Hi there, and welcome to the first of UNCUT.co.uk’s weekly film blogs. Every Friday I’ll be looking at the latest films opening at the cinema, getting released on DVD, and I also hope to provide advanced word on some of the screenings I’ve caught of forthcoming movies.

I guess the film of most relevance in our world this week is Factory Girl, with Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick and Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol. It’s had a bit of a rough ride with some critics, but I thought the two leads were great, as it goes – Miller, particularly, did a grand job capturing Edie’s brittleness and frailty. The big problem for me is the character of Billy Quinn – a harmonica-wearing, curly-haired protest singer clearly modelled on Bob Dylan, who’d stymied the filmmakers by refusing to have anything to do with the film. It jars dreadfully, having a fictional character clearly based on a real person appearing in a biopic. There’s also a grim scene when the Factory regulars decamp to see the Velvet Underground play a gig – clearly, Lou won’t let them use any of the band’s actual songs, so they’re seen performing something that vaguely sounds like it might almost be “Venus In Furs”. Part of me almost can’t see the point in making a biopic if you have to create analogues to take the place of real people. Velvet Goldmine director Todd Haynes – who’s next film is the Dylan biopic starring 6 different actors as Bob – recently highlighted in UNCUT how rock critics are “hung up on notions of authenticity”, so who knows?

If you’ve got any thoughts about rock biopics – let us know. Are they generally and good? I know our office has been split over recent films like Ray and Walk The Line, but I’d love to know what you think. One of the reasons why we’re doing these blogs is to get closer to you, the readers – so all and any dialogue we can have is valuable.

I caught an early screening of Magicians earlier this week. This is the big screen debut of Peep Show stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb, and I have to say it was pretty much a disaster. Mitchell and Webb play feuding magicians who compete against each other in a magic competition. It just isn’t funny, the characters are weak, and the whole vibe feels more suited to a post-pub audience on a Friday night. It’s a shame, because we’re all big Peep Show fans up here.

I hope to be more positive next week, when I’ll bring you news of Seven and Fight Club director David Fincher’s latest film – the serial killer film, Zodiac.

Until then, take care,