Trailer Talk: Radcliffe, Renner and Robots

Get On Up

With this trailer for the biopic of James Brown, you get two visions. One is the great recreation of the singer's music and some good casting choices, particularly with rising star Chadwick Boseman in the lead role with what looks like a stellar performance. But the other way that the film can be seen is clichéd, with a parental figure leaving and returning when their child least expects it, and a brief temper tantrum which'll happen in the second act. It may be a true story, but it's no different to anyone else's - but that's not to say I won't give it the benefit of the doubt.

Mr Turner

Another biopic, this time with all manners of acclaim following the Cannes film festival the previous week, primarily directed towards Timothy Spall. I sadly can't really see all the acclaim within the trailer, with its cheesy accents and similarly clichéd moments of critique and acceptance - much like the trailer of Get On Up. But it looks as though Spall is very deserving of his accolades from Cannes, with his somewhat lovable grumpiness stealing every scene he's in. A possible viewing.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Now here's a trailer which surprised me. I had little knowledge of the film's existence or if it would even be good, following past British teen spy flops like 2006's Stormbreaker, but its sudden publicity promotions have brought it up to the top of public interest and has certainly done right. Whilst it does borrow some aspects from other teen films like Ender's Game and The Hunger Games with its gruelling training sessions, its award-winning cast, large spectacle direction and humour does bring it above all of those with its original story for what could be a big hit. Think James Bond meets Attack the Block.

Big Hero 6

Based on the little known Marvel Comics series, there is evidence that Disney are being faithful to the source material through the musical choices made to accompany this short teaser, which likely won't make the final film  in the same sense as Frozen's teaser a year prior. But there's something more here which was lacking with Frozen's tease, and that's the scale of it all. Rather than a simple cat-and-mouse match between the two characters, it builds up a huge creation which takes hold of the main story. Add a little humour with the lovable marshmallow-like robot and the end scene, and it does give out appeal. However, there is little indication to the Asian roots of the actual story, with the protagonist having too similar a design to past Disney successes Tangled and Frozen. But who knows, Disney may surprise once again.

This is Where I Leave You

This trailer seems to stick to me, and I don't know why. It's clichéd and features mainly former or current television stars like Tina Fay and Jason Bateman, and is rather predictable, but it's humourous and has heart, particularly towards Bateman. I doubt many will see it going by its nature, but it may be a worth a look in.

Annie

Whilst I did have a chuckle at the Batman jokes in this new trailer, it's hard to say that I'd want to see this musical remake. It's clear that Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhané Wallis are giving their all in this film, but it has some otherwise poor humour and pacing, with a rather lacklustre song choice which likely features in the final film. Add a rather gruelling performance by Cameron Diaz (and not in a good way) and that scene (you know what I mean), and it's a probable miss.

What If

This film falls in the same ball park as This is Where I Leave You, with a predictable nature and clichéd format, but excels in the humour department and looks to be a great rebrand for Daniel Radcliffe post-Potter, following the critically successful Kill Your Darlings and box office hit The Woman in Black. It has warmth to it, and is possibly the most surprising film on this list that I have actual interest in. This has quickly gone to the top of my radar.

Kill the Messenger

First Radcliffe, now Jeremy Renner. In another attempt to head his own film outside ensemble pieces (American Hustle and The Avengers being key examples) following The Blind Side and The Bourne Legacy, here he's once again aiming for the award crowd. It does look appealing going by his strong performance and storyline, but it does give off the idea that it could be a dull film for reasons unknown. More trailers may help, but at the moment it's rather critical that it's presented in a positive light.

Book of Life

The animators of 2013's box office flop Free Birds returns with Guillermo del Toro at the helm of producing, as they attempt to make a splash in the overcrowded animation arena. This is a rather mixed film in my opinion. On one hand, you have a great rendition of the classic Romeo and Juliet story and a good casting selection, but the animation and design is either brilliant or poor, whilst it features some stale comedy and little understanding of what it wants to focus on. Is it the kids at the start, is it the God-like creatures in the bet, is it Diego Luna's character? It's likely the latter, but may fall prey to the same fault which did bring the critically successful Grand Budapest Hotel a little lower in my personal rating. It's clear where del Toro marked his expertise, but it's possible that not even he can save this picture.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Review

Over a decade after setting off for pastures new and leaving the popular franchise into new hands (who pretty much gets hate for the poor third instalment), director Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men series for its seventh instalment Days of Future Past, combining the original trilogy with the 2011 prequel First Class whilst fixing many of the problems caused within the stories and continuity from the following films. Before I go into full details with the review, I'd like to point out that I'm not particularly a big fan of the franchise. X-Men: First Class is the better film out of the first five, the original trilogy is pretty average series, and I missed out on The Wolverine (which thankfully has little referencing within Days). That's not to say that the films are bad - although two of them are - they're just on a scale of okay-good. And despite all the excitement which audiences have given towards Days of Future Past, it too falls under the good pile.

Within the performances and characters, you have an overcrowded bunch. With a handful of characters appearing in two different eras alongside the various others in the respective time zones, it can make the film a bit flimsy. Some characters are in about two scenes before being taken completely out of the picture and are there just for sake of references. If anything, it's a film based around Professor X (James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) there mainly because he's the only one capable of travelling back and setting the course for the film. Plus, audiences love him, and who can blame them, but he occasionally sidelined. There's also Beast (Nicholas Hoult) who's there more as Fox's version of The Hulk - even losing control to become the blue hairball, and kinda-villain Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), and sadly the two are rather sidelined within the film, as do just about all the other mutants in the dystopian future. However, all the stars give out their all, in particular the big three mentioned earlier. Lawrence is finally given the strong emotional pulls and action sequences which is lacking in The Hunger Games films, McAvoy has excellent rapport with his fellow stars, whilst Fassbender becomes the great villain set up in First Class, almost mirroring the true power of McKellen's. Out of the new characters, it's clear that Evan Peters as Quicksilver is the best, if not incredibly short-lived. He features in the best sequence of the film, with a phenomenal segment showing off his powers - the only scene worthy of the 3D format available - and adds a good balance of action and comedy.

As for the robotic Sentinels, the futuristic ones are rather chilling. Being the giant robot hunters they are, they give no remorse to what they do to their targets, and their designs are superb, as are the 70s versions. However, they too get removed for half of the film as it focuses on the character driven moments and the main plot. It's good that the film doesn't just focus on the giant murderers, but it does remove the impending doom which the dystopian era X-Men are living in, as they get removed from the film until about an hour in. The film incorporates further dismay within the future, but it's barely touched upon.

The plot, taken out of the 1981 storyline from the comics, is a strong one, with the 70s aspects thankfully not used to comedic value whilst the dystopian future does have a really dark feel to it. It does feature the overlong 'heroes and villains combined' storyline which featured in past X-Men films, but the rest of the story is good viewing and enjoyable amongst certain areas. It does feature several areas of referencing through the inclusion of certain characters future/past storylines, but at times it does integrate well within the storyline. There's also an after-credits sequence which sets up for 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, which is very well done and succeeds in enticing viewers who waited through the credits. As for direction, Singer works best in the dystopian era when it comes to how the scene is set, as it features some beautifully terrible landscapes and lighting, amongst the purple and red powers of Bishop and Blink giving great contrasts. But in the 70s, there isn't anything particularly special. Whilst he does keep the camera in good positioning in many scenes, it doesn't give much impact. Outside of the earlier mentioned sequence with Quicksilver, it's all pretty average.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is possibly one of the better instalments in the franchise, but it's necessarily great. It's overcrowded with many faults within the storytelling in the future areas, but has the occasional high-octane sequence and strong character development to keep the film going. It's a nice return to the high levels of X2 and X-Men: First Class, but certainly isn't up there with other recent superhero films. 7/10.

Godzilla (2014) Full Review

With Gareth Edwards' first big budget blockbuster (following 2010's Monsters, made with 0.3% of Godzilla's budget) and reboot of the popular Japanese monster, reception from audiences has been mixed, and rightly so. Godzilla is a mix of good and bad, but thankfully redeems itself through its positive notes.

Let's start with the good; Gareth Edwards' direction and the cinematography is superb, with some beautiful shots of the beasts and the various destroyed cities. With such shots, it creates a sense of beauty within the destruction. Add the glorious designs used on the creatures, and a brilliant new rendition of Godzilla, and further special effects (bar one scene very early on, which reeks of poor quality) and colour palettes making the film look extravagant. Sound design is also strong, mainly with the inclusion of the classic Godzilla scream. Finally, you have a great finale with the famous Gojira against his enemies. Alongside all the aspects mentioned above, it features such glory that really brings out the most from the film. It's just a pity that the film constantly tries to hide the titular character throughout the first hour.

Which brings us to the bad; the characters are hit and miss. The highly publicised Bryan Cranston is only second fiddle within the first act, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a rather one-note protagonist who just wants to go home, Elizabeth Olsen is sidelined to an incredibly large degree as a worker and mother, whilst Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins are reduced to exposition and repeated lines. There's also a constant focus on kids in danger, which never leads anywhere as we either never see said kids again or they are quickly forgotten about.

Godzilla does try and create an entire story based around events which happened in the 90s within this Earth's history, but it turns the creature into a protector rather than a destroyer - nature protecting humans as opposed to being against us. There's even a point where a boat and the mighty lizard floating off side by side, which does seem good within the plot but not so much in actual context. The story is quite simply Godzilla protects humans for other monsters after an unintentional feeding frenzy in the 50s. It's set up well within the opening credits, but is something which gets repeatedly mentioned over and over.

Godzilla may be lacking in supportive characters and strong story, but it makes up for it in design and layout. It may not be the big blockbuster expected from the trailers, but it's still a worthy watch, if only once. 7/10.

Trailer Talk: Sins. Guardians, Apes and Dinobots

After a month-long break, Trailer Talk returns!
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
I have to confess, I haven't seen the first Sin City; I've never gotten round to it. But going by this trailer, it seems like a good franchise. Some shots do look rather bad, such as Josh Brolin falling, but the style of the film noir is magnificent, as though it had come straight off the pages in which it originated from. Not much story being shown - it is only a minute-long trailer - but it likely got fans pumped.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I'm not sure the studios behind the new Ninja Turtles film understand how trailers work: You shouldn't add a measly 8 seconds of new footage to a pre-existing trailer - one which hasn't even been up long.

Boyhood
Boyhood has quickly become a must-see on my films for this summer. The trailer is a masterpiece, highlighting its strong premise and ideology behind the film amongst a brilliant song and what looks like the first 'proper' representation of children growing up in film, with a strong mix of the stereotypical ageing (sports with Dad, fighting your sibling) and that of truth (family issues). It's a film which will hopefully relate to everyone.

Tammy
I don't understand the love for Melissa McCarthy. She's a good actress who puts her all into her films, but the comedy and story is so poor. I've seen Bridesmaids and Identity Thief, the latter being possibly the worst film I've seen all year, and Tammy looks no different. They've simply replaced Jason Bateman with another uninteresting character.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
This looks like any other live action kid's film, focusing on a weedy premise but somehow managing to get some strong stars in the form of Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner. Ahhh, the mighty power of Disney.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The sequel to the 2011 box office hit, Dawn looks like it could be a worthy successor to the original prequel. It has some stunning cinematography and the motion capture work looks amazing, particularly by motion capture great Andy Serkis, but the plot does seem rather generic. It's been done before by so many films and franchises; it might work here but it does seem a bit unlikely.

Lucy
I was a big fan of the first trailer for this Scarlett Johansson action thriller, and here it's no exception. It may not give much further insight into the film, but it presents more of the action and even some comedy into the mix. One to look out for.

Transformers: Age of Extinction
Whilst Optimus Prime fears that they are all targets now, audiences fear that the next instalment in the Transformers franchise will be at the same level of quality as the previous films. They may have removed Shia LaBeouf from the mix and added fan favourite Dinobots, but it looks no different to the rubbish that's been made previously.

Cinderella
The teaser may not actually say anything about the film, but it does show off the shoe which brings out the "Happily Ever After" of the story. How Disney's new rendition of the story will fare, only time will tell.

Interstellar
Following a teaser trailer a few months back through archive footage (which must have been playing in front of just about every film - it was even showing before The LEGO Movie), Legendary Pictures finally release a full trailer for the next Nolan film.It gives a strong look at what could happen to our planet if we don't change as opposed to the premise of wormholes which features in the film. Add the strong acting chops of Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, and it looks like it could well be another hit from Nolan. Expect the third trailer to give an insight into the business of wormholes.

Wish I Was Here
Going by what's shown here, Zach Braff has the capacity to be a great director and actor. The story may be no different to every other indie darling, but it's filled with heart and comedy and a great soundtrack. If reviews are as strong as the trailer hints, perhaps Braff's new film will be worth a watch.

Guardians of the Galaxy
The second trailer for Marvel's next summer blockbuster, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy looks amazing. Whilst Star Lord's mask may not work as well onscreen as it does in the pages of the comics and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has no lines within either trailer, it's clear that the special effects, comedy and casting is superb, with anthropomorphic raccoon Bradley Cooper and living tree Vin Diesel being the clear highlights by fans and audiences alike. It clearly has the conventions of Star Wars, and is looking like a great appetiser before the franchise returns in 2015, all whilst beginning its own franchise in possbily a reference-free galaxy.