Joe Thomas Rules Out Another Inbetweeners Sequel

The Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat comedy star Joe Thomas has firmly put an end to any lingering speculation that the enormous financial success of The Inbetweeners movies might eventually lead to another sequel despite the initial vocal reluctance of the series creators and cast to continue the franchise.

After the first big screen adventure for The Inbetweeners broke British box office records the shows creators and cast ultimately found it impossible to resist going back for a lucrative second film. However the series creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley were even more adamant that the series truly had ended this time.

After a few years fans may have wondered whether perhaps this determination to avoid pushing the franchise past yet another natural end point ma have weakened. Speaking to Red Carpet News at the East End Film Festival premiere of his new indie film The Darkest Universe, star Joe Thomas was quick to confirm that there really won’t ever be a third film.

“I think we’re not going to do a third! I think it was an amazing journey that we went on and we never expected it to get that far.  I think we’re all now ready to call it a day on that front. I think we’ve just run out of stories and anecdotes from that time of our lives. It was amazing and we were so grateful that we got to go along that far and it seems surreal we got to do it for that long. But I think it’s extremely unlikely we do something now, it was a great thing but it’s time to call it a day….

I think it was a bit like saying you can’t behave like that in adult life to be honest. There will come a point where you can’t be forgiven for this sort of behavior. I think they did want to put them in a bit of jeopardy. To say you’ll get out of your depth if you carry on like this. Those characters had to grow up at some point. I would say you can be a total idiot when you’re  teenage boy and everything will probably be okay. But you can’t really carry that on into your 20s and thirties. I think the film was maybe leading towards saying something along those lines.”

 Joe talking about his new indie film and the end of Fresh Meat below as well:

Preacher Episode Six Review

The Plot

Jesse finally comes face to face with DeBlanc and Fiore, and learns about the mysterious entity that has taken over his body.

The Good

This week’s episode of Preacher (entitled Sundowner) manages to be the most satisfying one yet in terms of questions being answered. With Jesse finally getting the answers we’ve all been wanting for 6 weeks now, DeBlanc and Fiore’s mission becomes even tougher thanks to Jesse using his power – which we now learn has a name, Genesis – to keep them at bay.

That’s jumping a bit forward though, because the magnificent fight sequence in the ten minute cold open is perhaps the biggest highlight of the episode which boasts many highlights. Not only does it give Jesse a chance to show off his fighting skills again, he also gets to work in a wickedly funny tag team with DeBlanc and Fiore as they try to wrestle an angel hunting them down while constantly getting killed off and reappearing in a flash of white. The best part of this whole sequence: the beautifully shot slow zoom out of the hole in the motel wall giving us less and less to see. While there’s still enough blood thrown around the screen, it’s what you don’t see that makes it work so well. And of course Cassidy has to turn up, complaining about ‘clones bloody clones!’

All this and we haven’t even moved past the opening credits and into the episode which brings the central characters ever closer – as well as a brilliant awkward aftermath of the bloody fight sequence with Cassidy citing Pulp Fiction. With Tulip and Emily bonding over their feelings towards Jesse, and Cassidy’s infatuation with Tulip throwing a potential spanner in the works which will no doubt become more prominent in the remaining episodes.

Meanwhile, poor Eugene is trying to get used to this strange new world in which he isn’t hated for his botched suicide attempt after Jesse last week worked his new power in Eugene’s favour. One particular scene in which some classmates try to befriend him and invite him to set off fireworks after school is heartbreakingly tense. As if that wasn’t bad enough though, now he seems to have been sent to hell thanks to Jesse’s recklessness with Genesis.

The Bad

After last week’s conclusion in which Odin Quincannon brutally murdered members of the Green Acre Group, assistant, Miles is trying desperately to come up with a plan to handle the situation. The plot doesn’t move forward much and suffers from a lack of Quincannon this episode but it looks to be on the right path for the last four episodes. It just needs to get there a bit quicker than it’s doing now.

The most disappointing part of this otherwise strong episode however, is its distinct lack of the Cowboy. Having only appeared twice now it’s a shock to see his absence in this episode and with a handful left this season, it’s hard to see just how he will work into the main storyline and when he does, if anyone will even care at this point…

The Ugly Truth

This week’s episode is without a doubt the most informative since perhaps the pilot. With Jesse now fully aware of Genesis and determined to keep the power inside him, the remaining three episodes will hopefully be much more intense, especially now that Eugene’s in Hell…

Review by Johnny Ellis

Battle Of The Sexes Andrea Riseborough Interview

British actress Andrea Riseborugh talks exclusively to Red Carpet News about working with Emma Stone on her new sporting drama Battle of The Sexes. The film directed by Jonathan Drayton & Valerie Faris is based upon the true story of the 1973 tennis match between world number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

Andre Riseborough plays Billie Jean Kings love interest Marilyn Barnett and spoke about feeling like she and Emma Stone were actually falling in love while working on the much anticipated drama. Steve Carrell also co-stars as flamboyant showboat Bobby Riggs

Now You See Me 2 Review

The Plot

Magical heroes the horseman find themselves drawn into a complicated game of deception when a reclusive criminal tech genius forces them out of hiding and into planning their most impossible heist yet.

The Good

After the surprisingly lucrative box office success of the first film a Now You See Me sequel was an absolute inevitability.  But at least fans of the first film’s finely talented ensemble cast will be delighted to see a nearly full collection of returning stars. The mere combined presence of stars like Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Morgan Freeman virtually ensures the film’s highly watchable quality.

Newcomer Lizzy Caplan makes a satisfying replacement for Isla Fisher, after the flame haired Australian actress was forced to miss out on returning for the sequel due to her real life pregnancy.  Caplan injects her own personality into a character that legitimately adds to the ensemble cast’s chemistry, rather than just feeling like an obligatory female presence. Caplan’s Lula provides frequent one liners and even the occasional spark of sexual tension, particularly with Dave Franco’s card slinging Jack Wilder.

Another new face clearly relishing a rare villainous role is Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe. In truth having the world most famous fictional wizard as the nemesis for a team of magicians is a particularly nice touch. It simultaneously feels like an obvious and ironically implausible casting choice. Sporting a beard and an accompaniment of thuggish henchman Radcliffe is actually an effectively obnoxious threat for our team of ‘magical’ heroes.

Combined with a few news faces the returning cast works its way effortlessly through a quick moving array of magical set pieces,  propelled though cat and mouse games of deception by Brian Tyler’s memorable score and competent direction from Jon M. Chu.

The Bad

Now You See Me 2 pulls essentially the same tricks as the first film, leading audiences through a series of increasingly implausible CGI enhanced illusion, whilst delivering heavy handed plot twists that are often far  easier for audiences to predict that the film seems to assume. Those left uninspired by the magic of the first film will find little new to change their minds a second time around.

As with many real life magicians, there is an underlying smug quality to all the main characters that inevitably permeates the tone of the film as a whole. The problem is that while in real life acts of skilful slight of hand and ingenuous trickery have the power to truly astound, on screen in a world knowingly built with special effects it’s actually far less impressive.

While the first film climaxed with its biggest magical reveal and a game changing plot twist, this second act struggles at times to make sense of the aftermath. In particular those excited by the possibilities of ‘The Eye’, the secret global society of master magicians using their powers for good introduced in the first film, may feel a little underwhelmed by some of the surprises in store behind that curtain. In fact many of the film’s key plot points seem largely driven by a determined desire to retain the entire cast of the first film. Clearly the filmmakers were reluctant to abandon any familiar faces, just in case that proved to have been the illusive secret of the first films expectation defying success.

In particular it’s hard to imagine a better example of a sequel seeking to give audiences ‘more of the same’, than this film having Woody Harrelson play dual roles as his own identical twin. Needlessly slapping a wig and silly voice on Harrelson to shamelessly double his screen time feels like a pointless distraction, particularly when the film never actual exploits this plot point in any of the obvious ways it could.

Overall the film stretches out the franchises core concept that elaborate stage magic is somehow an essential tool for combating global financial and technological evils, further straining credibility and testing just how much audiences actually like card tricks.

The Ugly Truth

Fans of the first film will welcome a second act the combines the established characters with a bigger budget and more elaborately choreographed set pieces. With another sequel already happening, those less dazzled by the franchise’s slick stage magic will be hoping the franchise finds something a bit better hiding up its sleeve next time.

Review by Russell Nelson

 

David Brent Lady Gypsy Music Video

Ricky Gervais has released  a gloriously cringe full music video for Lady Gypsy. The track sees his Office alter-ego and pop star wannabe David Brent  crooning in the woods about a romantic encounter with a ‘Lady Gypsy’. Guitar in hand and obnoxious goatee in place it’s definitely a sign of embarrassments to come in the feature length David Brent movie.