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Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are each reissuing their debut solo albums. Lifeson’s 1996 effort, Victor, and Lee’s 2000 LP, My Favourite Headache, will each arrive in various formats on August 9th via Rhino Records and Anthem Records.

Lifeson’s Victor will be released on vinyl for the first time ever, in Ruby Translucent 2Lp; Blue Translucent 2Lp; Crystal Clear Translucent 2Lp (exclusive to U.S. & Row); and Standard Black; as well as on CD. Pre-orders are available here.

It’s been remixed by Lifeson himself and contains four instrumental tracks that were previously only available on the guitarist’s website. Among the contributing artists to the original album are lead vocalist Edwin from I Mother Earth, Primus bassist Les Claypool, and Canadian vocalist Lisa Dalbello.

Lee’s My Favourite Headache is the singer-bassist’s only solo album to date. The fourth side of the 2Lp set features two instrumental mixes.

Will Ken Loach three-peat with what could be his last-ever feature? This is the question that Thierry Frémaux put forth and perhaps the best was indeed saved for last. The Kitchen Sink auteur has placed three Jury Prize-winning films in 90’s Hidden Agenda, 93’s Raining Stones and 2012’s The Angels’ Share along with Palme d’Or winning The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016). Of course, we can’t forget the Critics Week selected Kes. The Old Oak was the last of the twenty films in comp.

This sounds a bit familiar. A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub.…...

The 1970 edition of the Cannes Film Festival was noted for giving rise to several bold new voices. Robert Altman arrived as an established (and notoriously troublesome) TV director but left a Palme d’Or winner with M*A*S*H, his launchpad to becoming one of the most pivotal figures of contemporary cinema. In the Directors’ Fortnight competition, then a year old, the German absurdist comedy Even Dwarfs Started Small gave audiences a hint of what a 20-something festival first-timer named Werner Herzog might have up his creative sleeve.

Over in the Critics’ Week sidebar, a rising English director named Ken Loach also was making his Cannes debut (like Herzog with his second feature).

The bespectacled 33-year-old had arrived as part of what he describes as a “rather snooty” U.K. delegation that didn’t have much time for someone then known for hard-hitting TV docudramas and not considered part...

Ken Loach's latest is one of the films of the year. Here's our review of I, Daniel Blake...

Veteran British film director Ken Loach announced his retirement back in 2014 while attending a promotional press tour for his then current feature Jimmy’s Hall. Fast forward two years and 80-year-old Loach is back with a vengeance having recently scooped the coveted Palme D’Or. This is, coincidentally, exactly a decade on since Loach won the same award for his Irish war drama The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Since the 60s, Loach's films (from Cathy Come Home to The Angels' Share) have all possessed a socially critical tone, and his latest film I, Daniel Blake is no different.

This time he's given us an urgent societal drama, one that serves as a scathing remonstrance of austerity Britain and the cracks within the welfare system. Geordie comedian Dave Johns stars as Daniel Blake,...

The social realist tendencies in British director Ken Loach's films started nearly half a century ago, so it's easy to forget that no matter his penchant for tackling serious issues with historical weight, he's also capable of crafting smooth entertainment—especially with his recent comedies "Looking for Eric" and "The Angels' Share"—without sacrificing their credibility and intelligence. At 77, Loach hasn't lost touch with this balance, as proven by his enjoyable period drama "Jimmy's Hall." Though it features a dramatic scenario involving the censorship of a small Irish town in the early thirties, Loach manages to enliven potentially stuffy material with lively storytelling and likable personalities. Chief among them is real-life Irish communist Jimmy Gralton (Barry Ward), who challenged the religious community in the provincial country town he grew up by creating a gathering place for locals to dance and engage in intellectual discussion. Naturally, that decision doesn't sit well.

Sony Pictures Classics has scooped up North American rights to Ken Loach's period drama "Jimmy's Hall" -- two days before it bows in the Main Competition at Cannes. Wild Bunch handled the sale. Whenever Ken Loach has a new film in the works, you can bet your bottom dollar it will premiere at Cannes. The Brit director and master of kitchen sink realism has been a Cannes Competition mainstay since "Black Jack" won the fest's coveted Fipresci Prize in 1979. "Jimmy's Hall," his latest, will make its way to the Croisette this week. But will it be his last? (Trailer below.) In 2012, his admirable if saccharine crime comedy "The Angels' Share" snapped up the Jury Prize, and in 2006 he won the Palme d'Or for the Irish historical drama "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," starring Cillian Murphy. Penned by longtime collaborator Paul Laverty, "Jimmy's Hall" will of course be competing for the Palme,...

Welcome back to Cannes Check, In Contention's annual preview of the films in Competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on May 14. Taking on different selections every day, we'll be examining what they're about, who's involved and what their chances are of snagging an award from Jane Campion's jury. Next up, the lineup's second Palme d'Or-winning British stalwart: Ken Loach's "Jimmy's Hall." The director: Ken Loach (British, 77 years old). Often labelled the father of British social realism on film, Ken Loach is as famed for the no-nonsense naturalism of his aesthetic as for his defiantly socialist politics -- evident to varying degrees in 26 cinematic features (narrative and documentary) over 47 years. A lower-middle-class grammar school student turned Oxford law graduate, Loach began his career in television, directing a series of socially conscious BBC teleplays -- most famously the homelessness study "Cathy Come Home" -- before making his first feature film,...

Whether or not it turns out to be Ken Loach's final narrative film, Jimmy's Hall (2014) looks like being a favourite when it lands on the Croisette in competition at this year's 67th Cannes Film Festival. Cannes has commonly been a home from home for British director Loach where - despite the glam, the frocks and the yachts - this master of social realist and politically committed cinema has consistently scored successes. He's taken the Jury Prize on three different occasions with Hidden Agenda in 1990, Raining Stones in 1993 and The Angels' Share in 2012. In 2006, Loach even took the prestigious Palme d'Or for his brilliantly stirring portrayal of early twentieth century Irish history in The Wind that Shakes the Barley. With Jimmy's Hall, the director returns to similar territory - here's the film's official synopsis.

Acclaimed director Terry Gilliam will attend the première of his new film, The Zero Theorem, in Glasgow later this month, it was announced today. The Glasgow Film Festival has announced several big name guests who will be present at this year's events, including Richard Dreyfuss and Jason Priestley for Cas & Dylan and Thomas Imbach for Mary, Queen Of Scots. Japanese director Sang-il Lee will introduce Unforgiven, his adaptation of the Clint Eastwood classic, and Jean-Paul Salomé will discuss Playing Dead.

Alongside this international line-up will be Scottish talent including Paul Brannigan, star of The Angels' Share, and David Mackenzie, who directed Perfect Sense and will be introducing his new film Starred Up. There will also be a chance to meet Ricky Jay, the celebrated stage magician whose work has appeared in everything from Boogie Nights to The Prestige.

You can read our full coverage of the festival <a...

The Hunt Even though it played the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, I didn't see Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt until this year and it is a contender for my year end top ten. In my review I said it's "an emotional drama" that's "every bit a thriller that will have you pounding your fists in rage, both at the situation as depicted on the screen as well as in some of Vinterberg's more frustrating storytelling decisions." It's not an all out perfect film, but it is undeniably great and worth the watch.

Fast & Furious 6 The Fast & Furious franchise continues and with it comes an extended version of Fast & Furious 6 as well as a preview of Fast & Furious 7, or at least what it was going to be depending on whether or not they move forward with the film in the same capacity as originally planned before the untimely death of Paul Walker.

Ken Loach will receive an honorary Golden Bear award at the 64th Berlin Film Festival.

The event will pay tribute to Loach's life and career in February by screening his 1993 classic Raining Stones.

Berlin Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick has called Loach "one of Europe's great directors".

Kosslick went on to say: "Over his almost 50-year career, he has shown an extraordinary degree of continuity, while remaining innovative at all times. His profound interest in people and their individual fates, as well as his critical commitment to society have found expression in a variety of cinematic approaches.

"We are honouring Ken Loach as a director and greatly admire him for how he reflects on social injustices with humour in his films."

The 64th Berlin Film Festival will be held from February 6 to February 16.

Loach has directed many critically-acclaimed films throughout his career, including Cathy Home, Riff-Raff, The Angels' Share and Route Irish.

Ken Loach will retire from making feature-length films after he completes his latest project Jimmy Hall.

According to Loach's long-time producer Rebecca O'Brien, the critically-acclaimed director is "unlikely" to continue making films for the big screen, but will still direct documentaries and TV programmes.

"This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken," O'Brien told Screen Daily.

"There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period drama with a lot of moving parts so it's a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we're on top."

She continued: "It's such a huge operation and Ken doesn't sit in a director's chair, telling people what to do; he runs around. It requires a lot of physical and mental stamina. Realistically, I'd be very surprised if we made another feature after this one.

Loach's long-time producer suggests Jimmy's Hall, currently on location in Ireland, may be the director's last full-length fiction film

Rebecca O'Brien, Ken Loach's producer, has suggested that Jimmy's Hall is likely to be the last feature film from the veteran director. Speaking to Screen Daily, O'Brien – who has collaborated with the 77-year-old Loach since 1990 – said: "This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken. There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of moving parts so it's a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we're on top."

Jimmy's Hall will be Loach's 29th film in a career which began on TV, then moved to the big screen for 1967's Poor Cow, before attracting international attention with 1969's Kes. A drama set in 1932, the film centres on communist leader James Gralton,...

Welcome return to commercial form for actor Gerard Butler, but overall audience figures are down thanks to the spring sunshine

The winner: sunshine

The weekend before a big blockbuster is often quiet at the box office, as distributors are reluctant to release a major film, only to see it get clobbered seven days later. Consequently, with the summer blockbuster season officially kicking off this Thursday with Iron Man 3, the market is relatively becalmed. Even so, cinema owners could have done without the spring sunshine that finally arrived across much of the country on Saturday and Sunday, reducing audience numbers especially for matinees and early evening showtimes.

Including Wednesday/Thursday previews totalling £652,000, Olympus Has Fallen opened at the chart summit with £2.25m. Ignoring the previews, top title remains Tom Cruise sci-fi Oblivion, with £1.66m. For Gerard Butler, Olympus represents a welcome return to commercial form after his last film Playing for Keeps...

The best stories of the week from Toh! Reviews: Can Cruise and Universal Make Kosinski's Sci-Fi "Oblivion" a Global Hit? Review and Roundup Budding and Seasoned Voyeurs Collaborate with Mixed Results in Francois Ozon's "In the House" Urban Poverty and Youthful Pluck Coexist in Ken Loach's "The Angels' Share" Media Roundup: Multiple Changes in Movie Coverage Features: Immersed in Movies: "Oblivion" Director Kosinski Talks Creating Original Sci-Fi Landscape Starring Cruise CinemaCon: CinemaCon: Warner Bros. Reveals Slate Led by Nolan/Snyder 'Man of Steel,' 'Pacific Rim,' 'Gatsby' Universal's Adam Fogelson Makes a Splash at CinemaCon Paramount Promos Big, Noisy Movies "Star Trek Into Darkness," "World War Z," "Pain & Gain" (Video) Fithian Looks Back at 2012, Universal New Model Studio Festivals: Cannes 2013 Lineup Unveiled: American Auteurs Include Coen Brothers, Gray, Soderbergh, Payne Tribeca Reviews: Moving "Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia" and Humorless Comedy "Adult...

Just four days after the death of Margaret Thatcher, the divisive British prime minister who transformed the United Kingdom during the 1980s, Ken Loach's new film "The Angels' Share" opened last Friday at the the IFC Center in Manhattan's West Village. The timing, although of course coincidental, was instructive: it was Thatcherite policies that created the very socioeconomic conditions that Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty--a long-time collaborator of the English-born director--set out to highlight in their film, which is being distributed here in the U.S. by Sundance Selects.  "The starting point," Loach said in a phone interview this morning from his London office, "was to do something about the million young people in Britain who have no work, no education, no future.  We wanted to tell a story about them.  But we didn't want to tell a story that was simply about the tragedy of that, which is too predictable.

Over the course of its first 60 minutes, Ken Loach's The Angels' Share proves a testament to its director's enduring reputation as a master of British cinema and the social realist form, articulating the frustrations of Glasgow's working class with clarity and sophistication. Robbie (non-actor Paul Brannigan) is a brash ne'er-do-well and recent father endeavoring, quite in earnest, to abandon a life of crime in favor of much-needed stability. His quest for redemption through community service and a newfound interest in the world of whiskey—a matter of smelling and tasting rather than simply imbibing, of course—forms the heart of this story, which is told with humor and empathy. Loach, always attuned to the nuances of social problems both personal and systemic, negoti...

Ken Loach's The Angels' Share gets underway as a hard-hitting squint at the unemployed of Glasgow before rather perversely turning into an uplifting crime caper with a Disneyesque finale. But maybe, just maybe, a little Walt is what the have-nots are crying out for right now.

Loach, who has been zeroing in on the working class for over 45 years (Poor Cow (1967); Riff-Raff (1991)), and his longtime screenwriter Paul Laverty (The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)) have concocted a group of societal misfits who've all wound up in court and sentenced to community service.

One, Albert (Gary Maitland), is a dull-witted hard drinker who's been arrested for plummeting onto some train tracks; another, kleptomaniac Mo (Jasmine Riggins), has filched a macaw; and a third, Rhino (William Ruane), has continuously affronted public statuary, sometimes with urine. But our main Cinderella/hero here is Robbie (Paul Brannigan).

With a scar down one cheek...

Before We Saw the Trailer, We Thought: Since taking the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with his Irish War drama (and biggest box office hit yet) "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," Scottish director Ken Loach has premiered four films in just six short years. While most have been relatively well-received, it had begun to feel that the runaway success of 2006 may have been unrepeatable for the 76-year-old legend. But buzz has only been building around his new film "The Angels' Share" after it landed a spot at last year's Cannes and was subsequently awarded the Jury Prize amid universal raves. A UK release followed just one month after the premiere, resulting in it becoming something of a crowd-pleaser for the realist director. In the last year, the film has been slowly rolled out in international markets but was surprisingly absent at many of the larger North American festivals.

After a triumphal 2011, British-made films fell back to Earth last year with a reduction in box office share and fewer films made

British-made films accounted for a smaller share of the UK's box office last year than in 2011. The figure fell from 36% to 32%, but this number is flattered by the success of Skyfall, an American studio production. Skyfall accounted for around 10% of the UK's record £1.1bn box office in 2012, but qualifies as British only because of non-financial factors.

The figure for independently made British films fell by a third, from 13.5% (the highest ever recorded) to 9%. Last year's best-performing independently funded UK film, The Woman in Black, was only the 16th most successful film of the year in Britain and Ireland. It took £21m. Next came The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (£20m), followed by The Iron Lady (£9m) and Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! (also £9m). In 2011, The King's Speech...

This week's snow and ice meant big drops for every title, despite a decent crop of new releases including Django Unchained

The winner: snow

The first properly sunny weekend of the year usually proves devastating to cinemagoing in the UK, but snow and frost can also have an impact, as has just been witnessed. Despite the arrival of a decent crop of new releases – notably the latest Quentin Tarantino flick and the 3D reissue of a Pixar hit – takings overall fell 36% from the previous weekend. All the films in the top 10 that were already on release fell by at least 40% from the previous frame, with Quartet's 60% drop in particular suggesting that the older audience was especially discouraged by icy pavements and dangerous driving conditions.

Despite a dip of 46%, Les Misérables nevertheless managed a second weekend of £4.41m, and an impressive 10-day cumulative total of £17.36m. Tom Hooper's film overtook...

Visions of the American apocalypse, camp tough guys, and teen stars ruining their clean-cut reputations … it's been quite a year on the big screen

Wrecked America

Sure, the Mayans were wrong, but turns out we're off to hell in a handcart anyway. From Beasts of the Southern Wild to Bombay Beach, Killing Them Softly to The Queen of Versailles, Hollywood took us on a guided tour of a land blighted by ecological and economic collapse. Be sure to stop in at the gift shop on your way out.

Dogs in peril

Last year was vintage for big-screen mutts, with pooches stealing the show on The Artist, and making the posters for Hugo and Young Adult. Call it karma, then, that 2012 has metaphorically drowned Uggie's puppies. Bonnie the shih tzu was snatched in Seven Psychopaths, Poppy the terrier abducted in Sightseers. But they get off lightly compared with Fanny the springer spaniel in The Hunt.

At the end of a bumper year for film-making, Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw unveils the contenders for his very own – imaginary – film awards

Most critics compile year-end roundups in a mood of shrugging acceptance that not every year can be great. But actually 2012 has been vintage, with some really brilliant films from the biggest names doing their best work – and some fascinating documentaries. So once again, I have created my imaginary awards nominations in the following categories: best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best documentary and best screenplay. You will have to imagine me, in full tuxedo-style evening wear announcing the Braddies at the Dorchester. (I have put Seth MacFarlane, Michael Haneke and Kylie Minogue on my table.)

So, the nominations are …

Best film

Amour (dir. Michael Haneke)

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

Holy Motors (dir. Leos Carax)

Killing Them Softly (dir.

The stars turned out in force last night for the 15th Moët British Independent Film Awards at Old Billingsgate in London.

Last night's glittering event was a who's who of British cinema and was hosted by actor James Nesbitt fresh off the set of The Hobbit.

Attending the star-studded event was Jude Law who received the Variety Award, and acting legend Michael Gambon who won the coveted Richard Harris Award.

Other guests included Terence Stamp, Billy Connolly, Tom Hiddleston, Terry Gilliam, Peter Capaldi, Olivia Coleman, Idris Elba, John Hurt, Tom Felton, Andrea Riseborough, Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, Felicity Jones, Holliday Grainger, Edith Bowman and Noomi Rapace.

Past nominees, patrons and supporters of Bifa celebrated the 15th birthday of the awards by posing for a group picture (see above) taken by official photographer Idil Sukan.

Berberian Sound Studio triumphed at the British Independent Film Awards, picking up four trophies for Best Director,...

Rome – Director Ken Loach, who had been scheduled to receive the Turin Film Festival’s Gran Premio Torino lifetime achievement honor, has been forced to cancel his plans to attend the event, organizers announced Wednesday. The reasons for Loach’s withdrawal were not revealed, but the festival said it would also cancel plans to screen The Angels' Share, Loach’s critically acclaimed drama about a group of men's plan to steal whiskey from a distillery. It won the Jury Prize in Cannes and most recently took home two Scottish BAFTA prizes. The replacement film will be announced shortly, officials said, and ticket

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The nominations for the 15th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards have been unveiled in London.

They were announced by patron Adrian Lester (above), the Birmingham-born actor whose credits include The Day After Tomorrow and TV series Being Human, Bonekickers, Merlin and Hustle.

In a statement, joint directors of the awards Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: "In this our 15th year, we are delighted to welcome back six-time former host James Nesbitt.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated Pre-Selection Committee who watched over 200 films in order to produce the 2012 nominations, which once again reflect the diverse range of British film talent, and also welcome this year's appointed independent jury who will now spend the next month considering the nominated films."

The highest number of nominations this year goes to Broken with 9 nominations including Best Film, Best Director and Best Debut Director for Rufus Norris,...

Rufus Norris's drama about an 11-year-old diabetic leads the pack in a year otherwise devoted to honouring older stars

Broken, the feature-film debut of award-winning theatre and opera director Rufus Norris, has emerged as the surprise frontrunner at this year's Bifas, the British independent film awards, with nine nominations. This year's judges have also doffed their caps to the elder generation of British acting talent, with Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith and Terence Stamp among the notable nominees.

A coming-of-age drama, adapted from Daniel Clay's 2008 novel, about a young girl living in a British suburb, which premiered to mixed reviews at the Cannes film festival in May but went on to win the Golden Eye award for best international film at the Zurich film festival, Broken stars Eloise Laurence as 11-year-old diabetic Skunk, along with Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy and Roy Kinnear. Critics have praised its acting...

The American Film Institute announced the line-ups for its AFI Fest's World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts programs Monday. Among the titles selected to screen are "The Angels' Share," "Greatest Hits," "Laurence Anyways," "Pieta" and "Zaytoun." AFI Fest 2012 will take place November 1-8 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, and will include 136 films from 28 countries. Read More: Bernardo Bertolucci Will Be AFI Fest's Guest Artistic Director Below is the full line-up: World Cinema Selections A Royal Affair: Dir Nikolaj Arcel. Scr Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel. Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany. Amour: Dir/Scr Michael Haneke. Austria/France/Germany. The Angels’ Share: Dir Ken Loach. Scr Paul Laverty. UK/France/Belgium/Italy. U.S....

Once infamous for its deprivation and crime, Castlemilk in Glasgow has its rough edges. It also has a new reputation, for producing actors and film stars honed in schools where drama is now seen as 'hardcore'

Ask an outsider what they think of Castlemilk and they'll probably say alcoholism, poverty and poor housing. The estate, on Glasgow's southern edge, has been ranked among Scotland's most deprived places.

But in recent years the area has gained a reputation for something altogether more glamorous: film stars.

Directors Ken Loach and Peter Mullan have cast residents in critically-acclaimed films including Sweet Sixteen, The Angels' Share and Neds, and local talent regularly appears in television productions such as Rab C. Nesbitt, Taggart and soap opera River City.

Castlemilk stars like Stephen McCole, William Ruane and binman-turned-actor Gary Maitland have appeared in major productions and caught the attention of industry figures in Hollywood and Cannes.

I, Anna director Barnaby Southcombe and celebrated arthouse maverick Jack Bond will be among the guests at the sixth annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, which opens today. With screenings in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the festival sets out to showcase great films that can change attitudes about mental health issues, and it's theme this year is 'walk in my shoes'.

The festival will provide an early opportunity for Scots to see I, Anna, starring Gabriel Byrne and Charlotte Rampling, which will also be shown at the upcoming London Film Festival. Other highlights include outré science fiction film Anti-Clock and Hugh Hudson's remarkable, very personal documentary Rupture: Living With My Broken Brain, a portrait of his former Bond girl wife Maryam D'Abo. There will be another chance to see homegrown favourite The Angels' Share and an opportunity to preview the Northern Lights Film Project's unique documentary work,...

The Raid; The Cabin in the Woods; The Angels' Share; All in Good Time; Free Men; The Dictator

Film fans enduring the typically murky stereoscopy of Dredd 3D in UK cinemas may also experience a sense of deja vu about its plot, which traps beleaguered law enforcement agents in a tower block run by vicious drug-dealing criminals, from which they must attempt to escape with their lives. A strikingly similar scenario underpins Gareth Huw Evans's altogether superior martial-arts thriller The Raid (2011, Momentum, 18), though any comparison between the two ends there. For while Dredd galumphs its heavy booted, bombastic way around the screen, The Raid is altogether lighter on its feet, reminding us of the close comparison between martial arts movies and highly choreographed musicals, both of which have the unmistakeable physicality of acrobatic human interaction at their heart.

Incongruously directed in Indonesia by Welshman Evans, The Raid plays its...

The most fiercely competitive season on the cinematic calendar is now over. Here are the films that triumphed – and those that tanked

The arrival in cinemas today of the period drama Anna Karenina marks the end of the summer blockbuster season – that annual orgy of expensive, CGI-heavy motion pictures. The Hollywood studios long ago started preparing their basket of treats for next summer, but that won't stop them trying to make sense of what just happened: what worked, what didn't, and what lessons can be learned.

Winner: Superheroes

Audience affection for comic-book crime fighters is nothing new, but the genre's dominance in summer 2012 reached new heights, providing three of the top-five UK box-office hits. That's a big step up from summer 2011, when X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor all failed to crack the summer top 10. Warner Bros will be pleased that, in the UK at least,...

Sold-out shows announce the arrival of Bart Layton's docu-drama, while Keith Lemon bears fruit despite a juicing from the critics

The winner

Arthouse cinema bookers have lamented that this summer lacked a big specialist release to rank alongside past summer hits Coco Before Chanel or La Vie en Rose. May offered The Raid and Moonrise Kingdom, and June delivered The Angels' Share and Killer Joe, but July and August failed to contribute a big winner, leaving the space occupied by commercial auteur titles such as Magic Mike and The Dark Knight Rises.

Now, however, arrives The Imposter, a plucky underdog contender delivering £345,000 over the four-day holiday weekend, including previews of £29,000, from just 49 sites. Joint distributors Revolver and Picturehouse report sold-out shows in the Clapham and Hackney Picturehouses and Ritzy Brixton, in London, and in other cities such as Brighton, Norwich, Exeter and Bath. Bart Layton's true-crime investigation has...

From counting f-words to examining hours of graphic gore, the British Board of Film Classification reveals the secrets of a century of rating, cutting and occasionally banning movies

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) denies extensive use of protractors. Rumours, fanned by newspaper articles, had long led me to imagine small, dedicated groups of BBFC examiners, in their Soho Square headquarters, pausing sex scenes at the judicious moment, reaching for a mathematical instrument, and assiduously checking "the angle of the dangle". Is the man on screen aroused? Are the examiners looking at a Sid Soft, Maurice Middling, or Harry Hard-on? Does the scene conform to the much-discussed Mull of Kintyre rule – that no male member can be allowed on screen at an elevation more pronounced than the southernmost tip of the Scottish peninsula?

Over lunch with three BBFC staff, I broach the protractor question. David Cooke, director of the board,...

Omitting letters can confuse. How is the poor reader expected to differentiate between b******* and b*******?

"The practice of hinting by single letters those expletives with which profane and violent people are wont to garnish their discourse, strikes me as a proceeding which, however well meant, is weak and futile. I cannot tell what good it does – what feeling it spares – what horror it conceals."

Charlotte Brontë would have approved of Guardian policy, which is to print swearwords in full, with no asterisks, although in the words of the editor-in-chief "only when absolutely necessary to the facts of a piece, or to portray a character in an article; there is almost never a case in which we need to use a swearword outside direct quotes".

I've blogged before about our use of swearwords, which has increased since I last analysed the figures a couple of years ago: 808 "fucks" in the...

Animated movie Continental Drift powers its way into England and Wales, while Magic Mike is a surprising mover and shaker

The winners

The dismal days of June's weak box office are now a fast-fading memory, as the market posts a second consecutive muscular frame, powered by the official arrival of Ice Age 4: Continental Drift in England and Wales. Thanks to four days of previews, the weekend's tally is an impressive £10.09m, although only £4.8m of that figure was earned over the Friday-to-Sunday period. The cumulative total is a nifty £13.05m. Comparisons with previous Ice Age movies – or with any film, for that matter – are almost impossible, such is the odd-shaped nature of the release, which saw it debut in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland two weeks ahead of a preview-heavy England and Wales. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs opened in July 2009 with £5.85m plus £1.79m in previews.

The superhero's latest sticky situation ensnares viewers, despite the tennis, and India-produced movies make their mark

The winner

Following four consecutive weeks when Euro 2012 football saw a succession of commercially modest titles land into an ever-diminishing market, salvation for cinemas has arrived at last in the guise of a familiar costumed superhero. The Amazing Spider-Man debuted with a hefty £11.09m, including £4.33m in previews earned from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That's the second-highest opening of the year, after The Avengers on £15.78m, including £2.55m in previews. For a like-for-like comparison, looking just at the Friday-to-Sunday periods of the films' opening weekends, the new Spider-Man picture grossed 51% of Avengers' total.

If it continues in the same vein, it will get to around £26.5m in the UK, but Sony will be banking on a slower burnout. Five years ago, Sony's last Spider-Man movie, the third in the Sam Raimi trilogy, opened with...

The top three won't budge, thanks to distributors wary of Euro 2012, while Rock of Ages crumbles and Red Lights flickers out

The immovable objects

For the third successive week, the top three places at the UK box-office are occupied by Prometheus, Men in Black 3 and Snow White and the Huntsman. The current market is the most becalmed since January 2010, when Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel dominated over a lengthy period. It's a case of strong product arriving for the half-term holiday, followed by two successive weekends of weaker films, with studios deterred by competition for eyeballs from Euro 2012 football. Prometheus leads the pack with a solid £19.45m, ahead of the likes of X-Men 3: The Last Stand (£19.22m) and Angels and Demons (£18.79m) in the all-time UK rankings. Top earner for the year remains The Avengers, in 17th place in the all-time chart, with £50.96m.

We'll find it hard to defend the Falklands now we don't have an aircraft carrier, and we just can't resist showing ourselves in a bad light

✒As the Falkland islanders prepare to vote in their referendum, I met at a party a very, very senior military officer – someone you've certainly seen on television. I asked if it was true the Argentinians had no intention of trying to retake the islands by force, and he said he hoped not. But they could certainly cause havoc. All they needed to do, he said, was to land special forces on the islands and blow up the airfield. "Now that we have no aircraft carriers, there is absolutely no way we could send troops and materiel. We would be absolutely powerless." I have no doubt this thought has occurred to the Argies too.

✒There's been much sympathy for David and Samantha Cameron after it...

Ridley Scott's alien yarn heads a trio of strong holdovers that includes Men in Black 3 and Snow White and the Huntsman

The winners

With no major blockbusters entering the market, three holdover titles dominated, with Prometheus once again top of the pile. Second weekend takings of £3.14m represent a 50% drop from the opening frame, but the more flattering story is the £9.24m it's grossed over the past seven days, to deliver a 10-day total of £15.47m. For context, that's just behind the lifetime total of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood (£15.65m), and ahead of Michael Fassbender's previous best lead role X-Men: First Class, which maxed out at £15.03m.

Dropping a mild 16%, Men in Black 3 is holding well on its third week of play. Again, its £2.53m weekend gross is less remarkable than the £7.12m it's added over the past seven days, taking advantage of the half-term holiday and indifferent weather.

He's starred in three hit films, two of them Cannes award winners, but Gary Maitland has no plans to give up his day job - as a bin man working for South Lanarkshire Council. Despite admitting that he'd be tempted if the right part came along, the 28 year old has said that he loves his job and spending time with his work colleagues.

Maitland was just teenager when he got his big break in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen. He's been heavily praised by writer Paul Laverty for his comedy acting, but remains modest, and whilst he regrets having lost workmates on account of recent cuts, he says he's content with his £16,000 a year salary. Fame has brought some refined tastes, though - although he still likes his Buckfast, making The Angels' Share gave him a love of whisky, his choice for "getting smashed" when it won the Jury...

Sci-fi prequel enjoys biggest debut for any Ridley Scott film, while Snow White has a fairytale opening and Men in Black 3 gets back on its feet

The winner

With £6.24m for Prometheus over the three-day weekend, Twentieth Century Fox has achieved the second-biggest opening of 2012, behind just Disney's Marvel Avengers Assemble. Add in takings from the bank holidays on Monday and Tuesday, and the Prometheus tally rises to £9.92m. That figure is already more than the total gross of any of the Alien movies, and the biggest debut for any Ridley Scott film. Gladiator kicked off its run in May 2000 with £3.56m, on its way to an impressive £31.2m total. Robin Hood started bigger (£5.75m including £1.39m in previews) but sputtered out quicker (a £15.6m total). Hannibal also started strong (£6.40m), ending up with a decent £21.58m.

Prometheus' best result was at the BFI Imax, with more than £200,000 over the five days.

France's foremost newspaper, Le Monde, published an interesting article entitled Les internautes soulignent un conflit d'interets pour Nanni Moretti, or The Web Surfers Underline a Conflict of Interests for Nanni Moretti about the possible confict of interest between the President of the Jury of the Cannes Film Festival, Nanni Moretti, and the prizewinners. When someone gave me a "tip" ahead of the awards, saying that Moretti's companies, Sacher Films and Sacher Distribuzione, were named after his favorite food, the Austrian Sacher Torte, I took it as a joke. But truth be told, Austrian Michael Haneke's winning film, Amour, was truly great, a deeply moving and inevitably sad story told with more light than I've ever seen in a Haneke film (and I have seen most of them). The redemptive power of love is surrounded with a golden halo giving greater space and more breathing room for inner contemplation than any scene in last year's Palme d'Or winner, The Tree of Life whose message (I think) was the same.

With a jury of four women out of eight members, it's a shame that among the 22 films in Competition, there was not a film by a woman to be seen. If this is a concern to you, as it is to the majority of women in the film business that I've spoken with and to many men as well, you can sign a petition to register your concerns here. You can also read and see the opening comments of the jury here.

I have translated the Le Monde article by Aureliano Tonet here:

The Web Surfers Underline a Conflict of Interests for Nanni Moretti

Every year, as soon as the Cannes awards are announced, scrutinizers of the Festival of Cannes experience heartfelt joy on social networks as they tear apart or vilify the oracle rendered by the jury. This year, the Palm d’Or winner, Michael Haneke for Love, hardly suffered from dispute. Over the internet, criticisms concentrated on the remainder of the prizes allotted on Sunday May 27. Four of six films awarded by the jury chaired by Nanni Moretti are indeed coproductions and/or distributed by the same company, Le Pacte. This includes Reality (Isa: Fandango Portobello) of Matteo Garrone (Grand Prix), The Angels' Share (Isa: Wild Bunch) of Ken Loach (Jury Prize), Post Tenebras Lux (Isa: Mantarraya) of Carlos Reygadas (Best Director), and Beyond the Hills (Isa: Wild Bunch) of Cristian Mungiu (Best Actress Prize and Best Screenplay). In addition, Le Pacte has coproduced the last film of Nanni Moretti, Habemus papam (Isa: Fandango Portobello), that it also distributed in the French cinemas. This company is run by the Jean Labadie, ex-owner of Bac Films. Prior to the founding of Le Pacte in 2008, Bac Films was the historical distributor of films of Nanni Moretti in France. In addition, Le Pacte presented a fifth feature film on the 22nd May which also counted in the official competition, The Taste of the Money (Isa: Daisy and Cynergy Entertainment in So. Korea) of Sang-Soo Im, snubbed by the jury. Contrary to Holy Motors (Isa: Wild Bunch) of Leos Carax, or Rust and Bone (Isa: Flanders Image) of Jacques Audiard, which came out empty-handed, The Angels’ Share and especially Post Tenebras Lux received a very mixed reception on the part of the international press.

It is not the first time that a suspicion of a conflict of interest sullies the decision with a Cannes jury. In 2004, Quentin Tarantino had offered the Palm d’Or to Fahrenheit 9/11 of Michael Moore and both worked with the same producers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Five years later, in 2009, Isabelle Huppert had presided over the jury which awarded The White Ribbon of Michael Haneke, who had directed her on several occasions.

In addition to Nanni Moretti, the jury of the Festival of Cannes this year included Hiam Abbas ♀, Andrea Arnold ♀, Emmanuelle Devos ♀, Jean Paul Gaultier, Diane Kruger ♀, Ewan McGregor, Alexander Payne and Raoul Peck.

Aureliano Tonet...

★★★★☆ Standing proudly as the only British film considered for the coveted Palme d'Or at this year's 65th Cannes Film Festival, Ken Loach's welcome return to screens, The Angels' Share (2012), sees the veteran director in a playful mood. Alongside regular screenwriter Paul Laverty, Loach has constructed an enjoyable Scottish dramedy that skilfully brings together the nation's most renowned tropes - namely whisky, kilts, Iron Bru and working class strife.

Read more »...

Ken Loach expertly combines comedy with politics – and a drop of the hard stuff – in a warm, deftly-plotted heist movie

Though not generally considered a comedy director, Ken Loach has made films that have contained some of the funniest moments and sequences of the past 50 years, and he has regularly employed club comedians in serious roles (Crissy Rock in Ladybird Ladybird, John Bishop in Route Irish) and developed the talents of people such as Ricky Tomlinson not previously considered comics. It's just that Loach is a master of sudden, disturbing shifts of mood, and the comedy is embedded in works that are often deeply sad or tragic. The football game, for instance, that Brian Glover referees in Kes is at once hilariously funny and a brilliant study of bullying, bad education and humiliation that illuminates the film's larger context.

The background of The Angels' Share, his latest collaboration with the...

The Angels' Share (15)

(Ken Loach, 2012, UK/Fra) Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, Gary Maitland, Jasmin Riggins, Roger Allam, William Ruane. 101 mins

If anyone can cut it at Cannes, Ken can, and this recent surprise Jury Prize-winner sees Loach doing what he does so well: dignifying ordinary lives and chronicling social history as it happens. The tone is a little lighter this time, though, as we follow a violent young offender's potentially fruitful encounter with the whisky industry, thus bringing together the best and worst of Scotland.

Prometheus (15)

(Ridley Scott, 2012, Us) Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron. 124 mins

With all the zealous promotion and yet tight secrecy, this long-awaited Alien prequel couldn't live up to fans' expectations, could it? There's no way of telling at the time of writing, so let's just say it'll be a brilliant triumph, and a complete disaster.

The Turin Horse (15)

(Béla Tarr, 2011, Hun/Fra/Ger/Swi/Us) János Derszi,...

A secret? Eric Cantona is a giggler

Ken Loach, 75, was born in Warwickshire. After grammar school, he went to Oxford University where he read law. He started his career in the theatre and went on to become a BBC television director in 1963. He worked on Z Cars and then the Wednesday Play, where he directed the classic Cathy Come Home. In 1969, Loach made the award-winning film Kes. His other movies include Land And Freedom, Sweet Sixteen, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Looking For Eric. The Angels' Share, his new film, is out now.

What is your greatest fear?

I would have said relegation for Bath City, the football club I support, but we've just been relegated.

What is your earliest memory?

Getting my fingers trapped in a deckchair when I was three or four.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Tony Benn, for moving to...

The Angels' Share star Paul Brannigan has said that he used his own chat up lines on Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin. The Scottish actor appears in a supporting role in Jonathan Glazer's upcoming science fiction film, playing a man who encounters Johansson's humanoid alien Laura. "At first I was really nervous to meet her but she's nice and laid back, she made me feel relaxed and confident," Brannigan told Digital Spy. "She gave me some nice comments about my timing which boosted my confidence." He added: "She uses her looks to try and seduce you. I try and seduce her to start with." (more)...

This week in our film review show, Xan Brooks and Peter Bradshaw probe the outer reaches of Ridley Scott's Prometheus, take a dram of Ken Loach's The Angels' Share, sink into the stillness of Béla Tarr's The Turin Horse and bring their street smarts to bear on a shoddy adaptation of Top Cat

Xan BrooksPeter BradshawElliot SmithPhil MaynardHenry BarnesPaul MacInnes...

Acting talent and a tough life in Glasgow helped Paul Brannigan land the role of an ex-con in Ken Loach's Cannes jury prizewinner

Tuesday 22 May was a good night for Paul Brannigan. To the soundtrack of popping flashbulbs and eager screams, he walked the red carpet at Cannes for the premiere of his first film, The Angels' Share, in which he stars as an ex-con who stages a whisky heist. Warm reviews were already flooding in; and director Ken Loach went on to become the surprise winner of the jury prize at this year's festival. Alongside his fellow actors, Brannigan flashed his thighs in a full monty of kilt, sporran, long socks and – reportedly – no pants.

But it was never going to hold a candle to the UK premiere at the Cineworld in his native Glasgow a week later. On his arm, girlfriend Sheree, 10 members of his family trailing behind and on his back,...