24 Hour Party People (2002) or, Tony Wilson's Factory

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Steve Coogan's large head and the styles of the European dance set of the latter part of the 20th century make up this poster for Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People

Tony Wilson is a TV-host and a music pioneer in 1970s Manchester, and in the dozen or so years to come he helps punk and rave groups to emerge and break out on his Factory Records.

24 Hour Party People is written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions (2004)), based on the actual Wilson and his record company, and directed by Michael Winterbottom (Butterfly Kiss (1995)).
Steve Coogan (The Look of Love (2013)) is terrific as Wilson, and the film has an original concept, in which Wilson himself comments the story directly to us from time to time, breaking the fourth wall.
24 Hour Party People has some funny episodes, and the title sequence seems designed to induce epileptic seizures. The music, save for that by Joy Division, is unimpressive, and the majority of the musicians around Wilson appear to be faceless losers.

Related post:

Michael Winterbottom: The Killer Inside Me (2010) - Despite minor qualities, Winterbottom's adaptation is a nasty failure

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2.8 mil. $
= Uncertain 
[24 Hour Party People premiered 13 February (the UK) and runs 117 minutes. Shooting took place in England. The film opened #59 to a 34k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #32 and in 37 theaters (different weeks), grossing 1.1 mil. $ (39.3 % of the total gross). The rest of the film's gross sheet is incomplete; but it only grossed 379k $ (13.5 %) from its apparent 2nd biggest market, production home the UK. It won 1/2 British Independent Spirit award nominations and was shown in competition in Cannes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this review. Winterbottom returned with In This World (2002). Coogan returned in 6 TV and video projects before his theatrical return in Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). 24 Hour Party People is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.27/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 24 Hour Party People?

The Killer Inside Me (2010) - Despite minor qualities, Winterbottom's adaptation is a nasty failure

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2 Film Excess nominations:

Best Child Actor: Liam Aiken (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4)
Best Production Design: Rob Simons, Mark Tildesley (lost to Boardwalk Empire S1)

The best of the many posters for Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me is this mysterious piece

The Killer Inside Me is the second adaptation of Jim Thompson's (Savage Night (1953)) same-titled 1952 novel, following a same-titled 1976 film with Stacy Keach as the protagonist. It is written by John Curran (Tracks (2013), director) and directed by Michael Winterbottom (Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)).

Central City, a small Texas town in the 1950s: The Deputy Sheriff has fallen in love with a beautiful prostitute, whom he has to drive out of town. Instead he beats her to death and begin a series of killings.

Many seem to have been fooled by this charmless, unexciting 'neo-noir'. Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone (2007)) portrays his nasty Southern protagonist with a supremely urban tongue and unaffectedness to the events he spearheads. Young Liam Aiken (How to Be a Man (2013)) impresses more in two scenes than Affleck manages in the film's entirety.
The Killer Inside Me is filled to the brim with heinously lit sex scenes that don't contain neither insight nor class. SPOILER - The murders of Jessica Alba (Little Fockers (2010)) and Kate Hudson's (Raising Helen (2004)) characters are revolting, and the film's sole attraction becomes our wish to see the loathsome killer die for his sins.
The story has more than one inexplicable bump. It is a pompous art film, which had probably been better, if it had veered towards exploitation instead. It does, however, feature a fine production design of 1950s Texas.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Winterbottom talks of the film in the video here

Cost: 13 mil. $
Box office: 3.9 mil. $
= Box office disaster
[The Killer Inside Me premiered January 24 (Sundance) and runs 109 minutes. Several adaptations had been attempted put together since the novel's publication with big name actors, which hadn't materialized. Filming took place in Oklahoma and New Mexico from May - June 2009. The film drew some outrage at its Sundance premiere over its explicit brutality towards women, which drew criticisms from many. IFC Films purchased the distribution rights for 1.5 mil. $ and released it theatrically and as VoD simultaneously. Its North American release peaked in just 17 theaters, grossing 217k $ (5.6 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was by far, interestingly, Russia with 1 mil. $ (25.6 %). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 437k $ (11.2 %) and France with 425k $ (10.9 %). The Killer Inside Me is rotten at 55 % with a 5.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Killer Inside Me?