Review: Limitless

An intriguing idea, non-stop story and striking visuals make Limitless not just entertaining but also smarter than your average thriller.

Based on Alan Glynn’s novel The Dark Fields, Neil Burger’s Limitless sees struggling writer Eddie Mora (Bradley Cooper) stumble upon a wonder-drug that essentially kicks your brain into overdrive. Allowing him to access 100% of his brain power, Mora can now recall every moment of his life perfectly and learn at an incredibly fast rate. He powers through his book, which had previously plagued him for months, in just four days. However, seeing as the movie opens on Mora about to jump off the ledge of his penthouse suite with threats shouted from beyond his door, you can bet it isn’t all smooth sailing.

Review: Battle: Los Angeles

A clichéd script and a half-baked plot make this one alien invasion you can afford to miss.

Busy getting torn a new arsehole by critics across the board, Battle: LA is an alien-invasion flick which looked pretty promising up until its release. A marriage between gritty combat from the soldier’s perspective and an alien invasion not unlike War of the Worlds, it looked to have serious potential, at least as a concept. But as we all know, when sci-fi/action films go wrong, it can have cringe-worthy (and occasionally hilarious) consequences.

Review140: Paul

#Paul - Funny at times and an interesting comment on spirituality. But it should be funnier and appeals only to a particular audience. 3*
Tweeted at 00:00 by @SamCaveen

Check This Out: Blinky™ Short Film

This short film from Ruairi Robinson shows a near-future where robot helpers are common home appliances. Max Records (Where The Wild Things Are) is a child whose parents are enduring a difficult patch, fighting a lot around the house. The child gets a new robot friend, Blinky, but the fun only lasts for a while when he realises that the robot can't save his parents' relationship.

The kid is rather annoying and a lot of the 12 minute short's beats are predictable, but it's got a nice aesthetic and realistic future vision, so it's worth a watch. If nothing else, it's 12 minutes of your life you don't have to listen to this shite.

Check This Out: Boston Movie

I would watch this film, and I would try to do the accent for weeks following.

Trailer: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

For the record, I actually thought the first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, was excellent. Entertaining and funny with enjoyable performances, it was everything you wanted from a classic Disney family adventure film. Since then, I've seen none of the sequels. This may just be my relentless cynicism, or it could speak volumes about where the series has gone since its original incarnation. Either way, the fourth one is here, with the addition of Ian McShane and Penélope Cruz to the standard cast. Given my apathy towards the franchise, my opinion is invalid, so I've posted the trailer so everyone else can see what they think. Regardless, I'm sure this 3D blockbuster will rake in the cash come summer time, giving the studio licence for, dare I say it, another sequel. Johnny Depp's wallet must be more like a toddler's booster seat by now.

Trailer: Super 8

We'll be doing a full preview on J.J. Abrams' upcoming summer sci-fi thriller Super 8 very soon, since it's one of our most anticipated films of the year. For the time being, just watch the latest trailer for the film, and let the old-school Spielberg (producer and huge creative influence on the project) vibes wash over you.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Confirmed for The Dark Knight Rises, will play Alberto Falcone

The rumour mill at the centre of The Dark Knight Rises, follow up to Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), has been working overdrive, and now it appears at least one of its predictions will come to fruition. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, rumoured from the beginning to join fellow Inception actor Tom Hardy in Rises, will play Alberto Falcone, Variety reports. Alberto is the son of mob boss Carmine Falcone, a major antagonist in Batman Begins, so his presence fits neatly into Nolan's story arc. He also moonlights as the villain Holiday in Nolan's favourite and most-referenced Batman story, The Long Halloween. It's rumoured that Selina Kyle (Catwoman, to be played by Anne Hathaway) will have an interesting relationship with Alberto, believing Carmine Falcone to be her father too, as she does in the comic Catwoman: When in Rome.

Variety also reports that British actress Juno Temple will be joining the cast. The youngster has impressed with roles in Atonement, Notes on a Scandal and most recently in the psychological drama Cracks alongside Eva Green. There's no news yet on who she might be playing other than it'll be a 'street-smart Gotham girl'. Holly Robinson could be a possibility; in the comics she is trained by Selina Kyle. She's also a lesbian, which as Black Swan proved, can do wonders for the marketing of a film. Another possibility could be Harley Quinn, since Temple could certainly pull off the gothic clown look.

Traditionally comic-book films struggle with the problem of packing in too many characters, think Spider-Man 3. But Nolan proved with Inception that he's extremely adept at balancing a large cast, and it certainly seems that he's building a similarly epic ensemble here. Excitement levels are beginning to bubble for the summer 2012 release.

Trailer: Larry Crowne

Ok, this looks like a run-of-the-mill drama/rom-com, the only reason I'm posting it as an interest is the talent involved and the mildly topical subject matter. Tom Hanks plays a man who, having just lost his job, goes back to college to find some qualification, and ends up finding himself along the way, as well as Julia Roberts, his class teacher. Sound familiar? Hopefully Hanks and Roberts can make it interesting by returning to their previous superb form in this, Hanks' first directorial role since his debut back in 1996 with That Thing You Do!. At least we can hope.

Review: Blue Valentine

Although a basic concept in theory Blue Valentine manages to transform the simple love story into something altogether more complex. Not an easy watch, but certainly a rewarding one.

They say love and hate are different sides of the same coin. A thin veil separating feelings of strong adoration and strong detester. But what is left when both of these feelings are gone? The answer is indifference, a feeling more corrosive to a relationship than dislike or disdain can ever be. This is the area that Blue Valentine exposes, as well as everything in between. Not only are all these phases of a relationship shown, they are in shown in tangent to each other. This could have ended in disaster but is actually one of the elements of the film that makes it stand out from the crowd of other romantic dramas. It’s directed in a way which uses jumps in the timeline very effectively showing the beginning and the end of the relationship simultaneously. This makes the story more than just a linear process tracking a relationship. Depending on your preference, this can either provide an interesting prospective or complicate a rather simple narrative. It is a concept that allows us to see the striking changes that the relationship goes through. Showing scenes from the beginning and the end really serves to emphasise the message of the film, that passion fades.

Review: Catfish

Catfish is the kind of movie that you’ll be discussing as soon as the credits start rolling. It is an unexpected and beautifully made film, which will surprise you in ways that you could not predict.

This was a little project which made the rounds at various film festivals and art-house cinemas around the country last year without getting a major release. It’s now available on DVD and this review is to point out the film if it passed you by last year.

Check This Out: A Brief History of Title Design

Review: The Adjustment Bureau

While it doesn’t quite deliver on its intriguing premise, The Adjustment Bureau offers an engaging romance from Damon and Blunt which manifests as a story which is thrilling, entertaining and a little bit different.

The ‘Hollywood pitch’ has been a running joke in the film industry for years. A director or writer selling a project to an impatient and sales-obsessed studio executive as a combination of two popular movies is believed to be common practice, at least satirically. Worryingly though, this is becoming a very real trend in the marketing of films, as if the people are only interested in seeing the force-bred love children of previous blockbusters and classics. This was evidenced most recently on the poster for the latest Philip K. Dick adaption, The Adjustment Bureau, with the quotation “it’s Bourne meets Inception”. I suppose we’re going to have to get used to every film for the next few years which takes a basic philosophical premise and forms it into a narrative device being described, rather brainlessly, as “like that film with the spinning-top and the folding city”. But the use of the equation: Matt Damon + running = Bourne makes this one of the laziest comparisons to date. The first thing you should know about The Adjustment Bureau then is, it is neither of these films.

Review: Rango

A surprisingly bright movie with Depp at his best. Rango stands out from the growing crowd of digital animations with an imaginative take on the Western genre.

Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp reunite for a Western inspired animated feature, Depp playing the titular role and Verbinski directing the latest outing from Industrial Light and Magic (ILM); Rango. Flung from his tank when a car narrowly avoids a road accident, the previously unnamed chameleon arrives head first into the Western world of the Nevada desert, where a whole host of creatures live in the town of Dirt. He fancies himself something of an acting aficionado and moulds himself with a brand new personality, akin to classic ‘man with no name’ characters, even becoming Sheriff of the town. But how long can he keep up his act, or maybe just survive, when he must help the town’s water crisis and become the hero he claims to be?

The Week Ahead: And we're back!

Ok guys, so due to essays, exams and various other dull, uninteresting but ever-so 'necessary' tasks, we haven't been able to update the site in the wake of the Oscars a couple of weeks ago. We're sincerely sorry, and hope you, our faithful and loyal readers, can find it deep in your hearts to forgive us. The good news is that now we're back Willis-style: with a vengeance. And as a mark of intent, here is our first The Week Ahead, to let you know what you can expect over the coming seven days, right here on NotYetRated.co.uk!

Top 5 of 2010: Dom's Picks

It’s always hard to decide your ‘Top 5’ of anything, so as a film fan I had to think long and hard about my five favourite films of last year. It’s been a particularly good year, with films like 127 Hours, Kick-Ass and The Social Network being some standout examples. And as the tyrannical editor (our very own Sam Caveen) wasn’t too keen on a top ten, here it is: my Top 5 of 2010. Hope you enjoy reading, and feel free to comment telling me how right/wrong I’ve got it.

Review: Never Let Me Go

An incredibly unique and moving love story set in a science fiction alternate world, with great central performances from some of Britain’s young rising stars Knightly, Garfield and Mulligan.

Before watching Never Let Me Go I had not read Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel from which the film is adapted; I hadn’t even seen a trailer for it. In fact I’d only really read little snippets about it and had no real idea of what it was going to be about. This is probably the best way to go into the film. All I really knew was that it starred Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightly and Carey Mulligan, most likely Britain’s best young talents currently around, and they did not disappoint. For this review I do have to issue a spoiler warning, as this is a film which is difficult to discuss without revealing a few plot points. So if you’d prefer to see the film completely ignorant of its later story, I’d advise you to stop reading now. That said, these details, while secretive and unexpected, do not form the main basis of the story.

Top 5 of 2010: Alex’s Picks

Choosing my top five films of 2010 has been extremely tough, and I’ve had to rack my brains to come up with a conclusive list. This is not because there have been so many poor films released, but that there have been a lot of exceedingly good ones, which has seen a some great films miss out, such as How to Train your Dragon, Catfish, Ponyo, Shutter Island, Four Lions, I could go on. But there had to be five that made the cut, so here it is, *commence drum roll* my belated Top 5 of 2010:

NotYetRated's Oscars 2011 Predictions

So here's our predictions of how things are about to go down in the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Actor in a Leading Role

Alex: Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Dom: Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Josh: Erm...what?
Sam: Colin Firth - The King's Speech

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alex: Christian Bale - The Fighter

Dom: Christian Bale - The Fighter

Josh: Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

Sam: Christian Bale - The Fighter

Actress in a Leading Role

Alex: Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Dom: Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Josh: Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Sam: Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Best of 2010: Actress in a Supporting Role

Who We Are: Josh

Hello, my name is Josh. In between eating and sleeping, two quite important activities in my life, I like to watch the occasional film. After watching a film I have been known to enjoy sounding off about them and this website is a great forum to do just that. On the occasion I do leave the screen I enjoy socialising with friends, preferably over a alcoholic beverage as well as indulging my rather large appetite. A great film should have engaging characters, a well written script and a griping plot but anything with Jennifer Aniston in will do.
  

Twitter: @JHEastman

Best of 2010: Actor in a Supporting Role

Who We Are: Dom

Hello, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Dom. Nothing really qualifies me to write about films other than quite liking them. Other things I like are Tabasco sauce, chino trousers, Radiohead and Star Wars. What I value highest in a film is dialogue, strong central performances and an engaging storyline. But the well-implemented zombie, dinosaur, robot or alien is good too. Film nerds are generally a friendly bunch, so feel free to comment on anything I write, telling me what you think, I won't get offended and I'll always respond eventually. But if you insult Blade Runner, I will hunt you down and murder you like a Replicant.  Anyway, hope you enjoy the site. 

Twitter: @DominicJMartin

Spider-Man Reboot Gets 'Amazing' New Name

Filming has begun, and now the Spider-Man reboot has a name. Columbia Pictures announced that it will share the name of the original comic developed by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko back in 1963, The Amazing Spider-Man. The similarities with the original source material won't stop at the name either. Unlike Sam Raimi's recent trilogy, the new film will centre more around Peter Parker's days at high school, balancing his classes in the day with fighting crime at night. Spidey's love interest will not be Mary-Jane Watson, but instead Gwen Stacey, his original girlfriend from the comics. And as clearly shown in the latest picture of provided by the studio (pictures after the jump), the suit will feature mechanical web shooters rather than the biological ones that Tobey Maguire's character possessed. This marks another return to Stan Lee's original creation and perhaps outlines a larger focus on Parker's scientific prowess that was missing from Raimi's films.

Best of 2010: Actress in a Leading Role

Nolan To Make Howard Hughes Biopic After Batman?

In other Nolan-related news, Vulture insists that following the completion of The Dark Knight Rises, the director who resurrected the Batman franchise and brought a whole new blockbuster (Inception) to our screens will move on to a Howard Hughes project. Reportedly, the project was one Nolan had written after Memento, but shelved it when Scorsese's The Aviator was announced to be released in 2004.

It might seem crazy to work on the project with DiCaprio's portrayal of the mogul still relatively fresh in the minds of movie-goers. However, Nolan's script is an adaption of the Michael Drosnin biography Citizen Hughes: The Power, the Money and the Madness which focusses on the latter years of Hughes' life and his descent into OCD-fuelled insanity. In contrast, Scorsese's film was centred more around his formative years and obsession with his Spruce Goose invention.

Considering Nolan's interest in characters with a degree of mental instability, think Cobb in Inception and Leonard in Memento, it's reasonable to think that he'll want to explore the weirdness of a man who spent his final years locked in a hotel room, wearing nothing but a dinner napkin, and fitting an air filtration system to his Chrysler. Supposedly the film will begin production in late 2012 for release in 2014, a decade after The Aviator, to avoid too much comparison.

At this point I'm willing to get excited about anything Nolan is working on, so we'll keep a close eye on any developments in this project.

The Dark Knight Rises Goes Deeper Into Inception Cast

Well we know that Christopher Nolan likes to work with cast members from his previous films, but this is getting kind of ridiculous. On top of the confirmation of Tom Hardy (possibly as Bane) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's additions to the cast of the third instalment of Nolan's Batman trilogy, French newspaper Le Figaro reports that Marion Cotillard will be joining them from last summer's blockbuster Inception. They haven't stated any sources and so this looks to remain rumour for the time being.

Anne Hathaway has also been confirmed to be on the casting, so it's unclear what kind of role either of them would play. Hathaway so far has been rumoured to be taking on the role of anti-hero and potential Wayne love interest Catwoman. It's likely that Nolan will want to minimise the introduction of too many new character threads, and so currently the buzz around is that of family links for the new characters back to the previous films of the trilogy. It's been rumoured that Gordon-Levitt will play Alberto Falcone, the son of mob boss Carmine Falcone who figured heavily in Batman Begins. It might follow then that Cotillard will play Talia Al Ghul, the daughter of Begins villain Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). In the comics, Talia and Batman have an on-off relationship and a child together. With the death of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, a love triangle between Batman, Catwoman and Talia could be an interesting plot point.

Of course the Batman rumour trail has taken many twists already and it would be surprising if it didn't throw up anymore new developments before it starts production over the summer. What is for sure is this is going to be an epic-length picture and with Nolan at the helm, it'll have plenty of interesting and intertwining character arcs. As a huge fan of what Nolan's done to the franchise so far, I'm looking forward to seeing where he's going with the final chapter (?) in the story.

The King's Speech Wins 7 in Bafta Sweep

Perhaps unsurprisingly, The King's Speech dominated at last night's Bafta ceremony, taking seven of the fourteen awards for which it was nominated. Among the awards given to the film were Supporting Actor and Actress nods to Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter respectively, Original Score, Original Screenplay for David Seidler's script and Outstanding British Film. As expected, Colin Firth picked up his second consecutive Leading Actor award for his portrayal of King George VI, battling with his speech impediment. Most importantly though, the movie received the top award for Best Film, putting it ahead of rival The Social Network as the favourite to win the big award in a fortnight's time at the Oscars.

NotYetRated Best of 2010 Awards

Now that the Baftas are out of the way, we can finally move on to the awards that really matter.  That's right, it's time for the NotYetRated Best of 2010 Awards - the most prestigious and respected film awards around, in this solitary corner of the Internet. The four members of the NYR team sat around for hours, perilously debating, arguing and defending our favourite films, occasionally coming to blows, bargaining and death threats, until finally arriving at this definitive list. Each of the following categories have three runners-up and a winner (five runners-up for Best Film).

Best of 2010: Actor in a Leading Role

Baftas 2011 Predictions

So in about three hours the awards season will step up a notch as we reach the Baftas, Britain's flagship film awards ceremony and the final send-off for the hopeful movies before the ones that everyone wants, the Oscars. Who wins tonight will give us the biggest clue as to who'll be taking home the golden statues in a fortnight's time. The Baftas are usually, but not always, synchronous with the Academy Awards; like last year when Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker beat out her ex-husband James Cameron's Avatar for Best Picture in London, and subsequently went on to repeat the feat in Los Angeles two weeks later.

So here are our picks for who'll be receiving plaudits tonight in the shape of a golden mask, and who we think deserve the awards.

Cool Art Posters for Oscar Nominees

Check out these cool new posters that illustrator Dean Walton, aka Mr. Shabba, has knocked up for five of this year's Best Picture nominees at the Academy Awards, The Social Network, Black Swan, True Grit, The Fighter and The King's Speech.  It's amazing how he's managed to capture so much of the character of the films in such minimalist paintings.  Check them out at the gallery over at SlashFilm here.

The Social Network Wins Big at London Critics' Awards

Increasing the interest around tomorrow's Bafta Awards and the building Oscar race, The Social Network won in four major categories at the 31st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Thursday night. The film about Facebook's creation took Film of the Year, while Aaron Sorkin was awarded for his excellent script with Screenwriter of the Year. Emerging young actor Andrew Garfield received Best British Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Zuckerberg's best friend Eduardo Saverin, and director David Fincher picked up Director of the Year.

The Social Network's biggest rival for the Oscars, The King's Speech, also received plaudits, as the race for the gold statues intensifies. It took the Attenborough Award for British Film of the Year, while Colin Firth received Actor of the Year for his performance as the stuttering King George VI and director Tom Hooper was awarded with British Director of the Year. The symmetry in the awards gives no clue as to who will take Best Director and Picture at the Oscars, the two awards that seem destined to go to one of these two films.

Other winners included Christian Bale for British Actor of the Year, now looking likely to add a Bafta tomorrow night to his growing trophy cabinet following his outstanding performance in The Fighter, and Gareth Edwards as Breakthrough British Film-maker for his film Monsters.

Check This Out: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The ultimate collection of melodramatic NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOs. Hell yes!

Who We Are: Alex

Hello Internet. I’m a student at the University of Leeds, studying Spanish and Economics. So then, what qualifies me as a film blogger and reviewer, you may ask? Well nothing really. I just truly love films, and tend to watch a lot while procrastinating or just generally slacking. I thought doing this website would be a good way of putting this tremendous skill, yes skill, into action. A way to get off my ass, write some shizzle about film and inform the Internet of the latest movie news. So what do I look for in a film? Well I like a film with a great soundtrack and practically anything starring Bill Murray. Plus I believe the Dude or, His Dudeness, or, Duder, or, El Duderino (if you’re not into the whole brevity thing), is some kind of deity.

Twitter: @alex_steely