Film Review: Serenity

Directed by Steven Knight, Serenity follows Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey), a fishing boat captain who leads tours off a tranquil, tropical enclave called Plymouth Island. He lives a quiet, sheltered life, which is soon shattered when his ex-wife, Karen (Anne Hathaway), tracks him down with a desperate plea for help. She begs Dill to save her and their young son from her new, violent husband, Frank (Jason Clarke). She offers him $10 million to take him out to sea on a fishing excursion and to throw him to the sharks. Karen’s appearance thrusts Dill back into a life he’d tried to forget, and as he struggles between right and wrong, his world is plunged into a new reality that may not be all that it seems.

Film Review: Ocean’s Eight

Directed by Gary Ross and a continuation/spin-off from Steven Soderbergh‘s Ocean’s trilogy, Ocean’s Eight follows Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) as she gathers an all-female crew – Lou (Cate Blanchett), Tammy (Sarah Paulson), Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), Daphne (Anne Hathaway), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Constance (Awkwafina), and Nine Ball (Rihanna) – to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala.

Film Review: Interstellar

From director Christopher Nolan, Interstellar is set in a future when our time on Earth is coming to an end. To discover whether there is a future for mankind, a team of explorers – including Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and Brand (Anne Hathaway) – must travel among the stars through a newly discovered wormhole that they use to surpass the limitations on human space travel, on an interstellar endeavor in an attempt to find a habitable planet where mankind can continue to exist.

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Film Review: Les Misérables

Directed by Tom Hooper and based on the musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, which is in turn based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables is set in 19th-century France against the backdrop of the 1832 Rebellion in Paris. Following the lives and interactions of several characters, the film focuses on ex-convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who has spent decades being hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) after breaking his parole and agreeing to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen/Amanda Seyfried).

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Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

(Published in Issue 12 of my publication In Retrospect)

The final instalment to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises picks up eight years after the attacks of The Joker and Two-Face from 2008’s The Dark Knight when a new terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy), overwhelms Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). When jewel thief Selina aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) threatens that a storm is coming, Bruce Wayne a.k.a the caped crusader that is Batman (Christian Bale) must resurface from his years of solitude to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. With Bane intending to destroy everything that Bruce has his name to, he must enlist the help of his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and his business manager Fox (Morgan Freeman), and put his trust in a new colleague Miranda (Marion Cotillard) to rise again.

Dream On: First Official Trailer & New Images for Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

This week we have the first official trailer and a number of new images for Tom Hooper’s big screen adaptation of the epic musical drama, Les Miserables.

Adapted from the hugely successful stage show that has been seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and 21 languages and based on Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 novel, the film is set in 19th century France and follows a paroled prisoner named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who seeks redemption.

Christian Bale talks ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Christian Bale has been talking about where the final chapter of Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy will take his character of Bruce Wayne this week, as confirmation is given that the sequel will take place eight years after the events depicted in The Dark Knight.

From the sounds of it, Bale will be going to some very dark places, posing the question to his fictional alter-ego, “How long will you let the pain and loss define your life?” when talking to Aceshowbiz.

Catwoman Shows Off Her New Costume

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Anne Hathaway has been snapped in downtown Los Angeles this weekend during filming for The Dark Knight Rises, showing off her leather Catwoman costume in full whilst straddling her own blackened mode of transport.

The photos show Hathaway alongside Christian Bale as Batman and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.

The film also stars Tom Hardy as Batman’s most deadly and powerful foe, Bane, and Joseph Goron-Levitt as John Blake, a new Gotham Detective who joins Commissioner Gordon’s squad to catch the Batman.

It’s Been a ‘Super’ Week for Marvel and DC

This week sees the trailers of two of the most anticipated and upcoming superhero films, the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, and Marc Webb‘s first in a series of rebooted Spider-Man films, The Amazing Spider-Man. Captain America is out in cinemas next week and a (good quality) trailer is due for The Avengers shortly. With the Comic-Con this week, as well, everyone has gone Marvel and DC mad.

First up there’s Captain America which is released in UK cinemas next week on 29th July. Only a short time to wait until the year for the following three films. However, Captain America is the last of The Avengers team that we need to meet so it’s about time. Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) who is deemed unfit for military service and volunteers for a top-secret research project, thus turning him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals.