REVIEW: Michael Giacchino at 50

Good day to you ladies and gents, how’s it going? Last night I had one of my favourite experiences of 2017 in the form a concert held at the Royal Albert Hall entitled Michael Giacchino at 50.

Image from royalalberthall.com

So what is this event about? Well, essentially it was a concert where you had an orchestra play several pieces of music from the numerous films, TV shows and video games that Giacchino’s score over the years. If you’ve checked out this blog for any amount of time you’ll know I have not only massive love for good film scores, but for Michael Giacchino in particular, so when I heard about this even back in February, I bought my ticket as quickly as possible. And so finally, the time had come yesterday, alas the London Underground was closed by the time I arrived at St Pancras just after 6pm, so I had to use Google Maps to run down to Royal Albert Hall, luckily after taking a few wrong turns and running through a dark park with no lights, I got to the venue with around 30 minutes to spare.

And I’ll say it right now, the concert was frigging awesome! We were introduced to a gentleman with a sousaphone (whose name I cannot recall, unfortunately) who played the birthday song and got the crowd involved. From there we were introduced to Adam Savage, the host for the event and he was wonderfully funny and charismatic, and in between the music, he’d appear in interesting costumes and introduce the special guests too. And speaking of the guests, we got to see several of the directors Giacchino’s worked as well as some actors featured in the films he’s worked on come onstage and share some kind words about Giacchino and his work. There were appearances from Colin Trevorrow, Andrew Stanton, Gareth Edwards, Matt Reeves, Carlton Cuse, Pete Docter, JJ Abrams, Benedict Wong, Raffey Cassidy, and Gonzo too. 😀

So what about the music? Well, it was all delicious! The concert started off perfectly with The Incredibles, taking all of the key themes from film and blending them together to show off the bombastic, sassy, playful and badass music, clearly, the people behind this show knew what the deal was by opening with that Pixar classic. Next up was some music from Medal of Honour, I was never into shooting games but I really felt like I may have missed out on something special as the music had some gorgeous sounds which felt like a mix of Lost and Jurassic Park. Though I don’t recall much from Jupiter Ascending, the music was and still is really intense and wonderful. Jurassic World had some lovely pieces which I had honestly forgotten about, the compositions Giacchino made for that film were so heartfelt and made me almost shed tears. The Marvel suite featured music from the Marvel Studios logo sequence which was great, the awesome sounds of Doctor Strange (mainly “Strange Days Ahead”) and the upbeat and heroic sounds of Spider-Man: Homecoming. The music for Rogue One had a selection of the best material from the middle and final parts of the film which was really special and powerful. And then there was Lost, so glad I watched the first season recently as the piece they used from the end of the first season and it was frigging perfect and made me well up because it was hella beautiful. And so that ended the first half.

In the second half we had some of the key music from Up which was beautifully handled by the orchestra and the string quartet Bond, then there were the humourous sounds of One Man Band and the final piece of Pixar piece was from Ratatouille. From here my memory gets a little hazy so excuse any mistakes I make if you attended and have the programme. There was also a haunting piece from Cloverfield I think before going on to do the sounds from War for the Planet of the Apes which was really dramatic and cool. Next up was the really beautiful sounds of John Carter, I’d honestly had forgotten about that film and hearing that music really brought back some memories of certain scenes I remembered from 2012. Oh, and the sounds from Tomorrowland was quite nice having a hopeful and majestic sound. And then we had the Star Trek suite which had the sounds of the 2009 film, Into Darkness and Beyond which was easily a highlight for me as it is some of my favourite material in any film ever. Then we had Gonzo come along and had some fun with the audience and then did a bit of a duet with Giacchino on “I’m Going To Go Back There Someday” from The Muppets Movie. And the final music was from Super 8 played with some archive footage of Giacchino’s childhood films he made with his friends which were perfect. But it wasn’t over, after a standing ovation we had our first encore was in the form of Speed Racer,  and then the next encore was a preview of Coco which was so playful and catchy and the final encore was from Alias.

Musical highlights:

• The Incredibles
• Jurassic World
• The Marvel Suite
• Lost
• John Carter
• Star Trek Suite
• Coco

Overall Michael Giacchino at 50 was a fabulous session and I was glad I was able to attend, there was a lot of laughs and comedy, and insightful and heartfelt moments from Giacchino, his home movies and the kind words from his friends/work colleagues, and of course the work put in from conductor Ludwig Wicki, the Cinematic Sinfonia and the English Chamber Choir was nothing short of amazing as they brought Giacchino’s music to life in such a special way.

 

Top 10 Favourite Films of 2016

Hey, hey, hey ladies and gents, how’s it going? So 2016 is almost over and most of the major film releases have come and gone and while tis year has been a bit on the disappointing side when it comes to some of the major blockbuster films and the summer in particular, there has still been some really cool films that’s dropped this year and I’m here to give you my top 10. Now before we begin know that this is my opinion so don’t get on my case if your films aren’t on my list, okay? Cool, let’s get going

Honorable mentions:

• The Nice Guys
• Deepwater Horizon
• Star Trek Beyond
• Moana
• The Accountant
• Don’t Breathe
• The Edge of Seventeen
• Arrival
• Hunt For the Wilderpeople

10. Green Room

Original review available here

This is a recent entry in my list as I saw it last week and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, I mean I’d heard a lot of good things about this film over the course of this year but when watching it was just super engaged and captivated by the chaos, violence, darkness and the characters. I’m not a fan of horror films at all, but this film had me from beginning to end and I think I liked it more because I went in blind with little information on the story, the performances were all really solid especially from Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat, Imogen Poots and the late Anton Yelchin.

9. Hell or High Water

Original review available here

This film was such a nice surprise, it was one of the few films that was hyped up during the early reviews that lived up to the hype. This film was engaging, dramatic and featured incredible performances from Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine especially. I wish more people had seen this film, I recall it being pretty intriguing in the beginning, but it just got better and better and by the end I was loving it.

8. Zootopia

Original review available here

Zootopia was a film I had next to no expectations for, the trailers looked interesting enough but I thought this would just an okay to decent Disney film, and yet it ended up being one Disney’s best films in recent times. This film was fun and colourful little adventure, and yet it did get pretty dramatic, emotional and had a lot of interesting themes and issues that relate to the world we live in today. I loved the characters, animation, soundtrack and the pop culture references, and just the fact that was humour for kids and adults was just want I wanted.

7. Doctor Strange

Original review available here

I really like this film, one of the best aspects was the fact that it was another origin story that was familiar yet unique with its mythology, locations, characters and mystical/supernatural powers and locations. The film had an interesting interpretation of magic, really cool and vivid visual effects, crazy and creative action sequences, a lovely film score and really solid cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

6. Jungle Book

Original review available here

Jungle Book was another one of the best surprises of 2016, I thought the film would be decent, but ti was so much better than I expected and I enjoyed it more than the original in a lot of ways. What I loved about this film was its ability to take the foundation of the orignal cartoon but find ways to modernise it with some updated story and character elements, and by expanding upon a few elements, it made for a more interesting experience with more depth and darkness. The voice cast were great especially Idris Elba as Shere Khan and those visual effects were INSANE, so damn impressive and probably the most realistic talking animals ever produced in film.

5. Midnight Special

Original review available here

I was really annoyed I missed this in the cinema because when I watched it in the summer I enjoyed it so much and it jumped into my top ten immediately. I love sci-fi films and love films with mystery and suspense, and this film had that. I really liked the story and characters just wanted to know how everything would play out, and throughout the film’s engaging and making you question the end game. And while the ending has led some to either love or hate the film, I thought the ending was solid and fascinating, oh and the performances were all really good especially from Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton.

4. Rogue One: A Star War Story

Original review available here

This film has a lot of elements that I would consider to be favourite of the year material, but there are a few minor issues that prevent it from being in my top three. Rogue One presents a side of the Star Wars universe that we’ve not yet seen in live-action, mainly the darker, grittier and realistic side of things. While we know of the tale of how rebels stole the Death Star plans, but we never saw the specifics, and this film told that story in an interesting way which expanded the mythology of SW, showed more the war-like events that take place in this universe and had great ties to the all of the SW films and TV shows. With really impressive visual effects, cool characters, awesome action sequences and one of the most exciting third acts of any film ever, Rogue One ended up being a really good session considering all that the reshoot hullabaloo.

3. Kubo and the Two Strings

Original review available here

Ah Kubo, I really wish more people had seen this film. Laika is a studio that I had a great deal of respect for and ever since Coraline they’ve been delivering new and interesting content in their films in terms of the stories, characters and especially with the animation and this film I think might be their best to date. I saw this film opening day and then again around a month later and still really enjoyed it, besides the gorgeous art direction and animation, the film had a great sense of atmosphere, adventure, playfulness, drama and emotion, with great characters and a story which felt familiar yet had really important themes and mythology thanks to the Japanese setting.

2. Captain America: Civil War

Original review available here

What can I can about this film that hasn’t been said already? Civil War was a damn good time in the cinema and in a lot of ways set a benchmark for not only superhero films and mainstream blockbuster films to follow, and I think a fair amount of people agreed that there wasn’t many, if any films that was able to match the quality that this film provided. Now sure the villain wasn’t the best, there were some convenient plot elements and if you weren’t up to date with the MCU films then you wouldn’t be able to fully invest in the story, but the pros of this film outweigh the cons by miles. This film was dramatic and hilarious, introduced Black Panther in fabulous way and reintroduced the world to Spider-Man, had some incredible action sequences and delivered great fan service for comic book fans. This was easily one of my favourite experiences in the cinema. 😀

1. Sing Street

Original review available here

While I loved Civil War, I think Sing Street just edges it out for being an original film that came out of nowhere as one of the best feel-good films I’ve seen in a while. I had heard a lot of talk online on Collider Movie Talk and Schmoes Know Show about this film so I checked it out in September and was really surprised with how heartfelt, beautiful and fun the film was with its story, characters and soundtrack. It had the right balance of realism and fantastical elements. Oh and can I just mention that soundtrack again, all of the 1980’s choices of songs were great, but its the orignal songs that will make you want to buy the soundtrack, the sounds of “Up” and “Drive It Like You Stole It” are my favourites. 🙂

So that’s my top 10, hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to drop me a comment below, tell me you like my choices or tell me I’m totally wrong, I don’t care. 😛 Anyway thanks for reading and I’ll see ya with new film reviews in 2017! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 19 – Doctor Strange Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, back in April I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well. After such a long time off, I’ve come back from my hiatus to review the latest Marvel film, Doctor Strange.

Anyway here’s the 19th episode:

Even though I’ve done a written review, I had to get the podcast back online and talk about this film because even though I believe I was able to convey my feelings on the film in that review, I wanted do an episode where I could talk about this film so people could get a better sense of my excitement and expand upon or add some points that was in my written review.

As I mentioned before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂

You can find my main site on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

Or if you’re on iTunes subscribe and rate me on there: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-focus/id1114233892?mt=2

So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Doctor Strange

Howdy ladies and gents, its been a while right? I was meant to review Jack Reacher: Never Go Back last week, but since Doctor Strange just came out I thought I’d skip ahead and review the latest Marvel film instead because it’s one of my most anticipated films of 2016.

So the story can be described as the following:

“Steven Strange is a brilliant yet arrogant neurosurgeon, but after his hands get horribly damaged in a car accident he seeks out help and on his journey he gets drawn into world of the mystic arts. And so Strange has to put aside his ego and open his mind to become a hero and save the world from dark forces.“

Firstly I think everyone who worked on this film deserve a pat on the back, they took what is arguably the hardest sell yet from Marvel Studios and made a solid, fun and entertaining film. Now this film isn’t without its flaws, but for what it was able to do with adapting its source material while also keeping in line with Marvel’s current style of comic book films is impressive. Doctor Strange‘s story is an origin story and certainly has familiar elements that we’ve seen in other superhero films, however, it has its own presence, sense of style and unique elements which make it feel completely different from what’s come in the genre before. This adventure was filled with excitement, mystery, drama and humour with some really interesting themes about life and death, the corruption of power, trust and betrayal, and changing for the better. This film did well to incorporate magic into the real world by diving in early in on, explaining how it worked and then dug even deeper as the film progressed and for the most part it worked. The only nitpicks I had with the film was that I thought the humour was a little hit or miss sometimes, and even though this film introduced magic in the MCU in an effective way, I feel like there were a few points where a bit more an explanation about the way magic works wouldn’t have gone a miss.

When it comes to the cast they were all really solid. Firstly there’s Benedict Cumberbatch who killed it as Doctor Stephen Strange, this man was smart and great at his craft yet arrogant, self-centered and not very likeable, however his transformation was quite significant and he later became someone you could root for. This film continues to show the brilliance of Cumberbatch’s acting skills as he showed a great deal of range and committed 100% to this character so you could understand him, love him, hate him and love him again over the course of the film. The next strongest performance came from Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, I knew she’d be good in this role but I didn’t expect to love as much as I did. The Ancient One was wise, calm and collected, but was also tough, badass and quite witty too and I really liked what Swinton brought to the role. I also loved Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Mondo was clearly a strong-willed individual with charm, wisdom but also some minor issues of his own and Ejiofor added such a good level of energy, charisma and intensity to this character. Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer was also quite good, while I would have liked more screen time and information about her beyond her interactions with Strange, she worked well in the film as she had good chemistry with Strange and had some pretty humourous moments too. As for Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius I thought he was good, his villain character went the way of Nero from Star Trek (2009) as he was relevant but took a backseat to Strange’s hero-based journey, so overall I thought Mikkelsen brought a great screen presence and charisma to the character, but he wasn’t a MCU villain to write home about. Also Benedict Wong as Wong was quite good, he was a no-nonsense, stern and knowledgeable character and I liked Wong’s performance. And finally Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt and Scott Adkins had minor yet notable roles to play in this film and did well too.

Ad then there’s the presentation which was lovely. Visually the film was amazing and beyond what I could have imagined, before this film came out there was a lot of talk from Kevin Feige and Scott Derrickson about the use of visual effects and how they’d not only honour the Steve Ditko artwork but also expand upon the crazy visual material in last year’s Ant-Man, and boy do they deliver. Visually the film’s very colourful and has some good cinematography, but it was the use of GCI that was truly impressive. Whether it was other dimensions, magical symbols, shape-shifting buildings or astral forms, there were some really cool and unexplainable imagery, and some super trippy sequences in particular were just insane, plus the action scenes were really cool with an “Inception times 1000, on drugs” kind of vibe and a fair amount of it was incredibly inventive, fun, frantic and made good use of hand-to-hand combat and magic. And the film score by Michael Giacchino is really good, I’ve made it no secret on this blog that Giacchino is one of my favourite film composers and his work in this film was familiar yet quirky, beautiful, harrowing and heroic and while it’s not overly memorable when compared to some of Marvel’s other films, it certainly has some standout moments especially with the two songs playing in credits, they were gorgeous and should have been incorporated into the main film.

In conclusion Doctor Strange was a lot of fun and continues to show the diversity of Marvel Studios’ work with their comic book properties. This was film was a pretty big risk which for the most part paid off with a solid origin story, solid performances from the cast, awesome visuals and a lovely soundtrack. Now while this film doesn’t correct a lot of the issues that the MCU films have accumulated over the last few years and some might not understand or like what this film has to offer, overall I do believe it is worth a watch. Oh and if you get the chance to see it in IMAX do it! 😀

So are you going to see Doctor Strange or if you have seen it what do you think of the film? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them in the comments section and I’ll see ya on the next review! Laters!:)

 

My Highlights From San Diego Comic-Con 2016

Good day to you ladies and gents, once again another crazy session at San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and if you’re fan of comics, film and TV then you’re more than likely hyped for this event. So between Thursday and Saturday this week us fans were treated to a plethora of information in form of interviews, trailers and descriptions of panels and footage, and man, it was an overwhelming amount of gorgeous announcements. While some of the stuff that shown off was expected, at the same time there were plenty of unexpected announcements and it was glorious as a fan of several of these different franchises to get all of this information. The hype is real right now and just trying to think of it all right now is boggling my mind! But like last year, I’m gonna try to show off my personal highlights from SDCC 2016 😀

Doctor Strange Trailer #2

Yo, this was the best thing I could have woken up to. I had heard rumours of a second trailer for Doctor Strange being released during Comic-Con, but I wasn’t sure it was going to happen, but sure enough it did and it was glorious! And while this wasn’t super amazing, it was certainly fascinating to watch. We got some additional details on Steven Strange’s path to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme with his training, use of magic and interaction with other characters, we also got to see more of the main cast especially with the extra scenes of Mads Mikkelsen as the villain and Benedict Wong as Wong. What I’m loving is how Marvel Studios are embracing the supernatural elements of the source material which is reflected in some of the dialogue and plot, but mainly with the visual presentation which is super trippy, colourful beyond comprehension and clearly got an Inception kind of feel but times twenty! Cumberbatch looks so cool especially with the way he puts on that cloak and I love that line at the end of the trailer with Baron Mordo giving Strange the Wi-Fi password, that was great. I’ve been hyped for this film for ages, but now the hype has gotten so much higher! 😀

Wonder Woman Trailer

Okay so the Wonder Woman trailer has finally been released and I have to say that I’m intrigued and definitely down for this film more so than before. The thing about Gal Gadot’s version of Wonder Woman is that she’s pretty, but I don’t find her intimidating or badass, and while she had her moments in Batman V Superman, I wasn’t in love with her. However this trailer really seems to be winning me over with the good chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, the WWI setting and the action sequences that look pretty cool. Oh and the colour, I’m liking the use of colour especially in WW’s costume and some of those action scenes look pretty hardcore. Oh and the use of WW’s theme from BvS, nice! My only issues with the trailer was the use of slow motion during the action scenes, these days it feels a little excessive in action movies and seeing some of WW’s movements, it looked a little awkward, but other than that the trailer’s good and I’m ready for this film.

Justice League Footage

But this footage was the real surprise for me, Justice League is still in production as far as I know and for there to be such polished-looking footage already is crazy, but welcomed for me. This footage if anything proved one single thing, that Justice League will be a different kettle of fish from the last two DCEU films with humour, light-heartedness and colour. I liked how Bruce and Diana were on the hunt for their superhero team and how these moments of banter between Diana and Bruce about Aquaman’s recruitment or the conversation between Bruce and Barry Allen. Ezra Miller’s version of the Flash is one that I think I’ll like a lot and Jason Momoa looks tough as nails as Aquaman, and overall it looks like this film will be good session. I will admit that this trailer lacked the style, charisma and impact of a proper trailer like Wonder Woman, but since the film’s not done with principal photography I’m gonna let it slide.

Kong: Skull Island Trailer

Out of every trailer that dropped from SDCC, this was the one that really caught me by surprise. I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while, but to see some actual footage and the tone this film is going for, I was like “Damn, this needs to be in my system now yo!”  This film really has a Godzilla (2014) kind of vibe especially with that opening shot on the ocean with the use of colour and the dark clouds, but the style and tone feels more in line with a film from decades ago like the 1970’s. I also enjoyed seeing how big of a part Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman have with Jackson looking like the tough military guy and Goodman being some kind researcher familiar with the island. The visuals are looks very solid with some cool cinematography, big set pieces and King Kong, damn, how big is here? This film definitely establishes that Skull Island isn’t a place for humans, that it’s been around since the early times of Earth and that trespassers will meet their end, and that just excites me to see how dangerous this place and it’s inhabitants are.

Danai Gurira Joining Black Panther

This was one of the best small surprises for me, to have Danai Gurira from The Walking Dead come over to the MCU in the new Black Panther film? Hell yeah, she’s perfect to come into this film and to have her as the head Black Panther’s personal body guards it seems like a great role that’ll hopefully have some action material as Gurira excels at that in Walking Dead. And just in general to see Ryan Coogler talk so passionately about being a fan and working on Black Panther was great, but also seeing the current cast, Chadwick Boseman Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan and Danai Gurira together talking about their excitement for this new film was awesome.

Luke Cage & Iron Fist Trailers

And finally there’s the trailers from the first day of SDCC that got me all sweaty in the from of the trailers for the Netflix Marvel shows; Luke Cage and Iron Fist. And while there was this nice teaser for The Defenders, these trailers had actual footage and I’ve been hyped for these shows because of their potential in the future especially when it comes to crossovers. Firstly there’s Luke Cage and while there wasn’t really much in the way of story, this trailer definitely gives a look at the kind of tone, action and style of this show and how it’s different from Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I’m liking the action and how brutal/humourous it is with Cage just dispatching bad guys. And with Iron Fist there’s even less to see, but what glimpses we do get are pretty cool flashbacks to a young Danny Rand and his mum in a plane crash and then being found by monks in the snow, then fast forward to modern times with Rand being restrained in a bed and then smashing through that wall. I liked it, Finn Jones looks cool and with the music it really felt mystical and otherworldly.

And so that brings my highlights from this year’s SDCC to a close, what was your favourite material from Comic-Con this year? Whatever they are be sure to comment below and let me know and I’ll see ya on the next blog post, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Doctor Strange Trailer #1

Howdy ladies and gents, it’s time for another trailer review yo! There’s been a lot of trailers dropped recently with the third for Suicide Squad, and the second for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. And while I could talk about the other trailers, the one I’ve really been waiting for is Doctor Strange. I’ve made it very apparent on this blog that I’ve been hyped for this film for AGES and now that we finally have some footage its time to talk about it.

So here’s the trailer below:

After seeing this trailer I’m definitely more interested in this film than before at least from a story and presentation standpoint.

What this trailer tells me and fans of the MCU is that Doctor Strange will be the most unique/different adventure that Marvel Studios have produced so far. I mean you’ve got another origin story, but with this trailer it is painted in the most non-superhero fashion similar to Iron Man with Tony Stark. I think how we get glimpses into the life of Steven Strange when it comes to his car crash, him being a sergeant and then going coming into contact with the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Now if that sounded a little like a mouthful of nonsense to you then fear not, I just know a fair bit about the mythology of Doctor Strange from what remember in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and my research online, and since I know about what happens to Strange before, during and after he gains his powers, so when I see this footage I’m seeing how closely their sticking to the source material and I love it.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Steven Strange looks like he goes through a lot from being all suave and sophisticated, to being in hospital and on a global trek for knowledge looking all rough and homeless-like haha. Oh and seeing Tilda Swinton bald as a female version of the Ancient One is so odd and yet intriguing as she’s very calm, yet firm and otherworldly too. I liked getting the glimpses of Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and I’m curious about Mads Mikklelsen’s villain role as he’s not looking like anyone I’m familiar with in the comics, but I’m liking what I’m seeing so far with his magic reality-shifting abilities.

But what really excited me about this trailer was the teaser was the tone and visual presentation. I’ve been hyped for Doctor Strange since I saw the concept art came out and found out about Scott Derrickson’s involvement coming from a horror film background. In this trailer things felt dark, a little horror-like and definitely had shades of the supernatural in there as well. I also love the use of visual effects, things look so trippy and beyond the realm of realism with all the unfolding buildings and astral projection stuff, holy crap it looks so cool. And some of the visual material reminds me of the acid trip sequence in Ant-Man so I can’t wait to see full-on magic, other dimensions and stuff that can’t be explained with science or basic logic.

To conclude the first trailer for Doctor Strange looks very promising. It’s still kind of weird to think that this film is actually coming out in 2016 but this trailer certainly has my attention, and while the trailer doesn’t blow my mind, it’s still got me excited for the latter ide of this year. Bring it on yo! 😀

So have you seen the first trailer for Doctor Strange and if so what do you think of it? Are you more or less excited than before? Be sure to drop me a comment and I’ll see ya on the next review! 🙂

 

My Top 11 Most Anticipated Films of 2016

Howdy people of the internet, time for the penultimate blog post in this series based on upcoming films in 2016 with my top 11 most anticipated films of the year.  If you haven’t already, check out PART 1, 2 & 3 of my 2016 film preview. It’s a little late considering that we’re three weeks into January, but hey its better late than never right? Unlike last year this year’s list won’t be in any particular order.

Triple Nine

This is a film I’ve been looking forward to for a good while, I just like the concept of the story and the blackmail and corruption involved, plus the choice of actors and actresses is so good and its crazy to see some of these TV and film stars together in one place. I’m really interested in seeing how these actors come together especially when it comes to Norman Reedus, Aaron Paul, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

I believe my hype for this film has dropped a good deal since the release of the second trailer, but my hype for the film isn’t dead. For me what I like about this film so far is the initial tension between Bruce and Clark, the differences in their ideals, their main confrontation and the amount of chaotic action that ensues. But I am concerned about Lex Luthor, what will happen after the Batman and Superman beef is over with the Doomsday Troll monster and how this film will introduce Wonder Woman and the other Justice League members, but here’s hoping it’ll work out and be badass.

Deadpool

When it comes to Deadpool I am a massive fan of the character and his insane backstory, self-aware humour, violent and crazy personality. And for the longest time I’ve wanted to see a proper live-action version of this character and the trailers so far seem to be delivering all of the action, humour and violence that the character’s been known for. That being said I am concerned for the humour and the sexual references and I hope that the film will have better humour than most adult comedies.

Free State of Jones

Since I saw the trailer for this I’ve been very intrigued, not only does the subject matter make for an interesting tale in film, but I’m also very curious to see what the cast do with this material and whether it’ll be as dramatic and emotionally engaging as I hope it’ll be.

The Jungle Book

This film just has me full of curiosity and fascination, having a live-action/CGI hybrid adaptation of The Jungle Book is bizarre to me, but seeing the trailers leads me to believe that it’ll be cinematic experience worth seeing in the opening weekend. So far I’m liking the incredible visuals and the impressive voice cast as well, I can only hope that this film will be just as, if not more successful than Cinderella.

Suicide Squad

I’ve already said how much I’m looking forward to this film, but for the sake of this post I’ll mention it again, I am really looking forward to this. The concept of getting some villains and forcing them to work together on a dangerous mission that could involve death has my interest. But more so than that I want to see if David Ayer can make these characters work because if so then the possibilities for future DC films are endless.

The Girl on the Train

I haven’t even seen a trailer for this film, but the story and cast members Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson has my attention so that I don’t need any more of a reason to watch this. I can only hope the subsequent trailers and eventual film will be worth the wait.

Star Wars: Rogue One

Also known as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (still is a horrible name) is the next Star Wars film, it’s a spin-off/prequel and there’s a lot of hype and speculation behind this from fans and critics. Since it’s set before A New Hope I’m curious to see what kind of stakes the heroes will take on and there are questions to ask like: 1) Who will survive? 2) What original characters will make cameos? 3) Will Darth Vader make an appearance? 4) Will there be any tie-ins to Episodes VII, VIII and IX? Regardless of the answers I’m curious to see what Gareth Edwards does with this film and what Donnie Yen will do in the film as well.

Doctor Strange

So Doctor Strange, ah man, I have so much hype for this film its mad. Marvel Studios have taken a good deal of risks over the years with Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy and recently with Ant-Man, and each of those films have introduced some new and creative elements to not only the MCU, but also to superhero films in general and I believe this film won’t be any different. Doctor strange is one of the most interesting character with his characters, backstory and mythos relating to the villains, different realms and magical abilities. I want to see how the supernatural elements get incorporated into the MCU and if this film is good then I’m gonna freak out yo!

Bourne 5

It’s the return of the Bourne series, with Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, what’s not to like? I know I never wanted a sequel to Ultimatum, but hell if Greengrass and Damon have a relevant story that they feel like telling that would further this franchise want to see it.

Captain America: Civil War

And of course I had to have Civil War on this list. 🙂 The MCU has been forming nicely over the years and while not all of the films have been hits, the Captain America series so far has done well especially with Winter Soldier and Civil War may be the best entry in the trilogy. This film looks to change the way the heroes function in the world with superhero accountability from the government and pitting Cap against Iron Man for a superhero royal rumble. With friends on opposing sides, new heroes like Black Panther and Spider-Man showing up and a tone similar to Winter Solider, I believe that this will be the ultimate Marvel sequel. Now I got overly hyped about Age of Ultron, so I’m learning to manage my expectations, but I believe the Russo brothers and Marvel Studios have gotten this one right though.

So that’s my top 11 list done, hope you enjoyed my choices. So what are your most anticipated films of 2016 and are any of your entires on my list? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you on the next post, laters! 😀

 

Films To Look Out For In 2016 Part 3

Howdy people of the interweb and welcome to Films to look out for in 2016! This is my preview of upcoming films that I believe deserve your attention. In PART 1 I covered films from January to March, in PART 2 I’ll covered April to July and in this post I’ll be covering July to December. This was actually meant to be out sooner but I’ve been a little busy as of recent haha.

Now before we begin I have two main things I need yo point out:

1. Obviously a lot films come out, so if they’re not on my list it’s either because I don’t know about them or I don’t care…
2. 2015 films getting their UK releases this year don’t count! So there. 😛

Okay then, let’s start 😀

Suicide Squad

Release Date: August 5th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

Man I’m so curious about this film. After the trailer was released my interest in the film went way up to the point where I’m more hyped to see this film over Batman V Superman. I just like the concept of seeing a group of misfit bad guys come together and form a team and see what kind of madness ensues. I like the cast including Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Viola Davis among some others, the action and character development look solid and if handled correctly this could open so many doors for other potential DC properties in the near future.

The Infiltrator

Release Date: August 31st (USA)

There’s no UK release date for this one yet, but I like the sound of the premise plus we can never have enough of crime thrillers and Bryan Cranston yo.

Sully

Release Date: September 9th (USA), December 2nd (UK)

Any time Clint Eastwood has a new film coming out it has my interest and while not all of his recent films have been hits, they are at least worth checking out for the source material he draws from or the acting talent he’s able to bring on board.

The Magnificent Seven

Release Date: September 23rd (USA & UK)

I find it crazy that this film even exists. A lot of people I know (my parents included) tell me that the original Magnificent Seven is loved and highly regarded and to add on top of that Seven Samurai the original film that started it all is regarded as one of the best films ever, so to know that there’s another version coming out just seems unnecessary. But with a cast including Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio, I’m down for it.

The Girl on the Train

Release Date: October 7th (USA & UK)

I’ve heard news about this on Collider Movie Talk a few months back and I definitely want to see how it turns out considering the fact that it’s a mystery thriller, it’s directed the man who did “The Help” and “Get On Up” and it also stars Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson, mate I’m all in!

The Accountant

Release Date: October 7th (USA), November 4th (UK)

This is a another film with an interesting premise and good cast too, I like thrillers and this film has great selection of talent including Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson from Arrow, yo this film has my attention yo. 🙂

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Release Date: October 21st (USA & UK)

I really enjoyed Jack Reacher back in 2013, it was the better of the recent Tom Cruise films that wasn’t Mission Impossible 4, plus it was just a little different to come of the other Cruise performances that I’d seen. And while I didn’t need a sequel I am interested to see where the sequel goes, I just hope that director Edward Zwick can liven up this sequel and make it better than then the last.

Doctor Strange

Release Date: November 6th (USA), October 28th (UK)

I have a lot of hope for this film, while I’ve never been a big fan of Doctor Strange I have come to appreciate his talents in the Marvel comics and animated material since the latter side of my teen years, and now that he’s coming to Marvel his an actor like Benedict Cumberbatch playing th title character, I’m all over this. I really want to see Marvel Studios commit to the magical/supernatural side of things that’ll make Asgard and the Microverse feel so normal by comparison.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Release Date: November 18th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I am very curious to see how this film turns out, unlike the Harry Potter films very I was aware of the source material before the films came out, this on the other hand is completely alien to me. The teaser didn’t wow me and I’m not sure about the premise either, but since it is coming from author J.K. Rowling and stars Eddie Redmayne I’m willing to give this film a chance.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Release Date: December 16th (USA & UK)

Rogue One is an interesting film for several reasons: 1) It is the first spin-off film in the franchise. 2) It’s plot about stealing the Death Star plans ties directly into A New Hope. And 3) It feels more like a heist/war film which is different for the Star Wars films series. This film has me excited for all of those reasons, but in addition to that we have Gareth Edwards at the helm who has done good work with Monsters and Godzilla (2014) and I want to see what his creative mind can apply to Star Wars, but add on top of that talent like Felicity Jones, Donnie Yen and Benicio del Toro and you have a film I need in my system sooner rather than later.

Assassin’s Creed

Release Date: December 21st (USA), December 30th (UK)

Much like Warcraft this film needs to be successful if we’re to see more video game adaptations in the future. I’m hopeful for it with Michael Fassbender as  the lead with Marion Cotillard, Michael K. Williams, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson involved I’m all over this. The AC games have such a great and rich mythos to draw from, I just hope that it gets adapted well with good action sequences, lovely locations and cinematography.

Passengers

Release Date: December 21st (USA) December 23rd (UK)

This is one of those films I heard about and as soon as the cast got attached I was all over it. I love space-based stories and this one sounds super interesting and with Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishburne attached, I’m hyped for this one.

So finally that’s PART 3 done. Thanks a lot for reading. Are any of the films listed on your personal list of films to watch? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them below and coming back to see my Most Anticipated Films of 2016! Laters 😀

 

Tilda Swinton in Talks for Marvel’s Doctor Strange!

Howdy people of the internet, time for a news post and today I wish to talk about an interesting bit of casting news that hit the web recently surrounding Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange film. The following information comes from superherohype:

The Hollywood Reporter brings word today that Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) is in negotiations to play The Ancient One in Marvel’s Doctor Strange. No stranger herself to comic book roles, Swinton previously starred in the adaptation of Snowpiercer and 2005’s Constantine.

Secured high in the Himalayan mountains, the Ancient One served as a mentor to Stephen Strange and aided him in his ascendance to Sorcerer Supreme. When the character eventually died, Strange was still able to summon him from the spiritual plane in order to aid him. Though the character has traditionally been male in the comic books, THR notes that Marvel was originally searching for male actors but retooled the role to make it a female.

Scheduled to hit theaters November 4, 2016, Doctor Strange is scripted by Jon Spaihts and is said to follow the story of neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions. Scott Derickson will direct the film, which sees Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role of the Sorcerer Supreme. A previous report noted that 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor was in talks to play the film’s villain, though this hasn’t been confirmed by the studio.

When I initially read this I was like “Huh? Well that’s, odd.” But when I started to think about it, I started to dig the idea. Now I don’t know too much about the Doctor Strange mythos beyond what I learnt in Marvel Ultimate Alliance and saw in the 90’s Spider-Man cartoon, but even then it isn’t that much. But if Marvel are going with Swinton for this role, then it looks like a totally different version of the character. As far I’m aware the character’s always been a male, was old and had an Asian-looking appearance. And I can see some fans moaning about this casting decision, but in these modern times, gender and race-switching is the in thing, however if the actor chosen is capable and if it serves the purpose of the story then there shouldn’t be any complaints. Tilda Swinton is pretty good actress and while I have seen an extensive amount of her work, what I have seen leads me to believe that she’d excel in a role like this. She was really good in the Narnia Only Lovers Left Alive, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel, just to name a few. If Swinton does end up getting this role it’ll be interesting to see how they update the character and make her fit into the MCU and to see her work with Benedict Cumberbatch seems so cool to me.

So what do you think of this news? Do you think that this is a good role for Swinton or are you troubled by the casting choice and changes from the source material? Please leave your comments below, until next time, peace out! 😀

 

Chiwetel Ejiofor in Talks for Role in Marvel’s Doctor Strange

Howdy ladies and gents, time for a little more comic book film news on the Marvel side of things and this relates to the upcoming Doctor Strange film coming out in 2016. The following information comes from superherohype:

The Hollywood Reporter brings word this evening that 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor is in talks for an undisclosed role in Marvel Studios’ upcoming film Doctor Strange.

According to the outlet, some of their sources indicate he could be taking on the villain role of the film while others have refuted that. Check back here for further confirmation on the casting as we learn it. Ejiofor is no stranger to villain discussions, as he was previously in talks to be the lead villain of the 24th James Bond film, Spectre, though those talks fell through.

Scheduled to hit theaters November 4, 2016, Doctor Strange is scripted by Jon Spaihts and is said to follow the story of neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions. Scott Derickson will direct the film, which sees Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role of the Sorcerer Supreme.

I read this yesterday and I grinned a lot. Marvel Studios seem to be attracting talent left, right and center with their upcoming films, and to add someone as talented as Chiwetel Ejiofor just makes me happy. These comic book films are super big blockbusters and when they’re good, the word of mouth surrounding them spreads like wildfire especially when it comes to the actors. Ejiofor I’ve always liked since I saw him in Four Brothers and then in Firefly and since his amazing performance in 12 Years a Slave, the man has become super popular. And if he does have a role in this new Marvel film I’ll be so happy. 🙂 Now I don’t know much about the villains in the mythos of Doctor Strange (besides Baron Mordo and Dormammu), however several people in the comments section of the site claim that he could be either Brother Voodoo, Mordo or Dormammu. Any of which I would be happy with, though since Mordo is classically a white character, it would be interesting to see if they would change the race for the role.

Anyway what do you think of this news and do you think Ejiofor is a good fit for this film or any other films in the MCU? Please be sure to comment below and let me know your thoughts.