First photo from “Hitchcock” Arrives

Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists!

4/5

Starring (Voices) Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Salma Hayek.

Directed by: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt. Written by Gideon Defoe

Pirate Captain sets sail on a mission to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. The only things standing in his way are his rivals Peg Leg Hastings, Black Bellamy, beautiful but deadly Cutlass Liz and finding that all important booty…

Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) with his motley crue of ham-night loving Pirates - his number two, Pirate with a Scarf (Martin Freeman), Pirate with Gout (Brenan Gleeson) and not to mention Extra’s Ashley Jensen  as Surprisingly Curvacious Pirate sees this ragtag bunch of sea dogs sailing from the rugged shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London, in search of the sought after Pirate of the Year award.  Their quest brings them into contact with none other than Charles Darwin (an excellent David Tennant) who, together with his chimp-servant (or “man-panzee” Mr. Bobo) is also after the Scientist of the Year prize. Unbeknownst to the Captain, his “parrot” Polly the dodo could be the key to Darwin’s success.
Darwin is a lovelorn scientist, whose attempts to be noticed by his love - Queen Victoria - sadly go unnoticed, that is until she claps eyes on the dodo. Darwin’s motives for helping the crew aresomewhat shadowy, whilst the Queen has an evil scheme of her own. Soon, the Pirate Captain is forced to choose between winning that much coveted prize, or saving  his crew and his beloved dodo!

Author Gideon Defoe came up with this hairbrained idea for a book whilst trying to impress a girl he’d just met. Luckily, it was later picked up and churned lovingly though the Aardman plasticine wringer and voila, we have Pirates! (or Pirates! Band of Misfits if you’re in America).After CGI efforts such as 2006’s Flushed Away and last year’s festive outig Arthur Christmas, this is a fine return to claymation form fo Aardman. As you’d expect from the studio, in a very Wallace-and-Gromit fashion there are plenty of sight gags (a boat reversing into a harbour, beeping as if it were a car) and typically British humour, although not so much as to alientate the movie’s international audience. Whilst Shaun the Sheep remains popular with kids and adults alike, it’s great to see Aardman return to their plasticine style we all know and love. The voice cast are just superb and whilst it’s fun to spot the British talent (is that Lenny Henry as one of the Captain’s rivals?) it’s been a while since Hugh Grant did a comic turn that didn’t involve him being a soppy English fop. Imelda Staunton really surprises as Queen Victoria, who reveals herself to be a complete and utter bad-ass. Sadly, Charles Darwin doesn’t come off too well with his sneaky, underhanded attempts to steal the dodo and claim the top prize for himself.

Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists is superbly hilarious holiday fare, a treat for adults and kids alike!

The Hunger Games ****

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland. Directed by Gary Ross

In the futuristic land of Panem, society has been divided up into 12 district ruled over by a sadistic Capitol. Each district is forced to offer up one boy and one girl as Tributes in a brutal fight to the death, as punishment for a past uprising, captured on live television.

When Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence)’s younger sister Prim is selected for the Games, Katniss bravely volunteers in her place. Together with fellow District 12 Tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) they embark on a gruelling barrage of training and publicity before arriving in the arena, for the bizarre yearly ritual that is the Hunger Games.
As battle commences, the wheat is soon sorted from the chaff as a group of 4 “career” Tributes - trained to fight - soon set about dispatching the others. Alliances with other Tributes are made, friendships formed and a romance soon blossoms between Peeta and Katniss, much to the dismay of Katniss’ hunting pal Gale (Liam Hemsworth). The numbers soon dwindle and before long, Peeta and Katniss are caught up in a life changing twist of fate.

Given its themes of violent teen combat enforced by a totalitarian, paternalistic state, comparison to the Japanese horror film Battle Roya

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3D

**.5

Written & Directed by George Lucas
Starring Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Jake LLoyd, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson

When a trade dispute breaks out, two Jedi Knights are sent to the embargoed planet of Naboo to investigate. What they discover is a threat much larger and more dangerous than first expected…

In an attempt to raise yet more funds for his retirement before the release of his pet project Red Tails, George Lucas is releasing all 6 of the Star Wars films in (not so) glorious 3D to a suspecting moviegoing audience over the coming years. This year sees the release of Episode 1, with Episode 2: Attack of the Clones following in 2013, to be repeated until the rest of the epic good vs. evil saga has been lovingly dipped in post-production 3D.
13 Years after the original release of Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, gets the 3-dimensional treatment. Ubiquitous CGI, Ewan McGregor’s awful Alec GUinness impression and JarJar Binks aside, this film is all about the podrace and the superbly choreograhphed lightsabre battles. This movie also made a star of Wushu martial artist Ray Park as the fearsome horned Sith Lord, Darth Maul (who sports some terrifying, almost demonic face paints to boot), a welcome addition to the cast and whose character sows the seeds of the deep seated divisions between the Jedi and Sith orders.

This reviewer is in two minds about the conversion of one of the greatest film series of all time in 3D, another cinematic fad which will come and go with the wind. What if there was an annoucement to re-release the Bond films in 3D, or to give the treatment to other classic movies such as Casablanca? One half of me deplores 3D as since its return; few films have actually benefitted from it. But then, it does bring a 35 year old series to a fresh new generation of film fans. The action is as fast paced as ever; the podrace sequence makes the film, and is still breathtaking but the addition of 3D to this film is really unnecessary. Lucas seems to be doing it just because he can, without providing any extra impact. The re-releases several years ago added new layers of CGI creatures and characters, but this is just pure self indulgence. Despite this, it will certainly be interesting to see where the latest fad for 3D will take the rest of the epic saga; when Anakin, encased in his breathing mask and iconic regalia becomes Darth Vader for example, may make for an exciting 3D moment (!).

On an offbeat note - if like me, you were bored by the unwelcome supplanting of 3D to this first film in the saga, then there is some fun you can have whilst watching. You can giggle at occasional snippets of dialogue of which Admiral Akbar would be proud, the sort that reveals major plot points and tells you the freakin’ obvious. There are also the fateful beginnings of Anakin and Padme’s relationship, despite the 8 year age gap, although Jake Lloyd does a great job considering who he’ll grow up to become. If you look closely, you can spot a few random cameos such as The Wire’s Dominic West as a Theed palace guard and Celia Imrie, British thespian extraordinnaire as a fighter pilot (!).

May the force be with you.. if this is what 3D does to the trilogy, then George may just need it.

totalfilm:

Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion to get the remake treatment

While a new adaptation of Rebecca is currently in the works over at Working Title, Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion is also set for the reboot treatment courtesy of The Killing executive producer Veena Sud…

Vantage Point (2008) ****

Directed by: Pete Travis

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox

An attempt on the US President’s life is played out again and again from various perspectives in this explosive thriller.

All eyes are on US President Ashton as he makes his keynote speech at a world summit in Spain. Television news stations, print media and the public alike are all focussed on Ashton as are his security teams, but few can anticipate the actions of a group of terrorists who seek to upset this major event.

Brit director Pete Travis, better known for tense actioners Omagh and Endgame attracts big name stars to this portmanteau style action flick, such as William Hurt, Ripley herself Sigourney Weaver of Alien fame and Lost’s Matthew Fox. Aswell as playing around with our expectations of what the film should be, our expectations of the characters are also toyed with. Quaid’s angst ridden CIA man Thomas Barnes experiences flashbacks from past protection details, anxieties about which could mar his protection of Ashton amidst the Spanish crowds. Ashton himself (Hurt) is given a little - though not enough -  screentime, providing an insight into how Presidential public appearances are handled and managed by security staff. Technically portraying dual roles, as the President he is relaxed and more real but as his double, he is more stiff and dons a goofy grin. One of the film’s biggest twists involves Lost hero Matthew Fox as one of the President’s security team, who may appear to be more than he lets on. Indeed, Travis shot this film in multiple different ways, depending on the audience’s perception and how these expectations influence our point of view.

The premise of telling the same series of events over and over again does not exactly sound promising, but to Brit director Pete Travis’s credit, he skilfully puts together this powerful, edge-of-your-seat thriller. This is definitely one of those movies you will need to watch again and again, each time gleaning more tidbits of information, teasing you to seek out the many clues woven tight into the fabric of this densely plotted thrillride.