today and the first is with legendary director, Ron Howard for his new movie, The Dilemma which hits UK cinemas this Friday. Our lovely friends Simon Thompson from the fabulous Upbeat conducts the interview where he talked to Howard about what we can expect from the movie as well as picking up on the subtle nods to the late John Hughes which he spotted in one scene.

The Dilemma stars Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Vince Vaughn, Queen Latifah, Kevin James, Channing Tatum and Talulah Riley.

Synopsis: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James headline an all-star comedy from director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer about a man who finds out that what you don’t say to a friend is just as important as what you do.  Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah join them in The Dilemma, a story of how far you can bend a brotherly bond before it snaps.

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) have been through thick and thin.  Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company.  With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable.

But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers.  As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own.  Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

Check out the video interview below:

The vivid and gripping Black Swan is one part Jungian psycho thriller, one part horror movie, and one part backstage drama, and while not the masterpiece some have proclaimed it to be, it’s a throughly entertaining ride, driven by an enthralling and very physical performance from Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a dancer with a New York ballet company, a clearly neurotic young woman who is nonetheless an ambitious perfectionist. The company’s bullying artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to stage a reimagined version of ‘Swan Lake’ to launch their new season, and he seizes the opportunity to bring a dancer up from the ranks to replace the company’s aging prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) in the dual lead roles of the Swan Queen (the White and Black Swans). After narrowing the field amongst the company’s very competitive soloists, who all desperately want the role, Thomas chooses Nina for the lead. While she is perfect as the virginal and pure White Swan, the question remains whether Nina can find and embrace within herself the darkness required to effectively portray the villain of the piece, the Black Swan.

The film cleverly plays out the duality that is the heart of the story (good/evil, black/white, introversion/extroversion) through constant visual doubling and POV shots seen as reflections; it would be an amusing exercise to count the number of times Nina scrutinises herself in windows and mirrors (a new drinking game, perhaps). All of the other key women in the film, who represent either an aspect of her character or a potential outcome for a ballerina, strongly resemble Nina also: her mother Erica (Barbara Hershey), a former dancer who smothers her daughter while pushing her to have the kind of celebrated career she didn’t have; the earthy and uninhibited Lily (Mila Kunis), the extrovert to Nina’s introvert; and prima ballerina Beth, depressed and unable to accept that her career is at an end.

Pushed by her mother and Thomas to succeed at all costs, and pulled by the beguiling (and possibly threatening) Lily to unleash her sensuality by indulging in hedonistic abandon, Nina struggles to engage with her shadow and become the complete artist she desperately longs to be. As her tentative grip on reality loosens, the reliability of Nina’s point of view gradually disintegrates as she begins to see herself not just in reflective surfaces, but literally in the faces of others. Natalie Portman’s delicate beauty has always suggested fragility, and it has never been utilised more effectively than it is here; the great supporting players certainly hold their end up, but every one of the film’s 110 minutes belong to Ms. Portman, who shoulders the burden of her role with complete commitment.

Black Swan owes a small debt to Roman Polanski’s mid ’60s masterpiece Repulsion, another tale of a repressed beauty’s psychological breakdown as she struggles to deal with her baser instincts; the scenes of Nina walking the narrow halls of the apartment she shares with her mother feel like a direct nod to the claustrophobic halls of Catherine Deneuve’s apartment. There are hints of David Cronenbergian body horror as well, with bizarre physical transformation that harks back to The Fly and wince inducing shots of damaged digits and other mangled flesh. Composer Clint Mansell does his part to up the film’s shock ante too, blending Tchaikovsky’s dramatic ‘Swan Lake’ with his own score, laying great stabs, slashes and punches of music over top of the film’s ‘behind you!’ moments.

The film’s sheer visual and aural bombast does mean that it teeters on the brink of overwrought many times, and as clever as it is, its technical precision feels too mechanical and calculated at times. For me, director Aronofsky has yet to surpass his eyeball-searing, stomach-churning addiction drama Requiem For a Dream, but Black Swan is an intriguing, and, dare I say it, fun film, and the wonderful Natalie Portman is fully deserving of the many accolades and statuettes she will receive during the current awards season (even if that does mean my own favourite Jennifer Lawrence being beaten out).

***~~ (3/5)

To celebrate the release of Golden Globe winning Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis which is in cinemas on 21st January, we’ve teamed up with Fox Searchlight to give you the chance to win a set of limited edition Black Swan postcards signed by Natalie Portman!

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, BLACK SWAN stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect.

For more information on Black Swan UK Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/BlackSwanUK

To be in with a chance of winning the teaser artwork postcards signed by Natalie Portman, just become a fan of the Black Swan & HeyUGuys Facebook Fanpages and then answer the simple question using the form below:

Which city does the ballet take place in?

a) Paris
b) New York
c) London

Terms and conditions:

• Open to UK participants only
• Winners will receive a set of Black swan teaser artwork postcards signed by Natalie Portman
• No other prize is unavailable if unsuitable
• The competition will close January 24th at 23.59 GMT

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

© & TM 2011 FOX

This is the latest in a long line of excellent promotional images for Aronofsky’s film, you can see the rest here, and we’ll have our review on the site shortly.

The film is due out in the UK on the 21st of January, and seems destined for awards success, appearing recently on the BAFTA longlist, and Oscar is sure to be kind when the Academy hands out their statues next month.

Here’s the poster,

IMPA performed their sourcery.

Another poster for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan has been released, and it continues the impressive marketing for this psychological thriller.

Glamour Magazine had the exclusive on this one and if you’ve not seen the range of intriguing trailers and posters then click here.

Having Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel is enough to get me interested and the buzz from the festivals ahead of its UK release on the 21st of January next year has been phenomenal and should draw the crowds in.

Here’s the poster,

Fox Searchlight have released the brand new international trailer for psychological ballet thriller Black Swan.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey.

Black Swan has already picked up rave reviews after premiering at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival and recently received four nominations for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards, set to be held on February 26, 2011.

Synopsis: A New York City ballet company is producing Swan Lake, and director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) with ballerina Nina (Portman). Nina lives with Erica (Hershey), her overbearing mother and a former ballerina. Nina finds competition in new dancer Lily (Kunis). Swan Lake requires a ballerina who can play the innocent White Swan, which fits Nina, and the sensual Black Swan, which fits Lily. The dancers’ rivalry changes into a bizarre friendship, and Nina begins exploring a dark side of herself.

Check out the international trailer below, courtesy of MSN:

Black Swan will be released in the UK on January 21, 2011.

Earlier today we served up a new clip and a featurette from Darren Aronofsky’s Ballet Royale, Black Swan, a film which comes to the big screen highly anticipated and with great buzz following its success on the festival circuit.

Now there’s another peep behind the curtain in this short video on the film’s production design. With contributions from Production Designer Thérèse DePrez and the director himself. For fans eager to get a feel for the film ahead of its release this video is well worth watching and you get the feeling that everything in the production was planned in intricate detail, so much the better for us when the film is released on the 21st of January 2011.

Here’s the video,

Incontention had this one first.

Two new clips emerged tonight from Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller Black Swan, one is a clip from the film, unnerving and unsteady with Natalie Portman’s performance conveying all sorts of emotional and physical strains and stresses colliding on stage.

The other is a short featurette with Natalie Portman talking about her long involvement with the project and her director chiming in to praise her and add his own perspective on her fractured character – it’s well worth a watch, like so much of what we’ve seen so far from this film.

Here’s the new clip from Yahoo,

And Trailer Addict had the featurette,

Universal Studios have just sent us this brand new behind the scenes featurette which gives us a better look at their new movie, The Dilemma which is directed by Ron Howard and stars Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah.

It’s scheduled for release in the UK January 21st and if you watch the video below, you’ll get a better idea about the movie and what it’s all about.

Synopsis: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James headline an all-star comedy from director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer about a man who finds out that what you don’t say to a friend is just as important as what you do.  Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah join them in The Dilemma, a story of how far you can bend a brotherly bond before it snaps.

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) have been through thick and thin.  Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company.  With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable.

But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers.  As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own.  Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

With director Darren Aronofsky recently swapping Swans for Wolverines there’s still plenty of talk, and some of it Oscar-type talk, about his latest film Black Swan, which has played to rave reviews at this year’s festivals.

It’s a psychological thriller with added ballet and has Vincent Cassel shouting at Natalie Portman a lot and frankly everything I’ve seen so far* connected to this film has been pretty much spot on.

Below are two new TV spots which daub footage from the film with scores and quotes from critics which is a touch pointless as the footage itself is enticing enough for any sane person’s interest to be aroused, but there’s a few snippets of new footage to keep fans happy.

Here’s the two spots,

* Yes, it did play at this year’s LFF**.

** Yes, I did miss it.***

*** Yes, I am still annoyed at that fact.