Shame there weren't as many celebrity mags back in Joan's day, as she would've provided them with endless fodder: casting couch connoisseur, a sideline in prostitution, four marriages, Mommie Dearest... and a few films.   Shame there weren't as many celebrity mags back in Joan's day, as she would've provided them with endless fodder: casting couch…

Special Edition # 35 is  your special Xmas bumpercolumn with plenty (and we really mean plenty) of DVDs for you to be getting your teeth into. Laurence Boyce will point you in the right direction if you’re looking for presents or simply some ways to escape the endless rounds of Xmas television. So let’s get cracking with just what exactly Santa may put in your stocking over Christmas, especially…

It seems as though there are two films in Oliver Stone's W., fighting to separate themselves from each other. There is the story of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), the president who took his country to war in 2003. Then there is Dubya, the son in awe of his father, George H. W. Bush (James Cromwell); who feels rivalry with his little brother Jeb (Jason Ritter); and who sees politics as the family…

It seems that everyone has buggered off on holiday - especially those who release DVD's. So whilst Special Edition # 8 is a little bit shorter there are still some little gems to be found for your delight and delectation. It also allows Laurence Boyce to nip away from the computer and TV screen for a while for a spot of sunbathing. And, after turning pasty white sitting in the dark and watchi…

Break out the party hats and balloons as Special Edition # 10 means that the column that fearlessly tracks down the best DVDs available hits double figures. This time around Laurence Boyce discovers that the tide of classic French Cinema being released on DVD remains unabated, that Doctor Who did look slightly cheesy in the 80s, that people aren't waiting until Halloween to release horror mov…

Any book that attempts to reinforce the idea that film is, first and foremost, a visual medium has to be a good thing. 'Cinematic Storytelling' certainly does just that. Directors, writers, editors and cinematographers will all glean much of use from this book. Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions ISBN: ISBN 1-932907-05-X Published date: Current Country of origin: US Subject area: Visual Film Na…

As we head towards the Summer Blockbuster season, those who found themselves averse to explosions, CGI and lines such as "Whyyyy? And he only had 45 minutes until retirement..." should be extremely grateful for whoever invented Digital Versatile Discs. There are a number of films in Special Edition # 6 that show the crusading and intelligent side of the modern film industry alongside a…

Come on the long days! Laurence Boyce has been stuck in front of a computer for the past few weeks, watching many, many films and currently needs a tanning machine to ensure his skin resembles the colour of porridge. Thankfully, the stuff that he’s been watching for Special Edition # 38 means that Laurence Boyce has at least got to enjoy some really good films and TV shows. But, for the love of h…

    Michael Powell's The Edge Of The World, a black and white classic film of 1937, filmed in Scotland's remotest island community, has been released for the first time on DVD by the British Film Institute. The film has been printed afresh and the DVD package comes with a wealth of supporting documentary material that shows just why this was such a remarkable testament…

The Sixth of May , directed by the late Dutch director Theo Van Gogh , is a thriller that re-enacts the murder of right wing Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, on 6th May 2002. The slick movie has a Hollywood feel to it, but might prove impenetrable without a little Wikipediaing of the facts (at least), unless you're clued up on your Dutch politics.       Van Go…

I marched thru the night, looking up to the snow kissed trees, and arrived too late for Cloud Atlas. Half an hour later a film I didn’t know, beyond reading that it was about a student dropout in Berlin, and was Black and White. I dashed back across the road for a thai curry, laden with mushrooms, which I left. I returned in time to get a seat and a small bag of popcorn, hoping this would not be…

There were no accidents. Nothing blew up. So, unless I spontaneously combust in the middle of writing this column, then it seems we can go ahead with Special Edition # 25. Yay. And, yes, we’re on number 25. Laurence Boyce would have got some mugs specially produced but who needs merchandise when – as always – there are a multitude of delightful DVDs for your perusal. Thi…

With the rise of  so-called 'user generated content', a strange phrase that conjours up images of cinemagoers as drug users, and 'professional filmmakers' as dealers who would never use their own supply, it's inevitable that the film industry would have something to say on the matter. And as with buses and most films from those dealing with the massive (Armagedon, Deep Impact) to the micro…

The LFF has chosen well for its opening night. Ahead of the final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain in New York tonight, Frost/Nixon, the tale of a president undone in a television interview, has its world premiere in London tonight. Surely you know the story? The 37th president of the United States was involved in some bad stuff called Watergate (let's ignore t…

Here's some picks of filmmaker owned and distributed free (as in lunch) feature films you can download or watch online that really stood out over the last year. Most of them are 'pay what you want' and as ultra-indies they are produced, distributed and promoted by the filmmaker - so anything you donate goes to help them pay off their debts and make more. Nasty Old People Hanna Sköld, Sweden, 20…

  Britain's latest and remotest filmfest in the Shetland Islands got off to a great start with a screening of BBC 4's drama Reichenbach Falls, a fast-moving drama made by a BBC Scotland team. The TV programme clearly proved that low budget does not exclude high production values - something known to indie filmmakers for a long time - but clearly the message is now getting through to TV d…

Wow. When Mike Leigh goes comic, he really goes for it. Happy-Go-Lucky , the tale of Poppy, a North London primary school teacher with a very un-London persistently sunny nature and a whole host of whacky quips, gets driving lessons and talks too much. That's the film. The latest Mike Leigh film. No, really.             Here's th…

Now, as the holiday season has come to an end, it’s come to that time of year when you have loads of vouchers to spend (“Oh, thanks for that Auntie. A voucher I can spend in a specific shop, as opposed to money which I can spend – you know – anywhere”) and DVD’s to exchange for something better. So Special Edition # 36 is here to point you in the right direction as Laurence Boyce examines some of…

Given that the UK Film Council have announced that the next few months will be the 'Summer Of British Film' (appropriate given the bloody awful weather at the moment) it's good to see that Special Edition # 20 (yes, break out the champagne as we've made it to 20) has plenty of great British films for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own homes. Alongside the homegrown product, L…

  You would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks Ken Loach's films are simply OK, or all right, or not so bad. Loach divides opinion. ``The Wind That Shakes the Barley,'' which won the top prize -- the Palme D'Or -- at the Cannes Film Festival last month isn't going to change that fact. The film is, at least in part, a damning indictment of the British in Ireland…

 There's a real air of independence with Special Edition # 17 as there’s no Hollywood blockbusters in sight. Instead there are movies from across the world, which show the real diversity of things available to movie goers nowadays. Whether it’s French horror, some classic documentaries or a curious Sci-Fi film then Laurence Boyce is here to show you can find just abo…

As the fare currently on offer at this year's London Film Festival shows, getting history up on the big screen is very much in vogue at the moment. Between Frost/Nixon, The Baader-Meinhof Complex and W., recent events are almost constantly being reappropriated for the screen at the moment. Mike Chopra-Gant, who teaches media, communication and cultural studies at London Met University…

Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited will close the London Film Festival tonight, with a sold-out screening in the West End.  The film follows three brothers - reunited for the first time in the year since their father's death - who take a train journey across northern India, in the hope of renewing their relationships, finding someone they lost and, in true gap-year style, findin…

   Dont Go Wild Without it..... If you are prone to that urge for the great outdoors and the call of nature, but haven't yet got around to actually filming it, this little book makes an ideal companion. Slim enough to slip into a side pocket of your rucksac, its 122 pages are packed with  information, making it as essential to the success of your wildlife safa…

There are lots of things that people can do at the same time. There’s rubbing your tummy whilst patting your head, watching telly whilst doing the ironing and reading whilst in the bath. But one thing you can’t do is run a Film Festival whilst trying to write a DVD column. As such, Laurence Boyce has been away for a while. But like a phoenix from the flames Special Edition # 23 has…