PODCAST: Best of Film Focus

Good day to you ladies and gents, today I just wanted to talk about my podcast, Film Focus and share with you some of the best episodes I have produced since I started back in 2016. And while I did highlight some of my favourite episodes in my first-anniversary post, I believe I have produced some better work since then and highlight my better work.

So without further ado here is a selection of some of my favourite/best episodes that I’ve done so far from the earliest to the latest:

Triple Review: Split, XXX: Return of Xander Cage & T2 Trainspotting

Even though I highlighted this episode before, it is still one my favourite and most unique episodes. Before this point, I had never thought of doing three mini reviews in one episode, the thought was a little mad to me and I thought it could be a mistake because I wasn’t giving each film a dedicated episode. However, it worked out in my favour because I was able to say enough about each film without going on too long, and it has gone on to be my second most played episode on Soundcloud which is awesome.

The Fate of the Furious Review

Even though I don’t talk about it too much, I did enjoy the last Fast and Furious film, it was fun, not my favourite of the franchise but still worth watching. And while I liked making this episode, for some reason, towards the latter half of the year it just picked up steam and became the most played episode on Soundcloud, its closing in on 500 plays which is insane to me, but hey I am not complaining in the slightest. 😛

Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

I make it no secret that Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of my favourite films of last year and while it wasn’t the best film, it just gave me a great sense of fun, youthful energy and difference from the Sony Spidey films of the past. And I think you can tell in this episode that I really enjoyed my time watching the film and it was a fun one to record.

Theme Songs in Superhero Films

This is the first episode where I truly got to talk about my love for the music that comes with superhero films and why I believe they are important aspects of these films. I enjoyed creating this episode a lot and putting it out there into the world.

2017 Summer Movie Recap

This is one of the most notable episodes of the podcast as it featured my first guest in the form of Drew from Drew’s Movie Reviews, and he was a lovely gentlemen who helped me go through most of the major films from of last summer from films we both saw and some that we saw individually. It is one of the longer episodes but it was hella fun.

Film Scores and Composers

Besides a few other episodes, this was the passion project that I really wanted to make an episode about since I started the podcast. Music in film is SO important to me and while I’m not well-versed in the proper descriptive terms to analyse film scores and composers, I am very passionate and I can tell you how film scores makes me feel and how I believe it enhances a film or works being the confines of the films they belong to.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review

And so Drew thankfully returned to join me for my review of the latest Star Wars films and that was certainly an interesting episode for sure. We both had different opinions about the film, there were elements we agreed on, but there were also a few times where we were on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to how certain elements of the story, characterisation and evolution of the overall SW canon.

2017 Superhero Film Discussion

And finally, we have the episode where I had my second guest on the podcast, Eddie from Jaccendo to help me talk about the superhero films of 2017. With such a variety of films adapted from comic books last year there was a good deal of stuff to talk about, both good and bad, and what I enjoyed about recording this episode was having another person to bounce off of and offer a different opinion from my own. It is my longest episode but it was just a very casual, fun and nerdy conversation of the best kind. 🙂

Well, that is everything that I wanted to share, if you haven’t checked out my podcast yet I would appreciate if you subscribed on Soundcloud or iTunes and if you could sort me some comments or reviews that would be awesome! 🙂 Anyway until next time, laters! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 37 – 2017 Summer Movie Recap

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode, it is a recap/review of the summer movies of 2017!

Anyway here’s the episode 37:

So episode 37 of Film Focus is the longest one yet as we do a pretty in-depth recap of the summer movies. And yes you read that correctly, I said “we”, as this episode marks the first time I have a guest on the podcast as I’m joined by Drew from Drew’s Movie Reviews to discuss our thoughts on most of the films released over the course of the summer. Now obviously there will be blind spots in our list because we didn’t have the time or interest to see everything, but I think we did a decent job, plus it was just a really fun to have a different voice on the podcast. The conversation flowed in a casual and relaxed manner and I’m super thankful to Drew for joining me. From The Fate of the Furious to American Made, we get cover a lot of films that came out from April through to August.

There were also a lot of films I saw but never got around to reviewing on my blog, I also have mini review for:

• Baby Driver
• Dunkirk
• The Big Sick
• Atomic Blonde
• The Hitman’s Bodyguard
• Detroit
• Logan Lucky
• American Made
• The Dark Tower

As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode 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! 😀

 

The Fate of the Furious Review (Audio Edition)

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another film review and today we’ll be talking about another one of the big films of 2017; Fast & Furious 8 aka The Fate of the Furious… However this time it’ll be in audio form via my podcast, Film Focus!

Check it out below:

This episode went out last Saturday and I was meant to post about it on my blog last week, however I got a little too busy so I had to wait until now. I probably won’t do a written review so this will be the only review I do for this film, hopefully you find it informative and fun to listen to as it allows me to express my feelings on a film to the highest degree. Also if you have any feedback or suggestions I welcome them so be sure to holla at me in the comments section.

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! 😀

 

Top 12 Most Anticipated Films of 2017

Howdy ladies and gents, time for my top 12 most anticipated films of 2017, I know it’s almost 2 weeks into 2017 and most people have done their lists already, but I had to sort out PART 1, 2 & 3 of my Films to Look Out For in 2017 lists first. Now I’m finally ready to reveal the films I’m most looking forward to. Now this was a hard list to put together so this some of these films aren’t specifically in order (mainly in the lower half). But anyway let’s get on with this list.

12. Wonder Woman

This is the superhero film from DC and Warner Bros that I’m the most curious/excited to see, not only is the first solo film for Wonder Woman, but it is also the first film in the DCEU not handled by Zack Snyder (not counting David Ayer). I’m just very fascinated to see how this film plays out, the second trailer really sold me on this film with its vibrant colour palette, cool action sequences and interesting characters. I hope this film succeeds.

11. The Fate of the Furious

While I’m not overly keen on the idea of Dom going against the very people he’s had such strong ties to for so many films now, but hey if it means we can get Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson teaming up then I think I’m cool with it. The film will be interesting to see how the story plays out, but more importantly for all the crazy action sequences, I really want to know how that submarine fits into this film. 😛

10. Dunkirk

This is the first war film from Christopher Nolan, I think that’s all that I need to say haha. But seriously that’s my main reasons for watching this film, that and the cast.

9. Kong: Skull Island

I’m really curious to see how this film turns out, I was initially really exited for this film, but the second trailer with the humour and overall atmosphere wasn’t as good as the last trailer. I have hope for this just because I want a good King Kong film with some cool mystery, mythology and potential ties that could set up the crossover film with Godzilla in 2020,

8. Thor Ragnarok

I think it is safe to say that Thor is the least loved Avenger, even though he works well in the Avengers films, his solo films haven’t fared to well with certain fans and critics. I love the first film and don’t care for The Dark World, but Ragnarok has the potential to be the best of the three with the incorporation of Ragnarok, Hela, the Planet Hulk storyline and seeing what Taika Waititi can do with an MCU film? I’m down.

7. John Wick Chapter Two

The first film was a lot of fun and as soon as I saw the teaser for this sequel it caught my attention straight away. I’m just looking forward to some more kick ass action with Keanu Reeves being a badass.

6. Kingsman The Golden Circle

The first Kingsman was one of my favourite films of 2014 and while I didn’t need a sequel, I am glad that it exists just so I can see where Eggsy’s and his crew advance to and see how these new characters factor into the story.

5. Logan

Here we have a film I’ve been looking forward to for a while now, but wasn’t absurdly excited for until I saw that trailer. The trailer for this film  totally took me by surprise and now all I can hope is that the film is half as good as the trailer is. Logan looks dramatic, violent and totally different from what we’ve seen from the X-Men film series so far, I can only hope it delivers the goods.

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man is my boy, he was awesome in Civil War and now has his solo film on the horizon and so far it looks really good. I already love Tom Holland in the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, I can’t wait to see how Michael Keaton handles Vulture, and finally I just hope that this film is the one that gets that right balance of high drama with superhero adventures right. This could be Spectacular Spider-Man in live-action if we’re lucky.

3. War For the Planet of the Apes

If this film is as good as the trailer suggests, then War could be part of one of the best trilogy of films in recent film history. I really want to see the war between humans and apes kick off, seems like Caesar is done being patient and forgiving and will butt heads with Woody Harrelson (who looks crazy cool).

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I feel like the wait for this film has been SO long, my love for Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty intense back in the summer of 2014 and I’ve been ready for so long to see these characters back in action. Now we’re only around 4 months away and the details we’ve gotten James Gunn and the first trailers have only made me more excited, can’t wait to see the visual spectacle and hear that new soundtrack.

1. Star Wars Episode VIII

I think we all knew that Star Wars was gonna end up at number one, while there are many other films that have me excited for different reasons whether they be first time adaptations or original films, seeing the next chapter in the episodic Star Wars films. Regardless of your thoughts on The Force Awakens, it was still a solid film which set up this new world of

Now I know the majority of my list are all major blockbuster films and a good few of them are comic book films but I can’t help it, I like what I like and I want awesome comic book adaptations. So what are your most anticipated films of the year? Drop me a comment below and I’ll see ya on the next blog post, laters! 😀

 

Films To Look Out For In 2017 Part 2

Howdy people of the interweb and welcome to Films to look out for in 2017! This is my preview of upcoming films that I believe deserve your attention. In PART 1 I covered films from January to March, and in this post I’ll be covering April to July.

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

1. Obviously a lot of 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. 2016 films getting their UK releases this year don’t count! So there. 😛

Okay then, let’s start 😀

Going in Style

Release Date: April 7th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I saw the trailer for this the other day and I felt mixed about it. On the one hand it is an interesting concept of having three old guys going off to steal some money when their financial situations become problematic, but it also looks very questionable with some of the humourous situations that they’ll get into. To put it simply, this film looks like Last Vegas, except with old guys being robbers instead, I like the lead men and this could be fun, if handled correctly.

Gifted

Release Date: April 12th (USA), June 16th (UK)

Trailer:

I’m interested in this film for three reasons: 1) I loved Chris Evans. 😛 2) I’m curious to see what Marc Webb’s been up to since those Amazing Spider-Man films. And 3) The premise for this film sounds intriguing and I’m liking the look of trailer so I hope it’ll be as good as I’m hoping.

The Fate of the Furious

Release Date: April 14th (US & UK)

Trailer:

At this point you’re either on the Fast and Furious hype or not, but for those of us who are we’re pretty curious to see how this series progresses, not only because it’ll be the first film without Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner but also because Dom Torreto seems to have turned on his people and has teamed up with the enemy. I think the series should have ended with Furious 7 considering the send off for Paul Walker, but considering the money that film made, you knew this series was gonna continue regardless. The trailer for this new film looks like the same chaotic and nonsensical fun we’ve seen from the last few films, I just hope that some of the changes aren’t going to make the film less interesting.

The Lost City of Z

Release Date: April 17th (USA)

Trailer:

I’ve heard a lot of talk about this film since last year and it has an interesting premise, but the main reason I want to watch this is because of Tom Holland. There’s no UK release but hopefully since its being distributed by Amazon Studios it’ll be available on Amazon Video at some point for Prime members like myself.

The Circle

Release Date: April 28th (USA)

Trailer:

Here we have another interesting film with no UK release date, but I’m liking what I’m seeing in the trailer and it has a really impressive cast including Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, and Bill Paxton? Sign me up yo!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Release Date: April 28th (UK), May 5th (USA)

Trailer:

Guardians of the Galaxy was one oft he best surprises of 2014, I mean I knew it’d be good, but for it to be as fun and different as it was, it changed the landscape of the MCU and the types of comic book films that could be made going forward. So far I’m totally happy with the marketing for this sequel with the humour, beautiful visuals and my favourite people, Groot and Drax looking to be standout characters once again.

Alien: Covenant

Release Date: May 19th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Prometheus when it came out in 2012, and subsequent viewings didn’t do much to change my opinion, the film had some interesting ideas and was a beautiful film, but most of the characters besides Michael Fassbender’s David we idiots or just really boring. So the idea of a sequel to that film wasn’t too high on my list of films to check out this year, however, that trailer that dropped on Christmas day has swayed me a little, it looks violent and has some elements of the first and second Alien films (the best ones), so I am curious to see if this could be the Alien film I’ve been waiting for.

Wonder Woman

Release Date: June 2nd (USA & UK)

Trailer:

This film has the potential to be really good or really bad depending on the story and central performance from Gal Gadot. It seems like a fair amount of people have embraced her as this character after Batman V Superman, but this solo film will be the real to see if her character can shine on her own. I thought the first Comic-Con trailer was fine, but the second trailer was much better with the action and visual presentation, I hope this can be a win for Warner Bros. and DC because they need it.

The Mummy

Release Date: June 9th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I wasn’t too interesting a reboot of this franchise, until Tom Cruise was attached and the additional cast came along and kept my interest going. Now the trailer wasn’t the most impressive thing ever, and that Tom Cruise scream will be stuck my head forever, but that being said I’m curious to se how this turns out.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Release Date: July 7th USA & UK)

Trailer:

Spider-Man is my all-time favourite superhero and he has had 2 great films, 1 decent one and 1 terrible one, after 2014 I thought I might be done with live-action Spidey films for a little while, and yet last year, Civil War showed me that I was completely wrong, that I could love Spidey in films again in a fresh yet classic way. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of this new Spidey film from the set pictures to the first trailers, I hope the film is as good as I’m hoping because it has the potential to be the best Spidey film to date.

War for the Planet of the Apes

Release Date: July 14th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the best surprise films of 2011, and Dawn was a dramatic and character-driven adventure, both of these films have been really fun, exciting, badass and surprising captivating. So with this sequel I’ve been excited for the last few years to see where this franchise would go and after that first trailer I am so hyped for to see this film in July.

Dunkirk

Release Date: July 21st (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I’ve pretty much liked every film that Christopher Nolan’s made and this is probably his most realistic and grounded film for a while, so I am curious to see how he handles a film in the war genre, the trailer looks good and I’m excited to see the cast especially Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Release Date: July 21st (USA) August 4th (UK)

Trailer:

I heard about this film I think after Comic-Con last year and I wasn’t too keen on the promotional images, and wasn’t too fussed about this film until I saw the trailer. Now while I’m not too sure on what the plot is, and I don’t really care for the music, on a purely visual level the film looks insane! The amount of creativity, colour, detail and crazy designs of the aliens and locations is mind-boggling and depending on if the film is good or not I may want to see this in IMAX. Now I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lucy so I am cautious, but I like Dane DeHaan so here’s hoping there with be some substance to this spectacle.

The Dark Tower

Release Date: July 28th (USA & UK)

I’ve heard a lot about this film from the years it’s been trying to be made from different studios to finally getting into production with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in the lead roles. I’ve never read the book, but I am interested in this film just to see how it turns out.

The Coldest City

Release Date: July 28th (USA), July 28th (UK)

I had no clue this film was coming out until I looked it up and the more I’ve looked into it the more excited I’ve intrigued I’ve gotten. Firstly its a spy thriller film which has my interest already, plus you have a good cast including Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Sofia Boutella. And you have the fact that it’ll be helmed by David Leitch, one half of the directing team behind John Wick, and will also be responsible for directing the Deadpool sequel? It sound like this film will be cool to watch.

Alrighty then, that’s PART 2 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 I’ll see you for PART 3! Laters 😀