Trailer Review: Man of Steel Official Trailer #2 (2013) - Zack Snyder

"My Father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they'd reject me. He was convinced the world wasn't ready. What do you think?"

          As you might of picked up on, I am a huge comic book movie fan, its my favourite movie genre and has given its far share of great movies and great disappointments. This movie looks like it will fall into the first category, it seems to be a more serious take on the Superman story very much like Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (whom is producing it), that is taking a fantastical story and basing it at least partiality in the real world and making the characters very dark and introspective. Another thing this movie has going for it in my opinion is its director Zack Snyder, who is one of my favourite directors and while I didn't think his personal style would fit with a Superman film he seems to have been reigned in by Christopher Nolan and this trailer just looks amazing.

          When the teaser trailer's came out (the same trailer had two different voice-overs) I wasn't overly impressed with it, but it did its job of getting people talking about the film. Now this the second trailer does an amazing job and doesn't give too much away it's very careful about what it shows and doesn't spoil the trailer like many films lately have a habit of doing, this isn't a two minute version of the entire film. What it does though is it introduces the main character of Clark Kent/Superman played by Henry Cavill and in a twist from the comic's and previous adoptions of the film has Clark's father not be as supportive of him using his super powers to help people as he's worried what other people will think of him and how they'll react to him, which is very powerful and a more realistic idea for the character. It also shows Clark Kent's eventual realisation that he'll need to become Superman in order to help the people he loves even if it means betraying them at least that's how I interoperate it.

Please check out the trailer below and if it's not working here's a link to it: http://youtu.be/-DaPBBOHfsA 

Trailer Review: Pacific Rim Trailer #1 (2013) - Guillermo del Toro

To Fight Monsters We Created Monsters

"Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!"

          Ooh my God this trailer looks amazing. I've been following this film loosely as its the project Guillermo del Toro decided to make after walking away from The Hobbit and up until seeing this trailer I thought he'd made a big mistake. But with the recent interest in the Monster movie genre with films such as Troll Hunter, The Host(2006) and Cloverfield I thought Guillermo del Toro could be the man to change the fortunes of this ill-fated genre and after watching the trailer today I'd say he has. Now as any good movie fan will tell you never judge a movie by its trailer as they can cut the best half hour of the film into a decent trailer and leave out the other hour and a half of utter crap, but looking at the man's previous offerings (Pan's Labyrinth, Blade II and both of the Hellboy films) and taking a leap of faith I feel this will be a good movie (especially for Sci-fi and monster movie fans) but it also has the potential to be a great movie if handled correctly.

          This movie is a homage to the Kaiju genre, which is the Japanese monster movie genre to me and you made up of films such as Godzilla, Mothra and countless others. To me this movie is also homaging the other big Japanese genre of giant fighting robots, basically think Power Rangers and Transformers but controlled by being connected to the pilots brain, this is more an anime genre in Japan and is quiet common with series such as Evangelion, Ghost in the shell, Gundam and Macross. But like I said Power Rangers (or Super Sentai the series that each season of Power Rangers is based on) and Transformers are prehaps the best known western examples of this genre.

Check out the trailer below and if thats not working here's a link to it: http://youtu.be/K-ZcqwvQbas 

Anyway I guess I should maybe talk a little bit about the trailer and what I liked about it, can I just say the whole thing? Ok I love the CGI design of the Mecha ((giant fighting robots)called Jaegers in this movie) and the monster (he looks like a cross between Godzilla and a shark). The fights between the Mecha and the monsters just look amazing and the human cast look to be top notch with Idris Elba stealing the show for me. So depending on how the next trailer looks I'll be there to see this film as soon as it comes out.

Top Tens: 12 Best Alternative Christmas movies

          Ok so this was meant to be a top ten, but with it being that special time of year as well as the fact it's 12/12/12 today here’s an extra two. I was debating doing 12 reviews and uploading a new one each day but that really seemed like too much work to commit too. So instead here’s all 12 and a short write up on each. Inspiration for this goes to my friend Liam Kent on Facebook who posted a shorted list that got me thinking, so thanks man.

          So to define the rules of this list, the film should take place on or around Christmas time or have a Christmas scene if it’s a movie that takes place over the course of a year. So with that out of the way let’s begin.

American Psycho

      12.   .Batman Returns (1992) – Sequel to Tim Burtons first Batman film and one of the better ones that isn’t part of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. The film has a darker feel to the first one, which was shocking when it 1^st came out but is acceptable today and it still holds up today.

     11.   American Psycho (2000) – Yeah, this really is stretching it but it does have a Christmas scene and is a classic movie well worth checking out if you haven’t seen it yet.

      10.   In Bruges (2008) – Bet you don’t remember this film taking place around Christmas time but it did, so there. Not just one of the funniest Irish films in recent years, but a brilliant dark comedy film in general.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

       9.       Lethal Weapon (1987) – The first but defiantly not the last Shane Black film on this list, I think this man has a Christmas fetish ha ha. Anyway one of the best buddy cop duos from the 80’s and an awesome movie.

       8.       Prometheus (2012) – This film has met with mixed reactions but there’s no denying that it’s a great sci-fi film and well worth checking out

       7.       Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) – Another Shane Black film on this list, chances on a Christmas scene in Iron Man 3 are fairly high. To my shame I haven’t seen this film, but it’s on my list to check out and comes highly rated

       6.       Alien (1979) – A classic, defiantly the origin of the modern Sci-fi films story template, the chest buster scene is still one of the most terrifying scenes and still holds up as a great film.

       5.       Gremlins (1984) – Come on how could I not mention Gizmo? The cutest ball of fur that you shouldn't get wet, expose to bright light and feed after midnight all of which happen over the course of this movie and the results of breaking these three rules aren’t good.

Gremelins

       4.       The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) – The last Shane Black film on this list but not his last Christmas movie, strange eh? Don’t expect a typical festive movie, but one of the best female led action films. Well worth checking out, if you haven’t seen it think The Bourne Identity just with Geena Davis kicking ass.

       3.       Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990) – Poor  John McClane (Bruce Willis) has two Christmases in a row ruined by pesky terrorists, the poor man. Two of the best action movies your ever likely to see and well worth checking out if you haven’t seen them.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

        2.       The Harry Potter movies (2001 – 2011) – Friends of mine have said these movies always remind them of Christmas and I have to agree. These movies just make great Christmas time viewing and are genuinely some of my favourite films. I’d still recommend the books over the films, but that’s a personal opinion.

1.       The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – It had to be No.1 , there’s always the great debate over whether this is a Christmas or Halloween movie and then there’s those who say it’s both. No matter what side of the fence you fall on, most people will agree it’s a classic movie and defiantly worth topping this list.

Opinions: How I Met Your Mother & other long running tv shows

          I remember when I first heard about How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), I though what an interesting idea it was and when I saw my first episode I fell in love with the show, the characters were new and genuinely funny, which I quiet rare in sit-coms today. But as the seasons went on and we kept getting hinds and teases about who Ted’s wife (the mother) was I thought of how I’d do the reveal. So here’s what I would of done in season 8 of HIMYM, I would of just introduced the Mother. Now you might think that’s strange seems as though the whole premise of the show is how they met, but taking some liberties with that idea, who says the fall in love the first time them meet? So after introducing her I’d start her and Ted dating and then we’d get to know more about her and be introduced to her friends, this bits key to me and you’ll see why later. So season 8 ends maybe with Ted and the mother having a fight. Now instead of doing a season 9 straight away we have a season of How I Met Your Father, told from the mothers view with her and her friends and how she’s always in the same places as Ted and the gang have been but just keep missing each other and depending on how successful this series if there could be more seasons, maybe season 2 runs concurrently with season 9 of HIMYM. And lastly by season 10 I’d wrap up the story line and have Ted and The Mother marry.

          Now on to the second part of this opinion piece. Long running TV shows in general, as constantly happens TV shows run out of steam after about four to five seasons, this is generally because the original idea of the show has been exhausted and then the writers look to introduce new idea’s into the plot to extend the run of the show, in some cases this works brilliantly in most though it doesn’t. So in my opinion ten in the magic number of seasons for any TV show assuming it survived the slump after season four or five as generally after ten the show will have to jump the shark again, if not for story reasons then because of actors or writers wanting to move on. How many shows can you think of that would of benefit from ending early? Everyone’s favourite example is The Simpsons, “Wasn’t The Simpsons a great show?” and when it ends it will be very fondly remembered but as the seasons keep on coming they turn older viewers away. Anyway back to my point, great television shows know when to end, when to take their bow and move on to other projects, they know there is no point flogging a dead horse and know to wrap up existing story lines and plot points. But that’s just my opinion, I hope you agree, but if you don’t feel free to comment.

Review: Contagion (2011) - Steven Soderbergh

          Contagion is one of those rare films’s that blends accuracy and action beautifully. The film is a realistic look at how a virus can spread in our modern society and shows the worst case scenario of how a relatively small outbreak can quickly spread and become and an epidemic.

          The film starts out simply enough and shows a businesswoman, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) on her way home after a business trip and an affair, she’s sick we later find out she’s patient zero and the infection spirals out from her, she infects her son who infects other children in his school, however the father, Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) is immune to the virus. Beth’s condition worsens and she’s rushed to hospital where she dies, when Matt goes home he finds his son has also died from the same illness. We then see that the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organisation) are both tracking the outbreak of a as yet identified virus in China, the same place Beth was on her business trip. The WHO then send Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) as their representative to China to try and find out the epicentre of the virus. Homeland security fearing that the virus maybe a biological weapon being used on the eve of Thanksgiving contact the CDC for advice. Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) a conspiracy theorist, posts videos about the disease on his blog.

          This is one of those films with several interlinking stories that you either love or hate and while it isn’t hard to follow the over arching story, you do have to pay attention. Seems as though most people haven’t seen this film I won’t spoil it but I will try and summarise up the rest of the story.

          Basically the scientists struggle to find a cure for the virus and eventually do find one, however in the mean time the disease spreads and society decays and worst aspects in society are shown. This is a very gritty film but well worth the watch.

So rating, I’d give this film a 8/10 it mightn’t be for everyone but I feel most people will enjoy it, especially scientists.

Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010) - Edgar Wright

          I remember when this film came out in the cinema all my friends that went to go see it kept telling me how amazing it was how original and unique the story was and how I never got to see it in the cinema. So instead I read the comic and fell in love with the beautiful black and white images that Bryan Lee O’Malley had drew and the strange love story presented on the pages. The problem was now I was very emotionally attached to the story and had such high expectations for the film (after all the hype my friends had given it) I was worried how it would turn out, by this stage I had decided to wait for the film to be released on DVD. So were my worries justified? No. Putting it simply this is one of (if not my) favourite films ever.

          So what’s it all about then? Well if you haven’t seen Scott Pilgrim, I suggest you do go see it, but if you’d rather not then I’ll try and not give away to many spoilers. Scott (Michael Cera) is in his early 20’s, he’s a musician and he’s started dating a high schooler (Ellen Wong as Knives Chau), he’s never worked a day in his life and he’s very happy go lucky. His friends don’t approve of him dating her. He then meets another girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is quiet literally the girl of his dreams and becomes obsessed with her ignoring Knives completely. He starts dating Ramona and knows he has to breakup with Knives but keeps putting it off, there’s also one tiny little catch with dating Ramona. Scott has to defeat her seven evil exes. As you can imagine things don’t play out smoothly for poor Scott and around evil ex 4 he begins to wonder if Ramona is worth it, and Knives now realising Scott had been seeing her as well as Ramona does what everyone in the same situation would do she blames everything on Ramona.

Scott then starts to realise how much Ramona means to him but he might of drove Ramona back into the arms of her seventh evil ex, Gideon Gordon Graves/G-man (Jason Schwartzman) who’s the one responsible for putting together the seven evil exes, he’s also literally inside her head by  a conveniently placed control chip. So Scott goes to win Ramona back and challenges Gideon to a final fight with the power of love and is killed, however following the films gamer logic Scott uses his 1up he got earlier to give the fight another go and this time with the power of self respect he along with help from Knives and Ramona defeats Gideon and walks off into the distance with Ramona.

          Ok so as I mentioned I love this film and comic, I loved the use of gamer, music and general nerdy references and here the film is not only extremely faithful to the comic but takes things one step beyond for example each ex is given a symbol representing their number. I also love the actors, I’d love to be able to pick out a stand out but everyone is so true to their character and represents them so well, the one I’d pick if I had to though would be Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Scott’s roommate and all around scene stealer when he’s on screen and takes some liberties with the character that make him probably my favourite. However there are some things I take issue with the main one being the shortening of the story, in the comics Ramona and Scott’s relationship takes place over the course of a year so it makes sense that the two fall in love with each other and it also makes the ending more believable, where as in the film it takes place over the course of about a week so the ending doesn’t feel deserved, the film makes even thought as much putting in an alternate ending where Scott ends up with Knives, that fits with the film. I also missed certain characters/scenes from the comic but I can see why they were cut.

          I realised I never gave a rating before to any of the films I’ve reviewed, that’s because I think you should be able to tell from how I talk about a film how I feel about it, but I think I’ll start giving ratings on a 10 scale. So Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a 10/10 for me. I highly recommended you check out this film and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.

Opinions: World War Z Trailer #1 (and the film in general)

Am I the only one that thinks this has potential?

Film Teaser Poster

          The trailer starts out with Brad Pitt and his family in a car and then shows the world going to hell as the Zombie’s start to take over the world and overwhelm every country across the globe. That’s right it’s a Zombie apocalypse movie, but the difference is this one is based on the book of the same name by Max Brooks author of the well known book The Zombie Survival Guide. This book serves as a sort of sequel to the popular (spoof) guide book and follows the rules and mythology set out within it. However the difficult part in adapting the book to film was in the narrative structure employed by Brooks, which is a series of individual accounts from various people around the world collected and presented in chronological order. Not a very film friendly narrative, so I liked the decision to have the movie focus on a UN worker whose job is to collect any information that may be useful to help stop the spread of the disease and find a cure, which allows the story to maintain its world scope and have certain characters/stories from the book shown in the film.

 

Book Cover

          Some people have taken issue with the vibe of the trailer which has a Cloverfield/I Am Legend feel to it, saying we don’t need another New York disaster movie and I think the New York scene could just be the first fifteen/twenty minutes of the movie, equally it could be a large chunk of it, but it’s too soon to judge that. Other’s have complained about the CGI super strength and fast zombies and while I along with most Zombie fans prefer the deadly slow creeping zombies, I think fast zombies can be just as scary.

          The film has also had a lot of troubles behind the scenes and was originally due out  for around this time this year but has instead been pushed back to next summer so as the final third of the film could be rewritten by Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard (both from Lost) and reshot. So while I am optimistic about this film, I am only cautiously so but only time will tell and I will be checking this film out next summer. What do you make of the trailer?