2012 - A Big Year For Movies

2012. Many people may associate this year as the end of the world, or if you live in the UK it is the year of the London Olympics. But for me this is the year for movie nerds everywhere! Next year is the year for cinema, will it finally get back on track with more people going to it? If the films that are coming out next year are anything to go by, then hopefully. Here are my top 10 anticipated films of 2012! And no The Dark Knight Rises is not first!:

10. Chronicle
Chronicle is a found footage film which actually looks different this year! As many of you know, I love superheroes and this film is about three boys who gain super powers. A found footage superhero movie, what more can I say?
9. War Horse
I am a big fan of the book which I read a couple of years ago, and if anyone could adapt it too the big screen it's Steven Spielberg! Even the author has commended it! I want to see this film!
8. Gangster Squad
I love period gangster dramas, and this one has Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone in it! I can't wait!
7. Prometheus
The Alien prequel or spin off film trailer was released last week and looks amnazing! Time to get the watch the Alien Box set I Think!
6. The Muppets
Unless your American this film has not come out yet! And I have to wait till February to see it! Painful but worth the wait by the sounds of it. I love the muppets!
5. The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey
Being a big fan of The Lord of The Rings trilogy how could I not be excited about this one! Love the idea of Peter Jackson upping the frames per second to create amazing 3D. The Trailer came out last week and it looks incredible!
4. The Hunger Games
As you already know I'm a a massive fan of the books and cannot wait to see them adapted for the big screen. I'm hoping it isn't too Twilight but by the looks of the trailer it looks amazing and quite emotional too.
3. The Dark Knight Rises
Who is not excited about this one? The trailer was amazing as suspected and in Nolan we trust!
2. The Avengers
I have been waiting for this film since the closing credits of Iron Man and cannot wait for this film to finally be here! With Joss Whedon on the directors chair this is certain to be one hell of a movie!
1. The Amazing Spider-Man
Yes it is the half man half spider who tops my list! Being a massive fan of the man in red I cannot wait for this film. Marc Webb is a brilliant director and Andrew Garfield is one of the greatest actors of our time. This is sure to amazing! They have gone a little bit darker and have added The Lizard to the mix, cannot wait! Lots of people hating this film because its telling the origin again or because they like Tobey Maguire, Personally Tobey was a great Peter Parker but unlike Andrew Garfield he is not Peter Parker!

And that concludes my top 10 most anticipated films of 2012. I hope you agree! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and I will blog my review of 2011 before 2012... hopefully!

Some Of My Film Work

So I haven't really blogged about my own film work yet and if you have read my profile you will have seen that I am a budding filmmaker. I haven't actually made any full feature films yet as I am studying my A-Levels and hoping to do a film course at University next year.

Last year though I did make a film trailer for my coursework called Experiment 66. The trailer was for a made up film I had created which was like Twilight for men, as it has a bromance instead of a romance. And everyone loves a good bromance! I also am editing footage from my school play The Wizard of Oz to make a DVD. I went in to some of the rehearsals to make a trailer though. You can see both the trailers bellow! Experiment 66 is on Vimeo so click the link to go see that one. The school production one has no sound due to copyright issues.

Experiment 66 Trailer








I do however have two short films that are being made, here are the ideas:

Broken Hearts

A found footage film that puts a twist on the romance genre. The film starts with a boy being run over by a car, we then go backward through the footage on his video camera to see a relationship between him and and a girl. We see that the boy had just been in an argument with his girlfriend before his death.

Snow Dream

This is film about a young boy who dreams of himself in a winter wonderland. The concept does not sound very exciting but it is going to be set to a soundtrack of The Killers songs. The things that happen during his dream are all inspired by the music and I want it to be almost like a tribute to the amazing band!

Hope you like my work and ideas and hopefully you might be able to see the short films early next year!

Would You Like The Good News Or The Bad New First?

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I have had a lot of work to do recently, not that you guys care anyway I'm sure. But my hasn't there been a lot of news recently!

Good News
. The Dark Knight Rises prologue is supposed to be amazing!
. Posters for the new Batman and Spider-Man films have come out and also look amazing!
. Hugo is also supposed to be amazing! (need to see it soooooo badly!)
. First reviews of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo say it is mind blowing stuff!

Bad News
. American Psycho is being remade!?!?!?!?!
. So is Starship Troopers!
. Zac Efron looks like a terrible soldier in that new yucky romance film coming out next year.
. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is going to be an 18 so I am going to have to wait a month till I can see it!
. Battleship looks just as crap as expected, don't check out the awful trailer! (though the effects look ok)

So here are the two posters for two of the most anticipated movies next year. And no they were not produced by the same company! Even though it does look that way. a lot of people have been whining saying the Spider-Man is copying Batman's advertising but it did come out a day earlier and personally I prefer it as I am a bigger fan of the character and it was an unexpected twist in advertising. I suspected The Dark Knight Rises poster might have looked like that. Though don't check out the banners for The Amazing Spider-Man as they kind of make the advertising team look like they don't know what kind of film they are tyring to sell. Both awesome and both very hard decisions as to which one will be my iPod background?

Heres for the worst new I've heard in a while! AMERICAN PSYCHO IS BEING REMADE!?!?! WHY????? The first film was awesome and has massive cult following and nobody can play Bateman like Bale did! Not happy at all, i could go on forever but I told myself to keep this short.

Thanks for reading guys! Follow me on Twitter if you haven't already and follow my blog!

Love to all those who have read!

An Amazing Looking Remake!?

No I am not a big fan of remakes. I find that Hollywood just can't come up with anything original anymore or Americans can not read subtitles. Don't get me wrong i would prefer to watch a film without subtitles but if it is a good foreign film then you should give it credit, subtitles or not. I am a big fan of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo book and its follow ups and I was a really big fan of the Swedish film (with subtitles!).

So when I heard that Hollywood were looking to remake it 'American Style' I wasn't too impressed! Most remakes have a pretty bad track record. But I got even angrier at Hollywood at the Oscars where the film (which they loved so much they are going to turn it into a remake) had no recognition or nominations at all! I was fuming! I can feel myself getting a bit angry now.

But the I hear that David Fincher, a legend in the directing world and one of personal favourites, is going to making it I felt much better!

But then the casting. Who could match Noomi Rapace's Lisbeth Salander!? I was secretly hoping she would work on the remakes as well but dreams don't always come true. Then Rooney Mara was cast. The girl from the terrible remake of The Nightmare on Elm Street! The girl who had a 5 minute role in The Social Network. I wasn't happy at all. Even when the pictures of her in character were released, I still wasn't convinced.

But there was a silver lining in the casting department! Daniel Craig was cast as Mikael Blomkvist! Which I think was perfect casting as he suits the role so well! So something to be happy about!

So next came the poster, which had some controversial nudity. But this made me a little bit happier as that meant that David Fincher was not going to hold out on some of the horrific themes that are portrayed in the book, something the Swedish film looked at well but not in much detail.

Then came the teaser trailer. The soundtrack was amazing. The editing was amazing. And it really got you buzzed 'The feel bad movie of Christmas'. LOVE IT!

Then came the full trailer. And it still looks amazing, and Rooney Mara took the role on head first and really looks like she has done a great job, which I was surprised. Daniel Craig also looked awesome, though I was a little confused as to why he had a no Swedish accent like the characters did? And dare I say it... I actually think this film looks better then the Swedish version!

And from the 8 minute extended trailer I just watched, this film definitely looks like it's going to be very true to the books!

I ma very excited about this film! And cannot wait for it to be released on Boxing Day! But unfortunately the film is most likely to be rated an 18, so I will have to wait until January before I will be able to see it. But as soon as I turn 18 I will run out of the house and catch the first bus to the cinema!

Superhero Leaks!

So the last couple of a days have been full of supposed 'leaks' of superhero films; The Amazing Spider-man & The Dark Knight Rises. I will start by saying that I am looking forward to these films so much and have been enjoying reading all the gossip around them. And there has been a lot of pictures and supposed details leaked from the new batman film which is strange for director Chris Nolan to allow this to happen, Because usually he is quite strict on what is revealed as he likes the audience to watch his films without knowing a thing. But I reckon its all part of his plan. In Nolan we trust!

So we know the villain for the new Spider-man reboot film is going to be The Lizard, but until recently the look for the creature has been kept under wraps. Until it was revealed via PEZ Dispenser!

So yes this isn't really a great look but I believe there was a lot of hate for the look? It's a PEZ dispenser guys!? Personally I think it looks pretty awesome! So the next day, there was another supposed 'leak' of concept art of the comic book villain. I say supposed because I believe that Sony were probably pretty mad a PEZ for releasing the image before they had given the fans something better to look at, and due to the bad press it was getting they probably 'accidently' released the concept art to help calm fan boys down.

So more positive reaction to this but again had fans divided. I again personally think it looks amazing and just what I was hoping for, but could do with more of a snout. BUT again this is just concept art, so who knows what could happen. Hopefully an official movie image will be released soon or 'leaked' but until then we'll just have to assume it will be awesome. I definitely recommend watching some of Andrew Garfield previous films, he really is a great actor and will fit into the part of Peter Parker well!

So on to The Dark Knight Rises, a synopsis has been released of the prologue, which will have a look at the new villain Bane. Here is the synopsis: (SPOILERS)

"Bane and his mercenaries hijack a military plane transporting a dictator of a country which is in unrest (think Saddam Hussein type figure).

'He successfully kills the leader, but makes some mistakes along the way and is unable to safely land the plane.

'Because of the resulting injuries from the accident, he has to undergo complicated surgeries and that is how he winds up with that scar down his neck and the need for the mask to numb the pain.'

The source goes on to describe Bane's origin story as reimagined by Nolan.

"'He is raised by Ra’s al Ghul [Bruce Wayne's old mentor] and his up bringing mirrors that of Bruce Wayne.

'It’s a mirror of Bruce, except it’s darker and twisted. Bane is trained to be an assassin for the League of Shadows.

'He kills political figures that are deemed unfit by the LOS. So he is a bit of a Che Guevara/ Jason Bourne type character.'

 

So yeah, sounds pretty awesome! I don't know whether it will be as good as Heath Ledgers prologue as The Joker but only time will tell as it will soon hit 5 IMAX cinemas in the UK before the start of Mission Impossible 4. So if your lucky enough to see it at one of the 5 I'm sure you'll love it but for the rest of us I guess we'll just have to wait until its 'leaked' online!

 

Thanks for reading! If you like my blog please recommend to friends as it would be good to get some readers! Please comment and follow me on twitter @SuperAlexMan .

50/50

So today I went to see the film 50/50 in the cinema. The film, inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease When I first heard about this film I was a little bit worried as to whether they would be able to pull off the whole subject of cancer and mixing it with comedy. When I saw the trailer earlier this year I thought, actually this could be really good if done well. My Grandad actually died of cancer when I was younger so I was really intrigued into how this film would make me feel. So I went to see it...

And it was extremely good! The contrast of comedy and sadness was done well enough to have you laughing one moment and crying the next, and sometimes laughing and crying at the same time. Joseph Gordon - Levitt plays Adam the character who is diagnosed with cancer and his performance was completely believable and one of his best yet. If he does not get and Oscar nomination or even a win for the role I will be surprised! Even though the Oscars don't always get along with comedy movies too much.

I can't fault this film at all really, all I can say is that I would have liked to have seen more of Seth Rogen's character who wasn't in it as much as I thought he would be. I think if he did have more screen time, it would have been his best role to date. I would have also liked to have seen more of the relationship between Adam and his father who had Alzheimer's, which wasn't mentioned much in the film. But apart from a few little niggles the film was practically perfect, the cinematography and soundtrack were brilliant!

As someone who has lost a relative to Cancer I can say that this film deals with the subject realistically and there isn't one bit where you think they are making fun of cancer at all. One of the best films this year and I really hope it gets some Oscar attention that it thoroughly deserves.

Crazily, not stupid, very lovely film!

So yesterday I finally got round to watching a film I have been waiting eagerly to see, Crazy, Stupid, Love. And I will start by saying that it was brilliant! The plot is quite complicated but don't be put off! It's about a man named Cal (Steve Carell) who is going through a divorce with his wife, whilst in a drunken depressed state he meets ladies man Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who helps turn his love life back around by helping him meet new women and become a bit of a player. Now Dan's son has fallen in love with his babysitter but the babysitter is in love with Dan. Still with me? Jacob soon falls for Hannah (Emma Stone) and Dan starts wanting his wife back but she is now seeing David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). Take a deep breath. Ok.

So it all sounds kind of complicated but actually works really well, with a such a large cast some characters don't have a much time as would have hoped especially Emma Stone's character who is hilariously awkward when she is about to sleep with Jacob, but apart from that it is really well written. Which is surprising considering the writer Dan Fogelman previously wrote kids films Cars and Tangled.

The film feels a bit like American Beauty and The 40 Year Old Virgin combined at points and that is no bad thing at all! The great thing about this film is that even though it is a romcom us guys can actually sit throughout all of it without being forced by our girlfriends and wives! Finally a romcom that appeals to both males and females.

I love a good romcom that is unique and appeals to a wide audience, (500) Days Of Summer did it very well! The directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have tried this new 'hybrid' genre before with I Love You Phillip Morris, which personally for me was pretty awful. So now they have finally redeemed themselves with this funny and emotional look on adult relationships.

And if that isn't enough to persuade you to see it, these two words may... Ryan Gosling.

The Hunger Games & a hangover!

So this is now my second posting and this time I will go straight into things with a look at the recent Hunger Games trailer and my view on The Hangover Part 2.

So first of all The Hunger Games trailer, now I am a big fan of the books and think if they are made correctly on the big screen they could be awesome, and be the answer to our post Potter blues. Now we were giver a tiny teaser trailer a couple of months ago but lets face it, for people who don't know anything about the film it was pretty crap. So when I heard there was going to be a full one released I was quickly live streaming Good Morning America on my laptop to see it. And what a good morning it was! Well afternoon for me living in the UK. I loved the trailer and that is a good thing, because there is a massive chance that they could have made this film a Twilight film. And we don't need anymore of those! But thankfully first impressions show that the studio haven't butchered the books and look set for making the next big teen franchise. Now the film is set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match. Now the books were amazing and actually some of the best I've read and even though it is teenage fiction there are many underlying adult themes such as capitalism and poverty and this really does make it a very powerful series of books. The trailer looks at the vents before the games so thankfully it doesn't give too much away but gives enough away to make me scream 'YES THAT LOOKS FREAKIN AWESOME!' And trust me, I really am happy at what it looks like so far! The only thing I was a bit disappointed in not seeing was whether the violence was watered down too much within the games, because this is film where kids fight each other to the death. And obviously the institution don't want to cut out there target audience and make it a 15. So I'm just hoping that with seemingly less strict rules on what children should be allowed to see will allow some of the gritty violence in the book to be portrayed on screen. I do however like the casting very much, most importantly Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss because she really is superb actress. Not to sure about Liam Hemsworth but that's only down to his previous movies, because he might actually be awesome in the role, just like his big bro as Thor! Also director Gary Ross has a pretty good film history with Pleasantville and Big so hopefully the film should be amazing. But why don't you take a look for yourself and tell me what you think! The trailer actually gave me goosebumps so I think that's a sign of greatness!

Now onto my review of The Hangover Part 2. Now before I start I must say I really really loved the first film, because it was something different, unexpected and best of all very, very funny! So I though could they really make an awesome sequel to what looked like a stand alone film? And my answer is...no. Set two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu's wedding. Stu's plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry. 

The great thing about the first was that it was unpredictable and audiences were on the edges of their seats throughout. With the second it looks as if they copy and pasted the winning formula of the first and tweaked stuff around to say it was 'original'. And it didn't work, everything was predictable and some of it really wasn't that funny. I mean some bits were great especially the character of Stu played by the brilliant Ed Helms but apart from that, the rest was a bit boring. Now apparently they are going to make a third (that's Hollywood for ya!) and if rumours are to be true the gang may be off to Berlin, which could be a laugh as long as the scriptwriters don't just copy and paste again!

Anyway, if your reading this thanks a lot. Please tell your friends about my blog, it would be nice to have some followers! But  until next time please comment bellow!

Alex

First Film Post

Hello, I'm Alex and this is my first blog. As you can tell from the title it is a film blog. In my blogs I will be writing about the latest film news and my opinions on them. I will also be reviewing a wide range of films and maybe I'll look at some TV shows. But for my first blog I wasn't sure what I should write about So I thought maybe I would let you get to know me more and share with you my top ten films! My top ten films are in no particular order and I'm sorry if you don't agree with them but I will give you my reasons why also. Here they are:

- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I love this film! It is a love story in reverse and is one of the most beautiful and emotional films I have ever seen! Michel Gondry uses practical effects to turn this into one of the most interesting and intriguing films ever. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet deliver one of there best performances on screen. This is also one of Jim Carrey's more serious roles and it proves that the rubber faced actor can act!

- Fight Club
Where do I start with this film! One of the most amazing films ever made and David Fincher's best film to date. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star in this shocking, violent and crazy film, which shows Edward Norton's character struggle through his life with insomnia until he meets soap maker Tyler Durden. I won't spoil the twist for anyone but it is really a mind boggler! Davind Fincher is one of my favourite directors and this really is one of my favourite films. A true classic!

- Kick Ass
The ultimate (wannabe) superhero movie ever? This really is a brilliant film. It has a really good comic book indie feel to it and is every comic book fans dream! Personally I think its Nicholas Cage's best performance to date and who didn't fall in love with the sweary, violent Hit-Girl after watching this film? This film lives up to it's name and Kicks Ass!

- The Godfather
This is many peoples favourite film (including my mum). I only got round to watching it last year but entered my top ten instantly! Two words! Marlon. Brando.

- Iron Man
 (I had a my 50 word review of this amazing film posted on totalfilm.com so that is being used for my reason below.)
Tony Stark plays a great Robert Downey Jr. Or is that the other round? It exceeded all expectations and started the road to what could be the ultimate super hero movie, The Avengers. Well done to Jon Favreau who brought a comic legend to life with respect and dignity. One of the best super hero films to date.

- Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
I love the Star Wars saga, preferably the originals and my favourite of them all is the extraordinary Empire Strikes Back. This was the point when the franchise grew up and became the ultimate sci-fi movie of all time. Everything about this film makes you scream YES! And that is why I love it!

- Goodfellas
Yes another period gangster movie, I am a sucker for them. Better then then The Godfather? Not sure. But it is incredible, a funny and emotional take on the uprising of an american gangster. I love Martin Scorsese and this truly is his best to date, though all of them are amazing. Has the man ever made a bad film?

- Spider-Man 2
If you have read my about me section then you already know I'm a massive fan of Spider-Man and if you didn't, you just found out. So I'm sure you guessed one of the trilogy was going to end up on here (though I'm guessing you know the thrid one won't be). But why the second film? Because unlike the first, this goes straight into the action and pleases fans everywhere when the film creates the perfect villain Doc Ock. And the fight scene on the train is one of mmy all time faviroute film scenes of all time!

- The Dark Knight
Like the Spider-Man series, the second film in the Batman series is the best (so far). This really is the perfect film and perfect superhero film. Christian Bale is a great actor and put against Heath Ledger's incredible villain The Joker this film really is a crowd pleaser. Nobody makes a film like Christopher Nolan. And as for the third upcoming film... In Nolan We Trust!

-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Robert Downey Jr. is one of my all time faviroute actors and yes, I have a major man crush on him! In this film he really makes me laugh, it is a great film and I can't wait to see what director Shane Black does with his latest project Iron Man 3. The film is like a hate letter to Hollywood and I love it!

And that concludes my top ten faviroute film list. I hope you liked my first blog post and I will hopefully have another soon! Please comment! You can also follow me on twitter if you want @SuperAlexMan

Thank you for reading! I'l post again soon!