Swallows And Amazons Movie Sets Sail

Cast and crew have set sail for the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling Arthur Ransome classic Swallows and Amazons, with principal photography getting underway in the Lake District.

Marking the feature debut of acclaimed director Philippa Lowthorpe (TV’s “The Other Boleyn Girl”, “Call the Midwife”, and “Jamaica Inn”), and adapted from a screenplay by Andrea Gibb.

Swallows and Amazons follows four children dreaming of an escape from the tedium of a summer holiday with their mother. When finally given permission to camp on their own on a remote island in the middle of a vast lake, they are overjoyed. But when they get there they discover they may not be alone…As they battle for ownership of the island, they learn the skills of survival and the value of friendship, which helps prepare them for the real danger they must face from the adult world. Steeped in the wonder of a child’s imagination and set against the breath-taking backdrop of the Lake District, this is an exhilarating adaptation of a treasured classic.

The cast includes Rafe Spall as the enigmatic ‘Captain Flint’ and also features Kelly Macdonald, Gwendoline Christie, Jessica Hynes, and Harry Enfield. The Walker and Blackett children from the beloved Ransome story will be brought to life in this big screen adaptation by a crop of young breakthrough stars.

Speaking about the cast director Philippa Lowthrope said:

“Watching the young actors learn to sail so brilliantly in our Swallow and Amazon, as we prepare for the shoot, has been a great thrill. I can’t wait to bring this world of pure adventure to life.”

 

Mila Kunis Attends Gemfields Launch Party

Black Swan  star Mila Kunis was in London on tonight  to attend the launch of Gemfields Mozambican rubies at The Orangery, Holland Park. The actress stepped suitably covered in rubies and diamonds, showcasing pieces from the Fabergé’s Devotion collection. The event marked the global launch of Gemfields rubies from the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique.  Check out a gallery of eye catching pics below:

New Spider-Man Is Tom Holland

The Impossible star Tom Holland has been officially confirmed as the latest actor to play Spider-Man, replacing Andrew Garfield as our most recent Peter Parker. Holland has also recently been seen in How I Live Now and historical TV drama Wolf Hall. Holland fits Marvel’s requirements of being young enough to play a genuinely adolescent spidey for many years to come.

Obviously the casting does finally put an end to any suggestion that Marvel might have updated Spider-Man with his more recent comic book alter-ego Miles Morales. Some fans had hoped that the latest reboot would have been an opportunity to take the franchise in a different direction replacing Parker with the Black Latino teen instead.

In truth Marvel were never really going to move away from the perhaps overly familiar origin story of Peter Parker as they seek  to  introduce him as an established figure in the wider Marvel cinematic universe as quickly as possible. Having negotiated long and hard with current rights holders Sony to bring Spider-Man back under Marvels creative control, they were always unlikely to force the issue by dramatically reinventing the character.

The new film also has a director in place with relatively unknown newcomer Jon Watts being selected after a number of Marvels other leading candidates reportedly ruled themselves out of the running in recent weeks. Aside from being responsible for low budget horror effort Clown, Watts has at least recently been getting some attention at the indie festivals for Kevin Bacon thriller Cop Car. Though it’s fair to say he’s a surprising choice for such an important project, providing the third and many hope definitive big screen version of Spider-Man.

Presumably the studio’s logic is that going with a rising young director means that Marvel will be able to guide the production perhaps more closely than if they’d brought in a more established name keen to put his own style/stamp on things. Obviously Marvel didn’t fare well after ten years trying to put Ant-Man into Edgar Wright’s hands and ended up bitterly parting ways over ‘creative differences’.

Those confused or worried by Marvel’s choice of director should take a lot of comfort from Guardians Of The Galaxy. Once seen as a risky side project based on fringe characters, with James Gunn directing it became one of the most popular cosmic jewels in Marvel’s cinematic universe. Much like Watts, prior to landing his surprise Marvel gig Gunn only had some low budget horror flicks and embarrassing live action Scooby Doo movies to his credit. If it worked out fine for Star Lord then surely our friendly neighborhood spider-man is in good hands…

The Longest Ride Review

The Plot

When a young couple save an old widower from a fatal car crash, their relationship becomes intertwined with flashbacks of his own past as he reflects on his past love.

The Good

Fresh from riding bathtubs with George Clooney in Tomorrowland, Britt Robertson switches Clooney for Scott Eastwood  in the latest big screen adaptation based on the seemingly endless supply of Nicholas Sparks novels.

The Longest Ride has everything Nicholas Sparks fans know and love. From the intertwining storylines that juxtapose relationships from two different time periods, to the generic poster of the two leads looking longingly into each others eyes while casually advertising an idyllic American country life.

As Robertson’s Sophia, an art student, reads countless love letters back to Ira (Alan Alda) while he recuperates from his car crash, it will come as no great surprise that Ira’s relationship with his recently deceased artist wife Ruth, bears some striking similarities to her own relationship with her bull rider boyfriend, Luke (Eastwood).

Of the two interconnecting stories Ira and Ruth’s is slightly more interesting than Sophia and Luke’s. The chemistry between young Ira and young Ruth – played respectively by Jack Huston and Oona Chaplin – feels a bit more fleshed out, with the fact that their story follows them through to old age probably being the main reason for this.

The Bad

Sophia and Luke’s story is much less believable and at times, annoying. After their very first date, Sophia decides to almost preemptively end the chance of a relationship as she prepares to move to New York for an internship, a move that would undoubtedly cause some strains in a new relationship. But this being a Nick Sparks film, the spark is there from the very beginning (if you’ll pardon the pun) and of course we couldn’t have the relationship end so early and sensibly.

Then there’s the ‘opposites attract’ side to the relationship, which can be found in both Ira and Ruth and Sophia and Luke’s storyline, with the girl being the artsy type but the guy not being able to understand art at all. However in Sophia and Luke’s story, the difference between the two is amped up slightly by Luke’s career as a professional bull rider. In a Rocky Balboa move, Luke carelessly continues a career which is slowly but surely increasing the chance of his death. While he certainly has a motive to continue the career his father had, for most of the film it’s not motive enough.

The Ugly Truth

The Longest Ride is instantly recognizable as a Nick Sparks romance and has everything fans of his expect and enjoy from surely one of the most prolific names in the romance genre today. Though it has some issues with half of it’s main storyline, there’s still enough in there to keep you entertained.

Mr. Holmes Review

The Plot

In 1947, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellan) is retired and nearing the end of his life. With his memory fading, he tries to write the story of his final case with help from his housekeeper’s young son.

The Good

Sherlock Holmes is a character who has lived a cinematic life that spans the length of cinema itself with countless iterations of quite simply the most influential literary detective ever created. While the most recent examples come from Robert Downey Jr and of course Benedict Cumberbatch, Mr. Holmes brings a incredibly interesting take on the famous detective with McKellen’s Holmes slowly deteriorating from the genius he once was.

Adapting Mitch Cullin’s A Slight Trick of the Mind, writer Jeffrey Hatcher, splices moments from Holmes’ final case  among his final days spent reflecting back on his extraordinary life. Director Bill Condon’s beautiful visuals of the english countryside provides a worthy backdrop to this much more personal take on the iconic Holmes’ character.

It’s McKellen who is of course the driving force in this story though. He manages to perfectly portray Holmes as both the strong confident detective from thirty years prior, and the frail time ravaged figure he becomes in 1947. Praise must also be given to Milo Parker who has the honour of playing almost the new Watson in young Roger, Holmes’ housekeepers son who helps him in his quest to recall how exactly the final case ended and more importantly, what made it his final case.

The Bad

While the performances and cinematography throughout Mr. Holmes are indeed stellar, the film does seem to lack the scope it needs to distinguish it as a worthy cinematic film. Perhaps it is the case that Holmes’ is revisiting, which revolves around a man who seeks his talents in solving the  mystery surrounding his wife, that makes Mr. Holmes feel ever so slightly better put to use on BBC1 as a festive drama special. It is produced, after all by BBC Film.

The timing of this release also feels a little misjudged. Mr. Holmes doesn’t feel right competing alongside summer blockbusters like Jurassic Park. Had it been released around October/November time, when the Oscar contenders start to poke their heads into the public view, Mr. Holmes could very well have earned an awards nod for McKellen. A June release means that ironically it will likely be long forgotten by the time of next years awards season.

The Ugly Truth

Mr. Holmes is an interesting look at a character whom audiences around the world are all too familiar with today, that gives a much more personal and poignant view of the detective in his final years. McKellen gives an awards worthy performance that unfortunately even if perhaps the production would overall have been better suited to the small screen.

Review by Johnny Ellis