Thursday 13 May 2010

Excitement Grows For Toy Story 3


Excitement is beginning to grow at the impending release of Toy Story 3 which will be released on the 18th June this year in 3D, with people of all ages expected to flock to see the long awaited sequel to Toy Story 2 (1999). The latest trailer has uncovered much of the plot line which has been a closely guarded secret up until now.

Toy Story 3 is set 10 years in the future when Andy, owner of the toys, is 18 years old and heading off to collage. As a result the toys are now worried about where their future now lies. The trailer then shows the toys being donated to a nearby daycare centre where they meet the likes of Ken the doll and Lotso, a teddy bear. The gang then find themselves in a struggle to escape from the daycare centre and get back home to Andy before he leaves for Collage.

Probably the most interesting aspect of Toy Story's release is the fact that it will not just appeal to those younger children but it will also appeal to those who have a fond memory of seeing the film when they were younger and are sentimental about seeing the film.

When we think that Pixar has given us so many memorable films, films like Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and WALL-E there can be little doubt that this film won't disappoint its fans and with summer ahead of us we can add Toy Story 3 to a list of things to be exited about!




Lord Of The Rings- Blu-Ray Review



The Lord Of The Rings- will we ever see a better trilogy of films ever made. I loved everything about what Peter Jackson conjured up almost 10 years ago now, in my opinion they were quite simply some of the best films ever made. And now, as if the trilogy wasn't already a treat to the eyes, we now have a release on glorious Blu-Ray.


The results are extraordinary, amazing picture quality, incredible sound makes a superb package. The films, which can be purchased on their own or as a box set, are the theatrical cuts so we won't be seeing any of the extended cuts which I felt were a bit unnecessarily long. On top of that you get the special features that were all included in the original DVD release including commentaries, making of documentaries and interviews.

It is no surprise to me that the trilogy's transfer over to Blu-Ray has made the films even better, if you could imagine such a thing! So whether you have recently purchased a Blu-Ray player or you've owned one for a while this trilogy is worthy of a place in anyones collection.

Watch the Blu-Ray trailer now!

Is This The Worst Film Ever Made?


Now I'm sure a lot of us have films in mind that we consider to be truly awful, whether it be the ridiculous 10,000 BC by Roland Emmerich or Jaws 4, the third and most pointless sequel to Spielberg's masterpiece. But the film that is generally considered to be the worst film ever made, a film that is so bad it's almost good is the 1959 sci-fi Plan 9 From Outer Space directed by Edward. D. Wood, Jr.

There are many reasons why this film is considered one of the worst of all time, possibly the most important factor being the fact that the films star Bela Lugosi died after only a few shots were made, so his part in the film was made up of doubles posing as him as well as using the few seconds of footage Lugosi actually starred in!

Plan 9 is often criticized for its poor special effects, for example when we are shown a shot of the flying saucer you can clearly see it wobbling back and forth on the bit of string holding it up whilst a shadow of the saucer is cast of the space backdrop. Even Thunderbirds would reject this!

Other memorable mistakes include a pilot who is clearly reading the script off his lap and the shadow of a microphone showing on back of the set. On top of this the laughable dialogue makes the film worthy of taking the 'worst film ever made' title.

Because this film has so many mistakes it has gained a cult status and for that reason i would actually recommend you having a look at it as an example of how NOT to make a film!

Take a look at the hilarious trailer below for a taste!

New James Bond Delayed

Fans of British super-spy James Bond will now have to wait even longer to see 007 return to our screens as MGM announced that the latest adventure, Bond 23, has been delayed with the company citing financial issues.

A statement by MGM read: "Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on BOND 23 indefinitely. We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release of BOND 23"

The news will come as a huge disappointment to those who were looking forward to seeing Daniel Craig resume his role after two critically acclaimed performances in Casino Royal and Quantum Of Solace in which he portrayed a much tougher but flawed Bond who can make mistakes.

Production appeared to be heading in the right direction when a team of writer were hired in 2009 to begin work on what they described would be a 'shocking story' but little else was given away. In spite of rumors Daniel Craig is expected to reprise his role as the secret agent as he is contracted to make another two. But for now Bond fans will be forced to wait a little longer to see the next installment but in the mean time it may be worth looking back at some of his previous adventures, after all there are 22 already made.

If you didn't get the chance to Craig's debut in Casino Royal, take a look at this trailer!


Wednesday 12 May 2010

Avatar- DVD Review


There can be no doubt that James Cameron's epic Avatar is one of the visually brilliant films that has ever hit our screens and there can be no doubt that Avatar had the best 3-D ever seen in a film. But a lot of you are probably wondering whether the whole experience of Avatar can transfer to DVD without the aid of 3-D. The answer to that question is yes.

3-D or no 3-D, Avatar is a gorgeous film that will look superb even on the oldest of T.V's. Yes, I can accept that missing out on seeing 3-D may sound a little disappointing but this film boasts some of the best CGI's ever seen. Avatar is still well worth a watch.

Now for some of the more more disappointing aspects: the dvd has no special features whatsoever; no making-of documentary, no commentaries and no deleted scenes. How odd? It seems Mr. Cameron will be holding out for another dvd release which will have special feature! As if Avatar didn't make enough money from its cinema release (especially considering its being released in cinemas again very soon).

If you didn't get the chance to see the film in the cinemas Avatar comes highly recommended, if you put aside the cheesy story-line and unobtainium (those who have seen the film will know what I'm talking about) but for those who are looking to expand on the experience they got from cinema may be a little disappointed by the complete lack of special features and will probably have to wait untill a later release.

Robin Hood set for Release


The eagerly anticipated adaptation of Robin Hood is finally hitting our screens this Friday with the film being billed as one of the must see blockbusters of the summer. Robin Hood once again reunites director Ridley Scott and Hollywood star Russell Crow, their most noticeable collaboration being Gladiator which came out in 2000.


It has been announced that Robin Hood's first screening will be at the world famous Cannes Film Festival which opens on the 12th May and will subsequently be opened nationwide in France on the same day before being given a world wide release on the 14th. Despite all the surrounding excitement that the film has generated it is hard to believe that at one point there were doubts over whether the film would go ahead as back in 2008 filming had been delayed due to a revision of scripts, plot lines and casting. At one point Robin Hood was due to have Russell Crow staring as both Robin Hood and villain the Sheriff of Nottingham.


Robin Hood is the fifth collaboration between Ridley Scott and Russell Crow and in a recent interview Scott described his relationship with Crow "Russell and I are very similar... He's angry all the time and I'm angry all the time as well. We don't mean to be irritable but we don't suffer fools gladly". Ridley Scott's latest film looks set to be an all action summer blockbuster that details the birth of the legend that is Robin Hood.

Watch the trailer now!

Tuesday 11 May 2010

How 'Schindlers List' changed Steven Spielberg


Up until the early 90’s, Steven Spielberg was acclaimed as being a great escapist director whos films were just fantasy based and were nothing more than just a good watch but it all changed in 1993 when Spielberg came up with ‘Schindlers List’ a film which changed the course for the director who went from having a disney-esque feel to becoming a serious thought provoking director. This article follows how the film changed peoples perception of Steven Spielberg.


Half an hour into ‘Schindler’s List, the highly emotional epic detailing the horror that was the Holocaust you completely forget that this is directed by the same man that gave us a film starring a whip-cracking archaeologist chasing after the Holy Grail. This film is undoubtedly one of the most powerful films ever made, no joke, but perhaps the most surprising part of this production is that Spielberg has directed it and directed it good. Upon hearing the news that Spielberg would make a film based on one of the most shocking events in history I was a bit sceptical as to how a man who is, at this point, famous for his escapism type films like ‘Close Encounters’, ‘E.T Extra Terrestrial’ and the ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy was going to approach making this film because despite Spielberg’s undoubted talent he just didn’t seem to fit the bill. Then I saw the film.


I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of it all: how Spielberg put you right in the middle of the action, I was in awe of the decision to put the film almost entirely in black and white: giving the film a documentary feel. After sitting through this film I was left thinking ‘Wow, if Spielberg didn’t get an Oscar for that then he never will’, thankfully he did. I was surprised to learn that this was his first award for best director despite being nominated three times previously for ‘Close Encounters’, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘E.T’ he has always been beaten to the award. I was left perplexed as to how for instance ‘Jaws’, for all it’s nail-biting, adrenalin-filled action was never acclaimed for it’s masterful directing. I was baffled at how ‘Close Encounters’, a film most remembered for its fantastic stand-out images was never been given the coveted Best Director award. Why? Despite being very different in almost every way, ‘Close Encounters’ and ‘Schindler’s List’ are both, I feel, worthy of similar acclaim.


Of course it was ‘Schindlers List’ that was the first of Spielberg’s more serious films, who could forget the harrowing war time film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ or even a more recent attempt ‘Munich’. So maybe Spielberg realised that to be taken seriously as a director he would have to break the mould and do something bold, controversial and different to have his film recognised, which probably tells us that as an audience that we like to see a lot more risqué films that are out the ordinary, films that don’t follow the obvious Hollywood narrative because, believe me, with ‘Schindlers List’ is probably Hollywood’s finest hour and it doesn’t even feel like a Hollywood film.