http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apMXFloDH6M

The other huge superhero film released next year is the reboot of Spider-man, now called The Amazing Spider-Man. Replacing Tobey Maguire in the red and blue suit is, The Social Network’s, Andrew Garfield. Joining him are the lovely Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field And Denis Leary. Directed by Mark Webb, have to say the trailer didn’t really blow me away, just looks like they are making Spider-man Begins, a darker take on the character, and I have to agree with one of the you tube comments, it does look like the director has been playing Mirrors Edge too much. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJQS16dGk0w

It’s 1961 and an Autobot ship called the Ark has crashed on the moon, spotted by the Americans and Russians, a space race begins to be the first to investigate the ship. Apollo 11 makes it first, not to make a giant leap for mankind but for science.  Flash forward to the present and the Autobots are still working with NEST hunting down the remaining Decepticons, but also doing a bit of anti terrorism on the side.  Following a tip off, NEST find themselves in the remains of Chernobyl and discover part of the ARK, that the Russians stole from the moon. This alerts the Autobots to head to the moon to rescue their fallen leader Sentinel Prime from the Ark. They soon discover that the Decepticons have already visited the ship over time and have stolen some devices that could threaten the Earth.

While the Autobots are off around the world, Sam Witwicky is getting used to civilian life. Moved to Washington, Bumblebee has been replaced in his garage by a clapped out Datsun, Mikaela has dumped him and he can’t get a job. Things aren’t all bad though as he has a new girlfriend in the form of Carly (Rosie Huntington Whiteley) and he got a medal from President Obama.  Feeling left behind, he soon gets caught up in the Decepticon conspiracy and is knocking on the Autobots door again.

I really liked the first Transformers film, it was exciting , funny and had a real charm to it. The second film however was a different beast. It was over long, over complicated and don’t even mention the robot balls. All the charm was gone from the first film and it fell into the sequel trap of bigger, louder and longer.  A while after it’s release Michael Bay even apologised for it, which coming from him, was a big deal. So has he learned his lessons from Revenge Of The Fallen. Well sort of.

The story in this film, is a lot stronger than the previous one, as a NASA freak I loved all the Apollo stuff at the start, though I did spot a big fault in the Eagle landing scene! It was also quite funny seeing the actual Buzz Aldrin in the film.  Once the Decepticons plot kicks in the film really gets going. There are a few nice twists as well. Obvioulsy you don’t go to see Transformers expecting an Aaron Sorkin level script, you go for the action and this film has a lot of it. The last hour of the film is just a war between the rival bots in the city of Chicago and is pretty intense, it is also a lot more violent than previous films, just think of the tripod attack in War Of The Worlds. There is also an amazing sequence that doesn’t even need CG as the NEST team fly into the city, in flying wing suits, with a lot of the shots done on helmet cams so you see them dropping in amongst the skyscrapers first person and in 3D it’s amazing. Which brings me onto the 3D, if you been reading the site you will know I’m not a huge fan of 3D, the only thing I’ve seen that truly worked was Avatar which was simply stunning. Most the the films released now in 3D have been post converted and usually don’t look great and are too dark. When I go to see Harry Potter it will be in 2D. With Transformers I was actually looking forward to seeing it in 3D as it was actually shot in 3D, and it shows. It works really well, you do get drawn in especially in the aforementioned Wing suit scene. It has also had another positive effect on the film, in the editing room. In the past Michael Bay’s films have all been about quick cuts, which were so bad that sometimes it was hard to follow what was going on. With 3D he can’t do this as it would just make the viewers feel sick, so he has had to slow everything thing down in the editing which means, in the last film it was hard to work out which robot was hitting which robot. Now you can actually follow the action and take it all in.

A lot of the old faces return for this third installment, with one big exception, Megan Fox, who having said Bay was like Hitler, was axed from the film. Replacing her, is English actress Rosie Huntington Whiteley, a former model, and to be honest it shows. She’s not terrible but when you miss Megan Fox, that says a lot about her acting ability. John Malkovich is very under used as Sam’s new boss, who is all about chi and karma, but seems to turn mental half way through. Frances Mc Dormand pops up as a goverment liasion who doesn’t like the collaboration between NEST and the Autobots There’s a quite funny if a bit over the top appearance from Ken Jeong (The Hangover 1 & 2) as a work colleague who is a robot conspiracy nut.   Nice voice work as well by Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime. Strangely the one person who I didn’t like in this film was Shai Labeouf, in the first two films he was quite charming and funny, in this though Sam seems to have turned into a bit of a dick, the only time he was likeable was when he was back with Bumblebee, I didn’t want his character to die, but just stopping being so annoying.

So overall, the film is a vast improvement on Revenge Of The Fallen, but not as much fun as the first film. The action is definitely bigger and the 3D does add to the visual impact and  there are still a few laughs to be had.  The last hour is a real spectacle. If you’re in the mood for big robots beating the hell out of each other then this is the film for you.

Rating 7/10

First up, the trailer for Ethan Hunt’s 4th appearance for IMF, in the nicely titled Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise returns along with Simon Pegg and joining them is The Hurt Locker and future Jack Ryan, Jeremy Renner. The film also see’s the live action debut of Brad Bird as director after his work in the animated field with Pixar. Have to say it looks pretty good.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810179899/video/25771724

Next up, the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s second film awaiting release, War Horse, based on the novel by Michael Murpugo.  It follows a boy and his horse as they get involved in World War 1. Seems to have a similar tone to Empire Of The Sun, and no doubt will  have you reaching for the tissues before the end. It’s Spielberg, so as you will know if you have been reading this blog, means it’s a definite for me when it’s released in Januray 2012.

http://www.warhorsemovie.com/trailer

With Cars 2 already out in the US and on it’s way to our shores, the teaser trailer is out for Pixar’s next film, Brave. It’s the story of a young girl Merida in Scotland, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, who defies an ancient ritual and puts her kingdom into chaos. As usual from Pixar, it looks gorgeous, shoudl be interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0VgPy6Uk&feature=player_embedded

Finally here’s a film that looks like a little oddity, but has my interest straight away. Apollo 18, is another of the found footage type films, this time it is what really happened on the Apollo 18 mission to the moon. But there was no Apollo 18 mission, I hear you cry.  Thats the twist, there was, but we were never told about it and this film shows why. I have to admit, I am a NASA freak and love all the Apollo stuff, visting the Kennedy Space Center was one of the best days of my life, so I really like this idea, whether it’s any good is another matter, but we’ll see. With this and Transformers, it’s a big year for Moon Landing revisionists!

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810195527/video/25731507

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay5skbka9Yk&feature=player_embedded

Directed by Asif Kapadia, it follows Senna from Go-Karting world champion through to his debut in Formula One to the intense rivalry with Alain Prost and the ultimate tragic ending. Like the sport itself it doesn’t waste any time, the film flies along at a relentless pace keeping the fascinating story interesting. Kapadia and his team were given access to the FIA archives and the Senna family’s private footage which is what makes this documentray so good. We get to see the private side of Senna as well as the genius driver. Of course the most fascinating footage comes from the racing side. He came into the sport as the cockpit cameras were being used, so we get this amazing footage which give us an almost drivers eye view and it’s unbelievable. As first you think it’s been sped up, then you realise thats how fast they are driving. Watching this footage on a big screen reminded me of the old video dome attractions they used to have at theme parks where you watched footage of rollercosters and you got drawn in and felt like you were moving with it. There are also some great aerial shots which I don’t think i’ve seen before. One side of the sport we the public never see are the trackside goings on and in the film we get to see a few of the drivers meetings which are really interesting, especially when Senna is trying to get his point across much to the FIA leaderships annoyance.

A large propotion of the film deals with the rivalry that built up between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, as this new kid came in and threatened Prost’s dominance. It’s great to watch the two team-mates being all friendly at the start of their working relationship and then as Senna starts to shine, the two start to fall out and become almost enemies. I have to say I feel a bit sorry for Prost in the film as he is painted a bit as the enemy of the piece when Senna gave as much as Prost did in some of the numerous collisions the two had. The film also shows how much politics there was in the sport during the 80′s and 90′s, something that to honest probably hasn’t changed now.

The film also lets us remember how dangerous the spprt can be, one scene in particular genuinely shocked me where a driver had had such a bad crash that his car had distintergrated to such a degree that the driver was just left unconscious in the middle of the track. This all leads up to the final section of the film that deal with the fateful weekend in Imola in 1994. It all starts badly with Ruebens Barrichello’s terrible crash and then the fatal crash of Roland Ratzenberger. We see Senna visually shaken by the unfurling events and so when we got to race footage I felt my stomach tighten, as we get the cockpit view as he hurtles around the track towards the Tamburello corner. Followed by upseting footage of the medics working on him.

One clever stylistic move by the director is the use of only voiceovers, we hear from people now as well as  recordings from Senna himself and the people he worked with, but the visuals are all archive footage, no people sat in a room talking about what they remember which can be a bit boring in some documentaries.

Apparently Kapadia had so much footage to use that the original cut of the film was over 5 hours long and has been cut down to 106 mins, which actually felt a little bit short, I actually wanted to see more, there was some footage in the credits which was as good as in the film itself. Hopefully the eventual blu ray will have more footage as an extra.

I do love a good documentary and this is a very good documentary. It’s never boring, an accusation usually directed at the sport, and gives us a truly fascinating insight into what gave Ayrton Senna the drive to be one of the greatest drivers ever. Even if you haven’t that much of an interest in the sport, the film is worth checking out.

Rating 8/10

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0126r7j/Kermode_and_Mayos_Film_Review_Great_Film_Scores_with_Kermode_and_Mayo/

While I am talking about them they brought out a Code Of Conduct for cinema goers which is great, shame the cinemas don’t adopt it (sorry on my Cinema Behaviour rant again!)

Also have to say well done to the Alamo Drafthouse cinema in Texas , Ain’t It Cool News recently put up a new advert that the aforementioned cinema is putting up in front of their performances.  They have the right idea about film presentation in that people who talk or use Mobile phones are removed from the cinema, and one customers took offence to this policy and complained and they turned it into their advert. Wish the UK cinemas would take notice of this! Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs&feature=player_embedded

The idea for First Class popped up at the end of X-Men Origins Wolverine, where Charles Xavier turned up to rescue the young mutants freed by Logan, and there was also talk for ages about doing a Magneto origins film, but it seems that has been incorporated into First Class.  Bryan Singer has returned to the franchise as a producer after having turned X-Men 3 to do Superman Returns. The original director of X3 was to be Matthew Vaughn but he pulled out while in pre production and went off to make the amazing Kick Ass. Off the success of that film he was persuaded to come back for this prequel and has brought his Kick Ass screenwriting partner Jane Goldman along as well.

The film follows Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr  as they go from childhood to becoming friends to ultimately enemies. Charles finds himself working with the CIA to help hunt down Sebastian Shaw a weapons dealer who is trying to start a war between the super powers. Erik Lehnsherr is trying to hunt down the German Scientist who experimented on him in the concentration camps, using any method to get the answers he wants. Soon they run into each other and Charles convinces him to join his group of mutants to hunt for Shaw, and to try and recruit some more members and try to stop the cuban missle crisis.

I really enjoyed the X-Men films, even X-Men Last Stand and Wolverine, so was looking forward to this one, and it fits in really well with the existing films, even though it is a slight reboot.  Setting it in the 1960′s was a great move as it gives the film it’s own distinct style, not just clothes but environment.  It was also a time of paranoia where everyone was suspicious of each over so throwing mutants into that mix is a clever move.  The story of two friends becoming enemies is also handled really well, in fact the times where Mcavoy and Fassbender share the screen are the strongest parts of the film. James Mcavoy playes Xavier with the same calmness that Patrick Stewart brought to the role but with a more playful side especially when we see Charles the ladies man. Michael Fassbender is perfect as Erik, he brings this real intensity to the role, a man driven by anger, looking for revenge. There is one sequence where Erik and Charles go travelling around the world looking for other mutants where there is a really fun chemistry between them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fassbender as James Bond one day as there are scenes in this with a real bond tone. My one criticism of him, would be his accent. For the first 2/3rds of the film he has a non descriptive accent, but in the last third his real Irish accent comes out really strong and it did jar abit. I get the feeling that maybe they ran out of time to go back and re-record his dialogue.  As Sebatian Shaw, Kevin Bacon gives a good sinister performance, and the lovely Januray Jones is very good as his right hand woman, Emma Frost.  Jennifer Lawrence who was Oscar Nominated earlier this year for Winter’s Bone, is good as Mystique struggling to deal with her mutation. Nicholas Hoult has come a long way from the boy in About A Boy and is very good as Hank ‘Beast’ McCoy. As one of the non mutants Rose Byrne showed a bit of sexier side to her previous roles as Moria MacTaggert, the CIA operative who becomes close with Xavier.  The other mutants don’t really get a a huge amount of time to really develop their characters, but hopefully if there is a another film we might get to see more of them.

Considering the shorter amount of time that he has had to make this, Matthew Vaughn has done a pretty good job with the film. I don’t think it’s as good as the two Bryan Singer films but is a lot better than Last Stand and Wolverine.  It moves along at a good pace, keeping you interested in seeing how the relationship between the two leads will develop, but it also has a real fun side to it, stopping it becoming too serious and pompous. There is a small cameo half way through which I thought was really funny.  The Cuban Missle crisis element of the story helped to ground it in the real world, though there seemed to be a few histroical elements wrong, yes I know the X-men didn’t really exist and stopped the crisis! The visual effects as usual these days were up to scratch with some nice sequences. Apparently it hasn’t done as well in it’s opening weekend as Thor, but I think that all the elements are there for a deserved sequel, and I hope the remaining two big comic books films left are as entertaining as the First Class.

Rating 8/10

After marrying a hooker in the first film, Stu is now getting married again, and this time he hopes he will remember it. His fiance, Lauren, is from Thailand and to keep her disapproving father happy they plan to get wed there. All the wolf pack are invited apart from Alan, who’s drugging of the boys led to the Las Vegas incident, but soon Stu reluctantly agrees to let him come and they all head off to the Far East.  Under his strict rules that there not be a batchelor party, Stu and the boys head to the beach for one quiet drink with stu’s brother in law, Teddy. The next morning Stu, Phil and Alan wake up in a sleazy hotel in Bangkok with haircuts, tattoo’s, a monkey and Teddy’s finger in a bowl, but no Teddy. They also find an old friend has joined them in the form of Mr Chow, the psychotic chinese gangster from the first one!  So now they find themselves in Bangkok with two days before Stu’s wedding trying to work out how they got there and where  Teddy is. A trip that will see them running into Monks, tranvestites and mobsters.

I liked the first film, in fact I watched it the night before I went to see the sequel, it was a new idea, not seeing the actual events but the aftermath and then tracing it back. It worked, the cast were great and it was very funny. I wish I could say the same about the sequel.  It seems that they couldn’t think of a new twist on the original idea so thought let’s just do it again but in a more debauched setting.  Don’t get me wrong it did make me laugh on a few occassions but nowhere enough as the first one, it just feels a bit tired already.  We can sort of guess whats going happen before it does, there are no real shock laughs like Mr Chow jumping out of the boot naked in the first one. The only big cameo isn’t that great, I think the original idea of Mel Gibson as the Tattooist would have been a great lift in the story. The actors feel like they are just going through the motions, Zach Galifianakis’s Alan does the same sort of jokes as in the first one, the one actor that seems to be better is Ed Helms, as a big fan of The US Office, I like seeing him in movies and his character really seems to be having a mental breakdown in this one as it seems that everything is happening to him. They also seem to think that putting in a big action sequence will make it different, when it just feels a bit desperate.

Overall, the film’s okay, not great and if you enjoyed the first one it might be worth a rental, but thats about it, can’t say I would want to go and watch a third installment, which is already being talked about.

Rating 5/10

Not sure when this was put up online, but just seen it and thought it was interesting enough to put up on here. It’s the trailer for 20th Century Fox’s revisit to the Planet Of The Apes. Rather than follow up Tim Burton’s derided remake, this one is a prequel, that shows us how Chuck ended up on his knees screaming, or basically how the monkeys took over. It’s got a pretty good cast including everyone’s favourite Oscar host, James Franco and Slumdog Millionnaires Freida Pinto.

Have to say from the trailer, the chimpanzee’s look pretty amazing and very creepy. Not sure about it though, could be interesting or a steaming pile!  Well see for yourself.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/rise-planet-apes.html#showVideo=1