Book, Film & TV Reviews
Directed by Ruben Fleischer and the first film in Sony’s Marvel Universe, Venom follows a failed reporter, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), who gains superpowers after being bound to an alien entity, one of many symbiotes who have invaded Earth, giving him a violent super alter-ego: Venom. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organisation led by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) who is looking for a symbiote of his own.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk is a World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. Told from various perspectives, we see how the war effected those in the ground – Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), Alex (Harry Styles), and Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) – those in the air – Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden) – and those at sea – Soldier (Cillian Murphy), many of whom were rescued by civilian sailors – Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance), George (Barry Keoghan) and Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney).
This year’s biggest Oscar contender, The Revenant, is based in part on Michael Punke‘s The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, which is inspired by the experiences of the legendary explorer, frontiersman and fur trapper, Hugh Glass, set in the 1820s. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film follows Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) on expedition with his son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), and his hunting team – including Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) – when Hugh is brutally attacked by a bear. Left for dead, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption, in a quest to survive and seek revenge on the man to blame.
Based on the true story and directed by Brian Helgeland, Legend follows the rise and fall of the notorious 1960s gangsters, twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray (both portrayed by Tom Hardy), two of the most well-known criminals in British history. Based on the book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson, Legend explores the relationship that bound the twins together, details how they built their organised crime empire in the East End of London, and charts their gruesome career until their ultimate downfall and imprisonment for life in 1969.
(Written for Filmoria)
Next week sees the release of the hugely anticipated Legend, which stars Tom Hardy as both of the notorious Kray twins. To celebrate the film’s release, we take a look at 12 of the best on-screen portrayals of real-life gangsters in film.
Set to be released on 9th September and directed by Brian Helgeland, Legend tells the story of tells the story of the 1960s twin gangsters, Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most well-known criminals in British history.
Continue reading “Top 12 On-Screen Portrayals of Real-Life Gangsters”
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.
An adaptation of Matt Bondurant‘s 2008 novel The Wettest County in the World and directed by John Hillcoat, Lawless follows these three brothers – Forrest (Tom Hardy), Jack (Shia LaBeouf) and Howard (Jason Clarke) – who, in a Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia, find their bootlegging business under threat by a new deputy (Guy Pearce) and other authorities who want a cut of their profits.
(Published in Issue 12 of my publication In Retrospect)
The final instalment to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises picks up eight years after the attacks of The Joker and Two-Face from 2008’s The Dark Knight when a new terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy), overwhelms Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). When jewel thief Selina aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) threatens that a storm is coming, Bruce Wayne a.k.a the caped crusader that is Batman (Christian Bale) must resurface from his years of solitude to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. With Bane intending to destroy everything that Bruce has his name to, he must enlist the help of his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and his business manager Fox (Morgan Freeman), and put his trust in a new colleague Miranda (Marion Cotillard) to rise again.
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Debuting on Facebook earlier this week, we have the brand new poster for Christopher Nolan’s final instalment in his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.
Seeing the return of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, aka The Batman, we see the dark-suited superhero take on his biggest and fiercest nemesis yet, Bane (Tom Hardy).
Whilst the poster has already had a large lash of criticism, I don’t think the Photoshop job is that bad. It actually makes a very decent poster for the film’s upcoming release; so what if Batman has only been cropped onto the last poster we saw? At least it’s a bit of an improvement.
Continue reading “A Fire Will Rise, But Does This ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Poster Deserve Flaming?”
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
The first image of Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke as the three brothers in John Hillcoat‘s gangster drama Lawless have been released this week, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
Formerly known as The Wettest County, and not to be confused with Terrence Mallick’s upcoming previously titled Lawless, the film is an adaptation of the 2008 historical novel The Wettest County in the World written by Matt Bondurant. With screenplay by Nick Cave, the film follows these three brothers who find their bootlegging business under threat in a Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia.
Continue reading “Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf & Jason Clarke Look ‘Lawless’ In New Picture”
(Written for BritScene)
Some very interesting casting news this week, including Tom Hardy taking on his first project under his new Executive Options banner and Colin Salmon and Theo James joining a couple of interesting new TV pilots. If that’s not enough to entice you to read more, then you can also find out about the ongoings of David Oyelowo, Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, and Lily Collins too, who are joining some really great upcoming films such as Writers, Serena and The Butler.
Continue reading “Casting Catch-Up: Tom Hardy, Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, Lily Collins & More!”
(Published in Issue 8 of my publication In Retrospect)
Directed by McG, This Means War is a romantic comedy action film that centers on two CIA agents, best friends FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy), who find themselves part of a love triangle when they end up dating the same woman. When neither is willing to back down, the quest for true loves turns into a spy vs. spy operation as the two battle to see who has the best tricks in the book, as they become willing to do anything to come out on top, literally. Meanwhile, Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon) must make a decision for herself, as she is forced to choose between the womanising playboy that is FDR, and the sensitive and easier option that is being offered by Tuck. So who, if anyone at all, will she choose?
(Written for BritScene)
With not a lot of British-related news going on at the box office over the last couple of weeks, things are starting to heat up again with a couple of new releases this week. It’s actually quite a good week for a number of Brits including Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, David Tennant, and Irish comedy actor Chris O’Dowd, with a great selection of films for the next seven days, and we know that you will be happy to see a couple of these in particular on the big screen at last.
(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.
Continue reading “Brits At The Box Office: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy & More!”
(Written for HeyUGuys)
When some fans were treated to a six-minute prologue of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises on select IMAX screens last month, the thing that got people talking the most about was that Bane’s (Tom Hardy) dialogue was very hard to understand.
However, Nolan recently commented that he had no plans to rework Bane’s dialogue, despite the fact that complaint was universal and that fans seemed to be very concerned about the matter. He said he wasn’t opposed to “altering the sounds slightly” but he refused to “rework it completely.”
(Weekly feature written for BritScene)
This week we’re bringing back our weekly feature ‘Brits At The Box Office’, where we pull together all the information you need about the British cinema heading your way over the next seven days. It’s a great week for cinema too, with some brilliant films full of spies, sex addicts, and a little bit of Christmas. What better way to kick off December?
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Christian Bale has been talking about where the final chapter of Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy will take his character of Bruce Wayne this week, as confirmation is given that the sequel will take place eight years after the events depicted in The Dark Knight.
From the sounds of it, Bale will be going to some very dark places, posing the question to his fictional alter-ego, “How long will you let the pain and loss define your life?” when talking to Aceshowbiz.
Continue reading “Christian Bale talks ‘The Dark Knight Rises’”
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Anne Hathaway has been snapped in downtown Los Angeles this weekend during filming for The Dark Knight Rises, showing off her leather Catwoman costume in full whilst straddling her own blackened mode of transport.
The photos show Hathaway alongside Christian Bale as Batman and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.
The film also stars Tom Hardy as Batman’s most deadly and powerful foe, Bane, and Joseph Goron-Levitt as John Blake, a new Gotham Detective who joins Commissioner Gordon’s squad to catch the Batman.
(Read this in my publication In Retrospect – Issue 2 and on BritScene)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief.
This month has got many film critics talking about Gary Oldman and, with the release of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy this month, it’s not hard to see why. Alongside Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt and Tom Hardy, this film adaptation, directed by Tomas Alfredson, is a traditional British spy thriller based on the novel written by John le Carré in 1974.
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.
Continue reading “It’s Been a ‘Super’ Week for Marvel and DC”
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