Stellar Buzz for Christopher Nolan's Space Travel Blockbuster

For hype and anticipation, Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic Interstellar is the one to beat right now. It's about two weeks away from release and early reactions are starting to surface online, all of them positive. What can I say, if the likes of Edgar Wright ("Emotional, visually stunning"), Rian Johnson ("some of the finest space travel spectacle this side of 2001") and Brad Bird ("WOW") are bowled over, I think we're going to be in for a dazzler. It's also worth noting Interstellar is the first Hollywood blockbuster we've had in what seems to be an alarmingly long time that isn't a sequel or based on some existing franchise/toy/book. Be sure to see at IMAX on November 6!

Gravity starring... Arnold Schwarzenegger

What if Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Sandra Bullock in Gravity? Here's the frighteningly convincing answer:

Sci-Fi Trailer Mania: Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow, Jupiter Ascending, Interstellar

Last week saw the release of no less than FOUR trailers for upcoming sci-fi behemoths. Ok, Godzilla might not be technically what you'd consider "hard" sci-fi but anywho... There's Tom Cruise donning a mecha suit battling aliens while stuck in a time-loop (Edge of Tomorrow looks like a cooler Oblivion); there's Jupiter Ascending, the new space opera from the Wachowskis' featuring Channing Tatum with ridiculous pointy ears and a ginger goatee; and the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan Matthew McConaughey-starring joint, Interstellar, the teaser for which shows barely any footage from the movie itself but should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand...

In Space No One Can Hear You Nitpick

Firstly if you haven't seen Alfonso Cuaron's spectacular Gravity yet, just set aside 90 minutes this week and buy a ticket to a 3-D screening at your nearest IMAX pronto. Reviews have been largely, universally positive (it's currently boasting an impressive 96 rating on Metacritic), and having seen the film, I can attest that it IS a big screen experience worth savouring. And not just any normal screen, but the biggest screen possible, hence the IMAX recommendation. I rarely go back for seconds at the movies these days -- heck I barely make it out to the theatres anymore -- but Gravity is one film that could justify another viewing. It's just that kind of film. 
Plenty have been written about Cuaron's gob-smacking technical achievements already so I won't go into detail, but for those who've seen the film and need some post-viewing reading, Vulture has a great interview with director Cuaron and former US astronaut Scott Parazynski, who fact-checks the film's space experience. Meanwhile, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson unleashed a barrage of tweets nitpicking the film's "realism". Trust me though, none of this will matter when you're watching it -- Gravity is one of the most beautifully immersive blockbusters ever created, and definitely the best of its kind released this year.

Trailer: Under the Skin

The first trailer for Scarlett Johanssen's new film Under the Skin has hit the web and (AV quality issues aside) it looks intriguing and positively mind-blowing, though I'm hard-pressed to tell what the heck is going on. This arty, ambitious sci-fi flick, directed by Jonathan Glazer (his first film since 2004's Birth), has already generated a lot of talk and divided critics since its screenings at Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. The Guardian calls it an "extraordinary malarial dream"; The Telegraph says "astonishing"; Variety didn't show as much love, describe it as an "ultimately torpid and silly tale of an alien on the prowl". Me? I'm sold.

Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity Wows Comic-Con

Exclusive footage of Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi flick Gravity was revealed at Comic-Con and the reactions have been, promisingly, rather hyperbolic. The film, which stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, is said to recreate the terrifying experience of being adrift, floating helplessly in space, and from the footage shown, it appears to have done just that for those who saw it. I kinda dig Cuaron's description of the film as "an IMAX documentary that goes wrong". Interestingly, he cites Steven Spielberg's Duel and '70s existential car-chase pic Vanishing Point as influences. Here's the teaser trailer to get an idea of the dazzling technical virtuosity we can expect come October 3:

Trailer: Snowpiercer

Elysium may be the most buzzed-about sci-fi blockbuster in the next quarter, but I'm equally excited for Snowpiercer, a post-apocalyptic train-set thriller starring Captain America's Chris Evans, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton. I'm especially hyped because it's directed by the talented Bong Joon-ho, who joins his fellow South Korean mavericks Kim Ji-woon (The Last Stand) and Park Chan-wook (Stoker) in making their English language debuts in the past year. Bong boasts an impressively consistent and versatile filmography, having done a crime drama (Memories of Murder), a black comedy (Barking Dogs Never Bite), a monster movie (The Host) and a character study (Mother), so there's a good chance Snowpiercer will maintain that level of quality. Here's the international trailer... quality's not so great, but it still looks damn cool:

M. Night Can't Catch a Break

Poor M. Night Shyamalan. The dude just can't catch a break. His new Will Smith-starring sci-fi pic After Earth adventure is currently scoring 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety has called it "listless", a "non-happening", "a leaden affair". Twitch says it's "apocalyptically bad". Film Freak Central gave it ZERO STARS, describing it as "a thinly-sketched, unbearably haughty survival story that cites Moby-Dick as it steals from Suzanne Collins". And so it goes. None of this is surprising of course, given the steady, consistent decline of the Shyamalan brand over the last six films he's made since his breakthrough hit The Sixth Sense. The marketing team at Sony were well-aware of this too, pre-empting any damage wrought by audience expectations ("It's that twist guy again!") by scrubbing his name clean from promo materials to focus on Will Smith. So what happened to M. Night Shyamalan? Have a read of Nick Schager's piece at Village Voice. After Earth comes out in NZ on June 20. Oh yeah, M.'s still talking about doing Unbreakable 2...

Thoughts on Oblivion

Tom Cruise's shiny new sci-fier Oblivion is out in cinemas today. Wondering how it is? Let's break it down into easy-to-digest bullet points and stray obseravtions (no spoilers):

• Director Joseph Kosinski, who previously gave us the thoroughly underwhelming Tron: Legacy, is not a natural storyteller. He's first and foremost a stylist, a lover of sleek, painstakingly designed surfaces, and it's evident in the way Oblivion's lumbering, lurching narrative is at odds with its seductive tech glossiness.
• Tom Cruise performs with his usual generic leading-man intensity.
• It's a thinly veiled anti-God screed.
• Olga Kurylenko: miscast, wooden. All the romantic stuff is dreadful.
• I was wondering where I'd seen those spherical drones before, and it just dawned on me: Phantasm! :)

 

• Actually you'll be wondering where you've seen a lot of Oblivion from, and the answer is a LOT of other sci-fi. Unfortunately Kosinski never transcends the material's lack of originality.
• The effects work on Oblivion IS superb but I'm starting to get a little iffy of the following type of shot, which I first started noticing in Prometheus.... basically it's a lone-figure-riding-in-a-vast-landscape-type shot that's meant to convey just how dwarfed the figure is by the expansive surroundings etc. But I think my problem with it is is that it doesn't (not to me anyway) - the super-crisp CGI rendering looks pretty and all, but somehow robs the image of its intended power. Too unreal? The "uncanny valley" thing? I dunno. I'm probably just talking out of my arse - but it's just something that's crossed my mind.

 

Verdict: Some nice eye candy but mediocre, leaden movie.

Early Buzz: Elysium

Elysium, Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to District 9 is surely one of the most heavily anticipated films of the year, all the more so considering how little we've seen or heard of it. Some lucky industry peeps have seen sneak footage though, and word is that it's quite spectacular, showing what Blomkamp can do with a much larger budget and bigger stars (Matt Damon, Jodie Foster). In the absence of a trailer just yet, if you want to hear some early reactions click on the following video see three visibly impressed online journos raving about it (take a shot every time someone says "jaw-dropping"):

Trailer: Beyond the Black Rainbow

January 10th will see the release of Panos Cosmatos' Beyond the Black Rainbow from Madman, and  it's without the doubt the weirdest, trippiest film you'll see that month. I've already done a rave in my review, so let's put some pictures to words now with this trailer: If you remotely have a taste for unusual, dreamlike cinema, you'll find much to enjoy/admire here (and if you don't, it won't be the easiest 90 minutes you'll sit through lol).

Re-Cut Trailer: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Excellent, on-the-nose re-imagining of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey as an ear-splitting, seizure-inducing trailer for today's audiences (reminds me of the trailer for a certain recent space film...).

Trailer: Battleship

Peter Berg's films have gotten progressively bigger and more blockbuster-y over the years, particularly with the effects-heavy, Will Smith-starring Hancock. But that doesn't quite prepare you for the event-sized magnitude of Battleship, his adaptation of Hasbro's board game. Two words that spring to mind when watching this trailer: MICHAEL BAY. With its military-focused action, slick CGI robot transformations and large-scale scenes of devastation, Battleship is nothing if not Transformers all over again. According to this interview however, the film will be "unique" 'cos Berg is "bringing a level of realism and Naval cooperation" to it. A-hem. Anyway, here's the trailer, enjoy the explosions and get excited and whatnot...

Loopy for Looper

SlashFilm has just posted some early buzz on Rian Johnson's next film, the time-travel thriller Looper and I couldn't resist echoing my anticipation for it. Although his sophomore effort The Brothers Bloom was a bit wobbly, I'm expecting - at least hoping - Looper will demonstrate the creativity and conviction of his debut Brick, albeit on a larger scale. Johnson's been documenting the production on tumblr, which is filled with beautiful images from the set, and if it's any indication of how the film will turn out, then it's going to be a real stunner. Unfortunately we'll have to wait until September 2012 to see it...

Attack the Block To Premiere at 24 Hour Movie Marathon

British comedian Joe Cornish's urban sci-fi monster movie Attack the Block has been announced to screen at the 24 Hour Movie Marathon on November 19th. The film's been getting some hot press around the place and looks pretty dang fun... check out the trailer and buy yourself a ticket (or two) to this "Mount Everest of Movie Experiences" here (don't waste your time, it'll sell out!):

Classic Trailer: Metropolis: Reconstructed & Restored

Fritz Lang's monumental sci-fi classic Metropolis has finally been reconstructed and restored and DVD and Blu-ray is out today from Madman! This new release contains the original 150-minute director's cut and reinstates 25 minutes of footage that was thought to have been lost for 80 years. You can read more about the restored footage here, and if you've never this film, this is the best possible version available. Here's a glimpse of what to expect...

More Aliens from Blomkamp for Second Film

A few details about District 9 director Neil Blomkamp's next film have emerged: it's going to be called Elysium, it will feature aliens (on another planet though) and will star D9's lead Shartlo Copley. It'll also be another D9-style socio-political story apparently. I'm in alien-fatigue mode at the moment so I'm feeling a bit indifferent to this, but based on D9, one hopes it'll be some kind of fresh take on the genre. The question now is, does this viral teaser that hit the web last week have anything to do with the movie:

Trailer: Source Code

My hype level for this one is sitting around an 8-9. It's Moon director Duncan Jones' next flick, which has been described around the place as "Groundhog Day reworked as a sci-fi thriller", or words to that effect (actually I'm get a bit of a Timecrimes/Triangle vibe from the trailer too). I can see a lot of opportunities for cool, smart twists here - let's hope Jones lives up to the potential of his accomplished debut.

Trailer: Battle: Los Angeles

Oh look what do we have here... yet ANOTHER alien invasion movie. This looks marginally better than Skyline, which is getting some pretty serious hammering from critics, but you've seen it all before really. Tell me you don't see bits of District 9, Transformers, Cloverfield, etc. in here - maybe with a little Black Hawk Down and The Hurt Locker thrown in for good measure. Even though the trailer is cut without any dialogue, I can already sense US jingoism run rampant throughout the pic. EFX look good though :)



PS: is that Michelle Rodriguez I see in another no-nonsense tough chick role?

Trailer: Inception

First off apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's been a busy madhouse here in the past few weeks and workload has prevented me from posting as much as I'd like. But this stunning trailer for the new Christopher Nolan film Inception is worth taking the time out to blog about. I'm not completely sure of the plot - and I'm going to avoid details as much as I can from herein - but what we can glean from this trailer is that it looks like a rollercoaster sci-fi brain-melt that seems to take place a lot in people's minds and dreams. Maybe Paprika-style? And we can probably expect a DiCaprio performance dialed up to 10 a la Shutter Island. He plays an agent specialising in "subconscious security". Sounds ridiculous but I'm intrigued.



PS: Anyone feel like this movie looks a lot like Batman Begins? Something about the colour schemes - Nolan loves his browns, blacks, whites...