The wonders of iPhone.

Just to add, it has been revealed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been in talks with the Bat-team regarding an undisclosed role in the 3rd Nolan installment of the Batman reboot. So far, all we know is that it is nothing to do with casting for The Riddler, whom Nolan has already said will not be featuring in the film due to start production later in the year.

The extraordinary director behind the Bat’s blockbuster comeback tour has revealed, via a Warner Bros. press release, that Catwoman will be one of the new faces showing up in troublesome Gotham City. It was also reveaedl that Princess Diaries sweetheart, Anne Hathaway, will be sporting the leather suit as she takes Batman’s place during a temporary absence. It’ll be nice to see Hathaway venturing into something different, but it also gives way to risk that people will find it difficult to believe that she is a legitimate cog in Nolan’s dark on-screen world. To top it off, charismatic Tom Hardy has been confirmed to play Bane. We already knew of Hardy’s involvement, and he’s swiftly working his way up Nolan’s Christmas card list, but is Bane the way to go? There was speculation he had been cast as Hugo Strange, a character which would seem right at home in the gritty streets of Gotham, and it is easy to see Hardy stepping into Strange’s shoes. Bane, on the other hand, is slightly less believable and although the characters have been extravagant they didn’t involve being pumped full of a ‘venom’ that turns them into a brutish combo of Arnie and Hurley from Lost. There has been no word of how closely Hardy’s Bane will translate to that depicted in the comics, but at this point (2 Bats in and one of the biggest films of 2010) I think it’s safe to say Nolan knows what he’s doing. Then again, we thought that about George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and then they went and put a massive spaceship in Indiana Jones, so it just goes to show how even the most seasoned professionals can kill a good thing. Personally, I think that Tom Hardy is a fantastic actor, his performances in both Bronson and Inception encapsulated the character and made them, not just appealing, but thoroughly entertaining to watch. If anyone can handle Bane it’s Mr Hardy, and if anyone can do it right, it’s Mr Nolan. The Dark Knight Rising info is few and fat between, but needless to say, every trickle of this nerd fuel only excites me more for the 2012 release.

"Don't" PSA (This is an important announcement)

Off the back of the Ghost Rider/Nicholas Cage discussion, here is the crown jewel that sums up how people feel about these movies and the big man, himself.

I don’t want to be mean, but, I wouldn’t exactly say that we’re all on the edge of our seats with excitement for this one. When big budget films fall flat on their face, the logical reaction is not to churn out a sequel (even if the face is question is on fire), yet it is actually happening. Reprising his role as Fiery McSkullface is the almighty king of terrible cinema, Mr Nicholas Cage, and I don’t think the poor reception of the first film can be blamed on the star, and to be honest I think he either just has a rubbish agent or is the worst when it comes to picking scripts. Poor Nick always ends up in the bargain bin, and a lot of the time he just happens to be in the wrong place (film) at the wrong time (ever). Ghost Rider 2 or Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, as it is currently called- I say ‘currently’ with the hope that, for their sakes, the name becomes less lame, ‘The Last Airbender’ is a lesson to all of the film industry, take notes and don’t give films shit names- anyway, it isn’t being released until 2012 so there’s plenty of time for someone to start caring, although you won’t find that person here and you won’t find them holding their breath.

The initial reaction to a 95 minute flick about a man in a box might be one of dismissal and premature judgement that it will be uninteresting and uneventful.

Wrong.

‘Buried’ IS the 95 minute flick about a man in a box and every second of that time is spent creating tension and establishing an emotional connection with the protagonist, a truck driver in Iraq by the name of Paul Conroy- brilliantly played by Ryan Reynolds. The first 5 minutes of screen-time are spent in pitch black but you become instantly aware that a man has woken up in a confined area with no idea of how he came to be there. All Reynolds has to work with is a mobile phone and a lighter (for the most part), and this simplicity pays off hugely as it gives the film an essence of realism that many films can’t hope to achieve. It is so refreshing to see Reynolds embarking on a serious role and hopefully with this title on his resume he will be cropping up in a few more serious parts.

You might think that, yeah, sure, there have been one-location movies made in the past but ‘Buried’ takes it to a whole new level; the space in which the entirety of the film is shot can be no more than 8’x4’ and no external lighting is used. This claustrophobic atmosphere is constant throughout the film and it only gets heavier and heavier after the films slightly slow start -note- if you are claustrophobic, do NOT see this film, you will die.

Hats off to director Rodrigo Cortes, the sense of space and discipline with which this film is shot is extraordinary, and yes, bold moves are made,( it is a surreal experience to be in a theatre full of people all looking at a black screen) it truly is a remarkable piece of filmmaking in terms of camera movements, sound and lighting. All decisions taken in production pay off and fused with the well acted every-man “hero” you can really feel for, ‘Buried’ becomes a nail-biting and emotional journey that any film-lover should venture on.

****1/2

further note- Go to a late showing when you are in the mood for a serious film, don’t go when all the little pikey kids are chatting shit in the row behind you waiting until it’s dark enough for them to go out and steal hubcaps or something. Talking during this film will be noticed and you will be shunned for killing the atmosphere. Dicks.

So what if the name sucks, Ben Affleck directorial, ‘The Town’, is a stand-out piece of film making complimented by solid performances all round.

While the story will not blow your mind, and at points seems predictable, the characters feel real and wrapped up in a reality that is brought to life through thorough character building and cinematography. The narrative does put a nice spin of the classic heist plotline with the hostage, Claire (played by Rebecca Hall), being the love interest, although you can’t help but think the victim/criminal relationship could have been an unexpected reveal had the narrative been written differently. This dramatic irony of knowing anti-hero, Doug MacRay (one of Ben Affleck’s best performances in a long while)isn’t all he says is well sculpted to create copious amounts of tension that keep the viewer glued to the screen over the 2 hour+ running time. Jeremy Renner’s performance turns speculation into concrete fact that he is, in fact, a serious badass and it heavily contributes to the gritty atmosphere and level of despair and criminality that seems to follow those residing in setting, Charlestown.

With a harsh, well crafted script and great direction ‘The Town’ shines above many of the recent films to encompass the crime/heist genre. Affleck should be proud of his efforts, both on screen and off, as the result is a film that surpasses previous directorial outing, the heavily underrated ‘Gone Baby Gone’.

8 1/2 out of 10 

Some photos taken on the set of the Captain America film.

Yesterday I headed over to the film set for the upcoming big-budget 2011 Marvel release, Captain America: The First Avenger, after receiving a sneaky tip from a friend that the filming was taking place near my house. After trekking through the Bourne Woods in Farnham, Surrey, for about 10 minutes we reached a perimeter which, due to health and safety reason (AKA massive explosions etc), we were not allowed to cross… so we didn’t. There were some tanks and some fellas chilling out in army uniforms, just then I noticed a man with a dirty blonde grown-out military haircut and I pointed for my friend to see. At this point a northern security woman tottered over to ask us if we were okay, to which we replied “yes”. We then began having a friendly chat to the woman about the location that has been previously used in Gladiator, Children of Men, Harry Potter, Wolfman and the more recent Robin Hood. We then asked her what was going on currently- with all the military vehicles and alike. At this point a rather serious looking gentleman came over and began to explain that the production was that of a upcoming World War 2 film with the ridiculous name ‘Frostbite’. We pretended to eat up his barrel of lies until he went on his busy way (which took all of 2 seconds). The security lady then seemed rather proud of their deception before she noticed us whispering and giggling- like girls. She once again asked us if we were ok; this was the point at which our visit turned. We responded by informing her that we knew it wasn’t ‘Frostbite’, she played dumb and asked us what we ‘thought’ we knew. “Well,” I began “that guy over there is watching a Captain America Tshirt, that massive sticker on that trailer has Captain America on it, that’s Hayley Atwell (the female lead in the film) and we just saw Chris Evans (the actor playing Steve Rogers AKA Cpatain America) walking past in the costume barely covered by a trench coat.” This did have a shocking effect on the security woman, and she rudely claimed that we knew more than she did. She took a few steps back and we continued to talk quietly amongst ourselves behind the barrier. About a minute later a tall man walked towards and told us we were being ‘a nuisance’ we apologised and told him we were unaware; he then continued and told us that he was calling the police and that we would be arrested. At this point I wondered on what charges this could take place, he continued to glare at us. “Manners cost nothing, my friend” I replied. He didn’t take too kindly to this recommendation and we walked off.

Basically, it was very exciting to see Chris Evans in costume, the film set is looking good and the production is obviously being taken very seriously (as it should because Captain America is awesome) and the shoot is being kept on the super-secret down-low but regrettably some of the crew are so far up their own ass that they really ruined my excitement about a film I have been hugely looking forward to. Truth be told that guy is a tosser, and I went home to make posters to inform the public that ‘Frostbite’ is a lie and that there was free entry to the set of Captain America.

I see you.

Am i the only one who didn’t think Avatar was the most mega super awesome thing ever? I picked up the DVD yesterday and watched it last night. I had seen it in cinemas in 3D and it has to be said that it is a shining example of today’s technology in film. It works brilliantly in 3D, bringing the world from the screen all around you. It’s visuals are the creative works of inspired minds, it is a shame the same can’t be said about the narrative. Don’t get me wrong Avatar is a good film, but I think if it weren’t for James Cameron this visual experience would have struggled to acquire half of its Box Office success to date.

Think Pocahontas, if the Indians- sorry, Native Americans- were blue. Avatar’s storyline is horribly unoriginal for the most part (any part that really accelerates the narrative). As I sat through the 155minutes blockbuster I realised I had forgotten 2 things since my cinema outing: one- the intense beauty, scope and visual delight the world of Pandora offers, two- the unoriginal cliche, cheese filled plot. They all love and cry about the tree and then it sends all the beasties to help in the fight- it would of been much more helpful if they went in first before everyone got killed. Jake Sully and team don’t really win the fight against the humans because about 90% of his team dies, nice one Dreamwalker. This film is a fantastic experience in 3D but has trouble keeping me glued to my seat with one dimension less.

Cameron and co. have done a fantastic job in creating a world that you marvel and could get lost in, yet the people with their typewriters really let the team down. You would have thought with $300million being spent they could have hired some good writers. Nevertheless Mr Cameron can sit back and revel in his title of ‘master of the universe’ because now the top 2 highest grossing film of all time have his name on them. Well done you.

3D- 8 1/2  out of 10

2D- 6 out of 10

This 9 minute music video has been causing quite the stir recently after it was uploaded to YouTube, banned, then reinstated with an age restriction and yet more people are calling for it to be removed altogether, probably from existence. But this Daily Mail fuss only made me want to find and watch it and I actually really liked it. Yes it is shocking and yes it is graphic and yes it would definitely be considered unsuitable for some audiences but it is also powerful and compelling. Set in a grimy and gaudy reality, it follows some horrifically abusive armed police as the track down and capture red heads; that’s right gingers are the enemy in this fantastically shot and directed short film. It should be classified as a short film rather than a music video, mainly because you are too busy watching the footage to take notice of the song (which isn’t really that good any way), I also think that the amount of controversy caused by the film would be considerably less if it wasn’t branded as a music video.

I think that it’s definitely worth checking out but be warned, it is not for the faint of heart.

Adventureland was a film I was really looking forward to last year but I never got round to seeing it, but this week I downloaded it on the cheap and I liked what I saw yet wasn’t that upset that its big-screen outing had passed me by. 

I was expecting a lot of laughs about sex, cocks and drugs but the comedy in the film is far more subtle (generally speaking) than that of the majority of teen funnies. However this is not a bad thing, it is just not quite what you might expect. The story tends to focus more on the love story between protagonist James Brennan and pretty face Em Lewin. Jesse Eisenberg as James is a great casting choice, he plays the role with complete teenage awkwardness and his manner is completely square- but it works and it makes for a more 3 dimensional character than many modern teen comedies boast. I think that the majority of men love to hate Kristen Stewart, purely because of The Twilight Saga, but I actually found myself enjoying seeing her on screen, she’s not always your favourite character but she captures the confused and angry teenager with ease and pulls it off far more convincingly than her vampire related efforts. 

The film isn’t hugely hilarious but it is enjoyable and this is often due to the cinematic shots and the progression of relationships and events. Adventureland is wonderfully shot and the scale of it often feels larger than it really is, which sometimes seems odd when its content is often intimate but it makes for a very watchable piece of film. 

Adventureland clocks up a 7/10, it would probably be a nice casual date movie: it has a handful of great moments and some laughs but isn’t too sure if it’s a comedy or not. Nevertheless it is worth watching, just keep in mind that if you’re in the DVD rental store and you’re looking for the funniest film on the shelf, chances are this isn’t it.

-Also just note the amount of drink-driving going on, personally, I don’t think it sets a very good example. Oh well.

I wish I had an ‘I Love Lamp’ T-Shirt.

I could totally get into Entourage.