News: Eva Green

Casino Royale Bond girl Eva Green first drew attention to herself in Ridley Scott’s disappointing Kingdom of Heaven, but is beginning to build a promising career – as long as the curse of the Bond girl doesn’t strike, and she ends up like the countless other 007 cast-offs who have found their careers flounder after appearing in the franchise.

Next up, she will be appearing alongside Daniel Craig once again in the first His Dark Materials movie, based on the Philip Pullman novels, as the witch queen Serafina Pekkala – a relatively important role in the books that should see her cropping up in all three films. Then she will take the title role in Therese Raquin, a tale of illicit love, murder, and the disintegration of relationships which will also star the intriguing Giovanni Ribisi and always superb Glenn Close.

With two other starring roles in projects still in the pipeline – including alongside French superstar Vincent Cassel in 1970s-set crime thriller L’Ennemi public n° 1, it looks like Green could well do well out of her stint as arm candy for the world’s best-known spy.

News: Jeffrey Wright

Although it looks likely that he is now destined to be remembered as James Bond’s CIA buddy Felix Leiter in this week’s Casino Royale (he is as yet not – publicly – signed up for the sequel), Jeffrey Wright has been knocking around for a fair while now, in films like Ali and Syriana. By rights he should have hit the big time after his outstanding turn as oddball artist Jean Michel Basquiat in the 1996 biopic Basquiat (which co-starred such immensely big names as Dennis Hopper, David Bowie, Benicio Del Toro, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Gary Oldman), but somehow his career never really hit the big time.

Nonetheless, Wright is hardly short of work. Next up will be another role alongside Casino Royale star Daniel Craig in the sci-fi thriller The Invasion, followed by a starring role in indy flick Blackout, set during the Brooklyn power cut of 2003. He will also be appearing in the abysmally-titled fourth Die Hard movie, Live Free or Die Hard, due out in the UK in July 2007, but only in a minor role.

Most promisiong for Wright’s future career, however, looks likely to be 1001 Nights, for tip-top The Graduate and Closer director Mike Nichols. Largely because of Nichols’ involvement, it must be said, as very little is known about the movie as yet – although it is supposedly in pre-production, due for a 2007 release, and Wright is set to star. Still, in the land of movies, anything can happen – as Wright’s failure to achieve global stardom is a sure testimony to.

Bond is Back

After a four year wait, not to mention an all new star, the James Bond franchise is back with a vengeance. While we wait for its release on Friday, the Pocket Films Blog has a (totally spoiler-free) preview, seeing how Daniel Craig’s Bond might just match up to those of the past.

What do you reckon? Is Casino Royale going to be a Goldfinger or a Moonraker – and is Craig going to end up a Connery or a Lazenby? Let us know in the comments…

Review: The Prestige

UK release date: 10th November

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige manages to seem both highly original and slightly old-fashioned at the same time. Its Victorian English setting is familiar from Hammer horrors but, while there have been many films with an element of magic, few have been set in the world of the professional illusionist.

Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are two magicians whose intense rivalry dates back to a time when they were both apprentices and Angier’s wife died after a trick went wrong. Fuelled by professional jealousy and personal hatred, they dedicate their talents to destroying each other.

The film is told largely in flashback, as befits a director whose previous work includes the reverse-ordered Memento. Nolan constructs a fascinating tale that twists and turns at every opportunity, although there is perhaps one twist too many in a slightly overbaked denouement. But the film is grounded by the seriousness with which he treats his material and by fine performances all round.

Radio Times rating:

****

UK cinema certificate 12A
Running time 130mins

Review by Brian Pendreigh

News: Scarlett Johansson

Even before this week’s magical movie, Hollywood’s hottest starlet had got used to working alongside her The Prestige co-star Hugh Jackman on the set of Woody Allen’s Scoop, yet to be scheduled for a UK release, where she plays an American journalism student in London who lands a big story – and an affair with Jackman’s aristocrat. She’ll be cropping up as a student again (well, she is still only 21, with her 22nd on the 22nd of this month) in American Splendor directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s New York-set The Nanny Diaries, where she’ll play the titular nanny, living and trying to keep up with her studies in the household of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney’s Mr and Mrs X.

But Johansson’s far too canny to risk getting typecast, so it’s good to see her lending her help to the current revival of the period drama, with no less than four historical projects in the works. She is still attached to star as Betsy Balcombe, the daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte’s British jailer at the end of the French Emperor’s life, in Napoleon and Betsy – although the project seems to have been on hiatus for some months. More recently announced – though with little as yet known other than that it came from an idea by Johansson herself – is Amazon, which could well be a female version of Gladiator, with Johansson in the Russell Crowe role as an avenging warrior in 200BC.

Most interestingly, however, is a brace of British-based history pieces, both set in the Tudor era. First up, based on the bestselling novel by Philippa Gregory and directed by the man behind the BBC’s recent adaptation of Dickens’ Bleak House, is The Other Boleyn Girl. With Eric Bana lined up as Henry VIII and Natalie Portman as his ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn, Johansson will play the “other” Boleyn of the title, Anne’s sister Mary, who was also having an affair with the King. After that, Johansson will take on royalty herself in Mary Queen of Scots, with her in the title role, based on a script by Cracker creator Jimmy McGovern. See? They always told you that history could be cool…

News: Hugh Jackman

Though almost unknown when heended up as a last-minute replacement for Dougray Scott on the first X-Men film back in 2000, Hugh Jackman’s career is now in full-on overdrive, with his turn in this week’s The Prestige just the latest impressive addition to his film CV. With his own X-Men spin-off, Wolverine, due for 2008, this freshest Australian superstar is really churning them out,with lead roles alongside his The Prestige co-star Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allen’s Scoop and Rachel Weisz in Darren Aronofsky’s ambitious The Fountain and voice work as a rat in Wallace and Grommit creators Aarman Animation’s Flushed Away and as a penguin in the much-anticipated Happy Feet already completed and ready for imminent release.

Of Jackman’s other upcoming projects, most interesting are likely to be The Tourist, where he’ll play a lawyer who leads Ewan McGregor into a hidden world of sex and kidnapping, genius Chinese director Wong Kar-Wai’s 1930s-set The Lady From Shanghai (again opposite Rachel Weisz), and weirdo Aussie director Baz Lurhmann’s as yet untitled next project, in which Jackman will star alongside fellow antipodean Nicole Kidman. And if that’s not enough, just this week another project has emerged, The Amateur, with Jackman playing a geeky CIA code cracker who turns himself into a killing machine when his wife is killed by terrorists.

At this rate, Jackman could soon see himself making a serious challenge to Russell Crowe and even Mel Gibson as Hollywood’s premiere Australian male – especially if Crowe keeps appearing in dross like A Good Year and Gibson keeps getting drunk and making sexist/racist remarks to police officers…

News: Michael Caine

Fresh from his turn in this week’s The Prestige, genuine British national treasure Michael Caine is refusing to let his 73 years hold him back, and is on better form and harder-working than ever.

Next up for the veteran Knight of the Realm – before returning as Alfred in Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight – is Flawless, a 1960s-set heist movie in which Caine’s aging janitor teams up with high-flying American career-woman Demi Moore to rob his London-based diamond company employers of a few choice gems.

After that, he will be taking on the Lawrence Olivier role in the Kenneth Branagh-directed, Harold Pinter-scripted remake of 1972’s Sleuth, with the young Caine’s role taken on by Jude Law, who will hopefully be doing a better job of stepping in to Caine’s shoes than he managed with the remake of Alfie…

News: Christian Bale

Casting rumours continue to emerge for the second in The Prestige star and director Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan’s new Batman franchise, The Dark Knight. To join Heath Ledger’s Joker, rumours circulating include Cruel Intentions‘ Ryan Philippe as Two Face and Capote’s Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.

Bale has a number of other movies in the pipeline: the Werner Herzog-directed Vietnam War flick Rescue Dawn, where he plays a German-born US pilot shot down over the jungle, experimental director Tod Haynes’ exploration of the life and work of Bob Dylan, I’m Not There, with Richard Gere, Julianne Moore, Heath Ledger, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Cate Blanchett (see ComingSoon.net for more); and is set to star alongside Russell Crowe and Peter Fonda in a remake of the 1957 Elmore Leonard Western 3:10 to Yuma for Walk the Line director James Mangold.

News: David Bowie

This week’s The Prestige marks a long-overdue return to big screen acting for the near-legendary musician – his first since his hilarious cameo (as himself) in 2001’s Zoolander. As well as his recent appearance (again as himself)  in Ricky Gervais’ second series of Extras, he will soon be voicing a character for the SongeBob SquarePants kids’ cartoon (something he’s described as “The Holy Grail of animation gigs”).

Bowie has, however, already lent his considerable vocal talents to cult French director Luc Besson’s English language part-live action, part-animated childrens’ flick Arthur and the Minimoys. Bowie plays an evil creature in a magical realm (a bit like the camp 80s semi-classic Labyrinth) alongside Charlie and the Chocolate Factory‘s Freddie Highmore, as well as Mia Farrow, Snoop Dogg and Madonna. Set for release in the US in January, a UK date has yet to be confirmed.

News: Andy Serkis

The actor best known for his superb turn as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings is a busy boy these days. After his turn as David Bowie’s sidekick in this week’s The Prestige, his versatile voice will next crop up in next month’s Aardman animation Flushed Away, alongside The Prestige co-star Hugh Jackman, and has plenty more films in the works. He will soon crop up as the sinister Interrogator in the timely Kafkaesque thriller Rendition (which has a great production blog packed with information), before shifting to childrens’ fantasy for Inkheart, an adaptation of the popular Cornelia Funke novel starring Paul Bettany and Brendan Fraser, due 2008.

Serkis is also set to make his feature film directorial debut with Freezing Time, based on the life of pioneering 19th century photographer Eadweard Muybridge and described as “The tumultuous life of the Godfather of Cinema, his collaboration and conflict with the Governor of California, his trial for the murder of his wife’s con-man lover, and his relentless pursuit of the art of motion pictures”. He will be follwing that with another directing project, an adaptation of the autobiography of Stephen Smith, Addict, a tale of 20 years of drug addiction, crime and a slow descent into poverty and madness.

Review: Breaking and Entering

UK release date: 10th November

Writer/director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) has assembled an impressive international cast for this thoughtful adult drama. The film captures the cultural and social maelstrom of the King’s Cross area of London, while probing the emotional confusion of a young architect working on its regeneration.

After opening an office in the heart of the district, Will (Jude Law) is infuriated when two break-ins occur in quick succession. Meanwhile, his long-term relationship with his Swedish-American partner Liv (Robin Wright Penn) is in difficulty. He mounts his own night watch at the offices and follows one of the young thieves home — the rooftop acrobatics of the young thief are especially impressive, albeit that they are laboriously counterpointed with the gymnastics of Liv’s troubled daughter. Instead of reporting him to the police, Will begins a tentative relationship with the boy’s mother, Amira (Juliette Binoche), a Bosnian refugee who works at home as a tailor.

This is an intelligent and articulate drama, but it is weighed down by an excess of metaphors about breaking (and mending) things, and ultimately seems cold and overly contrived.

Radio Times rating:

***

UK cinema certificate 15
Running time 118mins

Review by Brian Pendreigh

News: Jude Law

Having recently declared himself to be “skint” following his divorce from Sadie Frost, Breaking and Entering‘s Law is working overtime to pay the bills, so all his latest news was covered two weeks ago, on the release of his last movie, All the King’s Men.

News: Juliet Binoche

The Frenchwoman best known for her turns in 2000’s Chocolat and Krzysztof Kieslowski‘s majestic early ’90s Three Colours series proves once again that she’s one of the most beautiful actresses currently working, despite now being in her 42nd year, in this week’s Breaking and Entering, making a convincing love interest for Jude Law despite being several years his senior. She is also still hard at work in movies on both sides of the Channel and both sides of the Atlantic, from Chinese director Hsiao-hsien Hou’s French language fantasy Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon) to the American Steve Carrell comedy Dan In Real Life.

Likely to be Binoche’s most interesting upcoming project, however, is the film adaptation of comic Steve Martin’s successful stage play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, due in 2008. Based around a meeting between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in 1904 Paris, rumoured stars currently include not only Martin (who will also provide the screenplay), but also Kevin Kline, Jason Biggs, Ryan Phillippe and Elijah Wood. Should be interesting, at least – if only to see the ever-surprising Wood take on Einstein…

News: Ray Winstone

Burly hardman Winstone has been doing rather well of late, with turns in this week’s Breaking and Entering and last month’s The Departed adding to his recent TV success in Vincent adding yet more points to his impressive CV. Up next, he’ll take the lead in the Robert Zemeckis-directed Beowulf, based on the ancient epic poem and with a script co-wrtten by comic book hero Neil Gaiman. With a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, it’s certainly one to look forward to – but we’ve still got another year to wait.Other film projects rumoured to have the Winstone touch include Death of a Ladies’ Man, scripted by cult Australian songwriter Nick Cave and to be directed by John Hillcoat, who helmed last year’s top-notch The Proposition, also written by Cave and co-starring Winstone. Our dear tough guy will play a recently-widowed salesman who takes his young son on the road – so may be an interesting departure for an actor better known for breaking faces than hearts. There have also been a few rumours that he may be appearing alongside Robert Carlyle, Kevin Spacey and Twiggy in cult director Ken Russell’s upcoming King’s X – about which practically nothing is yet known

News: Robin Wright Penn

Jude Law’s jilted wife in this week’s Breaking and Entering (and the wife of Sean Penn in real life) seems to be making a bit of a comeback after several years of relative obscurity. Potentially most intersting is her turn as Queen Wealhtheow in Beowulf, the title character played by her Breaking and Entering co-star Ray Winstone, though the as-yet untitled film about the love affair of writer Ernest Hemmingway (to be played by James Gandolfini) and journalist Martha Gellhorn could also prove a hit, and even – if it’s played right – a potential Oscar contender for the 2008 awards.