zaterdag 8 november 2014

Today's News: movies, chappies and junkies



There's been some neat news these past few days, and I got a chance to post my fair share:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157896/nieuwe_trailer_voor_the_hobbit_the_battle_of_the_five_armies

A rather decent little trailer, says I. Seems Middle-Earth will go out with an appopriate bang, as did The Hobbit book to a lesser extent. Moderation surely isn't Peter Jackson's style, particularly if he knows he's not likely to show off like this again. Might as well go all-out one last time. Tolkien purists surely gave up on him right after An Unexpected Journey anyway. This precious trailer looks breathtaking and makes me water my mouth accordingly. However, I'm not the one who needs to be convinced to go see this movie, as I've been planning to do so for a few years now. I guess this trailer doesn't really need to be enticing anyway, as people who want to see the movie will see it anyway and people who don't, won't be pulled in any more by this preview, even if it does look awesome. This trailer definitely is for the fans, who live in the greatest of anticipation for one more month before the cinematic age of Middle-Earth comes crashing down. Unless they do find a way to decently adapt The Silmarillion for the big screen after all.



http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157867/eerste_trailer_minions

Then there's this trailer. There's a multitude of evil minions in Tolkien's stories, but none are as cute as these. You don't see Orcs getting a movie of their own. (Well, you do, but that's not what I mean.) But it's clear people enjoyed the shenanigans of Gru's little aides more than they did Gru's own sinister schemes, so a spin-off was required by the laws of Hollywood. It's still unclear whether Steve Carell's Gru is in the movie, as some sites claim he is while others deny as much. I think it likely this will serve as an origin story, showing how Gru and the Minions hooked up. Do we need to know that? Not really. I guess people just really like the Minions so much they want to see more of them than their creators originally intended. They're kinda like the Smurfs in that regard: they're small and there's many of them with various personalities, they have their own language, they're monochromatic, etc. If they're indeed a runaway success, will that mean we'll forget about Gru the same way the majority of the Smurfs reader are not aware of Johan and Pirrewiet? That would be a shame, as I think the Minions work best playing off Gru, who himself is an equally delightful character (the voice and nose alone crack me up). It's up to this Minions movie to determine whether the Minions have a staying power of their on, or whether we prefer Gru to be present as well.



http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157866/junkie_xl_werkt_mee_aan_soundtrack_batman_v_superman

As a fellow Dutchman it's of course expected of me to feel a sense of pride at Junkie XL's accomplishments. Well sure: good job, Mr. XL! Other than that this news doesn't evoke much emotional feelings in me other than gladness we'll be getting a good score for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (now if only we also got a good title...). Hans Zimmer's status as one of the world's leading movie soundtrack composers has long since been established. His tunes can be heard during my workouts on many an occasion (Gladiator is a particular favourite of mine). Junkie XL is just a bonus. His track record of Hollywood scores is still on the short side, but so far he has done well. I liked his score for 300: Rise of an Empire more than the one from its predecessor. Divergent's soundtrack is not nearly as memorable - can't remember a single accord of it for the life of me, to be honest - but at least it didn't leave as sour a taste as the rest of that film did. I like the notion of two composers sharing duties between superheroes' separate scores. It makes sense someone else trackles Batman for this film, as Zimmer already scored that character for the entire Dark Knight trilogy. Since this is a different Batman, a different theme is in order and so a different composer is a logical conclusion. Since we are talking about the same Superman as the one from Man of Steel however, it's only apt that Zimmer keeps scoring him. Big question now is: who's gonna score the inevitable combined superhero/Justice League theme? Zimmer, XL or somebody else entirely?



http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157879/eerste_trailer_chappie

Neill Blomkamp continues to dabble in socially pertinent science fiction flicks. It worked out great in District 9, a little less so with Elysium, but there's still more contemporary injustice to be commented upon. From the looks of the trailer, Chappie seems to deal with a 'nature versus nurture' debate: does an artificial intelligence become a criminal because he was "raised" in such an environment, or were there signs of bad behaviour in his personality from the get-go? Does he acknowledge good from evil to begin with, or are such notions beyond his understanding because of the limits in his programming? Is a life of crime considered a logical and reasonable existence under the situations according to the codes written within him? It'll be interesting to see what Blomkamp has to say on the matter, since things are never so black and white in his work. The gritty, down-to-earth look of his Sci-Fi remains catchy, especially in a story closer to home than one dealing with space stations and exoskeletons. This film definitely is worth keeping an eye on. It'll be fascinating to see a robot attempting a robbery for financial gain, rather than a bunch of them trying to take over the world for a change.



http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157895/titel_star_wars_episode_vii_onthuld

Meh... Damn silly title. I can understand it's not an Episode proper, considering the new studio, the new director and the new direction the franchise takes (but despite the very old cast members returning). But I still find Star Wars Episode VII to be a catchier title than Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The latter kinda sounds like a video game, a bastard child of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed or something. And is this title suggesting the actual Force was asleep during all the previous movies? Yeah, right! I guess J.J. Abrams is the 'Force' in question and he has awoken to make something new and exciting of the franchise (or so he thinks), rather than the dull generic crap he pushed on us with his dreadful Star Trek reboots, during which he was obviously too much asleep to give a crap. And please tell me that isn't the official logo for the movie. It looks like a cheap fan creation. Not that there aren't any fans who could have come up with better titles, of course. How about Star Wars Episode VII: The Empire Takes Over the Franchise?




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