D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… Casino, 1995. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, Don Rickles, Frank Vincent, James Woods and Kevin Pollack. Martin Scorsese’s gangster story Casino is based upon real-life crimes and lives of several mob figures […]

50/50, 2011. Directed by Jonathan Levine. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston. SYNOPSIS: After being diagnosed with cancer, a twenty-something guy fights to beat the disease. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star in this comedy based on true events written by Will Reiser. In his twenties, Reiser beat […]

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… Snatch, 2000. Written and Directed by Guy Ritchie. Starring Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Alan Ford, Dennis Farina, Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones, Robbie Gee, Lennie James and Benicio del Toro. Snatch is the hilarious and well-woven story of the London […]

The Ides of March, 2011. Directed by George Clooney. Starring George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella and Jennifer Ehle. SYNOPSIS: The Ides of March puts us on the campaign trail of potential Democratic candidate for the presidency Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) with […]

Idris “Stringer Bell” Elba, the star of HBO’s The Wire and the BBC’s Luther, is about to sign on to play the role of Nelson Mandela in an “official” biopic of the man, to start filming sometime next year. You’d hope Elba doesn’t receive the same criticism as when he played Heimdall, a Norse God […]

The Interrupters, 2011. Directed by Steve James. Starring Eddie Bocanegra, Tio Hardiman, Ameena Matthews, Gary Slutkin and Ricardo “Cobe” Williams. SYNOPSIS: A documentary on three violence interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. Chicago has had a long history of crime. From the early 20th Century days of […]

The Salt of Life (Italian: Gianni e le Donne), 2011. Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio. Starring Gianni Di Gregorio, Alfonso Santagata, Elisabetta Piccolomini, Valeria Cavalli and Valeria de Franciscis. SYNOPSIS: A hen-pecked house husband attempts to reacquaint himself with some of life’s pleasures. After spending much of his career in the theatre, Italian actor-turned-filmmaker Gianna […]

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… A Clockwork Orange, 1971. Written and Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Michael Tarn, James Marcus, Warren Clarke and David Prowse. A Clockwork Orange is Stanley Kubrick’s highly stylised and controversial adaptation of Anthony […]

Commenting on the commentators with Simon Columb… Mike Gubbins writes for Moviescope about the Digital revolution [read the full article here]: “The ‘digital dividend’ was the great promise of the post-celluloid era. Lower costs in production, distribution and marketing would go with greater quality and choice of content; less spending, more income. The independent industry […]

Jack and Jill, 2011. Directed Dennis Dugan. Starring Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Elodie Tougne, Rohan Chand, Eugenio Derbez, David Spade and Nick Swardson. SYNOPSIS: Advertising executive and family man Jack (Sandler) has to contend with the one event of the year he fears most… the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill […]