QUICK READ : Why Marvel’s Newest Announcement Deserves More Criticism

A Thor 3? Really? It seems like every month this year Marvel hold a press conference that will announce a new film, or a TV series, or hell, even both times by nine. That’s the new talk of the town in the film world as Marvel announce they plan on releasing nine feature films in the years 2016-2019. Fantastic news if you’re a die hard comic book fan, not so fantastic news for everybody else. It’s always nice to see studios planning ahead, looking to the future, but it’s starting to feel like Marvel are foreseeing the money side of their projects, not the creation.

I for one have been enjoying Marvel’s phase two much more than I had expected, Captain America 2 was a very good film, Iron Man 3 was some what decent, yet Thor : The Dark World was absolute dire. Which brings me to my first problem, is a third film for each of these characters really necessary? Captain Americas and Iron Mans is more understandable as they will be merging into the civil war storyline, but Thor’s? Really? Another one? It’s almost like Marvel are treating each superhero like a child and equally sharing the sweets, if one gets something, they all have to have it. Critics and audiences sit there and moan at the rest of Hollywood, “Oh did they really have to bring out a sequel to that?” “A PURGE 3? WHAT THE HELL MAN” “BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, WHAT A CHEAP MOVE.” But yet Marvel escapes untouched from these rants of annoyance at Hollywood business. But when Kevin Fiege was announcing the news on Marvel’s phase 3, there was one announcement  that I’m sure even made him tap his wallet and whisper to it “Get Ready”, and that was when he brought up splitting Avengers : Infinity War into a part 1 and 2. I was hoping this cheap, money boosting move wouldn’t have been Marvels type, but here I am, wrong. Marvel has joined Harry Potter and Twilight in breaking the last film into two. This basically means that part 1 doesn’t hold much to the story and really isn’t that good of a film, but audiences will be inclined to see it and box office money will be made. So sorry Kevin, but you have to stop calling it a trilogy. As for the other announcements regarding Captain Marvel, Black Panther etc. get me rather excited, as they are refreshing, interesting ideas. However I’m sure in five years after their releases, we will have seen Black Panther 3 and Captain Marvel vs Guardians Of The Galaxy for all I know. Even whilst I rave and rant about Marvel releasing all these films, one thing’s for sure, I still will be seeing these films. But I guess that’s just cinema, right?

Christopher Nolan : Ranked

In a little under a week  the UK will be unleashed to a mammoth of a movie, brought to audiences by the one and only, Christopher Nolan. There isn’t many consistently exceptional Directors as Nolan, and he has already earned his place on the Master Artist Shelf. Despite this, it still seems Nolan is ready to give more, with Interstellar looking  to be one of his strongest films yet. So there’s no better time to rank Nolan’s directional films.

7. Insomnia

Insomnia, which for some directors could be seen as one their more reasonably greater films in the career ladder is in fact Nolan’s lowest, only due to his others being so phenomenal. Insomnia doesn’t run off the beaten path regarding it’s crime origins story, a teenage girl found murdered in a small town in an mere habituated town, calls for a top city Detective to find the killer. Not so interesting in the day and age of Blockbuster giants. However, it’s the way Nolan plays around with the surrounding of the town and the way it rubs off on Detective Dormer that makes it a much better film.  A town which never see’s night time brings out a fantastic performance by Al Pacino. Insomnia plays well for Robin Williams as well, which provided one of his darkest roles to date. Some neat cinematography via the use of quick second flashbacks and bright rapid lighting whilst Pacino is barley conscious, puts Nolan’s tone on the film. Nolan’s first feature over 90 minutes, was by no means a bad one.

 

 

6. Batman Begins

Batman, a superhero left in ruins and surely wanting to hang the cape up after Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, was a big ask for Nolan to take. But it seemed re-inventing Batman wasn’t the only stake for Nolan, it was creating a full feature origins story that would slip into a darker Batman trilogy that would provide a challenging task. With the likes of X-men and The Spider-man trilogy all parading their successful box office records, Nolan could have easily made a linear superhero movie that would have scored well in cinemas, but he wouldn’t be known as Christopher Nolan if he played that way. Keeping to the origins story gave way to a huge success, it provided one of the most darkest superhero movies Hollywood has seen, made Christian Bale a fan favorite and made Marvel drool as Nolan had just created the first piece of arguably the best superhero trilogy this world has seen.

 

5. Memento

If Christopher Nolan had a definition of himself in the dictionary, the definition would be as followed – ‘One of the most non-linear storytelling directors of the 21st century’and Memento would be the small example after it. Told backwards, this film begs for re-watch after re-watch to get a real idea of the film. Following Guy Pierce’s character’s motives, reasons and morality are almost harder than following the story itself. Yet, this is Memento’s strongest point, leaving the audience in a guessing game of anticipation and confusion might not pay off on the first viewing, but after several watches, the fragments of the puzzle finally seem to piece themselves together into a truly astonishing film. Some films are more experiences rather than viewings, and Memento is one of them.

 

4. The Prestige

What looks like a little brother to Inception on the outside, regarding mind trips and tricks, is in fact a deep, sad, most character driven Nolan film of all. The theme of dedication, obsessiveness and pure ignorance are plagued in Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman’s characters so elegantly, that in fact rooting for either one becomes stupidly hard. Bale is seen as the lower class, ratty extraordinaire where as his enemy, Jackman, is seen as the more higher up, how a magician should be type. Putting them head to head brings out the perfect enemy chemstry that sees each trick from both become more extraordinary and more dangerous as the film goes on. The use of flashbacks and diary points bring in Nolan’s non-linear touch, that is boosted by some beautiful cinematography. One would have argue fiercely that there is any other better magician films than the Prestige.

 

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Audiences and Critics a like often argue that The Dark Knight Rises is the weakest Batman film of The Dark Knight trilogy, I for one, am not one of these people. It is true that maybe Nolan relied on more conventional actions pieces used by the likes of Marvel, rather than his darker touch seen in the previous two films, however, sometimes bigger means better. This film brings out one of the most memorable moments in the whole trilogy, a whole NFL stadium being blown to pieces, acre by acre, by the hands of Bane. The effects are truly breath-taking, the fighting scenes are beautifully choreographed, the support cast are exceptional and the pace is near perfect. The Dark Knight Rises provided audiences with a sexy Catwoman, a Joseph Gordon Levitt who would later be revealed as Robin, a enemy to Batman that masks up to be one of the greatest, right next to the Joker. Nolan intended for the trilogy to go out with a bang, and fans couldn’t ask for much more.

 

2. Inception

In the day and age where Blockbusters have big breasts but small brains, once in a while a film comes around that has both, a film that everyone wants, everyone needs, everyone remembers, I bring you *ahem* Inception. If not the best Summer Blockbuster of the 21st Century, Inception was the home of a complex story attached to big Hollywood scenes, with an all out cast. The plot itself is not a Donnie Darko one in which theories on the ending will plague the internet for years to come, no, it just requires you to concentrate and be patient. The film doesn’t go so fast that you are unable to take in every dream sequence and not understand them, everything is laid out for you and explained, probably more so than a text book. It’s one thing to have a complex story, but it’s a whole entire field to have a complex story with complex actions scenes that appeal to the masses. However, Nolan did it. Nolan created several fight scenes all between dreams, all simultaneously, all in different ratios of time, the planning must have been ridiculously painful How the man did not give up is a mystery but his determination repaid him, revealing one of the greatest Blockbusters of the 21st Century.

 

1. The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is the least  Superhero type movie out of every single Superhero movie ever made, but it’s also the best Superhero movie ever to hit the screen. The Dark Knight is more than just a man in a cape, it’s life, family, crime, villains, the darkness. It brings out an Oscar worthy performance by one of the most talented actors to bless the screen, the late Heath Ledger. The Joker is by far the darkest, distasteful villain to grace the Superhero world, pushing the limit of a 12a rating to it’s max. Acting has never been Marvel and Dc’s strongest point, yet Heath Ledger pushes his role to the extreme edge of insanity. Normally the second film in a trilogy is the weakest which is untrue here, because there hasn’t been a better Superhero film since, hell, there’s hasn’t been many better films since.

 

Is The Hunger Games Franchise The Face Of A Bright, Benficial, Movie Genre?

On the eve of a new week in which cinema listings are packed to the rim with showings of another converted young adult novel, one message has become ever so clear, a potentially bright future genre is emerging.

Young adult novels being adapted into films has been around for years. Only film studios didn’t start paying attention, until they saw the box office money Summit Entertainment was making from a newly young adult convert, Twilight. From then on more young adult, fantasy combined with romance films have invaded Hollywood. Some becoming complete replicas to Twilight. The problems with these films were, they were nothing but cringe-worthy romances with tacked on vampire teeth or some other special power, practically force-feeding their product into one target audience and no others. It literally turned into a battleground of who could please the teenage fan girl the most. However, it seems in these past few years a new genre has spread it’s wings in the new young adult franchise. A genre that has a few films with meaning, willpower and good heart. A genre that has potential to be refreshing, compelling and expansive, if handled creatively by directors and writers. That genre is, of course, the young adult dystopian Sci-Fi novel and films. It’s a mini-genre that doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon.

When The Hunger Games was released in 2012, it caught a lot of people by surprise. The idea of a theme in which young children fight to the death for spectators, and still be certificated 12a, was one thought of as not fit for the young adult genre. Mirroring scary similarities to  Battle Royale, it was never expected by the average film goer that this would flourish into a meaningful franchise, providing children and young adults, the learning of power and family. Although the first Hunger Games had it’s problems, it is Catching Fire that took the limelight and provided a perfect example of the power that lies behind Young Adult content. Flirting with the meanings of revolution, poor and rich, and the evils of human kind, it seems to have become the face of the new Dystopian Young Adult genre. It wasn’t a tacked on fantasy romance aimed at fan girls, it was a power-house providing for all ages.

Now other film studios have hopped on the footsteps of The Hunger Games Franchise, and although, none have succeeded the heights of the franchise that is carrying Jenifer Lawrence into an idol of the century, they still provide good meanings and good beliefs. The Giver, although a poor film in truth, still provide the sense of appreciation to life and the human form. The Maze Runner which provides a good watch, touched on the idea of teamwork and togetherness through, but for me, didn’t focus on the theme enough. Divergent emphasised on personalities and being who you want to be.

Apart from The Hunger Games, this mini-genre is under a lot of criticism for mimicking each other  too closely.Although this is true, it’s still a genre that has a wealth of potential. It’s just been announced that James Patterson’s young adult novel series Witch and Wizard is being adapted. Also in the rumour mill is that Michael Grant’s Gone series has been purchased by Sony. Talented writers being put into this Genre is definitely needed. If the films in this genre can continue to be released, but also differ from one another creatively whilst this mini genre develops, then we may have a keeper, that was all down to the brilliance of The Hunger Games.

GONE GIRL REVIEW – A Dark, Disturbing, David Fincher Masterpiece

It was as if Gone Girl was almost born to be studied by film students across the globe in thirty years. Why? Because this two hour thirty feature, will divide the audience into two different spectators with two different cinematic experiences. However this isn’t a male vs female experience, watching at home vs cinema experience, no. Gone Girl divides the audience with who has read the novel by Gillian Flynn, and who has not. In this film, having read the novel, or having not are probably the biggest factors when entering the cinema. The reassuring thing is, both non readers and readers will love it. It’s new and exciting, but it also pays homage to a bookbuster of a novel.

Gone Girl starts off as a crime drama and neatly turns itself into a thriller , with some mind bending twists added to the mechanisms. We follow Nick Dunne, an out of sort, masculine, average American, who will either become your protagonist or antagonist for the first half of the film (depending on your love for Affleck’s innocent looking face). We meet Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) on the day his wife goes missing, signs of a struggle in the living room and just like the title, she’s a gone girl. The two detectives on the case Deteticitve Rhonda Bony and Officer Jim Giplin, take statistics and logic over Nick Dunne’s story and start to believe he killed his wife, when clues start to emerge about Nick. However it’s what Fincher does so superbly that truly creates a sense of intereaction within the audience, which is, making the audience believe Nick Dunne is guilty. Feed the viewers with lies Nick has told the police, no alibi, and other wife killing perks into the abyss, and you have a divided audience all playing detective  at the same time. Unless of course, you have read the book. Revealing what the second half of the film is about would ruin the film, but it’s safe to say twists and turns are paramount. If you are a non reader, you will be scratching the inside of your brain trying to work out if Nick Dunne is guilty or not.

Two fantastic themes are brought out in Gone Girl, which will make create, anger, sympathise,thoughtfulness and so on with some viewers. The first of these two themes is the power of the Media and the power of Media speculation. Gone Girl creates a whole image of what the Media are like during a crime case. The way they potray characters, especially Amy (when you know things the media doesn’t) really is an eye opener to 21st Century crime cases.An enjoyable part of Gone Girl is one of the fictious TV shows in the film, the Ellen Abbot show. Ellen played by Missi Pyle, is a real, die for the women, we hate men TV presenter. She automatticaly puts the blame on Nick, accusing him of being a bully, a murderer and even counts of incest. We’ve decided she should be the new Jeremy Kyle. The final third of the film almost turns into a media war between Ellen Abott and Nick Dunne’s, very enjoyable lawyer, Tanner Bolt. The second theme is relationships. From the first shot where we see Nick Dunne looking at his wife’s head and narrating ‘What are you thinking? What secrets would come pouring out if I cracked your skull.” The Film takes marriages, love and commitment themes and gives them to Fincher. Fincher does what he does best with them, twists and tugs at them until they bleed and sweat.

Gone Girl has one of the best support cast in a feature film this year. Kim Dickens as Detective Bony is a real standout. Coffee in hand, Bony will always be evaluating the environment and people she’s talking too, without ever giving enough away. Props should go too Carrie Coon who plays Nick Dunne’s twin sister, she turns a minor role into a big character. She plays probably the most realistic of the bunch. Throw in a breath-taking break out performance by Rosamund Pike, who flirts with psychological problems so elegantly and an interesting role for How I Met Your Mothers, Neil Patrick Harris, and you have a real top team carried by a fantastic Ben Affleck.

Gone Girl is everything you don’t want to happen too you. It’s bleak, everyone’s an enemy, and the world is different for Nick Dunne and some viewers may even finding themselves in deep thought about some themes of the 21st century. The two and half hour showing time flies past, and Flynn does a good job on never making you dwell on one scene for too long. Let’s just hope this film doesn’t give some people in bad relationships any ideas.

★★★★★

Jordan Marshall

Under The Skin Review – Don’t get in a van with Scarlett Johansson

Being a virgin to any of Glazer’s previous films, I was going into the screening intrigued but yet weary of seeing a film by this director for the first time. It’s safe to say I came out speechless, confused and exhausted. Trust me, that’s a good thing.

Before I go on, I shall I give one piece of advice to anyone planning to watch this mesmerising film, read into it first. If you do a 2 minute little investigation into the making of this film you will learn that a lot of the people in this movie aren’t actors. They are mere random people in Scotland’s society that were preyed upon by the film crew to get a real reaction out of them. Basically when Johansson pulls up them in her van riddled with hidden cameras they have no idea it’s a film. Knowing this little piece of information makes the spectacle even more engaging and scary.

The film follows Johansson, a beautifully formed lady who is actually an alien preying on Scottish hitchhikers. There isn’t much too learn, there isn’t any backdrop, any history or any leaked information that gives us insight into our little alien friend. We are more or less pulled into a journey with a murderous, sexy, confused specie who tries to mix in within society whilst hunting prey. There are some other main characters such as a mysterious motorcyclist  who clearly is working with the alien, but other than that it’s all down to Johansson and she nails it perfectly. From her sexually provocative presence to her innocent conversation liners she plays the part brilliantly. She moves like someone who isn’t human and interacts like someone who isn’t human impeccably. 

When Scarlett is looking for her first victim, Glazer builds up the suspense to an extent I’ve never felt, purely because all the people being filmed have no idea they are being filmed. Just like they have no idea they are being preyed upon by this alien. Some scenes stand out a lot more than others including one involving a couple drowning on a Scottish beach and another involving a facially deformed man. Glazer plays with the thoughts on women, sex and interactivity on society but this is all through help by the real reactions from civilians. Some come across ‘rapey’, some come across kindly and some come across bewildered, it’s a fantastic mixture that freshens each hunt. This film is horrifying, it’s not labelled under the horror genre but there are some aspects to it that make it  unwatchable with fright at points. It feels real and you come out of the cinema thinking in a different way. I was walking down the street trying to pick out which of my fellow passer-by’s could be an alien (I know, my thoughts were all over the place). Some shots were maybe too long and there was around 10 minutes in the middle of the story where I began to lose concentration but overall this is a masterpiece for Art-house.

I doubt many people will come out of a film this year like they did with Under The Skin, it leaves you emotionally confused, sexually bewildered and judging everything you see for the next hour after the film. Glazer could easily be the next Tarantino of Art-house.