Film Review: Beauty And The Beast (2017)

Directed by Bill Condon and a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1991 animated film, which is an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont‘s 18th-century fairy tale, Beauty And The Beast follows a selfish prince (Dan Stevens) who is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love. When a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, Belle (Emma Watson) enters his enchanted castle, Beast takes her prisoner. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.

Film Review: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay (Part 2)

A whole year after the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1), the final instalment in a series of adaptations based on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels is finally here. With Part 1 leaving the dystopian nation of Panem on the verge of revolution, a hijacked Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) attempting to come to grips with reality, and our reluctant heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) preparing for battle, Part 2 picks up in District 13 as the team plan their way into the Capitol.

Directed once again by Francis Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 2) picks up with Katniss as she must bring together an army when Panem moves into a full-scale war. Teamed with those closest to her – Peeta, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) – Katniss sets out on her own mission, ignoring orders set to her by President Coin (Julianne Moore), as she leads her unit into mortal traps and humanity-breaking moral choices that will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games, in her efforts to end the manipulative reign of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) for good.

Book v Film: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay (Part 2)

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

A whole year after the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1), the final instalment in a series of adaptations based on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels is finally here. With Part 1 leaving the dystopian nation of Panem on the verge of revolution, a hijacked Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) attempting to come to grips with reality, and our reluctant heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) preparing for battle, Part 2 picks up in District 13 as the team plan their way into the Capitol.

Directed once again by Francis Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 2) picks up with Katniss as she must bring together an army when Panem moves into a full-scale war. Teamed with those closest to her – Peeta, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) – Katniss sets out on her own mission, ignoring orders set to her by President Coin (Julianne Moore), as she leads her unit into mortal traps and humanity-breaking moral choices that will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games, in her efforts to end the manipulative reign of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) for good.

You Should Be Reading: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay (Part 1 & 2)

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels, The Hunger Games, is one of the most popular young adult franchises, with the film adaptations being some of the best films over the past couple of years. Now the time has come for the final instalment, the second part of the final novel and the fourth instalment in The Hunger Games franchise, with one of the most anticipated films of 2015, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 2).

Set to be released on 19th November and directed by Francis Lawrence, with Jennifer Lawrence once again in the lead role, this final book sees Katniss face her biggest challenges yet, as she must become the iconic Mockingjay, a symbol of hope and courage in the revolution, to unify the districts of Panem, fight to save those she loves, and attempt to shatter the games forever.

New Poster & Trailer for ‘Mockingjay Part 2’ – “A Sister’s Bond Is Forever”

(Written for Filmoria)

With tickets set to go on sale on 1st October for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, we have a new trailer and poster for the final instalment that we’re all dying to see.

Reaching cinemas on 19th November, the new promotional items center on the strong bond and compassion between two of the most courageous sisters we know – Katniss and Primrose Everdeen.

DVD Review: Wild Card

(Written for Filmoria)

Rating:

Based on the critically acclaimed 1985 novel, Heat, written by two-time Academy Award-winning writer William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, Wild Card is a remake of the 1986 adaptation that starred Burt Reynolds.

Directed by Simon West (The Expendables 2), the film follows Nick Wild (Jason Statham), a bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem, who gets in trouble with the mob whilst on a job in Las Vegas.

You Should Be Reading: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay (Part 1)

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

Suzanne Collins’ young adult trilogy The Hunger Games has to be one of the most popular series of novels at the minute. Set in the dystopian and post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, the novels follow lead heroine Katniss Everdeen, a young girl living in the poorest of 12 districts who, volunteering to save her younger sister, is forced to compete in The Hunger Games. Set up by the government in order to maintain peace, the annual televised games see 24 young representatives fight to the death in a specially designed arena, until only one remains.

Once again directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role, the film adaptation is set to be released on 20th November.

Book v Film: The Hunger Games – Catching Fire

“At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.”

Directed by Francis Lawrence and the second adaptation in Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games trilogy of novels, Catching Fire continues with the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), as she returns home after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games with fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). But it doesn’t take Katniss long to learn that surviving the games doesn’t mean that she has won, especially as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is angry with her for breaking the rules and defying the Capitol at the end of the last Games. Sensing that a rebellion is simmering, the Capitol make a point to prove their control as they prepare for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, The Quarter Quell, a competition that could change Panem forever.

Film Review: The Hunger Games – Catching Fire

Directed by Francis Lawrence and the second adaptation in Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games trilogy of novels, Catching Fire continues with the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), as she returns home after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games with fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). But it doesn’t take Katniss long to learn that surviving the games doesn’t mean that she has won, especially as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is angry with her for breaking the rules and defying the Capitol at the end of the last Games. Sensing that a rebellion is simmering, the Capitol make a point to prove their control as they prepare for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, The Quarter Quell, a competition that could change Panem forever.

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.

Rating:

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.

Film Review: The Hunger Games

(Published in Issue 8 of my publication In Retrospect)

The first in a trilogy of novels written by Suzanne Collins‘ best-selling series, The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future where, in order to maintain peace in the 12 districts of Panem, 24 young representatives are forced to compete in a televised game each year, where they must fight to the death until only one remains. With the film adaptation directed by Gary Ross, the story centres on the character of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a young woman living in the poorest of districts who, when her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is chosen to compete in the games, volunteers herself as tribute alongside fellow district competitor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).

Pitted against the richest of tributes, who have been training all their lives, Katniss is thrown into the colourful world of the rich in interviews with TV host Caeser Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), and Game escort Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks). But with only the mentoring skills of the drunk and bitter Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) to prepare her, does Katniss even stand a chance of returning home to her family? And how will seducing her district competitor in order to attract sponsors affect the harbouring romance she has with Gale (Liam Hemsworth) back at home?

Book v Film: The Hunger Games

“Deep in the meadow, hidden far away / A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray. / Forget your woes and let your troubles lay, / And when it’s morning again, they’ll wash away. / Here it’s safe, here it’s warm. / Here the daisies guard you from every harm. / Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, / Here is the place where I love you.”

The first in a trilogy of novels written by Suzanne Collins‘ best-selling series, The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future where, in order to maintain peace in the 12 districts of Panem, 24 young representatives are forced to compete in a televised game each year, where they must fight to the death until only one remains. With the film adaptation directed by Gary Ross, the story centres on the character of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a young woman living in the poorest of districts who, when her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is chosen to compete in the games, volunteers herself as tribute alongside fellow district competitor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).

Pitted against the richest of tributes, who have been training all their lives, Katniss is thrown into the colourful world of the rich in interviews with TV host Caeser Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), and Game escort Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks). But with only the mentoring skills of the drunk and bitter Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) to prepare her, does Katniss even stand a chance of returning home to her family? And how will seducing her district competitor in order to attract sponsors affect the harbouring romance she has with Gale (Liam Hemsworth) back at home?

‘The Hunger Games’ Pre-Game Special: New IMAX Banner & Character Images

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Lionsgate has released a new IMAX banner for the first film in an adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ best-selling and eagerly awaited trilogy of novels, The Hunger Games, with a set of new character images that have also made their way online this week.

Directed by Gary Ross, the big screen adaptation is set in a post-apocalyptic North America, now named Panem, where teenagers are chosen to battle to the death in annual televised games where only one can survive, an attempt to maintain control by those living in the Capitol in this very dystopian society.

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).

The New ‘Hunger Games’ Jigsaw Poster Revealed!

Over the day, 100 different websites from all over the world have released a single, small piece of the new Hunger Games poster in a jigsaw-style puzzle viral event.

The film, directed by Gary Ross, follows twelve Districts who each send a girl and boy, trained in combat, into the heart of a jungle until only one is left alive. Adapted from Suzanne Collins’ 2008 young adult science fiction novel, it stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Toby Jones, and Donald Sutherland, and is set to be released on 23rd March, 2012.

Film Review: Captain America – The First Avenger

(Read this in my publication In Retrospect – Issue 1)

Rating:

Directed by Joe Johnston, Captain America: The First Avenger is the fifth installment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (after Iron Man, The Hulk, Iron Man 2 and Thor) which was established by crossing over shared plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Although he is the last of the superheroes we are introduced to in preparation for 2012’s The Avengers, Captain America is ‘The First Avenger’ and the film focuses on the earliest days of the Marvel Universe.

Book v Film: The Lovely Bones

“Murderers are not monsters, they’re men. And that’s the most frightening thing about them.”

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.

Film Review: The Lovely Bones

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.