Infini Official Trailer
Having premiered at the Edinburgh film festival, sci-fi horror INFINI has a new official UK trailer out. Set in a dystopian future, the film follows an elite Search and Rescue team on a mission to an off-world mining-facility to rescue the lone survivor of a biological outbreak. Directed and co-written by Shane Abbess the film stars Daniel MacPherson, Luke Hemsworth, Grace Huang and Luke Ford. If the trailer below is anything to go by, it make not be one for the faint hearted…
Nordic Drama Eyewitness Gets UK DVD Release
The new Nordic Noir sensation, Eyewitness (Oyevitne), is a sleek gripping crime drama from Norway seen through the eyes of two 15 year old boys. This dark, complex thriller now lands on British soil, making is UK debut on DVD courtesy of Simply media.
Following a wave of riveting dramas from Northern Europe comes this compelling series, which finds two school friends caught up in a terrifying scenario after witnessing a shocking crime. Produced by NRK drama, he makers of the financial thriller Mammon, this fantastic fast paced six-part series is written and directed by Jarl Emsell Larsen (Dirty Money, White Lies) and comes t DVD as a two disc set on 14th September 2015.
Philip (Axel Bøyum) and Henning (Odin Waage), school friends and neighbours, hang out together ina workers’ cabin at a remote quarry, where they tentatively explore their mutual attraction. One night their illicit encounter is dramatically interrupted by the arrival of a car containing four men, and son a gun battle is playing out before their eyes. Following the deadly attack, the boys are spotted but mange to escape, making off with the murder weapon, which they discard in a nearby rock pool.
Fearing for their lives and the consequences of someone finding out about their relationship they vow never to reveal what they have seen, but with Philip’s foster mum Helen as the local sheriff investigating the murders, it won’t be easy to stay quiet and very quickly their secret unravels into a nightmare of corruption and gang warfare.
The Truth About CGI Special Effects
This video explaining the true impact of CGI and visual effect on modern film making is essential viewing for anyone who has ever complained that an overuse of bad CGI instead of old fashioned practical effects is ruining movies. This well put together video analysis from the RocketJump Film School may just surprise you by illustrating the invisible magic of good CGI you never noticed in some of your favourite films…
Fantastic Four Review
The Plot
When a group of young scientists teleport to an alternate universe, they each return with fantastic powers. Struggling to come to terms with their dramatic transformations, they need to learn to harness their newfound abilities to save our world.
The Good
The previous Fantastic Four films delivered fans unashamedly colourful and camp comic book adaptations, met with mixed reactions by fans and critics alike. This new reboot of Marvel’s first family perhaps predictably opts to go down a darker route, both visually and in tone. It’s an interesting move that at least initially works to add a slight edge to the Fantastic Four.
At the same time the film introduces a new generation of noticeably younger heroes with the combined talents of Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. Likewise Toby Kebbel (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) takes on the role of Marvel’s most ominously named villain Victor Von Doom. It’s a promising crop of fresh faced stars that have each already proved themselves more than capable.
The Bad
Cynics feared that this hastily announced reboot was merely a rushed effort to ensure that Fox didn’t lose the valuable creative rights for the characters back to Marvel studios. Choosing an impressive cast and promising Chronicle director Josh Trank reassured fans that the studio did actually have serious plans. Unfortunately those best laid plans sadly failed to deliver entertaining results.
For the supposedly ambitious opening of a rebooted franchise, Fantastic Four is incredibly simplistic. It adds surprisingly little to a well know origin story and delivers CGI effects which are more drab but oddly often no more convincing than those of the often mocked 2005 film and its sequel.
Toby Kebbel is given no time at all to create a memorable nemesis. The film squanders one of the most iconic comic book villains, by offering mere hints at an intriguing but unexplored back story and vague explanations in place of real motivations. Likewise after slowly introducing our heroes and their fantastic gifts, the film gives them little chance to interact before a frantic final act that conveniently throws them instantly together as an oddly unconvincing team.
Ironically the one thing the previous Fantastic Four films arguably got right was the amusingly dysfunctional chemistry amongst the super powered family. The lack of humour, tension and heart in this new version becomes increasingly obvious as the film progresses and starts to sadly make many of the same mistakes as its much criticized predecessor.
After an overly long time spent barely developing the characters, setting up a sullen tone and introducing the main villain, the final act feels awkwardly rushed and unoriginal. The threat barely feels threatening to the main characters let alone the rest of the planet, while what little plot there is feels far too neatly tied up. Leaving any hopes of an improved sequel even less likely.
The Ugly Truth
Fantastic Four tries to offer a darker take on the familiar franchise but proves thoroughly disappointing despite combining an undeniably talented cast with a promising director. The only positive thing to be said is that at least there’s little danger of the promising stars being tied down by unnecessary sequels.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Steve Jobs To Close London Film Festival 2015
The 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is delighted to announce that this year’s Closing Night film will be Steve Jobs.
Working from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography, Steve Jobs is directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to create a revealing portrait of the man at its epicentre and stars Michael Fassbender in the title role, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Katherine Waterston. Boyle, Fassbender and Winslet will attend the Closing Night Gala, which marks the film’s European Premiere, on Sunday October 18 at the Odeon Leicester Square. Steve Jobs is the third film directed by Boyle to close the BFI London Film Festival, following Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and 127 Hours (2010).
Spanning a period of 14 years between 1984 and 1998 the story is built around three seminal product launches — of the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT ‘Cube’ in 1988 and the iMac in 1998 — and it uses this innovative structure to create a cross-hatched portrait of Jobs’ life and to tell the story of the new mass-market technologies that have revolutionised how we communicate with one another.
BFI London Film Festival Director Clare Stewart says:
“We are thrilled to announce that Steve Jobs will be this year’s BFI London Film Festival Closing Night gala. Danny Boyle has created an exhilarating and audacious film starring Michael Fassbender as the complex, charismatic digital pioneer.”
The full Festival programme will be revealed on Tue 1 Sept. BFI Patrons’ special booking service opens Tue 8 Sept, with BFI Champions’ extra priority on Wed 9 Sept and BFI Members’ priority booking on Thu 10 Sept. Tickets go on public sale on Thu 17 Sept.
The 59th BFI London Film Festival takes place 7 – 18 October at venues across London.