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.

Film Review: Despicable Me 2

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The computer-animated sequel Despicable Me 2, directed by Pierre Louis Padang Coffin and Chris Renaud, picks up with Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his three adopted girls – Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) – as he is recruited by the Anti-Villain League by agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) to help deal with a powerful new super criminal. At first refusing, Gru’s mind is soon changed when he learns that someone has stolen a mutating chemical compound called PX-41, which has the ability to transform living things into indestructible killing machines, and that his minions have started to mysteriously go missing.

Film Review: Friends With Kids

(Published in Issue 11 of my publication In Retrospect)

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Written by, produced by, directed by and starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Friends With Kids follows two best friends – Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) – who decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic. Their aim is to avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships, as witnessed with their best friends Ben (Jon Hamm – Westfeldt’s real-life partner) and Missy (Kristen Wiig), and Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O’Dowd), but will it be as easy as they had planned? When Jason meets Mary Jane (Megan Fox) and Julie meets Kurt (Edward Burns), it seems like it may just work out for the couple.

Red Band Trailer for ‘Friends With Kids’ Starring Adam Scott, Chris O’Dowd & Kristen Wiig

(Written for HeyUGuys)

A red band trailer for the upcoming comedy Friends with Kids has been released this week. Starring the likes of Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Edward Burns, Megan Fox, and Chris O’Dowd, this looks set to be a great comedy for this year, and if you haven’t already, I recommend that watch the trailer below.