A look at movies, especially films based on books (Yes that includes comics); Opinions, facts, movie charts, production news and, when possible a look at the movies VS their source material. I may also champion books I've read that really should be movies. I've also used it to display the unedited versions of my blogs for SyFy; (The sci-fi channel UK website.)Feel free to let me know about any stories that you think deserve the big screen treatment.
TheRealEverton
Yes it’s been ages since I posted on here, but I’ve been
even more ill than usual. Hence this brief as a bikini post. Tolkien, Peter Jackson,
Benedict Cumberbatch voicing a mighty dragon. Nuff said right?
Synopsis...
“The second in a trilogy of films
adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien,
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" continues the adventure of the
title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard
Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard
Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.”
Full trailer follows a slightly random Stephen Fry into...
Here's the first trailer for the 21st Century Robocop. Given that the original film was a subversive masterpiece of both violent entertainment AND subtext filled social commentary but everything that came afterwards was an abomination, feelings are decidedly mixed about this update.
Synopsis... "In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice."
there's a good cast, although most people will be unaware of who Joel Kinnaman is (Star of American TV show "The Killing", Petter Weller was hardly a household name before he gave a perfect performance in the original film.
Cast:-Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Samuel L. Jackson
Seriously guys the trailer is a Thor, and Loki, fan’s dream.
Set on at least three different planets,
including ours (Poor old London!) it looks truly epic. I'm still too poorly to
write much else, so I’ll let it speak for itself...
Synopsis...
“Thor: The Dark World' continues the big-screen adventures of
Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms
from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of
Marvel's "Thor" and "Marvel's The Avengers," Thor fights to
restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful
Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy
that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most
perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster
and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.”
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston,
Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba,Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,
Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander
with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.
This is my favourite Pacific Rim trailer so far; not least
because we get to go through most of Stacker Pentecost’s (Idris Elba) awesomely
Cheesy, or cheesily awesome, do or die speech.
Synopsis...
“When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started
rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume
humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special
type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are
controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural
bridge.
But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the
relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no
choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie
Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a
legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as
mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.”
Time to ramble on...
So we have Giant human piloted Mecha (Robots) called Jaegers
(Jaeger being German for hunter). Each Jaeger need 2 pilots who have to share memories
to work in Synch; except for the Chinese Jaeger (which looks the coolest with
its three (or four?) arms and spinning blades) which has three pilots, who happen to be
triplets – see below.)
They are defending the planet from the Kaiju (Giant monsters)
from another dimension. (Kaiju being Japanese for monster; well technically
Kaiju means strange beast / creature and even though Kaiju is commonly known to
mean monster, these creatures, like Godzilla are ‘Daikaiju’, as in 'giant
strange beast / monster'.)
This is extremely, very, astonishingly cool, but it
isn’t something that people in “western countries” are used to seeing on the
big screen. Even if you count King Kong as a DaiKaiju (he’s too small really)
There’s still really just a handful of films, and mostly from the 50s & 60s
where everything was a metaphor for communism; as opposed to a metaphor for
Nukes and the consequences of weapons of creating and using Mass destruction
and the lasting damage they cause. Let’s see if these films being unique in
terms of Hollywood films can be an advantage for Pacific Rim, or will the
producers of next year second attempt at an American Godzilla film have a lot
to worry about.
The Man of Steel may be 2 days away, but the man with the
Adamantium bones in not too far away either. Promising to be several times
better than his last solo outing, this film finds Wolverine alone, despondent
and far away from any X-Men (if there are even any X-Men left.) Oh and if you were wondering if they'd follow through with the nasty side effects of popping claws when you don't instantly heal, look at the pic below...
Synopsis...
“Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic
action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of
the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world
he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him
forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and
emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner
struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever
seen him before.”
Some people, apparently, were not overly impressed with The
first Hobbit film. I still don’t fully understand why, given that aside from
being slightly more humorous I think it was pretty much in the mould of the
Lord of The Rings films just with more action and a heavier balance towards
CGI. Either way the film was still a big success and with all the various plot
threads set up, the 2nd part of the trilogy should be even more fun.
Also, who doesn't look forward to some more amazing Legolas the stunt Elf?
Synopsis...
“The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly
popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug" continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo
Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen)
and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic
quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.”
This better be good, seriously, this had better be good. A
class director, a brilliant source comic and a first class screen writer in Christopher
McQuarrie; mean they can’t really get this one wrong can they? This is an
excellent trailer, especially with the trauma of the best part of X-Men 3;
Logan having to kill Jean to, literally, save the world.
Synopsis...
“Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic
action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of
the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world
he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him
forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and
emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner
struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever
seen him before.”
The cast includes Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Svetlana
Khodchenkova, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, and Hal
Yamanouchi.
There may be a sprinkling of cheese on that line, but with
Idris belting it out, that’s go to be a contender for line of the summer. So
Giant Monsters, Giant robots. You absolutely cannot have been into much
Japanese film & TV, or Manga and not be familiar with the concept. From
Godzilla (Gojira) to the outstanding ‘Mobile Suit Gundam Wing’ (seriously find
that show if you can; it is pure quality from drama to action, to idealism. One
of my all time favourite TV shows.)
Synopsis...
“From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Warner
Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ epic sci-fi action adventure “Pacific
Rim.” When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from
the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s
resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon
was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled
simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But
even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless
Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but
to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an
untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but
seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last
hope against the mounting apocalypse.”
That Nick Fury; he’s a tricky Son of a ... Of course anyone who
knows the character from either the Marvel Universe, or the Ultimate Marvel
Universe, you know that he’s a man who lies 10 times before breakfast; it’s his
job after all. Also, if you were paying attention in the film you’ll recall
Tony Stark telling Steve Rogers that Fury’s “secrets have secrets”; not to
mention Maria Hill picking upon Fury’s manipulative use of Coulson’s Captain
America Trading Cards, in strategically putting blood on them to give the
heroes a reason to come together. Of course the really good news is that means
Clark Gregg could well be back in the films some day, oh and that Thor &
stark may have some very angry words for our Nick Fury in the not too distant
future. (In Ultimate Marvel, the heroes got so sick of not being able to trust
Fury they abandoned him in an alternate Universe; Way harsher than just leaving
him off the Christmas list!
Agent Coulson lives! Everybody’s favourite ordinary human in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lives on in what may become a Marvel Television Universe.
Clark Gregg’s “His first name is agent” Coulson was a notable absentee in the
recent, and excellent, Iron Man Three. But he has proved s popular that he was
given in roll in Marvel’s Disney XD cartoon ‘Ultimate Spider-Man; AND they
created a character in the current Marvel comics, who works side by side with a
new Nick Fury. So getting stabbed through the chest by Loki isn't all downside
these days. The show all but definitely to be bought by every country in the
known world, so keep your eyes peeled, wherever you are.
What it is...
“Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from
Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents
from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together
they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe,
protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of
Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent
Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain
De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)
genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit
and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). From Executive Producers Joss Whedon
(“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon &
Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers
(“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,”
“Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”) comes Marvel’s first TV series. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced
by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.”
