Captain America Civil War Review
The Plot
Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) come head to head when a fatal accident forces the Avengers to register with the United Nations in an effort to make the heroes take responsibility for the destruction they leave behind.
The Good
A month after DC kick started it’s cinematic universe by pitting Batman and Superman against each other, Marvel have followed suit in the form of Civil War. And instead of just two heroes battling each other, Captain America and Iron Man each get their own team behind them, made up of familiar faces: Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany) on team Iron Man, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) on team Cap.
Unlike last months big superhero mash up, Batman V Superman, Civil War feels more acceptable thanks to Marvel taking it’s time to get to this point after 2 phases and 12 films which have fleshed out the characters enough to warrant their reasons for in Captain America’s case apposing the registration act or in Iron Man’s case, welcoming it.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo don’t seem fazed at all with this assortment of heroes and manage to balance out the fight sequences perfectly thanks to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s script, even managing to introduce two new heroes into the mix with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and a newly rebooted Spider-Man (Tom Holland) making their first MCU appearances before they make their stand-alone debuts next year. Both characters are introduced with just enough information to give some great moments in Civil War while teasing the next chapter in their own stories.
One of the most impressive feats of Civil War is the wonderful mix of both light-hearted fun with dark and serious undertones which after the tonal mess of Batman V Superman is a blessing. Thanks mainly to Ant-Man and Spider-Man’s brilliant humour and quips during the intense fight sequences. After two previous incarnations under the wing of Sony, it feels so good to have Spider-Man back with Marvel finally.
The Bad
Unfortunately there does seem to be a lack of bravery when it comes to the fight sequences. Though shot wonderfully, at no point does any character truly feel in peril. Partly due to the fact that the actors remaining contracts are well known which alleviates any real surprises. And while the titular war between the two teams is the main event, it does seem to somewhat sideline Daniel Brühl who brings an incredibly interesting villain, Zemo. He is peppered through the film but doesn’t really get too much to do compared to others which is a shame.
The Ugly Truth
Captain America: Civil War is a great achievement from a studio now in it’s third phase of it’s cinematic universe. Taking it’s time to get to this storyline gives it more depth than it’s DC counterpart and manages to balance out the big lineup of superheroes while introducing a couple of new ones in the mix. It’s just a shame that nothing truly shocking happens.
Review by Johnny Ellis
The Jungle Book Review
The Plot
When fierce tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) forces him to leave the jungle, man-cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi) embarks on a journey of self discovery with the aid of panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and free spirited bear, Baloo (Bill Murray)
The Good
Director Jon Favreau brings this live action reboot of the classic Rudyard Kipling novel to life with the help of just one actor surrounded by an incredible feat of special effects and a host of brilliantly cast voice actors. This update of the Disney animated classic sits firmly on the fence between live action and animation in the modern sense thanks to a beautifully transformed green screen that instantly makes you forget that this is all artificial.
The Jungle Book offers a much darker version of the much loved cartoon thanks in part to the voice talents of Idris Elba’s terrifying tiger, Shere Khan and Scarlett Johansson’s mystifying snake, Kaa. Bill Murray meanwhile manages to bring some much needed lightness to the story as the laid back Baloo, a role in which Murray was born to play and does so spectacularly. We also get the likes of Lupita Nyong’o and Giancarlo Esposito as Raksha and Akela respectively, and Christopher Walken as King Louie (a much more realistic Gigantopithecus as apposed to the animation’s jazzy orang-utan).
The Bad
Neel Sethi could not have had a more difficult task for his first feature length role. Most of the film rests on his performance which for the most part is fine but occasionally feels quite wooden. However he no doubt had to act with ultimately nothing thanks to everything else in the film consisting of green screen.
Of course, Disney couldn’t bring back the Jungle Book without the songs. This starts off well, with Bill Murray’s version of The Bare Necessities not undermining the original and giving it a more natural realistic feel. Christopher Walken’s I Wanna Be Like You likewise doesn’t completely copy the jazzy touch of the animation’s version but feels a bit more forced.
It’s surprising too, to learn that this is only rated PG. It feels at times to tip ever so slightly towards the 12A range so if you are thinking about taking young ones, perhaps it would be best to check the BBFC’s insight. Christopher Walken’s chase sequence is among the few that do bring the aforementioned terror to the screen. Though perhaps terror is too strong a word…
The Ugly Truth
Favreau gives us a beautifully rendered jungle with an incredible line-up of voice talents that make this a worthy update. Though Neel Sethi does a good job as the sole live action actor, he can occasionally slip up, no doubt due to the immense amount of green screen he’s given. And while it can dip into darker territories every so often, it’s an incredible piece of work.
Review by Johnny Ellis
BAFTA TV Awards 2016 Nominations
Georgina Campbell and Dermot O’Leary announced this year’s line up of nominees for the BAFTA Television Awards. Wolf Hall, This Is England, Doctor Foster, The C Word and London Spy were all among the shows receiving significant recognition. Check out the full list of nominees for the 2016 BAFTA TV Awards, to be presented in London on 8 May below:
Leading actor
Idris Elba, Luther
Stephen Graham, This is England ’90
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Ben Whishaw, London Spy
Leading actress
Claire Foy, Wolf Hall
Suranne Jones, Doctor Foster
Ruth Madeley, Don’t Take My Baby
Sheridan Smith, The C-Word
Supporting actor
Tom Courtenay, Unforgotten
Anton Lesser, Wolf Hall
Ian McKellen, The Dresser
Cyril Nri, Cucumber
Supporting actress
Chanel Cresswell, This is England ’90
Michelle Gomez, Doctor Who
Lesley Manville, River
Eleanor Worthington-Cox, The Enfield Haunting
Entertainment performance
Leigh Francis, Celebrity Juice
Stephen Fry, QI
Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show
Romesh Ranganathan, Asian Provocateur
Male performance in a comedy programme
Hugh Bonneville, W1A
Toby Jones, Detectorists
Peter Kay, Peter Kay’s Car Share
Javone Prince, The Javone Prince Show
Female performance in a comedy programme
Michaela Coel, Chewing Gum
Sian Gibson, Peter Kay’s Car Share
Miranda Hart, Miranda
Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe
Drama series
Humans
The Last Panthers
No Offence
Wolf Hall
Single drama
The C-Word
Cyberbully
Don’t Take My Baby
The Go-Between
Mini-series
Doctor Foster
The Enfield Haunting
London Spy
This is England ’90
Soap and continuing drama
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Holby City
International
The Good Wife
Narcos
Spiral
Transparent
Entertainment programme
Adele at the BBC
Britain’s Got Talent
Strictly Come Dancing
TFI Friday Anniversary Special
Comedy and comedy entertainment programme
Charlie Brooker’s Election Wipe
Have I Got News For You
QI
Would I Lie to You
Scripted comedy
Chewing Gum
Peep Show
People Just Do Nothing
Peter Kay’s Car Share
Features
Back in Time for Dinner
The Great British Bake Off
Kevin McCloud: Escape to the Wild
Travel Man
Radio Times Audience Award
Doctor Foster
The Great British Bake Off
Humans
Making a Murderer
Peter Kay’s Car Share
Poldark
Current affairs
Children of the Gaza War
Escape from Isis (Dispatches)
Jihad: A British Story
Outbreak: The Truth about Ebola
Single documentary
Bitter Lake
Life After Suicide
Louis Theroux: Transgender Kids
My Son the Jihadi
Factual series
The Detectives
Great Ormond Street
The Murder Detectives
The Tribe
Reality and constructed factual
First Dates
Gogglebox
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds
Specialist factual
Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners
Grayson Perry’s Dream House
The Hunt
Rudolf Nureyev: Dance to Freedom
News coverage
BBC News at Six: Paris Attacks Special
Channel 4 News: Paris Massacre
ITV News at Ten: Refugee Crisis
Sky News: From Turkey to Greece
Sport
The Ashes (Sky Sports)
The Grand National (Channel 4)
MOTD Live: FA Cup Final (BBC One)
Six Nations: Final Day (BBC One)
Live event
Big Blue Live (BBC One)
The Sound of Music Live! (ITV)
Stargazing Live: Brit in Space, Tim Peake Special (BBC Two)
The Vote (More4)
Eddie The Eagle Review
The Plot
Inspired by real life sporting events, a determined young British athlete Eddie Edwards sets out to compete in the 1988 winter Olympics in the most dangerous event of Ski jumping. Sacrificing everything he faces ridicule and overcomes the opposition of fellow athletes on his quest to fulfil his implausible but inspiring Olympic dream
The Good
Eddie the Eagle Edwards is a memorable and much beloved sporting icon who has come to symbolise the true Olympic spirit. Easily deserving of big screen celebration this film will remind older audiences of his death defying feats and introduce new generations to them.
Eddie was a likeable and utterly unique young man, remembered as much for his oversized glasses, jutting chin and constant happy grin as for his unprecedented sporting feats. Rising British star Taron Egerton transforms himself convincingly to capture the charming mannerisms and instantly recognisable physical presence of the ski jumping eccentric. Egerton’s emotionally sincere performance ensures that the film also never runs any danger of inadvertently turning Edwards into a figure of ridicule. In less capable hands it would have been very easy to merely turn Eddie into a clueless slapstick buffoon.
Thankfully star Egerton and director Dexter Fletcher treat Edwards with respect, looking beyond his affectionate ‘Eagle’ nickname and famously enthusiastic antics to explore what drove him to literally risk life and limb in pursuit of participating in the Olympics. Though the film takes considerable artistic licence with Eddie’s actual journey it remains a fair reflection of who he was and what he achieved against considerable odds on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Hugh Jackman works very well with Egerton, playing the Eddie’s invented coach, a disgraced former champion grudgingly won over by Eddie’s irrepressible determination and sporting enthusiasm. His character allows the film to more neatly adhere to the satisfying sporting movie clichés. It may be pure fiction but the reluctant coaching figure allows audiences to enjoy flamboyant training montages and allows the film to more easily articulate the emotions and motivations behind Eddie’s Olympic dream.
Making Eddie’s coach a macho former champion who squandered his natural athleticism provides a slightly heavy handed but convenient contrast to Eddie’s unassuming physique but unfaltering spirit.
Overall the film’s soundtrack and costumes also have considerable fun with the 1980s backdrop. Garishly coloured winter sports attire combines with a well-chosen selection of late 80’s pop classics to give audiences a real flavour of time. Director Dexter Fletcher and legendary stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong also deserve considerable credit for capturing the perilous adventures of ski jumping. It allows audiences to fully comprehend just how terrifying Eddie’s achievements actually were.
The Bad
Those familiar with Eddie’s extraordinary real life story will quickly notice some very significant changes to the big screen version of events. Most obviously the film invents a flamboyant and reluctant coach for the eccentric British sportsman. Serving as a convenient plot device, Jackman’s character gives Eddie someone to talk to and provides an easy source of comedy, tension and emotional subplots. In reality Eddie’s journey to Olympic fame was far more solitary, arguably making it even more astonishing and impressive. While most audiences will forgive the film some artistic licence in exchange for amusing training montages, sporting purists may be a little disappointed at the need to make a truly unique story at least superficially more conventional.
The Ugly Truth
The film perfectly captures the joyous spirit of Eddie The Eagle’s memorable sporting achievements, even if it injects a fair amount of cliché big screen fiction into an already incredible true story.
Review by Russell Nelson
Empire Awards Winners 2016
Honouring the best films and entertainment of the past year, the Jameson Empire Awards took place this evening, hosted by David Walliams. The force remained strong for Star Wars: The Force Awakens which received the most awards, including Best Director presented by Vue Entertainment for J.J. Abrams, Best Visual Effects, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy collected by C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, and Best Male and Female Newcomer awards for stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, who were both present to accept their trophies.
Three honorary awards were bestowed by Empire magazine: Empire Inspiration presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey; Empire Hero; and Empire Legend. British actor-director Paddy Considine was presented with the Empire Inspiration award by long-time collaborator and friend Shane Meadows, and actor Stanley Tucci was named Empire Hero. Miranda Richardson, currently filming Churchill with Tucci, presented him with the award in recognition of his recent performances in high-profile films including the Hunger Games series and Spotlight. The late Alan Rickman was posthumously named this year’s Empire Legend by Editor in Chief of Empire, Terri White and News Editor, Chris Hewitt who commented on stage:”This is a heartfelt tribute from the Empire staff to an actor who touched us all with his extraordinary career.”
Other stars of the screen honoured at the ceremony included Matt Damon, who was in attendance to receive the Jameson Best Actor award for his performance in The Martian. Director Paul Greengrass, who has recently reunited with Damon on the upcoming Jason Bourne, presented the award to him on stage. Alicia Vikander was crowned Best Actress for The Danish Girl, as announced by Richard E. Grant.
The top film awards of the evening – Best British Film presented by The Hollywood Reporter and Best Film presented by Sky Movies went to Spectreand The Revenant respectively. Director Sam Mendes collected the Best British Film award from Jonathan Ross for Spectre, which also won Best Thriller presented by Corinthia Hotel London. Further awards dedicated to popular genres were Best Horror, which went to The Hallow and was received by director Corin Hardy and actor Joseph Mawle, and Best Comedy presented by Absolute Radio, which was awarded to Spy and collected by actor Peter Serafinowicz from comedian Katherine Ryan.
The award for Best TV Series, presented by Wuaki TV, presented this year for the first time, went to This Is England ’90. Series director and co-writerShane Meadows collected the award alongside cast members Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley and Chanel Cresswell.
Other new awards announced at the end of the ceremony included: Batman: Arkham Knight for Best Game presented by the Forever Hope Foundation; Inside Out for Best Animation; Amy for Best Documentary; The Big Short for Best Screenplay; and World Of Tomorrow for Best Short Filmpresented by Jameson Irish Whiskey. Mad Max: Fury Road triumphed in the newly introduced craft categories, taking four awards in total for: Best Soundtrack; Best Costume Design; Best Make-Up And Hairstyling; and Best Production Design.
Legend remade in 60 seconds was awarded the annual Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short film award, presented to its director Marc Barnes by jury member Corin Hardy. A total of 355 contestants from four countries submitted a 60-second remake of their favourite film to enter this year’s competition. The entries were judged by a panel of film experts including director Corin Hardy, producer Bekki Wray-Rogers, actress Faye Marsay and Paul Keenan, CEO of Bauer Media, owners of Empire magazine. All 2016 entries and finalists are available to watch atwww.jamesonempireDISS.com.
The 21st annual Jameson Empire Awards were once again held at Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel, in Park Lane in the heart of London’s Mayfair. In attendance were nominees, presenters and other distinguished guests from the entertainment world, including: Matt Damon; Sam Mendes;Daisy Ridley; John Boyega; Anthony Daniels; Paul Greengrass; Miranda Richardson; Shane Meadows; Paddy Considine; Andy Serkis; Stanley Tucci; Laura Carmichael; Caitlin Moran; Max Irons; Jonathan Ross; Jane Goldman; Richard E. Grant; Thomas Turgoose; Sarah Gavron; Maisie Williams; Amara Karan; Daniel Mays; Craig Roberts; Peter Serafinowicz; Katherine Ryan; Johnny Vegas; Joseph Mawle; Meera Syal and Georgina Campbell