News

To coincide with Agatha Christie's 125th anniversary, BBC One and Lifetime are teaming up for an all-star mini-series based on arguably the Grand Dame of mystery's most famous work - "And Then There Were None".

Set on the eve of World War Two, the story follows ten strangers with dubious pasts who are lured to an isolated rock near the Devon coast in southern England. Cut off from the mainland, their host is mysteriously absent.

A recording starts with each accused of a terrible crime. As each member of the party starts to mysteriously die one-by-one every few hours, the survivors realise one of them is a killer and start to turn on each other.

This time out the ensemble will be: Charles Dance ("Game of Thrones"), Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park"), Toby Stephens ("Black Sails"), Aidan Turner ("The Hobbit"), Miranda Richardson ("Harry Potter"), Anna Maxwell Martin ("The Bletchley Circle...

Craig Viveiros will helm Queen & Country for Chernin Entertainment at Fox. The project, which will star Ellen Page, is based on the Oni Press comic book series Queen & Country written by Greg Rucka. Page will play a British agent who goes on the run from her own people as she tries to bring down a terrorist on English soil. Viveiros made shorts and commercials, including the award winner Back To Back. Viveiros then produced, wrote and directed his debut feature film, Ghosted, which starred Art Malik, John Lynch and Martin Compston. He then moved to Haiti to work as a volunteer at the country’s film institute and returned to England to make The Liability with Tim Roth, Peter Mullan and Jack O’Connell. “I’m thrilled to be working with Fox and Ellen in the task of bringing Tara Chace and Queen & Country to life on the big screen,...

Variety reports that Ghosted and The Liability director Craig Viveiros will step behind the camera to helm Queen & Country , the live-action adaptation of the Greg Rucka comic series that will star Ellen Page. Published by Oni Press, Queen & Country launched in 2011 with the following official description: Follow British intelligence operative Tara Chace and her fellow .Minders. across countries and continents as she thwarts terrorist plots and protects the interests of her queen and her country. Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are producing with Ryan Condal having handled the most recent draft of the script.

A downbeat Brit thriller that shows some flair but doesn't really come together

Craig Viveiros, who made the prison drama Ghosted, has concocted a flawed but interesting downbeat Brit thriller with some creepy, leftfield jolts, calling to mind Mike Hodges with a twist of Tarantino. Jack O'Connell plays clueless 19-year-old Adam, the "liability", whose mum Nicky (Kierston Wareing) is living with Peter (Peter Mullan) a scary villain. Peter dislikes his gormless and annoying stepson but, for reasons that become clear, gives him a job in his organisation driving a hitman around. This is the gloomy and ill-tempered Roy (Tim Roth) who has to be chauffeured up to the north-east to kill a Latvian bad guy and make it look like the work of a local serial killer who is cutting off his victims' hands. Of course, Peter and Roy are not telling Adam the whole truth. It doesn't entirely work,...

As filming gets underway on the third season of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ modern detective series Sherlock, more details are beginning to emerge regarding what we can expect to see from the series in the future. The title of the first episode – “The Empty Hearse” – was revealed by Gatiss on the first day of filming, and the casting of actor Tomi May in the episode has triggered speculation that James Moriarty’s right-hand man, Sebastian Moran, may make an appearance as the new antagonist.

There’s more speculation ahead; Deadline is reporting that Amanda Abbington has been cast in an important, though currently unnamed role this season. Abbington is currently starring alongside Jeremy Piven in British period drama series Mr Selfridge, and also appeared in Craig Viveiros’ 2011 prison movie Ghosted.

From everything we’ve ...

Click to continue reading ‘Sherlock’ Season 3 Casts Amanda Abbington in Mysterious Female Role...

How could you not want to know more about a film festival where the acronym of it is Biff?!

We’ve just been sent the full line-up of movies that will be played at the third annual British Independent Film Festival which this year takes place 11th and 12th May. The festival is a great place to showcase new British talent and this year, the organisers (The Film Festival Guild) have arranged a fabulous line-up which includes three world premieres, which include Airborne (starring Mark Hamill), Jump which stars Glen Blackhall and Bashment which stars Ludvig Bonin.

We actually got to attend a couple of set visits for Airborne, both of which you can see here and here.

The event is set to take place around the UK with the fill location list below. Check it out and if you need more info, visit the official Festival website at www.

Liv Mjönes, Ruth Vega Fernandez, With Every Heartbeat Breakthrough Selections Expecting: In Chile, a young girl and her boyfriend wait for a black-market drug to take effect in this tense and insightful examination of teen pregnancy. Dir/Scr Francisca Fuenzalida. Chile. U.S. Premiere. Light Of Mine: Rapidly going blind, photographer Owen and his wife Laura take a life-changing trip to Yellowstone National Park where they experience a beauty that rivals their tragedy. Dir Brett Eichenberger. Scr Jill Remensnyder. USA. Three And A Half: Three women risk everything and travel to the northwest Iranian border in hopes of escaping prison and reuniting with their comrades. Dir/Scr Naghi Nemati. Cast Samaneh Vafaiezadeh, Shooka Karimi, Negar Hassanzadeh, Mehdi Poormoosa. Iran. U.S. Premiere. With Every Heartbeat: In this Swedish romantic drama, uptight Mia attends her father’s engagement party and not only gains a stepmother, but also a new lover,...

Skins star Jack O'Connell joins Tim Roth, Talulah Riley and Peter Mullan in The Liability, a darkly comic thriller.

He plays Adam, a young guy who only wants to be a hitman, who is brought together by a female vigilante with an old hitman who only wants to retire.

Written by John Wrathall, the film will be directed by exciting Brit newcomer Craig Viveiros, who made his debut feature with Ghosted earlier this year, and produced by Corona Pictures.

Jack has recently completed filming on Private Peaceful.

Shooting on Liability is due to begin on Nov 21 in Northumberland, UK.

Exclusive: While Lie To Me star Tim Roth waits for his next series that will come from the deal he signed with 20th Century Fox TV, he’ll first go back to the UK to star in a pair of films he’ll make back to back. Roth and Cillian Murphy will star with newcomer Eloise Laurence in Broken, an adaptation of the Daniel Clay novel that was scripted by Mark O’Rowe and will be directed by Rufus Norris, the British theater director whose credits include the Tony-nominated Les Liasons Dangereuses. The film will be produced by Dixie Linder, Nick Marston and Tally Garner, and funded by BBC Films and the BFI in association with Lip Sync and Bill Kenwright Ltd, a Cuba Pictures Production. BBC Films developed it. Roth plays the father of an 11-year-old girl living in North London who witnesses a violent attack that changes the...

7 Lives, the latest film from Danny Dyer (The Football Factory, Age of Heroes) will premiere today, at the Mile End Genesis theater with cast and crew in attendance. There are limited public tickets available to order from the cinema directly at www.genesiscinema.co.uk. The film will be shown in public cinemas after, with DVD and Blu-Ray releases to follow shortly.

7 Lives tells the story of a family man, Tom, who is down on his luck. Tom is seduced by a client's promise of a more exciting life and ends up being mugged and beaten within an inch of his life. He then falls into a parallel world where he gets to live the lives of several other people, including a rock star, and the hoody who mugged him and began his adventure. In living his 7 Lives, Tom will have to face his deepest fears to come out on the other side,...

Optimum Releasing have unveiled a brand new poster for taut-looking British thriller Kill List.

Directed by up-and-comer Ben Wheatly (Down Terrace), Kill List stars Neil Maskell (Ghosted), Michael Smiley (Burke and Hare), MyAnna Buring (Grindhouse), Struan Rodger (Stardust), Ben Crompton (Blow Dry) and newcomer Harry Simpson.

Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex-soldier turned contract killer Jay (Maskell), is pressured by his partner Gal (Smiley), into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark, disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again – his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness.

Kill List will make its way to UK cinemas on September 2.

Check out the poster below:

Source: Empire...

This is a reprint of a review first published at BlogCritics.org. The prison drama has been done over and over and over again, with typically varied results. Some leave a lasting impression as all-time classics (The Shawshank Redemption springs to mind) while others do little to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately Craig Viveiros' debut feature film Ghosted falls into the latter category.At the end of a very long prison sentence and with only three months to go, world-weary Jack sits patiently waiting to be released. However, one day the timid Paul is transferred to his wing and before long gets himself involved with the wrong crowd. With only a few months left to go Jack takes it upon himself to try and keep Paul safe.Ghosted is far too typical...

Ghosted

Stars: Martin Compston, Craig Parkinson, John Lynch | Written and Directed by Craig Viveiros

Paul (Compston), is a young convict who is transferred to a new prison and begins to mix with the wrong crowd, led by the violent and unpredictable Clay (Parkinson). Watching over the young man with a personal concern is Jack (Lynch), a benevolent prisoner nearing the end of his sentence, who, having lost his own young son, takes a fatherly responsibility for Paul. Thus begins a tug of war for the well-being of Paul’s very soul.

Ghosted is not a great film. Actually it’s barely approaching half-decent. First and foremost in its litany of problems is the fact that it is relentlessly dull. Even the ‘exciting bits’ where ‘stuff happens’ are entirely predictable and thus boring. And even if it were not rigidly ticking off every prison drama cliché in the Big Book of Prison Drama Clichés (Penguin,...

Bridesmaids (15)

(Paul Feig, 2011, Us) Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm, 125 mins.

Having recovered from the shocking revelation that women can be funny, rude, and entertaining in the absence of men, we can at last put the debates and Hangover comparisons this movie has prompted behind us now and just enjoy a satisfying prenuptial comedy. Led by Wiig's anxious maid of honour, it certainly matches male equivalents in the grossness stakes at times, but it also finds deeper, smarter ways to make us laugh.

Incendies (15)

(Denis Villeneuve, 2010, Can/Fra) Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. 131 mins.

A mother's death sets her two children on an investigation into their personal and political history in this powerful mystery, set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

Countdown To Zero (Nc)

(Lucy Walker, 2010, Us) 89 mins.

Not got enough things to worry about? That's because you forgot about the threat of nuclear annihilation that still hangs over us.

Life In A Day (12A)

(Kevin Macdonald, 2011, Us)

Compiled from amateur submissions of what people all over the world did on 24 July 2010, this documentary sets itself an almighty challenge. It's fashioned into some sort of narrative order, with recurring themes and music, and moments of emotion and illumination, which saves it from becoming a random global channel-surf. But you could say the subjective "direction" and homogenising technical treatment are at odds with the democratic intentions.

The Beaver (12A)

(Jodie Foster, 2011, Us) Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin. 91 mins

Having crucified Jesus, Gibson now nails himself to the cross in a bizarre talk-to-the-hand family drama that feels more like the actor's own public therapy session.

Green Lantern (12A)

(Martin Campbell, 2011, Us) Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard. 114 mins

Like banks, summer superhero movies are now too big to fail. But will Reynolds's charm, a virtual costume and some interplanetary effects be...

Ghosted, a gritty and brutal prison drama, is the feature length debut from camera-operator and short filmmaker Craig Viveiros. The film centers on Jack (John Lynch), a model prisoner who has kept his head down and is close to completing his time. However, after his wife leaves him for another man, his final lifeline comes in the form a new, naive prisoner, Paul (Martin Compston). When Paul falls under the influence of the psychotic Clay (Craig Parkinson), Jack soon finds he must risk his own life and sanity to help the newcomer survive.

The action opens strongly, with a respectably concise introduction to the central characters. It may be sparse on dialogue, but it sets the film up well, despite the already overbearing cliches. From here, however, when it should be establishing a new take on the prison drama, it settles into a dull pace, full of easy to foretell twists,...

Revolver Entertainment have released the debut trailer for crime thriller Ghosted.

Directed by newcomer Craig Viveiros, Ghosted stars Martin Compston, John Lynch, David Schofield, Craig Parkinson, Art Malik, Amanda Abbington, Hugh Quarshie and Liran Nathan.

Jack (Lynch), a model prisoner, has kept his head down and done his time. After his wife leaves him on the anniversary of their son’s death, the only thing that keeps him from going under is the presence of a new prisoner, Paul (Compston). But when Paul falls under the influence of psychotic ”Baron” Clay (Parkinson), Jack soon finds he must risk his own life and sanity to help the newcomer.

Ghosted will be released in cinemas on June 24. It will then hit DVD on June 27.

Watch the trailer below:

Source: Empire...

On this bright, sunny morning, take a moment to enjoy the fact that you're not locked away in a high-security prison (no, your office doesn't count). If you need to focus on how lucky you are in that respect, consider this trailer for Ghosted, the new prison-set drama from director Craig Viveiros.The story focuses on John Lynch's Jack, a prisoner trying to keep his head down and get through his sentence. But he's in emotional turmoil after his wife dumps him on the anniversary of his young son's death. Newcomer Paul (Martin Compston) is a young and impressionable man thrown into the mix who comes under the influence of "Baron" Clay (Craig Parkinson), a psychopathic prisoner.  brightcove.createExperiences();Ghosted is out on June 24 in cinemas, on demand and download (how modern!) and DVD on June 27. Now let's all go frolic outside!

Our critics pick the season's highlights: From Lady Gaga to Harry Potter, Coppélia to Tony Cragg, this summer has something for all

May

4 Film The Tree of Life

The much-delayed fifth feature from director Terrence Malick, snapped up by Icon for UK release ahead of its Cannes showing, is a multi-generational drama featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn – and, reportedly, dinosaurs.

5 Classical From the House of the Dead

Opera North's production of Janáek's final work, directed by John Fulljames and conducted by Richard Farnes. Stars Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Alan Oke and Roderick Williams. Leeds and touring

Dance By Singing Light/Romance Inverse

National Dance Company of Wales bring Stephen Petronio and Itzik Galili's arresting double bill to Dance City in Newcastle, with the former set to the poetry of Dylan Thomas.

6 Theatre Shrek

Nigel Lindsay plays the lime-coloured, lovelorn ogre, with Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona and Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad,...