Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Adds Female Lead

Marvel and director James Gunn reportedly failed in their ambitious efforts to tempt Matthew McConaughey into playing the sequels lead villain. The Oscar winning star has reportedly already turned down the chance to challenge Chris Pratt to an intergalactic dance off.

However in more positive news French actress and Oldboy star Pom Klementieff has joined the cast in an unspecified role that reportedly required lots of chemistry reads. So odds are she may be the new romantic interest for Chris Pratt’s Star Lord. We’ll keep you posted with news of confirmed pelvic sorcery…

Spectre Review

The Plot

A cryptic message from Bond’s Past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M (Ralph Fiennes) battles political porches to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE

The Good

Director Sam Mendes returns to the Bond franchise after the dazzling success of 2013’s Skyfall in spectacularly lavish fashion. In an opening sequence that begins with an expertly executed tracking shot following Bond through the streets and rooftops of New Mexico as he dips in and out of a Day of the Dead parade, it’s clear that Mendes is not dropping the winning formula of action mixed with beautiful cinematography that won fans over last time round.

Craig’s Bond as always, is a treat to watch from beginning to end as he brings his usual quiet charm to the role. With Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Wishaw and Rory Kinnear returning as bonds faithful allies, the cast list is already something to behold. Add in Christoph Waltz as the villain however, and the formula becomes explosive. Waltz, like Craig is cool calm and collected, without the humour of Skyfall’s Silva (Javier Bardem), a characteristic which could have held too many similarities with his career making role in Inglourious Basterds. He’s dropped into the story earlier than Silva was in Skyfall and remains a strong presence throughout.

And of course, a Bond film is incomplete without its female sidekick of which Spectre gives us three. There’s the aforementioned Harris who returns as Moneypenny, as well as Monica Bellucci who appears briefly. But it’s Lea Seydoux who is arguably the most important character of the three. Seydoux brings about her an air of equality when it comes to matching Bond’s skill in the arts of self defence in a thankfully pivotal role as Madeleine Swan.

The Bad

All this talent put together and yet the storyline for Spectre disappointingly comes up short. Having only recently reclaimed the rights to the titular terrorist organisation whose rich history in the Bond franchise is known to any self respecting fan, their return feels much less triumphant than it should be. While the script does ambitiously try to link everything from Craig’s tenure together, connecting the events of the past three films with just a few lines of exposition seems heavy handed and even a little necessary. Perhaps an all out origin story would have better served the  return of Bond’s most iconic adversaries. Though the film’s closing stages do set the stage for future adventures and the reintroduction of even more familiar characters, their new backstories feel hastily concocted and clumsy.

While Waltz’s performance is as always a treat, his mysterious Franz Oberhauser feels criminally underused. Though his presence is consistent, his onscreen presence leaves much to be desired. Considering the lengthy 2 and a half hour runtime, its disappointing to see Oberhauser spend so much time hiding in the shadows. Also, while the length is indeed long, Spectre feels like it could have easily stripped away a good twenty minutes or so and left rather unscathed.

The Ugly Truth

Spectre is a worthy enough follow up to Skyfall if not quite up to its standards. An incredible cast and beautiful cinematography certainly keep things interesting, but for the return of the titular criminal organisation, it feels a little unfulfilled. Especially with such a seasoned villainous actor ending up a tad unused in order to create a sense of growing threat.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Pan Review

The Plot

One night a 12-year-old orphan Peter is spirited away from blitz ravaged 1940s London to the magical world of Neverland. While searching for his lost mother he befriends a young James T. Hook and faces off against the dread Pirate Blackbeard. Finding fun and dangers, he ultimately discovers his destiny to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.

The Good

As a prequel to the overly familiar J.M. Barrie tales of Neverland Pan at least has the distinction of exploring some fresh ground. Despite numerous screen versions and reimagining’s of Peter Pan this film promises to be an original adventure, reintroducing a whole host of beloved timeless characters.

Director Joe Wright has an accomplished CV full of costume rich period dramas, so it was always a safe bet that the world of Neverland would be intricately well dressed. Combined with a generous special effects budget, Neverland is full of flying pirate ships and beautiful fantasy locations. It’s as colourful, camp and grandiose a vision of J.M. Barrie’s creations as has ever been realised on screen before.

Landing Hugh Jackman as the villainous Captain Blackbeard is a major coup for the film. Jackman is likeable menacing and delightfully dastardly as the shamelessly showboating pirate villain determined to live forever at any price. He’s a neatly ready-made substitute for the not yet nasty Hook.

The Bad

While Pan has a flamboyant colourful style that will distract and mostly entertain young audiences, older audiences may find some of the creative choices a little more puzzling or troubling. Having the pirates of Neverland happily singing Nirvana grunge anthem Smells Like Teen Spirit is the most obvious example. It’s a jarring and inexplicable mix of pop cultures that is certain to strongly divide opinions. It’s either wonderfully whimsical or laughably silly.

The film had already attracted vocal criticism for casting Rooney Mara as Neverland’s native princess Tiger Lilly. Though Mara’s pale face may be in sharp contrast to the typically Native American depiction of the character, she remains an excellent actress and does well in the role in spite of this issue. Director Joe Wright has been quick to defend the decision anyway by insisting his Neverland and its inhabitants are more globalised and fantastical than heavy handed tribal stereotypes.

Playing Barrie’s most iconic creations Levi Miller as the young Peter and Garrett Hedlund as James T. Hook meet with mixed success at best.

British audiences will find newcomer Miller’s overly cockney orphan particularly cringe worthy in places. Likewise Garrett Hedlund deliver his own confounding choice of accent for Hook, sounding something like a cross between a 1940s used car salesman and Heath Ledger’s Joker. It’s such a distracting vocal performance that it manages to largely negate the charm of Garrett’s handsome good looks and a script generously trying to making him an action hero.

The film optimistically saves the origin story of ’Captain Hook’ for potential sequels, unfortunately leaving audiences feeling short changed by a prequel that still feels only half told. Though the creative team behind Pan have ambitious plans to stretch things out into a lucrative trilogy, it feels unnecessary and perhaps ill advised. It may prove a mistake to save the most interesting parts of this newly invented backstory for a second or third film that may never even become a reality.

The Ugly Truth

Pan is a colourful fantasy adventure that will likely keep its target audience of younger children mostly entertained. Grownups by turn will at least be able to enjoy watching Hugh Jackman shamelessly ham things up. If the film does prove to be a box office success, in truth the potential sequels may finally offer audiences a more interesting chapter in the back story of Hook and Pan.

Review by Russell Nelson

Suffragette Review

The Plot

Carey Mulligan leads an incredible cast in this look into the Suffragette movement for women’s rights in early 20th century London.

The Good

It’s both incredible and yet still unsurprising to think that Suffragette is really the first film which covers such an important topic. With such an impressive cast behind it, the story is undoubtedly in safe hands.

Carey Mulligan makes for an engrossing central character as Maude Williams, a working wife who is thrust into the middle of a political and social protest that soon begins to hurt not only her life, but that of her family’s. The secret to Mulligan’s success is largely part to her own feeling of unimportance which writer Abi Morgan’s script pushes into the subconscious with great effect.

Though the film centres on Mulligan’s performance, in a big way she could just have easily been a sidelined character to let the film focus more on Meryl Streep’s Emmeline Pankhurst. Instead Streep is rather smartly underused, appearing in only one scene like some sort of suffragette rockstar. The remainder of the supporting cast members are fortunately given more to do, with Natalie Press’ Emily Davison being a particular highlight. That said however, director Sarah Gavron manages to use her cast to their full potential without making anyone seem more or less important than the other.

Though it doesn’t exactly cover the entire timeline of its subject matter (difficult considering equality is still problematic to this day) Morgan’s script tackles it with great respect as she picks out moments both small and large to highlight the struggles of the era. And the story certainly isn’t afraid to tackle the grittiest details of the suffering its protagonists went through, with one scene involving a prison force feeding which is particularly hard to watch yet still is important to see that these horrific ways in which suffragettes were treated should not and will not be forgotten.

The Bad

Though the underuse of Meryl Streep is a smart move, her appearance still slightly jars. Considering the amount of coverage she’s been getting in the advertising for the film, it’s still somewhat disappointing to have her appear in one brief, albeit important, scene.

Also, though there are no problems thematically, Suffragette eventually ends up feeling like a by the books historical drama. Perhaps due to its lateness, a film about the Suffragette movement was always going to become much bigger in the audiences imagination than in the finished product. Or perhaps it’s due to the level of importance that this film holds.

The Ugly Truth

Suffragette is a well written historical drama about a subject that is still a problem to this day. Mulligan’s performance is certainly an interesting way in which to present the story, however something still feels amiss…

Tom Hiddleston Is First BFI Ambassador

The BFI has announced that British actor Tom Hiddleston has become its first official BFI Ambassador. As the champion for film in the UK, the BFI’s charitable cause is to create a flourishing film culture and to drive the success of the industry. Tom’s new Ambassador role will be a life-cause to advocate for British film and the BFI’s vital work in building the next generation of film talent and film lovers in the UK.

Tom’s film career is testament to the medium of film as an art form in all its glory. In parallel to starring in Hollywood blockbuster hits – including Thor, The Avengers and War Horse, Tom has been a committed artistic influence in the development of British film, working with key British filmmakers including Joanna Hogg (Archipelago), Terence Davies (The Deep Blue Sea) and Ben Wheatley, who’s upcoming film High Rise stars Tom and is premiering at the BFI London Film Festival on Friday 9th October.

Tom Hiddleston said:

‘Film is an art form – one of the most powerful, accessible, democratic and transformative in our society. It allows us to see the world around us, and the lives of others. It plays a vital role in establishing our national identity and gives us confidence as a nation. The BFI looks after the most significant collection of film and television in the world. It should be treasured and protected, in the same way we treasure and protect all our great cultural collections, from art and music, to libraries and museums. The BFI’s mission is to ensure that our film culture is kept alive, and to inspire the next generation of film talent. It’s the reason the BFI exists and why I am committed to being a BFI Ambassador.’

Amanda Nevill, BFI CEO said

‘Tom is a hugely admired and influential actor who understands the full breadth of film culture. He moves fluidly from starring in the world’s most successful blockbusters to remaining engaged with – and loyal to – emerging British filmmakers where he is admiringly bold and risk taking in his choices. This potent combination demonstrates Tom’s innate understanding that greatness in film rests upon deep cultural foundations – something that Britain is exporting to the world. Tom will be an enormous boost to the BFI and I want to thank him for taking on this extremely important role on behalf of British film.’

A lifelong supporter of the BFI, Tom will help raise awareness of the BFI’s key activities as a cultural charity including its film programmes, film education, film preservation at the BFI National Archive and BFI led initiatives to build the next generation of film talent such as the BFI Film Academy.