Film Review: 12 Years A Slave

Based on a true story and in part on Solomon Northup‘s memoirs of the same name, 12 Years A Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, follows the remarkable true story of a free black man from upstate New York, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is abducted and sold into slavery. Forced to work on a plantation in New Orleans in the 1800s, experiencing the brutalities of those who believe they have the right to abuse their slaves such as Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano), and ignorances of the population, including that of plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), will Solomon ever make it back to his family and home?

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Film Review: Shame

(Published in Issue 6 of my publication In Retrospect)

Directed by Steve McQueen, Shame follows a successful man living in New York City who, behind closed doors, is living a carefully cultivated life as a sex addict. From picking up women with his charming persona in nightclubs, to paying for physical encounters with just about anyone, Brandon (Michael Fassbender) struggles on a day-to-day basis trying to find where his next night, or even minutes, of passion will come from. That is until his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) turns up to live with him indefinitely. Looking for only comfort, Sissy throws her brother’s life into a world of uncertainty as he must deal with each of their damaged lives, whilst also trying to hide and feed his own shameful appetite for sex.

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Brits At The Box Office: Michael Fassbender, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Kate Winslet & More!

(Weekly feature written for BritScene)

This week has seen the overall box office suffer its worst weekend since 2008, but one British movie has enjoyed robust numbers whilst another two are continuing their successful theatrical runs. There’s also some great new films set to be released over the next week that feature a number of Brits in their cast, including the Sherlock Holmes sequel, Roman Polanski’s Carnage, Mission Impossible 4 and David Fincher’s English adaptation of The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo.

Red Band Trailer For ‘Shame’ Shows Its More Provocative Side

(Written for BritScene)

Fox Searchlight have posted another trailer for Steve McQueen’s Shame on their Facebook this week. Earlier this month we showed you a trailer that included Carey Mulligan’s singing performance of “New York, New York”, but this latest trailer shows the film’s darker yet sexier side of the film, which is the reason the film has been given a NC-17 rating.

New Trailer for ‘Shame’ with Carey Mulligan Singing

(Written for BritScene)

The latest trailer for British director Steve McQueen‘s Shame has been released this week, which includes Carey Mulligan‘s singing performance of “New York, New York”.

Shame stars Michael Fassbender (X Men: First Class) as a lonely sex-addict in New York whose ordered lifestyle of one-night stands spirals out of control when his younger sister, played by Carey Mulligan (Drive), moves into his apartment indefinitely.

Steve McQueen’s ‘Shame’ Gets US Trailer & New Clip

(Written for BritScene)

Steve McQueen’s Shame has this week been given a US trailer and a new clip. But it’s not all good news – the controversial sexual drama has also been given the dreaded NC-17 rating because of the extreme amount of male nudity and “shocking” sex scenes.

Shame stars Michael Fassbender (X Men: First Class) as a lonely sex-addict in New York whose ordered lifestyle of one-night stands spirals out of control when his younger sister, played by Carey Mulligan (Drive), moves into his apartment indefinitely.

British director McQueen made it clear that he embraced the NC-17 rating when he made his deal for Fox Searchlight to release Shame, which the film has officially been given this week.

Steve McQueen’s ‘Shame’ Gets a Universal Trailer

(Written for BritScene)

Directed and co-written by Steve McQueen (Hunger), Shame is a remarkable examination of the nature of need and is a raw and realistic look at how we live our lives, which has today finally sees the arrival of its first trailer.

Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) plays a sex addict living in New York City whose ordered lifestyle of one-night stands spirals out of control with the unexpected arrival of his needy sister, played by Carey Mulligan (Drive), for an indefinite stay.

Fassbender starred in McQueen’s debut feature Hunger as well, so hopefully this will be as much of an excellent piece of filmmaking too.