View from the Projection box with Ritz Cinema - Belper

View from the Projection Box with cinema projectionist Paul Winfield.

Once again, thanks to you all. We’ve had another successful year at The Ritz. Despite the recession you kept on coming to see us and enjoy the best in-cinema entertainment. We must be doing something right.

2010 gets off to a great start with big names to the fore. The one and only Helen Mirren stars in The Station, and friend of The Ritz - Colin Farrell - is A Single Man.

The Lovely Bones directed by Peter Jackson, stars the beautiful Rachel Weisz. Young girl Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is brutally attacked and murdered, then watches from heaven as her parents drift apart. Her father becomes obsessed with revenge and her sister grows into the woman she can never be.

A Tim Burton film is always an event, whether you like his style or not. Personally, I’m not a fan, but his take on Alice in Wonderland should be interesting – and what a cast: Michael Sheen, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Johnny Depp. Beat that!!

In recent times The Walt Disney Studio and its association with Pixar have produced many wonderful state-of-the-art digital animations, but Disney has returned to its roots for The Princess and the Frog, a traditional fairytale for all the family, centred on the adventures of a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in the New Orleans French Quarter during the Jazz Age. I’ve seen clips from this and it really does look lovely, plus there is a great soundtrack. Kids and grown-ups will love this one.

In the next issue of All Things Local, I’ll look at the mega films later in the year, and also give you news of the 2010 Ritzy Awards. There is a similar event in America. I think it’s called The Oscars, or something like that.

Finally, my apologies for no quiz question in the last issue. My fault. Sorry! See you soon.

New Editions now online

Hi readers.

Just a short note to let you know that the new editions of All Things Local - the community magazines for Kilburn and Belper are now online and available to read.

You can also catch up with all the latest features and regular columns - from recipes and wine reviews by local residents to the latest community police news and a delightful hill walk around Alport Heights, Derbyshire.

... and there's more!

We've just launched a brand new edition especially for the Ripley area including Waingroves, Codnor and Marehay. Issue 1 is distributed to 9,000 homes and now available to read online.

So - lots happening at All Things Local. We'll be back with more news and articles from our community magazines very soon.

Click here to catch up with all the latest at All Things Local - the community magazines for Kilburn, Belper and now Ripley.

What's on at the Belper Ritz

The View from the Projection Box with Ritz Cinema (Belper) projectionist Paul Winfield...

Just a year ago when I was writing the first of these features for All Things Local, it was great to report that over 50,000 people had visited The Ritz. Now with the latest figures I have show that the success has continued with over 100,000 admissions since we opened - so from all of us at The Ritz - a big, big "thank you".

What a year 2008 has been. Here are just a few personal memories:

The first 'Ritzy Awards' in June, our own version of The Oscars, when the red carpet and our guests arriving in evening dress brought a little bit of Leicester Square to King Street, Belper. I also remember my hangover the following day - but that's another story! We were amazed that so many of our 'Ritzy' award winners emailed us from around the world saying they would visit The Ritz when they were next filming in the UK. There were people singing and dancing in the aisles during the run of Mamma Mia! Just the other week, the audience were leaving the cinema stunned into silence after watching the last few minutes of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

So what can we look forward to in 2009? Well a few films caught my eye. FIrstly, Valkyre, a thriller based on actual events as German generals hatch a plot to assassinate Hitler at the height of WWll, Tom Cruise stars.

A new Woody Allen film is always an event and Vicky Christina Barcelona, a romantic comedy set in Spain stars Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz. Spring and early summer sees the start of the blockbuster season with Star Trek Xl; Ben Stiller returns in Night at the Museum 2. There's a new Terminator film - Christian Bale stars as John Connor in Terminator Salvation.

There's also Ice Age lll and the much delayed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince along with our usual mix of other films. We hope there's something for everyone.

So from Amanda & Neil, Catherine, myself and all The Ritz boys and girls - have a safe and happy Christmas and a great 2009.

Crikey - a month since last post

Can you believe how time seems to fly by these days. It doesn't seem 5 minutes ago that we were sharing with you the fantastic news of our brand new Belper Edition of All Things Local 'hitting the streets' as well as issue 9 of our 're-branded' Village Edition of All Things Local, also being published and delivered at the same time.

Since then, of course, we've seen the clocks go back, and the fireworks begin. I do hope our resident doggy correspondent Scrambles isn't too frightened of the bangs and whistles that seem to go on for longer each year.

Well I'll be back with a new post very shortly - just wanted to stop by for now and wish everyone a safe Bonfire Night.

New Village and Belper Editions of All Things Local

We've been very busy at All Things Local - the community magazine updating our website with all the new regular features from Issue 9 of the printed magazine which started being distributed last weekend.

Not only has our website had a complete makeover thanks to our web designer, but we've also published a second edition especially for Belper itself.

From now on, the All Things Local community magazine will be published in 2 editions - the Village Edition (9,000 copies) serving Holbrook, Lower Kilburn, Coxbench, Morley, Duffield, Milford, Kilburn, Denby, Horsley Woodhouse, Horsley, Smalley and Little Eaton and the new Belper Edition which will be delivered to 9,000 homes in Belper itself.

Of course, you'll be able to catch up with both editions over at our website - All Things Local .co.uk.

The makeover of the website has made it easier for visitors to find the features and information that interests them the most as well as showcasing our new Belper Edition.

New regular features include a hill walk in Up Hill, Down Dale and Jessica's Column - Jessica taking Sam's place as our school correspondent for the next year. Read what she has to say about the Eurovision Song Contest.

We'll be back soon with more news of Issue 9 and the new Belper edition being online.