The First Big Screen Debut Annual Movie Awards

Well I had to cave to the masses of readers on this site (sarcasm ftw) and give out some awards to outstanding movie talent this year:

Animated movie of the year:

Wall-E

The outstanding movie from Disney/Pixar shows a futuristic, apocolyptic Earth being cleaned by a loveable robot who, through his love for another robot, leads him to reunite with the human race.

Comedy Movie of the Year:

Tropic Thunder

Hilarious from the outset, Tropic Thunder follows a set of prima donna movie stars filming in Vietnam only to unwittingly walk into real trouble. Stars Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black and Ben Stiller.

Action Movie of the Year:

The Dark Knight

Action-packed superhero blockbuster starring Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Debut Movie of the Year:

Hunger

Steve McQueen's Directorial Debut came with stunning images and shocking vividness as he skilfully portrayed IRA supporter Bobby Sands' final days before dying in prison.

Actor of the Year

Heath Ledger

This award goes to the late Heath Ledger and not just for the sympathy vote as so many stated when his performance got such acclaim. His skills as an actor were clearly on show as The Joker in The Dark Knight and he fully deserves all acclaim. RIP Heath.

Actress of the Year

Angelina Jolie (No Joke!)

Angelina Jolie seems to recieve a lot of criticism for the roles she plays in certain movies (*cough* Mr and Mrs Smith *cough*) but in Changeling she puts in an Oscar worthy performance in a stunning movie. Just pips Meryl Streep to this award.



Consideration went to:

Kung-Fu Panda, Mamma Mia!, CoN: Prince Caspian, Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr., Meryl Streep, Burn After Reading and RocknRolla.

MOVIE SPECIAL! Iron Man 2 and The Avengers

Iron Man was announced as Robert Downey Junior's return to the big screen, and my god didn't he make the return with a bang. Now anybody who was geeky enough (I definitely was!) to watch the post-credit clip of Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson (playing Marvel comic character Nick Fury and told Tony Stark/Iron Man of a group named 'The Avengers') could presume that either a new Iron Man film or an Avengers film was on the horizon. Well. There's going to be both!

A new Iron Man film will be hitting the screens in 2010 with Don Cheadle reportedly picking up the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrence Howard after Howard was dropped over salary disputes.

Gwyneth Paltrow is set to resume her role as Stark's long time assistant Peppa Potts and Jackson is set to play some role as Nick Fury.



The Avengers on the other hand is rumoured to be released in 2011 and sees the partnership of Downey Jr (as Tony Stark/Iron Man) and Jon Favreau (director of both movies) return to the Marvel movie franchise. The rest of the cast is, as yet, rumours only with Iron ManEdward Norton (as Hulk - one of the original founding members of The Avengers) and Samuel L. Jackson (as Nick Fury) rumoured to be involved. Other than this cast and characters can only be speculated on with Captain America being a major talking point among comic book fans.

As I don't read or follow any comic books I can not further speculate on characters but I am now really looking forward to this!

Through the Looking Glass Part Trois

Two more films for you this week starting off with a February 2009 release, Crossing Over. This drama follows the story of immigrants attempting to gain legal national status in Los Angeles. Early synopsis and plot outlines show this to be similar to Crash, with multiple character stories running silmutaneously. Starring Harrison Ford and Sean Penn, Crossing Over will be one I will be tentatively looking forward to.



And finally this week we have a distant future film. Due to be released in 2010, The Kind One, is Ridley Scott's adaption of a Tom Epperson novel about Danny Landon (played by Casey Affleck, pictured), an amnesiac who works for a violent mobster.

New to DVD

Some great releases for you to catch on DVD this week -

First with some animation comedy for all the family with Wall-E. Disney and Pixar team up again to bring out another film, light-years ahead of it's time. Wall-E is a robot cleaner left behind on planet Earth to tidy the mess left by humans, now living in a spacecraft. Life is simple for Wall-E and his cockroach friend until one day when he finds a robot friend...

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WALL-E-Disc-Special-Ben-Burtt/dp/B001DR9TNS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1227640766&sr=1-2


Next we have another family film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which follows on from the prequel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and once again follows the tale of four siblings as they travel to the mystical land of Narnia to battle against the conquering Telmarine army alongside Prince Caspian.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001BMVP2S/ref=br_nf_0_2?pf_rd_p=463518813&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=573412&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=123MGBFBYBPJ8K1NXR79


Finally this week we have Mamma Mia! the adaption of the play of the same name. A mother (Meryl Streep) attempts to discover the identity of her daughter's (Amanda Seyfried) father in time for her daughter's wedding day. Unknown to her the prospective fathers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) all arrive simultaneously. Musical comedy with some excellent one-liners and tongue-in-cheek comedy, definitely worth a watch.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001BYMKRO/ref=br_nf_1_1?pf_rd_p=463518813&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=573412&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=123MGBFBYBPJ8K1NXR79

First: an apology, Second: some advice

So my apology: this post isn't movie-related.



Secondly, the advice. I've been following a band for roughly 18 months now and they're rapidly becoming my favourite band ever (ok, maybe a little over exaggeration), not just because of their musical talent but because of their genuine politeness and accommodation of unruly fans. That band is Blood Red Shoes. Made up of Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter, they are a birthchild of the new-indie band rise but they are so much more than that. Their first album, Box of Secrets (GO AND BUY!) is almost post-punk but they've promised a different angle for their second album (due out approximately June 2009).







Now you may be thinking why I am promoting a band. The thing is I really do like them and I want them to make it big because of their genuine good will and determination they've shown to come so far.



For any more information please visit http://www.bloodredshoes.co.uk/.



Thanks.

James Bond: Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig's second Bond adventure follows the story on from Casino Royale, and for me it's more of the same. Although I fully understand that Craig's Bond character is yet to pass training to become 007 and therefore he is still an unpolished character he still didn't show the arrogance and playboy-type qualities required to be the smoothest of super spies.

Although now he has finished his initiation and thus the movies from now on will allow more creativity on both the writers' and Craigs' parts, I believe that these two films have missed an opportunity to play on the characters naivity and natural swagger.

However for an action film, this movie has it all, gunfights, car chases, boat chases, aeroplane crashes and big explosions all set against expensive, exotic backdrops.

This, though, has not got the cutting edge that is required to turn a simple action movie into a 'Bond' movie. It's lacking that polish, that certain element. Maybe it's not been shaken or stirred...

6/10

http://www.007.com - Official site

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=59fvri1rfAA - Full length trailer

Through the Lens Part Deux

Part two of Through the Lens brings you details on two of my personal most anticipated movies of 2009.

Firstly we have The Watchmen, due out in March. Another superhero comic convert, this has early critics reaching for their gold stars. Rated already as probably the greatest superhero movie of all time by some (including The Dark Knight), it's directed by Zack Snyder of 300 and Dawn of the Dead fame. The story follows a cold war like situation with a group of superheroes (The Watchmen) constantly keeping the peace. However the general public slowly turn against this group and they struggle to keep the peace and keep the people happy. Meanwhile a mysterious clock counts down to war...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E4blSrZvPhU - The Watchmen trailer

Finally we have the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons. Although it wasn't as good as the book I thoroughly enjoyed The Da Vinci Code and Tom Hanks was superb as lecturer/historical genius, Robert Langdon and since Angels and Demons is my favourite Dan Brown book I can see this being a stunning thriller set against the just-as-stunning backdrop of Rome. Superb casting by the film-makers mean that Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgaard also enter the movie as major characters.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nSyWqCdqCZ0 - Angels and Demons teaser trailer

Through the Lens

Through the lens is where we preview the most exciting looking movies coming out in the future.

First this week we have Nottingham due for release in late 2009. Ridley Scott teams up with Russell Crowe again in this surreally-set Robin Hood flick. With Crowe playing the parts of both the Sherriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood who are both entangled in a love triangle plot with Sienna Miller's Maid Marion.

Although sounding very surreal at present I cannot wait to go and see this to see how Scott has managed to piece it together.


Finally in through the lens we have Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, also due for release in late 2009. With Robert Downey Jr. playing the role of Holmes and Jude Law as sidekick Dr. Watson, this movie delivers huge potential. However it has yet to be seen if Guy Ritchie can deliver a film not revolving around mobsters. On the other hand Ritchie seems to gain a lot of influence from London and I have a feeling that the city is going to play a large role in Sherlock Holmes.

Hunger

Debuting at Cannes film festival, the story of IRA volunteer, Bobby Sands' imprisonment, Hunger is certainly not for those faint of heart. Opening in an eerie fashion, with very little dialogue for the first hour of the film, Hunger follows the mass hunger strike in Maze prison in Northern Ireland in 1981 and portrays the determination of the human race in a grim manner.

Steve McQueen, debutant director of the film, received both criticism and acclaim following the showing in the Un Certain Regard class for young, up-and-coming directors at Cannes. The level of dedication to film-making becomes clear upon hearing that young Irish actor Michael Fassbender, portraying Sands, lost 16kg weight in order to portray the role in the most realistic way possible. 'I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tough,' he later said.





However, the bleakly set prison environment and lack of dialogue do not make this film special. That is left to the provocation of thought that it leaves you with. Dedication. Determinism. Death. Just three of the many themes this film portrays.

This is a special debut film for McQueen and developing actor Fassbender and fully deserves the standing ovation it received at Cannes film festival.

9/10

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dmVPCX0LxN8 - Hunger trailer