onmovies magazine issue 2 january 2015
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Your free monthly digital magazine with movie news and reviews.TRANSCRIPT
n moviesnews and reviews
Issue 2 l January 2015
An age old tale of a woman scorned p14Maleficent
Have your sayCharlie Green talks Spider-Man 2 p20
Birdman Keaton’s finest since Beetlejuice p10
Inside OutEmotions run high p06
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IN CINEMAS JANUARY 23
02 OnAD Ex Machina.indd 1 21/12/2014 16:23
January 2015
05 NEW YEAR BRINGS WHISPERINGSFifth instalments and return of some familiar faces.
06 INSIDE OUTWhat does it mean to be human?
08 NEWS SNIPPETSThe latest information, no matter how small.
13 COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN The must see films this month at your local cinema.
17 COMING TO YOUR SOFA Get comfortable and enjoy films at your fingertips.
10 BIRDMAN It is dark; it is satire at its bleakest, but most of all it is inspired and Michael Keaton is brilliant.
20 CHARLIE GREEN SAYS.... The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a bucket load of web-slinging action.
14 MALEFICENT The strongest of the fairies and the protector of the land, become broken by the greed and avarice of man.
22 STAR WARS IV: A NEW HOPE The modern day classic that created a new religion.
NEWS
NEW THIS MONTH
THE BIG SCREEN
HAVE YOUR SAY
SKY MOVIES: PREMIERE
ONE FROM THE VAULT
CONTENTS
03
YOUR MONTHLY DIGITAL MAGAZINE WITH THE LATEST MOVIE NEWS AND REVIEWS.
Issue 2 January 2015
Editor & Designer Tom [email protected]
Deputy EditorRobert [email protected]
ContributorsScott Gentry, Charlie Green, Bob Mann, Tabatha Smalls
© On movies 2015. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior premission of the copyright owners. On movies cannot take responsiblity for any mistakes or omissions or the views of our contributors or advertisers. All information enclosed is correct at the time of being published, however release dates are subject to change.
n movies
is an independent publisher.
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06
14
20Cover image courtesy of Disney
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IN CINEMAS JANUARY 30
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January 2015
NEWS
05
Orlando Bloom has hinted that he may be making his return to the seven seas in a new instalment of the popular seafaring franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean.
The reboot – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is scheduled for release on July 7th, 2017, and the British actor has dropped hints that he may be joining the crew for a new adventure.
“I am not entirely sure that [I’ll be back] just yet, but there are talks,” he said.
Jack Sparrow – played by Johnny Depp – became the lead character in the fourth instalment On Stranger Tides, the least popular of the franchise to date.
Bloom’s return may just be the answer to kick-start the tale of the open sea once again.
It certainly seems to be the year of the quintet, as Hollywood’s Mark Wahlberg nods at his appearance in the fifth title in the Transformers narrative.
Having seen the fourth instalment of Michael Bay’s Transformers gross over a billion dollars worldwide, we may expect to see Transformers
five in the near future.And along with it, the return
of Wahlberg who suggests he has signed with the franchise for a while to come.
“I committed to doing a couple more,” he said. I can’t speak for Mr. Bay but something tells me we will be on set soon.”
PIRATES 5 IN BLOOM
THIS MARKS FIVE
WILL THEY BE BACK?Swashbucklers and giant transforming robots ahoy, the new year brings whisperings of the return of some familiar faces to some of the biggest movie franchises this side of Davy Jones’ locker
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NEWS
www.onmovies.co.uk06
Aristotle, Plato and Locke, for years mankind has endeavoured to answer that most conceptual of questions: what does it mean to be human?
And it looks like Walt Disney’s animation studio, Pixar is about to take up the mantle of becoming the philosopher of the 21st century.
Recent years have seen Pixar’s platter of visual delights ask more prompting questions. 2006’s Up asked how humans broach the oncoming of old age, while 2008’s Wall-E pondered the future existence of human life.
Now, 2015 sees the studio asks its most provoking question yet, what makes us human?
Inside Out marks Pixar’s first movie in more than a year, and following the release of a few half-baked sequels, namely Cars 2 and Monsters University, comes as a welcome return to the provocation that the studio is so well known for.
Academy Award-winning director, Pete Docter now gears up to take audiences to a whole new level, to the epicentre of human compulsion, the control centre of the human brain, where they will meet their own emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness.
A satirical look at the human being, doing – the upcoming title takes us in to the minds of 11 year old Riley and her parents as they embark on a new life away from old friends in a new home in San Francisco.
INSIDE OUTAfter a year’s hiatus, Pixar returns with a thought provoking look at what it means to be human
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January 2015
NEWS
07
Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion tries to keep proceedings upbeat, but the host’s other emotions struggle to adjust to a new life and Fear, Anger and Disgust each begin to take control.
With the first teaser trailer for the upcoming title released only late last year, little else is known of Inside Out except that Amy Poehler will be lending her voice to the character of Joy, while Bill Haden and Lewis Black will star as Fear and anger respectively.
Inside Out already has the makings of a vehicle for a funny, self-reflective and satirical visual treat and if Docter and screen writer, Michael Arndt can recapture anything of Pixar’s pre sequel glory days, then we’d like to welcome the studio back in to our hearts and possibly once again to the stage in the forthcoming Oscars.
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NEWS
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LAST DAYS IN THE DESERT
First look at
Ewan McGregor as Jesus
FROZEN 2
is “in the works”
says Idina Menzel
DOCTOR STRANGE
will definitely be played by
Benedict Cumberbatch
08
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THE BIG SCREEN
10
Like a gathering of excitable Twitchers hosted by Bill Oddie, Birdman is hard to digest in one sitting. Fortunately for cinema however, this ornithological saga is far less a biopic on one of the avian community’s most fervid peepers, but a bewildering, beguiling and though provoking picture starring Michael Keaton.
And almost certainly, the biggest question the movie prompts is: exactly what the hell have I just watched? And this could just be the film’s biggest strength.
Keaton stars as Riggan Thompson, a washed up actor who, 20 years after quitting a highly successful string of career defining, superhero blockbusters (known as the Birdman series), tries his hand at writing, starring in and directing a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver’s short story, ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.’
As opening night grows closer, tensions behind Riggan’s elaborate
project and his personal life mount. Facing a deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend (Riseborough), a strenuous bond between his ex-drug addict daughter (Stone) and ex-wife (Amy Ryan), an incompetent cast and an esteemed New York theatre critic (Lindsay Duncan), his success hangs in the balance.
And then there is the ever-looming shadow of Riggan’s superhero alter ego to contend with.
In a nutshell, Birdman is audacious, ambitious and veined with a dark humour throughout, making its very conception a risky one. And by exploring the psyche of narcissism, satirising the blockbuster and delivering Keaton’s finest performance since Beetlejuice, 51-year-old Mexican director, Alejandro G. Inarritu pulls it o� impeccably.
In fairness, it’s a team e�ort, and supporting cast members, Watts, Norton and Stone pour true talent to the film. But inevitably, it is Keaton’s raw psychosis that steals this show, and following some
of his more abhorrent blunders (OK, RoboCop and Need for Speed) we can’t help but share a small victory for the caped crusader.
Birdman is also a visual triumph, with lingering takes that reveal some of the films most intimate of relationships. And if the production’s cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki – the man behind numerous successes, including Children of Men – isn’t called up for an award, I’ll send him one myself.
Birdman is dark; it is satire at its bleakest, but most of all it is inspired. It’s a murky world of lies and deception, it is Hollywood at its most repulsive, and most hilarious. It is ego; it is vanity; and it is brilliant.
BIRDMAN 15By Scott Gentry
In Cinemas: 2 January 2015 Running Time: 119 minutesDirector: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, Merritt Wever
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January 2015
THE BIG SCREEN
11
SEE THISIF YOU LIKED...
21 GRAMS 2003
15
RABBIT HOLE 2010
12
NIGHTCRAWLER 2014
TBC
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January 2015
NEW THIS MONTH: IN CINEMAS
13
TAK3N 12ALiam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose long awaited reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the
relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter.
In Cinemas: 9 January 2015 Running Time: 109 minutesDirector: Olivier Megaton Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Dougray Scott
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING 12A AMERICAN SNIPER 15 MORTDECAI 12A
A brilliant yet socially awkward physics postgraduate Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) meets literature student Jane Wilde. Then he’s given a devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease and told he has just two years to live.
Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq to protect his brothers-in-arms. He serves four tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the spirit of the SEAL creed to leave no one behind. But upon returning to his wife and kids, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.
Debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumoured to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.
In Cinemas: 2 January 2015 Running Time: 123 minutes
In Cinemas: 16 Jamuary 2015 Running Time: 134 minutes
In Cinemas: 23 January 2015 Running Time: 106 minutes
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SKY MOVIES: PREMIERE
14
A classic tale of a woman scorned, this Disney re-imagining sees Maleficent, the strongest of the fairies and the protector of the land, become broken by the greed and avarice of man.
Betrayed and mutilated, a vengeful Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) curses her attacker’s daughter, Aurora (Elle Fanning) who grows up in the care of a trio of bickering fairies played by Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville and Juno Temple.
With more cheek than a night at the vaudeville, Jolie’s angular beauty lends itself perfectly to the role of twisted seductress, while her engaging performance brings life to an otherwise plodding film.
Yes, unlike our anti-heroine’s celebrated cheekbones, the film lacks edge, o�ering flat dialogue and leaving its entire running time with very little for the adult audience. Even Brighton Rock’s Sam Riley falls short, and his role of shape shifting henchman plays o� as little more than a Jamie Cullum look-a-like with an identity crises.
But if it is a good, fun kids’ film that you are after, then you could do a lot worse than Maleficent.
With fantastical beasts and magical CGI to match, Robert Stromberg delivers a picture that could make any five year old fall in love with its cinematic landscapes.
While there is enough mild peril to keep your kids tantalised – much of which can be credited to Sharlto Copley’s portrayal of King Stefan – the film errs too far on the side of caution, frustratingly avoiding some of its more emotional values. But then it does stick a whopping great big dragon in.
But that’s not to say the adventure lacks substance altogether, and Lana Del Rey’s gorgeously spooky rendition of Once Upon a Dream acts as a reminder of the film’s roots as well as the wondrously fragile line between love and death.
And then again, there’s the fire breathing dragon. Maleficent certainly does not disappoint in the fairy tale department, but then perhaps the real star of the picture is Jolie’s real life daughter, Vivienne. A thespian in the making, she adopts her role as the five year old Aurora with poise, grace and only a hint of ‘Mummy, why the hell are you wearing those big horns?’
MALEFICENT PG
Sky Movies: 30 January 2015 Running Time: 97 minutesDirector: Robert Stromberg Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham
By Bob Mann
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January 2015
SKY MOVIES: PREMIERE
15
SEE THISIF YOU LIKED...
ALICE IN WONDERLAND 2010
PG
RED RIDING HOOD 2011
12
A NEW YORK WINTER’S TALE 2014
12
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January 2015
NEW THIS MONTH: ON SKY MOVIES
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Against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing continent, Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel. Set in between the wars,
Gustave is joined by Zero Moustafa, a lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune.
Sky Movies: 9 January 2015 Running Time: 96 minutesDirector: Wes Anderson Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Tony Revolori, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton
VERONICA MARS 12 THE TRIALS OF CATE MCCALL 15 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE 15
After swapping her life as an amateur detective for a law career in New York, Veronica Mars goes home for her high school reunion. But Veronica’s return to Neptune sees her drawn into solving a new murder case involving her ex-boyfriend Logan.
Cate McCall (Kate Beckinsale) was a hotshot lawyer with the world at her feet, but now she must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder in order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter.
Rodrigo Santoro and Eva Green star in this action extravaganza, Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Sky Movies: 2 January 2015 Running Time: 110 minutes
Sky Movies: 16 January 2015 Running Time: 90 minutes
Sky Movies: 23 January 2015 Running Time: 98 minutes
GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL 15
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Just look up...
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cloudscape.co.uk18 OnAD Cloudscape DPS_Final.indd 2 13/11/2014 21:23
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HAVE YOUR SAY
20
I wasn’t excited when the news hit that the Spider-Man franchise was going to be rebooted just five years after the Sam Raimi trilogy concluded.
It was too soon and seemed altogether too inane.However, with a darker and more realistic
atmosphere, I was pleasantly surprised by director Marc Webb’s decision to do away with the camp (Toby Maguire, you did it oh so well) to deliver a storyline with a bit more bite.
Sadly though, what Spider-Man 2 managed to do to the original trilogy, Webb has failed to deliver in his 2014 title.
It’s no secret that Sony has a lot of catching up to do in the superhero movie stakes, and when it comes to expanding its Spider-Man universe, its potential is boundless. What better character to weave an intricate web of stories with than Spider-Man? But where Marvel succeeds, Sony falters and this movie soon becomes entangled in its panicked story-telling.
Too much is thrown at the audience, and with so many threads left dangling for future story lines from start to finish, it’s easy to lose sight of the films actual narrative plot.
And if you think that amid the story’s intricacies, there’d be little time for villains, you would of course be wrong. In fact, Webb insists of throwing two of the big brutes at us: Electro and an old friend Green Goblin.
Sadly, both are rushed and underdeveloped and the relationship between Harry (Green Goblin) and Peter Parker (Spider-Man) is more sinewy than Andrew Garfield himself.
And there is the film’s shining beacon of redemption. Garfield and Emma Stone deliver show-stealing scenes together, pulling o� teenage romance, wit and nervousness without the need for a paper bag, while Dane DeHaan’s limited time on screen is used to perfection by the young actor.
Oh, and if you didn’t know Jamie Foxx was in the movie before you went in, you’d be none the wiser when you leave. His character Electro makes his appearance redundant with the biggest revelation being that he wasn’t simply billed as ‘Blue Floaty Thing’ in the end credits.
But these are the quibbles of a fan of the original trilogy, and as a blockbuster movie, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does its job. It delivers a fun factor, it dishes out CGI action sequences by the bucket load and the web-slinging has never looked cooler.
However, whether or not Spider-Man can return to the dizzying heights of the Raimi years, is something I will continue to hold out hope for. And if not, at least I have the DVDs.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 12
Sky Movies: 1 January 2015 Running Time: 138 minutesDirector: Marc Webb Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti
By Charlie Green
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January 2015
HAVE YOUR SAY
21
Passionate about a movie, then why not share your thoughts with the world. Write us a review and get published in our magazine.
Send your movie review to [email protected]
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ONE FROM THE VAULT
22
It brought laughter, tears and a lot of chopping o� hands while screaming ‘No’. But that’s enough about the aftermath of Star Wars Episode I, Ja Ja Binks and sci-fi’s legions of disenchanted fans.
What we are talking about is when times were good, when George Lucas was only on the path billionairedom. It is the time of Star Wars: The original trilogy.
1977 gave birth to A New Hope, a wise-cracking, gun-slinging space romp featuring a hamster-faced hammy in a bath robe, muttering something about a Force.
For the cultural pariahs among you, Star Wars is not a good film. Set in the throws of political rebellion, in which the Rebel Alliance - led by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) – attempts to destroy the Death Star space station, created by the Galactic Empire; the film follows the evolution of a lowly farmhand Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he joins a Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) on a quest to return the Death Star plans to the rebels and save the galaxy.
Skywalker must conquer his fears, confront his past and embrace his future, all while fighting the advances of the tyrannical Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) and keeping one step ahead of the ominous Dark Side. No, Star Wars is not a good film, but a bloody brilliant one.
George Lucas’ first foray in to the political landscape of that galaxy far, far away earned $461million in the US and $314million overseas, a�ording it the 1977 title of highest-grossing film of all time, an accolade it retained for six years until Steven Spielberg turned up with a movie about an alien with a magical finger (1983’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial)
However, with the dismissal of two studios and the ‘endorsement’ of its biggest star, Alec Guiness - he reportedly wrote o� the film as ‘lamantable rubbish’ - A New Hope was a risk.
Today, the title that launched Harrison Ford to the big time is celebrated as a cultural triumph, overshadowing any of its prequels and holding its own as a true classic.
STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE PG
On BLU-RAY & DVD: Now Running Time: 121 minutesDirector: George Lucas Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice)
By Tabatha Smalls
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IN CINEMAS JANUARY 23
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