Upcoming: MOCKINGJAY, Part 1 (Movie, Lionsgate)

The third (of four) Hunger Games movies. The trailer was unveiled today:

I rather enjoyed the first two movies, having not read Suzanne Collins’s novels. I intend to read Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, but I still haven’t decided if I want to do it before or after I’ve seen all the movies.

The Hunger Games trilogy is published by Scholastic.

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Jeffrey Wright, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Willow Shields.

Director: Francis Lawrence | Screenplay: Danny Strong, Peter Craig.

Trailer: AUTOMATA

This movie looks really interesting – an examination of what it means to be alive, human. I haven’t looked into it too much (I don’t want to spoil the movie for when I inevitably go and see it), but with the mentions of the “laws” of robotics, I wonder if it’s based on Asimov’s fiction, or if it’s just offering an homage to the author’s pioneering writing? Anyway, here’s the trailer (shared from IGN’s YouTube channel)*…

* Millennium Films’ own “share” option on their website is… Not generous…

HORNS Teaser Trailer… Looks fantastic.

I haven’t read Joe Hill’s novel, yet (it’s yet another on my ever-growing, never decreasing TBR mountain), but this teaser trailer for HORNS looks fantastic…

Found the clip via The Film Stage, which also had this cool poster…

Upcoming: EDGE OF TOMORROW (Movie)

Another interesting sci-fi movie coming out this year. Tom Cruise seems to be enjoying the uptick in popularity of the genre (see also: Oblivion, which was much better than I expected). Emily Blunt is also great. I’m looking forward to this, think it has a fair bit of promise. Check out the trailer:

Find out more at the movie’s website, IMDb, and on Facebook.

Upcoming: JUPITER ASCENDING (Movie)

This looks like a lot of fun…

Books on Film: “Warm Bodies” by Isaac Marion (Vintage)

A brilliant zombie love-story…

Movie Synopsis: Life for Julie (Teresa Palmer) and R (Nicholas Hoult) couldn’t be more different. R is a zombie; with a great record collection; limited vocab and an overpowering love of brain food. Julie is a human; beautiful; strong; open minded and all heart. When R makes an unexpected decision and rescues Julie from a zombie attack, his lifeless existence begins to have a purpose. As the unlikely relationship develops, R’s choice to protect her sets in motion a sequence of events that might just change both of their worlds forever. Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50) and based on the debut novel by Isaac Marion, the heart-warming Warm Bodies is 2013’s zom-rom-com with a twist.

Director: Jonathan Levine | Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovitch

I stumbled across Isaac Marion’s novel when I was in New York. I read the synopsis in the Union Square Barnes & Noble (one of my favourite places in the world…). Despite being intrigued, I wasn’t in a zombie-mood at the time, so I passed over it – rather unfairly, as it turned out. After the movie was released on DVD, though, I decided to watch the movie first – not something I usually do, but given the vast array of books I have to read, I wanted to squeeze this in. And I’m very glad I did.

All of the actors do a great job, and Nicholas Hoult does a wonderful job of making “R” an engaging and even sympathetic character. He’s funny, he’s awkward, and his internal monologue is wonderfully relatable to anyone who has ever felt stuck, awkward, or like their lives need a change. It’s brilliantly done, all-round, and as we see R’s evolution (“re-evolution”?) we realise just how brilliant Hoult is as an actor. It’s a peculiarly sweet love story, and I loved how it was both true to zombie lore and also unexpected and original, as well as paying tribute to some of the greatest love-stories (Romeo & Juliet, for example). It also has a superb soundtrack…

Very highly recommended. I will have to move the novel up the tottering TBR mountain.

Book Synopsis: “R” is a zombie. He has no name, no memories, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows – warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can’t understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...

On “OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN”, “TRANSFER OF POWER” & an Author Appreciation

Director: Antoine Fuqua | Writers: Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt | Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett

I finally Watched OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, tonight. I thought it was really good, too. A political Die Hard for the modern age, perhaps? The movie is action-packed, very well-paced (I never got bored, and never felt like the screenplay or movie as a whole was padded with anything that was unnecessary). It is quite brutal, though – but in a “realistic way”, if that makes sense? Gerard Butler (the hero, and a member of the Secret Service) offers a very good portrayal of a hyper-efficient, highly-trained killer (former special ops, etc.). There’s no “flash” to the fight scenes, he doesn’t suddenly break into any wire-work or seamless, stylised martial arts. It’s quite chilling, in its brutal directness. Here’s the extended trailer…

So. Why is there a picture of Vince Flynn’s TRANSFER OF POWER? Well, because there are some startling similarities. Transfer was the first Flynn novel I read, and introduces readers to Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s best operative (translation: assassin). Here’s the synopsis:

What if America’s most powerful leader was also its prime target?

On a busy Washington morning, the stately calm of the White House is shattered as terrorists gain control of the executive mansion, slaughtering dozens of people. The president is evacuated to an underground bunker, but not before nearly one hundred hostages are taken. One man is sent in to take control of the crisis. Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s top counterterrorism operative, determines that the president is not as safe as Washington's power elite had thought. Moving among the corridors of the White House, Rapp makes a chilling discovery that could rock Washington to its core: someone within his own government wants his rescue attempt to fail.

Trailer: “THOR: THE DARK WORLD” Movie

Really looking forward to this! I enjoyed the first Thor movie a lot more than I anticipated (to be fair, I didn’t know much about the Marvel version of the character).

Upcoming: “Thor 2: The Dark World”

So the poster for the second movie in Marvel’s Thor series was recently released. The Dark World is coming to theatres in November 2013 (in the US, at least).

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Zachary Levi, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, Jaimie Alexander & others.

How ILM made the Avengers Battle Scene in New York

I caught this video via io9, but thought it was interesting enough to post on here, too. I’m addicted to making-of clips from, particularly, sci-fi, fantasy and super-hero movies, so this “Behind the Magic” clip was right up my street:

Check out ILM’s YouTube channel for a few more Behind the Magic clips (for Transformers, Rango, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more).

Upcoming: “The Wolverine”

Once again starring Hugh Jackman, The Wolverine will reach theatres in July 2013.

Pegg & Frost at “The World’s End”

Hurrah! The totally excellent Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have a new movie coming out (relatively) soon! Here’s the synopsis for The World’s End, from IMdB:

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind's. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

The movie will be directed by Edgar Wright, and stars Pegg, Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, and Paddy Considine. So far – I assume there will be more people in it… And here’s the rather apocalyptic poster:

Digital Spy has an interview with Simon Pegg, with more information about the movie and his other projects, which can be found here. I’ve liked all of Pegg and Frost’s movies so far, and I can not wait to see this one as well. The World’s End is currently slated for an August 2013 UK release.

“The Dark Knight Rises”

This is just a very quick post to say I really enjoyed it. Lots of allusions to the storylines that influenced it, excellent acting, and it never felt like the story dragged.

Bane’s re-done voice was perhaps the only thing I didn’t like, as it robbed him a little of the sinister air. I do, sort of, understand why they did it, but… still. A little disappointing. Nevertheless, I think all of the actors did great jobs (except for Marion Cotillard in one scene). Visually great, too.

A worthy, superb end to the trilogy. And I really want Bane’s coat (see middle picture, below). Now. When can I go see it again…?