I’m touching myself tonight… Said every geek: Deadpool is here!

Ryan Reynolds is back (or not back? I dunno… He was Deadpool but then he’s not but is…?) as Marvel’s hilarious, ass kicking, fourth wall breaking super hero! 

Now, I am writing this purely subjectively; I do not know very much about the character, I have not read one of his comics. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you could say that Deadpool was introduced in X-Men Origins: Wolverine played by Ryan Reynolds. Where his portrayal was funny and probably a highlight of the movie, critics and fans alike found this on screen debut of the character, left a bad taste in the mouth; like a testicle with teeth.  

Not exactly jumping from the comic book, is he?

Anyhow, the potential for a stand alone Deadpool movie seemed unlikely after the flop in X Men Origins. Apparently, the idea was tossed around here and there, with scripting and casting trouble etc. It wasn’t until some very interesting on set photos emerged some months ago that I actually believed it was happening! And the trailer has only made my thirst for Deadpool greater! Damn, he’s just so badass… 

 I am guessing that the creation of Deadpool in the X Men Universe is counteracted by the events that took place in Days of Future Past, where the events of the five films all post 1980 were made apparently mute. Maybe this explains how we now have a new Deadpool origin story? Fingers crossed.

I saw the red band trailer in all it’s high profile goriness and this makes me happy as a fan; unaware of what to expect, I can appreciate that the Deadpool comic’s are very violent, so why shouldn’t his cinematic story be the same? It’s good to see Reynolds quick wit hasn’t left Wade and this film could almost be viewed as a comedy! Either way, from the stunts to the humour, from the costume to the actors, this film looks pretty damn good! It’ll be nice to see something a bit less Marvel Disney and a bit more Marvel mature! Thumbs up from this guy; oh yeah… I’m touching myself tonight and I’m sure that every other Marvel fan is too…

JURASSIC WORLD SPOILERS! Did they push it too far?

Jurassic World has been a huge success, having the most successful opening week of any film, ever! This gives me such joy, as a massive fan of anything Jurassic Park related, having grown up with the franchise like many others. But this article I am writing, is not a general over view like I usually write, but about something very specific within the film itself; a scene that has stayed with me days after seeing it. As you read this, you may have already guessed, but it is the first on screen female death of the quadrilogy: Zara Young. I recently tweeted about this on my Twitter feed, which this blog will also be posted, so apologies if readers think this is samey.

From the scenes in the trailer, I had kind of guessed her character would meet an unfortunate end; from her very first scene on the docks waiting for the boys, Zach and Gray, holding an iPad with their names on it, her truly beautiful face taking up the screen, I thought… “yep… you’re dead, love”. We all saw it coming; she’s the perfect candidate for a good dino-death; the innocent, slightly selfish and aggravating P.A. Great! And then it happened.

She is trying to catch up to the two young boys as dozens of Pterosaurs swoop in from above. The boys stop in panic, observing their chaotic surroundings when Zara finally stops before them. “Well, don’t just stand there”! She shouts at them just as a Pteranodon grabs her by the shoulders and lifts her high into the air. OK, this bit was shown in the trailers, I could handle that. Then she is dropped and sharply caught by another flying dinosaur, before being dragged over water and released, plummeting into the tank below. This is when I began to feel a little bit uneasy. There are many shapes hitting the water, so I assume they are other guests to the park, suffering the same ill fate as Zara. In fact, they are Pterosaurs, all going for her. She is rather graphically shown in a close up, being dragged through the water, screaming in its mouth before being dropped, grabbed at, dropped again, grabbed AGAIN and then she is lost from view as the Mosasaur jaw ascends. I never noticed in the film itself, but from pictures and digging a bit on the internet, eagle eyed viewers can see her disappear into the mouth of the Mosasaur as it bites down around the helpless Pteranodon.

Well… I didn’t give a damn who died after that. My heart was racing and I felt a bit sick. Don’t get me wrong, it was a well directed death scene and for the British actress, Katie McGrath who played Zara, I can imagine it was complete fun to shoot (as director Colin Trevorrow has stated she did the stunts herself). But to a viewer I just sat there in horror, unable to concentrate on the following scene as I was in such shock that the cinematography would be pushed that far. I’ve seen the film twice now; first with my stone hearted friends, who didn’t seem particularly phased. by the trauma of it all. The second with a slightly more sensitive friend; his expression said it all. Later on in the film, as an InGen soldier mercilessly shoots a Pterosaur mid flight, my friend even said “pfft, good”! I did pre-warn him about it and it still shocked us both! I wasn’t going to write a posting about this; it didn’t seem worth it, but apparently this is a common topic among fans; her death was unnecessarily cruel and graphic for a character who didn’t deserve it. Udesky’s death in Jurassic Park III was pretty gruesome, as was Muldoon’s in the first, but Zara’s death hit me, as a member of the audience, pretty hard and it seems it has many others also. Even fellow cast member, Bryce Dallas Howard said in an interview that she felt Zara’s tortured before she dies. What does that say?

However the film was brilliant and if anyone should wish to comment; I’d love to hear others thoughts!

Read on and Prosper!

King Under the Mountain! The Hobbit Concludes! SPOILERS

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies was released on DVD and Blu-Ray at the beginning of this week and is the long awaited conclusion of the Hobbit Trilogy. If you can get your head around it, it Is a prequel trilogy to a sequel trilogy made after the sequel trilogy… but is still set before it? Peter Jackson returned to direct it, much like he had for Lord of the Rings, which as everyone knows, is the sequel trilogy of films. Written in four books by the great fiction writer J.R.R Tolkien, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were a huge literary success. In 2001, the first of three films was released in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring, which began the tale of a young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins being burdened with the keeping of a dark treasure; a ring that holds the power to return the dark lord Sauron to his full power. Teaming up with Hobbit’s, Elves, Men, Wizard’s and Dwarves, the company of 9 must deliver the ring back to the volcano to which it was forged to destroy it forever. Winning 4 Oscars and international attention from audiences of all ages, it was proceeded by The Two Towers. Winning a further 2 Oscars, this was then followed by the conclusion of the trilogy, the Return of the King. This earned an additional 11 Oscars and secured Peter Jackson among the great film makers of the age.

 

When it was announced that the Hobbit would be made into films, I was overjoyed! The Lord of the Rings was such an iconic piece of cinematography, why on Middle-Earth wouldn’t we all like to see more of Hobbits, Elves, Wizards and the like? But, would it live up to the huge success of it’s predecessor? I think the majority of the die-hard fans would say that it did not live up to our first trip there and back again to Middle Earth; there seemed to be a considerable amount more CGI, the scripts were maybe not as strong and (for me) the character relationships are no where near as genuinely portrayed. BUT, having said this, the main actor performances on the whole (Ian Mckellen- Gandalf, Martin Freeman- Bilbo Baggins, Cate Blanchett- Galadriel etc.) were, as always, superb and heartfelt, as is Howard Shore’s unique talent in score and Peter Jackson’s stunning direction. It was these fundamentals that bridged the two sets of films and I reckon that one could watch all six films in order and be truly satisfied with the level of detail and care taken to preserve J.R.R Tolkien’s novel’s.

The Hobbit Trilogy sees Frodo Baggins’ uncle Bilbo, assist a company of 13 Dwarves take back their mountain kingdom from a dragon which has resided there for 60 years. An Unexpected Journey, the first movie of the new Tolkien based franchise, was released in late 2012 and nominated for 4 Oscars. I was initially skeptical after seeing it originally, but I came to really enjoy this first installment. Yes, it is noticeably different than LOTR and the production value is obviously higher, but you can tell that Jackson desperately tried to keep the aesthetic the same or at least similar to that of his original vision. This is admirable and with returning characters such as Ian Holm’s Bilbo Baggins, Hugo Weaving’s Lord Elrond, Christopher Lee’s Saruman the White and of course, Ian Mckellen’s famous portrayal of Gandalf the Grey, it was a nice beginning to a three part story linking both set of inspirational movies together.

The Desolation of Smaug was released in 2013 and saw the story continue, with the return of Orlando Bloom’s Legolas from LOTR and the proper introduction of Lee Pace’s ruthless King Thranduil and Evangeline Lilly’s beautiful Tauriel. It was a stunning, sleek and well rounded piece of cinema; in my opinion, the best of the three (especially the extended edition). Nominated for 3 Oscars, the film concludes with Benedict Cumberbatch’s motion capture performance of Smaug the Dragon being vanquished from the mountain kingdom and seeking his revenge on the local villagers.

The Battle of the Five Armies (formerly named There and Back Again) was released in 2014 and was nominated for a single Oscar. As I write this I am actually watching it back for the first time since seeing it upon it’s initial release back in December of last year and I have to say, it is much better second round. I believe the main fault with it and why it was given such harsh criticism is the fact that the majority of it is fighting… Literally, it has very little plot to it, the main bulk of the plot is a fight sequence between the five armies. I love a good battle sequence as much as the next man, in fact with the Lord of the Rings films, it was practically a prerequisite! But as good as the action is.. it did seem to get a bit samey after a while. The trilogy was initially going to be a duo, so maybe the unnecessarily long fight scenes were to bulk the film out? I don’t know.

The romance sub plot between Tauriel and one of the Dwarves, Kili, was sweetly established in The Desolation of Smaug and as tragic as this film is when it comes to the continuation of that in Battle of the Five Armies, it did seem oddly irrelevant how they were hopelessly in love after two short conversations spread several days apart? I believe in love at first sight and all that but still? However the scenes between them were nicely acted and not exaggerated so I can’t really complain. Ironically, one of the most important plot points to note in the film is also the one seen briefest with the grouping of the White council (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman and Radagast played by Doctor Who veteran Sylvester McCoy) against the spirit form of Sauron, who is banished back to Mordor. This is my favourite part of the movie as it sees truly outstanding actors do what they do best and that’s deliver a powerfully intense scene in less than 8 minutes of footage. Once all the fighting is over and the mourning began, it seems all too sudden that Bilbo goes “cool, see ya”! and is off back to the Shire, with the revelation that Gandalf knew all along that he had a ring of magic… Oh, brilliant; feel free to do something about that sir, it may be just the ONE ring that Sauron is after? No? OK fair enough, don’t examine it or anything; just let Bilbo keep it and wait 60 years for Fellowship to find out. It has quite a sharp ending to a story that lasts about 8-9 hours long (that’s all three movies.) I am hoping that upon the extended edition’s release that it will be subsequently fleshed out a bit more to add some more depth to story.

I have lavished in watching it though; an end to an era I suppose with the same poignancy as to that felt at the end of Return of the King. Regardless of the nit picks, I cannot stress my fondness and emotional attachment felt to these films; no matter how many times I watch them, it will feel like an entirely fresh experience every time.

I hope you have enjoyed reading and feel free to comment your thoughts on our last visit to Middle Earth!

Read on and Prosper!

This will give the parents nightmares! The Park is Open…

Fourteen years after the last Dino-mayhem outing, the Jurassic Park franchise welcomes in its fourth instalment in June: Jurassic World! This hotly anticipated sequel is said to be the beginning of a possible new trilogy; starring Chris Pratt (Her, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Twilight, Spider-Man 3). I always wanted to do a blog post on Jurassic Park; GOD IT’S JUST SO AWESOME! and am a HUGE fan of the original film, so when the latest trailer was released today, I couldn’t resist. Now, the still successful sequel The Lost World, was a little blergh for me and Jurassic Park III was entertaining but strayed from what made the franchise in the first place.   

A quick bit of info for the uneducated in Michael Crichton’s novel turned film quadrilogy. A wealthy entrepreneur named John Hammond (Richard Attenborough; RIP) sets up a new tourist attraction in the shape of a theme park, housing newly developed dinosaurs, genetically modified and grown from ancient fossilised DNA. Before his park can be given the green light, he enlists the help of Palaeontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neil) and Ellie Sattler (Larua Dern) to endorse the project and ensure investor confidence. Once upon the island, an employee of the park attempts to steal the DNA to sell to a rival company, unable to figure out the science of the dinosaur’s creation. Unfortunately, the security systems shut down, all the dinosaurs are set loose, a lot of people die and it is up to all three characters above to ensure the safety of the survivors. It stormed cinema’s in 1993 and has been a global success ever since, spawning two sequels; however in these sequels, there was an ongoing theme: the island’s to which the dinosaur’s inhabit are desolate, and no human resides there, the animals having free reign and the Costa Rican Government ensuring no human goes near them (doing a bad job). Jurassic World is different. 

Nearly a decade and a half later, Jurassic Park is finally up and running successfully and has been for the past 10 years, pulling in customers and tourists all over the world, just as John Hammond had envisioned. But people are becoming less than complaisant; the T-Rex is samey, the Triceratops is boring and the Pteranadon… meh? So to spark attendance for the park, now titled “Jurassic World”, the scientists decide to genetically design and create an entirely new breed of dinosaur. Yeah… er, bad idea? The Indominus Rex is supposedly designed to best even the fan favourite: the Tyrannosaurus Rex and I am guessing that if we see a showdown between these two in the film and the I-Rex wins… people may not be too happy. Particularly after Jurassic Park III where the Spinosaurus quite easily kicked the T-Rex’s butt, much to many a cinema-goer’s dismay. So naturally, the Indominus Rex escapes with it’s superior intellect, but this time there are 20,000 tourists stranded on the island. Oh…

So! The kids are still in danger, the dinosaurs still escape and there is going to be a lot of screaming; so what is new? I am not too sure what to think about the new dynamic to which the Velociraptor’s have with Chris Pratt’s character Owen Grady, who claims not to have “tamed” them but to have built a mutual respect thing, like they have a relationship. The Velociraptor’s are by far, my favourite and they are damn terrifying, especially in the original. Here, they seem to be “good” guys? Or at least seen to help Grady track down the Indominus Rex… Hmm… These are animals right? Albeit incredibly intelligent animals, but like Grady says, “they need to eat and hunt”. Just because I need to get a football out of the tree, I don’t all of a sudden WhatsApp a squirrel to go and get it for me, you know? Awful analogy I know, but you get my point. I just hope that they kick a bit of ass in this film and bring back some of that terror.

Once again, the Pterosaurs are back; they had a decent bit of plot in Jurassic Park III and I am still on the fence as to whether I like them or not? But one thing that is definitely new, is the Mosasaur! A sea dwelling gargantuan of a creature that feeds primarily on sharks apparently. Under the sea dinosaurs have not been attempted before on screen in the movies (although alluded to, at the beginning of Jurassic Park III) and it is about time that they made an appearance, as it certainly adds a freshness to what audiences can expect with it not all being T-Rex this and Stegosaurus that.

By the trailer alone, it appears that a lot of innocent people are going to be in danger in comparison to where it has been just a handful; that prospect is truly terrifying, after all they are on an island? This gives the grander scale of threat much more prominence than felt before and I think this will make the film considerably more entertaining to watch.

Oh! So it seems that Dr Henry Wu is back (B.D Wong) and one quick comment: “Man, you were there in Jurassic Park and that screwed up? Why the hell are you back for more”? Enough said.

Filmed on location in Hawaii, just like Park, this film is definitely set to be awesome and the visuals are much larger, scarier and more impressive than we’ve ever seen before. Despite my nit-picks, I am so excited to see this film and I have faith that it won’t be a flop… Hopefully! After all; life finds a way.

Read on and Prosper!

The Force is Strong with this One! The Force Awakens!

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has recently seen the release of it’s second trailer and it seemed the internet exploded like the proverbial Death Star! It appeared not just geeks and nerds (like myself) were in a state of Chewbecca induced frenzy, but people of all ages were talking about Star Wars in schools and offices once again!

A life long Star Wars fan, upon the announcement of a new Star Wars film, I thought that maybe this old cow had been sufficiently milked enough. I was satisfied with the franchises ethos as it was and weren’t sure as to whether I could welcome in a new chapter upon the emotional closure of Episode III. And then J.J Abrams signed on and George Lucas signed out. I loved J.J Abrams take on Star Trek, making the campy 60’s show look grittier, violent and more mature. Would he bring this kind of attitude to Star Wars? I hope so! With CGI down to a minimum and practical effects promised to be an all time high for the new trilogy, it is reported that the vision for the new series is to make it more comparable to Episodes IV, V, VI. Good! The sleekness and shininess of the over computer generated Episodes I, II, III sometimes made it feel like it truly was in a galaxy far, far away!

Like the initial trailer released back in December of 2014, the opening shot is of the dessert. Not exactly enticing and a bit samey… and then as my eyes adjusted to the tiny screen of my mate’s phone in his car (he’d pulled over just to watch it), I realised what eclipsed the skyline:  a gargantuan Star Destroyer, crashed and abandoned, protruding from the sand dunes. I literally said “oh wow”. I know a few clever IT savvy people had Photoshopped their own art and I remember seeing something similar to this a few months ago, but what a sight! A truly impressive and humbling set of visuals; plus it makes me feel old upon the realisation that Star Wars Episode VI was a long time ago… not in a galaxy far far away.

Along with the melted remnants of Lord Vader’s helmet, the passing of Luke Skywalker’s (formerly Anakin Skywalker’s) lightsaber, seen in the original and prequel trilogies and R2D2 glistening against the flames of an unknown burning object, the reality of this iconic world of Jedi and far away planets began to sink in. It’s back! Subtle design changes to the villainous Storm Troopers, Tie Fighters, X-Wings and original actor’s costumes are a nice little treat and it’s comforting to hope that the producers of this film know what they are doing and are not to overhaul the whole thing to make something entirely new. There has to be that link or it wouldn’t feel like Star Wars at all.

Kylo Ren, the new Sith Lord on the scene, seems to lead the newly reformed Empire on a chaotic and vengeful vendetta against the rest of the galaxy. The new galactic soldiers seem to look considerably more menacing that ever before and maybe they’ll actually hit something with their guns this time instead of being the worst shots in the scifi universe. This whole trailer pays a respectful homage to the original trilogy and that only makes the anticipation for it’s December release all the more intense!

With new droids in the form of the adorable and impressively designed BB-8, new triple bladed lightsabers and chrome troopers, this vague but beautifully edited trailer makes Star Wars seem more prominent than ever! I am so excited and I hope you guys are too! And as the screen fades from black to Han Solo and Chewbecca on the Millennium Falcon… Well that did it. Star Wars has made, once again, an impact on international culture and it’s not even out yet! I can already see t-shirts proudly printed “Chewie… We’re home”! So go and watch the trailer and don’t forget to read on and prosper!

“Welcome James… It’s been a long time. And finally, here we are”!

“Forensics finally released this…” Money Penny declares, pushing a large box with both hands over a table. “What is it”? 007 replies, bemused by her company. “Personal effects they recovered from Skyfall…” She states. “You’ve got a secret… Something you can’t tell anyone… Because you can’t trust anyone…” James Bond lifts up a dated and singed photograph from the box and glares down at it; it shows a man with two boys either side of him, but one boy’s face has been conveniently burnt out…

James Bond is back in “Spectre”, set to be released next year. This first trailer for 007’s latest escapades and after the massive success of its predecessor, it has alot to live up to! Skyfall of course being praised for its very Bond-esque nature in comparison with the complexity of the latter day Bond films, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace”.

The trailer itself has more in common with those of a modern day horror film trailers : suspenseful, darkly toned, tense music and all ambiguous dialogue throughout; initially, it is hard to distinguish this as a Bond film at all. I am assuming that “Spectre” is supposed to mean something to the more well informed 007 fans out there, but for those who are more accustomed to the comic book action thrills of Brosnan and subtly charming but fast paced narrative Craigs’ portrayal of the iconic character brought in, I am not sure of the dramatic relevance?

Regardless of this, the opening, sweeping shot of the now destroyed MI6 building after the attack in “Skyfall” was certainly an “ooooooh”! moment. In fact the sweeping scenic shots don’t stop there, as there are several more throughout the trailer. Unfortunately, this is the only dramatic thing about the showing, as there are no guns, explosions, car chases or barely dressed ladies in sight! Only an old man, a ring, Craig himself and some snow. But the real draw in, is the character at the end, drenched in shadows and delivering dialogue to Bond himself. “Welcome James… It’s been a long time. And finally, here we are”!

The sneaky insight into what is to come in Bond’s future is certainly an exciting one and for those more ignorant than others to what “Spectre” may be, it is for sure a tale of intrigue. I just hope that it matches the blood pumping, definite British nature of “Skyfall” and less of the unnecessary plot complexity of “Casino…” and “Quantum…” After all; his name is Bond… James Bond.

(I do not own either image in this post)

Awesome Mix- Volume 1… Is it though?

(2/3 Images are owned by Marvel Entertainment and I do not accept ownership of either it’s poster, logo nor characters contained within. The Image of the soundtrack, I own and took myself.)

Pretty much, like the rest of Planet Earth, I thoroughly enjoyed Marvel Entertainment’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”! The adventure sees (for those living under a rock throughout 2014) the title character Peter Quill; played by the now significantly buffed out Chris Pratt, abducted by aliens as a child and having grown up into a swashbuckling adult, forms an alliance with some less than scrupulous characters, to stop the evil Ronan the Destroyer from conquering the galaxy.

Nominated for 2 Oscars, grossing more than $300,000,000 and earning a respectable 8.2/10 stars on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), just what exactly made this movie so endearing to all? It has action for the kids, a star studded cast for the movie goers, kick-ass female leads for the female audience but what’s for the slightly more mature adult audience? Why, a soundtrack that has music spanning two decades in the mid 20th century of course?

I believe a major contributing factor to the films overall success was the soundtrack, appropriately entitled “Awesome Mix Volume 1” after StarLord/Peter Quill’s own cassette mix tape in the movie. Now, I am a big Marvel fan, always have been and like many, yes I am partial to a little bit of Batman of the DC variety, but Marvel over the past decade and a half have been generating consistently strong movies based on their comic book characters. Awesome Mix Volume 1 has a variety of songs from 1967-1979 and myself, being born in 1995, am familiar with many of the tunes. It is nice to see that Marvel Entertainment, after deciding to use this music throughout their motion picture, did so without taking the “not so recognisable to make it different” route and stuck to the classics: “I’m Not In Love” by 10CC, “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” by Robert Holmes and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Tammi Terrell to name a few.

Admittedly, having seen the film and listened to the soundtrack, I can’t listen to “Come and Get Your Love” by Cherry Bomb without imagining a red leather bound Chris Pratt miming into a pink furred alien rat nor “I Want You Back” by Jackson 5 without going into a fangirl frenzy, craving a dancing baby tree-man in a pot. Oh, God; baby Groot though.
However the visuals now associated with these songs and the fact that they have brought a freshness to the music, is all part of the charm that this soundtrack conveys. If you have seen “Guardians of the Galaxy” I would recommend purchasing this album; if not? Then I’m not so sure. I can’t help but feel that it would lose a certain branch of its charm. Is it awesome? Er… Yar?

I would very much recommend this album and all it’s awesome-geektacular-nature and hope that for those who have listened and to listen, that you agree!

Read on and Prosper!