Trailers Week 8: 31/08/14

The Frame
This film comes from American director Jamin Winans who has made seven films since 2003. The trailer for his latest movie looks mysterious and slightly gripping.

A Leading Man
Steven J. Kung writes and directs this indie drama about an actor who starts a relationship with a casting directing in the hopes that it furthers his career.

Bird People
This movie from Pascale Ferran was first screened at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section (a very big honour for young directors. It follows a young American man who wishes to start a new life in Paris and stars Josh Charles, Amais Demoustier and Radha Mitchell.

Men, Women & Children
Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno) directs this drama about people losing touch and connecting with each other in the highly connected modern world. Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner and Emma Thompson.

Life Of Crime
This is sort of a prequel to Tarantino's Jackie Brown, but not quite (it contains younger versions of both Robert De Niro and Sam Jackson's characters). Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and directed by Dan Schechter, this film stars Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def).

Rosewater
Written and directed by Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and starring Gael Garcia Bernal, it is about journalist Maziar Bahari, who was held captive and interrogated by the Iranian government for five months.

Robin Williams Tribute Month

Earlier this month, the world lost one of it's funniest men, and one of it's finest actors. The tragic passing of Robin Williams saw a huge public outpouring of grief, with Jack and I here included. The event has certainly brought the effects of depression and anxiety into the limelight, but we've decided that the best way to mourn this great man is to celebrate his life's work, and that's exactly what we're going to do.

September is going to be our tribute month to Robin Williams, our chance to acknowledge his influence on our lives and to explore some of his lesser known films as well. We'll be taking a look back at a large array of his films, both the major ones and the unrecognized ones. Some of the films are brilliant, some are flops, but Robin lights up the screen in all. It's going to be a fun ride and I hope you'll all join us!

Jack: 

• Mrs Doubtfire (Joint Review) 
• Good Morning, Vietnam
• The Birdcage
• Aladdin
• Jack
• The World According to Garp
• Bicentennial Man
• Good Will Hunting

 Edward:

• Mrs Doubtfire (Joint Review) 
• Dead Poets Society
• Jumanji
• Cadillac Man
• Hook
• Worlds Greatest Dad
• The Fisher King
• One Hour Photo

Magic in the Moonlight

Well after nearly fifty years of his career and nearly fifty films written & directed (quite an achievement on it's own), Woody Allen is still going strong with his latest film, the romantic period piece, Magic in the Moonlight

In 1928, Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), the renowned illusionist, fraud de-bunker and supreme egotist is called upon by fellow performer and childhood friend Howard (Simon McBurney) to expose a spiritualist named Sophie (Emma Stone) who has won over a rich American family, the Catledges, on the French riviera, nearby to where his Aunt Vanessa lives. However, surrounded by loud-mouthed Americans whilst attempting to catch her in the act several times, Stanley faces a problem, he starts to believe that she could be the real thing.

The story, again written by Allen, is like most of his films both clever and hilarious, with genuine characters that draw you in. If I had any criticisms of it, it's that the characters views morph just a bit too readily, which can sometimes be a bit jarring. However you could argue that this is just Woody having a crack at the immutability of our beliefs.

Both Firth and Stone absolutely shine in their roles. Despite his callousness, pessimism and extreme ego, Stanley is actually quite a likable character, and supremely funny, both of which come down to Firths strong performance. Stone is both charismatic and believable as Sophie. The supporting cast are also very good in this, especially Marcia Gay Harden as Sophie's unwaveringly supportive mother and Eileen Atkins as Aunt Vanessa, whose sassy wit is a joy to hear.

I find with period pieces, especially those that are set in this era, that you can often tell that it's just a facade. Here though, this is not the case where a lot of passion and care has gone into the overall design. The late 20's really come to life with the accurate costumes, lavish sets and vintage cars, all of which blossom with colourful character off the screen. All of this is complemented by a well chosen mix of period music and classical pieces.

Judging by it's current reception, not everybody enjoyed this film as much as I did. But one of the brilliant things about movies is that they're only what each and every member of the audience makes of them, and I found this to be genuinely funny, impeccably directed and surprisingly touching in parts. I really enjoyed this one.

Richard Attenborough dies at 90

Sad to report that we have lost another great Hollywood star today. Richard Attenborough, actor & Director has passed away at 90 years of age. He was the eldest of the three Attenborough brothers, the others being David Attenborough, famous nature broadcaster and John Attenborough (died 2012), an executive at Alpha Romeo. Attenborough was known for his role as the ambitious John Hammond in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park and for directing the epic biopic Gandhi, which one him both the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards.

He long career began on the stage, with roles in plays such as the Agatha Christie's classic The Mousetrap. He then went on to star in other classics like Morning Departure and as the 'Big X' in The Great Escape. Among his many other accolades, he was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1967. He will be missed. Rest in peace Richard.

Trailers Week 7: 24/07/14

Fury
This World War II tank-centric action movie comes from David Ayer, who directed one of the better cop movies of the last couple of years, End of Watch. Once again Brad Pitt plays a scarred soldier alongside Jon Bernthal, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf and Michael Peña.

Outcast
Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen star as two crusaders in this medieval adventure who must protect the teenage heir to the throne of the Chinese empire.

Wer
This looks like it could be an actually plausible movie about a werewolf. Or it could just be a total failure. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Autómata
A movie about the future robotic singularity about robots who eventually gain their own consciousness and fight back against their human overlords? Yes please. Hopefully its better than Transcendence or I, Robot. From director Gabe Ibáñez and starring Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Dylan McDermott.

Annabelle
Australian director and producer James Wan has been responsible for some properly scary films over the last decade, including Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring. This latest one is in the same vein as Child's Play but looks about a thousand times scarier. Maybe its just my own fear of my mother's dolls. Starring Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton.

The Inbetweeners 2

Before watching The Inbetweeners Movie in 2011 I re-watched the entire three seasons of the show. This time round I didn't and maybe that was a good thing because the movies have evolved so far from what the show was about.

This time around the guys, Will (Simon Bird), Simon (Joe Thomas) and Neil (Blake Harrison), fed up with their dull lives decide to visit their friend Jay (James Buckley), who is on a gap year in Australia. Once their Will reunites with childhood friend Katie (Emily Berrington).

This movie is funny, although it's moved away from the cringeworthy, we've-all-been-there comedy of the show and just become gross out, and at times predictable, humour. But it still has it's own twist on the type. There is a great reference to Platoon in a scene that would just be straight out horrifying without. At times the crassness can be a bit grating, but eventually you forget all about these moments.

There are also references to the show and first movie that are great for fans, but you don't really need a deep understanding of them to enjoy this one. Although I do feel as though the audience for this one is really narrow, being either English people who have enjoyed a backpacking trip to Australia or Australians who interact with backpackers like this fairly often (I fit squarely in the latter group).

It's fun to see the backpacking archetypes that are portrayed and anyone who has traveled in a large group overseas will recognise them instantly. There are the people who just want to have a fun time and then there are the hardcore "we really just want to get to know the locals, man", who, let's face it, are the really annoying ones.

Another good thing about this movie is that they don't portray the Australians as over-the-top stereotypes that we can sometimes come across as. There is a long sequence at the start where Jay goes through as many Australian stereotypes as he can, but as we soon find out, he's full of shit.

The performances from the main cast are pretty solid, but at this stage it's no surprise since they've been playing the characters for eight years. Emily Berrington is okay, but nothing special. I found Tamla Kari as Simon's crazy and obsessive girlfriend, Lucy, pretty funny.

Verdict: If you know that you're in for a gross out comedy, The Inbetweeners 2 is a pretty hilarious movie.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Having watched the trailer for Felix Herngren's Swedish adventure film, I thought it looked incredibly exciting. Unfortunately most of the best bits from the film have been cherry-picked for the trailer which leaves a hilarious, yet slightly underwhelming movie.

On his 100th birthday and after a very eventful life, Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) is barricaded within the walls of a drab nursing home. He decides that there's still too much to experience in the outside world, so he climbs out the window. Whilst waiting for a bus, he is asked to mind a suitcase while it's owner goes to the bathroom. When the bus arrives he takes off with the suitcase, which happens to be stuffed with fifty million dollars in cash.

Whilst he undertakes his hilarious journey, we see flashbacks to his past, where he has been present at several important milestones and met some incredibly famous people, including Vice President Truman, Robert Oppenhiemer, General Franco and Stalin, among others. Sound familiar? Yes, he's also a little bit 'special' and at one stage says "Shit happens", but don't worry, this isn't a total rip-off.

Robert Gustafsson is quite good as Allan, especially considering he was often covered in plastic and makeup, but the character is quite a bland sort of person (which is where a lot a lot of the humour comes from) so there's really not a lot for him to work with. Alan Ford plays a very convincing, if not rather typecast (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch.) gangster, and Iwar Wiklander is great as Allan's travelling companion, Julius, however the rest of the cast seem to just be playing blithering idiots, which got a little bit tiresome.

The plot is a bit of a weird mix between Forrest Gump and Ferris Bueller, but it works fairly well, with hardly ever a dull moment, after all, Allan is an explosives enthusiast (don't worry, it's not a Michael Bay feature). The film is really hilarious, which is what kept me interested, and it's mainly delivered through dialogue driven gags, thanks to the great screenplay. However, as I mentioned earlier, the best jokes, the best plot points and the best explosions are all in the trailer, so if you're thinking of seeing the film, don't watch the trailer!

The overall look of the film, a bit like the effects, is nothing special. There were some interesting colour grading choices early on, such as the bland inside of the nursing home juxtaposed to the colourful flowers outside the window, but generally this is a film that lets the story speak for itself, which I quite respect. Overall, it's certainly not going to take you on a journey like Forrest Gump did, but that doesn't matter because it's a throughly entertaining movie.

Johnny Depp and daughter Lily-Rose cast in Kevin Smith's Yoga Hosers

Director Kevin Smith has gone into production on his next film in the True North Trilogy, hot on the heels of finishing the first movie Tusk, with the final one being called Moose Jaws (which is exactly what it sounds like).

Smith came up with the idea for Tusk on
his SModcast podcast

The cast of Yoga Hosers stays the same as Tusk with the majority of the actors playing different characters (a technique Smith used in his View Askew films). The movie is about two teenage Canadian girls (played by Lily-Rose Depp and Smith's own daughter Harley Quinn) who fight supernatural beasts.

Returning cast members from Tusk include Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Génesis Rodríguez and Harley Morenstein. The new cast includes Tony Hale, Natasha Lyonne, Adam Brody, Tyler Posey and long-time Smith collaborator Jason Mewes.

Tusk has it's international premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

Benedict Cumberbatch cast as Shere Khan in Jungle Book: Origins

Fan favourite Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as the voice of the villainous tiger Shere Khan in the live action Warner Bros. flick Jungle Book: Origins. The movie will mark the directorial debut of long time motion capture actor AndyHobbit films.

Serkis. This isn't Cumberbatch's first voice acting role, he has played the dragon Smaug in the

It will come a year and a week after Disney's own remake of the original film, starring Idris Elba as the tiger, with a release date of October 21, 2016.

Stay tuned for more updates. Story comes from Variety.

Palo Alto

High school is a terribly boring time in a young person's life. Or that's what Gia Coppola wants you to think in her debut as a director. That doesn't mean that Palo Alto is at all a boring movie. Coppola perfectly captures all that James Franco wanted to say in his collection of short stories.

Eschewing any real plot line, the film follows the lives of four teenagers living in Palo Alto, a town in California; Teddy (Jack Kilmer), April (Emma Roberts), Fred (Nat Wolff) and Emily (Zoe Levin). Each of these teens know each other through school and the various parties they attend. They all have their own issues, whether it be self-esteem or addiction or both.

All of the performances by the main actors are amazing. Emma Roberts and Zoe Levin both play shy girls who come out of their shells only when certain people are around. Nat Wolff's unhinged Fred is played with such a ferocity and intensity I almost forgot that the character wasn't really. This is Jack Kilmer's first role and his talent is immediately apparent. The brooding character Teddy had something extra than in the book and I put that down to his first class performances.

James Franco and Val Kilmer also appear in minor roles. Franco (who wrote the book that the film is based on) plays the predatory(?) Mr B. and is passable in a role he created, although I guess he probably knows about the characters more than anyone. Val Kilmer is limited to only two scenes, but he made me laugh both times.

I am only just a tiny bit jealous of Gia Coppola (or any of the Coppola kids) for that matter. Not only does she have the benefit of her grandfather being one of the most well-known directors in Hollywood, but she is extremely talented when it comes to filmmaking too, although I guess when you grow up on your family's film sets something must have sunk in.

Verdict: Coppola makes a film that exceeds past the source material which it is based. She perfectly captures what it feels like to be a teenager of the current generation and is helped along by a superb young cast.

Trailers Week 6: 17/08/14

Open Windows
This movie has been described as a modern take on Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and is about a guy who witnesses a kidnapping of a celebrity through his various electronic devices. Starring Elijah Wood and former porn star Sasha Grey.

The Motel Life
This movie directed by the Polsky brothers is about two brothers who are on the run from the law. It is based on the novel by Willy Vlautin and stars Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff and Dakota Fanning.

Last Days in Vietnam
This documentary from Rory Kennedy, the daughter of the late U.S Senator Robert Kennedy, details the end of the Vietnam War and the ethical issues that challenged the forces as whether to simply evacuate US forces or go against orders to attempt to rescue South Vietnamese people

Rudderless
After the death of his son in a tragic shooting, a mourning father forms a band to deal with his grief. Starring Casey Twenter and Selena Gomez, this will be the feature directorial debut of William H. Macy (Fargo).

Mortdecai
Art dealer Charles Mortdecai searches for a stolen painting that's reportedly linked to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold. Directed by David Koepp and starring Johnny Depp, Aubrey Plaza and Ewan McGregor.

Revenge of the Green Dragons
I'm really looking forward to this one. Produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by Wei-keung Lau (who directed Infernal Affairs, the movie that The Departed is a remake of), it is about Chinese immigrants who travel to America in the late 80s and start a criminal empire under the guise of chasing the American Dream. Justin Chon, Kevin Wu and Ray Liotta star.

Affleck comments on Batman Casting Decision

As entirely expected, the announcement last August that Ben Affleck would star as Batman in the Man of Steel sequel certainly resulted in some polarised views. Many were disappointed with the decision which eventually spawned jokes about how inappropriate he was for the role.

But now, speaking to EW, Affleck has commented on the "Batfleck" opinions.

"I can tell you that every time I do a role, it’s the responsibility of an actor to get their physical self as close to the role as possible. And Batman’s obviously got a set of expectations that are tough."

"Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I wouldn’t have taken the part if I didn’t trust my instincts in terms of the film-making."

"...it’s incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie’s all that matters."

What do you guys think about the casting of Affleck? Were you initially sceptical or did you hold confidence in the decision? and has your opinion on it changed since? We'd love to hear from you guys.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Many people classify Jon Favreau's Chef as 'food-porn'. In comparison  Lasse Hallström's The Hundred-Foot Journey, is 'food-porn', that in some parts seems to border on real porn.

After their restaurant in India is destroyed during a riot and his wife is killed, Papa (Om Puri) takes his children to Europe, where they eventually settle in France after finding a derelict restaurant to set up in. Papa's son, Hassan Haji (Manish Dayal) is an incredibly talented young cook who is able to produce food that will draw local attention. The only problem is that there is a prestigious restaurant already open across the road, operated by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).

A feud unfolds between Papa and Mallory, whilst Hassan catches the attention of sous-chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). Things are then further complicated when Mallory recognises Hassan's talent and decides to take him under her wings.
 
Helen Mirren always seems to bring so much life to her characters, but here she plays such a completely unlikable, borderline racist woman that even her natural charm can't manage to resuscitate the character. She does pull off a French accent for the most part and by no means gives a poor performance, but at the end of the day, you can't polish a t*rd. Om Puri's character is a lot more enjoyable to watch and is humorous with just the right amount of arrogance. However the rest of the cast were generally quite bland.

I think the real issue here though is the plot. It's fanciful and quite bizarre in it's level of suggestiveness in parts, such as a strangely erotic omelet-making scene between Mallory and Hassan which seems to be channelling this scene from Ghost. There's also the fact that the "war" between the two restaurants is illustrated in what seem to be very hectic training montages of slicing and dicing that are so over the top that you can't help but laugh. Then after all that, there's the excruciating finale that darts around in a series of false endings that go on and on. This script seriously needed some work.

Though it's not all bad. For one thing it's gorgeous to look at, with vivid colours and mouthwatering-food, not surprising considering the stylistic tendencies of cinematographer Linus Sandgren (American Hustle, Promised Land). There's also the humour, which (although a bit hit and miss) really keeps the whole thing afloat. In the end, it's certainly not a terrible movie and I'm sure it would appeal to many people, but it seems too dramatically forced and is lacking in many areas.

And So It Goes

All of Diane Keaton's recent romantic comedies are just the same movie, I'm sure of it. Just throw in another older male actor for her to fall in love with, be it Jack Nicholson, Kevin Kline or Harrison Ford. This time it's Michael Douglas' turn.

In this rather formulaic rom-com, Douglas plays a veteran realtor, Oren, who lives in a condo that also houses three other families. His neighbours find him curmudgeonly and abrasive, including next door neighbour Leah (Diane Keaton), a wannabe lounge singer. Oren's life gets turned upside down when his son delivers Oren's granddaughter to his place because he is going to jail. Of course this little girl melts Oren's heart.

I wouldn't say this movie is unoriginal, but it is definitely lacking life. The jokes in the movie are passable and the one's that got me the most were when Douglas' character was irreverent in front of children but that's about it.

Both Keaton and Douglas are better actors than the performances they gave in this movie. And if you want a little more variety of performances in this movie, you're not going to get any. Frankie Valli and Rob Reiner (as if he wouldn't put himself in his movies) have cameos and I thought the Frankie Valli one seemed a little out of place.

Verdict: If you are over the age of fifty and/or like any of the following movies (Somethings Gotta Give, The Big Wedding, Darling Companion) you will like this movie. If you aren't, I would avoid this movie like the plague.

Editorial: Robin Williams, we will always remember you

I know Edward has already reported on the untimely death of Robin Williams, but I really want to get out some feelings that I had toward the man, who was definitely one of my heroes.

As I kid I loved all of Williams' performances (in the movies I was allowed to watch), whether that be Genie in Aladdin or his unforgettable performance in Mrs Doubtfire. Then when I grew older, I appreciated his other work for different reasons. He inspired me to do voices and characters and that helped me come out of my shell in high school, where I was a bit of a shy outcast. In recent years, I started watching his stand-up performances, which are hilarious.

But looking back, when I watched his comedy special Weapons of Mass Destruction at a friend's place, I could see some pain behind his extreme coked-out performance. Sure we were laughing along at the jokes, how could you not, this man was a larger than life figure, but I pains me now to remember.

As someone who has struggled with depression and has contemplated suicide, it is really hard to see a hero from my childhood go out this way. He was a figure in my life who I really looked up to and helped me through some really tough times. We will all miss you Robin.

I've decided that next month we are going to dedicate to the legend and review some of the movies that mean the most to us. I really want to end this with a clip, but I can't find anything that shows how much this man means to me.

-Jack

Actor & Comedian Robin Williams Passes Away at 63

Sad news this morning that the legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams has died in a suspected suicide. Williams is known for his struggle with drug addiction over the years and is rumoured to have been battling severe depression in the past few months.

Apart from his stand-up, he was known for comedic roles in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire & Good Morning Vietnam (which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor) as well as more serious films such as Dead Poets Society (also achieved an AA Best Actor nomination), One Hour Photo & Good Will Hunting, which earned him his one and only Academy Award, in the best supporting actor field.

In his honour, we have attached below some of his great scenes which we believe show his versatility as an actor. He will be deeply missed.

This one is actually just the trailer for One Hour Photo but is poignant none the less:

The Lonely Island is getting a movie!

That's right the comedy band The Lonely Island is getting a movie. For those unfamiliar with TLI, the band is comprised of comedians Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer and are responsible for such hits as "I'm On A Boat", "Like A Boss" and "Jizz In My Pants".

No word on what the plot will be yet, but we do know it will be directed by Judd Apatow. Whatever will happen with this movie, I reckon it's sure to be funny.

-Jack

Begin Again

Mark Ruffalo's character Dan makes an interesting point about the place music has in our lives. He says that music gives the banality of everyday life more energy. I feel as though this is overall theme of John Carney's Begin Again, to make life more vivid and enjoyable, and he has constructed a beautiful movie to convey those thoughts.

Dan (Ruffalo) is a down on his luck record producer. He has been moving from failure to failure and it's pretty safe to say that he is an alcoholic. Everything changes when he meets Gretta (Keira Knightley), a young singer-songwriter who has come to New York. After listening to her perform he knows that he wants to make an album with her.

This movie is a love letter to music. It really shows the power it has to lift you up when you're down or bring people together. All the music is perfectly co-written by Gregg Alexander (of the 90s band and one of my favourites the New Radicals) and is performed well by the cast.

Ruffalo gives a fantastic performance as Dan and I think he plays the role of dishevelled guy a little too well. Likewise, Knightley is fantastic and displays an amazing vocal talent. Supporting roles from Catherine Keener, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld and Cee Lo Green are enjoyable.

Carney knows how to craft a movie both when it comes to the script and direction. The film is filled with light and poignant moments with a fair few pop culture references thrown in. He does a decent job at making shots that are evocative, but the real joy came for me with the editing. The use of jump cuts was great and makes some of the scenes pop, especially when they were recording songs in the streets of New York.

Verdict: A feel good movie that is perfect if you love music.

Trailers Week 5: 10/08/14

The Theory Of Everything
This biopic chronicles the early career of English physicist Stephen Hawking, his relationship with his first wife Jane Wilde and his early development of motor neurone disease. Starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, this one looks like a tear-jerker.

Camp X-Ray
This indie film from director Peter Sattler is about the friendship between a female soldier and a detainee at the Camp X-Ray facility at Guantanamo Bay. Starring Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi.

Believe Me
I have to be honest, I don't know how I feel about this one. The concept looks like it could be funny (something about college kids becoming Christian con-men). Apart from Nick Offerman and Christopher McDonald, I don't know any of the actors.

Love, Rosie
This romance stars Lily Collins and Sam Claflin as friends whose friendship is tested when they realise that maybe there should have been more between them.

Are You Here
This one comes from the creator of Mad Men, Matthew Weiner, and is about two friends who embark on a road trip to their hometown after one learns his estranged father left him a sizeable inheritance in his will. Starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Amy Poehler.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy

Before I get into the film itself, I have to just say that I'm absolutely sick to death of Marvel's releases. I used to really like their characters but with film after film, franchise after franchise, I feel that they've really diluted in quality and have over-saturated the market to the extent that I now don't want to see any more superhero movies, even from DC or any of their other competitors. Not to mention all the good that their hyper-budgets could do with smaller productions and better script treatments. Anyway, rant over. It's time to see how their latest release Guardians of the Galaxy stacks up!

In 1988, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is abducted from Earth, with only a Walkman and a present from his mother as possessions. 26 years later he steals a sought-after orb that lands him in prison, before he teams up with a tree-like humanoid (Vin Diesel), a genetically engineered raccoon (Bradley Cooper), an orphaned alien (Zoe Saldana) and a pissed off guy with tattoos (Dave Bautista) to escape, sell the orb and hunt down Ronan the Accuser.

The plot wasn't quite as convoluted as I was expecting, but was still as ridiculous as in most Marvel films. Having said that, it's really nice to have some fresh characters in the mix, instead of the constant rinse and repeat that we've become accustomed to. It's also great to have more of a pure sci-fi film from Marvel.

There's plenty of decent humour to keep it rolling along, although some of it is a bit cringe-worthy and there were also several jokes (such as the fact that Groot can only say "'I am Groot") that were repeated to death, which got tiring very quickly. But other than a few cliches here and there, and an ending that seemed to go on and on, the plot's really not that bad and is enough to keep you entertained throughout.

There's also nothing particularly wrong with the casts' performances but at the same time, they're nothing special. The only two characters which I actually enjoyed were Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Peter Serafinowicz's character, Denarian Saal (mainly because it's Peter Serafinowicz), and they were basically the two biggest arseholes in the whole film.

Of course, with a budget of $170 million, it's going to have plenty of eye-candy, and trust me, you won't be disappointed. It's absolutely jam packed with explosions, lasers, spaceships and a CGI racoon, whether that makes up for all it's issues depends on what sort of sci-fi films you enjoy. If you're a fan of Michael Bay, this film will blow your mind with it's strong presence of plot!

At the end of the day, it's a big-budget blockbuster with tonnes of special effects that look fantastic and jokes that will keep you watching. I quite enjoyed this but it still doesn't change my stance on Marvel.

A Most Wanted Man

Most of John le Carré's novels are fodder for excellent spy movies, this was proven with 2011's Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy. A Most Wanted Man is probably up there with some of the best spy movies and is helped along by a performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman that I will not soon forget.

This film takes a more mechanical approach to the spy game than Tinker Tailor did. There's no guessing or twists about who is a double, but rather focuses on a more straightforward look at modern espionage and the back-room politics that influence it. Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) leads a covert team of anti-terrorism agents in Hamburg. Their main objective is to develop sources within the Islamic community to bring down more dangerous targets. They aim to make a young Chechan, Issa Karpov (Grigory Dobrygin), one of these sources by using his lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams).

The plot isn't too complex and is rather easy to follow along with. Writer Andrew Bovell conveys the tensity of the spy game quite well and has written some of the more minor characters, such as Robin Wright's American Martha Sullivan, with just enough intrigue that they are not forgotten within the overall plot.

Director Anton Corbijn is mainly a music video director and that comes through in a lot of the tight, claustrophobic shots that is used throughout the film. There are also some really beautiful long takes that add to the characters emotions.

It feels weird writing about an actor's final performance. This is the first time I've done this and it's extremely hard given that that actor has always been one of my favourites. Philip Seymour Hoffman's intense portrayal of the beleaguered Bachmann is probably one of the finer performances his given although not his best. At times his German accent slipped, but not so much you'd notice. At times you really feel for his character, who is under intense pressure from his superiors.

 Rachel McAdams really surprised me with this dramatic turn. She seemed believable in this intense film and could keep up quite well with other more experienced actors in this genre. Robin Wright was fantastic as well and was a far cry from her character on House of Cards.

Willem Dafoe is an old hand when it comes to a German accent and plays brilliantly through some of the most intense scenes in the film. I was a little disappointed with the underuse of Daniel Brühl who is a great actor, but relegated to the background of most scenes.

Verdict: A great send off for an amazing actor. Hoffman dominates almost all scenes of the movie, even the ones he's not in. The story is gripping and enjoyable.

Trailers Week 4: 01/08/14

Mad Max: Fury Road
The latest Mad Max flick looks epic, albeit a little like Beyond Thunderdome. Tom Hardy will star as the titular Max, alongside Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Nicholas Hoult.

Horns
We jumped the gun a couple of weeks ago showing the teaser trailer for Daniel Radcliffe's new flick, but we're just so excited over its release.

Interstellar
Christopher Nolan's new movie stars Matthew McConaughey as an astronaut/engineer on a journey to space to find a possible solution for the environmental problems on Earth. Also starring Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and Nolan regular Michael Caine.

Birdman
The latest film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is being touted as a major comeback for Michael Keaton (who never really went away for me), who plays an actor famous for portraying a superhero. Also starring Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis and Emma Stone. It is said that this movie has been manipulated to give the appearance of being shot in a single take.

The Longest Week
This comedy-drama from Peter Glanz follows around a rich heir who loses his wealth and has troubles with romance and his best friend. Starring Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde, Billy Crudup and Jenny Slate.

The Maze Runner
Based on the young adult novel by James Dashner, this trailer has grabbed my attention. Starring Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Will Poulter.

Adaptations: You're doing them wrong!

I came up with the idea for this essay back when I saw The Fault In Our Stars. What I'm going to attempt to do is look at some of the more prominent book to movie adaptations and look at whether or not they fit into the idea of a good adaptation. Also in the middle of the debate, we have one writer who's works have been done adapted to death, Stephen King, and a director (one who is considered one of the greatest), Stanley Kubrick, who's entire filmography (bar one or two movies) is made up of adaptations.

So everyone's favourite dictionary, the Merriam-Webster, defines adaptation thusly; "something that is adapted; especially : a movie, book, play, etc., that is changed so that it can be presented in another form." Now I'm going to add a caveat to that definition. An adaptation for me doesn't blindly follow the source material scene for scene. If that was the case, why don't you just read the novel, or comic book, or play the game or see the play again. No for me an adaptation must take the story of the source material, sure, but when it comes to parts that are either not relevant or extraneous to the forwarding of the plot, they can be ditched. The main ideas, themes and evocative feelings are needed for an adaptation. I'm going to split this article between good and bad and then at the end talk about Stanley and Stephen.

The Good

Jurassic Park (1993)

It is generally agreed that this is a good movie, especially for it's time. It has probably garnered more praise for the fact that it was ground breaking in the field of computer-generated images than it's story. Michael Crichton's original novel came out in 1990 and it hadn't even been released before Steven Spielberg snapped up the rights. The first few drafts were written by Crichton himself before screenwriter David Koepp was brought in.

But enough about the movie's production, let's briefly look at the stories side by side. The overall plot of both the book and the movie are the same; a wealthy entrepreneur opens a park full of dinosaurs and, after an accident on the island where it is located, he is forced to bring in experts to evaluate the park and how safe it is. Things go wrong when one of the tech guys in the park is working for a rival company and corrupts the security system with a computer virus.

Some of those major plot points are differ from the book. The accident that happens at the start to cause the events of the film occurs when a worker is killed transporting one of the dinosaurs. In the book, this is a long series of scenes involving a little girl who is bitten in Costa Rica (we'll revisit this later in the article) as well as attacks on babies in nearby nurseries. Another difference is that the two main characters of Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are romantically involved. In the book, these two characters are mentor and student.

There are, however, some parts that were removed from the story completely to make a more streamlined film story. Scenes involving the board of directors at the rival company are removed, as well as some of the scenes that focus on chaos theory mathematics, which I struggled to read through. These scenes would have slowed the film down and I doubt that it would have become as classic film as it is.

Adaptation (2002)

Spike Jonze's meta comedy-drama is probably the best adaptation ever made because that is what it about. It is adapted from Susan Orlean's non-fiction book The Orchid Thief and is about an attempt to adapt that same book. Nicolas Cage plays two characters; Charlie Kaufman (who wrote the actual film) and Donald Kaufman (who doesn't exist, but is still credited with writing the film). The other characters who appear are similarly fictionalised versions of real people appear, including Susan Orlean herself.

The reason this is such a good adaptation is because it tells the story of the actual book, whilst blurring the lines of fiction and reality at the same time. This movie is very organic as well and doesn't really have the same feeling of a regular movie, rather it feels like it just came into being.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

For the longest time I didn't know this movie was an adaptation, but as soon as I saw the book "La Planete des singes" at a bookshop, I knew I had to read it because I love the film so much. The overall plot is present, but minor changes have been made. The biggest change and the one that benefitted the film most was the level of civilisation the apes had reached. In the novel, the ape's civilisation was on par with contemporary technology (or that of 1963), however, this was replaced in the film with a different path of technological advancement.

I'm going to attribute this well made adaptation to screenwriter Rod Serling (best known for creating The Twilight Zone). He chose parts of the novel that worked best and tweaked parts that lacked punch, most notably the ending, which makes the most defiant statement of the final film.

The Bad

War of the Worlds (2005)

H.G. Wells sci-fi novel is considered a classic novel for its time and I'm not saying that the movie is bad, I think it works quite well on it's merits. And that's why I'm calling it a bad adaptation. It only has the most tenuous of ties to the novel it is based on, these being that the aliens ride around in 'tripod' machines and there is a character named Ogilvy. Other than that, it is a pretty stock standard alien invasion movie that just focuses on Tom Cruise running around with a squealing Dakota Fanning.

David Koepp again teamed up with Steven Spielberg (who will pop up in this article again). His script seems to miss out on all the underlying themes of the original work, such as natural selection, religion, colonialism and evolution, to make a popcorn blockbuster.

The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

I know that this is going to make me wildly unpopular, but as I said in my review this is a bit of a pointless adaptation, especially when you just want to put everything from the book in the movie. There is a large portion of the film which wasn't necessary and though it worked in the book it had no place in the film. This of course was the two character's obsession with a book. It's not like this book was the instigator of their relationship, rather it was just a distraction and took up time where we could have focused on a romance building. The only thing we got from that detour was a great performance from Willem Dafoe.

This is something I see more increasingly in adaptations of young adult novels, Hunger Games, City of Bones, that kind of thing. I think the main problem is two-fold. The books that are being adapted are already extremely popular so to change it would lessen the financial return for studios. But also there is an underlying perception that the intended audiences (kids aged 9-14) won't be able to comprehend and recognise the film as being adapted from the original work if they change it too much.

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

So we come full circle back to Steven Spielberg and Jurassic Park. Again it's not that I don't like this movie, but more that it goes way too far from the source material, rather than hugging it extremely close.

The sequel focuses on Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) from the first film, just as the novel does. This is probably the only character to remain intact from the novel, which is about Malcolm discovering that there was another island with dinosaurs on it, whereas in the film he gets sent to the island to record the species that live there. The antagonists in this film are different also. In the book, rival company Biosyn (who make a minor appearance in the first film) are on the island to steal the cloning technology. In the film, it is John Hammond's own company, who are rounding up dinosaurs for a theme park in San Diego. Other characters have been changed or added, like Malcolm's daughter who is one of the most annoying characters in any film ever made.

The Creators

So who are the people being adapted and doing the adapting. Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King are two creators who have been on either side of this divide with many of their works.

I'll start with King because his works have been adapted so many times there's even a Wikipedia article about it. There have been 61 movies made from his books so far (I didn't count the ten that are yet to be made or released) and 32 TV related projects (some of those are single episodes of other TV series). A lot of projects on that list have been made more than once; three adaptations of Carrie and two of both IT and The Shining. The quality of these adaptations can vary. Movies like Misery and Stand By Me have been very good adaptations, the 1990 TV version of IT was quite bad.

Pretty much all of Kubrick's most well known works were adaptions. Of the 13 he directed, 11 were adaptations. If he hadn't of died, he would have collaborated with Spielberg to make A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which is another adaptation. I am in no way saying that Kubrick was unoriginal though. He brought his own style to many of these works to make them his own. Both A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey have more of his auteur style than being influenced by their source materials. 2001 was incredible that it made many wonder whether man has actually been to the moon or if Kubrick simply filmed the landing, but to those people I ask if they've seen the quality of the moon landing footage, that wouldn't fly with Kubrick.

But there's is a connection between our two creators: The Shining. Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of King's 1977 novel is a prime example of adapting a novel for the screen. All the horror that is contained in King's writing is perfectly conveyed through Kubrick's direction with a little added something that makes it feel just right.

Although I've shown that there are some good adaptations out there, I haven't gone over the huge amount that aren't that great. But there's no reason adaptations have to be bad, with a good screenwriter you can achieve anything. Looking at the current list of upcoming films though, it seems that we just have to keep our fingers crossed that the big studios decide to fund some more original ideas.

Let us know how you feel about adaptations. Which ones do you love or hate and why?