Book v Film: The Mountain Between Us

“Maybe each of us was once a complete whole. A clear picture. A single piece. Then something happened to crack and shatter us. Leaving us disconnected, torn and splintered. Some of us lie in a hundred pieces. Some ten thousand. Some are edged with sharp contrast. Some dim shades of grey. Some find they are missing pieces. Some find they have too many. In any case, we are left shaking our heads. It can’t be done. Then someone comes along who mends a tattered edge or returns a lost piece. The process is tedious, painful, and there are no shortcuts.”

Based on the 2011 romance novel by Charles Martin and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, The Mountain Between Us follows Dr Ben Payne (Idris Elba) and writer Ashley Knox (Kate Winslet) – known in the film as Ben Bass and Alex Martin – who are stranded in the High Uintas Wilderness after their charter plane crashes when the pilot has a heart attack mid-flight. Knowing that nobody is coming to their rescue, the couple must trek through the snow-capped mountains against the harsh conditions to find safety. The ordeal leads them to rely on each other to stay alive and, ultimately, brings them closer together.

Film Review: The Mountain Between Us

Based on the 2011 romance novel by Charles Martin and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, The Mountain Between Us follows Dr Ben Bass (Idris Elba) and journalist Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) who are stranded in the High Uintas Wilderness after their charter plane crashes when the pilot has a heart attack mid-flight. Knowing that nobody is coming to their rescue, the couple must trek through the snow-capped mountains against the harsh conditions to find safety. The ordeal leads them to rely on each other to stay alive and, ultimately, brings them closer together.

Film Review: The Jungle Book (2016)

Based on Rudyard Kipling‘s classic collection of stories, and a re-imagining of the 1967 Disney animation, directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book tells the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi), an orphaned human living in the remote jungle of India. Guided by his guardians – Raksha the wolf (Lupita Nyong’o), Baloo the bear (Bill Murray), and Bagheera the black panther (Ben Kingsley) – Mowgli sets out on a journey of self-discovery, meeting monsters of the jungle – including Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and King Louie (Christopher Walken) – while evading the threatening Shere Khan (Idris Elba).

Book v Film: The Jungle Book (2016)

“The reason the beasts give among themselves is that Man is the weakest and most defenceless of all living things.”

Based on Rudyard Kipling‘s classic collection of stories and a re-imagining of the 1967 Disney animation, directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book tells the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi), an orphaned human living in the remote jungle of India. Guided by his guardians – Raksha the wolf (Lupita Nyong’o), Baloo the bear (Bill Murray), and Bagheera the black panther (Ben Kingsley) – Mowgli sets out on a journey of self-discovery, meeting monsters of the jungle – including Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and King Louie (Christopher Walken) – while evading the threatening Shere Khan (Idris Elba).

First Beautiful Poster for ‘The Jungle Book’

(Written for Filmoria)

The film industry has gone a little mad with their live-action remakes of classic Disney films at the minute. We’ve seen Cinderella, Maleficent, Alice In Wonderland, two Snow White adaptations, Jack The Giant Slayer, Hansel and Gretel, and even 101 Dalmatians (many years ago!), and there are many which are still yet to be released, including Beauty and The Beast, The Sword In The Stone, Pinocchio, and The Little Mermaid.

I think that’s them all so far, anyway…

Film Review: Thor 2 – The Dark World

Rating:

Marvel‘s latest, Thor: The Dark World, and directed by Alan Taylor, continues the big-screen adventures of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Mighty Avenger, in the aftermath of 2012’s Avengers Assemble. As a shadowy enemy predates the universe itself, Thor must fight to save Earth and all the Nine Realms in order to restore order across the cosmos, as an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

DVD Review: Pacific Rim

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Directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro, Pacific Rim is a science-fiction monster film set in a dystopian future when legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, rise from the sea from an inter-dimensional portal on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. On the brink of a war that would take millions of lives and consume all of humanity’s resources, a special type of weapon is devised to combat the giant Kaiju: massive robots called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. On the verge of defeat, commanding officer Stacker Pentecos (Idris Elba) turns to two unlikely heroes – a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) – who, together, stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Film Review: Prometheus

(Published in Issue 11 of my publication In Retrospect)

Directed by Ridley Scott, Prometheus follows a pair of archaeologists, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who discover a star map to the origins of mankind on Earth. Boarded on a ship called Prometheus that is run by Captain Janek (Idris Elba), android David (Michael Fassbender) and Meredith (Charlize Theron), a team of explorers are lead a journey to the darkest corners of the universe where age-old questions are answered and new horrors force the team to face a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

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.

Idris Elba Confirms Heimdall’s Return in ‘Thor 2’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Idris Elba, next to be seen as the captain of the spaceship in Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sci-fi Prometheus, is to reprise his role as Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard, in Marvel’s Thor 2, Collider have reported this week.

He also commented that he wanted to get to know his character a bit more. “Who is Heimdall? He guards the gate. Okay. Is there anything else? I don’t know what is in the script because I haven’t read it yet. But, the audience has responded to Asgard and wants to know more about who lives there and what it’s about. I’m sure, if they do that, Heimdall will be featured more.”

Competition Entry: Prejudice In Film

(Written for a competition to write for MTV Sticky, which I won.)

You may have heard that The Hunger Games has done extremely well since its release last month, making over $350M worldwide and clinging on to the top of the box office for four whole weeks, but did you hear about those who only had negative things to say about the film?

Casting Catch-Up: Tom Felton, Rupert Grint, Colin Farell, Clive Owen & Many More!

(Written for BritScene)

This week’s casting news begins with a bit of a Harry Potter special. Whilst we’ve seen much from Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson since the end of filming for the Harry Potter franchise, it’s now time for Tom Felton and Rupert Grint to return to the big screen. Other news includes that of Keira Knightley, Colin Farrell, Clive Owen, Louise Lombard, Simon Merrells and Naomie Harris, so keep reading to see who will be Winnie Mandela to Idris Elba‘s Nelson, Marcus Crassus in Starz Original’s Spartacus series, and one of the lead roles in Warner Bros. Arthur and Lancelot.

Idris Elba In Talks For British Adventure ‘Ascension’

(Written for BritScene)

Luther star Idris Elba is in talks to join the cast of the TV adventure/thriller miniseries, Ascension.

British producer Vivek J. Tiwary (The Fifth Beatle) and writer Warren Ellis (Red) have teamed up for the project, which revolves around the history and future of astronomy and mankind’s impulse for the stars.

Casting Catch-Up: Simon Pegg, James D’Arcy, Idris Elba, & More!

(Written for BritScene)

With some more great casting stories this week, if you’re a fan of the British psychological crime drama television series Luther then you’re definitely in for a treat. With some brilliant sounding TV pilots coming up and a few interesting films in the works, carry on reading to find out the ongoings of Simon Pegg, James D’Arcy, Idris Elba, Minnie Driver, Ruth Bradley, Neil Cross and Ewan Bremner. You won’t be disappointed.

Brits At The Box Office: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy & More!

(Weekly feature written for BritScene)

There’s not much going on film-wise this week, with only two films being released with a couple of British actors in and one animated re-telling of a British classic, but a couple of films have made it to the top of the Box Office from last week and we are likely to see them carry on doing well. So fear not, there’s still something for all to see at the theater this week featuring some brilliant British actors, so carry on reading to see what you can see on the big screen over the next seven days.

BBC Crime Drama ‘Luther’ Looks Set For The Big Screen

(Written for BritScene)

We have already had the good news that the third series of the hit BBC psychological crime drama, Luther has been commissioned. Now after comments by Luther creator Neil Cross it is looking more and more likely that that a big screen adaptation is also on the way.