10 Best Things About Star Wars The Force Awakens

Star Wars The Force Awakens marks the triumphant return of the Star Wars Saga. Largely banishing memories of disappointing prequels it’s widely accepted to be the Star Wars sequel fans had always hoped to see. Below is a list of the Ten Best things about the new film…

1. Han Solo & Chewbacca

In truth Harrison Ford has spent the past decade or two mostly treading water in half-hearted performances. So it’s a joy and a relief to see him finally reprise the iconic role that launched his career and recapture much of his wisecracking charisma. It’s an emotional sight to see the beloved duo of Han and his ever faithful companion Chewie back together, still blasting their way out of trouble with style. In particular Ford thankfully delivers a sincere and significant performance as one of the film’s most prominent leads.

2. The Millennium Falcon

For most Star Wars fans the vehicles of the original trilogy are as much beloved characters as any of the cast. In particular the Millennium Falcon is one of the most universally adored hunks of junk in the galaxy. It might be because it’s the ship that did the Kessel run in 12 parsecs, but more likely it’s because she’s responsible for some of the most beautifully balletic asteroid dodging death star exploding manoeuvres ever seen. Lovingly reintroduced with just a few more dents, the Falcon flies again across the galaxy and back into our hearts.

3. Poe Dameron –  Black Leader

Introduced confidently as the best fighter pilot in the resistance, Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron doesn’t disappoint. Whether it’s a stolen Tie Fighter or his one of a kind Black X-Wing there’s nothing this dapper ace can’t fly with dizzying ease. It’s nice to have an unashamed hero flying back into the franchise to save the day.

4. BB8

Poe describes spherical droid BB8 as white, orange and one of a kind. Even before the film was released the cute beach ball inspired droid was already an instant fan favourite and the must have Christmas toy. While Sphero’s diminutive smartphone controlled toy version is plenty of fun, the real thing is even more awesome. BB8 proves a smart successor for the more clunky and camp antics of R2D2 & C-3PO.

5. A Galaxy Far Far Away

The Star Wars universe takes place in a galaxy far far away and The Force Awakens continues to take fans to strange new worlds. While the sandy wasteland of Jakku obviously pays direct homage to the Tatooine desert setting of the original trilogy it’s grander in scale and definitely boasting a unique character. The wreckage of crashed star destroyers and x-wings gives the sand dunes a stark look and provides a dramatic setting for some of the film’s early action set pieces. The film also showcases an alien packed bar scene that fuses Mos Eisely Canteena with Jabba’s Palace.

6. Rey

Newcomer Daisy Ridley proves to be a worthy choice of lead. Thanks to never ending casting calls and careful direction the young British actress delivers a defining turn as the sagas new ultimate heroine. Rey is a character that does the near impossible task of balancing mystery, believability, beauty and ferociously strong willed spirit. She easily holds her own alongside her fellow newcomers and legends like Harrison Ford. Rey’s growing awareness of the true power of the force also provides some of the film’s most breath-taking moments.

7. X-Wing vs Tie Fighters

One of the defining images of the original trilogy is the iconic aerial battles between X-wings and Tie Fighters. The prequels mostly lacked magnificent dogfights but thankfully the force awakens does not. There’s plenty of bombing runs, attack formation and red wings standing by to keep fans cheering wildly.

8. Kylo Ren

With a Vader inspired mask, rasping voice modifier and flame hilted lightsaber, Kylo Ren is a menacing villainous presence from the first moment he strides into action. His almost unprecedented mastery of the dark side, bursts of pure rage and gradually exposed backstory gives Adam Driver huge opportunities to deliver terror and tragedy. Kylo Ren more than any other character, personifies the film’s earnest desire to pay respectful homage to the past saga whilst genuinely advancing the story for a new generation.

9. Lightsabers & Force Powers

A Lighsaber might be a more civilised weapon for a more civilised age, but it’s also undeniably cool and the source of the Star Wars saga’s most unique and exhilarating action sequences.  Though Kylo Ren’s hilted Lightsaber divided opinion intensely when it was first revealed, in action it is an undeniably effective and visually stunning weapon. The film combines classic Lighsaber duels with some previously unseen force powers. It’s reassuring to know that now an entirely new generation of children will forever feel compelled to make funny sound effects whilst hitting each other with sticks and pretending to deflect laser blasts with their minds.

10.  The Spiritual Force

The Force was always the true heart of the original trilogy. One of the pre-quells greatest crimes was robbing the franchise of its rich spiritual mythology in favour of clinical sounding reference to Midi-chlorian counts.  It’s a massive relief to see the first chapter in the new saga return to a more mystical view of the force. More than almost anything else this goes a long way to re-establishing the magical atmosphere of the saga. Once again it’s about the ultimate battle between the forces of good and evil, not just about blood tests for inherited speciality.

Critics’ Circle Awards Nominations 2016

The UK’s leading film critics today announced the nominations for their 36th annual awards ceremony, with Todd Haynes’ romantic drama Carol leading the way with seven nominations including Film of the Year and both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara contending for Actress of the Year. The gala ceremony will be held on Sunday 17th January at The May Fair Hotel.

Close behind in the race for the awards, which are voted on by 140 members of The Critics’ Circle Film Section, is Andrew Haigh’s marital study 45 Years, with six nominations. Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant and Steve Jobs follow with five citations each.

The nominations were announced at The May Fair today by rising star Florence Pugh, who was surprised that she was nominated herself as Young British Performer for her work in Carol Morley’s drama The Falling. The 17th January ceremony will again be hosted by actor-filmmakers Steve Oram and Alice Lowe. Kenneth Branagh will receive the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

“Our critics nominated more than 200 titles for Film of the Year alone, representing the range of wide opinions and the sheer number of movies critics watch each year,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Awards. “There was love for everything from Tangerine and Tangerines to Love, Joy and The Hateful Eight. Getting to that final list of nominees certainly wasn’t easy this year.”

Unusually, two films received three nominations each: Asif Kapadia’s Amy is nominated for Film, Documentary and British Film, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence is up for Film, Documentary and Foreign-Language Film. And Tom Hardy received three nods: as lead actor in Legend, supporting actor in The Revenant and as British actor for his body of work in 2015. Other actors with multiple nominations are Michael Fassbender, Charlotte Rampling, Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.

Joining Carol, 45 Years, Amy and The Look of Silence among the 10 movies shortlisted for Film of the Year are the Disney/Pixar animation Inside Out, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, Alejandro G Iñárritu’s The Revenant, Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room.

Last year’s ceremony saw Richard Linklater winning both Film and Director for Boyhood, with three awards going to Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. The red carpet event is sponsored by The May Fair Hotel, Suqqu, Audi, Voss, Viru and Cameo Productions.

The full list of nominees for the 36th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:

FILM OF THE YEAR

45 Years

Amy

Carol

Inside Out

The Look of Silence

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

 

BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR

45 Years

Amy

Brooklyn

The Lobster

London Road

 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Eden

Hard to Be a God

The Look of Silence

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

The Tribe

 

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Amy

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

The Look of Silence

Palio

A Syrian Love Story

 

ACTOR OF THE YEAR

Tom Courtenay – 45 Years

Paul Dano – Love & Mercy

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs

Tom Hardy – Legend

 

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Brie Larson – Room

Rooney Mara – Carol

Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR

Benicio Del Toro – Sicario

Tom Hardy – The Revenant

Oscar Isaac – Ex Machina

Michael Keaton – Spotlight

Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

Olivia Colman – The Lobster

Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria

Tilda Swinton – Trainwreck

Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Andrew Haigh – 45 Years

Todd Haynes – Carol

Alejandro G Iñárritu – The Revenant

George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Ridley Scott – The Martian

 

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR

Emma Donoghue – Room

Nick Hornby – Brooklyn

Phyllis Nagy – Carol

Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

Aaron Sorkin – Steve Jobs

 

BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR

Michael Caine – Kingsman: The Secret Service, Youth

Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation, Second Coming

Colin Farrell – The Lobster, Miss Julie

Michael Fassbender – Macbeth Slow West, Steve Jobs,

Tom Hardy – Legend, London Roa, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenantd

 

BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

Emily Blunt – Sicario

Carey Mulligan – Far From the Madding Crowd, Suffragette

Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years, The Forbidden Room

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn, Lost River

Kate Winslet – The Dressmaker, A Little Chaos, Steve Jobs

 

YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER

Asa Butterfield – X + Y

Milo Parker – Mr Holmes, Robot Overlords

Florence Pugh – The Falling

Liam Walpole – The Goob

Maisie Williams – The Falling

 

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER

Tom Browne – Radiator

Mark Burton & Richard Starzak – Shaun the Sheep Movie

Emma Donoghue – Room

Alex Garland – Ex Machina

John Maclean – Slow West

 

BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM

Directed by Tweedie – dir Duncan Cowles

Leidi – dir Simon Mesa Soto

Over – dir Jorn Threlfall

Rate Me – dir Fyzal Boulifa

Stutterer – dir Benjamin Cleary

 

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Carter Burwell, music – Carol

Wade Eastwood, stunts – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Colin Gibson, production design – Mad Max: Fury Road

Elliott Graham, editing – Steve Jobs

Edward Lachman, cinematography – Carol

Tom Ozanich, sound design – Sicario

Sandy Powell, costumes – Cinderella

John Seale, cinematography – Mad Max: Fury Road

Alistair Sirkett and Markus Stemler, sound design – Macbeth

Andrew Whitehurst, visual effects – Ex Machina

 

Joy World Premiere Pictures

Check out a gallery of pictures form the New York World Premiere of Joy, the new David O Russell drama starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and JenniferLawrence.

JOY is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, pave the road in this intense emotional and human comedy about becoming a true boss of family and enterprise facing a world of unforgiving commerce. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy’s inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces. Jennifer Lawrence stars, with Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, and Virginia Madsen. Like David O. Russell’s previous films, Joy defies genre to tell a story of family, loyalty, and love.

Independence Day: Resurgence Official Trailer

The first official Trailer for Independence Day Resurgence arrives giving fans a first looks at Roland Emmerich’s long promised follow up to the blockbuster 1996 alien invasion apocalypse. Not only are the evil aliens back with predictably bigger ships, the original cast are also with inevitably older faces, albeit with the one notable exception of Will Smith. But don’t worry we’re sure Jeff Goldblum can save us on his own this time…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Trailer

Here is the first official trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of The Shadows, the inevitable sequel to the much criticised but obscenely lucrative Michael Bay produced 2014 reboot for the enduring popular 80s franchise.

The trailer makes it pretty obvious that Michael Bay’s CGI obsessed hands are still firmly in control. Sadly it seems generic alien spaceships are yet again invading New York, while countless cars and buildings casually explode. Megan Fox at least seems relieved to still have a career as a ‘sexy movable prop’.

The sequel does at least reintroduce some other popular elements from the franchise. Arrow star Stephen Amell is the hockey masked hero Casey Jones, villainous duo Bebop & Rocksteady join the CGI party and the Turtle Van still shoots manhole covers…