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All Washed up?
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The Jung ones
Horror diehards are not going to enjoy David Cronenberg’s stagey psychoanalytic drama ‘A Dangerous Method’. Hell, Robin Askew didn’t like it much. But that wasn’t going to stop him from meeting one of cinema’s more…18.01.2012 READ MORE -
Film: the year ahead
Robin Askew polishes his overused 3D glasses, grabs a huge sack of popcorn and settles down for another year at the movies. 3D makeovers of 'Titanic' and 'Star Wars', the return of The Muppets and 'Men in Black',…14.12.2011 READ MORE -
Silence is golden
Robin Askew gets tied to a railway track just as this year’s Slapstick silent comedy festival comes thundering round the corner. It's a measure of the success of any festival that people keep coming back for more. In…07.12.2011 READ MORE -
Shame academy
Having scooped a shedload of gongs for ‘The King’s Speech’, Bristol-born producer Iain Canning’s next film’s all about the noticeably less regal world of sex addiction. Robin Askew is our man in the dirty raincoat. So…07.12.2011 READ MORE -
Film review of 2011
The good, the bad, the ugly, the hairy, the scary… Robin Askew offers a scattergun assessment of his year at the movies. Rising Stars Two obvious choices this year - one of each gender (the po-faced Grauniad now forbids…15.11.2011 READ MORE -
Short cuts
This year’s Encounters has everything from Bruce Robinson to dancing genitalia. What more could you want from a short film festival? asks Robin Askew. Pop quiz! Where might you find 'Withnail and I' director Bruce…21.10.2011 READ MORE -
Picture of the week
Richard E. Grant is Michael Heseltine. Really. (Not from a Comic Strip spoof, but 'The Iron Lady', out in Jan)03.11.2011 READ MORE -
Christmas cracker
Aardman’s latest caper ‘Arthur Christmas’ hits cinema screens this month. Robin Askew is our man in a red cape and white bushy beard. It's an unusually balmy early October morning in central London. Outside, people are…19.10.2011 READ MORE -
Pick of the flicks
As Bath Film Festival comes of age, Robin Askew chooses the best of this year’s crop. With guests as diverse as Ken Loach, activist and broadcaster Darcus Howe, 'Wuthering Heights' screenwriter Olivia Hetreed and, er,…19.10.2011 READ MORE -
Debt on arrival
Based on an Israeli film, ‘The Debt’ tells the story behind a Mossad mission to catch a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin. Robin Askew tracks down its director and cast. There's one thing Dame Helen Mirren is…23.09.2011 READ MORE -
Living troll
An ingenious and witty modern twist on a Nordic myth, Andre Ovredal’s ‘Troll Hunter’ imagines the beasts of legend to be very real and in need of a damn good culling. Robin Askew is impressed. "Oh wow!" exclaims Andre…27.08.2011 READ MORE -
Horrible histories
Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey were among the stars in London last week plugging ‘Horrible Bosses’. Robin Askew chuckles politely at their risqué interchanges. Kevin Spacey, distinguished Artistic Director of…29.07.2011 READ MORE -
Keeping it reel
Winning an Oscar has barely affected Philip Seymour Hoffman’s career path. Here he talks to Robin Askew about his latest, low-key offering, ‘Jack Goes Boating’, which also marks his directorial debut. "I've never had a…30.06.2011 READ MORE -
Widow’s pique
Her family’s military background meant Samantha Morton needed to do little research for her role in ‘The Messenger’ as the widow of a soldier killed in Iraq. Robin Askew met her. "My family don't watch a lot of my…27.05.2011 READ MORE -
The bigger pictures
Pirates, penguins, pandas and Potter… Robin Askew charts a treacherous course between the inevitable tidal wave of sequels and 3D blockbusters in search of the occasional gem as cinema’s annual blockbuster season…29.04.2011 READ MORE -
Trash only, no checks
Robin Askew goes to extremes with film director and all-round Establishment-baiter John Waters. Dubbed 'The Pope of Trash' by William S. Burroughs, film director John Waters is Baltimore's most famous son. His notoriety…29.04.2011 READ MORE -
The horror, the horror...
Author Kim Newman tells Robin Askew why he’s still in love with horror films. Kim Newman and Venue go back a long way. His first review for the mag was of 'The Evil Dead' in 1983. Around the same time, he was working…29.04.2011 READ MORE -
More is less
Back in the early 80s the cinema industry appeared to be in terminal decline. The multiplex revolution changed all that, but there’s still not enough choice, reckons Robin Askew. Charles Anderson's invaluable but sadly…20.04.2011 READ MORE -
The spying game
It retells the story of a high-level KGB defector and has been favourably compared with ‘The Lives of Others’. Robin Askew goes undercover to meet the director of Cold War flick ‘Farewell’. When you set out to make a…20.04.2011 READ MORE -
The importance of being honest
After the wonderful ‘Tell No One’, it took a proper-job mid-life crisis complete with depression and therapy before French director Guillaume Canet felt ready to return to film-making with the autobiographical ‘Little…13.04.2011 READ MORE -
Oz and them
Aussie author John Marsden’s hugely popular kids’ thriller ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ has finally made it to the big screen. Will it be the new Harry Potter? It's one of those publishing phenomena that have film…06.04.2011 READ MORE -
Hunting the hunters
A film that purports to re-create the true story of the kidnapping and hunting of some fox hunters by members of the Real Animal League, ‘Blooded’ is simply dripping with controversy, not least because it's all made up.…30.03.2011 READ MORE -
Bradley’s stoked!
Venue talks to rising star Bradley Cooper about the pressures of starring alongside screen legend Robert De Niro in ‘Limitless’. You probably recognise the face, even if you don't know the name. Thirty-six year-old…23.03.2011 READ MORE -
Teenage fix
Coming-of-age yarns are ten a penny in American cinema. Hip young director Richard Ayoade aims to redress the balance with his timeless and distinctly British take on the genre, an adaption of Joe Dunthorne's cult novel…16.03.2011 READ MORE -
Screening in agony
Poor old Robin Askew. Venue’s Film Editor for some 20 years, he simply hates going to the movies… Some time ago, this magazine ran a feature about guilty pleasures. I couldn't contribute, as I've never felt remotely…09.03.2011 READ MORE -
Bizet bodies
The revival of 3D has revolutionised cinema-going habits. West Country-based Phil Streather, producer of the ground-breaking ‘Carmen 3D’, takes Robin Askew into a different dimension. Who'd have guessed that the…02.03.2011 READ MORE -
Paul story
After the low-key triumphs of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are established comedy A-listers in Britain. But will alien road movie ‘Paul’ see them break through in America? ponders Robin…16.02.2011 READ MORE -
Coen, Coen, Gong!
The mighty Coen brothers remaking a John Wayne movie? And getting ten Oscar nominations to boot? What the hell’s going on? Venue reports on the making of ‘True Grit’. Only last week, director Rowan Joffe was assuring us…09.02.2011 READ MORE -
Future tense
Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian novel and featuring a cameo appearance by Clevedon Pier, ‘Never Let Me Go’ arrives on the big screen this week with the likes of Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan heading up the…09.02.2011 READ MORE -
Rock tactics
Rowan Joffe’s take on ‘Brighton Rock’ resets Graham Greene’s noirish tale of a Catholic psycho and his innocent moll to the mods-and-rockers era. Robin Askew hops on his Vespa. It's a race against time. There's not a…02.02.2011 READ MORE -
All fights on the night
Brutal boxing! Crack! Family feuds! Oscars nominations! David O. Russell’s latest has got the lot. And it’s all true as well. Venue exchanges blows with the director and stars of ‘The Fighter’. Filming a true story on…02.02.2011 READ MORE -
For the love of Pike
Ian Lavender is among the guests for this year’s Slapstick festival – and that’s all the excuse Robin Askew needs to talk to him about his most famous role: Private Pike in long-running BBC sitcom ‘Dad’s Army’. “Bear in…26.01.2011 READ MORE -
Ford fiesta
Notorious grumpster Harrison Ford lightens up in Roger Michell’s witty comedy about breakfast telly, ‘Morning Glory’. Robin Askew gets up early. "I found no difficulty in slipping into the skin of the third-worst person…19.01.2011 READ MORE -
Ballet who?
He might have made a mint and wowed the critics with ‘The Wrestler’, but if Darren Aronofsky was expecting an easy ride with his next project, he was in for a nasty shock. Robin Askew reports on the obstacles the…12.01.2011 READ MORE -
Under the stammer
Colin Firth stars as the stammering Duke of York in acclaimed period drama ‘The King’s Speech’. Robin Askew choose his words carefully. Right now – and bear in mind that thanks to Christmas deadlines this was written in…05.01.2011 READ MORE -
Film Preview of 2011
Pointless remakes, endless comicbook adaptations, lots of alien invasions and a flood of sequels that read like an especially goal-heavy edition of Final Score (Spy Kids 4, Final Destination 5). Yep - 2011 is shaping up…05.01.2011 READ MORE -
Under the stammer
Colin Firth stars as the stammering Duke of York in acclaimed period drama ‘The King’s Speech’. Robin Askew choose his words carefully. Right now – and bear in mind that thanks to Christmas deadlines this was written in…05.01.2011 READ MORE -
The Toys are back in town
We're not going to bother with reminding you about celebrity gossip and who won gongs, because everyone else does that. Here instead is the stuff that amused and vexed Robin Askew at the pictures in 2010. Films of the…22.12.2010 READ MORE -
Fame fatale
Sofia Coppola’s ‘Somewhere’ is the tale of an excess-all-areas Hollywood A-lister’s relationship with his young daughter. A tad autobiographical perhaps? After the critical pasting she received for her third feature,…08.12.2010 READ MORE -
Monster smash
Is it a political allegory? Nope. A monster movie then? Er, not really. Robin Askew battles his way through all the hype and controversy to find out what really inspired Gareth Edwards to make ‘Monsters’. Gareth Edwards…01.12.2010 READ MORE -
Many Harry returns
As the Potter franchise (almost) reaches its climax, Venue quizzes its bespectacled star Daniel Radcliffe about a magical legacy. Now that the Harry Potter franchise is drawing to an end, what everybody wants to know…17.11.2010 READ MORE -
Truly, madly, briefly
As the 16th Encounters festival of short films muscles into town, Robin Askew has an email interview with one its star turns, the seemingly ubiquitous Andy Serkis. He’s a busy chap, that Andy Serkis. Right now, you can…10.11.2010 READ MORE -
Older, wiser, sadder
After the jolliness of ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, Mike Leigh is back on solid miserable form with ‘Another Year’. Venue reports. Who’d have thought Mike Leigh would follow ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ with a Tom and Gerri movie? That’s Tom…03.11.2010 READ MORE -
Sucker pinch
Hollywood’s irritating habit of remaking and frequently ruining decent European movies shows no sign of abating. Thankfully, Matt Reeves’ reworking (and renaming) of classic Swedish vampire flick ‘Let the Right One In’…27.10.2010 READ MORE -
From Hollywood to Hartcliffe
Bristol’s never been renowned as a hotbed of movie-making, but all that’s about to change with three major features set to be filmed here over the next few months. Steve Wright explains the importance of iFeatures.…20.10.2010 READ MORE -
Narcotic, but nice
The story of drug dealer extraordinaire Howard Marks is a familiar one. So why has it taken so long for ‘Mr Nice’ to be made into a movie? Because of the climate of fear at the BBC, explains director Bernard Rose. Robin…06.10.2010 READ MORE -
One film in the grave
Rejected by Hollywood, and initially by its star Ryan Reynolds, as being unfilmable, Rodrigo Cortes’s ‘Buried’ is set entirely in a coffin. Robin Askew talks to the director about the challenges of creating this…28.09.2010 READ MORE -
Unavoidable
After the grinding horror and temporal distortion of ‘Irreversible’ French enfant terrible director Gaspar Noe is messing with our heads again with the splendidly controversial ‘Enter the Void’. Venue reports. The…21.09.2010 READ MORE -
Dark side of the moonshine
An obsessive quest for authenticity ensured that director Debra Granik really got under the skin of ‘hillbilly’ culture in her acclaimed adaptation Daniel Woodrell’s thriller ‘Winter’s Bone’. Venue reports. The Grand…14.09.2010 READ MORE
TOP TEN

Takings for the weekend of January 20-22
As far as the meeja are concerned, it's all about awards at this time of year. But the only nominees taking any money at the moment are The Iron lady and The Artist. The latter's relatively lowly chart position is explained by the fact that it's still showing on around a quarter of the number screens hogged by Spielberg's chart-topper War Horse (pictured). But the French silent movie boasts the second highest screen average of any film on release. Steven Soderbergh's enjoyable ass-whupper Haywire beat the umpteenth Underworld flick, Underworld: Awakening. J. Edgar, meanwhile, failed to chart, as did Madonna's woeful W.E., despite all that hype. But Madge's ex-hubby Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows continues to do remarkably well, having seen off both Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
1. War Horse £3,202,493 (£9,639,624, 2 weeks)
2. Haywire £1,197,866 (new release)
3. Underworld: Awakening £1,114,327 (new release)
4. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows £956,434 (£24,627,233, 6 weeks)
5. The Iron Lady £949,517 (£7,162,492, 3 weeks)
6. The Sitter £910,382 (new release)
7. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol £815,330 (£16,686,503, 4 weeks)
8. The Artist £770,403 (£3,205,883, 4 weeks)
9. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked £568,758 (£13,111,689, 6 weeks)
10. Puss in Boots £568,590 (£13,645,623, 7 weeks)
Chart copyright Screen International
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Coming Soon
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12A)
24 Feb See review.
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Black Gold (12A)
24 Feb Qatar's first international co-production: an expensive 30s-set oil conflict epic. Antonio Banderas stars.
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Blood Car (18)
24 Feb See review.
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One for the Money (12A)
24 Feb Katherine Heigl as a woman who finds that she has a romantic history with an offender she's sent to track down.
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Rampart (15)
24 Feb See review.
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Red Dog (PG)
24 Feb See review.


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