Edge of Tomorrow Review

Hello there people of the internet, time for another film review and today’s review comes in the shape of Edge of Tomorrow. Now at first I was interested in watching this film because of the story and Tom Cruise’s involvement. But then when the trailers came out slowly my interested died and I really started to hate that stupid song used in the trailers! So is the film good or bad? Well read on and find out.

Here’s the synopsis for the film:

“In the near future, an alien race has invaded the Earth and defeated the world’s military units. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a military officer untrained for combat, is deployed into a combat mission against the aliens. Though Cage is killed in minutes, he finds himself starting over in a time loop, repeating the same mission and being killed. Each time, Cage learns to better fight the aliens, and he teams up with Special Forces soldier Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) to defeat them.”

The story is very intelligent, intriguing and ambitious. The best way to describe this film is a cross between Source Code and Terminator, and while this film clearly takes references from films like these and others, it has its own way of doing things that keeps you invested a unique kind of character-driven story. I liked the tone of the film as it was serious but also quite humorous and moved a decent pace throughout. At first the story comes across as interesting but not overly engaging, it’s not until Rita Vrataski comes into play that things start to become cool. The only issues I have with the film is that sometimes things slow down a bit at points and sometimes the story can get a little confusing.

As for the cast they are all very good with the two leads, Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt doing well along with cool their co-stars. Firstly Tom Cruise as Major William Cage is awesome. For first time in ages Tome Cruise doesn’t play a character who isn’t automatically badass. Cage is a man who knows nothing about fighting, combat or war, and due to him being thrown into battle he has to learn and adjust and become capable of saving humanity. Emily Blunt is just awesome as Rita Vrataski. Blunt plays this well-known soldier who is well-versed in battle, but also knows what is going on behind the scenes with the aliens and Cage’s situation. I loved how cool, driven and how she is a no-nonsense kind of woman, but still has layers. Bill Paxton is incredible as Master Sergeant Farrell Bartolome. At first I couldn’t properly identify him, but I knew I’d seen his face before and then I finally recognizes his face and voice. Paxton’s character was awesome, he was commanding, funny and a smart-ass, but you had to love him because of his charm and great dialogue. Also Brendan Gleeson as General Brigham is delightfully gruff, blunt and another no-nonsense kind of person and he has some great lines in the film..

When it comes to the presentation it was some good stuff. Visually the film is great, there is a lovely gritty and moody atmosphere that comes with the locations on and off of the battlefield, in addition to that the CGI and cinematography is very well executed providing some really cool and well-choreographed action sequences. Also the soundtrack by Christophe Beck was pretty good too.

In conclusion Edge of Tomorrow is smart film that takes ideas seen in previous sci-fi films and puts an interesting spin on things with a good plot and great central performances from Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. While this isn’t the best film I’ve seen this year, it was a hell of a lot better than I expected and is possibly one of Cruise’s best films in recent years.

Rating: 8/10

So what did you think of Edge of Tomorrow? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

Maleficent Review

Hello there people of the internet, time for another film review and today’s review comes in the shape of Maleficent. Now this was a film I had initially had no intention of watching because of a lack of interest, but since I love the Maleficent character from the Disney films and Kingdom Hearts video games, I decided to see how this film turned out especially given its lengthy time in production. So how does the final product fare? Well read on and find out.

Here’s the synopsis for the film:

“A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.”

The story is decent and has genuine moments of interest, drama and humour, but it comes across as a bit messy. The film has a whimsical Disney-like feel, but then switches to something partly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and then switches to something like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. It’s tonally all over the place and lacks consistency. The main pull of the story is the focus on Maleficent’s backstory, however when things shift towards Aurora things are a lot less interesting and the way the film concludes feels very lackluster. Now I know the general gist of the Sleeping Beauty story and I know that with film adaptations these days things need to change, however this version of the story is very unsatisfying.

As for the cast they are good, but one clearly stands out more so than the rest. Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is very good and commands the screen whenever she is around, her performance is clearly one she gives with gusto, feeling and fun. This version of Maleficent, like a lot of modern interpretations of classic villains, is portrayed as the good-guy-gone-bad type of villain where even at her worst there’s still goodness in her heart and while that angle works for some other characters, for the classic villain like this one I don’t like it. Make no mistake Jolie is great and is the best thing about this cast, however seeing a soft side to someone like Maleficent just doesn’t sit well with me.

Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora is fine, she smiles a lot and is very free-spirited, but is a bit bland and boring for me. Sharlto Copley as King Stefan is good, however compared to some of the other films I’ve seen him in this role comes across as a bit dull and lacking the charm and charisma. Sam Riley was nice and funny but underutilized as Diaval. Brenton Thwaites is just pointless and dull as Phillip and Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville as Knotgrass, Thistlewit and Flittle (the three a pixies) were charismatic, but ultimately annoying as hell.

When it comes to the presentation it is pretty good for the most part, if somewhat unnecessary. The visual effects are colourful, detailed and the attention to detail on Maleficent powers and some of tree creatures are cool. That being said a lot of the CGI don’t really add much to the film, all the sweeping landscapes, weird and various creatures and action scenes felt like it window-dressing and material just to distract audience members. The soundtrack by James Newton Howard is okay, however it is ultimately dull and insignificant and that’s a darn shame considering the fact that I like a lot of this composers previous work.

In conclusion Maleficent is a decent film and a lot better than I expected. However the film survives purely on Angelina Jolie’s performance, otherwise the story, other cast members and visual effects do little to elevate the film above being purely average. The film isn’t a total loss and it was partly engaging but in the end it joins the list of other classic fairy tale adaptations that didn’t need to be done.

Rating: 6/10

So what did you think of Maleficent? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

Can’t Wait For E3 2014

Howdy ladies and gentlemen, today I’m doing a little post relating to video games and the biggest event that houses them each year; the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 for short. For those not in the know, E3 is like biggest event for video games where gaming companies come together to show off the future software and hardware and get gamers all crazy about what stuff they’ll be playing. This event goes down every summer at the  Los Angeles Convention center in America and for those who don’t get to go to the event, most of the event is streamed online.

For me E3 has been one of the biggest events in my life that I always get excited for in the summer because of all the cool announcements, trailers, images, interviews and hands-on videos and articles with some of these new games. Since 2006, E3 has become something that has become a mandatory thing for me to check out and while not every year is a good session, sometimes there can be one announcement that changes the lives of all gamers forever. Last year’s E3 was pretty awesome for announcements with my two highlights being the trailers for Kingdom Hearts 3 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Now I’m primarily a Nintendo gamer so I’m more interested in their announcements more so than anyone else, but they’re REALLY gonna have to bring the fire if they want to succeed at this year’s event. Outside of Nintendo I’m always curious to know what Ubisoft are gonna announce because they’re crazy good at announcing things and delivering on the ‘wow’ factor. I also want to see Square Enix get their acts together and deliver us something that will be coming out sooner rather than later. As for Microsoft and Sony, I never really watch their conferences, but I always pay attention to any noteworthy facts that come out, but mainly Sony ones because I have a PS3 haha.

Anyways now I’m going to give a list of the games I’m hoping to hear about at this year’s E3:

Super Smash Bros.

Of course I want more info about the next Smash Bros. game, I mean after the last Nintendo Direct I was quite content with information, but now I have that secret craving again. Just some info on release dates, characters, stages and playable demo videos would be enough for me. Come on, give me Nintendo! XD

The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)

The Zelda series is one that constantly demands new content and after the awesomeness that was A Link Between Worlds last year ( a game that I and many others loved), people are looking at Nintendo to deliver a similar kind of experience with a new Wii U game. Now obviously the Wii U had that Zelda tech demo back in 2011 which basically looked like a HD version of Twilight Princess and it was gorgeous! But since then there’s not been anything else shown for it and people from Nintendo have stated that the demo may not even be a true representation of the next game in the series (which sucks). All I want at this year’s E3 is just a look at the next Zelda game, and speaking of Zelda games…

Hyrule Warriors

This game could go one of two ways, it could either be an unexpectedly awesome game or a disaster. Ever since the news about this game came out along with the trailer, people have been divided about it. I think it could be interesting, while I’ve never cared much for the Dynasty Warriors series, with it crossing over into the Zelda series there is room for experimentation and cool new elements to be added to this gaming experience. I have hope for the game, I just want more information.

Sonic Boom

Ah Sonic, your games have fallen on hard times again. Sonic Generations pretty much gave us fans the most solid gaming experience gameplay-wise, but then Sonic Lost World came along and tried to give us something new but failed to deliver the kind of game experience that fans are used to. Sonic Boom is a chance at redemption, we have a developer who aren’t Sonic Team working on the game, the gameplay looks new and interesting like a cross between Sonic and Ratchet and Clank. This game could also be a train wreck but I can only hope that it’ll be fine.

X (Monolith Project)

It has been ages since Nintendo announced this game, sure we’ve had bits of info since the first time it was shown off, but bloody hell this game feels like its been hidden away in the dark. Hopefully at E3 we can get a name, gameplay and more details about what the overall game is about.

Final Fantasy XV

Square Enix, I love you, but you’re terrible when it comes to giving fans what they want and leaving games in development for ages. Now I am glad that Final Fantasy Versus XIII got rebranded as XV because that means that at least one of their games from the past will be released eventually. But it also seemed like a bit of lazy thing to do. That being said the FF series has evolved from turn-based combat to real-time combat especially with the changes in the FFXIII games. XV looks like it has more in line with Kingdom Hearts and I’m down with that, but a bit of info at E3 wouldn’t go a miss.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Something that I care about more than FFXV is Kingdom Hearts 3. It feels like an eternity since KH2 and when the announcement trailer came out of this I blew up and the D23 trailer only got me more hyped. Now since Tetsuya Nomura is director of both this game and FFXV one has to wonder which will come first? Though I heard that FFXV would come out first because it has priority over the KH series. That being said I feel like it would be a darn shame for Square Enix not to have some form of announcement or trailer about this game because the fans will eat them alive.

Batman Arkham Knight

When it comes to Batman, I love Batman, sad thing is I’ve yet to play a game in the Arkham series, besides playing the demo for the gauntlet challenge mode. But I have followed this series a lot since Arkham City, this new game looks awesome and all the info about sounds kick ass. So I am curious to see how Rocksteady Studios do with this next entry in the series.

Assassin’s Creed Comet & Unity

The Assassin’s Creed series is one I have a lot respect for, however it is again one of the franchises I have yet to play. Anyway I have been paying attention to this series since Assassin’s Creed 3 and the series has been getting more and more ambitious and interesting in the gameplay department and I can only assume that this will be the case with the new games. Hopefully Ubisoft gives us something new at E3.

Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain

Even though I’ve never really played any of the games in the MGS series besides the demo for MGS3, I do have a respect for the series and always like to pay attention to where the series is heading next. The Phantom Pain looks like its changing a lot of things about the core elements of gameplay and this new open world looks really intriguing. I’m super curious to see what info will come out for this game at E3, I need to know.

Alien: Isolation

While I hate anything related to horror, I fo love anything to do with the Alien franchise. The demo for the game shown on IGN in the past made me think that this new game could be good, so here’s hoping we get more content about it at E3.

So yeah that’s my hopes for E3 2014, hopefully it delivers the goods. So what games are you looking forward to at E3 this year? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below. I’ll try and blog about anything and everything I can that’s relevant to be from the 10th of June onwards, until then see ya later! 😀

 

Marvel Studios’ Daredevil Synopsis Reveals Present Day Setting

Hello again ladies and gents, time for some another new story again relating to the new Daredevil TV series coming out next year. Now information just dropped about the new leading man who will be Daredevil and now we have some story information from superherohype:

Last fall, we ran a speculative piece hypothesizing that Marvel Studios’ upcoming wave of Netflix shows (to include “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist,” “Luke Cage” and “The Defenders”) might be set in the 1970s. Today, Marvel has confirmed that that will not be the case and that “Daredevil” will feature a contemporary setting.

Confirming today’s report of Charlie Cox signing on to play Matt Murdock, Marvel revealed the following official plot synopsis:

Blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt Murdock fights against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

The 13-episode series will premiere on Netflix in 2015. Steven S. DeKnight (“Spartacus,” “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer”) will serve as showrunner and will produce alongside Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”). Goddard also scripted the first two episodes.

Check back for further details on all the Marvel Studios series as soon as they become available.

Okay then so this news is small, but still relevant. As for the synopsis, it sounds pretty much just like the Daredevil I know from the comics, I’ll be curious though to see how that translates into the current MCU and whether this will be its own self-contained story or whether it will pay attention to the events of the Phase Two in the MCU after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There was a lot of talk at one point about these new Marvel Netflix shows taking place in a previous time from the present, but now we know this will be modern-day and I am both happy and a bit saddened by this. Because on one hand it is great to have these characters exist in present times just so that characters and events can sync up with the current MCU, but then on the other hand Marvel have talked the 1940’s in Captain America: The First Avenger so it isn’t completely out of the question to set some of these series in the past and then have connective tissue through easter eggs and other comic book and film references. In conclusion this sounds all well and good but until we get some more information when filming begins, all we can do is speculate.

 

Charlie Cox Cast as Marvel’s Daredevil!

Good day to you ladies and gents, time for some TV news and this relates to the upcoming Daredevil Netflix series coming out next summer. The following info comes from superherohype:

UPDATE: Marvel has confirmed the news! Cox is officially set to play Matt Murdock on the upcoming Netflix series.

Latino-Review is reporting that Stardust and “Boardwalk Empire” star Charlie Cox could be the man without fear in Marvel Entertainment’s upcoming Netflix series “Daredevil.” The site reports this is just a rumor for the time being, but check back here for updates on casting for the series very soon.

It was revealed this weekend that The Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard had stepped away from the series in order to focus on Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” spin-off The Sinister Six with “Spartacus” creator Steven S. DeKnight stepping in to take his place as executive producer and showrunner on the series.

“Daredevil” is just one of four new shows that will debut on Netflix from Marvel Entertainment which also include “Iron Fist,” “Luke Cage,” “Jessica Jones,” and a mini-series event of “The Defenders” that brings them all together. Production is scheduled to begin on the series this summer with a target release in 2015.

So yeah this news just dropped yesterday and at first I was like “Who the shag is this guy?” But then I was like, “Oh my god, that’s Owen from Boardwalk Empire, kick ass!” While Cox wouldn’t be my first choice for the character and he certainly doesn’t look like Matt Murdock, at the same time we’ve not seen him in costume or have any set pictures to work with, so I’ll be curious to see what Marvel Studios does with the character this time. Also one can’t deny Cox’s talent, he was totally badass in Boardwalk Empire and his character had a lot of different sides to him emotionally and had a great screen presence. Overall I feel like he has the acting chops necessary to take on a role like Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

So what do you thing of this news? Be sure to leave your comments below.

 

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Just Announced

Good day to you ladies and gents of the internet, today I am here to rely upon you some new video game news that broke just a little while ago. The following information comes from IGN:

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham has been announced and will be coming to all major consoles, handhelds, and PC at the beginning of autumn 2014. The announcement was made via the trailer above.

Following on from the events of DC Superheroes, Beyond Gotham follows the Caped Crusader on an intergalactic adventure, which sees him out to prevent Braniac from destroying Earth. To achieve his goal, Brainiac is using the power of the Lantern Rings to miniaturise cities from across the cosmos. To stop him, Batman – along with a host of other DC heroes and villains – must visit different Lantern Worlds to collect the Rings and put an end to Braniac’s scheme.

The game will feature more than 150 unique, unlockable characters from the DC universe. Following on from LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Beyond Gotham will use big figures for characters such as Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy. Each character will new gadgets and abilities, with the announcement saying that “the power of the Lantern rigs bring unexpected twists to the classic characters’ personalities.”

Iconic locations will also feature in the sequel, with players able to visit the Hall of Justice, the Justice League Watchtower and the Batcave.

Here’s the trailer:

So here we go again with another Lego Batman game and I can see one of two responses: 1) “Ah, another one? Why?” or 2) “Ah yeah, another Lego Batman, gimme!” Either way it seems like the Lego franchise is moving forward with the next game in its series. So what do I think about this news? I say bring it on. The first two Lego Batman games done extremely well and both introduced new elements into the Lego video game series that became staples for future games to adhere to. Also right now Batman is very hot stuff, he had a pretty big part in The Lego Movie, there’s also been a lot of hype what surrounding Ben Affleck’s Batsuit and then of course you have Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice coming out next year, so now is as good a time as any to announce this next instalment in the franchise. I’ve played the first Lego Batman and I thought it was fun and definitely the best one since the Star Wars games, I never had the chance to pick up the sequel, although the inclusion of the Justice League as playable character definitely makes it a more compelling game to play.

Right now this game is sounding good, being able to use more than 150 characters is an insane and awesome thought to me and being able to visit locations like the Watchtower and Hall of Justice just makes me hyped. Lego Marvel Super Heroes pretty much gave gamers and fanboys alike the most comprehensive and fun Lego video game of the franchise, so to see if that can be topped with this third Batman entry will be interesting. I am hyped and I’m curious to see how the story, hub locations and missions will be handled.

As Fry would say: “Shut up and take my money!”

 

Surviving The Storm Known As University

Good day to you ladies and gents, today I blog to you as a person who is different from before, a person feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders, a person who now can live a partially care-free life again. This is all because my time with education is well and truly over.

Honestly this is how I felt on Thursday morning this week, I was like “Thank you god!”

Now if you have followed this blog for a year or more you would have seen my many complaints, rants or unhappy blog posts relating to university and the problems it has given me in terms of how it affected me emotionally and how it conflicted with my blog-based activities. Heck at one point I was ready to throw in the towel last year and call it quits, but somehow I bared with it. The sleepless nights, all those days I procrastinated and danced the line between education and fun, that stuff doesn’t matter anymore, because I beat the system! Honestly the day I escaped the clutches of the education system has been something I’ve dreamed about for months and never thought the day would ever come so soon, but now all I can do is just raise a can of beer to the air and just go, “I have survived.”

So what have I done with my newfound freedom? Well that should be obvious, I went right back to the cinema haha. After only being able to go there for the major film releases like Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla and missing how many films for the last month, I started by watching experience properly with X-Men: Days of Future Past which was awesome and then on Friday I re-watched Godzilla in IMAX and had a hella good time. So now I’m gonna chase up a few films at my local Cineworld while I’m back at home in the south-east of England again.

So expect a lot more blog posts from me in the coming weeks, I’m coming back to this blog with a vengeance! 😀

 

Gareth Edwards Is Set To Direct A Star Wars Spinoff & Godzilla 2!

Good day to you ladies and gents, time for some late film news. Now today I’m gonna give you a double news feature purely because both stories involve the same man, Gareth Edwards and it’ll save me posting twice which seems pointless.

Anyways let’s talk news starting with Star Wars, the following info comes from superherohype:

Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is attached to direct one of the upcoming Star Wars spinoff films, which will feature a screenplay by Gary Whitta and is now set to hit theaters December 16, 2016! The official announcement reads as follows:

In addition to the episodes of a new “Star Wars” trilogy, Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on multiple stand-alone movies that will offer new stories beyond the core Saga. Gareth Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta. The film is due out December 16, 2016.

Gareth Edwards blazed into the filmmaking forefront with his acclaimed work on “Monsters,” a film he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. The skill and vision readily apparent in “Monsters” earned him the high-profile spot directing this year’s smash hit “Godzilla”.

“Ever since I saw Star Wars I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life – join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited & honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm”, said Edwards.

Gary Whitta’s screenwriting credits include 2010s “The Book of Eli” starring Denzel Washington. He is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of “The Walking Dead”.

Whitta states, “From the moment I first saw the original movie as a wide-eyed kid, “Star Wars” has been the single most profound inspiration to my imagination and to my career as a writer. It is deeply special to me,so to be given the opportunity to contribute to its ongoing legacy, especially in collaboration with a film-maker as talented as Gareth, is literally a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.”

Well firstly I want to say good for him! Honestly this guy is going from strength to strength, who know that the same guy who directed an independent film like Monsters would then go on to helm Godzilla and then a Star Wars film? If you had told me that around 3 years ago I would have given you the weirdest look ever and said, “Really?” However this proves that the man has talent, that hs isn’t just a throwaway filmmaker, that he is someone who studios want to work with and with his recent success with Godzilla I’m not surprised in a way. I’m just happy for him and from the sounds of his words in this article he’s pretty hyped up himself. All that being said I am curious about two things; 1) Which spin-off will he be directing? And 2) How will Edwards fit into it? What I mean is, depending on which spin-off film we get we shall then see if Edwards is a good fit for it or not, my money’s on a Boba Fett film just because that seems like the most logical and film best suited to Edwards. But I guess only time will tell.

Now let’s talk Godzilla, the following info comes from superherohype:

The big news of the day is that Godzilla helmer Gareth Edwards will be directing a mystery Star Wars film for release on December 16, 2016. What does that mean, though, for another big screen adventure with the King of Monsters? ShockTillYouDrop.com has an update straight from Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull.

“Gareth’s filmmaking talent makes him one of his generation’s most creative and visionary directors,” says Tull. “The plan has always been for Gareth to direct a different film before we started on another ‘Godzilla,’ but who knew it would be a ‘Star Wars’ installment? We have a great plan in store for ‘Godzilla’ fans and I am looking forward to seeing Gareth’s imprint on the ‘Star Wars’ universe.”

The Hollywood Reporter goes on to say that Edwards is attached not only for a Godzilla sequel, but for a full Godzilla trilogy.

So thankfully this question got answered fairly quickly. I think for some fans, we were concerned that with Edwards landing a job on a new Star Wars spin-off film that he’d left Godzilla’s sequel in the dust, but thankfully just hearing from Thomas Tull that Edwards will be back for a sequel makes me breathe a sigh of relief. Now obviously things can change and we could lose Edwards depending on the scheduling of this next Star Wars project, but  would like to think that Edwards could come back and deliver some more monster madness with a Godzilla sequel because he knows the source material and it would be a shame for him to leave just after its gotten going.

So what do you think of this news? Are you pleased or concerned for future of Star Wars or Godzilla or both? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya later! 😀

 

Edgar Wright Departs Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, time for some film news and this is not the good kind and I just have to blog about it sooner rather than later. The following information comes from superherohype:

In a surprise announcement, Marvel Studios and Edgar Wright have revealed that Wright has departed Ant-Man. The official statement on the matter reads as follows:

Marvel and Edgar Wright jointly announced today that the studio and director have parted ways on Ant-Man due to differences in their vision of the film. The decision to move on is amicable and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly.

Written by Wright and Joe Cornish, Ant-Man is set to star Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Patrick Wilson and Corey Stoll. The film follows a biochemist Dr. Hank Pym using his latest discovery, a group of subatomic particles, to create a size-altering formula. Though his first self-test goes awry, he develops an instrument that helps him communicate with and control insects. Paul Rudd will play Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Michael Douglas stars as Hank Pym.

Well I saw the article for this news story on Facebook and I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but then saw it wasn’t a joke and my heart sank. Honestly this is the worst news for us fans, Ant-Man has been in development for the longest time with Edgar Wright attached before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even crafted into the unified awesomeness that it is now. All the news that’s been coming from this film from the story, cast and the Comic-Con footage, everything was coming together in a beautiful way and with Wright at the helm we all knew that it would be a great film… But now, now we get this news and everything pretty much falls apart and I’m just gutted, really gutted. In truth for me and a lot of other Marvel fans who aren’t comic book fans to the max, this film never sounded like an overly interesting solo film, but with Wright at the helm it made the film so much more intriguing especially considering his track record with films like Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and my personal favourite Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. But now unless Marvel Studios can film a capable director and convince fans that this’ll still be a great film then this film has pretty much lost a lot of its credibility. And then there’s this talk of creative differences, Marvel have a lot of problems in that area especially with music composers too, but I hope that Marvel aren’t that difficult to work with and that they are not the type of company to stifle creativity. But hey no one knows what happened behind the scenes, I just hope that Marvel can rectify this. Looks like DC fans have some smiling and laughing to do at us Marvel people due to our recent loss.

So what do you think of this news? Be sure to comment below and let me know. 😀

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen of the world, its time for another film review and today I’m gonna be talking about the next big film of the summer in the form of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now the X-Men film series has had a bit of a rocky road but for the most part it has been good and in recent years it has been getting a bit of a resurgence and now we have Days of Future Past, a film that intends to bridge the gap between the X-Men films new and old. So has it succeed? Well read on and find out!

So the story goes something like this:

In the future the world is pretty much in pieces, the machines known as Sentinels have taken over the Earth and enslaved mutants and humans alike, there is no happiness or hope, only pain, suffering and death. Many have lost their lives fighting for justice and now Professor X, Magneto and group of other mutants are the only survivors and the only way for them to save themselves is to change the past. So Wolverine is sent back in time to the 1970’s to get the younger versions of Professor X and Magneto to band together and stop the Sentinel programme from coming into existence.

The story in this film is very good, smart and entertaining throughout, sure there’s the occasional plot hole and some head-scratching elements that’ll leave you with some unanswered questions, but overall this film has its heart in the right place. The themes of changing fate, rewriting history, bonds of friendship and having hope in the face of adversity are on display in a wonderful and powerful way and I loved how things in the past were relevant to the future and vice versa. This film also doesn’t hope back on the level of loss and devastation caused by the Sentinels in the future, there is a lot of drama and emotion and you buy that this is not a world anyone wants to live in and I love how the stories of the past are just as interesting with characters being so different and having all of the politics involved with mutants and the dawn of the Sentinels through Trask Industries. But the best thing about this film is that it feels right, this film pretty much rectified a lot of the mistakes of this franchise and gives you something that feels good, fresh, fun and by the end of the film you feel like you’re in a happy place with yourself, well I know I did.

As for the cast they are all on top form with some giving us some of their best performances to date. So let’s start with the young cast first. James McAvoy is still great as Charles Xavier, like in First Class you’re still seeing sides of him that you never knew existed and it only makes his character more layered and easier to relate to. In this film Xavier in the 70’s is a mess and for good reason, but it is seeing him deal with his pain and then journey back the place where he needs to be which is so rewarding. Michael Fassbender is still killing it as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, if you thought this guy was cool in the last film then wait til you see this one. This Magneto definitely has more of the McKellen side of the character in him in the way in which he acts, speaks and uses his powers and just like Xavier he’s in a very different place than his older self and seeing the emotions with him and choices he makes only makes him more badass. Jennifer Lawrence returns as Raven/Mystique and she too have never been better. This is more in line with the character we knew from the old films, but still with the emotional conflict and beauty we got from her in First Class. I liked how agile, cool and acrobatic she was, but more so than that, I liked how much of a central role she had in the film, it made me smile so much. I also really liked Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, he was funny and whenever he was in blue mode he was awesome, but I also liked how he’s still there for Xavier and is really smart.

Now let’s talk about the veterans. Firstly there’s Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and do I really have to say how good he is in this film? Come on its Hugh Jackman, he’s automatically awesome. Again this film gives us fans what we love with all the smug, cool and humourous elements of the character, but rather than making the only character that matters, others are given screen time to develop, grow and have action moments in the spotlight, sure this guy is at the center of things a lot, but not as much as he has been before. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are still fantastic as old Professor X and Magneto, both of them have a screen presence and gravitas about their acting that is impossible to not enjoy, but beyond that you believe in their connection and there are some really emotional moments between them. Ellen Page gives her best performance as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat as she is much smarter and serious in terms of her personality and use of her powers, she has a central role to this film and the way she is handled was carefully done. Seeing Shawn Ashmore as Iceman again brought joy to my heart as this was the Iceman I’ve wanted to see for so many years, he was cool and had some lovely moments. I was also glad to see my man Daniel Cudmore back as Peter Rasputin/Colossus, he was a joy to watch and it was nice to see him get some screen time even if he didn’t say much, and Halle Berry returns as Storm and while she doesn’t really do much beyond what we’ve seen in previous films, she is still has her moments to shine.

Now let’s talk about the new people. Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask is very good, he is a man who is anticipating the future and wishes to keep the world save and in his mind he is the good guy for doing what he’s doing and creating the Sentinel programme. He’s smart, determined and kind of smug when it comes to his research and technology and Dinklage is just awesome. Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver was actually one of the best parts of the film, while the costume still looks a bit off, his performance and use of his character was very effective. Omar Sy as Bishop was really cool, I don’t really know anything about this character from the comics but he had a cool and badass screen presence and liked a lot of his action scenes. And finally Fan Bingbing stars as Clarice Ferguson/Blink and Booboo Stewart stars as James Proudstar/Warpath were lovely additions to this film universe, while there was a lot going on with other cast members I was happy that the got a decent amount of screen time too.

When it comes to the presentation it is very, very good. Visually the film is impressive, firstly you can also tell that this is a Bryan Singer film, the look, style of camera work and the use of visual effects is just like the stuff he did with the first two X-Men films, and I can tell you this guy knows his stuff. The action sequences are beautifully shot and framed, there are sequences both in the past and future that are worth talking about and they all look lovely. As for the soundtrack John Ottman returns to score the film and I can say it is nice to have him back, he gives this film the trademark film theme back which was a welcome return for me, however his soundtrack was just alright and doesn’t reach the epic and emotional heights of Henry Jackman’s work on First Class.

In conclusion X-Men: Days of Future Past is a great comic book film, it takes the source material, adapts into a film format that bridges to worlds of X-Men films while also setting up for future X-Men films. While not everything works and some people cold have used more screen time, it is hard for me to criticise a film that gave me everything I could have wanted and then some. I left the cinema thinking to myself “I feel good about that film and I can’t wait for the sequel.” I highly recommend this film as it is X-Men in probably its finest hour. P.S. All I can say is thank god Bryan Singer didn’t mess this up, Mr. Singer you are alright again. 🙂

Rating: 8.5/10

So what do you lot think of the X-Men: Days of Future Past? Have you seen it or are you gonna watch it? Also if you’re a fan of the series did it meet your expectations or were left disappointed. Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review. Laters! 😀