Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2013 Part 2

Most Anticipated Films of 2013

The second part of my preview for the biggest films of the new year…

5. Iron Man 3

Robert Downey Jr reprises his role as the superhero Marvel chose to kickstart their film franchise, Iron Man. And kickstart did he! 2008’s original, ’Iron Man’, set a high standard for the rest of the comic book adaptations to meet, and was the very first piece of the jigsaw that led to last year’s uber-successful, ‘Avengers Assemble’. Now, in its third iteration, can Tony Stark bounce back from devastation he personally suffered in the events of 2012’s epic superhero movie?

Again, an impressive wealth of supporting actors is attached to the products, with Don Cheadle and Gwenyth Paltrow returning, alongside Guy Pearce, as a potential villain, Ben Kingsley, as THE centrepiece villain, Mandarin and Rebecca Hall, as a scientist, creator of the mysterious Extremis virus. Little is known about the plot, except that China as a country is expected to feature heavily due to investment in the budget of the film. Providing that new director Shane Black, former alumni of star Downey Jr, can piece together these characters better than the previous instalment managed, ‘3′, should be very much worth watching.  A couple of cheeky cameos from some of the ‘Avengers’, wouldn’t go amiss either!

4. Star Trek: Into Darkness

I’ve never been a Trekkie. In fact, I only saw the first of the newly rebooted series a couple of years after its release, yet found JJ Abrams’ origin story surrounding the space crew intriguing. His band of misfits contained no big-name Hollywood stars, with the exception of perhaps Simon Pegg, something which I felt worked with an origins story centred around how they all met one another. One of the criticisms of the first, was that the villain was lacking in pure evilness. Well to tackle this head on, Abrams brought one of the biggest up-and-coming talents in modern-day cinema on board, in Benedict Cumberbatch. Star of the BBC’s ‘Sherlock’, Cumberbatch is down as playing Enterprise ship hand John Harrison, although many on the web are buzzing with rumours of his real identity, starting Harrison to be a mere alias. Nevertheless, the smattering of trailers and a 9-minute prologue for the film have shown further leaps forward in terms of the visuals, another highlight of its predecessor, and something that can come alive in such a universe, with rusty-red planets, pits of lava and spectacular aqua-based crashes, and that was just in the trailer! It has a lot of potential to be one of the biggest films of the year, satisfying mainstream moviegoers, aswell as die-hard Trekkie’s.

3. Kick-Ass 2

The first ‘Kick-Ass’, divided viewers everywhere. From a small child using the C-word frequently and being shot in the chest by her father, to some disturbing torture scenes, it wasn’t afraid to go beyond audience’s wildest expectations. And neither is the follow-up, with villain Red Mist changing his name to the less catchy, ‘The Mo********er’, (and a ridiculous amount of stars), gaining a Russian bodyguard named ‘Mother Russia’and Jim Carrey thrown into the mix, expect hilarity. I’ve read a small portion of the sequel to the successful comic book, and it’s more of the same dark humour and bloody action the first movie had us accustomed too.

In a world where superhero movies are THE biggest genre at the moment, just look at the last couple of years as prime examples, it’s refreshing to see this completely fun, OTT version. The blood is Tarantino-esque (plentiful), the language colourful and the characters eye-catching, it makes a nice change of pace from something like the brooding Batman we’ve become used to. Ever since the innovative first film, I’ve been looking forward to this, and whilst it’s slightly worrying that no trailer has been produced, given the film’s July release, I expect great things from ‘Kick-Ass 2′.

2. Man of Steel

This year’s ‘The Dark Knight’? Maybe. With Christopher Nolan’s trilogy over, he takes a backseat as producer on a new attempt to get Superman critical cinematic acclaim, after a spectacular failure in 2006. Judging by a couple of trailers, Nolan’s influence and the appearance of composer Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack, expect a darker look at the man from Krypton, the first ‘real’ superhero. Henry Cavill is the man in the cape, a bold choice given his relative anonymity in Hollywood, yet another sign of burgeoning British talent. He’s ably assisted in by far his biggest film role yet, supported by Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner and Amy Adams, with Michael Shannon as villain General Zod. With ‘Marmite’ director Zack Snyder taking the helm, a man who can either make ‘300′, or ‘Sucker Punch’, the pieces are in place for a great adaptation, and perhaps another trilogy. It may well be the start of DC’s attempt at a cinematic universe aimed at aping Marvel’s immense success. Who knows, but a lot hangs on this Superman being the best Superman of all time.

1. Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Capping off a top five of sequels, (a bit worrying), is everyone’s favourite broadcaster, Ron Burgandy! The cult status the first film found, meant that rumours were always buzzing surrounding a sequel. And early last year, Will Ferrell appeared on a US TV chat show in character as Burgandy, to confirm the news everyone was waiting for; Xmas 2013 is Anchorman 2 time. It’s going to be hard not to directly copy the first, but at the same time, Ferrell and co have been making these distinctly different comedies for years, ‘Step Brothers’, ‘Blades of Glory’, they are different, yet keep the same ethos, it’ll be interesting to see. Some say that the sequel has been hashed together purely to help it’s ailing stars at the box-office. Hopefully this isn’t the case, as a poor sequel could harm some careers even further, with fans let down. I don’t see it myself but we’ll see.

With no distinct plot details and a short teaser trailer with our favourite Channel 4 News Team, musical numbers are claimed to be in, hopefully a couple of more epic fights featuring cameos galore, and just a whole lot of fun.With all the original cast returning, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner, as sportscaster, Champ Kind, aswell as Kristen Wiig as a potential love interest for Carrell’s lovable weatherman Brick Tamland, it should be the funniest film of the next 12 months.

Honourable Mentions: Elysium, After Earth, Carrie, Cloud Atlas, The Lone Ranger, Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, Hitchcock, Pacific Rim, Movie 43.

Top 10 Films of 2012 (Part 1)

Films of 2012

2012 has been a vintage year for film, for both blockbusters and indie flicks, so here are my top 10!

10. The Master

The film I was most unsure about, and, in truth, if I’d seen a couple of films (‘Argo’ and ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ I think), this probably wouldn’t feature in my top 10. However, the performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman are not to be underestimated, the pair shining as patient and the titular ‘Master’. Phoenix is a big nervous man, unsure of the world after returning home from war, not fitting in anywhere, until he meets Hoffman, a leader of a Scientology-eque (is that a word?!) cult. The story is long, drawn out and at times, boring, something director Paul Thomas Anderson needs to brush up on a bit, but the cinematography, attention to detail and score mark this up. The motorcycle scene, managing to track the main pair as they blast along a desert, is breath-taking. Not a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch, but an interesting mess? Yes, sounds about right.

9. 21 Jump Street

Whoever would’ve thought Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill would be 2012’s most hilarious double act?! Not me that’s for sure, but the two had audiences in stitches with great roles in cop-comedy ‘21 Jump Street’. It’s self-aware, sweary,but most of all, just really funny! Hill and Tatum, freshly-qualified as a couple of cops are drafted into a programme that sees them go covertly undercover in high-school, with the aim of busting a drugs ring that is killing kids. The story rarely allows it to be come dark and grim though, with one of the 4 stages of the drug known as ‘Tripping Major Ballsack’, as bigger indication as any of the type of humour. It did, unexpectedly, make my family laugh though, so the appeal is there. In any other year, ’21 Jump Street’, would be my top comedy of 2012, however this year has been a good one for the genre…

8. Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson has always been a Marmite filmmaker for many, myself included, his works often derided for their lack of personality, emotions and general plot. Infact, I used to defend his own ‘The Life Aquatic’, until a recent watch proved it to be shallow and just plain old boring. However, the stop animation style of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, showed a different side to Anderson, and I loved it. So, going into ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, starring his favoured alumni, Murray, Schwartzmann, Balaban, with a few extras in the shape of Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton, I was filled with trepidation, hoping not to be desperately disappointed. And I wasn’t.

For, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, is a great piece of work, tackling love with its two lead young newcomers, whose characters are complicated and wise, despite their youthful appearances, whilst the glittering cast of adults are merely reduced to acting like kids. It’s a smart twist, as they instigate a search party for the pair of child runaways, but find themselves to be complicated too, Willis has an affair with the girl’s mother, Murray is an closed-off father, and Ed Norton is a fantastic scout leader, who genuinely cares for his troop, but can be reduced to tears within seconds by a superior scout leader! Everyone has issues, as is the case with many Wes Anderson films, but it all amounts to a happy, beautiful-to-look-at film, worthy of tonnes of praise. Let’s hope Anderson can continue his recent hot streak, and not get caught up in his own hype.

7. Looper

I wouldn’t have expected ‘Looper’ to have charted this high when I first saw the trailer, sure it looked good, but good at the most, I mean when has their ever been a good time-travelling film?! However, it blew me away, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, again?!, lighting up the screen with their joint-portrayal of ‘looper’ Joe. It manages to incorporate a time-travel plot line successfully, with an opening monologue explaining the concept in a couple of minutes, but the plot moves about, so you genuinely don’t know where it’s going next, a good thing in this! Supporting turns by Emily Blunt and the best child-actor I’ve ever seen in a film, add to the concoction, with a genuinely surprising ending, that is daring, something many modern-day films wouldn’t have done, and all credit must go to director Rian Johnson, a man who must be on the shortlists for many of the big studios next big pictures, as a result.

6. Prometheus

Whilst many were let down by Ridley Scott’s long-awaited, is it a prequel or a sequel, to ‘Alien’, I enjoyed it immensely! Sure it wasn’t anything like its predecessor, but I think you’d have been a bit silly to have expected a carbon copy of such an iconic film. What we got added to the mythology in spades, with a lot of mystery and action throughout, complimenting each other well. The beginning is slightly stodgy, taking a while to kick in, especially on repeat viewings, but when we get going, we definitely get going! There’s a lot I don’t want to spoil just in case, but s**t goes happen to the crew of the ‘Prometheus’ crew, as they are sabotaged from within, and from dormant beasts. A couple of scenes in particular, one involving a caesarian of an alien creature and the ever-present android, David, played by the magnificent Michael Fassbender, as he causes such events, are brilliant.

Fassbender is the best here, but is complimented by a wealth of talent, both male and female. Idris Elba, the ship’s captain, and a man given the role of leading a blockbuster all by himself in next summer’s ‘Pacific Rim’, original ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, Noomi Rapace, who aside from a dodgy English accent, does the job. Charlize Theron, the second of her big roles of the year, as an is she or isn’t she robot, along with Guy Pearce as a stationary old man, the man who sent them on their journey to the deep reaches of space. ‘Prometheus’, is almost as epic as it gets, and, again, isn’t a complete masterpiece, but I enjoyed it very much!

Part 2 of 2012 is coming soon!

Film Review: Prometheus (2012)

“Prometheus” is incredible. It’s a grand, epic thrill ride from start to finish that rarely lets up in terms of shock and mystery, whist still managing to tend to the storyline in such a great way. For those wanting answers from the “Alien” franchise here in “Prometheus”, you’re going to be disappointed, for the film creates (and answers) more of its own, as director Ridley Scott aims to create a new, modern-day franchise to scare a whole new generation. For me, someone who has only seen the original “Alien” film once, and only recently, I really enjoyed “Prometheus”. It felt fresh and exciting, almost a reboot of the classics, as there were obvious links to each other, but rather than the two sets of films being brothers or sisters, they were more distant relatives, sharing the same strands of DNA (you’ll get it if you’ve seen it!). The film’s open ending too, gives hope for sequel to finish off theories and unanswered questions that currently plague the Internet.

The set up is this, then: Dr’s Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) have made several discoveries on Earth, linking several ancient civilisations to a set of star constellations. They see it as an ‘invitation’ to find out who our creators were. Thus, a band of hardy wealthy-hungry mercenaries are recruited and shipped off to the distant stars, to answer the ultimate question: who created humans?

Obviously, you have to go with the film to be able to properly enjoy it, whatever you are religiously, forget it! In fact, several of the film’s characters have mini-discussions about how discoveries effect their various beliefs, which is interesting for the reasons that it is human nature, and something real people would do. The characters were diverse in range, with the aforementioned scientist couple, played excellently by Swedish “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Rapace, and relative newcomer Marshall-Green, really excited about the possibilities, the pilot of the craft, Idris Elba, seemingly non too plussed about the whole journey, despite the fact it’s cost him 2 years of his lifetime through sleeping to get there! We have the ice-cold Charlize Theron in another hard, tight-lipped role for the second week running, following the previous ‘Queen’ role in “Snow White & the Huntsman”, as a Weyland (the company who ran the mission) executive, who has strict orders not to interact with any life-forms they may find, a couple of generic, greedy engineers and David.

David is the best character in the film, BY FAR. Michael Fassbender, who is fast becoming the world’s finest actor, tears the screen apart as android David, who we first experience as the sole inhabiter of the titular ship, as the rest of the crew sleep. We watch as his creepy movements are performed to perfection, and he interacts with the environment around him, delving into his crews brains as he goes, watching classic films, casually playing basketball whilst riding a bike and brushing up on his ancient languages, like you do. He’s a mysterious character, who everyone seems on edge with, never quite trusting, not knowing his motives, or indeed, if he haves any motives. The audience may expect him to be distant, attached from the rest of the group, perhaps an elaborate scienceexperiment, but during the movie we find him to be one of the most human of the lot. For further evidence of just what an excellent performance Fassbender made, and for David’s creepiness levels, check out his advert, released as a viral video for “Prometheus'” promotion.

The film’s plot is always transparent, we know what the crew’s goal is right from the off, and the shocks, thrills and spills that follow them are intoxicating. Yes, at times, it plays upon the audience, making them wait for the next potential outburst of violence, and Scott has a fine tendency to switch wildly from various groups of the crew, to the other, to the ship and back again. However, it isn’t a massive issue and you soon get used to the quick, back-and-forth nature of the narrative. I won’t go into specific plot details, as you’ll want to go into the film as cold as possible on information, but it is brilliant. The revelations are shocking, but require the audience to create their own answers to a few questions, some that may be brought up in a potential pre-sequel (see what I did there?!) and some that may not. Some say this is a result of writer Damon Lindelof, of “Lost” fame, influence on the script, as that series was full of twists and turns, that some say, were never truly resolved. Again though, there’s nothing mind-bendingly awful about it at all, nothing that’ll make you come storming out of the cinema in rage. The film’s horrific moments are good too, with a few jumps, splattering’s of gore, but most importantly, tension, a device rarely used in mainstream, blockbuster films, which, with a budget of $140m, is what “Prometheus” is. At a 15 certificate it pushes the boundaries, but just about manages it, I do wonder with a rumoured 30 minutes cut from the film, already a meaty 2hours long, could we see a truly epic, 2 and half hour, 18 rated uncut edition released that would satisfy disgruntled “Alien” fans?

“Prometheus” is an excellent film and caters to different audiences rather well, not treating them like total idiots, but as intelligent human beings. The story is ambitious and grand in scale, but, in my opinion, manages to pull it off, delivering a tightly bound film, that will entertain and scare in moderation. Oh and if there’s any further doubt as to whether “Prometheus”, is a prequel or not, just wait till the very, very end.

9/10