Kick-Ass 2 – First Red Band Trailer

Had a little problem with the video when this was first posted. The problem should be rectified now. Apologies to all.

Stars: Jeff Wadlow (director), Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christpoher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, Donald Faison, Lyndsy Fonseca, Clarke Duke.

Plot: The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding this film right now. When Kick-Ass was released in 2010 it was met with widespread critical acclaim and was definitely one of the best films of that year. One of the things that set it apart from a saturated superhero market was it’s comedy elements and seeing a young girl (Hit-Girl) being a complete bad ass.

And it looks as though (thankfully) that is a trend that’s set to continue! Moretz has plenty of time in the trailer as she seems to almost have shared billing with Taylor-Johnson thanks to her popularity from the first film. There are plenty of laughs and a lot of violence; you can tell that a lot of the feeling and character that the first film instilled in audience worldwide has not been lost.

However, it does waver into that superhero cliche of whether he really should be doing it or whether he should give up. “[insert superhero name here] is more than a mask” is just a line we’ve heard over and over again and we hear it again in some form in this trailer.

On the whole though, Kick-Ass 2 can happily take its place among my most anticipated films of the year after this trailer!

First Glimpse of ‘Carrie’ Remake

UK Release Date: 5th April 2013.

Stars: Kimberly Peirce (director), Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde.

Plot: A sheltered high school girl unleashes her newly developed telekinetic powers after she is pushed too far by her peers.

This is the first piece of footage we have been able to see for the remake of Carrie, based on the novel by Stephen King. Horror isn’t normally my thing but if this is anything to go by then Carrie could well be something that gets me into the cinema.

Chloe Moretz is a wonderful actress and at such a young age it is obvious that she has a huge future ahead of her. In this teaser trailer we get to see her recreate a famous image from the original film.

Carrie should be in safe hands with Kimberly Peirce at the helm. She hasn’t directed much but when she has it has been terrific; Boys Don’t Cry back in 1999 and the highly under rated Stop-Loss (starring Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in 2008 being her stand out projects. She should have another hit on her hands here!

The trailer overall gives off the spooky and paranormal/supernatural vibes you must expect from Carrie and puts you amidst the destruction that has been caused in the town. In just a minute and one simple scene the teaser trailer gives plenty of reasons to be excited about this film.

Bandslam (2009) Review

Bandslam is an American musical romantic comedy set in a high school. The film centres around Will, a teenager with an unhealthy musical obsession with David Bowie, and his move to a new school. Here, he meets Charlotte and the pair form an unlikely bond and friendship through their appreciation of music. Together they assemble a like-minded group of misfits to form a rock band and compete in a battle of the bands competition names Bandslam.

In the main role of Will is Gaelen Connell and this was his first main part. It’s a part that he isn’t bad in but he doesn’t actually do anything all that good either and is outshone by other members of the cast. Aly Michalka and Vanessa Hudgens play the two love interests and were both praised for their performances upon original release. This surprised me as I didn’t think either of them were particularly fantastic although Hudgens did pull off her character pretty well and Michalka manages to convey the two sides of her character Charlotte’ personality very well. Lisa Kudrow puts in a humorous performance as Will’s caring mother but has limited screen time.

It would be pretty easy to sit there and nit pick what is wrong with Bandslam. The movie has a strange quality in that it seems to move at a pretty fast pace with nothing of note actually taking place throughout many of the scenes; the character’s have very little to them for the first three quarters of the film and we are left in a position where we don’t really care what actually happens to them because we don’t know anything about them. The relationships between Will and both Charlotte (Michalka) and Sa5m (Hudgens) seem to come from nowhere and have absolutely no substance to them, although as the movie progresses the relationships do get more attention and become more personal which is a good point.

For a comedy, Bandslam is not very funny and has very very little laugh out loud moments. Other than a brilliant scene showcasing Will and Sa5m’s first kiss there are no other real funny moments in the film, which is a shame because if every scene was of the same quality as this one Bandslam would have had some serious potential. However, the musical aspects of the film are fantastic and the songs written specifically for Bandlsam are actually really good and really well written. They provide great story telling devices and provide further, much needed insight to the characters.

Thankfully, despite a poor start Bandslam has a pretty good ending which manages to save itself from being a poor film all round. The final half an hour finally gives us some back story of the characters and actually makes them seem like real people which we could have done with a lot sooner. The climatic battle of the bands scenes are okay but nothing to really shout about but a great little cameo from Will’s idol David Bowie at the end really concludes the film in a nice way.

Bandslam is by no means a classic but if you have nothing else to do one day it might be worth a watch. It’s an all round enjoyable film that provides light relief without ever challenging anything.

My Rating: 6/10

Why I Love… 10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You was the first film that I really fell in love with, after being forced to watch it while I was in school. Directed by Gil Junger, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew set in an American high school. I am quite a fan of Shakespeare’s works so this is one of the little reasons I like the film.

Released in 1999 it comes as no surprise that 10 Things I Hate About You is incredibly 90s. It’s not just set in the 90s it is incredibly over the top 90s that you can’t watch it without feeling nostalgic. But because of this, the film is visually great; its vibrant, its colourful, bright and, at times, majorly over the top but it’s just so fun that it gets away with it. That’s reason one, the visuals.

The next reason is the brilliant soundtrack. All around, 10 Things I Hate About You is a really fun film and with the addition of “chicks who can’t play their instruments”, in the words of Patrick Verona, the film really comes alive. There is plenty of 90s chick rock playing over the top of the film and whilst this plays a small part in the story of the film it really adds to the audience’s enjoyment.

The cast is made up of young actors, obviously as its set in a high school; a few of them would go on to great things. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become one of the best actors of his generation, Julia Stiles has starred in a lot of big films (including the Bourne franchise) and the late Heath Ledger who needs no description, his talent was undeniable and David Krumholtz became the lead in hit television series Numb3rs. They are all really good actors in their own rights and even back in 1999 their talent was plain to see. Heath Ledger in particular is impressive in 10 Things I Hate About You as the bad guy turned good. The supporting cast (Larry Miller, Daryl Mitchell, Allison Janney) all have turns in the film that provide fantastic comedic moments and with this brilliant cast the film remains light hearted and thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

With the cast being so good, it is obvious that another huge reason to love this film is because of the characters. From the English teacher who just wants kids to “read a book written by a black man” right up to the ‘shrew’ Kat Stratford the characters are connectable and the way they are played and written allows the audience to easily connect. You connect with Cameron and understand his motivations even though Bianca is clearly not good enough for him (at the beginning of the film) and you connect with Kat and understand why she is like she is and you instantly dislike the cocky Joey Donner and await his comeuppance with a little bit of enjoyment. Kat, Bianca and Patrick’s journey and development as the film goes on is clear and fantastic, it is part of what makes the film really good, these characters change because of each other and all end up arguably better people than they were when the film began.

This leads me to my next reason. The themes of friendship and love that overwhelm 10 Things I Hate About You are played out very well. Cameron and Michael become good friends and I like to think that Cameron and Patrick have some sort of friendship especially after Patrick’s words of encouragement at the party. The family relationships in the Stratford household really come along well, from the arguing sisters, Kat and Bianca, to their relationship with their over protective father. And then of course, the relationships between Bianca and Cameron and then Patrick and Kat; Bianca’s relationship with Cameron is the main object of the film, really, and whilst at times it seems this won’t work out it I Patrick’s relationship with Kat that really intrigues audiences. At the beginning Patrick is in it for the money, but as he gets to know Kat he falls in love with her but things get in the way and it is really really satisfying to see that they end up together, happy.

The final, huge reason why I love 10 Things I Hate About You is this:

Heath Ledger’s smile: