Thor The Dark World Poster Arrives

Check out the first official poster for Marvel sequel Thor The Dark World. The film stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) and Anthony Hopkins (Odin). Directed by Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor, the much anticipated sequel sees Thor battle an ancient race of Dark Elves led by the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) who threatens to plunge the universe back into darkness after the events of The Avengers.

Check out clips below of what returning cast members Tom Hiddleston and Ray Stevenson have to say about the new film:

The Croods Gets A Sequel

Dreamworks animated adventure about a dysfunctional prehistoric family of cavemen The Croods has successfully hauled in over $387 million worldwide. In a move surprising nobody but perhaps delighting small children the studio has now confirmed there will be an inevitable sequel.

Co-writers/directors Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders are both officially attached for the sequel but the cast remain to be confirmed. The first film starred the collective vocal talents of  Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Cloris Leachman, Catherine Keener and Ryan Reynolds. 

A catchy pun packed title is yet to be revealed for the cartoon follow up. Expect it to be something subtle and sophisticated, perhaps along the lines of The Croods 2: Getting Crooder. 

Beautiful Thing Review

The Plot

Set on a rough-diamond of a Thamesmead estate, mouthy single Mum Sandra holds together an eclectic bunch of disenfranchised kids. Her son, 15 year old Jamie is beginning to experience the joys of bunking PE lessons much to his mother’s feisty disapproval. Meanwhile, Sandra’s posh hippie lover-boy doesn’t see what  the fuss is about, choosing to don his girlfriend’s skimpy dressing gowns and prance about the stage.

Friend and next-door neighbor, Leah, has been excluded from school and so has turned her attentions to perfecting her Mama Cass impersonation. The final piece in this concrete jigsaw is neighbor Ste, who finds refuge in Sandra’s flat as he escapes his abusive father.

Of course, as so often good stories are, this is a love story through and through as a relationship blossoms between Ste and Jamie and the pair fall head-over-heels in love.

The Good

Quite simply, this is the most stunning, beautiful, hilarious, powerful and (oh heck) the best play we’ve ever seen in the West End. In a nutshell,  the play combines the intimacy and realistic acting that we all know and love from film and telly with the immediate presence and raw, live experiences of theatre. It’s a winning combination.

Beautiful Thing superbly explores the challenges, pains and joys of first love. Though it’s rightly praised for it’s sensitive handling of specific issues surrounding gay relationships the social and emotional themes tackled by this flawless production are universally applicable. Though the play cannot avoid having political significance, particularly given the current global debate about gay marriage, it goes beyond soapbox politics to effect audiences in a much more profound and emotionally effective way.

The play’s core cast of Suranne Jones (Sandra), Jake Davies (Jamie) and Danny-Boy Hatchard (Ste) are all absolutely fantastic as they breath dramatic life into the respective  tribulations of parenthood and endearingly tentative romance. Watching a believable family and young couple deal with gay love offers an undeniably  effective argument for tolerance and gay rights.

The Bad

It’s rare even for the high standards of the West End, but for once it’s hard to find a flaw in this production.

The Ugly Truth

It’s twenty years since Jonathan Harvey’s gay coming-out/coming-of- age story first took to the stage and it continues to grow more relevant and poignant. The play’s run has coincided (almost, too) perfectly with the rest of the world’s antics. The opening night just so happened to fall on the same day that New Zealand passed legislation in support of gay marriage. We urge you to support this superb production and visit the Art theatre before it’s run end son 25th May.

Exclusive Cast Interviews below from the official After Party:
 

Evil Dead Review

The Plot

A group of teenagers gather together in a desolate cabin in the woods to help their friend overcome her drug addiction. But, when a hidden basement containing a deadly book is found, a bloodbath soon begins.

The Good

Usually, when Hollywood dares to touch the legacy of cult classics in the form of the dreaded remake; it doesn’t go all too well. However when the writer/director, lead actor and producer of the original are all producing said remake as in this case, it’s a blessing.

Evil Dead is everything fans of the first will hope for, and serves well as an introduction to newcomers. The blood, guts and gore are all turned up to eleven in true Sam Raimi style along with lovely nods to the film that started it all, which will have old fans giggling in glee and new ones witnessing in wonder. And it seems that the franchise is on its way to resurrection, with a sequel already planned and a continuation of the original series in the works. With this will surely come the rise of a new fan base along with the resurrection of the old one.

With a ninety minute runtime, the film gets into the swing of things quite quickly, with dismembered body parts being thrown around the screen like there’s no tomorrow. It also seems that there’s no limit to the amount of blood that can be used in one film. This is definitely not one for the squeamish…

The Bad

Anyone who’s seen the original won’t be very surprised with the remake. Although there are some changes, most notably the added back story of a drug addicts intervention, it’s really nothing you won’t have seen before. The script doesn’t seem to want to dwell too much on character and story building and instead tries to get that part over as soon as possible in order to get to what sells.

The demon possessions and jump scares seem to go on and on, making a ninety minute film seem more like two hours. Just as you think the film is slowing down to the end credits, all of a sudden it will speed right back up again.

And of course, as seems to happen with most films these days, scenes which might have sold the film to you in the trailer don’t actually make the final cut.

The Ugly Truth

Evil Dead is definitely one for the fans. A great throwback to a horror which defined a generation and will forever live in film censor’s memories. Whilst there are no real risks taken in the remake, it will at least leave you wanting to go back and watch the originals again. As well as hopefully make newcomers want to give the originals a try for the first time.

Check out our video Interviews below with Director Fede Alvarez and beautiful star Jane Levy:

Evil Dead 4 & 5 Sequel News

Speaking to Red Carpet News at the London premiere  of horror reboot Evil Dead, Director Fede Alvarez confirmed that work has already begun on a script for a sequel the successful franchise relaunch. Fans of the cult classic film series may be even more excited by what the young director had to say about  plans for a long anticipated follow up to the original trilogy directed by Sam Raimi.

Speaking to our very own Neill Virtue in London whilst promoting Oz The Great and Powerful,  Raimi  finally confirmed last month that Evil dead 4 with original star Bruce Campbell will definitely become a reality and that he’s currently working on a script with his brother Ted. Now Fede Alvarez has revealed that both he and Raimi plan to ultimately unite both the new and original Evil Dead series in yet another sequel.

Alvarez revealed that once he finishes Evil Dead 2 and Raimi completes Army Of Darkness 2 (which seems to be his working title for Evil Dead 4), the pair plan to make Evil Dead 5 together, combining the mythologies and casts of both Raimi’s original trilogy and the blood drenched new reboot.

Video clip below: