So, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ wasn’t the last one after all. With Matt Damon calling it quits on the series, Jeremy Renner takes the lead in this fourth film, with Edward Norton on baddie duty and Albert Finney and Joan Allen seem set to reprise their roles as Dr Albert Hirsch and Pam Landy respectively. Filming is taking place in New York, The Philippines and Canada – the plot’s carefully under wraps but you can bet that conspiracies and politics play a hefty part in the action-packed proceedings. Rachel Weisz is the likely love interest.
The Bourne Legacy is an upcoming American action spy film and the fourth installment in the eponymous Bourne film series, which is based on the Jason Bourne novels created by Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader. The story sets off after the conclusion of The Bourne Ultimatum with Tony Gilroy as the director, screenwriter of the first three films. Matt Damon and the character Jason Bourne are not in this film, but Damon has not ruled out starring in any future films as long as Paul Greengrass returns as director. The film is named after but is not based on The Bourne Legacy, a Bourne novel written by author Eric Van Lustbader.
Early evidence suggests the sumptuous Snow White and the Huntsman will at least look better than its Julia Roberts-fronted rival.
Film-makers who begin their careers in commercial advertising do not always emerge as dead-eyed journeymen when they arrive in Hollywood. Ridley Scott conjured up Blade Runner and Alien from the ashes of some much-loved 1970s ads for Hovis bread, and I’m something of an apologist for Zack Snyder, at least when he’s in Watchmen mode and not hawking spectacularly ill-advised video game porn in the vein of last year’s Sucker Punch.
Rupert Sanders is the latest director to emerge from ad-land, and I can’t help feeling that the British film-maker’s forthcoming take on Snow White has retained a whiff of festive perfume commercial that you might think was a hangover from his old job. Perhaps it’s the presence of Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna, or, more likely, the pretentious, faux-edgy fantasy imagery – but I feel a desperate need to rush out and purchase a dozen bottles of Poison by Christian Dior every time I watch the trailer.
Three new featurettes have dropped this week ahead of Snow White and the Huntsman’s June release, and none of them do an awful lot to extinguish the suspicion that Sanders is keener on style than substance. In the first, Theron boasts of a “feast for the eyes”, while Kristen Stewart (Snow White) discusses “visuals that absolutely transport you somewhere else”. Chris Hemsworth (the Huntsman) helpfully offers that because Sanders has made oodles of adverts, he will be able to tell “a vivid story with such great imagery”, while something that looks like Castrol GTX (actually the famous mirror on the wall morphing into human form) flows ominously around the screen.
The second video centres on the story, which doesn’t seem to have been adapted too much from the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale. The evil queen is still out to murder poor Snow White for being hotter than her, but this time she has added superpowers such as the ability to transform into a flock of crows and drain the lifeblood from unfortunate servants, a bit like Ingrid Pitt in classic Hammer horror Countess Dracula mode. The censors might well have handed Snow White and the Huntsman an 18 certificate back in the early 1970s: it’s intriguing to see that a film about an evil murderess who wants to cut out the heart of her rival is these days being pitched at the pre-teen Twilight crew.
Finally, we get the chance to have a look at the sumptuous costumes prepared for the film by three-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood. No complaints here: the movie looks spectacular. Can it develop into something more than a visual tour de force, and does it need to? There’s something fitting about bringing the story of Snow White to the big screen in superficial form. Fairytales are often opaque, sepia-toned devices: horror stories for children, as it were, with the awful goings-on obscured by the dream-like nature of the storytelling. On this basis, Snow White and the Huntsman appears appropriately vacuous.
Snow White and the Huntsman’s final plus point is that no matter how bad it ends up being, it cannot possibly get close to rival production Mirror, Mirror’s level of abomination. The Julia Roberts-fronted version seems to have fed the entire cast truckloads of happy pills before setting them loose on set, and you’d struggle to find more ropey, half-hearted acting work at a Romford pantomime.
Snow White and the Huntsman arrives on 1 June, 2012! See you there! 🙂
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Mae Limboc is an Social Media Specialist at Visual Ally Incorporated. She has been in the company since it started and is currently being trained for Social Media. To practice her learning’s, she is now trying to venture out into blogging. Her blogs usually showcase their different activities and interests and also her experiences of a newbie in the Social Media world.
The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon takes you on a roller coaster ride filled with out-of-the-world action sequences, mind boggling special effects and entertainment to the hilt.
The story of this movie was, six superheroes – Iron Man (Downey Jnr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Hulk (Ruffalo) are brought under one roof by S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), when Thor’s evil brother Loki threatens to destroy Earth. However, to stop Loki, the superheroes must sort out their personal differences and work together as a team.
I have got to tell anyone that this is one of the best adventure movies I’ve ever seen. The only word I can think of to describe this movie is AWESOME. It’s amazing work and everything I had hoped for and more. One of the many things I loved was the tension and flat out conflict that arises between team members. It’s not a two dimensional “team wonderful that bands together to fight crime ho ho ho.” Most don’t like each other at fist and there is so much texture to be played. That is great because so many of these characters are larger than life. They have egos and the big guns aren’t used to working with other people or even playing by the rules. Stark, Thor and Banner all work “the other side of the fence” so to speak. Then there’s the Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America who are used to following orders and playing within a command structure. They are all thrown together in a wonderful and, best of all, believable fashion. Again, more than I ever dreamed possible.
Iron Man and Captain America probably get the most screen time (or at least the most focus). And while Whedon and the funny and clever Tony Stark seem made for each other, I was very impressed how he handled Captain America, who is a far more straightforward and unwaveringly noble fellow than Whedon – who prefers his characters to be a bit more ambiguous and flawed — is known for, but one he handles very well, as Captain America takes on the leadership role he was destined for.
I must say The Avengers is the best Marvel superhero movie yet!
If you enjoy watching thriller action films, The Avengers is the perfect choice for you! Go, relax and settle down with your 3D glasses for a match of super powers!
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Mae Limboc is an Social Media Specialist at Visual Ally Incorporated. She has been in the company since it started and is currently being trained for Social Media. To practice her learning’s, she is now trying to venture out into blogging. Her blogs usually showcase their different activities and interests and also her experiences of a newbie in the Social Media world.
So, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ wasn’t the last one after all. With Matt Damon calling it quits on the series, Jeremy Renner takes the lead in this fourth film, with Edward Norton on baddie duty and Albert Finney and Joan Allen seem set to reprise their roles as Dr Albert Hirsch and Pam Landy respectively. Filming is taking place in New York, The Philippines and Canada – the plot’s carefully under wraps but you can bet that conspiracies and politics play a hefty part in the action-packed proceedings. Rachel Weisz is the likely love interest.
Explore the World with Mae 