The World’s End Trailer

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have finally reunited with Director Edgar Wright for the third and last chapter in their self proclaimed Three Flavours Cornetto or Blood & Ice Cream Trilogy. Following on from previous big screen collaborations Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the new film is a apocalyptic themed comedy called The World’s End.

Alongside Pegg & Frost the film boasts an impressive assortment of British character actors in the homely shape of Martin Freemanm, Paddy Considine and EddieMarsan.

As revealed by the first official trailer below, The World’s End sees a group of former childhood friends reuniting after two decades to attempt to complete a pub crawl in their hometown. Unfortunately they quickly realize something very sinister is happening, leading to violence, mayhem and justifiably heavy drinking.

Ender’s Game Official Teaser Trailer

The big screen adaptation of classic science fiction book Ender’s Game has it’s first official teaser trailer below. The film directed by Gavin Hood and based on Orson Scott Card’s novel is set 70 years after a horrific alien war and follows an unusually gifted child who is sent to an advanced military school in space to prepare for a future invasion. The film’s impressive cast includes Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld and Asa Butterfield.

Visual Effects Pioneer Ray Harryhausen Dies at 92

Special Effects genuis and stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen passed away today in London at the age of 92. The sad news was confirmed by his family through The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook page.

In a moving obituary reprinted below in full his family outlined the extraordinary legacy Ray left behind. He  forever changed the landscape of cinema with astonishing new visual effects that liberated the imagination of  film fans and continues to inspire generations of subsequent filmmakers.

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.

Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw Willis O’Brien’s creations in KING KONG with his boyhood friend, the author Ray Bradbury in 1933, and he made his first foray into filmmaking in 1935 with home-movies that featured his youthful attempts at model animation. Over the period of the next 46 years, he made some of the genres best known movies – MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949), IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955), 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957), MYSTERIUOUS ISLAND (1961), ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966), THER VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969), three films based on the adventures of SINBAD and CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981). He is perhaps best remembered for his extraordinary animation of seven skeletons in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) which took him three months to film.

Harryhausen’s genius was in being able to bring his models alive. Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray’s hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right, just as important as the actors they played against and in most cases even more so.

Today The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation, a charitable Trust set up by Ray on the 10th April 1986, is devoted to the protection of Ray’s name and body of work as well as archiving, preserving and restoring Ray’s extensive Collection.

Tributes have been heaped upon Harryhausen for his work by his peers in recent years.

“Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much.” “Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no STAR WARS”
George Lucas.

“THE LORD OF THE RINGS is my ‘Ray Harryhausen movie’. Without his life-long love of his wondrous images and storytelling it would never have been made – not by me at least”
Peter Jackson

“In my mind he will always be the king of stop-motion animation”
Nick Park

“His legacy of course is in good hands
Because it’s carried in the DNA of so many film fans.”
Randy Cook

“You know I’m always saying to the guys that I work with now on computer graphics “do it like Ray Harryhausen”
Phil Tippett

“What we do now digitally with computers, Ray did digitally long before but without computers. Only with his digits.”
Terry Gilliam.

“His patience, his endurance have inspired so many of us.”
Peter Jackson

“Ray, your inspiration goes with us forever.”
Steven Spielberg

“I think all of us who are practioners in the arts of science fiction and fantasy movies now all feel that we’re standing on the shoulders of a giant.
If not for Ray’s contribution to the collective dreamscape, we wouldn’t be who we are.”
James Cameron

Benedict Cumberbatch Star Trek Interviews

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch plays the villainous John Harrison in the latest Star Trek sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Here’s a collection of our recent video interviews below, starting with over 6 minutes of Benedict highlights  from the Star Trek Into Darkness London Press Conference.

We also talk to Ben about award winning period drama Parade’s End, the future of Sherlock and what fans can expect from the new third series currently filming.

Check out all the interviews below and allow yourself to get totally Sherlocked

Star Trek Into Darkness Review

The Plot

Captain Kirk and the intrepid crew of the Starship Enterprise find themselves tested like never before by a one man weapon of mass destruction that threatens their entire way of life. Voyaging to alien worlds and deep into hostile space they must avoid triggering intergalactic war whilst somehow facing this deadly threat from within their own ranks.

The Good

J.J. Abrams 2009 re-boot of the Star Trek movie franchise was an emphatic success. It perfectly combined subtle homage with exciting re-invention. It took all the familiar characters and elements of the beloved Star Trek universe and finally injected a much needed jolt of adrenalin. Star Trek Into Darkness is a sequel that lives up to its name, adding even more danger and darkness to an already exhilarating mix.

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is a fantastic fit for the villainous new threat of John Harrison. He easily twists the familiar ferocious intelligence of his small screen performances to become a memorably menacing sociopath. He’s certainly a worthy adversary for our heroes and a nemesis that will mean even more to dedicated Trekkies.

The returning cast of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg all do equally excellent justice to the iconic crew of the Enterprise. It’s great to see Kirk, Spock and Scotty once again boldly going where they haven’t gone before. They’re all instantly recognisable without ever being mere caricatures. They’re also credibly dramatic despite frequent flashes of humour courtesy of quick quips and a well-placed array of franchise in-jokes.

So many big screen reboots fall into the trap of lazy homage and cheesy parody. The resurgent Star Trek series distinguishes itself by instead combining the best elements of the original franchise with the latest special effects, a solid cast and impressive action adventure.

The Bad

It’s genuinely a challenge to find any obvious criticisms of this sequel. Those who previously felt Star Trek was perhaps too tame and cerebral should be satisfied that the franchise has finally found some real peril, sex and violence. The crew of the Enterprise become genuine action heroes without the film having to sacrifice too much overall intelligence.

The most determined critics might attempt to accuse the film’s plot of being a tad predictable and lacking the ability to genuinely surprise.  Angry aliens and an evil genius villain are of course entirely expected foes for such genre blockbusters. But rarely is this familiar adventure told with quite so much style as in the Star Trek Universe.

The Ugly Truth

J.J. Abrams continues to steer the Star Trek franchise to stellar new heights, delivering an action packed sequel that matches high fan expectations and successfully eclipses his previous efforts. Ardent Trekkies will be delighted by the latest exploits of the Enterprise crew, but the film is equally accessible to uninitiated audiences.  Boldly go and see it as soon as you can.

 Star Trek Into Darkness Premiere Interviews and Full London Press Conference  below as a bonus: