Category Archives: Film

Tron: Legacy {Film Review}

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It has been nearly 30 years since Tron hit the screens, which turned out to be a box-office flop (along with The Thing and Blade Runner that year) but then has become a cult-classic and has been cherished by its fans. Now we have a mega budget sequel, having to please the fans of the first film but also intriguing new fans. It is, unfortunately, not a masterpiece or anything more than just your average sci-fi/adventure movie.

The good points to this film are the visual effects. The Grid feels familiar but up-to-date with our current technology (unfortunately, Tron feels incredibly dated with its visual effects). The suits and light-cycles have been given a 2.0 upgrade, and all look relatively cool and flashy. The action sequences are well done, wide enough to see and intense without being chaotic (again, Michael Bay should take notes). The music by Daft Punk is undeniably awesome. It is atmospheric and makes the film a lot better for it. It feels retro, but being contemporary. The 3D in this movie is very well done, not poorly rendered (Clash of the Titans) or hard to watch (Alice in Wonderland) but it’s more atmospheric 3D (Avatar) and works incredibly to its advantage. The 3D only happens as soon Sam enters The Grid, with the scenes in the real world are filmed in traditional 2D format. Yet all that is far and between to what I have to bring up the bad points.

I don’t want to go into detail about the story, but it is predictable and stupid basically. There’s the Disney cliché’s of Sam growing up to be a rebel, even one night hacks into Encom and escapes by parachuting off from the roof (errrr why? wouldn’t it been better if you gone out the same way you came and not attract yourself even more?). The first film had a simple and easy to follow structure to know what was the purpose of Clu, Tron etc. In this film, however, they mention things but they don’t give enough detail exactly how or what happened (like how did the new ISOs actually exist?). If Clu and Tron are given tasks to do, then what tasks the programs in the crowd do? Olivia Wilde plays the token hot girl, given nothing to do but deliver exposition. Garrett Hedlund is not a particularly interesting protagonist, he’s just a one-dimensional character and not very developed. Michael Sheen as Castor is really wasted in this film, he absolutely chews the scenery and acts like a gay David Bowie/Billy Idol and his character is pointless (same problem I asked earlier; if he’s a program, what is his function?). The only good performance is Jeff Bridges, though he plays him like The Dude in The Big Lebowski. The CGI effects for the young Jeff Bridges/Clu is really off-putting. It’s the definition of uncanny valley; it looks rubbery or plastic and I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief. I won’t say much, but the story is full of plot-holes.

Overall; a hugely disappointing film. Whilst partially entertaining at times, and an amazing score by Daft Punk; I couldn’t help but say to myself “is this the best they could come up with after 30 years?”. It feels more suitable than as a theme park ride than a movie.

3 stars!

By Owun Birkett

ZAC EFRON IS THE VOICE OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER. {Film}

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ZAC EFRON IS THE VOICE OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER IN THE PREMIERE OF ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS EPISODE III

From 27th December 2010 on www.adultswim.co.uk

Adult Swim is bringing the force a bit closer to home on 27th December with the European premiere of the third Star Wars special of its Emmy award-winning stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken. The 45 minute long episode, starring Zac Efron will be available to view on adultswim.co.uk for 1 week until 3rd January 2011.

The legendary story of the intergalactic struggle between good vs. evil gets a unique make-over in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III with full endorsement from Lucasfilm. The episode brazenly combines the satirical touch of the show’s creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich’s series Robot Chicken, with the Star Wars universe. Four key characters (Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Gary the Stormtrooper) reveal the untold stories of what went on behind the scenes throughout all six Star Wars films from Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi. Witness Palpatine’s real struggle with ruling a ruthless Empire, see Gary the Stormtrooper knock over an Ewok on his first joyride, Hans Solo gets to meet Chewbacca’s family and a disco dancing Darth Vader is revealed as a clumsy fool.

Among the favourite characters of the Star Wars universe is the creator George Lucas himself voicing his stop-motion animated likeness. Other noteworthy voice actors include Zac Efron as Anakin Skywalker and Star Wars veterans Anthony Daniels as C3PO, Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian and Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks, along with returning favourites Green, Senreich, Rachael Leigh Cook, Breckin Meyer and Seth MacFarlane.

The first two instalments in the Robot Chicken: Star Wars trilogy resulted in multiple award nominations and numerous Annie Awards and fast became the highest-rated original program on Adult Swim in the US.

Matthew Senreich says, “We wanted to take the Star Wars universe and see it through the eyes of Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Gary the Stormtrooper. We still flip around the universe but we get a unique perspective from the bad guy side, from people who just want to rule the universe.”

LONDON IRISH GANGSTER MOVIE SET FOR FILMING NEXT YEAR. {Film}

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Dark and Gritty Movie Reaches into the Bloody Heart of London’s Underworld

Written and produced by Londoner Andrew Nolan, Clan London will be filmed in London and Boston next year. Starring Jay Giannone (The Departed, Three Kings) former World boxing champion Steve Collins and former bank robber now best selling author Noel ‘Razor’ Smith – the movie introduces today’s world to a dark corner of the city when extreme lawlessness and chaos comes under the control of the most ruthless crime family this country has ever seen.

Set in the capital, Clan London centers on three second generation Irish brothers growing up in 1970’s London up to the present day. Against the backdrop of anti – Irish feeling the McDonagh clan refuse to keep their heads down and become heavily involved in organised crime. So much so they rise to the top of the British underworld.
The movie is primarily located in the Kilburn and Ladbroke Grove area of North West London where many of the Irish settled during the recent wave of immigration from the 1960’s onwards. London Irish artists such as Johnny Lydon were giving the World punk music whilst thousands of young Irishmen were the rock in the foundation of London’s construction boom. This movie will finally bring to life an accurate portrayal of what it was like to be Irish in a deeply suspicious city when the troubles of Northern Ireland often exploded onto the streets of the capital. For one family, the brutal criminal underworld provides a way out of poverty and an opportunity to confront the anti Irish sentiments of the day head on.

At the heart of the film is a story of Love, Honour and Loyalty set against the brutal criminal underworld of greed and corruption. Primarily aimed at the lucrative 18 – 30 ‘crime’ genre market, it has the potential to appeal to older audiences in the footsteps of The Godfather. With it’s fully realised and above all authentic characters, their seducing charm and unquenchable thirst for power, Clan London manages to be that rare beast; a truly original, high concept film that engages an audience emotionally but is still fresh, powerful and above all highly marketable.

Among the many artists who have agreed to feature on the soundtrack are Elvis Costello, The Dropkick Murphys (The Departed) and Spider Stacy from The Pogues (PS I Love You).

 

DEATH RACE 2 ON DVD {Film}

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Get ready for the drive of your life when Death Race 2 comes to DVD and Blu-ray on 27th December 2010 from Universal Pictures International Entertainment. Death Race 2 is a must-see adrenaline pumping, car crunching, action packed prequel to Death Race (2008), starring Luke Goss (Tekken, Hell Boy II: The Golden Army), Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Red Riding) and Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible Trilogy, Piranha 3D).

In the not too distant future, the United States economy is in decline and violent crime is spiralling out of control. In an attempt to regain power over the growing criminal population, a vast network of for-profit, private prisons has opened up. But rather than solving society’s problems they have created a lawless subculture run by gangs, killers and sociopaths.

On his arrival at Terminal Island Prison, convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas (Goss) finds himself thrown into the spotlight as a ruthlessly ambitious television personality, September Jones (Lauren Cohen; Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, Supernatural), launches the ultimate reality show, Death Race, with him as her star driver. The brutal prison yard demolition derby pits the already violent and uncontrollable prisoners against each other in heavily reinforced and seriously dangerous armed vehicles. The prize is freedom; but will anyone survive to enjoy it?!

With the stakes so high the prisoners will do anything they can to win, and as a series of death-defying races take their toll on Lucas, his transformation into notorious Death Race driver, Frankenstein, begins. As the brutality of the race increases, Lucas is left so horribly disfigured by the violence he begins to wear a terrifying iron mask to hide his scars and a legend is born.

Death Race 2 is all action from start to finish with terrifying races and fights to the bitter end in state of the art high-definition on Blu-ray.

DVD and Blu-ray Special Features

· Feature commentary

· Deleted scenes

· Deleted shots montage with optional introduction with director Roel Reine

· The Race Begins: The Evolution of the Death Race

· Cheating Death: The Stunts of Death Race 2

· Fast Cars and Firearms: The Cars of Death Race 2

Love and Other Drugs {Film Preview}

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While Leicester Square was mobbed by screaming Harry Potter fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars arriving for the film’s premiere, two Hollywood A-listers slipped un-noticed past the crowds of autograph seekers into the cinema next door. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway were there to screen their new film ‘Love and Other Drugs’ and I was lucky enough to be invited along to watch it.

The film, directed by Edward Zwick is based on the non-fiction book ‘Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman’ by Jamie Reidy. Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a womanizing Viagra salesman. Exuding confidence and charm he’s the object of desire of the women he encounters and the envy of every man including his richer, more successful, less aesthetically blessed younger brother. Despite the bravado, Jamie is deeply insecure, his need to prove himself to his parents deriving from unfulfilled potential due to having ADD. Gyllenhaal found the part difficult to research as the world of pharmaceutical sales is incredibly secretive. He says “I played a CIA agent in a movie and it was easier to research that than researching the world of pharmaceutical sales.”

“When people are going through difficult times some people run towards others while there are some who push people in the other direction isolating themselves.”

Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock. At first Maggie, an artist, appears to be an alluring free spirit with an insatiable libido who won’t let anyone tie her down but her behaviour stems from a deep rooted fear of being rejected due to having an incurable degenerative disease. Hathaway’s clearly invested alot of energy into the part admitting that she found it difficult to leave behind. Insight-fully she remarks “When people are going through difficult times some people run towards others while there are some who push people in the other direction isolating themselves.”

Parkinson’s features heavily in this film and Ed Zwick commented: “We wanted to create a juxtaposition of the character of Jamie and his pill for everything and Maggie with an incurable disease”

Now this makes me feel old…the film’s classed as a period piece. Set in the 90’s, it opens in a second hand electronics store and there are plenty of gadgets to spot for those keen on nostalgia.

a delicate study into the nature of the psychology of love and the constant battle between wants and needs…based on a book about Viagra

There are funny moments, but it’s not a rom-com in the typical sense of the word. They director worked with the cast improvising scenes to steer the film away from the rom-com stereotype. For the cheese like-rs, there’s still a few cheesy moments but if you hated all cheesy moments all the time then possibly you have a heart of stone. Rather than a rom-com, the film’s a delicate study into the nature of the psychology of love and the constant battle between wants and needs…based on a book about Viagra.

Opens in the USA 24th November 2010 and the UK 29th December 2010


Love And Other Drugs Trailer

RED {Film Review}

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Like perhaps many of you, I had seen the posters that have seemed to spring up almost overnight. The four vibrant faces of Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich. The three big emblazoned letters RED, just inspires thoughts of an action movie that the entire world was waiting for. Encouraging you to think what a dynamic cocktail these actors could make.

Little wonder then that I entered the Cinema not quite sure what to expect. Sure I knew the history; RED is based on the three-issue comic book published by DC Comics and created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner. If you have seen comic book to movie conversions though you know as well as I do that it is very much a hit and miss affair how good or bad these movies end up.

“Red”, is derived from the stamp on agent Frank Moses’ (Bruce Willis) file, meaning “Retired, Extremely Dangerous” Frank Moses is a former black-ops CIA agent, now living a quiet life in retirement. However, lonely with retirement he strikes up a slightly somewhat odd relationship with a customer service worker at Frank’s pension office in Kansas City. However, the path of love is never smooth his quiet life of retirement is brought to an abrupt end when he is attacked by a hit squad in the middle of the night.

Frank takes on his assailants and, knowing whoever is after him would have tapped his phone, makes his way to Kansas City to both protect Sarah and also find out who is now after him.

So how does it all play out? Well in my opinion whilst enjoyable the film was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The problem is the genre has been played out so many times before and often with the same actors that I found it hard to get into the movie. To their credit the actors play their part admirably but to my taste I noticed a hint of laziness on more than a couple of occasions. The storyline does permit for some interesting twists with the characters – Helen Mirren as a hit woman turned lady of luxury, John Malkovich as an ex-agent who is now paranoid and always thinks that someone is watching him are great examples of character depth and do produce a chuckle here and a chuckle there. But it is hard to ignore that these are well established actors in their own right and you can’t help feeling that they are capable of doing so much more especially if they were allowed to explore their characters more.

However these might be viewed as minor criticisms as what this movie does well it does extremely well. Adapted for the big screen by brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber (who also wrote the adaptations of Whiteout and Alice) where they did manage to succeed is in the dry, witty humour and quick fire action. I also found the idea of an older operative who is set in his ways having to contend with younger and fit agents as well as new techniques and modern technology quite refreshing. Although, it must be said I saw Bruce Willis in this role in Die Hard 4.0 and it was much a similar vein and did so with more success.

So – my final verdict? If you get the opportunity and are stuck for a movie to go and see you could do worse, however don’t make this the top of your hit list.

By Junior Smart

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. {Film Review}

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When the original Wall Street film came out in 1987, only two months after the Black Monday stock market crash, it was very apt. It was as much a damning indictment of the yuppie generation as it was Hollywood entertainment. As history repeats itself, so has the timing of the second film. With fears of double dip recessions, crashing house prices in America and massive unemployment, Oliver Stone once again holds up a mirror to the financial world – it looks as ugly as it did last time.

Whilst the original glamourised the industry it sought to shame, Wall Street 2 makes the industry seem much more brutal. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko is more grizzled and world weary. Coming out of prison after decades for insider trading.

I can’t separate the actors life from the character. This may seem strange, but during filming Douglas’s son, Cameron, went to prison for 5 years for dealing drugs. In the film, Gekko has a son who died from a drug overdose. In a speech near the end about his son, the speech is so truthful I could barely watch, the pain was so visible.

Wall Street 2 is a good film. Shia LaBeouf is spot on as the hier broker engaged to Gekko’s daughter. Josh Brolin is as good as ever as Bretton James. An unscrupulous billionaire who’s callous actions cause Shia LaBeouf’s character, Jake Moore, to seek revenge. To incredibly watchable effect.

The other thing this things reminds you of is how amazing Michael Douglas is as an actor. I really hope he has a speedy recovery from cancer soon. The loss to cinema would be too great.

Throw in a cameo no-one was expecting and you have a brilliant film. Well worth a watch.

By Catherine Balavage

The Fighter's Ballad Preview {Film}

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Films set in London can’t help but resonate with it’s residents and ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ opens with various shots of London and it’s landmarks so from the start I expected it to portray some of the characteristics and problems of present day London. And I wasn’t disappointed. Set and filmed in St Leonard’s Shoreditch Church, round the corner from the hedonistic playground of the youthful and trendy that is Hoxton, a world weary Reverend (Clive Russell) carries out his mundane day to day duties to a dwindling congregation.
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St Leonard’s is also the setting for the television show ‘Rev’ and has been described as “one of the country’s most bleakly beautiful buildings.” It’s name might be familiar from the nursary rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’ and Shakespeare is said to have worshipped there but these days the flock is the homeless and drug addicts.
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The plot continues when a violent, desperate man breaks into the Church bringing with him the anxiety and anger of contemporary society. This is The Fighter (Peter Cadwell) and as his name suggests he’s violent. He’s also a soul in turmoil, seeking meaning in life, faith and redemption.
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The Fighter’s Ballad is an adaptation of an original stage play written by Peter Cadwell who plays The Fighter. Although film is very dialogue heavy, the performances were strong enough to carry it off. Russell’s portrayal of Reverend John was natural, utterly convincing and at times very moving. Russell’s grand stature (6’6″) didn’t prevent him from coming across as a vulnerable character. Cadwell, more used to the stage, brought an energy to the nameless fighter that’s not often seen on a screen. The Fighter’s dialogue being lyrical and almost rap-like, the extra energy came in handy bringing the angry, troubled character to life.
The film is superbly shot, if a little dark in places, on digital SLR cameras. They make full use of the dereliction of the building and the features inside.  A grand piano covered in water stained dustsheet says everything about this supposed sanctuary surrounded by gritty inner London.
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The Fighter’s Ballad was screened at Bafta on 30th September and will continue to go on to bigger and better things.