The Shallows Review
The Plot
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
The Good
Blake Lively stars in this fantastic romp of a movie which is thrillingly good fun pretty much throughout. At 86 minutes, the survival thriller is perfectly paced and serves as some great popcorn fodder as Nancy struggles to get back to the beach after a vicious shark attack.
Director Juame Collet-Serra amps up the tension as Nancy’s leg grows an ever darker shade of purple with only a wounded seagull for company in a long and terrifying night. At it’s heart it really is all about Nancy with a solo survival theme much like 127 Hours or Buried. However Anthony Jaswinski’s script still delivers some edge of your seat scenes through Nancy’s numerous attempts at outwitting her predator as the ominous fin circles her, waiting to attack again.
For much of the film it feels like a straight faced thriller, and this is where The Shallows works best, in its middle section.
The Bad
There are times, however when it dips into a sillier, B-Movie style which, if you’re going in expecting something more realistic, which the film starts off suggesting with it’s found footage style opening, you may feel the final act slightly jarring. Even more jarring is its final scene which, without spoiling completely feels a little too unrealistic given where the film takes you.
The Ugly Truth
It’s not Jaws, but The Shallows can be a hoot, if you’re in the right mood for it. While it struggles to figure itself out fully, dipping into found-footage, thriller and B-Movie genres without managing to meld the three together, it’s thankfully never an issue for long enough to truly irritate with its 86 minute runtime.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Summer In The City 2016 YouTuber Interviews
Red Carpet News talks to YouTubers at Summer In The City 2016 YouTube fan convention in London, including Ricky Dillon, Noodlerella, Jamie Jo, Steven Bridges, Jedward, Jon Cozart aka Paint, Saffron Barker, Jake Mitchell and Bethan Leadley.
Summer in the City is an event for the YouTube community that is held in London each year. The event is for everyone with an interest in online video, whether they be creators, viewers, or industry professionals looking to gain more of an insight into the YouTube community.
Since its inception in 2009, Summer in the City has allowed attendees to network with one another and create valuable links, whilst also having the chance to learn and be entertained with Talks, Panels and live performances. These activities, combined with meet and greets, also allow the special guests to engage with viewers and personally thank them for all of their support over the years.
Check out the exclusive interviews below:
Musical Stars Join The Little Mermaid
Disney Studios are set on churning out more live action remakes of their animated classics, with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty getting the treatment recently and Emma Watson set to star in Beauty and the Beast next year. Now it appears that work is beginning on the Little Mermaid remake, with Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed to add their musical talent to the film.
Menken is no stranger to The Little Mermaid, having won two Oscars for his work on the animated classic back in 1989, and with Hamilton writer Miranda joining him, we’re sure to get some fantastic music. While it’s still in the very early stages of production, it feels like The Little Mermaid will soon start adding cast and a director. More news as we get it but while you wait, we can’t recommend listening to the Hamilton soundtrack enough while you wait for more Miranda material.
Lion Premieres At London Film Festival 2016
The 60th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is thrilled to announce that LION starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham and Nicole Kidman will be the American Express Gala at this year’s Festival. The film will receive its UK premiere on Wednesday 12 October at London’s Odeon Leicester Square, with Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman expected to attend.
Directed by Garth Davis, and adapted from Saroo Brierley’s engrossing memoir “A Long Way Home”. LION tells the true story of how a wrong train takes a five-year-old Indian boy hundreds of miles from home; he survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, haunted by memories of his childhood, he learns of a new technology called Google Earth, and sets out to find his lost family.
BFI London Film Festival Director, Clare Stewart says:
“We are delighted Garth Davis’ LION will be this year’s American Express Gala. This sweeping adaptation is a rousing tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit, and is more intricate in its texture, and more astounding in its narrative twists than most works of fiction.”
Garth Davis, director says:
“Whilst LION traverses many continents, it has a very special home here at the BFI London Film Festival and we are honoured to be a part of it. Dev Patel gave us everything for this story, and this being his home town, makes it deeply special.”
Dev Patel says
“LION is in essence, a story about mothers and sons and it’s a real honour for me to be in London among so many of my colleagues, friends and family to share this triumphant, immersive and visually breathtaking story.”
LION is a Weinstein Company presentation in association with Screen Australia, a See-Saw Films Production in association with Aquarius Films and Sunstar Entertainment. Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Fielder, executive producers are Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, David C Glasser, Andrew Fraser, Shahen Mekertichian and Daniel Levin.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express takes place from Wednesday 5 October-Sunday 16 October 2016. The Festival opens with Amma Asante’s A UNITED KINGDOM and closes with Ben Wheatley’s FREE FIRE. The full Festival programme will be announced on Thursday 1 September 2016.
Following a successful six year collaboration, the BFI announced in May this year, a continuation of the partnership between the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) and American Express, which will see them remain as Principal Sponsor and Preferred Payment Partner.
John Krasinski To Star In Jack Ryan Series
The Office star John Krasinski is set to follow the footsteps of Harrison Ford, Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck to become the new iteration of Jack Ryan for a series produced by Amazon. It looks like Krasinski, won’t be letting go of those impressive abs he built up for 13 Hours as he’ll no doubt need them for the 10 parter series.
While no release date has been announced yet, Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse will be working on the show with writer/producer Graham Roland. It also appears that the show won’t be taking material directly from Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels and instead will be placing the character in modern day settings as a CIA agent/analyst and will not be a continuation of the last time he graced our screens in 2014’s Shadow Recruit.
More news as always, when we get it but the show is expected to shoot in America, Europe and Africa with the current synopsis from Amazon: ‘The series follows Ryan as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale’.