Film Review: Avengers – Endgame

The 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the fourth Avengers film, following on from last year’s Infinity War and once again directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Endgame picks up with the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies – including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) – as they must work together to reverse the damage caused by Thanos (Josh Brolin). and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

Book v Film: Arrival (Story Of Your Life)

“I’d love to tell you the story of this evening, the night you’re conceived, but the right time to do that would be when you’re ready to have children of your own, and we’ll never get that chance.”

Based on the short story, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, which is a part of his Stories of Your Life and Others collection, Arrival is directed by Denis Villeneuve and is premised during an alien invasion after multiple mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe. Recruited by the military alongside mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), linguist Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) must assist in translating communications with an alien race known as Heptapods. As mankind scrambles for answers as to why these aliens are here, Banks tries to distinguish between their two distinct forms of language – the Heptapods’ spoken language, which has a free word order, and their written language, which has a complex structure that a single semantic symbol cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence – a vital study to maintain peace with this mysterious race.

Film Review: Arrival

Based on the short story, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, which is a part of his Stories of Your Life and Others collection, Arrival is directed by Denis Villeneuve and is premised during an alien invasion after multiple mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe. Recruited by the military alongside mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), linguist Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) must assist in translating communications with an alien race known as Heptapods. As mankind scrambles for answers as to why these aliens are here, Banks tries to distinguish between their two distinct forms of language – the Heptapods’ spoken language, which has a free word order, and their written language, which has a complex structure that a single semantic symbol cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence – a vital study to maintain peace with this mysterious race.

You Should Be Reading: Story Of Your Life (Arrival)

“I’d love to tell you the story of this evening, the night you’re conceived, but the right time to do that would be when you’re ready to have children of your own, and we’ll never get that chance.”

Story of Your Life is a science fiction short story written by author Ted Chiang, which is a part of his Stories of Your Life and Others collection, originally published in 2002.

Premised during an alien invasion after multiple spacecrafts touch down across the globe, linguist Dr Louise Banks is recruited alongside mathematician Ian Donnelly and US Army Colonel Weber by the military to assist in translating communications with an alien race known as Heptapods. As mankind scrambles for answers as to why these aliens are here, Banks tries to distinguish between their two distinct forms of language – the Heptapods’ spoken language, which has a free word order, and their written language, which has a complex structure that a single semantic symbol cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence – a vital study to maintain peace with this mysterious race.

Titled Arrival and set to be released on 10th November, the film adaptation is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks, Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly, and Forest Whitaker as Colonel Weber.

Film Review: Captain America 3 – Civil War

Rating:

The 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: Civil War follows on from the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron as a rift forms in the Avengers team after political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when another incident results in collateral damage. When the new status quo fractures the team, the Avengers split into two camps – one led by Captain America (Chris Evans) and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other led by Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), following his surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability – causing an epic battle between former allies.

Film Review: Mission Impossible 5 – Rogue Nation

Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible series, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation find the IMF disbanded and Ethan (Tom Cruise) out in the cold. On the run from the CIA, Ethan must try to prove the existence of a network of highly skilled special agents, the Syndicate, an International rogue organization as highly skilled as the IMF, headed up by the ruthless Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Hell-bent on creating a new world order through an escalating series of terrorist attacks, Ethan gathers his team – William (Jeremy Renner), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Luther (Ving Rhames) – and joins forces with disavowed British agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), as the group faces their most impossible mission yet.

Film Review: Avengers Assemble

(Published in Issue 9 of my publication In Retrospect)

Rating:

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, Avengers Assemble centres around the Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)’s, need for a superhero team. Uniting Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Avengers are brought together to face Thor’s Godly brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his Chitauri alien army as they declare war on Earth.

27 New Images for ‘Avengers Assemble’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

A whopping 27 new images of Marvel’s Avengers Assemble have been released online this week, which include a look at How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, the Hulk at his angriest, a lot of lasers, and the odd-looking antagonist Loki played by Tom Hiddleston.

New Avengers Image of Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow

(Written by Lost In The Multiplex)

Another new image has been released for Marvel’s long-awaited action adventure, The Avengers, by Walt Disney Pictures this week, this time featuring Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Set to be released on 27th April, The Avengers, begins when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team after an unexpected enemy threatens global safety.

New German Trailer and Stills For ‘The Avengers’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Marvel Studios have released a new German trailer and two universal stills for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers this week, showing some new footage for the superhero comic book adaptation.

When an unexpected enemy threatens global safety, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team.

New Featurette and Clip Spotlighting Simon Pegg in ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’

(Written for BritScene)

A new featurette and clip have been released for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol this week, putting the spotlight on British actor Simon Pegg and his character Benji.

“Benji is the ultimate IT guy,” says Pegg. “If you need to hack into something, he’s your guy.”

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.