Tag Archives: 20th Century Fox

Gone Girl {Film Review}

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This particular movie was built on the marketing that you had to see this movie (or read the book) to understand why you had to go see it yourself. The trailers were reminiscent to when Alfred Hitchcock gave away little to nothing about the plot, only snippets here and there. Our curiosity only grew and grew from movie posters designed as ‘Missing Person’ posters and word of mouth. David Fincher had our curiosity and now has our attention. That is the power Fincher has used to full use and the film itself doesn’t disappoint.

 

The movie is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn (who also wrote the screenplay). The story revolves around Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), who one morning on his wedding anniversary finds his wife Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) missing. The police investigate the crime scene, finding no evidence to suspect a kidnapping. Eventually, everyone starts pointing fingers at

gone_girl_ver2_xlgNick, from police, neighbours and even talk show hosts. Though as the story progresses, we cut back to diary entries from Amy herself. Giving two completely different perspectives and asking ourselves; who is telling the truth?

 

This movie is the definition of edge-on-your-seat. Fincher is the master of mystery/thriller filmmaking (as evidenced in Se7en, The Game and Zodiac). His eye to detail is so immaculate, with the production design to the bleak but beautiful cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth. Every clue is never left unnoticed. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is discomforting but also hypnotic (as Fincher said when giving direction for the score “Think about the really terrible music you hear in massage parlors. The way that it artificially tries to make you feel like everything’s OK. And then imagine that sound starting to curdle and unravel.“). That direction to the music is certainly what is felt through-out the entire duration of the movie. The more we find out Nick and Amy’s marriage, the more we realise it is not what we perceived from the start. This movie satarises the media, forcing us to rethink how we look at the stories that are laid in front of us. Even when answers are not met or answered, we’re so eager to accuse anyone to have some sort of resolution (just like Robert Graysmith in Zodiac). Even when one talk show host (played by Missi Pyle) flat out accuses Nick to not only be Amy’s killer but also accuses him to have a incestuous relationship with his sister.

 

Ben Affleck is continuing to mature as an actor. Fincher cast him the part as Nick Dunne because Affleck himself has been through hell in the eyes of the media and public. You can certainly see the weight that has been brought down on his shoulders. The supporting cast members were equally terrific, especially the surprise performance from Tyler Perry (probably given the most hilarious line in the entire movie, and one that summarises the Dunne’s; “You two are the most fucked up people I’ve ever met and I deal with fucked up people for a living.“) Though the stand-out performance has to be Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne. She is unbelievably outstanding and one I would vote to get a Best Actress nomination. As mentioned earlier, talking more about her role would reveal a lot of the twists. Suffice to say, it is a performance everyone will be talking about the rest of the year (especially the ending may make couples feel uncomfortable or at least awkward).

 

Overall; David Fincher delivers an intense, no holds barred thriller. It is expertly crafted from everyone in the production. Stellar performances and award-worthy performance from Rosamund Pike. Easily one of the best movies of this year and highly recommended.

4 out of 5

TAKEN 3 – Exclusive Trailer

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If history is anything to go by, you just can’t keep a good guy down. Liam Neeson aka undisputed throat puncher returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills. The guy who hunted down his daughter’s kidnappers, The man who taught his daughter to drive in the space of a few hours and the man who’s torture skills include nails, wire and a whole load of electricity returns in Taken 3. After watching the first two Taken films you could be forgiven for wondering where they could possibly go next and who else could be kidnapped. However from the trailer it seems that for Taken 3 they are upping the anti when his ex-wife is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage and framed for the crime, Mills once again goes on the rampage, this time hunted himself by the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter.

The trailer looks heavy – enjoy. Taken 3 hits cinemas January 9, 2015

Prometheus {Film Review}

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*WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

 

It has been nearly 33 years since Ridley Scott came to the spot-light and scared audiences worldwide with Alien (1979). It was a science fiction/horror film that felt real; in-terms of the characters who were portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm etc. The film was the complete opposite to Star Wars (1977), it was dark and grimy (Ridley Scott used The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as an influence on how he wanted to treat the film). Now Sir Ridley returns to sci-fi in 2012 with Prometheus.

The story is about two scientists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who go off on an expedition (the ship called Prometheus) to discover the creation of mankind, lead by Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) who represents Weyland Corp. Once they arrive on the distant planet, they soon discover a dark secret and everything soon goes downhill. It has been known as the Alien prequel but Ridley Scott decided to make it into an original science fiction film during pre-production. It does feature what we all know about the Alien franchise; derelict ship, android and Weyland Corp. but that’s where all ties from Alien stop. The story is very similar to H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness (1936), in terms with its premise and twist. The film deals with the themes of creation and faith, though this is a story that has been itching Ridley since 1979; the origins of the Space Jockey. Whilst the themes are executed very well and the opening scene certainly delivers a bizarre but beautiful glimpse of what could be viewed as the creation of life.

Noomi Rapace, from Millennium trilogy fame as Lisbeth Salander, plays an interesting character that you follow and really get involved with. You feel her struggle as her faith is challenged when she slowly discovers about our creators (or engineers as they’re called) and wanting to find out why they created us. It certainly is a nice change that both Scott and Rapace didn’t try to create another Ripley and made sure the character stood out. Charlize Theron plays Meredith as cold as you expect when a Weyland employee is involved. She plays the character as very calculative, dry but also very straight-forward as you’d expect someone who’s company is funding a trillion dollar expedition. The standout performance in this film (and has everyone talking about) is Michael Fassbender as David the android and he steals every scene he’s in. His presence is captivating and makes you equally as fascinated and curious with the Space Jockeys as he is. The scene where he’s walking around and monitoring the ship and crew is probably my favourite scene in the whole movie, where there is barely any dialogue involved except where he watches Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

This film is definitely going to get technical awards, especially for Production Design, Costume Design, Visual Effects and Sound. The whole film is exceptionally well made and it definitely shows where the money went and a lot of effort was put to make the best-looking science fiction film. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous; every frame is beautifully lit and shot. Ridley Scott’s eye to detail on every part of the production is mind-blowing. Even where there were scenes were live actors were interacting with digital creatures looked seamless. Ridley shot the film in 3D and this film features the best use of 3D (along with Hugo, TRON: Legacy and Avatar). The common problem with 3D films is when a scene is dark, you’re focusing on the 3D than the scene itself and becomes incredibly distracting. This film, however, did not have those issues and would even recommend on seeing this film in 3D.

As much there were positive aspects in this film, it is not perfect unfortunately. Most of the supporting characters were not all memorable, especially anyone that wasn’t put top billing. They were all basically meat waiting to be put into the grinder and that’s where there’s the lack of tension/suspense. Unlike Alien where you got to know all the crew members and you actually cared for most of them whether they will die or not. The scene where Dallas (Tom Skerritt) goes through the ventilation shafts to find the xenomorph was one of the most frightening experiences I’ve had in film. Here, most of the scares are jump-scares, that’s a cliché the majority of horrors fall onto and it doesn’t work. It’s the anticipation of the horror; the tension building up and thus makes it scary. So when you see characters that are getting killed off when you barely had time to get to know them, you’re asking yourself “who cares?” The pacing and story is a bit muddled once the Prometheus crew lands on the planet and start discovering the Space Jockey’s ship. It all feels too quick and things start happening before the next set piece begins. I cannot help but feel there’s an extended version somewhere in the cutting room floor. It also leaves a few questions unanswered and I can see why some people may find that incredibly frustrating and especially so when it leaves it open for a sequel (or sequel-baiting). Some of the crew members weren’t entirely smart, they in fact made some pretty stupid decisions. For example; Rafe Spall’s character sees a snake like alien creature, his first instinct to do is slowly approach it and touch it whilst this creature makes a snarling hissing sound. That’s like going up to try touch a rattlesnake, even when it’s rattling its tail and hissing at you at the same time. Also the surgical pod in Meredith Vickers’ room didn’t make much sense, as it can only operate on male patients (why couldn’t it be able to operate on both sexes?). The music by Marc Streitenfeld (American Gangster and Robin Hood) is good but not as memorable compared to Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Alien. Where most of his tracks in the film work (the opening scene), some scenes I felt that could have been a lot stronger without it (David monitoring the ship).

Overall; an interesting science fiction film, that deals with themes that are bold and quite daring with the story and scope. I give Scott and his production team +A for delivering a beautiful looking film. Although it’s a film that has quite a few flaws and hoping there will be an extended director’s cut in the works!

3 out of 5

The A Team review by Junior Smart {Film}

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Bet you didn’t know that “Hannibal” Smith loves it when a plan comes together. Almost every single middle aged person on the planet knows those words and the theme tune that it almost instantaneously brings to mind and what it means. The A-Team was an iconic Saturday morning show of the 80’s, and brings back lucid memories of ‘family time’ huddled round the TV set and school playgrounds where every kid would pretend to be in the van and involved in epic shoot-outs. It is also the latest film to get the movie update treatment by film studios that seem to be fast running out of original material and are looking to entice film going audiences back into the cinema.

I would have loved to have seen the CEO of 20th Century Fox’s face of when they brought this plan to the table. You can almost hear his words ‘What – you only want to bring the biggest TV show of all time to the big screen? – Are you for real? Damn we better get this one right – if we screw this one up even my grand kids grand kids won’t forgive me!!! Hell – let’s go ahead but let’s throw the kitchen sink at it!’

Bringing this to the screen was either going to be hit – or a miss and they knew there was going to be no second chances, no reboot in five years time, no nothing. Screw up on any aspect, have the wrong actors, have a crap script and you can forget it. Little wonder then that the film was in development since the mid 1990s, having gone through numerous writers and story ideas, being put on hold numerous times. In the end the film was directed by the accomplished Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell, and legendary brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. This talented group act almost like an A-Team in their own right and bring the story bang up to date with enthusiasm.

The story follows the principle of the original series. For those of you who didn’t know The A-Team are a crack group of soldiers who go on the run after being framed for a ‘crime that they did not commit’ who now exist as soldiers of fortune… The movie belts along at a cracking pace but with a few twists along the way and thoughtfully the directors decided to create the origin story for the first half of the movie. This I thought was a superb idea because at the very least it gives the action compulsion. By the end of the first half of the film you know why they are all together, and more importantly why B.A.Baracus ‘will not get on no plane’.

The actors’ success in portraying their characters is a major factor in the film’s triumph and is second only to the fantastic script. As an 80’s A-Team fan my initial apprehension was that this would be a shoddy remake that unfortunately we have become accustomed to over the past decade, with paper thin characters that not only did not look like their counterparts but were going to be unable to carry them. However Liam Neeson steps sturdily into the role of John “Hannibal” Smith. He breathes life into the guy with a smile yet plays him as an individual rather than try to imitate the now legendary role made famous by George Peppard. As a result you appreciate him far more. The same goes for the rest of the cast. Bradley Cooper as “Face” gives the character his own suave inventive spin and also worthy of note is Sharlto Copley as “Howling Mad” Murdock. He conveys the character as being genuinely off his head yet also a hotshot talented pilot and he creates some real laugh out loud moments.

You can tell that the entire cast fully enjoyed making this film because the level of authenticity in the camaraderie, as a result you feel for their disappointments and whoop for their success. Liam Neeson said in a recent interview that it was the script not memories of the 80’s show that made him sign on the dotted line and judging from the script who can blame him; the script is very strong. Indeed you could take the title away from this film and still have a great action movie in its own right. Yes it is clichéd, yes it action focused but it also fun and does definitely have a heart. For example B.A.Baracus (played by a very driven UFC Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) ends up in jail he finds faith and decides that he doesn’t want to kill anymore. An interesting idea considered that he is a solider ‘of fortune’ and that their adversaries seem to stop at nothing until the A-Team is taken out of the picture for good. The rest of the team play out this potential ‘conflict of interest’ as great friendship in real life would allow and for me this is a nice touch on the 80’s series.

Just as good as the actors were those working behind the scenes with the special effects. Whilst there is nothing here that is ‘new’ so to speak, the film is big budget and well executed, some of the scenes are incredible if not totally unbelievable but still worth seeing. Want to see a tank fall out of a plane? It’s here. Want to see a helicopter take on missiles? It’s here. Want to see a twist of romance in the middle of breathtaking action? It’s here.
This story, complete with the performances in both acting and special effects is a powerful concoction especially for those in need of a testosterone built blockbuster of the summer. “Hannibal” Smith loves it when a plan comes together – Trust me by the time the credits roll – you will too.

Glee : Road to Sectionals DVD Launch at Lucky Voice

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Two of the Frost Magazine team went along to the Glee DVD Launch. Catherine gives her brilliant rundown of the event:

When I found out I would be going along to the launch of the highly anticipated DVD of Glee: Road to Sectionals I could barely contain my, well, glee. This dissipated somewhat when I released they expected me to sing. Actually sing. Yes , I know it was being held at the amazing and uber cool Lucky Voice but I thought I would be able to just watch everybody else make fools of themselves. No such luck. After a few cocktails. This is what happened….

I arrive at Lucky Voice in Islington and am promptly given a rather wonderful cocktail called “Soho Love” I highly recommend it. It even comes with a love heart sweet. I am less happy, however, when told I have no choice but to sing for my booze. Ah well. They say nothing is free. I am then taken to one of the Lucky Voice rooms.

After the initial terror I do have an absolutely amazing time. Everybody let’s there hair down singing along to all the best songs from Glee. Vanilla vodka & coke slurpees are brought in and there is even a Glee clubhouse prop box so you can dress up with. My friend Blake looks amazing in the blonde wig while Genevieve is awesome on the tambourine.

All the hits from the show are played and you can very easily skip between them as well. Don’t stop believing is a particular hit. If you want a fun night out then I highly recommend Lucky Voice. It was founded by Martha Lane Fox. Even if you hate karaoke you will these nights. Find your nearest and have a gleeful night. Go ahead and jump.

The highly anticipated DVD of Glee: Road to Sectionals hits shops on 12 April 2010 and to celebrate Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has teamed up with premium karaoke bar Lucky Voice to produce the ultimate Glee karaoke night.

With costs from just £20 per person prepare for an unforgettable Glee experience:

London – Sun to Wed £20 per person; Thurs – Sat £24 per person

Brighton – Sun to Wed £18 per person; Thurs – Sat £22 per person

London
52 Poland Street
London W1F 7NQ
0207 439 3660

173-174 Upper Street
Islington
London N1 1RG
020 7354 6280

Brighton
8 Black Lion Street
Brighton BN1 1ND
01273 715 770


Nb: Here’s a ‘hilarious’ video courtesy of our new friends at Urbanvox.net of what we are now refering to as “the incident”:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOou7quhzRk