Before The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 arrives in November, here's another fix of dystopian sci-fi action based on a series of young adult novels. The methadone to Hunger Games' heroin, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the sequel to 2014's genuinely-not-bad The Maze Runner, which is itself also genuinely-not-bad.
This is despite there being no mazes, no trials and almost nothing getting scorched. Running, however... running it has by the marathon. With its young leads – Dylan O'Brien's Thomas, Thomas Brodie-Sangster's Newt, Ki Hong Lee's Minho and Kaya Scodelario's Teresa – hot footing it out of a maze in the last film, "The Gladers" (as they're called) are offered mere minutes of respite in a sinister medical facility before pegging it into the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Director Wes Ball returns for the follow-up, delivering a slicker and more confident product, full of grander set-pieces and tougher themes. Beset...
This is despite there being no mazes, no trials and almost nothing getting scorched. Running, however... running it has by the marathon. With its young leads – Dylan O'Brien's Thomas, Thomas Brodie-Sangster's Newt, Ki Hong Lee's Minho and Kaya Scodelario's Teresa – hot footing it out of a maze in the last film, "The Gladers" (as they're called) are offered mere minutes of respite in a sinister medical facility before pegging it into the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Director Wes Ball returns for the follow-up, delivering a slicker and more confident product, full of grander set-pieces and tougher themes. Beset...
- 9/8/2015
- Digital Spy
Star of comedies from Anchorman to Elf, Will Ferrell has made his name playing dullards, slimeballs and childlike naifs. Our writer discovers that in real life, he is more Buddy than Burgundy
• Vintage Burgundy: classic Anchorman quotes
Just over a dozen or so years ago, when Will Ferrell was still a cast member of Saturday Night Live and starting to think of a future full-time film career, he met up with the head of a major Hollywood studio.
"The thing with comedy characters," the head honcho said to him, "is that they have to be likable."
Ferrell thought about this for maybe two seconds, looked up and replied, "You are absolutely wrong."
"And the two development assistants standing by the studio head just went … " Ferrell makes a rubber-faced look of Munch-like horror, and he laughs remembering the moment which, from today's perspective, sitting in London's poshest hotel at the tail...
• Vintage Burgundy: classic Anchorman quotes
Just over a dozen or so years ago, when Will Ferrell was still a cast member of Saturday Night Live and starting to think of a future full-time film career, he met up with the head of a major Hollywood studio.
"The thing with comedy characters," the head honcho said to him, "is that they have to be likable."
Ferrell thought about this for maybe two seconds, looked up and replied, "You are absolutely wrong."
"And the two development assistants standing by the studio head just went … " Ferrell makes a rubber-faced look of Munch-like horror, and he laughs remembering the moment which, from today's perspective, sitting in London's poshest hotel at the tail...
- 12/18/2013
- by Hadley Freeman
- The Guardian - Film News
From the Nutcracker to American Psycho, from Mary Poppins to Kurt Vile, our critics pick their must-sees of the festive season
If you wish it could be Christmas every day
Nutcrackers, various
You know it's Christmas in the ballet world by the number of Nutcrackers touring the world's stages. In the UK alone, there are close to a dozen doing the rounds, but the top three remain the Royal Ballet's exquisitely traditional version, the sparky family friendly production by Birmingham Royal Ballet, and English National Ballet's – with the best snow scene of them all. Royal Opera House, London (020-7304 4000), 4 December to 16 January; Birmingham Hippodrome (0844 338 5000), to 12 December; London Coliseum (020-7845 9300), 11 December to 5 January.
Father Christmas
Does Father Christmas use the loo? Does he secretly long for summer? Does he have strong views on the size of chimneys? You bet he does. Raymond Briggs's gorgeous picture book gets a heartwarming makeover for under-sixes.
If you wish it could be Christmas every day
Nutcrackers, various
You know it's Christmas in the ballet world by the number of Nutcrackers touring the world's stages. In the UK alone, there are close to a dozen doing the rounds, but the top three remain the Royal Ballet's exquisitely traditional version, the sparky family friendly production by Birmingham Royal Ballet, and English National Ballet's – with the best snow scene of them all. Royal Opera House, London (020-7304 4000), 4 December to 16 January; Birmingham Hippodrome (0844 338 5000), to 12 December; London Coliseum (020-7845 9300), 11 December to 5 January.
Father Christmas
Does Father Christmas use the loo? Does he secretly long for summer? Does he have strong views on the size of chimneys? You bet he does. Raymond Briggs's gorgeous picture book gets a heartwarming makeover for under-sixes.
- 11/25/2013
- by Lyn Gardner, Michael Billington, Andrew Clements, Alexis Petridis, Judith Mackrell, John Fordham, Brian Logan, Stuart Heritage, Mark Lawson, Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
Dark Sky took to Twitter where they revealed the following image of some sort of insane contraption from their now-filming Frankenstein's Army, which stars Karel Roden as Viktor, the mad Nazi scientist. The hotly-anticipated action/horror film, set toward the end of World War II, also stars Alexander Mercury (The Golden Compass), Joshua Sasse (The Big I Am), Luke Newberry (The Heart of Me), Andrei Zayats (X-Men: First Class), Mark Stevenson (The Last Horror Movie), Hon Ping Tang. The film, "takes place toward the end of World War II, as Russian soldiers push into eastern Germany and stumble across a secret Nazi lab, one that has unearthed and begun experimenting with the journal of one Dr. Viktor Frankenstein. The scientists have used the legendary Frankenstein's work to assemble an army of super-soldiers stitched together from the body parts of their fallen comrades - a desperate Hitler's last ghastly ploy to escape defeat.
- 3/15/2012
- bloody-disgusting.com
For better or worse, in terms of entertainment this year is all about 3D. In a break from the blockbuster norm, the likes of Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog have made movies in the format, prompting new cries of its coming of age as a respectable art form. Elsewhere, advertising for Nintendo’s new 3Ds games handheld has been ubiquitous, whilst Sky continues to tout its 3D TV subscription service with almost religious fervour. Meanwhile, consumer electronics companies are shouting increasingly loudly about their latest range of 3D capable displays and Blu-ray players.
Before 2011 is over, the chances are that we may be closer to knowing whether James Cameron’s most recent claim – that conversion to stereoscopy will be total within five years – is at all credible.
In keeping with this theme, recent months have seen a great volume of stereoscopic Blu-ray back catalogue titles released in the UK,...
Before 2011 is over, the chances are that we may be closer to knowing whether James Cameron’s most recent claim – that conversion to stereoscopy will be total within five years – is at all credible.
In keeping with this theme, recent months have seen a great volume of stereoscopic Blu-ray back catalogue titles released in the UK,...
- 4/15/2011
- by Robert Beames
- Obsessed with Film
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