Cloverfield Surprise Sequel Trailer

Developed and shot in secret here is the first official trailer for Cloverfield sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and produced by J.J. Abrams the film finds Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher and John Goodman playing three inhabitants of an increasingly claustrophobic underground bunker.

From the trailer it seems clear that their seemingly comfortable subterranean existence rapidly becomes just as nightmarish as what may or may not be waiting for them on the surface. AS chronic boardgame play and jigsaw puzzles gives way to inevitable violent madness.

The film interestingly doesn’t seem to make any use of the infamous shaky handheld camcorder style of the original film. Looking more like a loosely connected spin off rater than a direct sequel of the original giant monster blockbuster.

Dragon Blade Review

The Plot:

A band of warriors charged with keeping order amongst warring nations on the volatile silk road trading route form an unlikely historic alliance with a legion of Roman soldiers to protect ancient China from a power hungry and ruthless Roman general.

The Good

Jackie Chan is the most iconic and internationally charismatic martial arts star on earth. His presence alone ensures that Dragon Blade at least boasts some credible martial arts sequences. Likewise the presence of Adrien Brody and John Cusack give the film an instant global appeal far beyond the usual reach of typical Chinese financed productions. The novelty of watching genuinely a-list Hollywood stars line up for an unlikely culture-clash gives and extra dimension to a fairly straightforward story of historical power struggles.

As an action film Dragon Blade also offers plenty of clearly expensive sequences, with large armies rushing to battle against a backdrop of vast deserts and a towering fortress. Mixing fast paced martial arts trickery with Roman epic swordplay keeps the film energetically watchable.

The Bad

Ironically for a film which is about the unlikely and successful fusion of different cultures, at times the film struggles to reconcile its Asian setting and martial arts action with also being a Gladiator style sword and sandals epic. As an example the roman soldiers sing in Latin but speak with a muddled collection of Anglo-American accents.

Likewise, though Adrien Brody and John Cusack are both fine actors who do their very best to inject some believable passion into credible dramatic performances, it’s simply difficult to ignore their unlikely casting as fierce roman warriors. Seeing Cusack so dramatically transformed from mild-mannered comedy-drama star to a sword twirling action god capable of matching the legendary martial arts might of Jackie Chan strains credibility. It’s not that Cusack is actually bad, it’s just hard to avoid the suspicion that the film’s Chinese casting agents misunderstood exactly who the 49 year old actor was. Intending to hire Jason Statham but somehow accidentally recruiting the Must Love Dogs star instead.

The film was made with a relatively vast budget of over $65 million, making it the most expensive Chinese financed production ever made. Unfortunately while at times vast sets and literal armies of extras show evidence of that lavish production value, there are also moments when the films unconvincing CGI and production design make it look like a poor imitation to Hollywood’s flawless movie magic. For example, Jackie Chan’s distractingly obvious wig and overly heavy make-up constantly detracts from otherwise impressive scenes.

Chinese audiences that already readily consumed the film at the Box Office were obviously less distracted by the miscasting or familiar western stars and occasionally sub-standard production values. Unfortunately it means for an international audience the film will likely fail to amaze and be at best vaguely satisfying rather than memorably spectacular.

The Ugly Truth

For fans of Jackie Chan and martial arts epics, Dragon Blade will be a pleasing addition to his vast catalogue, made more interesting by the addition of recognisable Hollywood stars. Overall the film remains a mostly underwhelming anomaly for other less enthusiastic audiences. Fusing  the unique elements of Asian cinema with a generic Hollywood blockbuster feels more like cheap imitation than genuine innovation.

Review by Russell Nelson

George Miller Will Make Mad Max Sequels

After apparently telling a reporter that he would not be making any more Mad Max films, Oscar nominated director George Miller has now spoken out to clarify that he does indeed have plans for at least two more films in the revitalized franchise.

With Fury Road up for numerous awards at this year’s Oscars and having proved a massive hit at the box office it’s hardly surprising that the director remains enthusiastic about continuing the series with new star Tom Hardy.

Explaining the recent confusion Miller clarified:

“That was a completely garbled interview. I was in New York and it was so noisy and the journalist was asking me questions on a red carpet at the National Board of Review. She completely got the wrong fragments of information that were just not true. I said no, [another Mad Max movie] will not be next, and she took that to mean I never wanted to make another Mad Max. It won’t necessarily be next, but I have two more stories.”

After a notoriously difficult shoot and post production on Fury Road, perhaps understandably Miller wants to break things up with a smaller project before heading back into the post apocalyptic desert wasteland.

Daniel Radcliffe’s Alan Rickman Tribute

Daniel Radcliffe paid touching tribute to departed friend and Harry Potter co-star Alan Rickman in these poignant words:

Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I’m pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn’t have to do that. I know other people who’ve been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say “if you call Alan, it doesn’t matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he’s doing, he’ll get back to you within a day”.

People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner(or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass.

As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.

 

Oscars 2016 Full Nominations List

Revenge western The Revenant leads the way at this year’s Oscars with 12 nominations. Mad Max Fury Road also managed 10 nominations with films like The Martian, Spotlight, Bridge of Spies and Carol also featuring prominently.The 88th Academy Awards ceremony will be hosted by Chris Rock and take place on 28th February at the famed Dolby Theatre.

Nominations list below:

Best film

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best actor

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

Bryan Cranston – Trumbo

Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Matt Damon – The Martian

Best director

Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant

Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

Adam McKay – The Big Short

George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Lenny Abrahamson – Room

Best actress

Brie Larson – Room

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Jennifer Lawrence – Joy

Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

Best supporting actor

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

Christian Bale – The Big Short

Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight

Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies

Tom Hardy – The Revenant

Best supporting actress

Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight

Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

Rooney Mara – Carol

Rachel McAdams – Spotlight

Best documentary

Amy

Cartel Land

The Look of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Best adapted screenplay

The Big Short – Charles Randolph, Adam McKay

Brooklyn – Nick Hornby

Carol – Phyllis Nagy

The Martian – Drew Goddard

Room – Emma Donaghue

Best original screenplay

Bridge of Spies – Matt Charman, Ethan & Joel Coen

Ex Machina – Alex Garland

Inside Out – Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley

Spotlight – Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy

Straight Outta Compton – Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff

Best animation

Anomalisa

Inside Out

Boy and the World

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

Best original song

Writing’s on the Wall (Spectre)

Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)

Simple Song #3 ( Youth)

Till It Happens to You (The Hunting Ground)

Manta Ray (Racing Extinction)

Foreign Language Film

Embrace of The Serpent (Columbia)

Mustang (France)

Son of Saul (Hungary)

Theeb (Jordan)

A War (Denmark)

Film Editing

The Big Short

Mad Max Fury Road

The Revenant

Spotlight

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Production Design

Bridge of Spies

The Danish Girk

Mad Max Fury Road

The Martan

The Revenant

Original Score

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Visual Effects

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Cinematography

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Sicario

Documentary Short Subject

Body Team 12

Chau Behind the Lines

Claude Lanzmann

A Girl in the River

Last Day of Freedom

Documentary Feature

Amy

Cartel Land

The Look of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Costume Design

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Makeup & Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road

The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared

The Revenant

Live Action Short Subject

Ave Maria

Day One

Everything Will Be Okay

Shok

Stutter

Animated Short Film

Bear Story

Prologue

Sanjay’s Super Team

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow