Confucius: The life story of the highly-influential Chinese thinker and philosopher, Confucius, who lived from 551 BC to 479 BC during the Zhou Dynasty in China. It hasn’t picked up yet by a US or Uk distributor, but it’s screening this month in China to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and Confucius’ 2,560th birthday. Release Date: unknown

Up In The Air: From Jason Reitman, the Oscar nominated director of “Juno,” comes a comedy called “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Release Date: December 2009 (US), January 2010 (UK)

The Princess and The Frog: A teaser trailer came out a while ago, but this is our first full length look at Walt Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. Release Date: December 2009 (US), February 2010 (UK)

Trick ‘R Treat: Four interwoven tales are set on Halloween night: a high-school principal who moonlights as a vicious serial killer, a young virgin whose quest for that special someone takes a gruesome turn, a group of teens who carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences, and a cantankerous old man who battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon. I’ve been waiting for this film for ages! A trailer was released one and a half year ago, but since then it’s been in distributor hell. Now finally it will be released on DVD; a pity, cause it looks like a great movie. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Leslie, My Name Is Evil: Perry (Gregory Smith), a sheltered chemical engineer, falls in love with Leslie (Kristen Hager), a former homecoming princess, when he becomes a jury member at her hippie death cult murder trial. A film that explores how the choices Perry and Leslie make reflect upon the moral choices our society has made. Release Date: unknown

I should have blogged about this sooner, but I’ve been so busy lately. I got some great entries on my Find The Hidden Treasure contest last week, that I had to share a couple of them with you.

Zain:

Hidden Gem: Ambala Sweet store. Something about syrupy sweets and a sunshine ky make a miserable me a little happy. Unfortunately, I’m nowhere near the sweet store and the weather is overcast.

Judith Lewis:

my hidden gem: The Chocolate Society Shop on Elizabeth St. If you don’t know about it, you’ll never find it but they have the BEST chocolate cookies I’ve had in a long time and my favourite chocolate brownies. Their chocolates are fab too!

Genevieve Hassan:

My hidden gem in London: If you’re a die-hard meat eater, you’ll never have considered Food For Thought – a small basement vegetarian restaurant in Covent Garden. They serve the best dessert in the world – the “Strawberry Scrunch” – a crunchy biscuit base with fresh cream, bananas and strawberries, plus they give you a HUGE portion! I challenge anyone to find a better dessert.

Emma Persky:

My Hidden Gem:

If I told you then it would no longer be hidden! Oh well, there are lot’s so I’m sure I can reveal one of my favourite to you But which one…

Hush. Yes, that’s the name of the restaurant. Why (the name that is)? Because it’s hidden away in a small courtyard at the end of South Molton Street so innocuously that you would never, ever find it, unless you knew it was there. No signposts or glaring neon signs point the way, and that’s jut the way they like it. You know a restaurant (and upstairs bar) must be good when its bursting at the seams even though it receives no footfall traffic.

The cuisine is modern british with a hint of french influence. My favourite dish being the “Gratin of Macaroni Cheese with (or without) Bacon” as a started. Enough to share, but so good you’ll regret that decision.

Oh, and did I mention that they have a wine list to die for!

sheilaellen:

My Hidden Gem in London has to be The Orc’s Nest (6 Earlham Street, WC2H 9RY).  It’s a treasure trove for anyone who’s into games – board, role-playing, cards or otherwise.  Packed full of the essentials to get you started, plus extension packs and ephemera.  And despite the bold yellow and black metal frontage and stunning Orc’s head logo, it’s surprising how many people walk past without ever noticing it’s there.

The winner of the contest was Judith Lewis with her chocolate store gem (I’ve got to visit that shop sometime!), but she couldn’t make it to the event. So the runner-up Emma Persky joined me last Thursday to the Joy Store to do some treasure hunting.

The event was pretty interesting. There were cupcakes and champagne for all the blog writers plus winners, and we got to see a shiny new Ford Ka (I loved the colour! It was almost Miss Geeky red, but slightly nudging a bit more to the pink side). We all had to find 1 Ford Ka miniature in the store, which we could exchange for £60 worth of Joy Store vouchers. Sweet!

Finding the miniatures wasn’t hard at all, so we got to spend 2 hours trying on clothes and picking out what we wanted for free. I ended up with a black zipper dress (still not completely sure about that dress though, the shoulders are a little bit too eighties) and a silver grey dress with gathered sections. I really liked the style of the Joy Store, but almost all the clothes I tried on didn’t fit me. Guess I have a slightly different body type (wide hips, small shoulders and waist) than what they design for.

Still, I had a great time (who wouldn’t with free champagne, free cupcakes and free dresses!). For the rest of September, every Friday every Joy Store in the UK will have miniature Ford Ka’s hidden in their store. If you find one, you can get a £10 voucher, and some of them will even be for a £100 voucher!