Bizarre comedy horror BOTCHED is out in the UK on Friday 18th of April (Review here) and we decided we wanted in on the action, but not through an ordinary interview my friends. We’ve gone nuclear and decided to beam out the chat to all you lovely folks, and in the true OWF spirit of saying what we think Michael Edwards was sent in to have a chinwag with Kit totally unprepared, and completely forbidden to edit the footage to hide his idiocy. So put down your reading glasses and enjoy!

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Written & Directed by: Baillie Walsh

Starring: Daniel Craig, Olivia Williams, Claire Forlani, Jodhi May, Miriam Karlin, Mark Strong, James D’Arcy, Harry Eden

Distributed by Buena Vista International

Released on 18th April 2008 in the U.K.

Review by James Rawson

In-between Bond projects are of particular importance to the career of any 007, for it is these that enable him to create an image in the cinema-going public’s eye that will eventually enable him to be separated from that most famous of spies. So one must hope, for the sake of British cinema if nothing else, that Daniel Craig has picked wisely as he stars, and executive produces, in Baillie Walsh’s first major feature film, Flashbacks of a Fool.

LA, modern day, and Joe Scot (Craig) is in something of a rut. A burnt out actor in his early 40s, he passes the days in his Hollywood Hills mansion snorting coke and patronising LA’s finest hookers, much to the annoyance of his maid, Orphelia. On the same day that his agent informs him that his Hollywood days are numbered, and Orphelia threatens to leave, Joe receives a phone call from his mother, breaking the news that his childhood friend Boots has died. Distraught,and forced to reflect on the man that he has become, Joe immerses himself in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean: cue the titular flashback.

England, early 1970s, and a teenage Joe Scot is coming of age in a quiet seaside resort, where he splits his time between his dysfunctional home life and best mate Boots. Friend of the family, and married mother, Evelyn (Jodhi May) seduces a young Joe and teaches him the ways of the bedroom; while he also develops a far more innocent romance with the young, Bryan Ferry obsessed Ruth. But as the long summer progresses, Joe’s association with Evelyn causes a schism in his relationships with both Boots and Ruth, and eventually leads to a tragedy which tears the town apart. Rather than face the music, Joe runs away to start a new life.

Part redemption tale, part coming-of-age story, Flashbacks of a Fool’s main problem is that its two narrative strands never quite gel: there is little continuity between the two actors in appearance, accent or mannerisms. While both Craig and Eden turn in fine performances, it really does feel as if they’re playing two different roles in two different films. And with the lead character so divided, Walsh is never quite able to provide the emotional resonance with his audience that he is so obviously striving for.

Fortunately, however, the film’s redeeming features are strong enough to just about save the film. Eden in particular is supported by an almost comprehensively magnificent cast; whether it’s rising star Alfie Allen (of Lily’s brother fame) as Boots, Olivia Williams as Joe’s mother Grace, or Miriam Karlin as the fantastically cantankerous Mrs Rogers, Bailie Walsh elicits superb and heart-felt performances from them all.

Married with the cast is John Mathieson’s (Gladiator) exquisite cinematography. The shots of England’s coast line (which are actually South Africa in winter) are truly dream-like; and the slo-mo scene of Ruth and Joe miming to Roxy’s If There is Something perfectly encapsulates the feel of the film, and the vibrance and sexuality of a young boy on the verge of manhood.

The script can prove a little clunky at times (the title couldn’t be much clunkier), and the amount of sex, and Daniel Craig’s naked backside (which I do believe is up for a BAFTA lifetime achievement award), does suggest a certain lack of confidence in the film’s material, which may be deserved. But Flashbacks is by all means watchable, and will hold your attention throughout. It’s just a shame that, with a few script rewrites, one feels that it really could have been something far more.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

This is one of the worst news announcements I have ever had to write about on Obsessed With Film. This feels like an obituary.

Richard Matheson’s tragic and haunting dramatic work of 1950’s sci-fi fiction The Shrinking Man (latter dubbed The Incredible Shrinking Man) - his second best novel to the amazing I Am Legend looks to have fallen into the hands of Universal who inexplicably and remarkably are in negotiations for Brett Ratner to direct Eddie Murphy in the lead role.

That fucking leech that is Ratner is at it again. And Murphy. Oh for God’s sake. Why do we have to see him go the same territory as The Nutty Professor, Dr. Dolittle and virtually EVERYTHING ELSE on his CV for the last 15 years.

Ratner do you have no shame? Why call it The Incredible Shrinking Man - call it something else. Because that’s it - you can’t really remake Matheson’s original text as intended now - which became a shoe-in after Legend’s takings.

An updated version of the best-selling novel and 1957 sci-fi classic starring Grant Williams, “Man” is taking the comedic approach to the fantastical material, telling the story of a famous Las Vegas magician who is put under a spell that causes him to shrink. He must find a way to reverse the spell before he gets so small that he “disappears.”

Imagine for a second you were shrinking. Just a tiny bit everyday with some kind of unexplained medical condition. You can only really tell you are getting a little smaller every few days but your body is most definitely changing. Even your doctors know it.

You’ve shrunk from 6 foot, now to 5″6. You are frightened, what the fuck is happening to me? THIS IS NOT COMEDIC MATERIAL!

Matheson makes it all feel real, just as he does with Robert Neville’s plight as the Last Man on Earth. This could have been another amazing science fiction movie along the same lines as Legend, with the right talent and director. To go the Eddie Murphy route in inexplicable. And just when Universal were doing things right with the remake of The Wolf Man.

Shame, shame, shame on you. Matheson - you deserve much better than this.

source - the hollywood reporter

Four new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull images for you. The last one is my favourite, great pose from Harrison.

And Shia LaBeouf really doesn’t care if your man or a women. He’s gonna lay one on Cate Blanchett…

source - iesb

Can’t really see how this is anything other than fantastic news.

Variety say that United Artists runners Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have greenlit a huge and epic sci-fi trilogy from Ronald D. Moore, the creator of the hit revamped t.v. show Battlestar Galatica and a guy who was worked on sci-fi his whole career with credits on many episodes of Star Trek and the films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Generations.

He also worked with the pair on the story of Mission Impossible II and has wrote the new version of John Carpenter’s The Thing.

No word yet on the subject matter or title but man it’s pretty exciting. 2009-2011 seems to be a sci-fi revival in the works and I love it!

Even though the biggest film of her career would come just before the last Lord of the Rings movie premiered, Uma Thurman has told MTV that she “wishes” she had taken the part of Ewoyn in the series, a role which she has just announced was offered to her.

The vital role in the two sequels eventually went to Miranda Otto who did a good job with what could have easily become a secondary character.

Even though Thurman’s career has never been as big as it has the last four years with many starring roles on her CV, she still has some regrets…

“Yeah, I was asked…I had a small child at the time and I couldn’t go away for a year. I was just too attached to home. It just caught me at the wrong moment.”

“I wish I had done it… Oh I truly wish I could’ve been able to take that plunge and maybe I should’ve… But I just couldn’t at the time.”

source - mtv

Every now and again I will read a story in the paper about students who turn to lap dancing, stripping or even “escorting” (i.e. the prostitute kind) as a way to pay their way through the ever increasing cost of college and university tuition.

It’s quick work and can be extremely financially rewarding when compared to bar or retail jobs, etc.

It’s a massive issue here in the U.K. and the risks are extremely high for those who accept money to spend a few hours in a bedroom with strangers.

This upcoming Indie movie titled The Babysitters from the small production company Peach Arch Entertainment looks to maybe treat the situation in to much of a glitzy Hollywood thriller kind of way but it’s themes IMO are still extremely relevant. Let’s hope it doesn’t popularize or promote student prostitution and is more of a warning about it…

This is a red-band trailer but it’s only because the girls are depicted as being young. There is no swearing or lots of skin basically…

I’m really hoping this movie isn’t out to glamorize this lifestyle.

Could be an extremely worthwhile movie if done correctly. John Leguizamo looks really well cast as a sleazy older guy and yes that’s Cynthia Nixon you recognise from Sex and the City. A lot of the movie will rest on the shoulders of the young Katherine Waterston but she looks pretty good from the trailer.

The movie is written and directed by David Woods - the guy who wrote the 2006 period horror The Woods and will have a run in theatres beginning May 9th.