Medusa Among Many In ‘Clash Of The Titans’
Years have passed, and many criticising film buffs have shot down countless remakes with the mentality that each film cannot be surpassed by a remake. Most of the time, they are arguably correct… But not this time. Clash Of The Titans was a film made with great intentions, but poor technology.. That is, in comparison to today. Much like Avatar and Alice In Wonderland before it, it’s one of many films to be created in a golden age of cinema. This year has, and will bring us many great films.. Clash Of The Titans is one of them. Judging by the trailer, director Louis Leterrier (Unleashed, Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk… the better one) seems to have done the job rather well.
What do you get if you cross a 9ft blue alien, Voldemort and a Jedi Master? You get Clash Of The Titans. Although.. not in exactly the same format.. Instead Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation, Dirty Deeds) plays Perseus, Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Schindlers List, In Bruges), Hades and Liam Neeson (Taken, Batman Begins, Schindlers List), Zeus. A pretty nice line up, especially if you watched the trailer before you read this.. The monster line-up on the other hand looks of epic quality, Medusa, The Stygian Witches, The Kraken, Harpies, Skorpiochs.. And that’s not even all of them in the trailer. I’d like to see what else crops up during the 118 minute epic, due to be released on April 2nd of this year.. Oh and it’s in 3D.
I know you’re excited. Need another pair of underwear?
Burton Visits Alice In Wonderland!
I hear Wonderland is absolutely wonderful this time of year. Or rather in a month’s time today! That’s right, it’s only 28 days until Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Big Fish, Planet Of The Apes) releases his take on the Lewis Carroll classics. Yes, you heard me right, it’s not just an adaptation of ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland‘, but also ‘Through The Looking Glass’. The fantastical story has been reshaped and remade over the past 100 years into over 20 twenty different adaptations, from musicals, to television series and even animé, But until we see Burton’s increasingly popular and long awaited take, what exactly about the film are we looking forward to?
Could it be the casting of Johnny Depp (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, Edward Scissorhands), famed for his unusually zany and somewhat crazy roles, then again, it’s a little unfair to pick out Mr. Depp amongst the epitome of stars to pay a visit to the abstract world of Wonderland. Such as the lovely Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married, Get Smart), Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings Of The Dove, the Harry Potter franchise, and Sweeney Todd) who is also known for her variety of roles, Stephen Fry (The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, A Cock And Bull Story, V For Vendetta), Alan Rickman (the Harry Potter franchise, Galaxy Quest, Die Hard), Michael Sheen (Underworld, Frost/Nixon, The Damned United) and Timothy Spall (the Harry Potter franchise, Lemony Snicket’s: A Series Of Unfortunate Events, The Last Samurai). Could it be the intense CGI which makes us want to see it so badly? That will in all likelihood be featured in 3D? Another in a long list of films to use revolutionary technology for an even better cinema experience. It could just be.. The retelling of an old childhood favourite which will pull in fans by the millions across the world. Whatever YOUR reason for wanting to see this movie, it better be reason enough to see it in 3D!
Review: 2012!
It’s been within the last 10 years that cinema has been technologically revolutionised, with a signature list of filming accomplishments the size of the empire state building, one of those accomplishments has been 2012. The Roland Emmerich disaster movie is an adaptation of the controversial rumours shadowing the end of the Mesoamerican calendar, and has astounded many with its advances in CGI. I was one of them.
What’s been dubbed as ‘the mother of all disaster movies‘ features some mind-blowing scenes of supervolcanoes and megatsunamis as the earth is plunged into catastrophe. Famous cities worldwide being torn apart by their own skyscrapers-turned-dominoes, trains shooting out of what are now cliff-faces and oceans boiling, sounds fun, right? But whilst the amazing visual effects made the movie, it inevitably dwarfed the actors abilities on-screen, despite the reasonably modest acting throughout. Worth noting in particular is Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon, Just A Dream), Woody Harrelson (Seven Pounds, No Country For Old Men, Zombieland) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me, Inside Man, Children Of Men), who, given the circumstances (The world is ending!), performed passionately.
Evidently, fans of Emmerich know it’s not his first disaster movie and that he’s a fantastically fanatical deathdealer with the likes of ‘Independence Day‘ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ It looks like he’s trying to end the world one way at a time. Aliens, big freeze, and everything else? Mr. Emmerich, we salute for your love of disaster! But after he’s produced scenes like this…
.. What exactly is it that we can expect next? Well throughout the film, you’ll see the gorgeous mountains of the Himalayas, the not so gorgeous evaporated Yellowstone lake, and frequent visits to familiar landmarks such as The White House and not so many to landmarks such as Christ The Redeemer, Brazil. But if you’re already rearing for more of Emmerich’s destructive onslaught, be sure to pay attention to ‘2013‘ – The television series which is planned to be a sequel to 2012, showing what happens after the Apocalyptic disaster and explores the resettling of Earth. Overall, ‘2012‘ is one of the greatest disaster films to date, and it should be viewed on a large screen, preferably with a crazy surround sound system for full effect. But a 25″ will do. A must buy on DVD.
Review: Avatar!
Alas, it’s been an exceedingly long time since I’ve written something, that I am not happy about. But last week, the first week in which Avatar was not sold out, unlike the four previous to it, I was able to see it.. In 3D!
The cinematic spectacle Avatar, directed by James Cameron, topped the box office charts the best-selling film of all time this week, knocking Titanic (also of Cameron’s work) off the pedestal, and it shows no signs of stopping now! But what made the film so worthy of praise?
When Cameron and co got the green light for production, they were given a $200 million budget, and surprisingly, that’s not the largest budget for a film to date. The $200 million was well invested in ground breaking cinematic technology which has set a cornerstone for the film industry. Cameron was inspired by on-screen characters such as Gollum, King Kong and Davy Jones, which gave him an unsettling but surprising confidence in the creation of the Na’vi.
Cameron's 'Hammerhead Titanothere'
The film took just over two years to make, but it seems the time and money, was well invested. Cameron didn’t create just another film, he created an entire diverse and stunning universe. Using not only relatively new technology for facial recognition, but lighting technology for Pandora, which is prominently seen in its radiating flora and forestry.
Despite the distracting scenery however, performances from Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, The Great Raid, Dirty Deeds), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Guess Who, Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl), Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Fast And Furious, Lost), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Holes, Ghostbusters) and Joel David Moore (Dodgeball, Grandma’s Boy, The Shaggy Dog), made the film. With good, but not exceedingly so performances from Stephen Lang (Gods And Generals, Public Enemies, The Men Who Stare At Goats) and Giovanni Ribisi (Public Enemies, Saving Private Ryan, Lost In Translation). Throughout, Worthington and Weaver seem to perfectly bounce off of each other’s roles with wit and sarcasm, whilst on the other hand, Worthington and Saldana have been dubbed the ‘Jack and Rose of Space.’
Despite scepticism in regards the lack of a plot line, or even the idea in which the inter-racial battle between the Humans and Na’vi is a reflection on Modern Americans VS Native Americans, the plot was surprisingly pleasing. It was a refreshing and unexpected take on the typical ‘boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy uses advanced futuristic technology to switch race‘ genre, but with all seriousness, Avatar comprises of a rich, luxurious visual utopia, an arguably original plot spanning over three hours (unlike The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and a fantastic cinematic experience, enhanced by the new 3D technology which has come to light, or possibly seeing it in IMAX. Fans of Avatar may be glad to know that Avatar 2 will be coming in 2011-2012 as a sequel, and possibly Avatar 3 as either a sequel or prequel. Avatar is a must see.
Three Videos Of The Week, All In One!
It seems a few of my personal problems are over, and despite the arrival of more, I’ll be updating the blog some more. And as a result of this, I should back track, meaning I need three videos of the week! These three include an office war, the promotional launch trailer for Mass Effect 2 and A clip from Russell Howard’s new DVD, Dingledodies. If that last one doesn’t make you laugh, then there’s something wrong with you.
Warning: May contain some strong language.
Site Update + Video Of The Week #12!
Apologies to everyone. I didn’t know how busy I was going to be with Christmas, New Years and exam season, so obviously, my blog has suffered. There is a chance that I will still be posting, just at a slower rate, weekly. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, Winter Solstice, Hannukah, or whatever it is you celebrate, I also hope you had a nice New Year and have some resolutions to stick to! Due to being incredibly busy, here is the video of the week.. 5 days late. The next video of the week will be featured in 2 days, and will continue regularly from then.
Artist : Aalborg Fantasy Soundtracks
Song : Familiar Dwellings
Christmas/New Year/Doctor Who!
Firstly, I apologize to my readers for my lack of content, again. This was due to a short hiatus for Christmas spent with family without internet access, I know, life is a cruel mistress.
Secondly, I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and spent time with their families, received the gifts that they wanted and enjoyed the intense Christmas dinner I’m sure is still settling in your stomachs. I’d also like to wish everyone the fondest of wishes for 2010, and I hope it to be as glorious for you as it can be.
To start off the new year however, I’d like to remind and/or notify everyone of the second part of David Tennant’s last episode of Doctor Who. The critically acclaimed tenth doctor, named favorite in the history of Doctor Who, will be departing from our screens on BBC One at 6:40pm on January 1st. If you’re an American viewer, you can catch it on BBC America on January 2nd.
Guest Review: Supergrass Album!
Here at the risible reporter, there’s nothing I love more than audience participation. It’s something I encourage thoroughly, whether it comes in the form of comments, or articles, I’m happy when someone feels compelled enough to want to be featured on here. So it’s my pleasure to introduce a guest review of Supergrass’ album of the same name.
Supergrass, by Supergrass, released 1999
Sound: Otherwise known as the X ray album due to the cover, I’ve had this for about 9 years. I bought just after it came out. But only recently have I actually listened to it properly. Now it is a firm favourite. The retro feel to half of the songs and the musicianship and production throughout put Supergrass above bands in their genre at the time. For example, Oasis’ late 90’s material is not a patch on this.
Track By Track:
01.‘Moving’: is a song about the relentlessness and monotony of touring, and does brilliantly to illustrate just that. Musically and lyrically you get the impression of travelling, and not necessarily on a short purposeful journey, more a journey you feel wont end any time soon. I don’t mean this song drags on, far from it, just that the picture of spending an age on the road is vividly painted during the track.
02.‘Your Love’: is about the love of someone worth waiting for, even if at times the love is not always apparent. It’s a love song that is in no way cheesy, which is a good achievement. The dynamic between the meandering verse and the pounding chorus serves to bring out a raw passion for the person in the song.
03.‘What went wrong (in your head)’: as a song asks just that question, the verses interrogate you, the bridge with the ‘La la la…’ sends your head spinning, as if something is indeed wrong with it.
04.‘Beautiful People’: seems like a nod to inadequacy, possibly based upon the culture of celebrity and feeling the need to look amazing, and it almost mocks those who ‘can’t face all those people’. Along with ‘Your Love’, this track shows great ability to change between soft poppy verses to powerful rocky choruses, like a cleaner, tighter, more british grunge approach to the songs.
05.‘Shotover Hill’: is, oddly enough, a hill in Oxford, where the band are from, and clearly a spot one or more of the band must have frequented and drawn inspiration from, and very effectively at that.
06.‘Eon’: is quite a detached sort of song, with an intro part that, also appearing later in the song, sounds like it is building up to a climax it never quite reaches, leaving you wanting more but not getting it. As a result, it is a good song but no more, a filler track.
07.‘Mary’: along with ‘Moving’ is a favourite of mine, the first clearly retro song on the album, both in the music and lyrics. The simple yet catchy riffs from the keyboard and bass hold the song together, allowing the guitar and backing vocals to wander off on different tangents to great effect.
08.‘Jesus came from outer space’: is a solid, fun rock song, that sounds like it came about from a jam, and probably stayed that way. adding anything more to it would ruin it. Simple, and better for it.
09.Fast paced rocker ‘Pumping on your stereo’: or ‘Humping’ as it is pronounced on the record, is one of the big hits from the album, a great track to thrash out live. The clapping apparently came about when drummer Danny Goffey wasn’t hitting the snare hard enough during recording. Fittingly, at the end of the song, Goffey is heard to utter ”Can we go home now?”!
10.‘Born Again’: is quite a weak song in comparison to nearly all the rest, not a bad song by any means, but there isn’t a great deal else that can be said…
11.‘Far Away’ is another retro offering that would not look out-of-place on a Kinks or David Bowie set list. A great psychedelic track, the song that should have ended the album. But that honour goes to track 12.
12.‘Mama & Papa’, which is a shame as it is the poorest song on the album, a little retro sounding maybe, but in general there is nothing to it. This song should have been left off the album, although by the time you get to it, you’ll have ‘Moving’ and ‘Mary’ running round your head so the last track will just fly by. // 9 out of 10
Lyrics and Singing: Lyrically, the album doesn’t try to confuse or mystify you, and there are some really well written songs in terms of describing feelings, areas and society. Stand out tracks in this vein are ‘Shotover Hill’, ‘Mary’, ‘Beautiful People’ and the brilliant ‘Moving’. // 9 out of 10
Impression: ‘Born Again’ and ‘Mama and Papa’ are the only 2 weak songs on this album, and as a result they keep it from being the sort of album most bands couldn’t even dream of writing. Instead it is merely an album any band would be proud of.
If I lost it, I would definitely go down to the record store and re-purchase it. It would be part of a shopping list, for believe it or not, this is the only Supergrass album I own, and after really listening to it, I need to add to and ultimately complete my collection, soon. // 9 out of 10
Technical Update! – HD
Many of you will be pleased to know that I’ve decided to bring you only the best in video quality. So from now forth, all youtube hosted trailers and most videos of the week will be in a 700×400 resolution with HD enabled. I really encourage you to watch the videos in HD, so both the quality and sound are improved providing you with the best viewing experience you can have! I’ve made videos which have significantly lower quality, noticeable by their slightly smaller size (560×340), the smaller resolution will improve quality as much as it can. Unfortunately videos hosted outside of youtube will not have the same treatment, but luckily only one video outside of youtube has ever been featured. Aww, don’t I love you guys!
