Sunday 31 July 2011

The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra; Trailer for the sequel to one of the best Animated TV shows of all time. Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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For anyone who has only ever seen the abomination that is M. Knight Shamylan’s The Last Airbender, it may be difficult to understand just how good Avatar: The Last Airbender (AKA Avatar: The Legend of Aang) was. The simplest way I choose to describe the show is Lord of The Rings quality. Sure it has a ‘goofy’ side, but that’s not just a sacrifice to it’s medium and target audience, it’s actually a necessary release and counterpoint to what is actually a pretty engaging and dark storyline that covers an entire world, slavery, child abuse, terrorism, rebellion, love, revenge pacifism and that (whilst it has some genuinely evil and unhinged characters) bothers to remember that the problem with evil, especially when dealing with   armies, is that most of the people on the ‘evil’ side think they are doing the right thing; at the very least for their own people, if not for the world at large.



The story that was inconceivably squeezed into little more than 90 minutes of film took closer to 400 minutes of television to tell and there was very little fat to it. Characters that were met along the way served a purpose and would often return at later points o serve even greater functions later on. There was an internal logic to what happened and to how everything worked that was abandoned by a filmmaker with little respect for te source material and even lesser understanding for it. No better example of this than the Earth Bender prison camp. In the TV show prisoners with the ability to Earth bend were sensibly kept on an off shore prison camp, like a oil rig; far from shore and too far from the sea bed for their ‘powers’ to be effective. In the film not only were these prisoners kept on land (the equivalent of throwing your prisoners behind bars with saws, metal cutters and the keys thrown in for good measure)  but they appeared o be in a valley! Earth on either side then as well as underfoot??? But that was OK because the prisoners simply decided not to bother trying to use their powers until a few kids turned up and suggested that they, well you know, use their powers.
Anyway the nightmares have almost stopped now and we can look forward to a new series set in that world from the creators of the original show Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Komietzko.



70 years have passed since Firelord Ozai was defeated and the world began a new era of peace. The previous Avatar, Aang, has passed away and the next Avatar has arrived. Korra, the new Avatar, is a rebellious young woman from the Southern Water Tribe who has already mastered Waterbending, Earthbending, and Firebending. She must now master Airbending, and to do so she travels to the metropolis Republic City to seek out the master Airbender Tenzin, the son of her predecessor Aang and his wife Katara. However, the city has been overrun with crime and anti-bender revolts. As the Avatar it is Korra's mission to protect the city.



I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the music for the show was too. The only other thing I can say here is that I’m waiting for the return of The Walking Dead, the return of Game of Thrones and I’m waiting for this.





Here’s the trailer...








Saturday 30 July 2011

American Average movie ticket prices reach all time high, as Transformers 3 & Harry Potter close in on $1b global grosses.

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According to the other NATO (National Association of Theatre Owners) the average ticket price went from $7.86 in the first quarter of this year to $8.06 in the second quarter. The equivalent quarter on 2010 had an average price of $7.89. The bulk of te increase has been attributed to the extra charge for 3D films.
Meanwhile the two films destined to become the 9th and 10th films to cross the $1b mark at the global box office, Transformer: Dark of The Moon & Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt 1 both stand ready to cross that threshold in the coming days. TF3 had taken over $936m by Thursday (not all of its international totals were in so how much more isn’t known). With the film only just entering its second weekend in China and opening in Japan this weekend there’s even a chance that the film could cross the $1b mark this weekend.

HP7.2 has raced to over $926m in record breaking time. It passed $900m on its 15th day of release, besting Avatar’s 18 days. The film seems certain to finish as the highest grossing film of summer 2011, with TF3 and Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides fighting it out for the number 2 slot. Maybe all you need to ensure mega success is a really, really long title. Look out Marvel Studios to change The Avengers to. Marvel Studios presents: The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!

Cowboys & Aliens; Insider Access vid.

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If you’re still on the fence about going to see Cowboys & Aliens maybe this will help to make up your mind, one way, or the other. Find out who the cast think had the best hat (You were dying to know that, admit it!) There’s also some nice behind the scenes shots and a look at some of the stunt work.




Rise of The Planet of The Apes: More clips than you could throw a monkey at! All fairly spoilerish.

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In the summer of 2011 no film truly feels like it’s arrived unless there at least 50 trailers and clips released before hand, and a fair few after too. Rise of The Planet of The Apes is no exception. Whilst the film had a need to showcase its motion capture technology, in order to convince audiences that this was a truly groundbreaking film, in terms of the character depth the apes, Caesar especially, were being given, it feels like a very risky strategy.

The title alone gives away the entire film, it’s the details that give you any reason to watch the film at all; so in giving away so many of those details in trailers, clips and showcases are Fox in danger of turning away more punters than they draw in? There's 2 new clips and 2 that have been around for a while.

Watch at your peril, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been hinted at in the trailers, but as I say above, the devil is in the details.

Integrate him...



Escape...



Too close...



Awakening...





Friday 29 July 2011

Cowboys & Aliens 1950s style poster and more clips...

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Oddly enough t seems like the kind of film you could have had in the 50s. Westerns were still the dominant genre and Sci-Fi was coming into its own with the Cold War. It’s kind of the perfect setting for one of those ‘evil faceless communists’ (the Aliens) VS. Good ol family values having, hard working folk’ (Americans, the cowboys) type films that thrived so well in the 50s; The Thing From Another World and so on.

Anyway here’s some vids from the film...








Colombiana; trailer with intro from Zoe Saldana and a chance to win a 1-on-1 stunt school session.

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Colombiana is the latest in the series of films written and produced by the writer director of Leon (The Professional), Nikita & The Fifth Element. That series has included such gems as Taxi, Taken, District 13, Kiss of The Dragon & The Transporter films. Here we get something that we perhaps don’t see enough and which, as a director, Besson proved very adept at providing; a strong female action character. (See La Femme Nikita, Leon & The Fifth Element and even his adaptation of the French comics The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec).

Of course it must be noted that as independent as these characters are they do have a penchant (Mathilda in Leon thankfully the exception) for doing much of their ass kicking in minimal clothing; but then I guess that’s no different to your average topless / vest wearing action man so... In this case Zoe Saldana takes the lead in what will surely be one of her few films in the next 5 – 10 years not called Avatar or Star Trek as Cataleya.

Here’s the official synopsis...

“In the action film "Colombiana" Zoe Saldana plays Cataleya, a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer and working for he uncle, she remains focused on her ultimate goal@ to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths.”

This film is co-written by frequent collaborator Robert Mark Kamen (Taken, The Karate Kid (2010) , The Karate Kid, and has been directed by another previous collaborator Olivier Megaton, who directed Transporter 3. You’re right that couldn’t possibly be a “normal” name. The director’s birthday is 6/8/65, the 2oth Anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb.

Aaaannndd cue Zoe...

(Click in the main body of the trailer window after the trail o go to Yahoo's competition.)

The Avengers; clip from the end of Captain America, & see the Avengers, in this tease of the tease. (very mild spoiler)

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It’s getting stranger & stranger when we not only get teaser trailer for a teaser trailer; but when a film has been out for only a week, and in just two countries, and has been doing well, that we get a scene from the end of the film in a trailer; The very last scene at that.
Seriously Mortals; No one leaves until I get my sleeves back!

That speaks to two things though; first of all a reasonable number of people know what happens to Captain America, even if they don’t know the details (Which this does not spoil by the way). Even those that don’t have to be aware of the behemoth that is Marvel Studios’ Avengers Initiative; and that Captain America is a part of the Avengers so he has to get there somehow.
Scarlett Johansson as S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Jeremy Renner as S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Clint Barton / Hawkeye


It’s too early in the production for us to get a glimpse of the new and improved 'Avatar' tech Hulk, but we get to see all of the Avengers and their 'creator' Nick Fury. (In the actual teaser you see their Superhero personas as well as their civilian identities. Although here we get to see Thor ,New muscle revealing, sleeveless costume and all, as he doesn’t really have another identity, yet.)
Mark Ruffalo replaces Ed Norton as Bruce Banner / The Hulk

Artist's impression of the new Hulk
Also sporting shiny and colourful new threads is Chris Evans as Captain America.
Present day Cap costume is less bulky and more colourful. 
Robert Downey Jnr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
So if you’re in one of the 25 countries where Captain America has just opened, stick around until the end; if you’ve already been and left again, get your arse back and hang about this time. Stare down those screen cleaners and get your full money’s worth; trust me it’s worth it. Loki (Tom Hiddlstone), Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and more.
You've got a mean Swing Says Tony to a less than impressed Thor

Yes, yes I have.
Gentlemen, you’re up...
Samuel L Jackson  takes centre stage as Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D
 Anyone got a time machine? I need to go visit the 4th of May 2012...














Jackass movies; watch them on Facebook...

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Facebook’s mach towards global domination took another step forward when Paramount added it’s highly popular Jackass movies for rent on Facebook. They aren’t the first films to be available on the social network site, but it is significant none-the-less. As well as the films themselves people will be able to view the extras Jackass 2.5 and 3.5. The cost is either 30 credits or 40 credits, depending on the film.










Pariah trailer; A serious look at the life of a teenage lesbian.

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This is a classy looking film. It’s not big, or flashy and humorous. Even from the trailer everything about it just feels real. Growing up, before I hit my very late teens and found confidence, I was crippled with the self doubt that affects most of us at some time or another when it comes to trying to ask out somebody you’re attracted o. I always wondered, until I was mature enough to ask, if it’s so hard for those of us doing the straight thing; so hard to find that person you like, and  then that likes you too, how Earth did you manage that being gay? Was that just something else that made the job of just getting through the school day even harder? You're parents are questioning you as it is, so how do they deal with something like this. Ironically one of the best scenes to deal with this in  recent years is the scene set in Bobby Drake's (Iceman) house in X2. "Have you tried not being a mutant". Sure it's not just an allegory for homosexuality, but it perhaps fits that best.

Then there’s the parents, brother and sisters. You’re already accepting that your child will be changing as they grow up. They’re going to want to do their own thing, choose their own clothes, go completely insane for no reason at all. Amidst all of that would you notice the signs that your child is dealing with more than just the everyday teenage problems.

Anyway here is the studio’s description which is, of course, far more eloquent than mine...

“A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariahis the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.
Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.
Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.
Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.
A Focus Features, Northstar Pictures, and Sundial Pictures presentation in association with aid+abet, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and MBK Entertainment. A Dee Rees Film.Pariah. Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, and Kim Wayans. Casting, Eyde Belasco, CSA. Edited by Mako Kamitsuna. Production Design by Inbal Weinberg. Cinematography by Bradford Young. Produced by Nekisa Cooper. Written and Directed by Dee Rees. A Focus Features Release.”


It’s not the kind of film that everyone will want to see; it likely won’t be to everyone’s tastes. But it does appear to be looking at a subject that still doesn’t get a full, prurience free treatment that often. There’s also the chance to choose the film’s poster. At the link below. All 5 choices appear on this page...

Here’s the trailer...
(If the YouTube embed doesn't work there is a Yahoo embed below)