Hello film fans all!
No review this time but if you could check out this short film which I've just filmed a role for that would be brilliant. It's part of the Virgin Media Shorts competition and was made by the company I frequently collaborate with in the theatre, PurpleCoat Productions. Once you've viewed the video if you could hit the 'share' button beneath the video on the Twitter tab and that will cast a vote that will hopefully see us triumph in the competition! Thank you film-lovers!
http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/5085/the-big-day#.UexchdI3uSq
Jack
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Man of Steel - The Krypton Factor
The year was 2006 and fans were eagerly anticipating Bryan Singer's foray into the Superman franchise. Having abandoned X-Men 3 in favour of doing it, this only served to make the wounds fester even deeper when the film turned out to be a flop of monumental proportions. Having seen what Christopher Nolan and his team did to re-energize the Batman franchise, Nolan is at the producer's helm attempting to do the same for Clark Kent and co. With Watchmen and 300's Zack Snyder in the director's chair, save perhaps the second installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy this has to be the most anticipated movie of 2013. So with Batman, Spider-man and now Superman all having gone through a rebirth in the film world recently, how does this stack up? Pretty darn well, actually.
Much like Nolan's 2005 Batman Begins, Man of Steel is very much a genesis story. The film begins on Kryton with Russell Crowe's Jor-El embroiled in a battle with Michael Shannon's maniacal General Zod, who has staged a coup on the rapidly imploding Krypton. In an attempt to save his son as well as the Krypton race Jor-El dispatches his son Kal to a safe and inhabitable planet; Earth. Once on Earth, Kal is rescued and taken in by the Kents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) and is henceforth to be known as Clark Kent. Forced to grow up hiding his superhuman abilities Clark must eventually confront his true heritage when Shannon's evil Zod shows up on Earth determined to destroy him and establish a new Krypton under his rule. What this makes for is a highly interesting and delicately crafted narrative that is also buffeted by some truly amazing special FX sequences. The depiction of Krypton and Jor-El's confrontation with Zod is particularly impressive.
In terms of cast, does Henry Cavill measure up to his famous predecessor Christopher Reeve (forget Brandon Routh and Dean Cain)? In short, spectacularly so. Visually, he is the epitome of Clark Kent/Superman and in some shots even looks like a carbon copy of the late, great Reeves. Cavill's immense training regime in preparation for the role also has to be commended, sporting a physique that puts Christian Bale to shame in the Batman franchise. Aside from being the necessary hulk of meat though, Cavill gives a wonderfully subtle performance as we see the character emerge from shy loner to the saviour of mankind. Amy Adams, forever wonderful, is also perfectly suited to the dogged seeker of truth, Lois Lane. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, although not in a great deal of the film, excel as Clark's adoptive parents. The two most interesting performances however come from Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon. Ever a fan of Shannon since HBO's fantastic Boardwalk Empire, Shannon is perfect for the evil and deranged General Zod. Perhaps a bit 'hammy' on occasion, this only serves to highlight the complete psychotic nature of the character. Russell Crowe, on the other hand gives a wonderfully understated performance as Jor-El. The beginning of the film shows he still as the ability to 'kick ass' that we witnessed in Gladiator, yet the film also displays his ability to give a great dramatic performance, as the father willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in protection of his child.
So, all in all is this latest rebirth of one of our favourite superheroes been a success? It would have to be a resounding yes. Unlike the recent Spider-man reboot for example, unlike Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Cavill is a highly believable candidate for the role. With Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer, not to mention the master of the epic soundtrack Hans Zimmer, you can see that the goal of the film was to very much emulate the formula and structure of the Dark Knight trilogy. And why not? Despite not quite measuring up to Nolan's incredible trilogy, what the film does is give us a Superman for a new generation and I wait with almost baited breath for the next installments in the franchise.
Much like Nolan's 2005 Batman Begins, Man of Steel is very much a genesis story. The film begins on Kryton with Russell Crowe's Jor-El embroiled in a battle with Michael Shannon's maniacal General Zod, who has staged a coup on the rapidly imploding Krypton. In an attempt to save his son as well as the Krypton race Jor-El dispatches his son Kal to a safe and inhabitable planet; Earth. Once on Earth, Kal is rescued and taken in by the Kents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) and is henceforth to be known as Clark Kent. Forced to grow up hiding his superhuman abilities Clark must eventually confront his true heritage when Shannon's evil Zod shows up on Earth determined to destroy him and establish a new Krypton under his rule. What this makes for is a highly interesting and delicately crafted narrative that is also buffeted by some truly amazing special FX sequences. The depiction of Krypton and Jor-El's confrontation with Zod is particularly impressive.
In terms of cast, does Henry Cavill measure up to his famous predecessor Christopher Reeve (forget Brandon Routh and Dean Cain)? In short, spectacularly so. Visually, he is the epitome of Clark Kent/Superman and in some shots even looks like a carbon copy of the late, great Reeves. Cavill's immense training regime in preparation for the role also has to be commended, sporting a physique that puts Christian Bale to shame in the Batman franchise. Aside from being the necessary hulk of meat though, Cavill gives a wonderfully subtle performance as we see the character emerge from shy loner to the saviour of mankind. Amy Adams, forever wonderful, is also perfectly suited to the dogged seeker of truth, Lois Lane. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, although not in a great deal of the film, excel as Clark's adoptive parents. The two most interesting performances however come from Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon. Ever a fan of Shannon since HBO's fantastic Boardwalk Empire, Shannon is perfect for the evil and deranged General Zod. Perhaps a bit 'hammy' on occasion, this only serves to highlight the complete psychotic nature of the character. Russell Crowe, on the other hand gives a wonderfully understated performance as Jor-El. The beginning of the film shows he still as the ability to 'kick ass' that we witnessed in Gladiator, yet the film also displays his ability to give a great dramatic performance, as the father willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in protection of his child.
So, all in all is this latest rebirth of one of our favourite superheroes been a success? It would have to be a resounding yes. Unlike the recent Spider-man reboot for example, unlike Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Cavill is a highly believable candidate for the role. With Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer, not to mention the master of the epic soundtrack Hans Zimmer, you can see that the goal of the film was to very much emulate the formula and structure of the Dark Knight trilogy. And why not? Despite not quite measuring up to Nolan's incredible trilogy, what the film does is give us a Superman for a new generation and I wait with almost baited breath for the next installments in the franchise.
Monday, 15 July 2013
Despicable Me 2 - One in a Minion!
Three years ago, Gru (Steve Carrell) and his lovable minions burst onto our screens and a new hero was born; or should that be anti-hero? Changed for the better after the events of the first film, Gru is living the suburban life, playing dad to the girls who changed him from arch villain to hero. However, despite his new suburban lifestyle, Gru longs for the adventure that being a villain brought him. Even his boffin science assistant Dr. Nerfario (Russell Brand) can no longer stand a life without crime and starts to long for crime pastures new. All Gru's yearning for adventure though is about to be rewarded when Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and agent from the Anti-Villain League turns up and tells Gru they need his help and expertise to capture a powerful new villain that has stolen a powerful biological serum that can change whomever is injected into crazed, ravenous monsters.
What follows is a rioutous adventure as Gru, Lucy, and of course the Minions attempt to track down the criminal whom they know to be hiding out in a large shopping mall. Setting themselves up as the proprietors of a cupcake shop Gru and Lucy make the perfect partnership. Could there even be the possibility of romance for our hero?
The film boasts an impressive supporting cast, Russell Brand making his return as Dr. Nefario. Steve Coogan is also flying the British flag as head of the Anti-Villain League, Silas Ramsbottom. Kristen Wiig provided a voice in the first film but here gets a substantially bigger role as the yang to Gru's ying. Benjamin Bratt also provides great vocal talent as the mysterious Eduardo/El Macho. Has Gru finally met his match?
As well as being a worthy sequel to the first film, in terms of animation, this new incarnation goes to even greater heights providing some new feats of technical brilliance, especially with the Minions. Which brings me on to the stars of the film; the Minions themselves. Not present throughout the entirety of the first film nobody suspected that they would emerge as the characters everyone would remember. Which is why they are out in force in this film. Their popularity has been such that it has been announced they are to receive their very own spin-off movie. All hail whoever made that decision! Forget hamsters - we all want a pet minion.
If you liked the first film then you will love the second. Not just for the kids - the film appeals to all ages. I must confess I think the adults laughed harder than the kids in the screening I went to. With a Despicable Me 3 certainly almost guaranteed, check this one out and start to get excited for what will be the true great of this franchise - The Minion Movie!
What follows is a rioutous adventure as Gru, Lucy, and of course the Minions attempt to track down the criminal whom they know to be hiding out in a large shopping mall. Setting themselves up as the proprietors of a cupcake shop Gru and Lucy make the perfect partnership. Could there even be the possibility of romance for our hero?
The film boasts an impressive supporting cast, Russell Brand making his return as Dr. Nefario. Steve Coogan is also flying the British flag as head of the Anti-Villain League, Silas Ramsbottom. Kristen Wiig provided a voice in the first film but here gets a substantially bigger role as the yang to Gru's ying. Benjamin Bratt also provides great vocal talent as the mysterious Eduardo/El Macho. Has Gru finally met his match?
As well as being a worthy sequel to the first film, in terms of animation, this new incarnation goes to even greater heights providing some new feats of technical brilliance, especially with the Minions. Which brings me on to the stars of the film; the Minions themselves. Not present throughout the entirety of the first film nobody suspected that they would emerge as the characters everyone would remember. Which is why they are out in force in this film. Their popularity has been such that it has been announced they are to receive their very own spin-off movie. All hail whoever made that decision! Forget hamsters - we all want a pet minion.
If you liked the first film then you will love the second. Not just for the kids - the film appeals to all ages. I must confess I think the adults laughed harder than the kids in the screening I went to. With a Despicable Me 3 certainly almost guaranteed, check this one out and start to get excited for what will be the true great of this franchise - The Minion Movie!
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