Captain America, old dog, new tricks!

It seems that Captain America: The First Avenger wasn't everyone's cup of tea.  I thought it was great, and I was REALLY looking forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  The return of one of my favourite characters within the MCU, coupled with elements from one of his best comic story arcs.

With everything that Marvel Studios has going on at the moment, they could almost be forgiven for leaning (not resting, just leaning) ever so slightly on their laurels.

Wrong.

(Before reading any further, please go and see the film.  Spoilers ahead!)

Through the various trailers in the build up to The Winter Soldier's release we were fed tidbits of information that hinted at the potential demise of Nick Fury.  Boy does that story element turn out to be small fry!  Marvel Studios go one step further and tear down S.H.I.E.L.D altogether.  To me this shows that they aren't afraid to tackle big, bold story themes that shake things up, and reminds me very much of comic book type story telling.

Alongside this all out action, you have an overall film feel that harks back to the spy classics of yesteryear.  With suspense, tension, and great characters alongside the action that you would come to expect from a Marvel blockbuster.  With Robert Redford in particular playing his part brilliantly.

All of this doesn't even include my two favourite elements to The Winter Soldier!

The first is the introduction of Falcon.  The MCU has introduced us to Gods, Alien Superpowers and Enhanced Super Soldiers.  The closest to a non super hero is Tony Stark.  Although a genius, playboy billionaire and creator of The Iron Man Suit isn't my idea of non super.  Even Black Widow and Hawkeye exhibit some extraordinary abilities, and if Marvel Studios decide to explore their backstories further in stand alone films, I wouldn't be surprised to find some kind of genetic modification or enhancement being introduced by way of differentiation to us mere mortals.  Falcon, however, changes all this.  Before donning his wings we first meet Falcon as Sam Wilson, jogging around The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.  Here he is repeatedly lapped by Captain America, each time Rogers calls 'on your left' to alert Wilson to his passing.  On each pass Sam gets more and more frustrated.  Catching his breath post run, we also see that Sam Wilson is not supporting the trim, muscular physique of Rogers.  From the very beginning we are shown that Sam Wilson is a man, a soldier like many others around the world.  Doing his duty in the hope of making the world a safer and more just place for us to live.  This makes his later heroics all the more special.  You don't need to be superhuman to be a hero in the MCU.

Second is the now familiar Marvel end credit sequence.  Although the word is already out that we will be seeing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, I really like how they've been introduced at the end of The Winter Soldier.  Their captivity (at one can only assume to be the hands of Hydra) is sympathetic to their 'children of Magneto' backstories.  Is the possibility of an introduction of X-Men into the MCU too much to dream of at this point?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. picks up the pace

This TV show would have to have done something very wrong for me not to have liked it.  That said, prior to the mid season break, the field was still very much being set.  Since it's return to Channel 4 a few weeks ago, it doesn't seem to have stopped for breath!

I still have this week's episode to watch, but with Skye in a very bad way and Deathlok's introduction I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.

In the last episode we see Skye get shot and Deathlok make his first official appearance, did anyone notice The Incredible Hulk name drop?
When arguing with Ward, Agent Coulson threatens him with cryo-cell guard duty.  Who's cryo-cell, I hear you ask?  Well for those of you who didn't pick up on it, it was Blonsky.

Remember him?  The Abomination was born from a combination of Emil Blonsky and a serum adapted by the military to try and make a super soldier following Bruce Banner's accident and the birth of The Hulk.  In the end he was beaten into submission by Hulk and is now, it would seem, chilling out in a cryo-cell courtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Knowing that Mark Ruffalo is contracting to more appearances as Bruce Banner and The Hulk, is this the first seeds being sown of a stand alone Hulk movie?  Too much of a stretch you think?  Only time will tell.

The Zero Theorem (2014)

A film that, looking at my local cinema's screening schedule, isn't having a big release.  Although I believe it is set to be another cult gem in Terry Giliam's already well adorned crown.

Directed by the man who brought us Brazil, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I wasn't surprised to be one of the select few in the cinema when I went to see it.  It would be quite easy to take The Zero Theorem at face value and wonder quite what the hell is going on.  Whilst it isn't as painfully stylised as the likes of Only God Forgives, it is sure to prove divisive to any watchers.  You will either love it, or hate it.  Little to no middle ground exists here.

I am a big fan of Terry Gilliam's work.  In this way, I had some understanding of what I was letting myself in for.  After seeing it, I later read that Gilliam described it as the final part of an Orwellian triptych the started back in 1985 with Brazil, and now has 1995's Twelve Monkeys sandwiched between it and The Zero Theorem.  If you are familiar with either of the other two films mentioned above, you will get a good idea of the type of world The Zero Theorem is set in.

Christoph Waltz plays Qohen Leth.  A very eccentric, and reclusive computer genius he works for a very large corporation.  Tasked with 'crunching numbers' and solving formulae all day, Qohen cannot understand why he is unable to work from home.  He believes in this way he can not only be more productive, but he can also await his precious phone call.  This phone call is one that he has been waiting for all his life.  One that Qohen believes will instruct him as to the meaning and purpose of his existence.

Qohen finally gets what he wants when Management agrees to let him work from home, with one condition.  He has to work on The Zero Theorem.  A theorem notorious for breaking people, the idea behind the theorem is to prove that '0 must = 100%', many would advise against taking on such a task.  As it gives Qohen the chance to work from home though, he gladly accepts.  Things then start to go wrong as Management tries to distract and manipulate Qohen to keep him on track.

You can most likely tell even from the paragraph above that the stand out theme of the film is the question, "what is the meaning of life?" if it has any.  There's no subtlety, and thankfully it makes no attempt to give us an answer.  The best part of the film for me was the way the film explored what this very fundamental theme meant to each of the characters, and how it shaped their lives.  Then of course there is you and I, the viewer.  What does it mean to us?

The film approaches these things in a way that, whilst oddball and wacky, is relevant to the technological, and somewhat disconnected age in which we live now.  I enjoyed it very much, and will undoubtedly be seeing it more than once.  My only advice is take as many people with you as you can, then afterwards go to the pub and talk about it over drinks.

It will make for one hell of a night!!

The Matrix....revisited?

Although they are certainly nothing more than rumours at this point, there are lots of stories out there saying that Warner Brothers are gearing up for a return to The Matrix.

Whilst it can be argued that the trilogy got weaker as it went on.  It wouldn't be that surprising that Warner Brothers are trying to reignite a franchise that has earned over $1.6billion at the box office.  Even the least commercially successful of the franchise, the final instalment 'The Matrix Revolutions', made a tidy profit of just shy of $300million.

As a huge fan of the first film, I was very forgiving of the trilogy.  What the second and third films lack in story, they more than make up for in spectacle.

Most interesting will be where they decide to go with any future films.  Smart money would have to be on a prequel (or series of).  Either looking at the origins of The Matrix itself, or the original escapees and their story.

I can't even begin to imagine what craziness The Wachowskis could muster up now, with SFX at their current standard.

I look forward to further developments on this one.

Oscars, Oscars, Oscars

It's the final countdown once again.  Predictions have been made, bets have been placed.  One thing's for sure though, I wouldn't like to be one of the 6,028 members of The Academy who've had to pick between this bunch:

That's just for the Best Picture category too!!  They've got another 23 to decide on as well.

Here's an interesting graphic for you though:

Best Picture nominees and their box office takings.  Granted there are a couple in there that haven't been out for very long, but will you just look at Gravity!!

Either way, I have my fingers crossed for 12 Years a Slave.  For Best Picture, and for Steve McQueen for Best Director.

We'll soon see.

Star Wars, new episode, new line up.

This isn't the first we've heard of the new Star Wars Episode VII, and it certainly won't be the last.  Especially with principal photography due to start anytime soon.  So we should be hearing lots more casting news over the coming weeks.

The latest of this is the potential big bad being Adam Driver.

Known most recently for his role in the TV Show Girls, and a big screen outing for Inside Llewyn Davis, Driver may be a relative unknown to many.  With names such as Hugo Weaving and Michael Fassbender also being linked to this project, many may wonder how Driver got a shoe in.

Some think that this is an indication that we may be in for a number of bad guys.  I think it may just be a wise and inspired decision for revitalising the franchise.

What better way than to bring in relatively new blood as opposed to more 'household' names.  It may simply be a move for longevity of character.  If we're to expect more Star Wars episodes in future, and our bad guy is set to star across a few, aging will then start to become a factor.

Most likely he was the best man for the job, and all of these musings will be forgotten once he makes his first appearance.

Never the less, there's likely to be much more news to follow.

Dredd Sequel.....please....

So it looks like the speculative talk has started again following an interview in which Karl Urban said talks were happening about bringing a Dredd sequel to production.

Much has been made of the hash job that was the marketing prior to the films cinematic release, which was the films ultimate downfall.  Then came the fans, who propelled the film up the DVD sales and download charts.  Something that I'm sure would give any potential investors pause for thought.  DVD and Blu Ray sales alone have brought in half of what the film made at the box office....worldwide!

It's no surprise then that talks are ongoing.  What is important is that the people with the money, who make the decisions see that the strong following isn't going anywhere.  There are several ways you can do this:

1. If you haven't already, buy a copy of the film! Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital, whichever.
2. Buy a copy of the one-shot follow up comic.  Let's send a clear message that we want to see more Dredd.  Go to your local comic book store, or pick up a digital copy from Amazon.
3. Sign the petition: http://2000adonline.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a6e40236aa24d482cfff600d2&id=62906ebdcc  Let the decision makers see just how many people want to see a sequel get made.

I don't want to live in a world where rubbish franchise after rubbish franchise can get churned out at the cinema.

I want to live in a world where the public can speak up, the fans can be heard, and we can see a great character brought back to the big screen where he belongs!!