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: X-Men – Apocalypse

The ninth instalment in the X-Men film series, following on from 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and again directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men: Apocalypse is set in 1983 when the first and most powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur a.k.a. Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), awakens after thousands of years. Amassed with the powers of many other mutants, which has enabled him to become both immortal and invincible, Apocalypse plans to wipe out modern civilisation and take over the world, and recruits a team of powerful mutants – including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Angel (Ben Hardy), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) – to help him cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), return to lead a team of young X-Men – including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) – to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

Film Review: Dark Places

The second adaptation of a Gillian Flynn novel to make it onto the big screen, the first being the hugely successful Gone Girl which was directed by David Fincher and released last year, Dark Places is a crime mystery based on Flynn’s second novel of the same name, which was originally published in 2009. Dark Places follows Libby Day (Charlize Theron) who, at the age of eight, witnessed the brutal murder of her family in their rural Kansas farmhouse, for which her brother was convicted for at the time. 30 years later, running out of money and with doubts beginning to creep up, Libby agrees to revisit the crime in an attempt to uncover the wrenching truths that led up to that tragic night.

Book v Film: Dark Places

“I felt hollowed out. My mom’s death was not useful. I felt a shot of rage at her, and then imagined those last bloody moments in the house, when she realised it had gone wrong, when Debby lay dying, and it was all over, her unsterling life. My anger gave way to a strange tenderness, what a mother might feel for her child, and I thought, at least she tried. She tried, on that final day, as hard as anyone could have tried. And I would try to find peace in that.”

The second adaptation of a Gillian Flynn novel to make it onto the big screen, the first being the hugely successful Gone Girl which was directed by David Fincher and released last year, Dark Places is a crime mystery based on Flynn’s second novel of the same name, which was originally published in 2009. Dark Places follows Libby Day (Charlize Theron) who, at the age of eight, witnessed the brutal murder of her family in their rural Kansas farmhouse, for which her brother was convicted for at the time. 30 years later, running out of money and with doubts beginning to creep up, Libby agrees to revisit the crime in an attempt to uncover the wrenching truths that led up to that tragic night.

Film Review: Mad Max – Fury Road

The fourth film in the Australian dystopian franchise which began in 1979, and once again directed by George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road is the first film in the franchise in 30 years, which sees Tom Hardy replace Mel Gibson as “Mad” Max Rockatansky. Set in a future desert wasteland where gasoline and water are scarce commodities and where humanity is broken, Max joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland, as they flee from cult leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his army in an armoured tanker truck, leading to an explosive road battle.

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Film Review: X-Men – Days of Future Past

From the director of X-Men 1 and 2, Bryan Singer, X-Men: Days of Future Past sees the ultimate X-Men ensemble fight a war for the survival of the species across two time periods. As the characters that began our X-Men infatuation from the original trilogy of films – Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Storm (Halle Berry), Kitty (Ellen Page), and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) – join forces with their younger selves from the excellent prequel X-Men: First Class – Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) – when Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent back in time, they must change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save both humans and mutants.

DVD Review: Jack The Giant Slayer

From director Bryan Singer and the latest in a series of fairy tale retellings, Jack the Giant Slayer follows the story of a Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a young farmhand who volunteers to fight for his kingdom, to ultimately win the love of a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson), after he mistakenly opens a gateway between his world and the world of the fearsome giants, reigniting an ancient war. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, Jack is faced with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend, as they strive to reclaim the land they once lost.

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Film Review: Warm Bodies

(Published on Lost In The Multiplex)

Directed by Jonathan Levine, Warm Bodies follows the developing relationship between a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) and a human called Julie (Teresa Palmer), who is the daughter of the leader of the human survivor group, Colonel Grigio (John Malkovich). After saving her from an attack that takes the life of her boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco) and leaving behind her best friend Nora (Analeigh Tipton), R takes a sudden attraction to Julie that his corpse-like self doesn’t quite know how to handle. As Julie begins to see that R is different from the other zombies, the two form a special relationship that set in motion a sequence of events that might transform their entire lifeless world for the better.

Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit-McPhee to Star in ‘Young Ones’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

The cast for Jake Platrow’s upcoming futuristic thriller Young Ones is shaping up quite nicely, as Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon, Elle Fanning, and Kodi Smit-McPhee join the ensemble this week.

Centring on a 14-year-old boy who is forced to use his wits to survive, Young Ones is set in a violent near-future where water has become the most precious—and fastest-dwindling—resource on the planet.

The New Trailer For ‘Jack The Giant Slayer’ Promises Big Action

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

A couple of weeks ago we had the first trailer for zombie romance Warm Bodies, while this week we have a brand new trailer for another film set to star Skins actor Nicholas Hoult in the lead role, with director Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Slayer.

UK Series ‘Skins’ To End With One Final Series & Former Stars To Return

(Written for BritScene)

Channel 4 has announced this week that E4’s British teen drama series Skins will bow out with one final series, where famous Skins characters from all six series will star in ‘celebratory’ reappearances.

“Channel 4 today confirmed that next year’s series of E4’s teen drama Skins will be its last,” the broadcaster commented earlier this week. The series has now been recommissioned for a special seventh run, the final in the series, which will be made of three films broken into six parts.

The First Poster and Trailer for ‘Jack The Giant Killer’ Are Here!

(Written for BritScene)

Warner Bros. have released the first trailer for Bryan Singer’s take on the children’s fairytale, Jack And The Beanstalk, today, and a new poster was quick to follow.

Jack The Giant Killer follows the classic story of a boy named Jack (Nicholas Hoult) who swaps his cow for a handful of magical beans, consequently opening up the gate between the world of humans with the world of the giants when the beans grow into a ginormous beanstalk. Of course, like the many other fairytale re-imaginings that are being released and filmed at the minute, there is a darker, more adult twist for the film, as Jack is forced to go on a mission to rescue Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson).

Film Review: X-Men – First Class

X-Men: First Class is the prequel to the X-Men franchise and is directed by Kick Ass‘ Matthew Vaughn. This latest addition to the, until now, trilogy details the formation of Professor Charles Xavier’s (James McAvoy) school for young mutants, focusing on his relationship with Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and where it took a wrong turn, and explaining the origin of the rival mutant teams, introducing us to both younger characters from the previous films and to new characters as well, showcasing a handful of extraordinary new powers.