The Mogul's Blog:
10 May 2018 - To Infinity and Beyond
Let's cut to the chase here. There is no question what is this week's big film. After a decade of build-up the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally gambled on it's first major multi-character crossover event (okay okay, Civil War was a kinda dry run but outside of the airport sequence it was incredibly restrained compared to this.) More important for us at Castle Mogul, every supervillain's favourite angry dad, Thanos, finally gets off the couch to sort out this whole Avengers problem himself. This weeks we have been mostly laughing at that film's witty banter and especially laughing at all the children weeping uncontrollably at [REDACTED]. Our review is below, along with some of the latest film news and previews.
Give it a read as if the fate of the universe depended on it. Because you clicking these links are as easy as me clicking my fingers...
Give it a read as if the fate of the universe depended on it. Because you clicking these links are as easy as me clicking my fingers...
Reviews:
Our first post is for Avengers: Infinity War. No further description should be necessary. We have given it a rather extensive review for your reading pleasure (don't worry, it's Spoiler Free if you haven't seen the film yet). Click the below image for our thoughts on whether it lives up to the hype:
Also in cinemas right now is another action blockbuster which, although it can't compete in scale of cast, can certainly compete in size of cast! Yes, of course, we're talking about Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and his even larger animal co-stars in the completely daft Rampage. Click the below picture to read our review below:
If you prefer your science fiction and action to be of a more subtle, cerebral and unsettling kind then you'd probably prefer the first film to be included in our new Home Viewing Review section. Alex Garland's brain-numbing Annihilation is an a beautiful, psychedelic journey into the ugliness inside ourselves. Or is it? Who knows? We try to solve this oddly fascinating puzzle of a film in our review below. Give it a read and let us know your own interpretations in the comments.
In Cinemas:
It's fairly quiet for new films right now as all the coming releases are fleeing to the hills in fear of the combined might of The Avengers. Thankfully there are still a couple of alternative choices out there for those of you who are fed up with the oversaturation of superheroics on screen.
First of all is Tully. From screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman (the team who created Juno and Young Adult) comes a very different approach to the idea of motherhood than their quirky debut. It looks like a bitingly honest drama comedy about the strains and stresses of parenthood (and another great role for Charlize Theron) and could be the perfect salve for exhausted mums (and dads) who are letting Marvel watch the kids for a couple of hours for them in the next screen. Click the below poster for the trailer.
Also currently on release is I Feel Pretty, the latest comedy from Amy Schumer. It has a brilliant premise in the idea that it follows the tropes of a typical 'body swap' comedy but that the 'magical inciting incident' is merely a head injury and that the 'change' that the lead character goes through is an entirely a delusion. Since the imaginary transformation is that of a fairly average woman believing herself to become a stunningly beautiful supermodel then this gives the film the perfect potential to satirise the shallowness of society and the unfair standards of beauty expected of women. Unfortunately it looks more interested in cheap jokes and sitcom level shenanigans. We're not sold, to be honest. The trailer is below, however if you want to make up your own mind.
For kids theres also Sherlock Gnomes. We could tell you more about it, but come on: it's the sequel to Gnomeo & Juliet, it's called Sherlock Gnomes, what do you need? A roadmap?
Newest Trailers:
Since our last update we have been spoiled for choice with new trailers for big movies.
Firstly we have the new trailer for Jurassic World. Somehow this trailer looks like a completely different film to that advertised in their last one. Thankfully there seems to be much more plot to deal with than in previous previews although they still seem to think we are much more interested in the wellbeing of Owen Grady's (Chris Pratt) pet velociraptor Blue than we are. Pratt at least gets and enjoyably dickish line delivery in this one but this all feels oddly reminiscent of Jurassic Park: The Lost World and not necessarily in a good way.
The marketing for Deadpool 2, much like the first film, has been a masterclass of viral weirdness which maybe threatens to overshadow the film it's in service to. From painting like Bob Ross, dueting with Celine Dion and, now, apologising to David Beckham, Deadpool has been all over our screens doing random nonsense to garner our attention. However, if you want actual footage from the actual film being released later this month you are best served by the final trailer for the film where we finally get a decent look his new gang of accomplices: The X Force.
After the dramatic twists and shocks of Avengers: Infinity War, it's hard to imagine Marvel fans enjoying a silly caper movie like Ant Man before seeing the next Avengers film to finally give them some closure. However that is exactly what Disney are expecting them to do with the release of Ant Man and The Wasp. Still, this trailer looks fairly fun, the film's title implies that Evangeline Lilly's Wasp has been upgraded from a disappointing supporting role to a more interesting co-lead and Michael Pena's Luis appears to be prominently featured too (which, to be honest, is all we really want from an Ant Man movie). Wipe the tears, Avengers fans.
Sticking to comic-book character's we also have a new trailer for the Tom Hardy starring Venom movie. Despite there already being a teaser trailer out there we still found it hard to accept that this film was real and not some elaborate prank. This time we finally see Hardy morph into the sharp tooth monster/hero confirming that yes, this is actually happening but it doesn't look any less daft and dull than we'd feared. We also get to see Riz Ahmed's fairly generic seeming villain and a brief sight of Michelle Williams who appears to be wasted in a typical 'love interest' role. Hopefully it's merely a poor trailer and there's a bit more going on in the actual film than this clip implies. Elongated symbiotic fingers crossed.
And finally we have the new teaser trailer which has just dropped for the latest Predator movie, this time simply called The Predator. Directed by Shane Black (who played Hawkins in the original Predator in 1987!) this sequel features an interesting cast including Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Alfie Allen. We can't say we're too excited by this trailer but Shane Black knows how to make a good action movie so hopefully he'll pull this one off too.
Other News:
It's been a busy couple of weeks in the film world since our last update. Unfortunately we have to start with some news of the tragic kind. Legendary film editor Anne V. Coates has sadly passed away at age 92. With a career spanning six decades she worked on such varied a varied selection of films as The Elephant Man, Masters of the Universe and Out of Sight. She will probably best be remembered for her Oscar winning work on Lawrence of Arabia which features one of the very best, most influential and well...literal match cuts in film history.
After Bill Cosby was finally found guilty for all three counts of indecent assaults at his latest trial, the Academy has now officially confirmed that the will be ejecting him from the institution. They also took this opportunity to confirm that disgraced director Roman Polanski will also be removed. (Which mainly inspired surprise at the fact that he was somehow still a member after all these years.) Polanski has already threatened to sue the Academy for this statement and complained about their 'lack of due process' (a somewhat ironic statement from a man fleeing criminal charges in a foreign country.) He also went on to make derisive comments about the #MeToo movement as if just to confirm that the Academy is making the correct decision. Good riddance.
The big sequel news this week is that the rumours are true and a third 'Bill and Ted' is definitely going to happen after both Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have signed onto the project. To explain the actors change in appearance, the film will be set 30 years after Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and will be named 'Bill and Ted Face The Music.' I'm not sure what would be more depressing, if the lovably dim Bill S Preston and Ted 'Theodore" Logan have grown up and become responsible adults or if they somehow haven't? Still, we're hopeful that the film will still find some of the joyous spirit that made the first two films so watchable even if we're saddened by the idea of sequel without George Carlin's Rufus in it.
On the subject of actors returning to roles long after ageing out of them, Sylvester Stallone has also released the surprise announcement that he will be once again be returning to the role of John Rambo for yet another gun-toting and, most likely confusingly titled Rambo sequel. When the fourth Rambo movie was released in 2008 the filmmakers distracted from, the, then 61 year old, Stallone's advanced age by increasing the violence in the film to gloriously cartoonish level. Hopefully they'll take the same tack this time and, since Rambo is expected to be going up against a Mexican drug cartel in this instalment, it seems quite likely. (That said, we're still slightly sad we never got that rumoured sequel where Rambo is hired to hunt down an unstoppable, genetically engineered monster. No really, that almost happened.)
Speaking of unexpected sequels appearing long after anyone expected, Jack Black recently announced that himself and his Tenacious D bandmate, Kyle Glass, will be appearing in a sequel to their 2006 movie spin-off 'The Pick of Destiny.' At current there is no title or details of how, or why, this is happening or if Dave Grohl will be returning to his role as the Devil in it. You have been warned.
When we first heard rumours of an English language remake of John Woo's bullet ballet classic The Killer, we were not looking forward to the idea. What director out there could really do justice to the guns and doves mayhem of early Woo? It turns out the only director up for the challenge of matching John Woo is... um... John Woo! Yes, it appears that the Hong Kong action legend will be revisiting his own movie and trying to bring it to a new audience. Also to avoid accusations that this remake will be a redundant exercise it appears that this new version will have it's own style and story as this time the title role (previously played by Chow Yun-Fat) will now be taken on by Lupita Nyong'o.
While on the subject of Lupita Nyong'o, she has also currently in talks to star in (Get Out writer-director) Jordan Peele's new project, another thriller (or 'nightmare' in Peele's own words) going by the mysterious title 'Us.' Elizabeth Moss and (Nyong'o's Black Panther co-star) Winston Duke are also rumoured to be attached.
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) May 9, 2018And finally:
Once again we'd like to give a shout-out to our more audio-focussed rivals at the Raptors In The Kitchen podcast.
This week they share their thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War as well as Batman Ninja and, in a shocking attempt to garner themselves free swag, Jaffa Cakes. Give them a listen.
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