Film Review: The Lion King (2019)

Directed by Jon Favreau and a photorealistic live-action remake of the classic 1994 Disney film, The Lion King follows the story of a young lion, Simba (voiced by Donald Glover), who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his native African land following the murder of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones), at the hands of his uncle, Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor). With the help of his friends – Nala (Beyoncé), Zazu (John Oliver), Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) – Simba must figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Film Review: Spider-Man – Homecoming

The second Spider-Man film reboot and the sixteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Spider-Man: Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts, sees Tom Holland take the lead as a young Peter Parker who begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging superhero. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home to Queens, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). He tries to fall back into his normal daily routine, until the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain.

Film Review: The Martian

Directed by Ridley Scott, with screenplay by Drew Goddard and adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Andy Weir, The Martian follows a manned mission to Mars when Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind by his crew after he is presumed dead. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meagre supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA, headed up by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates, commanded by Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), plot a daring rescue mission.

Book v Film: The Martian

“If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.”

Directed by Ridley Scott, with screenplay by Drew Goddard and adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Andy Weir, The Martian follows a manned mission to Mars when Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind by his crew after he is presumed dead. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meagre supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA, headed up by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates, commanded by Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), plot a daring rescue mission.

New Trailer & Images for ‘The Martian’

(Written for Filmoria)

Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain are back en route into space, so if you didn’t like Nolan’s Interstellar last year, Ridley Scott’s The Martian might just be the sci-fi for you.

Based on the novel by Andy Weir and scripted by Drew Goddard, a brand new trailer has been released today, along with two images by 20th Century Fox earlier this week.

Comment: Apparently it Does Matter if You’re Black or White

(Edited version of my competition entry. Click image to view layout on ISSUU.)

Racism is something we’re all aware; we hear about it constantly in society, in football and in our everyday lives, but what about in film?

It’s likely that you would have heard stories about directors, writers and producers typecasting characters and it’s not uncommon to see particular actors play the same racial stereotype all of the time. What is a rarity, however, is an audience’s reaction when they don’t agree with the race of a character cast in a certain role.