First Trailer For Steven Spielberg's The BFG

If you, like me, were slightly obsessed with Roald Dahl's tales of adventure and quirky characters then it will come as an absolute delight that the first look at the film adaptation of The BFG has arrived.

Cementing Mark Rylance in the role of the Big Friendly Giant, the teaser gives us little glimpses of the larger-than-life title character, as well as young Sophie, who is set for one hell of an adventure.

With a cast including Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Rafe Spall and Rebecca Hall, as well as being directed by blockbuster royalty Steven Spielberg, this one is bound to be a monster of a hit!

Watch the new trailer below.

The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumbers and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.

Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome. Says Spielberg, “It’s a story about friendship, it’s a story about loyalty and protecting your friends and it’s a story that shows that even a little girl can help a big giant solve his biggest problems.” Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see the Queen (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.

Review - The Adventures of Tintin 3D

Before he passed away, Hergé announced that there was only one person who could bring his famous character Tintin to the big screen and low and behold, after years of development finally Steven Spielberg grants the creator's wishes.

Pairing up with Peter Jackson, Spielberg brings to the screen Belgium's most loved reporter in what promises to be a rollercoaster ride. The Secret Of The Unicorn sees our reporting hero and his faithful sidekick dog Snowy enter a dangerous adventure involving secret scrolls hidden inside model ships that lead to a hidden treasure. In pursuit of clues and the treasure, Tintin (Jamie Bell) comes across Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), the last of the Haddocks left alive and it is his ancestor Sir Francis Haddoque who hid the treasure many years ago.


With the evil Red Rackham (Daniel Craig) and his henchmen in pursuit, we find ourselves racing across numerous beautiful locales collecting up clues as we progress, leading to a superb finale to satisfy all your viewing needs. 


In terms of presentation there is no doubt that Tintin is one of, if not the best looking motion capture films of recent time. With Peter Jackson's WETA Digital working on the project there is no doubt that visually Tintin is fantastic, with such precision on the look of the characters and the all round flow of movement on screen, luckily this is not hindered either by the 3D version (which can tend to make films look darker).


With regards to the film's content, Tintin achieves a status of a fun adventure film with plenty of action and mystery to satisfy the majority of film lovers. With its fast pacing and easy-to-follow plot it entertains at a lively pace and brings together some breathtaking set pieces along with beautifully shot action scenes. 


At times it must be said that the film begins to trip up on itself but these are helped along nicely with the ever-exceptional John Williams composing a truly remarkable soundtrack which would be an easy listen even without the film playing. 


In fairness Tintin was always set to impress with its sleek look and its already well known name in the world of books and cartoons, but take nothing away from Speilberg and Jackson, this was always a tough task to bring the Belgian to screen. Jamie Bell eases his way through and with a great Andy Serkis, combines for one of recent cinema's most loveable double acts (with Snowy in tow of course!). Equally as impressive are comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson, Interpol's finest, practically running the show in the few scenes they are included.


As a whole Tintin succeeds in being a thoroughly entertaining thrill ride with plenty of story to keep the older viewers content. With a sequel hinted at it is clear that Spielberg and Jackson are the right guys for this project and don't be surprised that a new franchise with the longevity factor has been born. A real treat. 


Film rating: 4 out of 5 F's 

Review - Real Steel

A family film packed with lots of fighting robots is a scenario we have already seen in the past but with Real Steel you get the benefit of no Michael Bay and a positive lack of explosions every five minutes. From director Shawn Levy and executive producer Steven Spielberg comes a wholehearted effort with plenty of action and a heartwarming story at the core; check out the review of Real Steel below.

The year is 2020 and human boxing is now obsolete, replaced by robots going toe-to-toe in enthralling fist pumping entertainment for the masses. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former boxer in his prime, is now a man living with debts against his name in the world of underground robot boxing. He is striving to cash in on the sport yet he is unable to find that one 'bot that can excel and raise him some cash.

Adding to his worries, Charlie's son Max (Dakota Goyo) appears on the scene following his mother's death and, following a monetary negotiation with Max's uncle, Charlie agrees to take care of Max for a short period of time before he must him over to his uncle and aunt. 

Following some unsuccessful fights, Charlie is in dire straights, with no money to pay his debts and no robot to win the money; that is until Max discovers Atom, a robot that saves his life when he has a near-death plunge at a  robot factory. Things soon take a turn for the better.

With the aid of Charlie and Charlie's friend Bailey (Evangeline Lilly), Max begins to prepare Atom to face some opponents in underground fights to win some money for his father. At first, doubts are high, with Atom just a simple sparring 'bot but opinions sway to positive when he excels in the underground fights and proceeds to gain appreciation from all corners of the robot boxing community.

In no time Atom is reaching the high peaks and is invited to take part in the WRB tournament where champion Zeus, undefeated and menacing awaits a new challenger. Can Charlie and Max get the ultimate prize and win against Zeus or is this simple sparring 'bot too small and feable?

Real Steel is a film taken straight out the Spielberg bible, with plenty of action to thrill the crowd and a whole lot of heart. Essentially Steel is a film tracking the journey in a relationship between man and son, with the robots taking a sideshow to keep the masses on the edge of their seats. Admittedly, the robots are hugely impressive, with no CGI ruining a breathtaking sequence of fights between a variation of battling 'bots but it is the humans who run the show. Jackman is impressive as ever as Charlie, the father placed in such a bad place with nowhere to run, and Goyo's Max, despite having a few cheesy moments (robot dancing?!), is great and is sure to be seen in many a film in the future. 

Shawn Levy succeeds in bringing together a truly family-friendly flick mixing a blend of robots and raw human emotion to create a lovable flick. It may not match the Spielbergian family movies of past but you can rest assure Real Steel is up there with the most entertaining flicks of the year. A great cast drives the film on and you can't help but feel this is the new age Rocky, question is, can it last multiple rounds before being KO'd?

Film rating: 4 F's out of 5