Marvel Films: A Fanatical Film Focus Part Two

So in the previous article we touched upon the best and worst Marvel movies and looked back at a fabulous 2011 the company is experiencing. Now, stepping into new territory we look at the best and worst villains that have graced our screens, do you agree? Don't forget to leave your comments, I would love to get all your thoughts!


Once again *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*!!


Best Villains
Superhero nemesis' are just important to the films as the heroes themselves and despite a majority of villains portrayed on screen not quite living up to their comic book reputation there have been a few to stand above the rest.


Despite a third film littered with terrible villains, Spider-Man 1 & 2 brought to us two of Marvel's best on-screen villains in the form of Green Goblin and Dr Octopus. Willem Dafoe's Goblin was a fitting character to introduce for the first Spider-Man movie, with Gobby being the one Spidey villain that the majority of viewers had heard of. Admittedly the costume could have been rendered slightly but that aside Dafoe filled the role with poise and utter evil. Grasping the character's evil streak and madness was essential and he personified the fall of Norman Osborn's sanity with ultimate ease. 


Following Dafoe's villain would be a tough task but Alfred Molina brought to screen yet another superb Spidey villain in the form of Dr Otto Octavius, a multi-mechanical limbed scientist who fell victim to his own experimental madness. Once again a mad scientist brought to life came to haunt Peter Parker and yet again delivered. Alfred Molina brought not just evil to the role but also a sense of vulnerability with Octavius mourning the death of his wife. And also who can forget that exceptional train fight scene!

Finally a villain who may top them all. A man who truly cannot be forgotten in Marvel's villain list; Magneto. There can be no doubt that a performer such as Sir Ian McKellen is tough to topple as the best on-screen Marvel villain so far. McKellen's Magneto is evil without overstating it, cunning and a great word-smith. It's rare to find such a villain so high up not being played as too evil or sadistic but Magneto on-screen is the perfect nemesis in the X Men saga. His relationship with Professor Xavier is a war of words as opposed to direct action against each other and McKellen's personification of the character gives you a sense of a brilliant minded character whose path has been directed toward the darker side. 


With the rebirth of the X Men franchise seemingly in full flow its hard not to mention Michael Fassbender's Magneto. Following McKellen is one of the toughest roles for an actor but Fassbender brings his own unique twist on Magneto without veering to far from the original concept. Showcasing Eric Lensherr's fall from good to evil was a task that Fassbender took to like a duck to water and with the conclusion of First Class resulting in Magneto turning against the X Men we can only hugely anticipate his role as a fully fledged villain in the next film.


Ones to watch - Loki and Red Skull - We all know Loki will return in The Avengers so expect a bigger part from Asgard's most evil and no doubt Tom Hiddlestone will bring the pain with another fantastic performance. Also we can't forget to give a mention to Hugo Weaving's Red Skull who showed us Nazi's are still out there in film land and no doubt we will see him return in a further Captain America adventure in the future. 


Worst Villains
Trudging through all the villains that underwhelmed in the Marvel films and picking out a few is difficult as there have been some real clangers. Through the litter here's my picks for the worst.


Now we all know that X Men 3 was utterly dreadful, with a terrible plot, a mixed bag of characters and way too much going on but there was one thing that ruined it the most: Juggernaut. Played by Vinny Jones in possibly the worst role of his life the unstoppable force looked puny and as if he had a boulder moulded onto his head. Look-wise he was shocking and with dialogue such as "I'm the Juggernaut bitch!" he was never going to get a good reception.

Carrying on the lacklustre trend come not one but two villains from the poor Fantastic Four flicks, Dr Doom and Galactus. Doom was present in both the films and failed to make a big impression in either despite being such a huge enemy for the foursome. Julian McMahon attempted to get that evil streak to the character but it never felt genuine and with little in actions from Doom we were left wanting so much more. 


Lucky for Doom he wasn't the only poor showing and was clearly usurped for the crown for worst villain in the Fantastic Four films by the planet eater Galactus. Supposedly one of the most evil and relentless forces in the galaxy for the superheroes ended up being a CLOUD.....   Enough said!

For my final terrible villain I have what for me was the biggest Marvel big bad flop they could have ever brought to screen, Venom. More iconic than any Spidey villain Venom was reduced to little more than the final third of Spidey's third film and was utterly mis-used. Playing second fiddle to Sandman and Goblin 2 was a mistake for a start and Venom's demise came just as quick as his introduction. If Marvel want to do Venom he must be in a full film as the main threat, not as just a ploy to get the audience to see the film. Biggest waste of a Marvel villain ever. 





Special thanks to Twitter folk @LastFilmSeen, @sonicsentry, @FistyFisterson, @Zinematic

New Trailer - American Reunion

The original was a huge teen sensation many years ago and unfortunately the majority of its spawned sequels failed to impress, but the American Pie gang are back for one last adventure next year. Check out the first full trailer below!





American Reunion - Trailer #1 [VO|HD] by cinemakervideo


Sources: Filmoria and Blogomatic3000


In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago are returning to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship. It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.


American Reunion is released in the UK on 6th April 2012

Marvel Films: A Fanatical Film Focus Part One

With the Marvel machine seemingly in overdrive with the anticipation of next year's Avengers I thought it was the best time to look back at the evolution of the Marvel universe on the big screen and cast my views. Please bare in mind I am not a big comic book reader so if some of my views do not couple with those regarding the comics I apologise in advance!
Please note: SPOILER ALERTS!!!


Best Marvel films so far - This is a tricky subject, with plenty of stand-out movies spawning from the Marvel world onto the big screen. Since Marvel Studios came into existence, a rise in the superhero genre emerged, with Marvel characters to date appearing in over 20 movies since 1998's Blade. With the majority of the films aiming at a family-friendly market, one could argue that amongst these Blade may be a standout from the crowd simply down to its more grown up attitude and an impressive depiction of the vampire sub-genre.

My personal opinion is that Marvel's finest have come in the form of Iron Man and X2. Iron Man's success is purely down to the duo of Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jnr. Favreau's fantastic direction and clear love for the character helped to bring to screen a thoroughly entertaining and noteworthy superhero to the foray. With regards to X2, the exploration of X Men's finest Wolverine's past was the perfect driving force for the second instalment to couple with the addition of further characters from the comics. Brian Cox as Stryker was a revalation and Jackman's performance clearly shows he was born to play the rabid Wolverine.


Worst Marvel films - Despite a large majority of the Marvel films proving successful there are some that have fallen rightly to the wayside. Most notably Elektra, Punisher: Warzone and X Men: The Last Stand.
Admittedly Daredevil wasn't the greatest film but the spin-off Elektra just showed Marvel how blind they could be, with a lacklustre plot, a flat performance from Jennifer Garner and a character nobody was even interested in.
Punisher: Warzone suffers an ill fate for many different reasons, most notably the loss of its original figure Thomas Jane, who, despite a less than satisfactory script in the first film, fit the boots of Frank Castle reasonably well. In an attempt to appeal to an older audience the film amped up on the violence and bloodshed but rather than impress through this it actually resulted in a lot of unintentional humour.

Possibly most disappointing of all would have to be X Men: The Last Stand. Building from the finale of X2, Last Stand featured the famous Phoenix story arc, with Jean Grey turning to evil and representing herself alongside Magneto and the Brotherhood. With such a well-known story to fans, expectations were high and, with Brett Ratner behind the camera, all expectations were shattered. Killing off Professor X early in the proceedings provided the first major flaw and this only furthered with some truly awful film-making. Phoenix, a supposedly unstoppable force appears very feeble and is a far cry from what was expected. Couple that with the mutant cure coming into play and some poorly executed action scenes, and you have X Men's worst outing (yes even worse than Wolverine in my opinion!)

2011, an impressive year for Marvel - I think you would have to be a fool to say that Marvel have not excelled with their films this year. With Thor, Captain America and X Men: First Class all presenting themselves in this successful movie year we were witness to the final jigsaw pieces for the Avengers ensemble and a well-timed rebirth of the X Men Franchise.


Thor's success came through a slight doubt cast over Kenneth Branagh's part as director. Judgemental eyes were cast upon this man who had only previously covered historical and Shakespearian pieces but it turned out to be a very bold move from Marvel and paid off kindly. Thor succeeded in bringing the viewer a great insight into the alternate realities of the Thor mythology coupled with some breathtaking scenery. We became immediately accustomed with the main characters and Branagh brought to screen a great relationship struggle between Thor and brother Loki.


Captain America took a slightly different route, with our hero appearing only for the last half of the movie allowing us to get to know Steve Rogers well and like him before he 'suited up' This technique worked well for the Cap and with a villain in Red Skull played by the ever fabulous Hugo Weaving you had a winning combination. With huge emphasis put on the upcoming Avengers movie, Captain America was the final film to bridge the gap to the anticipated ensemble movie of 2012 and did so in a natural and exciting fashion.


It wouldn't be the same for 2011 if X Men: First Class wasn't mentioned. With the X Men franchise flailing after the failures of both the third instalment and the Wolverine movie, a big shift had to be made and thankfully a reboot paid off hugely. Tasking James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender with bringing a young Xavier and Lensherr to screen was a big ask but they passed with flying colours. With all the charisma and acting ability required, the pairing created a truly memorable Marvel movie with a strong supporting cast bringing extra zest to the proceedings. This was the X Men film the fans were waiting for and without doubt it has revitalised the franchise and ensured the X Men won't be leaving the big screen any time soon.


So there you have it, part one of the Marvel film focus. Be sure to check back very soon for part two where I will be talking best and worst characters and future Marvel films.


Special thanks to @Zinematic, @LastFilmSeen, @CharlieDerry and @FilmSamurai for their suggestions on Twitter.

The Muppets - A Halloween Message

Those Muppets are it again, in anticipation for their film release next year yet another video message has been released from those loveable characters, just in time for Halloween.
Check it out below!

THE MUPPETS

WALT DISNEY PICTURES

Certificate: PG  UK Release Date: February 10, 2012

Director: James Bobin

Cast: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones and Walter

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With signature celebrity cameos, Disney’s “The Muppets” hits UK cinemas on  February 10, 2012.

New Mission Impossible 4 Trailer

That's right people, with Mission Impossible 4 to hit our cinema screens at the end of the year director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) has finally released a second trailer for the highly anticipated sequel.


When a bombing hits the Kremlin the government point the finger at Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team, leaving them on the run and a constant target being hunted down. With 4 of the team remaining (Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton) they have to go rogue and attempt to clear theirs and the organisation's names.


Check out the trailer via Yahoo! Movies below!

It sure looks to be an action packed affair and any fears about Brad Bird's first live action film look to be banished as Mission Impossible 4 could be set to be yet another fantastic mission for Ethan hunt and his crew.


Mission Impossible is out in cinemas in the UK on Boxing Day.

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 - Monsters

With a film title as Monsters you would immediately think along the lines of horror, terrifying creatures and generally scary things, but with Gareth Edwards' directorial feature debut we get much much more than that. A science fiction tale with massive emotional value and a far cry from Hollywood's alien invasion clichés.

When a NASA space craft crashes in Mexico following a mission far into space, alien life forms begin to appear and soon the north of Mexico is quarantined, with creatures appearing between the US-Mexican border. With the American and Mexican armed forces constantly attempting to fend off the creatures the 'infected zone' is a place no-one dares to enter, a place where their lives are at maximum risk.


We follow the journey of photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a man who is itching to get to the top of his current publication with that right photograph to land him on the front page. Unfortunately for him, his work is seemingly unnoticed despite his good intentions to bring forward positive photos as opposed to the negativity surrounding him. Adding to his woes, his boss tasks him with meeting up with his daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) and bringing her to safety, something he is reluctant to do.


He soon comes around and the pair find themselves trekking across Mexico together in an attempt to reach the USA where Samantha's father awaits her return. As with all plans, things go wrong, and when they look set for her to board a ferry her passport is stolen and they find themselves having to barter for a route through the Infected Zone. With all the dangers lurking in the zone can they make it through or will they perish to the evils that await them?


Monsters is nothing short of fantastic. Beautifully shot, intensely emotional and apart from your run-of-the-mill alien invasion movies, it is a marvel and a fine example of debut film-making at its best. Admittedly those looking for an action-packed alien movie will be bitterly disappointed but those waiting for an emotional and visually stunning film have all they would want in this, a modern day classic. This is a film to be celebrated and one that will have Gareth Edwards' name firmly on the 'most wanted' list of directors.


Film rating: 4 out of 5 F's