Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Review
The Plot
As Shredder (Brian Tee) joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and henchmen Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Stephen Farrelly) to take over the world, the Turtles must confront an even greater nemesis: the notorious Krang.
The Good
While Michael Bay’s attempt at a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot was mostly problematic while occasionally fun, director Dave Green, fresh from his feature length debut with Earth To Echo, manages to keep the fun and tell an entertaining story alongside it.
Having saved New York from Shredder, the Turtles are still very much underground and keeping away from the public light while Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) takes all the praise. Arnett is a joyous return in some of the films funniest scenes as he soaks up his new-found fame, receiving a key to the city and selling bags of his air online. But soon enough, Shredder is broken out of prison and teams up with Krang in a plot that will see the destruction of New York and perhaps even the world.
Returning as headstrong reporter April O’Neil, Megan Fox gets a new team mate in the form of Stephen Amell’s charismatic hockey masked vigilante Casey Jones who, disgraced after letting Shredder slip from his hands, teams up with April and the Turtles to take him down once and for all. On the villain’s side meanwhile, we get the reboot of fan favourites Bebop and Rocksteady, the Rhino/Warthog duo who bumble about as the hapless henchmen to the straight Shredder and bring some great comic relief with them.
The Bad
The final act of Out Of The Shadows is certainly nothing new and brings clear references to Avengers with it’s magical porthole in the sky that ultimately feels unoriginal. And while Michael Bay may not be in the directors chair, it seems his mark is hard to rub off, with some ridiculously gratuitous shots of Megan Fox again returning to the frame. For a film that is advertised heavily towards children, this feels fairly ill-advised. Still, at least we don’t get a re-hash of Will Arnett ogling at her posterior as we did in the previous installment.
The Ugly Truth
Out Of The Shadows is ultimately a fun action romp that gives us some fantastic new characters as well as bringing back the favourites. While the third act falls into familiar territory, it’s certainly a step up from the first installment.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Alice Through The Looking Glass Review
The Plot
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
The Good
It’s been 6 long years since Tim Burton first gave us his re imagined version of Alice In Wonderland and while he doesn’t return to the directors seat for this belated sequel, the look he set out still shines through. Set after the dark and dismal reign of Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen, Iracebeth, the world of Underland shines a bit brighter this time under new director James Bobin.
Actually, to say that Through The Looking Glass is set entirely after the events of its predecessor isn’t strictly true. After rediscovering the world of Underland on the other side of a mirror, Alice soon goes on a journey through time as she tries to find the Mad Hatter’s parents in order to save his life. To do this, Alice must meet Time himself, here portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in a fantastically pantomime-esque villainous role.
This time travelling element is the main part of what makes Through The Looking Glass a success. While Burton managed to set the world up in the beautifully dark way only he could do, the only task left for Bobin is to pick up where Burton left off and expand the world out a bit more. With the time travel element, the back stories of the Red and White Queens (Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway respectively) and the Mad Hatter are fleshed out. Exploring their origins in a way which ties in nicely with the story it tells.
Pulling off time travel is always a difficult thing to do but Linda Woolverton’s script respects the laws of the genre. At no point does the idea become too big for its boots or trail off in any way. As Time himself says, you can’t change the past, but you can learn from it…
The Bad
There really isn’t too much to be disappointed with in this sequel which is refreshing. However it has to be said that 6 years is too long a wait between Alice movies for any real care for the characters to stick around. Especially after the first film in the unlikely franchise was more entertaining for it’s special effects than for it’s characters or story. While Through The Looking Glass is much more interesting, it is somewhat of a struggle to gain interest for characters who had already failed to gain our interest 6 years earlier.
The Ugly Truth
James Bobin brings a colourful and interesting story to the screen with the return of the first installment’s cast as well as the introduction of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Time. Ironically, time is the main issue and perhaps had this been released sooner after Tim Burton’s 2010 adaptation the interest in the characters could have gained a bit more momentum. In a way, the six year gap diminishes what is otherwise an entertaining and ultimately better sequel.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Dominic Cooper Hopes for Agent Carter Return
Agent Carter star Dominic Cooper has given new hope for further adventures of the hit Marvel show. Speaking at MCM Comic Con this weekend, Cooper was asked by a fan if he would ‘like to see Agent Carter moving to something like Amazon’ and gave fans hope for a possible return for the show which was recently cancelled by ABC studios.
Cooper, who played Howard Stark on the show said, ’As long as there’s more story to tell… and Amazon would be excited’ he would ‘be well up for doing more’. The actor also praised the way in which streaming sites such as Amazon mean that ‘there’s hope that it might not be [the end]’ for the show despite the cancellation.
While nothing has been officially announced yet, a move to a Netflix could be a possibility, with the studio already working with Marvel on shows such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones. More news as we hear it, but in the meantime, you can check out Dominic Cooper in the first episode of his new series, Preacher on Amazon Prime, with new episodes every Monday from June 6th. Our review of the pilot is here and you can watch the full panel with Cooper discussing the show as well as Agent Carter below:
Preacher Episode One Review
The Plot
As an invisible force works its way through religious leaders, preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) contemplates leaving his church.
The Good
Opening with some grainy footage of an object moving through Outer Space before swiftly moving down to a bloody scene in an African church, Preacher quickly establishes it’s tone with dark humour and over the top gratuitous violence. In this opening episode, creators Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin (The former two who also co-direct this episode) manage to set up the world of this comic book adaptation spectacularly. Managing to roam easily from Russia to Africa and back to the main setting of Texas and managing to kill off Tom Cruise along the way while also introducing a host of fantastically cast characters ranging from Dominic Cooper’s down on his luck preacher, to Joseph Gilgun’s fantastically funny Cassidy and Ruth Negga’s intriguing and dynamic Tulip.
As these three lead characters are slowly brought together in readiness for the 10 episode season, information is thread throughout, enough to give us a taste of whats to come but not too much to give us everything in one fell sweep. A flashback of Jesse’s father is peppered through the hour in one small but curious scene that promises a rich back story to the character which readers of the comic book are no doubt familiar with but newcomers to the story will no doubt be interested in.
As well as a strong trio of lead roles, and some great supporting roles, the choice of music in this opening episode alone promises that by the end of the season we’ll no doubt have a wonderful playlist built up by the season’s end. Kicking things off with Willie Nelson’s ‘Time of The Preacher’, and adding in Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ and Johnny Cash’s ‘The Beast In Me’ for good measure.
But we can’t review this outstanding opening episode without talking about the frankly phenomenal fight scenes. Whether it’s a mid air altercation in a plane, an intense and confined struggle through a car which crashes through a corn field or just a typical bar room brawl, the fight sequences are an impressive feat which manage to present each character as strong as the other. Time will tell if we get to see them join together but if these three scenes are anything to go by, the team up would be mind-blowing!
The Bad
At this point it feels almost impossibly to truly criticise any elements of a show which is clearly setting up a rich and intriguing world. While perhaps the few small moments outside of the three main characters, mainly in Africa, feel like they could have been expanded on a touch more, it seems clear that the majority of the action won’t be taking place there anyway.
The Ugly Truth
As a pilot episode, Preacher manages to set up an interesting world and introduce a host of characters in an impressive way which progresses at just the right pace. Bringing plenty of humour (Joseph Gilgun’s character is surely going to bring a fair few highlights) as well as plenty of gore and teasing us with the beginnings of a story which we’ve only just dipped our toes into.
Review By Johnny Ellis
Adventure Time Movie Plans Confirmed
Voice actor Jeremy Shada has confirmed that an Adventure Time movie is in the works. In an exclusive interview with Red Carpet News TV, Shada, who voices Finn on the much loved animation has revealed that along with season 8 and ‘a couple more miniseries’ a feature length movie is in the works.
The only downside however, is that it appears the makers are ‘in the very very early processes of figuring [it out]’. If all goes to plan though, Shada says ‘[it’s] definitely a couple of years out’
More news as we have it but in the meantime, check out the full Adventure Time interview with Jeremy below: