One of the most anticipated movies of the summer has finally hit cinemas and anticipation would be an understatement. After the release of both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy last year, both fans and general audiences were expecting this 11th entry in Marvel Cinematic Universe to top everything off.
After the events of The Winter Soldier, The Avengers (consists of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)) pursue the last HYDRA commander, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann). However, they also come across Strucker’s experiments with the twins, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) (changed from being mutants and Magneto’s children to experiments, due to 20th Century Fox owning rights to X-Men). Stark starts thinking about retiring from being Iron Man and starts creating, along with Banner, a new set of A.I. drones to tackle future threats (even extraterrestrial). Thus Ultron (James Spader) is born but doesn’t pan out as expected. Like a new child, he quickly takes action by having one primary goal; human extinction.
The movie doesn’t waste any time setting things up (if you haven’t been following the events from previous movies, good luck) and we’re straight into our first big action set-piece. It may feel a little rushed at times but it all flows seamlessly together. The whole MCU is already established at this point, though the few scenes where it takes a break from the action is one of the highlights. The entire cast fits into their characters like a glove, fully adjusting to their roles that we’ve been following since 2008. It completely shows their camaraderie as working in a team, as what made The Avengers such a treat to watch. Their witty banter and emotional connection are probably one of the most compelling moments in this movie (especially a running gag with Rogers and the team). We’re even given more back-story to Barton and Romanoff, which fleshed out their characters in a huge way than before. Both Maximoff twins are a welcome addition, giving Avengers an extra challenge to tackle. Wanda uses her hypnosis to bring out the team’s fears, thus adding a human layer to their characterisation.There are a few additional characters put into the mix (Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue to name one of many and antagonist for future Black Panther film) and may feel a little much to take all in but you tend to go along with the ride. Though it’s James Spader who steals the spot-light and he’s the most charismatic and intimidating villain since Loki. His introduction is undeniably gripping and quite spine-chilling with his speech towards the Avengers. He observes the world with childlike perception, slowly growing incredibly intellectual but also persistent on bringing total destruction on a global scale.
Writer/director Joss Whedon may excel on delivering wisecracks here and there but doesn’t fall short of the spectacle and there’s plenty of that on display! The creative fight combos between the heroes (mainly from Captain America and Thor) shows their ability to work as a team. The Hulkbuster vs Hulk scene was incredibly entertaining to watch, yet follows Man of Steel’s complete utter city destruction (may not be on the same scale but comes close). The design of Ultron is pretty much a Terminator pumped with steroids but given a face similar to Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. Given a lot to deliver expressions from the face with Spader also providing motion-capture performance. Although Quicksilver was the scene-stealer from X-Men: Days of Future Past, this portrayal of Quicksilver is just as creative and does convey his intense speed through-out the movie. Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman’s score gets you pumped for rooting our heroes but also delivering the right emotional notes during such scenes with our characters.
Overall; one of the best entries in the series. It somewhat surpasses the sequel on expanding the MCU series but also fleshing out our protagonist’s and making it worth investing from beginning to end. Joss Whedon makes his last outing with Marvel a bang and has given us a fantastic villain with Ultron. Next up, Ant-Man.
5 out of 5
p.s. Stay for a mid-credits scene, though you probably were ready to do that anyways.
It has been eight years since we saw the end of Frodo’s journey to destroy the one ring in Mordor and bringing Sauron’s reign in Middle-Earth to an close. Now Peter Jackson is back and this time, telling a story from a different Baggins; Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman).
This honestly came as a surprise, as I thought to believe they were still shooting and would be too busy to release a trailer not for another month! Maybe Peter Jackson decided to release his Christmas present to audiences around the world. If that’s the case, then I say “thank you, Mr. Jackson!”
It starts off Bilbo (played by Ian Holm, returning as old version of our protagonist), telling Frodo that he hasn’t exactly told the whole story. As traditional hobbit behavior, Bilbo has no interest in having adventures but unfortunately has no choice when Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan once again back for the prequel) appears. Though he doesn’t come alone, he introduces the thirteen dwarves; (deep breath!) Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, and Thorin Oakenshield. You’ll notice that Balin was mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring in the mines of Moria, whose dead carcass was on top of a tomb. Also Gloin was mentioned in the same film, he’s father of Gimli (played by John Ryhs-Davies).
Then the dwarves begin to sing a song and really sets the tone that Jackson knows best when bringing drama. We get glimpses of Gandalf traveling to various ruins, Bilbo first seeing the shards of Narsil (the sword Isildur used to defeat Sauron and Aragorn would eventually wield in The Return of the King) and Cate Blanchett returns as Galadriel. Then Howard Shore’s majestic score kicks in but the theme is entirely new and all the better for it! Finally we see Jackson continue his action chomps with a few fight sequences with the famous scene between the dwarves and trolls.
The ending is very fitting and makes links to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bilbo asking “can you promise I will come back?” and which Gandalf responds quite bluntly but honestly “no and if you do, you will not be the same!” Finally we see Andy Serkis as Gollum in the shadows, crawling sinisterly above our hero.
The movie is a complete reminder on how much The Lord of the Rings has played a huge part in our culture and the way the film industry have viewed on fantasy films (look at Harry Potter series and tell me it doesn’t have some LOTR influence)
Unfortunately, we all will have to wait till December 14th, 2012 to get our tickets back to the world of Tolkien.
The Planet of the Apes is a franchise that has been going strong since I was a kid. Actually, the original was one of my favourite films.
With scientists admitting that they were doing tests on monkeys, and fresh Daily Mail worries about animal/human hybrid experiments, it makes it all the more real and scary.
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes has the amazingly talented Andy Serkis as Caesar, and what a performance.
In support, James Franco plays Will Rodman, whose father, played by John Lithgow, has Alzheimers. Rodman tries desperately to cure his father and the key lies in Caesar who receives an amazing amount of intelligence and self awareness due to the the drug ALZ 112 previously injected into his mother. But the drug doesn’t get funded after Caesar’s mother seemingly turns violent and is killed.
But it’s Serkis’ Caesar who steals the film. We see him unsure of his place in the world, missing his family, feeling different, like an outsider and wondering why his kind are treated differently. Andy Serkis should be allowed the Oscar.
This film has been a runway success so far, taking $54.8m in its opening weekend. Deservedly too. It is a good film, lots of action, well acted and you care for the characters. ‘Rise’ is timely and good entertainment. In short, I recommend it for a perfect fun night out while definitely giving you something to think about over your post-film pizza.
Who and Where The launch of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland audio book along with the all star cast including Simon Callow, Chloe Moretz, Andy Serkis, Sandi Toksvig, Paul Whitehouse, Celia Imrie, Dexter Fletcher, Asa Butterfield and other members of The Young Actors Theatre, Islington.
When On Wednesday June 15 / 18:00 / Young Actors Theatre
Frost had a wonderful time at YATI’s launch for the Alice in Wonderland audio book, the theatre made us feel like we had fallen down the hole after Alice, the cast did a reading and performed some songs, and all the while we sipped cocktails and munched canapes. It was a fun (alcoholic) tea party indeed.
I had a chat with the wonderful and polite Andy Serkis, who told me that the Young Actors Theatre had given him his start when he was 18. Asa Butterfield, fresh from a Martin Scorsese lead, put all his success at the door of the theatre, saying that he would never be where he is now without them.
In a bid to raise much needed funds and awareness of the continuing work that Islington’s YATI carries out with budding actors and performers from within the local community, the non subsidised community theatre and acting school has given its young professionals the chance to experience the demands and fun of recording this enduring classic, alongside some of the country’s best-loved actors and performers, all of whom have generously donated their contributions to support this fund-raising initiative, to support the launch of the developing potential fund and create a brand new audio book version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
In the current climate, it is more important than ever for small, community based organisations such as YATI to be pro-active in generating the income to continue to fund an environment where young people from all walks of life can transform their lives
‘YATI is not only an important part of the local community’ says Andy Serkis, (The Mock Turtle), ‘but is also an invaluable resource for young actors and performers from all walks of life to get an introduction into the acting profession’ before adding;
‘How better then to celebrate the ongoing achievements of the theatre than to bring members past and present together with some of the country’s best actors working today to record a new and fun version of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’
Andrew Harries, Artistic Director of YATI, says; ‘This is a pivotal time for YATI and we want to celebrate the achievements of the theatre. We have more classes and opportunities for young people in the community than ever before and our members are experiencing an impressive amount of professional success with appearances in The Kings Speech, Attack the Block and Horrid Henry – and that’s just the past 12 months.
And what better way to raise awareness of the theatre, gain the support of the wider community and invest in the futures of as many young people as possible than with the launch of this exciting and fun new version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It is great to see YATI students acting alongside some of the nations best loved talent.’
The Young Actors Theatre deserves public funding for all of the hard, amazing work they have done over the years.to support them, buy the CD, volunteer or give them some much needed cash, Young Actors Theatre
First Look! – Pictures from Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Total Film takes a look at the first pictures from Rise of the Planet of the Apes which opens later this summer. Andy Serkis plays chief chimp Caesar, created through motion-capture and CGI.
Director Rupert Wyatt explains, “We had a choice of using either live apes or CGI. Personally, I had moral problems with the idea of using chimps. And from a practical point of view it would be virtually impossible to get them to do what we need them to do within our schedule.”
Blake’s not Lively – she’s an old fogey?
When Total Film sat down for a chat with Blake about her latest film The Green Lantern, the Gossip Girl admitted “I very much think of myself as an old fogey.”
Responding to jibes from Green Lantern director Martin Campbell that she was “going on 60”, Blake confessed, “I don’t party, I don’t go out and I’m sure one day I’ll really regret not tapping in and really living it up and exploring all the frivolities of youth.”
Speaking about her transformation from blonde to brunette for her portrayal of the comic book’s character Carol Ferris, she added, “I do want to make the fans happy. In the end we did a test and I tried 14 different shades of brown because we wanted to have the exact right colour. It was elaborate.”
Daniel Radcliffe speaks exclusively to Total Film: “I just hated my performance”
Speaking exclusively to Total Film in the issue out now about the final installment, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Radcliffe revealed that he hated his performance in the 2009 film, The Half-Blood Prince.
“The Half-Blood Prince wasn’t my favourite installment overall. I just hated my performance. The film was good, but it’s a huge amount of exposition.”
About a week ago I was invited to BAFTA by Channel 4 to see their new comedy. After some caffeine we were shown the second episode, and it was incredibly funny, well written and completely not politically correct. Frost are a fan of such witty writing and boundary pushing. Give it a watch and see if you are too. I reckon you’ll enjoy it, but you might feel that you shouldn’t….
Campus is a brand new comedy set in the hotbed of academic mediocrity that is Kirke University. At its helm is the stubby, mercurial Vice Chancellor Jonty de Wolfe, who wants nothing more than to drench Kirke in the juices of his own greatness.
As a scary cloud of financial doom hovers over the gently crumbling 60s concrete, Jonty attempts to pimp up Kirke in any way he can, whether it’s faked alumni, kidnapped prodigies or a range of “Eau de Kirke” perfumery – but his lofty plans soar as gracefully as a porky tortoise… And while the strangely unsettling puppet master plunges deeper into the pickle jar, the rest of Kirke’s assorted staff get sidetracked by the more urgent dilemma of who to sleep with next.
The philandering English Professor Matt Beer is forced to up his game in all departments, as he makes no impression on shy Maths lecturer Imogen Moffat, who herself is consumed with creative agony over expectations of a follow-up to her hit Mathsbuster. He is left to contemplate his rapidly greying pubes while his younger, bouncier, athletic student sidekick Flatpack – who combines a six-pack body with the intellect of a piece of Ikea furniture – makes more headway with the lovely Maths boffin. The gawky Mechanical Engineer Lydia ‘big shit’ Tennant, the three Graces of Admin (Big Grace, Pretty Grace and ‘Was Once A Man’ Grace), Jason the reticent Accountant and Nicole the feisty Accommodations Officer add more sexual confusion to the mix.
CAMPUS is a comedy about the life of a university under fire. Jonty and his team face extinction if they cannot harness their individual and collective brain power, some of which has not been exercised for many years, in an effort to reinvigorate their tired and vulnerable institution…but of course it’s mainly a love story with lots of sex. What did you expect?
CAMPUS is produced and directed by Victoria Pile (Green Wing) with Associate Producer Robert Harley and the Executive Producer is Caroline Leddy.
Starring:
Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories) plays Jonty de Wolfe
Joseph Millson (Casino Royale, Love Never Dies) plays Matthew Beer
Lisa Jackson (Bright Young Things, Time and The Conways) plays Imogen Moffat
Jonathan Bailey (Young Leonardo) plays ‘Flatpack’
Sara Pascoe (The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret) plays Nicole Huggins
Will Adamsdale (Jackson’s Way, The Boat That Rocked) plays Jason Armitage
Dolly Wells (Star Stories) plays Lydia Tennant
Katherine Ryan (Last Comic Standing) plays Georgina Bryan
CAST OF CHARACTERS
JONTY DE WOLFE
Kirke University’s idiosyncratic and strangely unsettling Vice Chancellor.
Kirke – once a concrete academic field of dreams, now a landfill of educational mediocrity – is the child Jonty never had. Now, to make his life even harder, clouds of financial doom and political grief are gathering ominously over the campus.
MATTHEW BEER
The sexually active and academically dormant English professor whose research speciality appears to be The Easy Life. Matt deftly side-steps student queries by insisting they ‘google it’.
IMOGEN MOFFAT
Awkward but prodigiously talented Maths lecturer, who brought huge kudos to Kirke with the success of her best-selling book, The Joy of Zero. Much to Jonty’s frustration, however, the celebrated Imogen is struggling badly with its sequel.
FLATPACK
Post-graduate student, nominally Matt’s teaching assistant, but more significantly an athlete with serious international potential. Cute and bouncy and allegedly studying English Literature, Flatpack has in fact only read six books since the age of ten; three about sports science (twice each). For Jonty, however, he brings star quality and is therefore indispensible.
JASON ARMITAGE & NICOLE HUGGINS
Chief Accountant and Accommodations Officer respectively. A meeting of chalk with cheese, although this doesn’t mean they can’t be special friends. However, as Jason’s finding it hard to dump his current girlfriend, a tangled web of deceit seems to be the best route to avoiding any awkwardness.
LYDIA TENNANT
Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering who usually prefers power tools to humans – although she could find a small space for some sort of sexually-active male. Her job seems safe as she has a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with a pharmaceutical company specialising in vivisection. And despite resembling a laboratory rat herself, there is a key difference: Lydia is a born survivor.
GEORGINA BRYAN
Canadian troubleshooter – or troublemaker as far as Jonty’s concerned – head of the ruthless consultancy team tasked with ‘restructuring’ Kirke. Cold-hearted and cleavage-flaunting, George is scarily ambitious.
EPISODE SYNOPSES
Ep 1: PUBLICATION! PUBLICATION! PUBLICATION!
According to Vice Chancellor Jonty De Wolfe, Kirke University’s bank balance and academic reputation both need a bit of a boost. Reactions to this news from members of staff range from nonchalance to panic, but Jonty, titillated by his mousy Maths Lecturer’s success insists all the staff take a leaf out of her (best selling) book – Publication! Publication! Publication!
Ep 2: THE CULLING FIELDS
Jonty is forced to make huge spending cuts and the Kirke University rumour mill goes into paranoid overdrive. No one’s job is safe, it seems. Apart from those whose jobs are safe, of course. Hard work, diligence and not telling whopping great fibs on your CV should see you right. So not looking great for Lazy Prof Matt or Accomms. Officer Nicole.
Ep 3: DARK CANADIAN FOG
The arrival of a restructuring guru, in the shapely shape of George Bryan, sends a chill wind up many a Kirke trouser leg. A fully paid-up member of the ‘slash and burn’ school of downsizing, George appears without heart or soul. In an act of crippling desperation, Jonty enlists Matt’s help to ‘melt’ the Ice Maiden.
Ep 4: COME TOGETHER
Philandering English Professor, Matt Beer, is on a mission to woo icy business consultant George into knee-trembling, resolve-weakening, book-cooking submission. Flatpack embarks on a little wooing of his own, and even Accountant Jason is feeling a certain ‘stirring’ around gay best friend Nicole.
Ep 5: POST COITAL
As George puts the finishing touches to her Final Report, Matt is plunged into total crisis over his recent shenanigans and the thought that he might actually have genuine feelings for another member of the human race. Imogen suffers her own inner turmoil about an ill-advised coupling and only Flat seems perkily sure of what he wants.
Ep 6: AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING AND AN ENDING
The Day of Reckoning. Stomachs and hearts are in knots as George prepares to deliver the bad news. ‘The News” however, turns out to be not quite what they anticipated, leaving everyone with a new set of ever more complicated problems to unpick.
BIOGRAPHIES
ANDY NYMAN (Jonty de Wolfe)
Actor and magician Andy Nyman directed and co-wrote all of Derren Brown’s stage shows – all of which enjoyed hugely successful West End runs and national tours – including the Olivier award-winning sell-out production, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Their fourth show, Enigma, was also Olivier-nominated.
He also co-writes and is Consultant Producer on Derren Brown’s series and specials for Channel 4, including Russian Roulette Live, Messiah, The Gathering and The Heist. His work on these shows won him a Silver Rose at the 2003 Montreux Television Festival. He was also Consultant Producer on Channel 4’s Magick and Dirty Tricks. More recently he starred in Crooked House and Charlie Brooker’s E4 BAFTA-nominated horror satire, Dead Set.
His numerous feature film credits include Dead Babies, Shut Up and Shoot Me, Severance, Wild Romance, Death at a Funeral and the forthcoming thriller, The Glass Man.
This week Andy’s sell-out stage show Ghost Stories, which he co-wrote and co-directed, and in which he also stars, transfers from the Lyric to the West End (Duke of York’s).
JOSEPH MILLSON (Matt Beer)
Joseph Millson’s numerous theatre credits include appearances for the RSC in Peter Hall’s As You Like It (for which he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for best classical actor under 30), The Spanish Golden Age season and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as appearing alongside Steven Berkoff in his production of Richard II. He first came to TV prominence in Peak Practice followed by EastEnders, Macbeth, The Romantics and Channel 4’s Ghost Squad. More recently he guested in Talk to Me, Survivors and Ashes to Ashes before returning to the stage with Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the National Theatre. Last year’s TV appearances included BBC Four’s acclaimed drama Enid and Mike Bullen’s comedy drama, Reunited.
SARA PASCOE (Nicole Huggins)
Writer, stand-up and comedy actress Sara Pascoe debuted her solo stand-up show in Edinburgh last year to wide acclaim and was voted one of Time Out’s Rising Stars of Comedy. Her many TV credits include Being Human, The Thick of It and, for Channel 4, Girl Friday, Free Agents and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.
DOLLY WELLS (Lydia Tennant)
Dolly Wells’ numerous previous Channel 4 comedy appearances include Peep Show, Star Stories, The IT Crowd and Free Agents. In addition her TV credits range from The Gathering Storm and Bertie and Elizabeth to, more recently, The Mighty Boosh and Whites. Feature films include I Capture the Castle, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Magicians and Film Four’s Morvern Callar.
WILLIAM ADAMSDALE (Jason Armitage)
Will Adamsdale won the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival Perrier Award for Comedy for his one-man show, Jackson’s Way, in 2004. Numerous theatre credits include Faster, The Winslow Boy, Arcadia, Notes from Underground, Bent, BloodyPoetry and No Man’s Land. On television, appearances include two series of Manchild, Sword of Honour, Bomber and Warriors.
KATHERINE RYAN (George)
Writer, performer and actress Katherine Ryan was the 2008 Winner of the Nivea Funny Women Awards and is one of the most recent additions to UK stand-up. She recently appeared in Channel 4’s Routes, which was both Writer’s Guild and BAFTA-nominated.
LISA JACKSON (Imogen Moffat)
Lisa Jackson’s numerous theatre appearances include As You Like It, The 39 Steps,All My Sons and Time and the Conways at the National Theatre. On television she has appeared in Daniel Deronda, Waking the Dead and Dirk Gently, and film credits include Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things.
JONATHAN BAILEY (Flatpack)
Jonathan Bailey’s previous TV credits include Channel 4’s Alice through the Looking Glass, Bramwell, Bright Hair, Golden Hour, Off the Hook and Lewis. Feature films include Five Children and It and St. Trinians.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Monicker Pictures
Is a newly formed production company set up by Victoria Pile and Robert Harley. Disguised as a curiosity shop on Brick Lane, this is their first production. Other projects are in development.
VICTORIA PILE – Writer, Producer, Director
Victoria started out writing comedy for television and radio, before going on to develop her passion for producing and directing. She spent her early career at the BBC, before honing her skills at a variety of leading independent companies.
She devised and produced the double Emmy award-winning sketch show Smack the Pony for Channel 4, as well as the surreal two-hander Los Dos Bros (winner of the Silver Rose at Montreux). Taking elements from the style of these two shows, Victoria then devised, produced and co-wrote the hugely popular BAFTA-winning comedy Green Wing. More recently she has spent some time in the US, writing and producing a sitcom pilot for ABC/Paramount and developing another with NBC. Back in the UK, as well as directing a number of commercials, Victoria is the co-founder of Monicker Pictures, the Brick Lane based company behind Campus. She is currently developing a comedy drama for Channel 4, a screenplay, and sitcom scripts for the BBC.
According to this tweet from 20th Century Fox, Any Serkis is donning the motion capture suit to portray some sort of evil super intelligent ape.
He’s been cast as the ringleader of the Apes, Ceaser, filling Roddy McDowell’s shoes (from 1972’s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes). According to the website, the story is set “in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.”
Although the premise of the film is set against the scientific community and in particular those researching a cure for Alzheimers, lets take a moment to think about the work they are doing to benefit people who are suffering…and donate.
The movie doesn’t waste any time setting things up (if you haven’t been following the events from previous movies, good luck) and we’re straight into our first big action set-piece. It may feel a little rushed at times but it all flows seamlessly together. The whole MCU is already established at this point, though the few scenes where it takes a break from the action is one of the highlights. The entire cast fits into their characters like a glove, fully adjusting to their roles that we’ve been following since 2008. It completely shows their camaraderie as working in a team, as what made The Avengers such a treat to watch. Their witty banter and emotional connection are probably one of the most compelling moments in this movie (especially a running gag with Rogers and the team). We’re even given more back-story to Barton and Romanoff, which fleshed out their characters in a huge way than before. Both Maximoff twins are a welcome addition, giving Avengers an extra challenge to tackle. Wanda uses her hypnosis to bring out the team’s fears, thus adding a human layer to their characterisation.There are a few additional characters put into the mix (Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue to name one of many and antagonist for future Black Panther film) and may feel a little much to take all in but you tend to go along with the ride. Though it’s James Spader who steals the spot-light and he’s the most charismatic and intimidating villain since Loki. His introduction is undeniably gripping and quite spine-chilling with his speech towards the Avengers. He observes the world with childlike perception, slowly growing incredibly intellectual but also persistent on bringing total destruction on a global scale.