Film Review: The Favourite

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and set in early 18th-century England, The Favourite is period black comedy that examines the mostly-true relationship between two cousins, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), Duchess of Marlborough, and Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), who later became Baroness Masham, who compete to charm and be the favourites of a frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). With England at war with the French, the politics of war has become quite time-consuming for Lady Sarah, a close friend of the Queen who has been governing the country in her stead. Seeing her chance at a return to her aristocratic roots, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen’s companion.

Film Review: La La Land

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, La La Land tells the story of Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, the two fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.

Film Review: Birdman

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Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman follows a washed-up actor, Riggan (Michael Keaton), who once played an iconic superhero. Now, as he mounts a Broadway play, led by stars Lesley (Naomi Watts) and Mike (Edward Norton), in a bid to reclaim his past glory, he must overcome his ego and family troubles and get back on track with his life and career and fix the bond with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone).

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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Directed by Marc Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the sequel to the reboot that sees the return of the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield). This time, Peter learns that being Spider-Man comes at a price, as only he can protect his fellow New Yorkers, most importantly girlfriend Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone), from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realise that all of his enemies have one thing in common: OsCorp.

DVD Review: The Croods

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Directed by Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders, The Croods follows a caveman family who, when their cave is destroyed, must embark on an adventure through an unfamiliar fantastical world in search of a new home. With the help of an inventive nomad named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet sloth, Grug (Nicolas Cage) and his family – Eep (Emma Stone), Ugga (Catherine Keener), Gran (Cloris Leachman), Sandy (Randy Thom) and Thunk (Clark Duke) – must conquer their fear of the outside world and discover that they have exactly what it takes to survive – each other.

Meet ‘The Croods’ In The New Trailer For Dreamworks’ Latest

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

DreamWorks’ latest animation The Croods has a new trailer this week, introducing us to a brilliant voice cast led by the likes of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman.

The film is set in “a previously undiscovered era in the history of our planet” and follows the world’s very first pre-historic family as they go on a road trip to an uncharted and fantastical world.

The International Trailer For Gangster Squad Blasts Your Screen To Smithereens

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad has a new international trailer this week, giving us a couple more seconds of footage for the Zombieland-director’s upcoming crime drama.

Starring Sean Penn as the ruthless New York gangster Mickey Cohen, the film is set in Los Angeles in 1949 and is a colourful retelling of events surrounding a special task force known as the Gangster Squad, focusing on their efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

(Published in Issue 12 of my publication In Retrospect)

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After the huge success of The Avengers earlier this year, this month sees the release of Marvel‘s latest film, The Amazing Spider-Man. Directed by Marc Webb, the film is a reboot of Sam Raimi‘s original Spider-Man trilogy that starred Tobey Maguire in the lead role. Now with Andrew Garfield taking the role as Peter Parker, a.k.a the web-slinging superhero that is Spider-Man, we see a different, more personal side to his story. As Peter finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young, his path puts him on a collision course with his father’s former partner Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), whose current experiments with animal stem cells will change the lives of them both.

Check Out These Gangster New Images for ‘The Gangster Squad’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

With the release of the first trailer for Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad a couple of weeks ago, Warner Bros. has now released the first set of images for the for the upcoming crime drama.

Starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin and set in Los Angeles in 1949, the film is a colourful retelling of events surrounding a special task force known as the Gangster Squad’s efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time, the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen (Penn).

2 Amazing New Spider-Man Posters

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Spider-Man has caught two new posters in his web this week, further highlighting that The Amazing Spider-Man does look pretty amazing.

Featuring Andrew Garfield in the lead role, Marc Webb’s reboot of Marvel’s web-slinging superhero follows Peter Parker’s journey to put the pieces of his past together he uncovers a secret that his father held; a secret that will ultimately shape his destiny as Spider-Man.

New Photos and Confirmed Sequels for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

The official website for Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man has gone live this week, revealing a bunch of brand-new images, as well as the official synopsis and some character descriptions, which promise that this film is the first of several in the works.

Something else that’s been noticed from the new website is that Irrfan Khan, originally said to be playing a character named Van Adder, is now credited as Dr. Ratha.

Amazing Video and Photos From ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Set

(Written for Lost In The Muliplex)

This week we have new images from The Amazing Spider-Man shoot that took place in New York and a video of the set showing the web-slinger in action.

The pictures give us sneak-peak at Marc Webb’s reboost of the Spider-Man franchise, showing the cast in their character roles both during and after takes.

The images include Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as Peter Parker and love-interest Gwen Stacy cosying up, and what I presume to be an effect of Spider-Man at work as a hapless criminal hangs strung up by his boxers outside the local police department.

Film Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love

(Read this in my publication In Retrospect – Issue 2)

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Crazy, Stupid, Love, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, opens with Cal (Steve Carell) and his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) having an awkward meal at a restaurant. Emily promptly and publicly admits that she has had an affair with her co-worker David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) and that she wants a divorce, forcing Cal to move out of his house and away from his children Robbie (Jonah Bobo) and Molly (Joey King). Whilst drinking his sorrows away in a bar, Cal meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a young, attractive womaniser who we previously meet trying to chat up law student Hannah (Emma Stone). Whilst Hannah’s storyline plays in and out of the main one, Jacob proposes that he can help Cal turn his life around by teaching him how to start living as a single man. After a quick make-over, and more than a few slaps, Cal and Jacob begin to form a much-needed friendship as Cal attempts to get over Emily.

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.