Calling all Woody Harrelson fans, not to mention poker players. You could win a copy of the hilarious caper comedy Loser starring Woody, David Cross (Arrested Development), Dennis Farina (Get Shorty), and most bizarrely of all, legendary director Werner Herzog.

Woody is One-Eyed Jack Faro, a not-quite reformed gambler, party animal and serial husband who has to save is grandfather’s Las Vegas hotel-casino by winning the $10 Million pot in the Grand Championship of Poker. Predictably things don’t go according to plan, especially as his opponents include online poker geeks, Texas Hold’em gurus, greedy developers, ruthless housewives, old-school pros.

The film also features some poker greats including the legendary Doyle Brunson, Phil Gordon, Mike Epps, Michael McKean and Judy Greer for all you poker players out there. Loser is directed by Zak Penn, writer of The Incredible Hulk (2008) and X – Men: The Last Stand. 

To win your copy just answer this quick question:

Loser is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray from 30 April, 2012.

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Based on the book series by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is set in a post apocalyptic North America (known as Panem), that consists of twelve districts ruled over by a totalitarian government in the Capitol. Each year, in punishment for an attempted rebellion, kids between the ages of 12 and 18 are randomly selected from their district to participate in a televised reality show, in which they hunt one another, until only the victor remains. When Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) little sister is chosen, she volunteers in her place.

Hyped and compared time and again (and stupidly so) to the Twilight Saga, anyone put off by these comparisons should think again. The only valid similarity between the two franchises is the size of their fanbase. The central theme of Twilight is romance – will Bella choose the brooding vampire or the short-fused werewolf? The Hunger Games by comparison, is a political science fiction drama, with romance thrown in as an additional spanner in the works, not as a central plot point.

As a fan of the books, there was always going to be a fair amount of trepidation going into the screening. After all, it’s not unusual for a film adaptation to completely miss the mark *cough* The Golden Compass*cough*. The last thing loyal Hunger Games lovers want is to feel short-changed.

Thankfully the film doesn’t disappoint. In fact, with the possible exception of the first Harry Potter movie, I have never seen a film that reflects its source material so faithfully. It has been a while since I read the book, but it was literally like Gary Ross had taken a snapshot of my imagination and blown it up for everyone to see.

A lot of the genius is in Lionsgate‘s marketing strategy. The trailer builds up the suspense, and stops just as the 24 participants enter the arena. With no images to form an initial opinion from, we’re are allowed to be surprised, scared, and disgusted by the events of the second half of the film, without feeling spoiled.

The Hunger Games is by no means a perfect film. The use of a steady camera in the opening twenty minutes makes you feel seasick after a while. That said we can appreciate Ross’s intention. He clearly wanted the audience to feel like we are watching a real reality show, closer to the horror as a twelve year old Primrose Everdeen is ‘reaped’ (taken) to participate in the games. Some slightly smoother transitions would have made the viewing a little more comfortable for those sat at the front of the theatre.

Once we are headed to the Capitol, this issue is quickly forgotten. We are transported with Katniss and fellow Tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) into the polar-opposite world of the rich in preparation for the games. Kudos has to be given to the costume, make-up and art departments. Additionally, The Capitol is as ridiculous, formidable and ghastly as Collins described in the books.

The biggest triumph though is the quality of actors involved. Oscar-nominated lead, Jennifer Lawrence carries the weight of the film with ease, her portrayal of Katniss played with the perfect balance between her determined and unforgiving nature and her one weakness – compassion. Josh Hutcherson is also likable as a baker’s son forced into an arena, and Woody Harrelson brings some character to proceedings with drunk Haymitch. The biggest scene-stealer is by far, Stanley Tucci as Hunger Games host, Caesar Flickerman, with his blue hair, big teeth and even bigger personality. Donald Sutherland meanwhile gives us a deliciously cold President Snow, who sets things up nicely for the sequel, Catching Fire.

No doubt most of the hardcore fans have already seen the film, but for those who haven’t, don’t go in expecting it to be a complete play-by-play of the book. A manuscript and a film are two very different entities, and while most events play out exactly as written in the novel, there are details omitted. Enjoy it for what it is. A faithful adaptation that has been made with care and consideration of its loyal audience.

The Hunger Games in cinemas across the UK now.

Imagine a film with a protagonist who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Not “antihero”, but actually just dislikeable. In Rampart, Harrelson plays Dave Brown, an extremely corrupt cop who indulges in gratuitous violence and a variety of other dodgy dealings that could see him put away for a long time.

It’s not just Dave who’s under suspicion, either – Rampart is named as such because it’s based around the 1990s L.A. police scandal, known as the ‘Rampart scandal’. The Rampart division were part of the LAPD, and over 70 officers were implicated in unprovoked shootings, beatings, evidence tampering, stealing, and other crimes. Dave is one of these men, and despite the family he’s trying to provide for (despite no longer living with them) and the job he’s trying to hang on to (despite being investigated by Kyle (Ice Cube)), it’s hard to like him. And yet, the character is strangely compelling

The rest of the cast list reads like an Oscar-winner. Steve Buscemi, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty – the list goes on, and I can’t wait to see so many talented actors bounce off each other as the chaotic life of Dave Brown plays out around them. Rampart looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to check it out. The trailer’s below, so enjoy!

Here at TFR, we get a lot of films to review, and while I’m content to sit down and immerse myself while maintaining a reviewer’s mindset, it’s a rare thing for me to actively spam “mine , mine mine mine” in an email response to my editor. Bunraku made me do that, and I’ll tell you why – because it’s a kung fu film about samurai and cowboys, starring Woody Harrelson, Ron Perlman, Demi Moore, Kevin McKidd, Josh Hartnett and a man known only as Gackt.

It’s a shockingly high-profile cast-list given how little attention’s been given to Bunraku, and the film’s investment in these actors pays major dividends. Harrelson stars as the local bartender, happily cleaning glasses and pouring drinks until a samurai (Gackt) – still a powerful man on this future Earth where all firearms are banished, despite missing his sword – walks in and demands help in finding his father’s medallion. The assistance comes in the form of a cowboy (Hartnett), and together they take on a city full of gangsters who use nothing but blades and fists to take out their enemies.

I enjoyed seeing these actors play roles way outside their comfort zones, although I don’t think Harrelson’s was too much of a stretch, he still pulled it off brilliantly. Gackt is fantastic, but I’ve always been a fan of that tightly-wound-honourable-warrior stuff, so that was a given. The actor who’s work I would like to highlight more than anyone’s is Hartnett.

Josh Hartnett, if you can cast your minds back for a moment, was a big thing in film, and a teen icon. Starring in Pearl Harbour, 30 Days of Night and 40 Days and 40 Nights, his name was gold. Recently, however, we’ve not seen as much of him, but his performance in this film is fantastic.

Cowboys are hardly a fresh addition to most films, but the idea of one who has to use fists, or knuckledusters at best, is original. Hartnett’s character, The Drifter, is a stone-cold bastard who has serious issues with the local crime lord, Nicola (who is a man and played by Ron Pearlman of Hellboy fame), although for most of the film you’re not sure why this is. Sadly the moment when his obsession is explained was lost on me, but Hartnett’s cool customer had me rooting for him throughout.

Demi Moore stars as Nicola’s go-to prostitute, and while this seems a little generic, they actually have a complex relationship that allows her to project a far better version of the character than may have been written.

She often clashes with Killer #2, Nicola’s right-hand-man. Played by Trainspotting and Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd, this fellow is one of the creepiest, most ominous fight film villains I’ve seen, and although his accent is about as consistent as Gerard Butler’s in 300, he helps humanise Nicola somewhat by positioning himself as the inhuman, cold second-in-command, waiting for the throne to become vacant.

I know I’ve not talked about the plot much, but realistically it’s about as complicated as an episode of SpongeBob. Samurai needs medallion, cowboy needs to kill Nicola, Nicola might just have the medallion. All 119 minutes of it are full of luridly colourful sets inspired by pop-up books and fist-tight fight choreography. The mish-mash of art styles and storytelling ideas is not something you’ll want to delve too deeply into lest you go mad, but as an enjoyable spectacle, I can’t really fault it. If you found Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon too serious and loved The Good, The Bad and the Weird, I can’t recommend this enough. Mental, but fantastic.

Eisenberg has made several notable appearances on the big screen in recent years. He starred opposite Kristen Stewart in the 2009 comedy-drama film, Adventureland, before appearing alongside Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin in Zombieland a year later. This year, of course, we also saw him star as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network.

But now, it appears, he will be returning to his indie roots with Free Samples, which tells the story of a law school dropout, played by Jess Weixler, who works on a friend’s food truck, where she gives away free samples of ice cream.

Weixler is probably best know for playing the lead role in comedy-horror film Teeth, and was named the ‘New Indie Queen’ by New York Magazine last year.

Eisenberg has been cast as Weixler’s love-interest. Jason Ritter, who previously appeared alongside Eisenberg in The Education of Charlie Banks, will also star in the film, as will  veteran actress Tippi Hedren of Hitchcock’s The Birds and Wedding Crashers Keir O’Donnell.

Eisenberg can also been seen in the upcoming adventure comedy film, 30 Minutes or Less, which is due to be released next year. Free Samples is currently without an official release date, but production is reportedly taking place in Los Angles. We’ll keep you posted!