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!

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!

“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)