Film Review | Thor: The Dark World
★★★★☆
After the billion dollar successes of both Avengers Assemble and Iron Man 3, Marvel’s ‘Phase Two’ continues with the highly anticipated Thor: The Dark World. With Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor replacing Kenneth Branagh at the helm, the sequel serves up the thrills as well as the laughs in what is an enjoyable superhero outing.
Much like Branagh’s franchise opener, The Dark World begins with Anthony Hopkins’ Odin narrating a prologue before we catch up with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who’s been busy on cosmic peacekeeping duty post-Avengers. When an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) resurfaces on the hunt for a powerful weapon that could destroy the universe, Thor must ally with the mischievous Loki (Tom Hiddleston) if he is to save the Nine Realms.
Film Trailer | Thor: The Dark World
The summer of 2013 may be coming to a close, but there are still a number of highly anticipated blockbusters due for release this year. One title sure to be on many a filmlover’s watchlist is Thor: The Dark World (2013). Directed by Alan Taylor, the man behind the camera on numerous episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the sequel marks the second instalment of Marvel’s ‘Phase 2’ after Iron Man 3 (2013) took the box office by storm earlier this year. Some spoilerific footage was shown to lucky fans at the recent Comic-Con convention and a new poster was released last week, but now we have our best look yet with a revealing two-minute plus trailer.
Film Review | Pacific Rim
After a 4-year sabbatical – in which he dodged a hobbit-sized bullet – director Guillermo del Toro is back with a movie that will draw in the crowds with its large-scale battles, while offering much more than its action-heavy trailers suggest thanks to some original ideas and solid performances. So don’t dismiss Pacific Rim as just another Monsters vs Robots film, the child of Transformers and Godzilla, or you’ll be doing yourself a disservice.
Read the rest of this review at Flicks and the City here.
Interview | Pacific Rim Premiere
Last night, London’s BFI IMAX played host to the premiere of sci-fi film Pacific Rim. Out in UK cinemas on July 12 (my review will be live on Monday morning), the film sees monstrous creatures called Kaiju rise from the sea to attack humanity. To combat the threat, Jaegers – massive robots piloted by two humans – are created.
On behalf of Flicks and the City, I caught up with the film’s director Guillermo del Toro – as well as its stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Robert Kazinsky, Burn Gorman and Charlie Day – to discuss sequels, upcoming projects, and what it was like working on one of the biggest blockbusters of 2013. Check out the video below…
Film Trailer | Pacific Rim
The summer of 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting few months for cinemagoers, with this week seeing the release of many impressive trailers. Arguably the pick of the punch is our first look atPacific Rim (2013); Directed by Guillermo Del Toro (at one time down to direct The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), viral marketing for the film begun a few weeks ago, and now to further whet our appetites a full-length trailer has surfaced online. When monstrous creatures – called Kaiju – rise from the sea, the war with humanity takes millions of lives, consuming Earth’s resources in the process. To combat the threat, Jaegers – massive robots controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge – are created. Nearing defeat, an unlikely partnership between a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) is mankind’s last hope against the escalating apocalypse.
Watch the trailer for Pacific Rim at CineVue here.
Film Review | Prometheus
It’s been 33 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien, a film which has since gone on to become a classic and is widely regarded as one of sci-fi’s most seminal pieces. After many sequels and spin-offs – some admittedly better than others – the highly anticipated Prometheus heralds Scott’s return not only to the genre, but to his universe, with the film being strongly marketed as a prequel and being said to have ‘strands of Alien-DNA’. Whilst Prometheus just about works as a standalone sci-fi movie, fans of Scott’s aforementioned work may be left disappointed.
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Review | Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D
Like a girl who loves bad boys, Cinema loves anti-heroes, and comic books have no shortage of them. Wolverine and Hulk may be among the most popular bad-asses, but Ghost Rider has a strong claim at being the ultimate anti-hero. 2007’s Ghost Rider didn’t manage to depict that effectively, raking in a notable $227 million worldwide but garnering a lot of criticism in the process. With directors of Crank Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine at the helm, is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance the film that the character deserves?
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
AMONymous 