Movie News

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is a 2023 UK horror by Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Starring Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor and Natasha Rose Mills

After Christopher Robin abandons them for college, Pooh and Piglet embark on a bloody rampage as they search for a new source of food.

The screening of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a British slasher film due to be released in Hong Kong this week, has been cancelled supposedly for technical reasons.

Chinese censors have in the frequently targeted the Winnie the Pooh character due to memes that compare the gait and girth of the bumbling bear to President Xi Jinping. The comparisons began in 2013 when Xi visited the US and met his then counterpart, Barack Obama, and some online commentators seized on their likeness to Pooh and Tigger.

UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong violence, gory images, threat:

• 2023 Altitude Film Distribution (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released on 17th April 2023
• 2023 Altitude Film Distribution R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 17th April 2023

My Mother's Daughter is a 2022 UK documentary short film by Mariam Khan, Ahmen Khawaja

Mehak was 13 when she was abducted by a man known to her family. He repeatedly raped her and forced her to convert to Islam. She managed to escape but not before making a shocking discovery that changed her life forever.

Pakistan's Central Board of Film Censors has banned the short documentary My Mother's Daughter which was due to screen at the Women International Film Festival. Director Mariam Khan shared the letter sent by the censor board which had based its reasons for censoring the film by calling it propaganda as well as for highlighting wrong values which are against the Pakistani culture and society.

Plane is a 2023 US action thriller by Jean-François Richet
Starring Gerard Butler, Mike Colter and Yoson An

A pilot finds himself caught in a war zone after he's forced to land his commercial aircraft during a terrible storm.

The film was withdrawn from Philippines distribution rather than officially banned by the film censor, but the film censor loudly condemned the film for its portrayal of locals as the baddies. Politicians also applied pressure for a ban.

The chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said that while the film is fictional, the country should not be portrayed in a negative and inaccurate light.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla said: This should not be allowed. ... The reputation of our Motherland is at stake , adding that it is acceptable to discuss issues among Filipinos, but criticisms from foreigners should not be tolerated.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri even expressed concern that the film could jeopardize the government's tourism promotions because it paints a wrong picture of the Philippines.

Infinity Pool is a 2022 Canada/Hungary/France Sci-Fi horror by Brandon Cronenberg
Starring Mia Goth, Alexander Skarsgård and Amanda Brugel    

The movie was originally MPA NC-17 rated, but the producers decided to appeal for an R rating. However the appeal was unsuccessful and the producers decided to cut the movie for an MPA R rating. Worldwide theatrical releases are set to be the R Rated Version but there is also a Canadian theatrical re-release featuring the uncut version. The first US home video release is the cut MPA R rated version but there are unconfirmed plans for the Unrated Version to be released on home video.

Infinity Pool originally contained sexually explicit imagery during an early scene between stars Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth, plus several later flashes of violence. Those elements initially caused British Columbia and Alberta's film classification offices to award Infinity Pool an R rating, the Canadian equivalent of a BBFC 18 rating.

As is the case with the equivalent MPA NC-17 rating in the US, this rating is box office poison as cinemas prefer not to screen such films. In Canada, any theatre playing an R film must have an usher stationed inside each auditorium 20 minutes before and 20 minutes into each screening to check ticket-buyers' ID. In other words, any such release on either side of the border is a non-starter for all but the smallest of art-house productions.

Grudgingly, Cronenberg and his producers resubmitted a slightly sanitized Infinity Pool to the Canadian review boards, earning the more palatable 18A rating which allows moviegoers under the age of 18 admission if they are accompanied by an adult.

However in late February 2023 Elevation Pictures released Infinity Pool Uncut in select Canadian theatres, despite the complications thrown its way by this country's complex patchwork of provincial ratings boards.

In the autumn of 2019, Ontario Premier Doug Ford shut down the Ontario Film Authority, which was in charge of classifying films for the province. Since then, Ontario ratings have been provided by Consumer Protection BC, which also handles ratings for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. When the board was shuttered in 2019, film exhibitors and distributors hoped that such deregulation would lead to the adoption of a national content advisory system. And as of February 2023 this hasn't yet materialized.

Across the rest of the country, Alberta has its own Film Classification Office (which also provides ratings to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut); the Nova Scotia Film Classification Board is responsible for the Maritimes; and Quebec has its Ministry of Culture and Communications.

Different boards made different decisions about the original uncut submission of Infinity Pool.

Quebec's Ministry of Culture and Communications opted for a 16+ rating, whilst the Consumer Protection BC and the Alberta Film Classification Office opted for their most restrictive ratings of R.

Ultimately, the uncut version of Infinity Pool that is now screening at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox and Carlton cinemas, Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre and Calgary's Canyon Meadows Cinemas. Director Cronenberg commented:

It's not a completely different film, but there is a version of the film that I intended for people see,. I'm glad people saw the other version last month, but I'm also glad Canadians are finally getting the full film, too -- and in theatres where it's meant to be seen.

The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 Ireland/UK/US drama by Martin McDonagh
Starring Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon

Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) has received complaints about the portrayal of Irish people as moronic in the Oscar-nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin , which was described as extremely offensive by one complainer.

There was also criticism about the accuracy of the accents portrayed by the inhabitants of the fictional island that features in the movie, as well as a claim that its reflection of Ireland in the 1920s was wrong.

In response, acting director of IFCO George Sinclair noted that the grievances raised were not classification issues. However, he pointed out that the end credits of the film contained a statement confirming that its characters and events were fictitious.

The IFCO also received six complaints last month in relation to the new Tom Hanks film, A Man Called Otto . All of these referred to the detailed depiction of suicide attempts in a film that the IFCO has rated 12A.

The Untold Story is a 1993 Hong Kong crime comedy drama by Danny Lee, Herman Yau
Starring Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Danny Lee and Emily Kwan  

The film was unavailable for many years in the UK with the assumption that the BBFC would never pass it. The BBFC offered a cut release in 2005 but the distributor didn't take this up. The video was finally passed 18 uncut in 2023. Uncut and MPAA Unrated in the US. The film was also cut in Hong Kong.

Summary Review: Unpredictable, daring, extreme

This story concerns a serial killer posing as a restaurant proprietor who goes into violent rages and indulges in sadistic acts.

For those of you looking for something to disturb you, seek this out. It's not an atypical story by any means, but the murder scenes are pretty grisly. It's not quite all out gore, but it's pretty disturbing in that you're just not used to this kind of stuff.

One guy gets chopped up into dim sum. In another sequence, a family gets hacked to pieces...you ever notice in Hollywood where murdered children get killed offscreen? Not here. There's also a graphic rape scene involving chopsticks that ain't exactly feminist-friendly.

It's rare you see a horror film provoking anything more than laughter nowadays. This one is all out, gung-ho savagery. What's even weirder is the moments of slapstick that pop-up whenever the cops are in a scene. A strange way to lighten the darker scenes, but, that's Asian cinema for you...unpredictable, daring, extreme and the polar opposite of Western filmmaking.

Versions

uncut run: 95:52s pal: 92:02s		UK: Passed 18 uncut for sexual violence, strong bloody violence, threat, gore: 2023 88 Films video US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for: 2020 Unearthed Records (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon   2020 Unearthed Records R1 DVD at US Amazon #ad
banned	banned	UK: The film was unavailable for many years in the UK with the assumption that the BBFC would never pass it. Thanks to Scott.The BBFC offered a cut release in 2005 but the distributor didn't take this up. The BBFC explained: A work called THE UNTOLD STORY co-directed by Danny Lee and Herman Yau was submitted in 2005 for classification. The film was discussed across the Board, and cuts were requested under the Board's sexual violence policy to a scene of sexual assault. The work was never classified as the distributor - according to our records - did not respond to the request for cuts within the allotted time scale. The work was withdrawn after there was no further response from the distributor to a reminder sent to them.

Malaysia's Film Censorship Board (LPF) has announced that will implement a new ratings system beginning from February 1 2023.

The old system, running since January 2012, consists of the following ratings:

• U or Umum for films that can be seen for all ages
• P13 for films requiring parental supervision
• 18 for films deemed to contain violent, political or mature content

Now from 1st February 2023 the P13 rating will be replaced by P12 and strict age ratings of 13 and 16 will be introduced. So the new system will be:

• U or Umum for films that can be seen for all ages
• P12 for films requiring parental supervision for under 12s
• 13 for viewers aged 13 or over
• 16 for viewers aged 16 or over
• 18 for films deemed to contain violent, political or mature content

The changes are reported to be a response to requests from local movie producers. Director Bade Azmi was one of the voices calling upon the agency to make changes, citing his experience working on the film KL Menjerit , where significant story details were removed. He explained:

Illegal racing and accident scenes had been cut out. But this movie is about illegal street racers. If you take out the racing scenes, I have no story to tell.

Billie Eilish Live At The O2 is a 2023 US music film by Sam Wrench
Starring Billie Eilish

Well ahead of the film's release, cinemas sold tickets with the expectation of a 12A rating.

A disgracefully last minute announcement of a BBFC 15 rating caused disappointment and led to ticket cancellations (and hopefully refunds).  The distributors, Trafalgar Releasing, responded by an 11th hour resubmission with the word 'motherfucker' deleted and a reference to pornography removed. This time round the BBFC confirmed the required 12A rating.

It is unclear as to why the cinema industry wants to mess round its customers, but perhaps it is about time that official age ratings should be announced before ticket sales commence.

Summary Notes

Join fans around the world in experiencing the never-before-seen extended cut version of Billie's Grammy-nominated concert film.

Versions

pre-cut cut: ~12s run: 98:43s pal: 94:46s		UK: A pre-cut version was passed 12A for infrequent strong language, moderate sex references: 2023 cinema release titled Billie Eilish Live At The 02 (Extended Cut) BBFC ratings info reveals that: the use of the word 'motherfucker' was removed by the distributor that one or more references to pornography were reduced to a single reference
uncut run: 98:55s pal: 94:58s		UK: Passed 15 uncut for strong language: 2023 cinema release titled Billie Eilish Live At The O2 (Extended Cut)

Thanks to Jon who writes:

I Just watched NO TIME TO DIE which premiered on ITV1 - New Year's Day between 8pm-11:05pm.

There were a fair few edits, mostly to remove the strongest elements of the violence e.g.

• deaths of people during the testing of Heracles in the Cuba bar/party sequence,

• the killing of the innocent scientists when Heracles is initially stolen,

• the finale had minor trims made, when Bond is infected.

The strong language was all gone. All swearing was removed, bar one use of shit and one use of bloody.

The early romance scene at the beginning of the film in the pre-titles sequence between Bond and Madeleine, demonstrating their new married life, was toned down a little to make it less racy, as that aired pre-watershed.

And I'm sure the finale, featuring the island going up in flames and Bond's death, was faded-out early, just as he gives his final speech to Madeleine.

Lastly, the credits were crushed to a tiny size (1/6th of the screen size) and sped-up hugely, during the first part, where all the cast are listed, and then put back to full-size, when all the technical crew started.

The cuts weren't noticeable, unless you'd seen the complete version in cinemas or on home viewing formats. And if you didn't know it was cut, then you'd wonder why it had a 12A rating, as it all seems fairly tame.

The sound also seemed to be less crunchy in the fights. So not sure if that was toned-down, or if it just seemed less impactful on TV, than in a cinema with surround sound systems.

Still, this is ITV1 we're talking about, and I still think that they see themselves as moral guardians of family values, like they did in the 1990's and 2000's. So is it that surprising they've cut this film? Not really! Should we have really expected anything less?! (Rhetorical)