August 24th 2015 (UK) Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

A Little Chaos (DVD Review)

August 24, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Helen McRory, Stanley Tucci
Director: Alan Rickman
Running Time: 117 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: August 24th 2015 (UK)

It’s 17th Century France and King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) is on the throne. He wants a revamp of the Versailles gardens and hires architect Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) to build it. However, he needs help from a landscape artist and so brings in widower Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet).

They have a few initial problems as he likes classical geometry and straight lines, while she is more forward-thinking and asymmetrical in her design (metaphor alert). Despite this, the two begin to fall for one another. This should be okay as Andre has an open marriage, however his wife (Helen McRory) isn’t keen on the feelings he develops for Sabine and plans to destroy what they are creating together. [Read more…]

The Wedding Banquet – The Ang Lee Trilogy (DVD Review)

August 23, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Winston Chao, May Chin, Ya-Lei Kuei, Mitchell Lichtenstein, May Lin
Director: Ang Lee
Running Time: 335 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: August 24th 2015 (UK)

Before Ang Lee was the double Oscar-winning helmer of Brokeback Mountain and Life Of Pi (incidentally, neither of which won the Best Picture Oscar) he was a young director who from his very first movie was mixing his Asian heritage with the West. Indeed, when talking of the rise of Ang Lee, one of the keys is his partnership with James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced most of his movies. This mix of Eastern and Western storytelling helped Lee to be able to fully inhabit a variety of different worlds like few other directors ever have.

Before he came to many people’s attention with Sense & Sensibility he made three features – Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman – which have been brought together for the first time in the UK for the Ang Lee Trilogy DVD release (others have referred to the films as the ‘Father Knows Best’ trilogy). They are entertaining and interesting movies, with the first two in particular feeling like they’re from a director in training but with great hints at where he ended up. [Read more…]

Child 44 (Blu-ray Review)

August 23, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Running Time: 137 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: August 24th 2015 (UK)

When it was first announced Child 44 seemed like a good bet – based on a hit book, directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Easy Money) and a really good cast. However, when it arrived in cinemas it was met with bad reviews and made hardly any money at the box office.

I’m not entirely sure where all the animosity came from though, as while it has quite a few problems it’s certainly tense, uneasy and very watchable.

Set in post-World War II Soviet Russia, Tom Hardy is Leo Demidov, an investigator for the feared MGB who roots out traitors for Stalin. The organisation is judge, jury and executioner – and it extracts ways to find guilt in everyone they arrest. It’s an era of massive paranoia and one where deviating from the official line on something can be a death sentence. [Read more…]