Iron Man Three (light spoilers)

 So i've just returned from the midnight showing of Iron Man Three, its 3:30am so forgive me if this review is a little choppy but I must blog about this right now.

I am going to start with my one true love, Visual Effects. There were so many great companies and artists working on this film, and they really brought their A game. Somehow they managed to bring a certain amount of gritty realism to FX that ordinarily would be over the top even by comic book standards. There's one scene where a large number of Iron Man suits are involved in battle, and start flying around, shooting and blowing up and yet somehow the viewer can totally accept it as real. This, in my opinion  is the art of good Visual Effects. It's not just about putting CG objects in live action footage, it's about putting it there and no one being able to tell. The level of detail that these guys have gone into, right down to the scratches on the paint work, is phenomenal. Hats off to these guys and gals, not just for proving that VFX is an art form, but for being an inspiration. It's not just about blowing stuff up (though that is cool and there is a lot of that) but making things look real, and it reminds me as a recent graduate and freelancer, that I should never stop learning the craft because perhaps one day I'll get to work on projects like this myself.

I'm not going to spoil too much of the story. I'm an avid hater of spoilers and so wouldn't wish to ruin the experience for anyone. Go and see it, it is beyond worth it. It's probably the cleverest plot line for a action film I have seen in a while, and had some particularly good twists and turns. All the clues are there for you if look out for them, but if you miss them, it all ties up in the end. It's got great Tony Stark dialogue, with humour in dollops, oozing with the same cocky swagger RDJ brings to the role. I was told in a very cryptic fashion before I saw this film, that something about the villain will split the fandom in half, and it most certainly will. I personally think it was a very ballsy move on the writers part, and one that brings an old school, cliched, comic book bad guy right up to date. Others will disagree. Watch out for Ty Simpkins, Starks unlikely side kick, who's a great little actor and bounced off RDJ with the talent of a real pro. They say never work with children or animals, well in this case they got the casting spot on.

What I really liked about this film, is the way they dealt with Tony Stark as a character. In the comic books, he got a bit dark towards the end, and yet they managed to work with that in a Disney fashion that shouldn't disturb the younger audience and yet still manages to deal with the a character post a highly traumatic experience (ie. The Avengers Assemble plot line). It also, quite cleverly, deals with the question that the Captain posed in the Avengers movie. Who is Tony Stark without the suit? The answer, well wait and see, but it is finely executed, with tonnes of symbolism as Stark learns more about himself and love and all the things that made Pinocchio a real boy. It's heart warming really,  and exciting, incredibly dramatic with laugh out load humour, high adrenaline action and just plain awesomeness. I couldn't have asked for more from a Marvel film. If you're not sold, just watch the trailer below!

A few things to finish off with.

1. Go see it immediately. I, in fact, will almost certainly be there again tomorrow night. 
2. Wait until after the credits, there's a nice little gift for you Avengers fans at the end.
3. Anyone else REALLY annoyed at how it's Iron Man 3 in all the promotional stuff but the film is in fact Iron Man Three? I don't know, that just annoyed me. It's really the only thing.

Star Trek Into Darkness - 1 Month and Counting Down!

With little over a month to go until Star Trek Into Darkness hits our cinemas, my level of excitement is hitting warp factor nine. With new teasers and trailers, HD pictures and cast interviews in every magazine, I'm just absorbing everything I can get my hands on through osmosis. It's like a frenzy right now. And it's not just me, the entire fandom seems to be vibrating with the suspense, as we are still no closer to uncovering who John Harrison really is. It's been an incredible run up to the movie, and there is still 5 weeks left to go, I'm uncertain whether I will make it without my brain going supernova. 

But it's the fandom right now that makes me a little sad. I've always found the Star Trek fandom to be incredibly friendly, but lately there seems to be a certain amount of hostility towards the new fans. It's as if everyone is being made to earn their geek stripes before they are allowed into the hallowed halls. I grew up with Star Trek, it was a week night routine to sit in front of BBC2 with my older brother to watch the reruns over dinner. We had the VHS movie box set, bought the action figures and played with a home made cardboard Enterprise D Bridge replica. But why do I need to justify the level of my fandom experience before being allowed to express an opinion about the new movie?

It seems that there has been an influx of new Star Trek fans, because of this guy; the frankly brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, who is an outstanding actor and quite rightly has a massive fan following online. It is these fans who are infiltrating the Star Trek fandom, and a few of the old school fans don't seem to like it. 

In a way I understand the resentment. Having grown up in an era (not that long ago in fact) where young people were openly bullied for being smart, (boffin!) for liking science fiction or fantasy, (geek!) or being fascinated with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the occult (freak!) , it can be quite difficult to see those people who hurt you so badly lining up behind you at the cinema once your favourite franchise becomes main stream entertainment. But surely, liking an actor is just as legitimate a reason for wanting to see a movie, as being a life long fan?

As a VFX Artist and Creative, I work for the love and passion of what I do, but I fully understand that at the top of the tree, movie making is an industry designed to make money. If you as a fan wish to see your favourite franchise survive, then you should be encouraging new people to embrace that franchise. At the end of the day, the more bums on seats in opening week, the more dollars are made and the more likely your franchise will survive. 

I want there to be more Star Trek movies. I want there to be a rise in good science fiction and fantasy films. I want the things that I love to be around forever, and that can only happen by encouraging new people to try it out. So rather than shun the new fans, thank them profusely and welcome them into the fold. Opening night for Star Trek Into Darkness is going to be amazing, so lets not ruin it with inter-fandom wars, let's enjoy the journey together. 

Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten

I used to write Doctor Who episode reviews a life time ago when I ran a Doctor Who fan forum. Times have changed and I have become increasingly busy, but I still I have huge love for Doctor Who and thought I might get back into the habit of writing reviews. This blog has gone a bit unloved of late. I wish I could discuss my up and coming projects, but the one I am most excited about is top secret. There's also stuff involving rampaging elephants, and a short Film Festival entry which I shall probably blog about soon once I have the OK to show clips and pictures and what not. In the mean time. Doctor Who.

Matt Smith as a Doctor has grown on me considerably. I never really gelled with him in my post Tennant depression, though in hindsight that is mostly because I found the character of Amy Pond incredibly annoying (That isn't a dig at Karen Gillan by the way, who is a fantastic actress, but the character of Amy Pond) . Now she is out of the picture, and we have the fantastic Clara Oswald, who I love and a darker more brooding Doctor, I can fully appreciate the acting capability of Matt Smith. He's incredible.

So onto The Rings of Akhaten.

I had so much hope for this episode. The look of the episode seemed to be like the love child of Star Wars and John Carter of Mars, and really the first 20 minutes or so was stunning. Just take a moment to appreciate these VFX.

Really, I must shake the Concept Artist by the hand because, this is like nothing I've seen before. In fact the entire premise is original and completely alien, which is something New Who seems to have shied away from in the past. I just love the idea of using sentiment as a currency, and praying to keep the Gods asleep using what is effectively lullabies and bed time stories is just inspired. There were a few minor niggles (like why can't Clara understand some of the aliens the Tardis should translate for her?) which I let go of because, well it is a show aimed at children and the barking alien was quite funny, but then it started to go down hill.

The Doctors Sonic Screwdriver needs to go. I actually thought for a moment he would sell it and I rubbed my hands together with glee at the thought of him saving the day with nothing but his good looks and wits, but no. It has stopped being the device that opens doors (though it did open a rather large door) but in fact the all singing all dancing magical save the day device that gets the Doctor out of any sticky situation. It's a magic wand, he waves it and the bad things go away. It's an unsatisfying conclusion. It's a far cry from Christopher Eccleston trying to resonate concrete and then the humiliation of being saved by Captain Jack. Perhaps the Doctor has obtained a little too much alien tech.

It was all a bit down hill from there in my opinion. It's a real shame because it started out so well. Perhaps next week will be better.

Trance

I wish I could tell you about my current projects, but I can not right now, so I won't. Instead let us talk about Trance for a moment. This post will be full of spoilers so glance away now if you do not wish to be spoiled.

I love Danny Boyle. He's got to be one if my all time favourite directors and pulls off psycho thriller like a pro. Anyone who has seen Shallow Grave or 127 hours will know this man can really mess with your head. This film was no exception. From start to finish I was in a sustained state of "wow!" The look, the feel, the way the story unfolded it was brilliant. So obviously I went to see it again. Sad to say I kind of wish I hadn't.

Unlike films like Fight Club, where, if you go back over the movie, all the pieces fall into place and everything suddenly makes sense. You start questioning if you are in fact an idiot for not noticing in the first place. Trance is not one of those movies. Trance has plot holes. These are largely minor, and necessary for the story to work properly, but when they come together as a whole, for me it ruined the experience. Now I'm asking myself, couldn't there have been a better ending?

My two main niggles are this:
1. How did the hypnotherapist know that Simon had killed that woman? She wasn't there. She only knew what he had told her. I questioned whether she had in fact been following him, after all, at the end it becomes apparent that she had been manipulating events from the start. If that was the case though, why did she cry upon meeting him again? Why did reading his story on the internet upset her so? It doesn't quite scan.

2. If Simon was such a big creepy stalker, why did she continue therapy with him? She's too afraid to answer the phone or email but was quite happy to lock herself in a room with him for several hours? Ok so she had a motive for allowing the sessions to continue, ok fine, but do you think someone so desperate to see her that he tried to strangle her would casually show up for his session and calmly sit and be hypnotised when just hours ago he was trying to break down her door? It doesn't make sense. It may not even be relevant, but for a very character driven plot, for me it was a suspension of belief too far. However without this backstory, the film doesn't work. It's a necessary plot device, for the story to end in the way it did, these characters needed to be set up in they way they were. Unless of course, there was a different ending.

I'm not a writer, and I am not going to claim anything that I come up with could be better than what was already in the film. But I'm going to take you through my thought process upon first watching the film.

There was a moment, after the car crash and fire, when Franck broke the surface of the water and was suddenly in his swimming pool at home, I thought I had a moment of clarity where I understood what was happening. Of course I was wrong, but I'm starting to think I would have preferred to be right.

When Simon first goes to see Elizabeth to find his keys, she tells him to create a character. She says "create another man who can do the work for you."  In that brief moment in the pool, I thought, perhaps Simon was a figment of Franck's imagination. He created Simon to find the painting HE HIMSELF had lost. Perhaps the entire film had been the work of the hypnotist. Of course the "he woke up and it was all a dream" is a horribly unsatisfying ending, but I can't help but think if handled correctly, and we all know how well Danny Boyle can handle twists,  maybe it would have worked out better. Perhaps it would have been brilliant had it been left a little more open ended. The hypnotist creates the entire situation and the character of Simon. Simon leads Franck through the fire to find the painting, she then, armed with that knowledge steals the painting, and Franck wakes up in his pool very confused and dazed and THE END.


The audience is confused. They discuss it for days. It's likened to Fight Club and Inception. Is that necessarily a bad thing? I don't know. All I can say is GO SEE THIS MOVIE. Don't think to hard, submerge yourself in it, but don't over analyse because it may just ruin what is an incredibly slick and exciting couple of hours.