The four films are also a pretty interesting mix, ranging from drama to documentary. Broken deals with the themes of youth and the loss of innocence, when an eleven-year-old girl witnesses a brutal assault. Sightseers features the British staplemark – black comedy – and a family whose holiday goes somewhat awry. Trashed is a documentary about what happens to our rubbish – and I don’t mean Big Brother - in an effort to draw attention to the way we’re dealing with our waste. Finally, The Curse is a short about someone with a secret that they’re trying to keep from some nosey local children.

It sounds like a good spread, and it’s always nice to see our lot represented in force at an event like Cannes. Previous Cannes Brit-flicks have been of reasonable variety as well. Another Year, Robin Hood and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger  are films that have been shot upon our soil. Cor, it’s certainly easier being patriotic about films than the Olympics, let me tell you that.

How they’ll fare is anyone’s guess, but here’s hoping that the audiences, critics and especially the jurors are keen on what Britain has to offer at this year’s competition. Cannes stretches from yesterday all the way to the 27th of this month, so we’ve got a lot of film to talk about between then and now. Cool, Britannia.

Oh yeah, did we mention that The Avengers 2 has been confirmed? Surprise!

I’d be the first to admit that I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, so as far as I’m concerned he could create Piranha 3DDD and I’d watch it, just because his name was attached. That said I, like everyone else, would prefer he took charge of The Avengers again.

The Los Angeles Times managed to squeeze some time from him two weeks ago at the premiere of the Marvel blockbuster. However they only just released this little titbit about possibly returning.

“You know, I’m very torn. It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it.”

It’s an understandable point. From Buffy to Firefly to Dollhouse, Whedon has paved a career helming his own creations, so he’s forgiven for being sceptical. Then again he did add:

“But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.”

Ideas, eh? Do tell?… Sadly he doesn’t elaborate. Although he did mention his plan to add more women into the fray to Entertainment Weekly.

“Studios will tell you: ‘A woman cannot headline an action movie.’ After The Hunger Games they might stop telling you that a little bit. Whatever you think of the movie, it’s done a great service. And after The Avengers, I think it’s changing.”

First he gives us more female action TV, and now the movies. Joss we salute you. And on that note, a small plea to end:

Please, please, please direct The Avengers 2! Pretty please with a cherry and sprinkles on top!

The Avengers is in cinemas right now.

Burton has made a camp and over-dramatised – yet visually stunning – homage to the cult 1960s supernatural TV drama of the same name. The jokey, jazzed-up Gothic-comedy incorporates some incredible visual effects with dazzling Broadway-like costumes. However, it does seem like it’s all show and no tell, which might explain the over-the-top use of indulgent sets and costumes to compensate for the shallow characters and predictable story line.

Johnny Depp, naturally, plays Barnabas Collins, a wealthy 18th-century  businessman who mistakenly breaks the heart of the wrong girl. Upsetting a woman is dangerous enough, but when she’s a jealous and love-sick witch you know you’re in trouble. Clingy and possessive, Angelique (Eva Green) falls in love with Barnabas who doesn’t love her back, so in a jealous rage she curses his girlfriend to jump off a cliff and turns Barnabas into a vampire so she can torture him forever. And to top it all off, she buries him alive – well undead technically – in a coffin. Two hundred years later it’s 1972 and Barnabas’ coffin is discovered and opened. After feasting on workmen and gazing upon a McDonalds sign believing it’s some kind of glorious angel, he discovers that his beautiful manor house is now being inhabited by his dysfunctional relatives.

After emerging from the grave, he potters about like a Gothic Austin powers, not understanding the point of Cadillacs and ceramic pineapples – which is probably what most of us think now. In all, he’s not that different to Powers – both have strange taste in clothes, bad teeth and have terrible pick-up lines, but there’s only a certain amount of times before  ’fine birthing hips’ isn’t funny any more.

It couldn’t be more obvious we were in the Seventies since Burton relies heavily on juke-box classics for period atmosphere. But if you weren’t sure, Burton slings in a rock and roll performance by Alice Cooper. And with his white face, scraggy hair and black eye liner, he fits in perfectly with the Collins family.

The music obsessed, typical grumpy teen Carolyn is played by Chloë Grace Moretz. Compared to her lively and ass-kicking character in Kick-Ass, Morez puts on a sullen face to play this lazy, strop-bag. Her brother David (Gulliver McGrath), who can see his dead mother’s ghost, is considered ‘loopy’ and has a live-in psychiatrist, as played by Helena Bonham Carter who thinks wearing a tight ginger wig makes her character funny. Their mother Elizabeth, a fading belle, is played by the ever glamorous Michelle Pfeiffer. Rosy-cheeked Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) soon arrives at the house as the new nanny, and has an uncanny resemblance to Barnabus’ cliff-jumping girlfriend – something which is never explained.

The witty script – penned by Seth Grahame-Smith – is cleverly constructed to suit all ages. While adults laugh when Roger spills the beans on his sister who he’s spotted “touching herself and making kitten noises”, the youngsters can probably relate to the mindless sibling banter.

Dark Shadows is Burton and Depp’s eighth collaboration and out of them all it is certainly the most visually appealing. You could see the set, costumes and premise all working for a stage production, which might explain why it didn’t quite work on screen. Despite being all-show and no tell, it was entertaining, witty and enjoyable, but nothing in comparison to Edward Scissorhands  or Sweeney Todd. Burton’s next film is Frakenweenie, a stop-motion black-and-white feature about Frankenstein’s dog. Depp is not in it.

If Iron Man and Iron Man 2 are anything to go by, Tony Stark can pretty much take on anyone he wants, even if it is just by using his quick wit and arrogant sense of humour. Even in his latest outing in box office smash Marvel Avengers Assemble, Iron Man certainly proved his worth. However, seeing as there is going to be an Iron Man 3, more villains are inevitably lining up to try to smash their way into his metal heart.

James Badge Dale has already signed on the dotted line to attempt to take down Iron Man as baddie Eric Savin. Dale recently appeared in Shame and The Grey and he is well-known for his appearance on Lord of the Flies. It is still unclear as to exactly what function his character in Iron Man 3 will have, although if the name follows the comic books (spoiler alert) he will play a powerful cyborg created from the remains of a badly injured army colonel. However, it seems more likely that the name Eric Savin is simply being used here and that he will have something to do with the Extremis virus, which causes problems for the technologically-powered Iron Man.

The confirmed cast members so far are Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Sir Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle.

The Old Curiosity Shop follows the now infamous story of Nell Trent (Elaine Benson) and her unnamed grandfather (Ben Webster), who both reside in The Old Curiosity shop itself, until they are forced to leave by wicked, hunchbacked, money-lender, Daniel Quilp (Hay Petrie). The pair then take to the streets of the British Midlands, trying to find work where they can along the way.

The story was adapted with much attention to detail by director Thomas Bentley – so much, in fact, that one wonders quite how any of the  silent film interpretations that preceded it managed anything more than a brief outline of the story. Petrie steals the show as the villainous Quilp, with his attempts at kissing the ‘not quite fourteen’ year-old Nell and terrorising his wife Betsy enough to make even modern audiences wince. While the script’s sentimental side might have aged this production somewhat, it remains a captivating insight into the time in which Dickens lived and wrote.

Nicholas Nickleby, in the form of one adaptation or another, has become something of a Christmas TV staple over recent years – although one which often sits in the shadow of another Dickensian classic: Great Expectations. Nevertheless, Alberto Cavalcanti‘s version holds a certain prestige as an Ealing Studios production, as well as being the title’s first adaptation in sound.

The film follows the journey of Nicholas Nickleby, played by Derek Bond, as he ventures to London with his mother (Mary Merrall) and sister Kate (Sally Ann Howes – who went on to play Chitty Chitty Bang Bang‘s Truly Scrumptious, among other roles). The trio hope to gain financial help from their rich but cold-hearted Uncle Ralph, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Nicholas is given job at a school, but is shocked to find that the children are mistreated, so leaves taking an ailing student named Smike (Aubrey Woods) with him. The pair join a theatre company, but leave when they hear that Kate has been suffering at the hands of the lecherous Sir Mulberry Hawk (Cecil Ramage). They make it their mission to save her,  and go on to meet a number of Dickens’ most memorable characters along their way.

The novel was originally published in monthly instalments and, at times, this film suffers a little in its dedication being thorough. The acting is hugely theatrical throughout, but even so, Cavalcanti’s Nicholas Nickleby is triumphant in capturing the Dickensian sense of social satire, and the Victorian visuals are a treat.

Whether you love Dickens or refuse to even watch A Christmas Carol unless you’ve been heavily plied with mince pies, then re-released versions of both The Old Curiosity Shop and Nicholas Nickleby are still worth a look as revered examples of pioneering cinema and classic storytelling. The DVD versions also come packed with extra features, including interviews with BFI Dickens Season Curators Adrian Wootton and Michael Eaton, as well as Dickens’ biographer Michael Slater – take a look at the short clips below!

The Old Curiostity Shop and Nicholas Nickleby are both out on DVD now.

The film is quite clearly still within the development stages, but that hasn’t stopped Paramount from starting the marketing campaign early. The new trailer, which has been filmed before a script has even been completed, is to air ahead of Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator in cinemas. And according to director Adam McKay, the experience of making the trailer has inspired the script.

“Paramount came to us with the idea of the teaser, and since we’re writing the script it was a good chance to see the characters and hang out with the actors to inspire writing.”

It was a reunion of sorts for the actors and writers, who apparently slipped right back into the roles, like they’d never left them. “Paul Rudd has a beard and we’re thinking of keeping it. Kind of an Eddie Rabbit meets Serpico look,” McKay added.

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell: in case you’re not in the know) has put his two cents in by taking to his Twitter account. The tweet says:

“Dont get Twirter. Anchorman2 teaser w Dictator tom night. Dont know what a teaser is. World is crazy? Having a scotch.”

Eloquently put, Mr Burgundy. He was also the one to break the news on Conan O’Brien a couple of months ago.

The Dictator opened in the UK today, so if reports are true, you should see the teaser during the previews. Until you go though, feast your eyes on the brand new poster, that is just as teasing as the trailer surely will be. Complete with the tag-line: “The Legend Continues”.

Anchorman 2 will be released sometime in 2013.

Find the original Anchorman – The Legend Of Ron Burgundy on Amazon now!

Check out the poster below:

Director Nikolaj Arcel brings us the powerful story of the illicit love affair between the English-born Queen of Denmark, Caroline Mathilda and the physician of her husband, King Christian VII, Johan Struensee. There have been several screen adaptations of the emotional drama, however this is the first time that it has reached the silver screen.

The film stars Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who James Bond fans will recognise as the baddie, Le Chiffre, in Casino Royale, and Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (The Crown Jewels, Pure). It also features Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, who won Best Male Actor at the Berlinale (Berlin’s International Film Festival)  for his performance.

Director Nikolaj Arcel has a good track record of award-winning features behind him, including the 2007 adventure The Island of Lost Souls and the 2004 thriller King’s Game. Mr Arcel has even been nominated for the Nordic Film Council Prize for his 2010 drama-comedy Truth about Men, which is the most prestigious film prize in Scandinavia. If you need another reason to look forward to A Royal Affair, Mr Arcel also wrote the screenplay for the 2009 Swedish adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.Pretty much all you need to know, right?

The film comes out on 15th June and you can check out the poster and trailer below:

When doing biopics involving figureheads of the digital age, it seems logical to swing your idea past Aaron Sorkin. He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay – because, let’s face it, The Social Network was not only an incredible story, but a very well-written and engaging film. He’s also that award-winning writer behind The West Wing. Yeah, really.

He was first approached in November, while he was working on Newsroom, a drama for America’s HBO network. After some hesitation, he’s finally agreed to work on the project, and I’d imagine Sony are somewhat pleased, given that they’ve spent an exorbitant $1M on the rights to adapt the story as it is told in the Walter Isaacson-written biography of Steve Jobs, seen on bookshop shelves everywhere for quite some time.

Jobs is definitely a figure who would make great Hollywood material, although he may indeed be pitched as another Zuckerberg – an odd, quirky man with a zealotic passion for following his dreams and carrying his ideas through to completion. However, the difference here is that Steve Jobs unfortunately passed away last October, and many will see this as a sensitive subject. All I can hope for is something realistic, rather than a rose-tinted, grief-driven look back at his career – although it’ll be interesting to see how it performs next to the Ashton Kutcher-led indie flick, Jobs.

One lingering question is how they will treat Jobs’ experiences on LSD, something he would later refer to as “one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life”. We’ll keep you posted.

As the crowds outside London’s Royal Festival Hall no doubt expected, Cohen was fully in character as Admiral General Aladeen, as he arrived for the word première of his upcoming film, The Dictator. Aladeen was rolled onto the red carpet in an orange Lamborghini being towed by a truck – claiming that he had he refused to pay the clamp charges after shopping at “the British Home Stores”.

Cohen takes on the role of the oppressive ruler of fictional Republic of Wadiya, and will see the comedian star alongside Ben Kingsley, Megan Fox and Anna Faris, who has recently announced that she is expecting her first child. Brandishing a golden gun at photographers, Cohen he was also flanked by a number of shapely female ‘ Virgin Guards’ for the event – reminiscent of those who were often photographed with the late Libyan prime minister, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Keen to keep up the political satire, Aladeen told the crowds that he would like to grant political asylum to Rupert Murdoch, and made reference to the UK’s recent phone-hacking by saying that phone-hacking also took place in Wadiya, but that,”Everyone who has a phone, we hack off their hands.” He also posed with Harrods owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, before claiming to be Prince Harry’s real father.

However, Cohen’s outlandish antics might be seen as rather tame in comparison to February’s Oscars, where when Aladeen tipped the ‘ashes’ of Kim Jong-il over a reporter’s head…

The Dictator is released in the UK on 16th May, 2012. Check out the sponsored post below:

The story, written by Berkeley Anderson and directed by Matt Codd, finds Marco Polo and his group of Italian explorers in China, after establishing trade relations with the country. The emperor is happy to give his guests a good send-off, however someone else has other plans. Shang Sei, played by Peter Kwong (Big Trouble In Little China), does not trust the ‘Westerners’, so uses an ancient stone to call up two terrifying dragons from the netherworld to wreak havoc upon their journey home.

The positives of this film are its budget and the fact that it pretty much cuts straight to the action. There is no waiting around for tedious scene-setting and unnecessary dialogue, which is a good thing as the acting and story-telling is quite disappointing. We do however, get to see two dragons in all their flying, fire-breathing glory and the special effects in this area are good enough to keep you entertained, at least for a time. The dragons look impressive enough and when they breathe fire, you can almost feel it exploding out of your television screen, which is a compliment to the special-effects creators.

While the special effects are not up to the same standard as high-profile, big screen productions, a good effort has been made to make fights, deaths and dragons look authentic. Dragon Dynasty‘s big budget, of an estimated $1,000,000, saves it from being just another cheesy production, although there is still a smattering of corny lines.

The cast includes James Hong (Blade Runner, Balls of Fury), Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos, A Guide To Recognising Your Saints) and Stana Katic, who has gone on to better things and is now known as detective Kate Beckett on TV series Castle. Unfortunately, despite this illustrious cast, the acting in this film is not up to scratch, especially in the banter between Marco (Castellucio) and his explorer team. You can almost see the scripted words coming out of their mouths and the procession of events doesn’t evoke much emotion in the audience.

Overall, the best thing about Dragon Dynasty is the special effects, the dragons in particular. It is let down by poor writing and many scenes that leave you wondering why on earth people think that fighting a dragon by standing on the ground with a sword and shield is ever going to work. However, if you are looking for some light,  dragon attack-themed, entertainment, then this film is worth a watch.

Dragon Dynasty is out on DVD today.