Iron Man 3 Premiere

Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square - all decked out for the Premiere

I had planned to go to the Iron Man 3 Premiere with my cinema buddy but when the Premiere got moved from Wednesday to Thursday (due to the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher's funeral - how ironic!) my cinema buddy could no longer attend. As such, I wasn't sure if I should still, or could, go on my own. I'd never done a Premiere on my own before and it was a scary prospect! In the end, as I had the day off work anyway, I made the decision to go stag with the possibility of meeting up with one of my Tumblr followers as I'd done that before and it turned out very well!

Regrettably the person I'd intended to meet couldn’t make it into the enclosed pens that we’d been put into so I have yet to meet her, but thankfully I got chatting to the loveliest bunch of ladies as I milled around waiting for the stars! One french lady had come to the Premiere with her 14 year old daughter, and we got talking to a lovely 17 year old Thai girl and her 20 year old Brazilian friend who are both studying in London. The Brazilian girl let us all stand under her umbrella for the brief rainstorm, the Thai girl went to get us all hot chocolate to warm us up afterwards and the French lady gave us all cake! I could honestly not have asked for a lovelier bunch of people to wait with me. 

 

RDJ posing next to a flash car

Back of RDJ as he signs autographs for fans

RDJ signing autographs

When the Premiere got into full swing RDJ spent ages signing autographs, but he clearly hadn’t passed this memo to his co-stars as none of them signed for the waiting fans, which I can’t help but feel was a bit of a poor show. As a result, the only photos I managed to take of Rebecca Hall, Don Cheadle and Ben Kingsley were all rubbish as I mostly got the back of their heads as they talked to the press opposite where I was standing. 

Rebecca Hall being interviewed by Alex Zane

Sir Ben Kingsley being interviewed by Alex Zane

Don Cheadle being interviewed by the press

Regrettably Gwyneth Paltrow was not in attendance so I can’t tell you what she was like. But I did get a fairly decent photo of Samantha Barks who played Éponine in the recent film adaptation of Les Misérables as she happened to be in attendance and spent time with the fans on the red carpet which was lovely. 

Samantha Barks (from Les Miserables movie) with a fan

But the one saving grace was that I FINALLY got RDJ’s signature on my subscriber cover Empire (though it did get a little wet in the rain)…

All in all, a good day, met some nice people and RDJ once again proves he’s the star in this franchise by being such a good sport!

Oblivion

http://www.oblivionmovie2013.com/

Tom Cruise is one of those actors that I don't actively like, but I don't dislike him either. I would never go out of my way to watch a Tom Cruise film, but if I think it looks good, I wouldn't actively avoid it. I saw the trailer for Oblivion a few months back and was not only intrigued, I actually thought it looked really good. And I will admit that I was looking forward to it's impending release. 

The film is set in the not so distant future; following a battle for earth's resources the planet was all but destroyed, but somehow, the human race survived. A relocation mission was put in place for the earth's inhabitants to be moved to a colony on Titan. And now only two people remain, a team who maintain the drones - robots who oversee the removal of the water supply, which is earth's contribution to Titan. In two weeks Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) will be moving to Titan too, the only potential problem with this plan is that Jack is a little too curious about what happened to the earth, in order to just do his job. He starts dreaming about a past life he doesn't think he lived, and when the girl from his dreams literally drops out of the sky, he can't just put it all down to coincidence. But as he digs deeper for the truth, will he like what he discovers?

Oblivion is a curious little creature of a movie. The first half is sort of like the human version of WALL·E, with Jack and Victoria the only inhabitants on an abandoned earth. Jack going around fixing the drones and collecting 'human' artifacts such as books and plants. The second half is where I got a little lost because unlike WALL·E, Oblivion takes a turn for the complicated. In the second half of the movie we meet a band of rebels lead by Morgan Freeman's Beech. *Spoiler Alert* Freeman's character explains that Jack has been mislead by his employers and that the alien war was not won by the humans after all. He tells Jack that it is the aliens now claiming all of the earth's water, not the colony on Titan as there is no colony on Titan. You still with me? He sends Jack off to the 'radiation zone' which he's not allowed in because it's harmful. When he gets there he discovers no radiation, but instead discovers a clone of himself. Confused? You will be!

Basically the aliens took over earth and are harvesting the water for their own use. They need people on the ground to oversee things, so they cloned Jack and Victoria and now each section of the planet has it's own Jack and Victoria, who all think they're the only Jack and Victoria and who all believe they're going to Titan in two weeks time. But they're not because they're all clones and there is no-one on Titan! It's all a lie. So Jack and Beech devise a plot to destroy the mothership of the aliens once and for all, allowing some semblance of life to be restored to earth. *End Spoiler Alert* Phew. Hope you kept up with all that! 

I thought Oblivion looked beautiful; the way it showed different parts of New York in various states of disrepair was just stunning. Having stood at the top of The Empire State Building it was weird to see it buried almost up the observation deck but it worked perfectly, taking that iconic imagery and turning it on it's head. All of this has been captured wonderfully by cinematographer Claudio Miranda who also showcased his unique vision in Life of Pi and Tron Legacy. I could honestly wax lyrical about how gorgeous it looked all day long. But a pretty movie does not make a good movie. 

Oblivion had such great potential but I felt it squandered that by under utilizing the supporting cast and trying to cram too much into the running time. Don't get me wrong, Tom Cruise can carry a movie, we know this. So why make him constantly have to prove that fact? When you've got a supporting actor like Morgan Freeman, use him for heavens sake! It's just maddening. And the last 30 minutes just felt like they were trying to throw in as many brain bending story arcs as they could think of. It just got a little too much for me and I ended up walking out of the cinema with more questions than I went in with.

I think if I watched it again, now fully understanding it (or at least I think I understand it now), I think I'd like it better. But as it stands I have to do the review off the one time I saw it. That leaves Oblivion with a not too shabby 7 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 14th April 2013

UK Release Date - 10th April 2013

Cast Overview:

Tom Cruise ~ Jack

Andrea Riseborough ~ Victoria

Olga Kurylenko ~ Julia

Morgan Freeman ~ Beech

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ~ Sykes

Melissa Leo ~ Sally

Director ~ Joseph Kosinski

Writer(s) ~ Joseph Kosinski (Original Story and Graphic Novel), Karl Gajdusek (Screenplay) and Michael DeBruyn (Screenplay)

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

Mini Review

http://disney.go.com/the-odd-life-of-timothy-green/

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green has been sitting on the shelf since August last year. This is usually a bad sign for movies, but after Hansel and Gretel was a surprisingly enjoyable movie that had experienced set backs, I thought I'd give Timothy the chance to prove himself to me. It didn't hurt that the movie also features Jennifer Garner, who I'm a big fan of since I saw her TV show Alias.

The film tells the story of a married couple Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim (Joel Edgerton), who are sadly unable to conceive a child of their own. One night they fill a box with their ideals of what their child would have been if they'd been able to have one. They cite him or her having Cindy's heart, being a rock star and scoring the winning goal amongst many other things. They lock these notes in a box and bury it in their garden. That night Cindy and Jim are awoken by a storm and discover a boy named Timothy in their house. He says he has come from the garden and is their son. It soon becomes apparent that Timothy is no ordinary boy as he possesses all of the traits that were desired by Cindy and Jim. Could he really be meant for them?

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green may be a live action Disney movie but it's not as sentimental as you would expect from being associated with the famous animators. The acting is pretty decent from a lot of recognisable faces and the story is more heartwarming than heartbreaking. It's not outstanding but it's a nice film that all the family can watch and get something out of. 6.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 7th April 2013

UK Release Date - 5th April 2013

Cast Overview:

Jennifer Garner ~ Cindy Green

Joel Edgerton ~ Jim Green

CJ Adams ~ Timothy Green

Odeya Rush ~ Joni Jerome

Shohreh Aghdashloo ~ Evette Onat

Rosemarie DeWitt ~ Brenda Best

David Morse ~ James Green Sr

M. Emmet Walsh ~ Uncle Bob

Lois Smith ~ Aunt Mel

Dianne Wiest ~ Bernice Crudstaff

Ron Livingston ~ Franklin Crudstaff

James Rebhorn ~ Joseph Crudstaff

Common ~ Coach Cal 

Director ~ Peter Hedges

Writer(s) ~ Peter Hedges (Screenplay) and Ahmet Zappa (Story)

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

http://www.gijoemovie.co.uk/

As my EE/Orange Wednesday buddy wanted to see The Croods, but I had already seen it, I allowed her to pick our next movie. She is a big fan of Channing Tatum and so her choice was G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Although oddly, neither of us had seen the first G.I. Joe movie. I therefore proposed a reverse movie experience, we could go to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation but we would have to watch G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra on DVD at some point afterwards.

The film is set directly after the events of the first movie and follows Duke (Channing Tatum) and his crew as they embark on another mission, unaware that the President (Jonathan Pryce) has been captured and that the man in the white house is actually Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), one of the bad guys from the first movie. The nanomite technology from the first film comes in handy to reconfigure Zartan's features, allowing him to impersonate the President. Zartan uses his influences as the President to frame the Joe's for stealing nuclear warheads and moves to disband them, ordering a military strike which kills most of the team. The remaining Joe's join forces with the first Joe (Bruce Willis) and their former enemy Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) to bring an end to Zartan's reign.

Despite not having seen the first G.I. Joe movie I found it relatively easy to follow the sequel. However, *Spoiler Alert* for fans of Channing Tatum or Bruce Willis I will say now that you'll probably be disappointed. Tatum is only in the movie for the first 20 minutes and then his character is one of the casualties of the military strike. *End Spoiler Alert* From here, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson takes centre stage, with Brucie coming in about half way through the movie and appearing sporadically with the sole aim of delivering some cheesy one liners. Although the best one liner has to be "So why don't you take Miley Cyrus and Ryan Seacrest and head that way" when referring to Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) pictured below:

You see it's funny coz they do kinda look like Miley Cyrus and Ryan Seacrest...

Anyway, if you're not a fan of those involved then you'd better be a fan of action as it barely lets up in this movie, with lots of fast paced set pieces, one on wires over a snowy mountain makes particular use of the 3D. Other than that the film doesn't really have a lot going for it. The end sequence involving nukes from all countries is quite clever but it's not enough to save the film from falling into mediocrity. I'd only recommend this if you're a fan of the original/franchise or if you follow any of the actors involved. 4 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 3rd April 2013

UK Release Date - 27th March 2013

Cast Overview:

Dwayne Johnson ~ Roadblock

Jonathan Pryce ~ President

Byung-hun Lee ~ Storm Shadow

Elodie Yung ~ Jinx

Ray Stevenson ~ Firefly

D.J. Cotrona ~ Flint

Adrianne Palicki ~ Jaye

Channing Tatum ~ Duke

Ray Park ~ Snake Eyes

Arnold Vosloo ~ Zartan

Bruce Willis ~ General Joe Colton

Director ~ Jon M. Chu

Writer(s) ~ Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

The Croods

Mini Blog

http://www.thecroodsmovie.com/

I saw The Croods on a bit of a whim. I had been out with my friend, intending to shop and take tea. But it was Easter Sunday and for some reason on Easter Sunday the world comes to a standstill! But thankfully, not at the cinema! My friend likes James McAvoy so the obvious film choice was Trance, but it wasn't on for a while. We'd already missed the screenings of Finding Nemo 3D, we didn't fancy GI Joe and she's not a fan of horror so Dark Skies was out of the question. The Croods however, was starting imminently so we decided to give it a whirl. 

We grabbed our tea on the way in and settled down with our chocolate eggs for The Croods, the latest animated feature to come from Dreamworks, the studio that made the amazing How To Train Your Dragon. Whilst this movie about a family of cave people may not be on that same level, it is a really enjoyable family film, filled with moments of genuine humor; as well as the odd moment of sadness. The characters are likable, if a little cooky, and voiced perfectly by the actors involved. And if you don't come away saying "dun dun duuuuun" whenever you need some dramatic music, or feeling like you want your very own 'belt' then there is something wrong!

My slight wrinkle with Dreamworks animation over say, Disney or Pixar, is that their style of animation always seems a little more basic. I felt like they were changing that with How To Train Your Dragon but with The Croods I sort of felt like they had taken a step back? It's not a problem, just really an observation. Some of the landscapes looked really impressive but then you come back to the characters and they look cartoony. Improvements are still required at Dreamworks Animation HQ but overall this is a well put together movie and I'm sure would be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 31/03/2013

UK Release Date - 22nd March 2013

Cast Overview:

(If you don't like knowing who the voices are DONT SCROLL DOWN! ;0)

Nicholas Cage ~ Grug

Emma Stone ~ Eep

Ryan Reynolds ~ Guy

Catherine Keener ~ Ugga

Cloris Leachman ~ Gran

Director(s) ~ Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders

Writer(s) ~ Chris Sanders (Screenplay and Story), Kirk De Micco (Screenplay and Story) and John Cleese (Story)

Oz The Great And Powerful

Mini Review

http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

For most people, Oz The Great And Powerful was highly anticipated. Not so much for me. On the one hand I was intrigued by the trailer but on the other hand I didn't just dislike The Wizard Of Oz, I downright hated it. But it was my turn to pick the Orange/EE Wednesday film to watch with my friend and as I thought Oz would be gone from the cinema soon I plumped for that. 

The film takes us back to before Dorothy landed in Oz, right back to when the Wizard of Oz landed in Oz. Oscar Diggs is a carnival magician and a bit of a scoundrel by all accounts. One day when the travellers are packing up to leave, his scheming ways catch up with him and he finds himself in a sticky situation. His only escape is a hot air balloon, which he promptly climbs into. Before he knows it he's headed into a tornado which whisks him off to the land of Oz. There he meets Theodora, a beautiful white witch who tells him of the plight of those who live in Oz, as the threat of the wicked witch plagues them. Ah but wait, there is a prophecy that a great wizard will come and save them all. Could he be that great man?

Mmm, probably not. He might be handy with an illusion or two but don't expect Oz to lead anyone in a great fight to the death, he's far too much of a coward for that. Which is a pity because he's the star of the show, the Great and Powerful one of the title, and yet he's a bit of a shit really. Not exactly the hero you can really get behind and root for. And I think ultimately this is Oz's undoing. Sure it looks great and has lots of pretty ladies in nice dresses, heck every now and then there's even a Wizard Of Oz reference thrown in for good measure. But what good is any of that if you have a useless, cowardly, not even that attractive, and all round not very nice, 'hero'? 

It's no good at all. James Franco is known for his sometimes odd and sometimes on the money film choices, and I can understand why he took this but it just didn't work for me. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz all look very pretty but they don't have an awful lot to do. Thankfully, the only thing that could have made me hate this more, singing, never gets into full swing. It's the one thing I'm thankful to Oz for. Overall, a disappointing and unnecessary prequel but if you're a fan of the original there might be something here for you. 4 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 27th March 2013

UK Release Date - 8th March 2013

Cast Overview:

James Franco ~ Oscar (Oz) Diggs

Mila Kunis ~ Theodora

Rachel Weisz ~ Evanora

Michelle Williams ~ Annie/Glinda

Zach Braff ~ Frank/Finley

Bill Cobbs ~ Master Tinker

Joey King ~ Girl in wheelchair/China Girl

Tony Cox ~ Knuck

Director ~ Sam Raimi

Writer(s) ~ Mitchell Kapner (Screenplay and Screen Story), David Lindsay-Abaire (Screenplay) and L. Frank Baum ("Oz" works)

Jack The Giant Slayer

http://jackthegiantslayer.warnerbros.com/

I saw the trailer for Jack a few months ago and was quite convinced I wouldn't bother with it. It looked terrible and it's main star was Nicholas 'I was pretty bad in Warm Bodies' Hoult. But then my friend in the states saw it, the land where everything gets released before it does in the UK (I still haven't forgiven her for being able to see Hansel and Gretel a whole 2 months before we got it) and she actually recommended it to me. In a round about sort of way. See what she said was that Ewan McGregor was hot and therefore I should see it.

It seemed like sound logic to me, so upon the film's UK release I went along with my cinema buddy. And let me tell you, my American friend wasn't lying! See alternate Jack poster below featuring Mr McGregor's character Elmont. Swoon!

I'm not going to delve deep into the story, because if you don't know it then where have you been? Farm boy Jack (Nicholas Hoult) gets tricked into trading a horse for some 'magic' beans, beans get wet = giant beanstalk which goes up to land of giants above the clouds. Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), and object of Jack's affections, gets stranded at the top of the beanstalk. The King (Ian McShane) sends his best men - and Jack - on a mission to climb the beanstalk and bring the princess down, before the giants realise that their link to earth has re-appeared. For if they discover it, they will climb down and destroy the earth and all who inhabit it.

The story is easy to follow and for the most part it's an enjoyable fairytale movie. I found it started to drag a bit after they came down from the beanstalk but on the whole I liked it. Ewan McGregor's Elmont is definitely the star of the show, stealing every scene he's in, but Stanley Tucci is also worth a mention, playing the wicked Roderick with such relish it's like he's the best panto villain you've ever seen. The giants are quite scary but probably only for younger kids, I'd say anyone above my nephews age (7) will likely be fine with it. 

Jack The Giant Slayer isn't going to win any awards but if you've got older kids who'd enjoy it, or if you're looking for a bit of tall tale with plenty of action and a bit of romance on the side then it's not a bad way to spend a few hours. Or if, like me, you just want someone to swoon over in the dark, you won't go wrong. 6.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 24th March 2013

UK Release Date - 22nd March 2013

Cast Overview:

Nicholas Hoult ~ Jack

Eleanor Tomlinson ~ Isabelle

Ewan McGregor ~ Elmont

Stanley Tucci ~ Roderick

Eddie Marsan ~ Crawe

Ewan Bremner ~ Wicke

Ian McShane ~ King Brahmwell

Ralph Brown ~ General Entin

Warwick Davis ~ Old Hamm

Bill Nighy ~ General Fallon

Director ~ Bryan Singer

Writer(s) ~ Darren Lemke (Screenplay and Story), Christopher McQuarrie (Screenplay), Dan Studney (Screenplay) and David Dobkin (Story)