Video Review | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
I reviewed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for The Reel Deal. Check it out below.
Film Feature | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Extended Footage Report
On behalf of HeyUGuys I was among a lucky group of journalists who were shown five scenes from the highly anticipated Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, effectively amounting to a 20 minute tease. The footage was introduced by Caesar himself, Andy Serkis (we’ll have our interview with the star up on the site next month), and the performance capture pioneer was also on hand to add context to each clip we were shown. Below is a breakdown of what we saw. Be warned: SPOILERS AHEAD.
Interview | Gary Oldman Talks RoboCop, Reboots and Apes
There are few British actors – or any actors, for that matter – who are more respected in the industry than Gary Oldman. With as diverse a filmography as you can imagine stretching back more than thirty years, he has earned his status as one of cinema’s greatest thespians. On behalf of HeyUGuys, I was thrilled to have a chance to speak with him about his latest venture, the Jose Padilha reimagining of RoboCop, in which he plays the doctor responsible for bestowing Alex Murphy with his robotic enhancements.
In the course of our chat, Oldman tells us what he thinks his most challenging role has been to date and what he feels is the reason stories such as RoboCop continue to be revisited, in addition to divulging a few tidbits on his upcoming blockbuster Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Film Review | RoboCop
★★★☆☆
It’s no surprise that Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop has stood the test of time. A perfect mix of biting satire, black humour and thrilling action, fans of the beloved cult hit were less than happy when a remake was announced. Thankfully, rather than go the direct remake route, José Padilha’s 2014 reimagining is an intelligent piece of sci-fi entertainment in its own right.
Padilha’s RoboCop takes place in the year 2028, with Multinational Corporation OmniCorp vying to put its robot drones on US streets to help police its citizens as they have done in Iran. However, the initiative is continually derailed by public and governmental anxiety, due in no small part to the drones’ empathy-void nature. Enter Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), an honest cop who is critically injured after an attempt on his life. Calling on bionic engineer Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellers (Michael Keaton) quickly grabs the chance to build a new breed of law enforcement officer that’s part-man, part-machine: RoboCop.
Film Review | The Dark Knight Rises
At the beginning of the year, you would be hard pressed to find a ‘most anticipated films of 2012’ list that didn’t feature The Dark Knight Rises. But Batman on film wasn’t always this popular; 1997’s Joel Schumacher directed Batman & Robin is widely regarded as one of the worst comic book movies of all time (and with good reason). Christopher Nolan managed to reinvigorate the franchise with 2005’s Batman Begins. He went one better and set a new benchmark for superhero movies with The Dark Knight in 2008. With The Dark Knight Rises, has Nolan outdone himself again?
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Flashback #6 | Batman Begins
Rewind 7 years to the day, on June 17 2005 Batman Begins was released in Cinemas
The quintessential superhero origin story, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins reinvigorated the Batman franchise, grounding the costumed vigilante in realism and garnering critical and commercial acclaim in the process. Its influence can now be seen in many a superhero derivation, most recently in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man reboot which is aiming for the darker, grittier tone in Nolan’s Batman saga. With the highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises just around the corner, now would seem a fitting time to revisit the beginning of Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Read the rest of this article on Yin & Yang here.
Film Review | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not your typical spy film. You won’t find Gary Oldman’s George Smiley engaging in fisticuffs with evil men, or saying a cool line after offing a villain. Action has been replaced with words – a lot of words – resulting in an absorbing, if at times slow-paced, whodunnit of a film which unfolds in meticulous fashion.
Read the rest of the review on Yin & Yang here
AMONymous 