Trailer Talk: Jem and the Pixel Minion Trials

Jem and the Holograms

Jesus Christ. What a terrible way to start things off - with a film that looks so abysmal that not even the marketing can make it look passable. As a modernisation of the 80s cartoon, I see not only a distinct lack of holograms, but also a story which feels so weak and forced that it has to be advertised as being directed by the man behind Never Say Never...yep, the Justin Bieber documentary from a few years ago. I don't think I've seen something with a moderate budget look so bad.

Crimson Peak

The second trailer for this gothic horror has marterilised, and while its scares aren't as many as expected it does look genuinely creepy. del Toro has always been known as being an artist when it comes to the genre, and Peak looks no different - and dare I say, desirable for even non-horror fans?

The Intern

Well this looks...surprisingly sweet. Nothing particularly new or innovative is presented, but there's evidently some heart and a few good gags to keep it going, and there's a good rapport between de Niro and Hathaway being presented, so perhaps this is something to keep an eye on. Read the reviews first, but be open to it.

Minions

As a combination of the first two trailers and adding further insight to make it a tad more special, Minions has already been shaping up to be a huge financial success (ergo little new material is needed here - tickets have been open for booking for close to a month already). But what's new is good and what's old has a sprinkle of further comedy added to the mix. There's no denying that it'll be a big hit come June.

Steve Jobs

This short but ultimately sweet teaser for the second biopic attempt on the Apple creator shares little details aside from the cast and what Fassbender looks like in the role, but what little is shown does look promising.

Pan

After being pushed back by a few months for...reasons, this second trailer for the Peter Pan prequel needs to try hard to sell its standard premise of prophecies and tacky 3D shots - and it still needs to try harder. It looks a lot more magical and shows off a little more of what's on offer, but nothing says 'watch me', it just says 'rent me'.

We Are Your Friends

What opens as an interesting film about DJs ends with a story which can rival Jem and the Holograms for originality. Keep trying Efron.

Pixels

Yeah, I'm still not won over by a film where Kevin James and Adam Sandler fight Pac-Man and co., even if Sony takes a shot at tiself with killing a Smurf.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

20th Century Fox's answer to the Hunger Games pandemic returns for its inevitable sequel, and looks just as mediocre as it was the first time around - just with a bigger cast and an additional Game of Thrones actor. Next!

Cooties

Now this is something new. Taking the standard zombie outbreak storyline that's been done to death in recent years and combining it with the childhood diss is a smart move, and it looks like Cooties could be a good film. Maybe not great, but good enough to warrant a watch.

Black Mass

A tad bit more information is given here to the Whitey Bulger biopic, and Depp still looks good in the role. His co-stars? Still need a bit of focus to see whether this ensemble can work well together. But hey, Depp is the moneymaker...right?

Point Break

This upcoming remake has angered many a viewer for how different it is to the original. As someone who hasn't seen the original, I agree with their responses. This looks bad. Really bad.Somewhat shoddy and an attempt for the studio to have their own Fast and Furious but with sport instead of racing. Pass.

The End of the Tour

Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel make an interesting serious double act in a film that doesn't appear to be about anything. A road trip movie of sorts which dips itself into the emotions of these two Davids, but has an uneasy feel to it.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

The melding together of illistrations to symbolise the emotions of characters isn't anything new, but is commonly an interesting storytelling dynamic in the visual sense, and in the case of this story makes it all the more better. There's not much to say on the film aside from that it does look good.

A Walk in the Woods

Nick Offerman. More Nick Offerman and I will see this film, even if I have to get through Nick Nolte.

Cop Car

Oh my. What started out as a film which could easily be a cheap comedy takes a sudden dark turn and looks even better than it could have been. Add a menacing Kevin Bacon and you may have a sold ticket there.

American Ultra

Stoner comedies? Not my thing. Stoner comedies merged with action setpieces? Okay you got me. This looks surprisingly funny, and Eisenberg's talents really fit the character at hand. Stewart is a little wooden in her performance, but as the only stumbling block in an otherwise humorous trailer? Not bad for a stoner comedy. Not bad at all.

Doctor Who at 10 - The Doctor Dances (S1E10)

"GO. TO. YOUR. ROOM!" The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) cries out, in the cunning and unpredictable method of saving the skins of himself, his companion and a newly discovered ally - alongside a friend who's under a similar situation elsewhere - at the very start of this second instalment to the Steven Moffat two parter. After setting up the events rather well in The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances has a hard act to follow as it figures out how to finish the story elegantly. Going by its usually high rankings in fan lists of the best episodes, it's quite easy to expect that it does it in style; and those fans aren't wrong. 

After escaping last week's cliffhanger by the skin of their teeth, The Doctor Rose (Billie Piper) and Captain Jack (John Barrowman) continue to explore the hospital where the Child resided in following an experience with what most assumed was an unexploded bomb. Following another incursion from the Child and his possessed army, the trio decide to examine the crash site to see if they can fix the issue there, whilst Rose continues to humanise the Doctor and break the gates to his more mysterious side by constantly asking to dance with her (like she had done with Jack in the prior episode). Meanwhile, Nancy (Florence Hoath) avoids a close shave with the police, before finally coming to terms to what's happened to her 'brother' Jamie... 

For this episode, like many others before it, the characters take more of a step forward against the plot and menace itself - however, this time it's a step forward that doesn't diminish the other aspects with it. As the title of the episode suggests, the little nuggets of character delving that Rose is keen on discovering are a key component of the episode - however in more of the sense that it warrants further growth and trust between the two rather than how the episode eventually turns out when facing the Empty Child and company. These moments can often stand out, but not so much in the sense that they feel out of place but more that they add different layers to what could otherwise be a straightforward story. Usually this would bring a story down, but here it somehow fits. Its balance with the heavy-hitting drama at hand makes it all the more enjoyable. It's helpful that said drama fails to falter as it transitions into its second episode, as it continues to pick up the pace with the introduction of more and more infected patients and newer ways to become affected by them in continuously creepy fashion.

With the following on from the previous episode, performances are as good as they were previously, with Eccleston and Piper still having strong chemistry and Barrowman making a strong first impression as the newest member of the TARDIS team. Hoath does well with her role, which sadly doesn't hold up as well when considering the mystery side of her character, and the brief reprisal of Richard Wilson lends itself to arguably the funniest moment all season ("My leg's grown back!"). With the lack of new additions, save for the extended roles for the likes of the Lloyd family and Jack's friend Algy and one soldier at the crash site, the episodes fails to lend itself to any further compliments in that field - nothing negative, just harder to write about.

The Doctor Dances is a suitable way to finish this beloved story, from its unexpected opening to the infamous "Everybody lives" outcry (which has since been overdone to the point that those who do die come back anyway. Hmmm...) and the sweet finale within the TARDIS itself. The episode may be a little less coherent with its emotional backdrop taking a step forward, but doesn't fail to surpass its opening instalment. 9/10.

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015) Film Review

Every year, Walt Disney Pictures releases a live action family film - outside its new main business of remaking its classics - which can either go really well or really poorly. In more recent years it's fallen in the latter department, thanks to the huge financial losses for 2012's John Carter and the following year's The Lone Ranger. This time around, the studio opts for an original piece with the help of Pixar alum Brad Bird, who unlike fellow Pixar director Andrew Stanton and his work on John Carter had huge success with his first foray into live action cinema with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, with only the basis that it has some relation to the DisneyLand attraction of the same name. And that was all that was known about the project until October last year when the first teaser was released and immediately caught the attention of audiences everywhere. But with this mystery film finally released, is a trip to Tomorrowland as good as it was desired?

In order to keep it as vague as the trailers advertise it, I'll be a little lighter on the details of the story: when Casey (Britt Robertson) is planted with a strange badge following an arrest, she discovers a strange new world appears when she touches it. Determined to discover more about the futuristic utopia that appears, she comes across Frank Walker (George Clooney) - a desolate inventor who came across 'Tomorrowland' when he was younger - who agrees to take her there, seeing as it may be the only hope for the rest of humanity, which is slowly destroying itself. Casey seems to be the only one who can save it, and the answers lie at Tomorrowland.

Whilst it doesn't sound like much, there is much more to it than meets the eye, with some focus on the younger version of Walker (Thomas Robinson) also shown and a second companion in the form of the initially ambiguous Athena (Raffey Cassidy), and the plot also revolving around Hugh Laurie's David Nix by the time the third act rolls out and the trio arrives at the utopian dimension. With that, the story is more about the journey than the destination - the film irritably goes on about the magical realm of perfection and scientific impossibility but fails to live up to the comments by the time they actually get there. Sure, the place does look very futuristic (although it is laid out a bit like an airport) and does pave the way for a stunning two minute one-shot in the first act, but actually being there leaves much to be desired. The journey there is an enjoyable, with some lovely moments - every Tomorrowland trip via pin is always a moment of joy - scattered throughout, but it becomes something of a let-down when it becomes a place for a fist fight, robot battle and bomb disposal case to occur at the same time. Screenwriter Damon Lindelof is an often controversial writer when it comes to his products, as you can see from the backlash against the end of the TV series Lost or the multiple complaints made about the likes of Star Trek Into Darkness and Prometheus, so it may not be a surprise for those doubters that their doubts are right - it's a film that starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. Kudos for not ending the film in a 20-30 extravagant fight, but something more would have been nicer than just having it end. 

One of the biggest saving graces is, as always, Brad Bird in the director's chair. He makes the film look so wonderful and so whimsical that you can almost forgive the story's troubled pacing issues just because of it. Those early glimpses of Tomorrowland, as prior mentioned, are something to be beloved for years to come (and credit must of course be given to the editing team for that too), but the scenes on Earth also have the glimmers of wonder to them. Much like with Mad Max: Fury Road last week, it's another case of every shot being so picturesque and beautiful. It should be a surprise, especially if you’re talking about the director of The Incredibles, but it's difficult to keep denying the compliments deserved.

Whilst Clooney seems to be hogging the limelight in the promotional material, the lead is Britt Robertson, who fits into the role of Casey very well and does a great job against the talent around her...it's just a pity that her character is really just there because she has to. She has the purpose of bringing the audience into the strange new world around her, but because she's just the spearhead for everything she sadly lacks any actual story of her own. By the end, she's just there to bring hope for the changes needed. Clooney stealing the limelight, in that regard, seems reasonable, as he does a grand job at not phoning in like he could for a family film. For a star of his degree, he could have taken the easy way and just strolled through it, but instead he does become the star of the show. He does have what could be described as creepy business with Athena (which, given the context given, makes sense and doesn't go to Twilight-level horrors in that regard), but aside from that minor niggle he's fine. Raffey Cassidy is occasionally a little stiff in her performance, but as a child actor of her age it does work fine, while Laurie does the usual mysterious British guy trope that will one day wear out - never adding anything but always good to see when he's on screen. There's also a brief segment with Kathryn Hahn and Keegan Michael-Key in a easter egg-filled comic book store which has its fair share of laughs and action which the two work well in, while Casey's father Tim McGraw never really adds anything to the story aside from something for her to return to should they be successful.  

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond was once one of my most anticipated films of the year. Now that I've seen it, it's hard to deny that I was disappointed by it. That said, it wasn't time that I felt was wasted. While the plot may become uneven and practically stop come the third act, the journey was still joyous and pleasant, and the film looks absolutely marvellous with its visuals. It's well acted, occasionally funny, but will unlikely be the start of yet another Disney franchise. A breath of fresh air in a summer of mostly sequels and reboots, but the air isn’t entirely breathable. 6/10.