The plot revolves around a trip from Montana to Nebraska that David Grant makes with his father Woody, a forgetful old boozer who believes that he has won a million dollars in a lottery and wants to collect the money in person from the company’s office. The first part of the film may feel a little bit slow as David repeatedly tries to persuade his father that the whole thing is a hoax before finally succumbing to his wish and thinking that a trip with his old man will be a good way to spend some time together. However, from the moment they decide to make a pit- stop at the town that Woody grew up in, the film reveals its rich emotional core. As we meet Woody’s estranged family and his old friends and foes we, along with David, get an illuminating look at his father’s past and start to realise how he became the man that he is now. In the meantime, aided by a beautifully written script by Bob Nelson and the wonderful black-and-white cinematography of Payne regular Phedon Papamichael, Payne once again shows his knack for making us care for regular folks and laugh with them not at them, painting a portrait of the small-town Midwest that brings in mind the warmth of Frank Capra and the wit of Preston Sturges.

 
It would be fair to say though that the emotional power of the film mainly comes from the terrific performances of the two main leads. Veteran actor Bruce Dern shines in a role that deservedly gave him the Best Actor Award in Cannes and will hopefully earn him an Oscar too. Meanwhile,  Will Forte, who is more famous for roles in madcap comedies like 30 Rock feels totally at ease in a more dramatic role. In fact their chemistry is so good that by the end of the film you will feel that rare knot in your heart. If you are looking for a film to watch with your old man (regardless if he may have a drinking problem or not) Nebraska is the perfect choice. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)

 
Nebraska was screened at the 57th BFI London Film Festival and will be released nationwide on December 6th.

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This cliché, long the favourite of grumpy old-timers and wistful drunkards, is all too appropriate when describing The New Babylon, the 1929 Russian silent film that was produced before Josef Stalin began to strictly censor Russian culture. The CLoSer film series will be screening the movie, along with a live performance of the score by the City of London Sinfonia, at Village Underground on 23 October.

The film is set in 1871 Paris during the time of the Paris Commune. This brief period of upheaval was a time when a socialist group took control of the Parisian government and later proclaimed themselves rulers of all of France. Needless to say, the ruling French government quickly took action and two months later, thousands were killed and order restored.
This whirlwind background is the setting for The New Babylon’s tale of a shop girl and soldier who meet and fall in love. With so much taking place around them, the lines between their personal and political passions get blurred. In place of the actors’ voices, Dmitri Shostakovich’s score moves the emotional piece along. Shostakovich’s only silent film score is full of lush jazz melodies, as well as sultry cabaret tunes—unexpected for something produced during Stalin’s regime. Film score and jazz fans alike have long considered The New Babylon’s soundtrack to be one of the standout pieces of the silent film era.

Attendees of the CLoSer screening will have a chance to travel back in time and see the film much like Russian movie goers would have experienced almost a century ago (though the Village Underground is likely to provide a few more comforts that Soviet-era movie houses!) (Words: Barbara Cole) 

For more info, visit: www.villageunderground.co.uk/events/new-babylon

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The film’s major strength is the realism with which it depicts those turbulent teenage years. The screenwriting duo of Scott Neustadter and Michael H Webber ( 500 Days of Summer) has written a script that opts for sincerity rather than quirkiness and easy laughs, giving us characters that talk refreshingly  like normal teenagers. The two young actors are both excellent in the roles, deservingly receiving a Special Jury Prize for acting at Sundance. This should be the breakthrough role for Miles Teller who makes us care about an immature hard-partying high-school senior who seems to have no plans for his future and earns our wholehearted sympathy when he finds out the difficult way that he cannot always live for the moment. As for Shailene Woodley, who first caught our eyes as the rebellious daughter of George Clooney in The Descendants, she excels in a very different role, oozing sweetness and vulnerability.
In fact Woodley is so good that you wish that the film could spend a little more time with her character’s journey towards self-confidence instead of focusing primarily on the male character’s hopes and fears (500 Days of Summer can also be criticised for paying more attention to the male than the female character). This is however a minor quibble for a film that reminds us that despite what hollow stylistic exercises like Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring shout about, teenagers are complicated people who are starting to realise how messy life can be and try their best to cope with it. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
The Spectacular Now will have its UK premiere at the 57th BFI London Film Festival tonight.  It shows at selected UK cinemas later this month. 

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For your chance to win, simply send us a “selfie” (a picture you’ve taken of yourself, most likely with a camera phone), with the person you’d like to go with and both of your names to info@theculturalexpose.co.uk by midday Friday, February 8th and a winner will be chosen at random.  Good luck! 

Three course menu 

Starters

• – Beetroot marinated smoked salmon, rocket and shaved fennel salad
• – Ham hock and rabbit terrine, rhubarb and plum chutney, toasted ciabatta
• – Grilled courgette rolls with aubergine caviar and grilled piquillo peppers

Mains

• – Grilled haddock, crushed new potatoes with goats cheese, chilli and mint pea puree, citrus aioli
• – Chorizo stuffed chicken breast, dauphinoise potatoes, roasted vegetables, chorizo cream sauce
• – Feta, caramelised onions and beetroot filo pastry strudel, green beans and rocket salad, with beetroot puree

Desserts

• – Sharing plate of passion fruit curd pots, banoffee tart, blueberry and white chocolate ganache cups

About Roxy Bar & Screen

Roxy was created to bring together cutting-edge digital screenings with high quality drinks & food.  Film screenings take place from Sunday to Wednesday on a large-scale, state-of-the-art digital cinema screen and surround sound system, offering viewers a unique, high quality cinema experience within a relaxed bar setting.  The hugely popular Film & TV Pub Quiz takes place every other Thursday, whilst the venue also screens the pick of sporting events at the weekends.  Good quality value-for-money pub food is served alongside an impressive wine, beer and cocktail selection. For more info visit www.roxybarandscreen.com/listings.php?event=2285

(For our competition terms and conditions, click HERE…)

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Now in its 10th year, the LSFF is showcasing some of the best independent film-making talent in the UK. Featuring films that have made it through an open call for submissions, the event kicks off at the ICA with New Shorts #1: Funny Shit. Russell Tovey (of Him and Her) stars in Is This A Joke? and there’ll be a screening of Will Self novel adaptation The North London Book of the Dead.

Throughout the week films are split into themes, so Leftfield and Luscious is dedicated to the more experimental film genre (Metamorphosis featuring Anna Friel is one worth seeking out) whilst Romance at the Rio held at Rio cinema in Dalston will be one for rom-dram fans. Femmes Fantastiques will be showing films from female directors including Romola Garai (of BBC drama The Hour) and if you get tired of film-watching, there are retrospectives, networking events and talks to keep you going. Celebrate the best of British talent (and fill that Christmas movie-shaped hole) here.

The London Short Film Festival runs 4 Jan – 13 Jan at various venues. For more info visit  http://www.shortfilms.org.uk

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Based on a story so implausible that it could only happen in real life- In the mist of the 1979 Iranian revolution, six Americans find shelter in the house of the Canadian ambassador, having escaped the seize of the American Embassy by revolutionaries who captured 52 Americans. CIA’s plan for extracting those six fugitives was the following: create a bogus Hollywood film that is set to be shot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its supposedly Canadian production crew- Argo is Affleck’s more challenging directorial effort to date.

The story offers a great range of intriguing subjects, from the political and cultural clash between the West and the East, to the CIA’s shenanigans and Hollywood’s vanity. In the wrong hands though, this complexity could be an overwhelming burden and the end result may be a total mess. Thankfully, Affleck handles the tone shifts with admirable assurance. The satire of Hollywood is present but it does not distract the viewer from the gravity of the situation and the personal drama of the American fugitives. Similarly, while the film offers a comprehensive political background to the story- and for the most part does not treat the Iranian extremists as caricatures- it never feels like a history lesson.
Argo, instead tries to replicate the atmosphere of the classic American political thrillers of the 70s like All the President Men, building the tension masterfully from the real-life drama. Essentially then, it offers a simple but deeply effective thrill-ride. Just like true Hollywood films do. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
Argo had its premiere in the UK at the 56th BFI London Film Festival. It will be released nationwide on November 7th.

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Widely regarded as one of the best rock movies ever made, Stop Making Sense (directed by Jonathan Demme, who went on to win an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs) follows the innovative American New Wave band Talking Heads for three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 as part of their tour to promote their album Speaking in Tongues. Captured in a straightforward manner,  the film is a visual and aural feast from beginning till the end.

Those of you unaware of the genius that is David Byrne and his band mates, brace yourself because you’re in for a treat. As for the loyal fans,  this interactive film experience will give them  a chance to try and come with even more eccentric clothes than the ones wore by the group and imitate the otherworldly dance moves of Mr Byrne. Part of the Scala Beyond film season.  (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
Sugarhouse Studios and Assemble present STOP MAKING SENSE takes place on Saturday 25 August at Sugarhouse Studios. For more information visit www.sugarhousestudios.co.uk/stop-making-sense

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The most intriguing aspect of this aptly named The Genius of Hitchcock event is that it will give an opportunity to film lovers from around the world to be the first to see some of the director’s early silent British films, in newly restored copies at various London venues, with the additional bonus of live music accompaniment by a number of up-and –coming British composers.

The three films that will be screened during the festival (The Pleasure Garden, The Lodger and Blackmail ) may often descend into melodrama, as it was the norm in the early days of cinema, but nevertheless their stories revolve around titillating subjects such as murder, deceit and blackmail.  This would soon become a staple of Hitchcock’s oeuvre and they all include at least one classic sequence that makes it easy to understand why Hitch became the true master of suspense. A case in point is the climatic chase scene in Blackmail that is stunningly staged by Hitchcock inside the British Museum. Imagine now how exciting it will be to watch the whole film just outside the museum. Sounds like a great way to spend a summer night in the city. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)

The first screening takes place on June 28th but for more information, visit www.whatson.bfi.org.uk

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Just some of the things you can take part in during the day include:

• Guerilla Film Project – make your own film inspired by the topics of the day (shooting, editing and watching the finished product all take place on the one day so there will be no time for sitting in your director’s chair!)

•  Theatre of the Oppressed – Come and solve society’s problems in this interactive and innovative theatre workshop (or at least have fun trying to come up with a solution!).

•  Why Is It All Kicking off Everywhere? Come and hear BBC Newsnight’s Economics Editor talk about riots, rebellions, revolt and why the gap between those with money and those without is getting bigger.

•  Art Belongs on the Streets – Take part in a submersive art and poetry experience

•  The Writing on the Wall – Take a musical meander with folk singer Roy Bailey who takes inspiration from politics, socialism and more. DJs such as the Asian Dub Foundation will finish the night with hip hop, dub and electronica sets

The Festival of Dangerous Ideas takes place on Saturday 17^th March from 10am-1am at Rich Mix. More information can be found here: http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/the-festival-of-dangerous-ideas/ (Words: Clare Ebberson)

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Melville (Michel Piccoli), the central character,  has the more daunting task of facing his fear of his new role and responsibilities on his own. After a brief awkward session with the psychoanalyst, Melville escapes the Vatican and starts wandering around the city. As expected, a legendary actor Piccoli perfectly captures the child-like enthusiasm with which Melville embraces the simple joys of life that he has been deprived from for a long time, adding a warm and affecting touch to these scenes and helping us feel emotionally connected to a character who happens to be the Pope.

Unfortunately, whenever the story moves away from Melville’s stroll to follow the life in the Vatican, the film loses some of its charm. By showing us how the initially disorientated psychoanalyst ends up appearing almost at ease, Moretti makes a nice point about how confinement does not necessarily equal unhappiness but these mostly comic scenes feel somewhat tame (with the exception of the impromptu volleyball game which is as fun as it sounds).

It is difficult though to be overly critical of a film that never succumbs to the forced sentimentality often associated with this type of stories. We Have a Pope’s strongest merit is that it manages to warm our hearts not by feeding us with the idealistic notion that “if you believe in yourself you can accomplish anything” but by helping us realise the sheer happiness that lies in accepting that not everyone needs to become a leader. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)

 In cinemas now. 

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