The Orphanage Review and other oddities

Thoroughly enjoyed this creepy masterpiece. A Spanish film with subtitles and totally riveting, with superb performances.

To tell too much about the film would spoil it, but try and see this film in the limited cinemas it seems to be showing at.

I hope a wider release is planned because it broke my heart to see such a brilliantly crafted piece of film-making debut at number 10 in the Uk charts having made less thn £400,000.

So many, so called, scary films these days are an excuse for the fx and make up boys to create the goriest most repulsive images possible but they are just that, fx whereas a film like this gets under the skin and is chilling in a much more effective way. Psychologically.

It's a great date movie because you'll definitely be clinging onto someone by the end! Heartbreaking, but a totally exhilerating cinematic experience, we see the desperation of a mother for her lost child and how the past comes back to haunt her.

Brilliant, 5 stars out of 5.

WE BE FIRE FIGHTERS!!

That's not true, but the filming of "Much Ado About Lauren" gathers pace. We now have a definite wrap date (10th May) due to several key film festivals having their submission deadlines by the end of May.

So in the Easter holidays we are wanting to complete all of our remaining "flashback sequences" for the film.

We're doing well. We filmed Tom on a digger and yesterday had tremendous fun filming at a graveyard (don't worry no plot points are given away!) and then we had the most fantastic time filming with the lads at the Stopsley fire station.

A few enquires, emails and phone calls meant that we were able to have Tom become a fire fighter for an hour.

The guys were so helpful, we had Tom go mad with a hose and we even got to ride around in the fire engine with sirens blaring to get the shots that we needed!

Good times, and all the footage looks great.

We then went to a local corner shop where Tom was given permission to comically steal lots of cans of beer! Again went very well.

The film is going so well, I couldn't be more pleased with how it's coming together and the efforts of my brilliant cast.

More reviews and stuff

So went to see There Will Be Blood yesterday, and Daniel Day Lewis does it again (although not that often!) and totally deserved his best actor Oscar (2nd for him)

What's the film like? I'm not sure! It was good, a little slow in places you could argue (although we had problems in our screening with the projector malfunctioning)but the film is so all about Day Lewis's character. We are watching the greed, life and undoing of a complex tragic figure.

People were twitching and fidgeting in the screening but if you just look at it as almost a documentary of an oil baron's life you will not be disappointed.

Day Lewis takes us on this epic 30 year journey and we follow him all the way, even when it is quite hard to watch.

I had similar feelings finally watching Juno. Pretty good film (don't honestly think it deserved best original screenplay) in regards to Ellen Page. She is superb in the film, and carries it. We watch her and all the emotions teenage pregnancy is bound to put you through. She was funny, but also touching and Ellen needs to face the fact that she will never have a role as good as this ever again.

She is in almost every scene and is the reason why this low budget film has been such a resounding success.

Another little movie slowly edging its way towards completion is "Much Ado About Lauren."

We now even have a title song, which I am enjoying playing in the car immensely, catchy and fun and composed by my good friend Steve Warner.

Shot two important scenes over the weekend, Paul, Abi and Simon joined us for a rehearsal scene in the chapel which is funny but also delivers a let down for the character of Greg. Took a while to get it, but really got some good stuff there.

Then on Saturday Simon, John Mitchell and Richard Sheridan filmed over at Simon's house for the reading of the newly written play within the movie and a fairly humorous misunderstanding that takes place!

The boys did realy well, a couple of long takes, but we got 5 pages shot in 2 hours which is unheard of! Going to do some bits and pieces this week, and this will require some careful editing but I am really proud about what we have and I know within the large amounts of footage shot we have a wonderful little 100 minute movie waiting to get out!!

Also really enjoying directing my new play "The Removal Firm" with the St. Christopher Players. Going really well, I am working with such talented performers and it is such a pleasure seeing situations I came up with a year ago in a lounge in Stopsley working so well on the stage and in the rehearsal room. Real collaborative process, and all the better for it!