Book v Film: Tulip Fever

“The world is chaotic. All artists know this, but they try to make sense of it. Sophia has made sense of it for him. She has stitched it together like the most beautiful cloak. Her love has sewn it together and they can wrap it around themselves and be safe from the world. Nobody can reach them.”

Directed by Justin Chadwick and based on the book by Deborah Moggach, Tulip Fever is set in 1630s Amsterdam ablaze with tulip fever, and follows a wealthy merchant, Cornelis Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz), and his young and beautiful wife, Sophia (Alicia Vikander), the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy, an heir. But so far, Sophia has failed to produce one. In a bid for immortality, he commissions a portrait of them both by the talented young painter Jan van Loos (Dane DeHaan). But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia’s likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist.

Film Review: Spectre

The 24th James Bond film, Spectre is the second instalment directed by Sam Mendes and is the 4th film featuring Daniel Craig in the lead. With the secret service under political threat by a member of the British government, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the team – M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) – must focus their efforts on keeping the operation alive. But Bond puts matters into his own hands after a cryptic message forces him to go on a rogue mission to uncover a sinister organisation known as Spectre. With the company of Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Bond must follow a well-disguised trail of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind the organisation, as a face from his past, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), uncovers a link bigger than any of the 007 initiative could have ever imagined.

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Film Review: Django Unchained

The latest from director Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained is an epic western Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, which follows slave-turned-bounty hunter Django (Jamie Foxx) who, with the help of his German mentor Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), sets out to rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner named Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Nominated for five Academy Awards and winning two at this year’s Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor (Waltz) and Best Screenplay (Tarantino), this is now my second favourite Tarantino film and it certainly bettered my already high expectations.

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New ‘Django Unchained’ International Poster

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

This week we have a new poster for the Quentin Tarantino’s highly anticipated western drama, Django Unchained.

Whilst we have already seen artwork on another poster for the film, this latest piece of art brings together much more, including director and writer Tarantino’s name in big letters, and the bringing together of the film’s brilliant cast list.

The film follows a slave-turned-bounty hunter (Jamie Foxx) who, with the help of his mentor (Christoph Waltz), sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Jonah Hill Saddles Up With ‘Django Unchained’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

We may have had the first sneak peek at this film earlier this month with the film’s first trailer, but now Jonah Hill has joined the cast for Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Django Unchained.

Currently still in production, the film follows a slave-turned-bounty hunter (Jamie Foxx) who, with the help of his mentor (Christoph Waltz), sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Film Review: Carnage

(Published in Issue 7 of my publication In Retrospect)

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Co-written and directed by Roman Polanski, Carnage is a black comedy that follows two sets of parents, Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly) and Nancy and Alan Cowan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz), who meet to discuss their sons’ behaviour after having been in a fight at school. But what was intended to be a five-minute apology turns into over an hours worth of arguments, drinking and judgments from all corners of the room, as it soon becomes apparent that their sons’ childish behaviour is something they all have in common.

New, Boring Poster for Carnage

(Written for HeyUGuys)

A new poster for Roman Polanski‘s Carnage has been released this week, but unfortunately it doesn’t do much in the way of promotion.

Written and directed by Roman Polanski, the film is based on the acclaimed play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza and premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival this year.

Film Review: Inglourious Basterds

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Narrowly escaping, she flees to Paris and forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins with a German actress and undercover agent, Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own.

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