Super 8

Super 8

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Written By: J.J. Abrams

Produced by: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler

Plot: In 1970's Ohio, a group of kids are filming their low budget Zombie flick in a small town. They witness a train derailment, and watch as mysterious events unfold throughout their town.

When news first surfaced that J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield, Star Trek) had another project planned, and it was to be a monster movie, rumours flew around that it was to be a sequel/prequel to his previous monster film Cloverfield. He soon shot down those rumours claiming that this film was something else entirely. Not that I doubted J.J. for one second, but having watched the film, he was completely right.
Whilst there is a monster involved, and it does look like the creature in Cloverfield, we can tell straight away that this film has alot of heart, and alot of potential, completely different from J.J’s last monster outing. There is a substantial amount of character development, specifically focused on Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning’s characters. We see how, and why Courtney’s character is so tortured, and how he learns to overcome this obstacle. In several scenes it is quite obvious that Stephen Spielberg has had his input in the script and prodcution, with one scene in particular being similar to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. This isn’t necessarily a bad move, if slightly unoriginal.
There were a few elements of horror thrown into the mix, which I thought was a terrific technique, and there are several scenes which wouldn’t have been out of place in a Wes Craven film. There is quite alot of comedy between the group of kids, which keeps the film fresh, but without losing it’s pace at the same time. Its alot different from most monster/horror/thriller films that involve sour-faced adults and soldiers (although there are plenty of those)

J.J. Abrams has clearly learned a thing or two about suspense from his time on Lost. We do not see the monster fully until the second half of the film, a technique also used in Cloverfield. It’s really effective, and you are constantly trying to visualise in your mind what the creature looks like. The ending is slightly cliche’d but won’t disappoint. The film is brilliant, funny, tense and completely captivating.
Another great feature from J.J. Abrams, and slightly more family appropriate this time around.

Written By Eammon Jacobs

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger

Directed By: Joe Johnstone

Produced By: Kevin Feige

Written By: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFreely

Cast: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Sebastian Stan

Plot: When Steve Rodgers is rejected from the U.S Army on medical grounds, he is recruited to test a super-soldier serum, turning him into Captain America, and giving him the abilities to fight the Nazis.

Captain America originated from the minds of two of Marvel Comics writers. He was used as propaganda in World War II, and was first depicted punching Hitler in the face. Since then, Marvel Comics has sold millions of copies of his adventures, and now it is only fitting for him to reach the Big Screen. The film is your average action blockbuster, but with a little more heart.

Chris Evans plays the role of Steve Rodgers/Captain America superbly, and has the delightful ability to show the audience that he not only has the brains and the brawn, but has a heart too. The chemistry made between himself and Hayley Atwell’s character; Peggy Carter, is almost enchanting. I loved Hugo Weaving’s character Johann Shcmidt, as this isn’t Weaving’s first attempt at playing a psyhcopath (The Matrix) he has clearly perfected his method’s, but without playing the same character twice. There is a very sinister atmosphere to the film whenever he is present on screen, both when is normal (as normal as any psychopathic Nazi can be) and when he becomes The Red Skull.

However, there is a large element of the film that is too unbelievable. When Johann/The Red Skull finds the “magical” object, he creates many weapons. Weapons, that wouldn’t look out of place in Star Wars. The scenery also changes, and everything becomes slightly space-age. It seems highly unrealistic that in 1942, these things would be present. But nonetheless, the film is highly enjoyable, and is easily accessible to anyone who isn’t familiar with the character’s comic history.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Written By: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avery

Produced By: Lawrence Bender

Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Medeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis

Plot: There are three separate storylines featured within the film, but are told in a non-linear sequence, told out of sequence. They focus on hitmen Vincent Vega (Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Jackson) and prize fighter, Butch Coolidge (Willis) All three stories intertwine and connect with each other in certain points.

The film is automatically a modern classic, but is also a timeless piece of art. Tarantino has been inspired by several 70's gangster features. However, he was able to create something entirely different and changed the crime genre completely. Each character has two sides to them. One side being completely calm and sociable, and the other being defensive and violent, but without being completely mindless. There is a substantial amount of character development and we get to see all aspects of their personalities without deviating away from the plot.

The cast is absolutely superb, with fantastic performances all round. I was particularly impressed with Bruce Willis character, Butch Coolidge. Willis usually plays the typical action hero in most of his films, and there is certainly action involved for his character, but he gets to branch out and show his emotion towards Madeiros' character, Fabienne. This breaks away from the majority of Willis' films, and I was impressed because I didn't think that he had the ability to show that side of a characters personality.

Much like Tarantino's other films, the feature is shot in an innovative style, with a mix of violence and humour thrown together, this could potentially be homage to Stanley Kubricks 'A Clockwork Orange', as that film also mixes violence and humour. Pulp Fiction was like the Star Wars of its generation.  Because it was seen as more of an Indie film rather than a blockbuster, It inspired many unknown directors to try to do as Tarantino did.

The film is fantastic, and a timeless piece of art.

By Eammon Jacobs

Upcoming films

 Up coming Films

Within the next few years, there are going to be some monumental films entering our cinemas, The Avengers (Marvel Comic's Superhero team up) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy- Based on the book of the same name, and Rise of the Planet Of The Apes, and Paranormal Activity 3 just to name a few.

First off, thundering into cinemas within the next week is Joe Johnstone's take on Captain America: The First Avenger. This film is kicking off The Avengers series that Marvel Comics Studios has comissioned. It sees a scrawny, Americanarmy reject become a super soldier to take on the Nazis. Chris Evans (The Losers, Fantastic Four) is taking on the lead role and the rumour is that he has signed on for three more pictures. I have a high expectation of this film, particularly because it is a great story, alongside a great cast (Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper). Marvel Comics Studios have already given the green light for the sequel, this shows that the film has alot of potential, but also room for some (aggressive?) expansion. It will be released on July 22nd, 2011.

Conan The Barbarian is the remake of the 1982 film starring Arnold Schwarzenneger, this time however, the gargantuan fighter is played by a reasonably unknown actor, Jason Momoa. The film was originally going to start production in 2003 and would've featured Shwarzenneger as an older version of Conan, therefore creating a trilogy of the Conan films. But due to his election as governor of California this was deemed impossible. Whether or not the film will be successful lies upon if it has a substantial plot, or just a mindless bloodbath. At this stage, it looks as though it is in between. It will be released August 26th, 2011.



Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows is the sequel to Guy Ritchies 2009 hit, Sherlock Holmes in which he is also directing. Robert Downey Jr.(Iron Man, Iron Man 2) reprises his role as the title character. Also returning is Jude Law as his partner, Dr Watson. The apparant new comers are, Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) as the mysterious Gypsy named Sim, and Jared Harris (Fringe) as Professor Moriarty. Also making an appearance is Stephen Fry, playing Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes. It is unclear as to what the plot is yet, but from watching the trailer it is clear that mayhem is most definitely going to be caused. Hopefully, the second film shall live up to the fantastic plot of the first film, and it looks as though it is certainly going to be another achievement for Guy Ritchie. It will be released on December 16th, 2011.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the reboot of Sam Rami's 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This time around, Andrew Garfield, the co-star of The Social Network and has one of the leads in Never Let me Go, is playing the hapless student turned superhero. Although no promotional poster has been released to the media yet, there have been several pictures of Andrew Garfield in this new version of the suit. However,I cannot help but wonder if it is too soon for a reboot of the franchise, since Spider-Man 3 was released in 2007. However, this is not a remake of the first film, this time, there is a different plot entirely. The villain that he is being pitted against this time, is The Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans. Peter's love interest from the majority of the comics, and all three films, Mary-Jane Watson, will not be featured. However, the character Gwen Stacy from the early comics is going to feature as Peter's love interest and will be played by Zombieland star, Emma Stone. The film is going to be released in both 3D and 2D on July 13th 2012.

The Dark Knight Rises  is the round up to Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, a reboot of the 1980's films. Christian Bale is once again suiting up as Gotham City's Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan has set the bar for Superhero films with the first two of his dark and gritty installments. Superhero's can no longer be equipped with latex suits and cheesy one-liners, they must now be something more. Nolan and his brother Jonathan (both have written the screenplay) have both confirmed that the villain will not be Mr Freeze or The Riddler. In the last month however, pictures have surfaced of Inception star, Tom Hardy, as Bane, the villain who becomes incredibly muscley after pumping himself full of a dangerous toxin. Anne Hathaway has been confirmed as Catwoman, Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Marion Cotillard have both stated their involvement with the film. Nolan has confirmed that Batman's sidekick, Robin, will not be appearing in this film, as Batman is still too young, however there have been rumours that he will carry on the franchise, so Batman and Robin could be his next feature. A U.K release date has not been set as of yet, but the U.S release date is July 20th , 2012.

Rubber

Rubber

Directed By: Quentin Dupieux

Written By: Quentin Dupiex

Produced By: Julian Berlan, Gregory Bernard

Cast: Stephen Spinella, Roxanne, Mesquida, Jack Plotnick

Plot: In an American desert, an abandoned tire comes to life, and embarks on a killing spree using psychic powers.

I once believed that Richard Kelly's 'Donnie Darko' was the strangest film I had ever watched, as of now, I have proved myself wrong. This is French director/musician, Quentin Depieux's second film, he has both written and directed this absurdly stylish feature. The idea is completely surreal, "an inanimate object comes to life and kills people". Its logic is questionable, how does this tire see? How does it hear? Does it have a brain? Where do these "powers" come from? The list could go on.

The film starts off with a small town sheriff speaking as if he is breaking the fourth wall, communicating with the audience, telling us about how most films have "no reason". He finishes his speech by announcing that this film too, has no reason. As he drives away, we see that he was actually talking to a group of people, who are given binoculars, and watch the events unfold. This could be some kind of subliminal metaphor about the worlds leaders and governments watching us at all times via CCTV and telephone hacking. That they are aware of everything we do or say.

There is no real logic behind the tire's lethal rampage, killing without mercy. The tire becomes a movie villain in its own right. The film has a certain, arthouse film feel to it, with relatively unknown actors and actresses,and a bizarre scenario. I do think that 82 minutes is a little too eager, and you may find that after an hour, things start to drag slightly. The films ending makes us believe that it is destined for a sequel, and I dare Dupieux to make an attempt at an even more bizarrely entertaining arthouse style film.

Eammon Jacobs

(500) Days Of Summer



(500) Days Of Summer

Directed By: Marc Webb
Written By: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinski, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolf
Produced By: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt(Inception), Zooey Deschanel (Elf+Yes Man)

Plot: When Tom Hansen meets Summer Finn, he believes that she is the one he is searching for. After a karaoke night at the local bar, Tom realises he is very attracted to Summer, and over the next few months, he realises he's in love with her. The isn't a love story, it's a story about love.

This film surprised me, i had a pre-concieved vision that it was going to be just another chick flick. It isn't. It is a well presented view into the world of the dumpee. It is told in a non-linear narrative, meaning that it jumps to different days within the 500 days of their relationship. This is an interesting, innovative retelling of the typical "Rom-Com". ItThe film is clever because typically, it is usually the male lead who is commitment shy. However, in (500) it is Summer Finn who is commitment shy. This clever twist provides a fresh perspective on the "Rom-Com" genre. The film doesn't sugar-coat a break up, it shows how raw people can be afterwards.

Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel have such chemistry together, they are delightful and heartbreaking at the same time.  They have the ability to bring something new to the worlds oldest clichéd genre, which is something that won't happen very often within a film and is astounding. They also master the art of story telling by noting the rise and fall of a great relationship.

It is sweet, very sweet in fact, but it does lack something, a proper ending. (Apologies for the spoiler) The film ends on a romantic cliff hanger, will he, won't he? If we could see past this drop, then I feel that the film would have rounded off nicely.
But it is one of the most honest, heartbreaking films I have ever seen.

Written By Eammon Jacobs

Taken

Taken

Directed By: Pierre Morel

Written By: Luc Besson, Robert mark Kamen

Produced By: Luc Besson

Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen

Plot: A retired CIA operative (Neeson) is trying to repair his broken relationship with his daughter (Grace). When he allows her to go travelling in France with a friend, they are both kidnapped by Albanian Sex Traffickers. He sets out to find them, and kill them.

Liam Neeson is simply astounding in this role which sees him essentially, as an over protective father. He shoots first and asks questions later. Which shows the true desperation that this man has to retrieve his daughter. He puts himself through so much, and sacrifices his health, and almost his life, even though this looks like a gritty action flick, this is something so much more. If we break the whole film down, basically, this man is trying to repair a very fragile relationship. He is attempting the unthinkable to become a father again, he is fighting to be the parent he should've been and is therefore making up for lost time.

The audience is thrust into the action, and goes along with Neeson as he leaps without looking, regardless of the consequences, and what happens is, we watch him deal with those consequences, dealing with them with lethal force and heroic actions. Most action flicks are mindless, with no control over all the madness and with no character development whatsoever. But in the first thirty minutes or so, we see Neeson's character attempting to become the father he should've been, which shows how emotional the film really is, but honestly, this is a revenge picture.

Maggie Grace's limited screen time was slightly disappointing, she spends what little time she has on screen crying and screaming, which is an anti-cliax from an actress with such great potential. There have been rumours for a sequel entitled "Taken II", I strongly feel, that this a bad move on the production team's part, the first film is brilliant, with a fantastic atmosphere and emotion, I feel that a sequel would ruin that.

Eammon Jacobs