Angry Birds Movie Trailer

Angry Birds continues it’s meteoric rise from distracting smartphone game to global pop culture phenomenon with the first official trailer for their inevitable big screen animated adventure. Watch the trailer now if you want to see how they managed to turn a computer game about exploding birds into a feature film…

Life Review

The Plot

A young photographer eager to prove his own artistic skills latches onto actor James Dean who already seems poised to become a reluctant superstar. The pair strikes an uneasy friendship as they work on creating an intimate photo essay that would be regarded as iconic images of a true Hollywood icon.

The Good

Dane DeHaan manages to produce a convincing impersonation of a timeless silver screen icon with the help of some carefully managed makeup and hairstyling. Though lacking in Dean’s unique natural rugged charms, DeHaan worked hard to bulk up and pour his considerable acting talent into transforming himself. The effect is pretty successful and at times he bears a more than passing physical resemblance to the Rebel Without A Cause star.

Director Anton Corbijn likewise does a good job of crafting a look of costumes, locations and cinematography that captures both the elegance and emptiness of Hollywood’s golden era. The film’s bleak and stark visual style is particularly effective during Dean and Stock’s time in New York and at the Dean family farmhouse in rural Indiana.

Speaking of looking good, Robert Pattinson’s devoted army of fans will no doubt be pleased to see him once again brooding away as frustrated photographer Dennis Stock. Even if it’s a little unfortunate that his matinee idol looks at times too obviously eclipse DeHaan’s James Dean impersonation.

The Bad

Although DeHaan does his best to become Dean, in truth it’s a fairly tough challenge for any actor. Aside from the obvious physical differences, in truth there are few people capable of exuding the ageless charisma that exudes from Dean’s tragically brief screen credits and the rare images that survived of him off camera.

Robert Pattinson has worked hard to establish his acting credibility after being catapulted to leading man stardom by the commercially successful but critically mocked Twilight franchise. Unfortunately his determination to avoid trading on his handsome looks has led him to take a series of downbeat roles that eschews his potential charisma in favour of glum brooding.

Alongside DeHaan’s already overly awkward Dean, Pattinson’s desperate photographer is equally introverted. It makes for an uneasy and sterile relationship between the pair. With Pattinson’s character cast as a seemingly selfish absentee father while James Dean is mostly reduced to pretentious mumbling, the sad truth is neither remains particularly likeable throughout the film’s overly long run time.

Aside from a few rare moments of vulnerability for DeHaan’s Dean, the film mostly fails to inject any real personality or convincing depth into either lead.

The Ugly Truth

For those who relish in nostalgia for the golden era of Hollywood this will be a welcome celebration of a unique silver screen star. Those with less initial enthusiasm may find the film’s slow pace and downbeat tone strains patience a little.

Sicario Sequel In Development

Emily Blunt crime thriller Sicario is yet to be released but Lionsgate are reportedly already beginning tentative development on a sequel. The spin off would not hower focus on Emily Blunt’s character, according to the studio chairman Patrick Wachsberger. Instead the next film in the series would explore further the mysterious titular hitman played by recently announced Star Wars villain Benicio Del Toro. Whether it would be a prequel or a direct follow up remains to be seen.

John Wick Sequel Starts Shooting

Thunder Road Pictures have confirmed that production is about to begin on the follow up to the surprisingly awesome action effort John Wick. Keanu Reeves made a stunning action return in the role as a ruthlessly efficient former hit man brought out of retirement to take down the crime family who very very very ill advisedly killed his dog.

Director Chad Stahelski returns as does Keanu, expect plenty of bullets, kung fu moves and dead bodies to accompany them.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Review

The Plot

Having escaped the maze, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow survivors seem to be  finally on their way to a safe haven with the help of the mysterious Janson (Aidan Gillen). But when his true intentions are revealed, escaping his clutches is the least of their problems…

The Good

Picking up immediately after the dramatic conclusion of the first film, Scorch Trials delivers an extremely strong opening half which matches or a times even surpasses competing young adult franchises like Divergent and The Hunger Games. This trilogy seems to be starting to hit it’s stride as it begins to explore a wider post-apocalyptic world, introduces interesting new characters and digs deeper into serious themes of morality and questioning authority.

The introduction of Aiden Gillen is a welcome addition to the series. Armed with a goatee and polo-necked jumper he makes the villainous Janson a convincingly  devious and dangerous threat. Likewise Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito is a scene stealing delight as Jorge, a cunning mercenary with complex motives and shifting allegiances.

Rounding out the adult cast, Patricia Clarkson returns as the cold and calculated WCKD leader Ava Paige. Though given significantly more screen time, she remains a mysterious presence. leaving plenty of room for big revelations in the final chapter.

The undeniable focus of the series remains the younger characters. Alexander Flores joins the cast as Aris, a boy from a separate maze (of which, it turns out there are many). Together with Ki Hong Li’s Minho, Kaya Scodelario’s Teresa and Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s Newt, the display of talent is impressive.

However, it’s Dylan O’Brien’s impressive skills of holding up the franchise that is most noteworthy. With two thirds of the trilogy now complete, O’Brien is as talented as ever, pulling off the conflicted determination of Thomas with ease.

The Bad

After a promising start, it’s somewhat disheartening to see that once the characters head out into the apocalyptic desert wasteland of ‘the scorch’, the story slips quickly into the overly familiar territory of a generic action thriller. The city ruins and zombie like monsters that awaits our young band of heroes could literally have been borrowed from countless recent blockbusters. There’s plenty of peril but little memorable originality to be found.

Unfortunately it’s also still impossible to avoid obvious and at times unflattering comparisons with the other post-apocalyptic themed young adult adaptations like Hunger Games and Divergent. While the Maze Runner series has it’s own identity and at least some distinctive elements, it may still feel like a band wagon riding afterthought for less enthusiastic audiences.

In particular  Kaya Scodelario’s Teresa could and should have been a major focal point for this film, as her character’s arc is a pivotal plot point for the trilogy. Unfortunately the talented Skins actress is given  little screen time to explore this potentially fascinating personal journey. Indeed she’s actually displaced for large portions of the film by Rosa Salazar’s  new ‘love interest’ Brenda. It would have been nice to see the film make the most of both it’s female leads.

The Ugly Truth

The Scorch Trials adds some seasoned stars, serious themes and a vastly expanded dystopian world to build upon the promise of the first film. A reliance on generic action means that at times the franchise stills struggles to entirely distinguish itself from similar genre series. Fans of the book will enjoy seeing the journey continue and it definitely sets up an intriguing conclusion.

Review by Johnny Ellis