Magic Magic, 2013.

Directed by Sebastián Silva.
Starring Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Agustin Silva.

SYNOPSIS:

A delicate and fragile young woman takes a Chilean roadtrip with some of her cousins’ friends, with unsettling and unexpected results.

Juno Temple could never be accused of choosing easy roles. The St Trinian from somewhat humble, inauspicious beginnings has developed as an actor by diversifying wildly by genre and tone. From a creative family (mother producer, father director) it comes as no great surprise that she has ended up pulling faces for money as a chosen profession.

Even at the tender age of twenty-five, she already has an enviable CV of roles, such as the aformentioned St Trinians, The Dark Knight Rises, Greenberg, Killer Joe, Lovelace and this project to name but half a dozen in a career littered with influences from a host of directors that have given her a solid grounding. Soon, she will appear in Maleficent and the new Sin City. Not bad for a girl whose face you often knew, but just couldn’t put a name to at the time.

In Magic Magic, Temple enjoys the spotlight in an admittedly formidable cast, joining fellow Brit Emily Browning (Pompeii) and Michael Cera (Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), in an unusual choice of role, but nevertheless gaining an opportunity to flex his acting chops maybe more than he has been challenged before. Whether this is a success, well, you’ll probably have to see it for yourself to decide.

Written and Directed by Sebastián Silva, Magic Magic takes a small group of friends, and one of the friends’ cousins (Temple) off into the remote foothills of Chile for what is supposed to be a bit of R&R. 

Out of sorts from the outset, turning up late and jetlagged, Alicia (Temple) seems uncomfortable and uncommunicative with the group of well-intentioned strangers she has just met. Sara (Emily Browning), Alicia’s cousin that has invited her on this jaunt, is very happy to see her, but it appears that the choice of this trip is not perfect for either of them, for reasons that become increasingly clear over the course of the first half of the film.

As an opportunity for a South American travelogue, Silva has made a very nice film, which enjoys some excellent cinematography and you get the feel from the story that he was probably more bothered about how it looked, rather than what actually happened. As such, this writer/director might want to focus his career on the latter and leave the former to one whose passion is words and not pictures.

Regularly frustrating due to its pacing, the plot is something far simpler than you would have expected and the pitch and trailer are clearly quite different to what is actually presented for general consumption. The acting is on par from Temple and you would expect nothing less from her, with able support from Browning, who only really appears to be there to prop up our lead characters’ fragility. There is little actual character development to speak of, save for Alicia herself, whose experiences and the effect they have on her are well documented and her personal journey is nicely considered and carefully dissected.

As for the rest of the cast, they are completely overshadowed by Silva’s need to recant the story of this stranger in a strange land and the film suffers a little too much because there really isn’t enough to say about her and this slows the film too often to snail’s pace. Michael Cera’s eclectic Brink is the writer’s attempt at levity but you get the impression that Silva watched Superbad and thought he would be perfect, yet Cera is not funny on his own and playing against a host of solemn faces means his humour generally falls a little flat.

Not really the psychological thriller you’re looking for, or were expecting. Temple does an admirable job, but overall, this is average fare. A good vehicle for Silva’s direction, but as I say, he might want to steer clear of taking too much responsibility in the writing department in future.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Steve Leadbetter

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Ahead of its arrival later this year, the first trailer for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies release Batman: Assault on Arkham has arrived online, and we’ve got it for you right here….

Based upon the Arkham video game series, Batman: Assault on Arkham is directed by Jay Oliva (Justice League: War) and sees Kevin Conroy lending his voice to the Dark Knight alongside a cast that also includes Neal McDonough (Captain America: The First Avenger), Hynden Walch (The Batman) and Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds).

Check out the first trailer, which includes a look at The Joker, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, and the Suicide Squad…

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The Weinstein Company has released the first two images of Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in director Justin Kurzel’s (Snowtown) adaptation of the William Shakespeare tale…

Macbeth is currently without a release date, but expect the film to roll in late this year, just in time for awards season. Also featuring in the cast are Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), David Thewlis (Harry Potter) and Paddy Considine (The Double).

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Ahead of their big presentation at WonderCon tomorrow, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released a new TV spot for director Gareth Edwards’ (Monsters) upcoming Godzilla remake, which features a great shot of the King of the Monsters in all his glory.

An epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Godzilla is set for release on May 15th, with a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Ken Watanabe (Inception), David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy), Juliette Binoche (The English Patient), and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine).

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To coincide with its world premiere at WonderCon tonight, Warner Bros. has released a new clip from Son of Batman, the latest instalment in the direct-to-video DC Universe Animated Original Movies series, which sees Batman and Robin taking on a swarm of Man-Bats; check it out after the official synopsis…

Hidden atop a secret mountain stronghold lies the League of Shadows and its fearless leader, Ra’s al Ghul. Together with his equally dangerous daughter Talia, he oversees a trained army of assassins with plans for global domination. But an uprising from within the league now threatens to shift the balance of power and sends Talia and her young son, Damian, fleeing to Gotham City. With assassins on their trail, Talia seeks the protection of Batman, who, unbeknownst to him, is the boy’s father. With his son in tow, Batman wages war against the villain Deathstroke and the League of Shadows, all while teaching his headstrong boy that one can’t fight crime by becoming a criminal. With help from Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon and Nightwing, Batman will soon discover that his son and most trusted ally are one and the same!

Son of Batman is set for release on May 6th, with a voice cast that includes Jason O’Mara (Justice League: War) as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Stuart Allan (Rise of the Guardians) as Damian Wayne / Robin, Sean Maher (Firefly) as Nightwing, Morena Baccarin (Homeland) as Talia, Giancarlo Esposito (Once Upon a Time) as Ra’s Al Ghul, David McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Alfred Pennyworth, Xander Berkeley (24) as Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat and Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) as Deathstroke / Slade Wilson.

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Svengali

Directed by John Hardwick
Starring Jonny Owen, Vicky McClure, Martin Freeman

SYNOPSIS:

Welsh dreamer Dixie travels to London to manage the band of his dreams.

Blind optimism and painfully positive enthusiasm, There is something to be said for always looking on the bright side of life, oblivious to the shackles that most of us are victims of throughout our everyday adventures.

Two such examples rendered seemingly effortlessly here are Dixie (Jonny Owen) and Shell (Vicky McClure). A lovely and loving young couple from the depths of Wales, that move to London in pursuit of Dixie’s dream; to become the manager of one of the best new bands in the country. A band he saw on the internet and thought they were ‘brilliant’. So they travel to meet them, to try and convince them to let Dixie manage them, offering them a gentlemens’ agreement. A deal forged with a beer and a handshake. Dixie’s word is his bond. If only everybody said what they meant and meant what they said.

A self-confessed ‘kind of’ Mod, adorned in a parka, Dixie is the epitome of a lost and innocent sheep in the big city, through what seems like sheer blind luck, manages to survive, mostly on his good-nature, the love of his family and the odd spot of good fortune. He and Shell fork out the rent for a flat they haven’t even seen, owned by the frankly terrifying Katya (Katy Brand) and when the bills start rolling in, they are forced to look for work, with Dixie getting a job in Don’s Records, run by Don (unsurprisingly), played by Martin Freeman. A fact which Owen himself is not shy to admit that was probably the reason the film got made at all. Without a hefty leg up from Bilbo, it’s safe to say that this indeed wouldn’t have seen the light of day.

And this would have been a crying shame had it not been greenlit as Dixie and Shell are both highly infectious and appealing characters, despite (or maybe because of) their apparent naivety. Living life as a permanent opportunity and making a new friend from every acquaintance seems to be what gets the two of them through their days and their life together, whilst never being easy, is brimming with joy that will warm the hearts of audiences everywhere. They are two excellently realised characters that are sublimely easy to engage with. You might even be lucky enough to know a Dixie already, even if you may roll your eyes when their name comes up in conversation with others. Vicky McClure’s Shell is loyal, patient and not as green as she first appears, but loves Dixie completely. As the extent of their problems become evident to her, on the very cusp of success, their relationship is tested and we see a new side to Owen and McClure that has been missing for maybe an hour, that being their ability to grab a serious scene by the throat and show off their undeniable acting skills, which prove to be powerful and sobering in a piece brimming with such optimism and frivolity.

Overall, Svengali is a great feel-good project enjoying great direction, with a simple tale of learning about what really is important in life. It takes some genuine souls and puts them through the ringer and the audience can be forgiven for being angry on Dixie’s behalf on occasion, such is the level of engagement with his character. Stylistically, it’s far from original but familiar and comfortable viewing for pretty much everyone that cares to take a glance. The script is not overly ambitious, but the delivery makes up for any lack of syle or quality in Jonny Owen’s script. The main objective seems to be one of keeping it real, which was achieved very well indeed. The laughs are there, but this is less what is said, but how it comes across. It was absolutely essential that audiences warmed to the main characters, which was easy to do, and the film is an unqualified success because of it.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Steve Leadbetter

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Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan, one of the most classic and revered stories of all time, returns to the big screen, completely reimagined and in stunning 3D, for a new generation, on May 2nd here in the UK, and to celebrate we’ve got four merchandise sets to give away to our readers courtesy of Entertainment One. Each set consists of a T-Shirt, Water Bottle, Bug Inspector, Pencil, Backpack and Grow Your Own Tree; read on for a synopsis and details of how to enter the giveaway…

On an expedition in the remote African jungle, John Greystoke and his wife are killed in a helicopter crash while investigating a mysterious meteorite site. Only their young son J.J., nicknamed Tarzan, survives. A gorilla discovers the boy in the wreckage and brings him up as one of her own. Quickly discovering the rules of the jungle Tarzan lives as one with the apes he now calls his family. It is not until he comes into contact with another human being, the courageous and beautiful young Jane Porter, that he starts to question his past and uncover the truth of his childhood. Tarzan and Jane come together to fight to save the jungle from Greystoke Energies new CEO William Clayton, who plans to destroy the land in his search for a new energy source and upon discovering that the true heir of Greystoke is still alive it is not just the jungle that is in danger.

To be in with a chance of winning, firstly make sure you like us on Facebook (or follow us on Twitter)…

By entering this competition you agree to our terms and conditions, which you can read here.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014.

Directed by Marc Webb.
Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Felicity Jones, Embeth Davidtz and Campbell Scott.

SYNOPSIS:

Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.

There is a common misconception that I feel I need to deal with. In 2007 Spider-Man 3 turned out to be quite the travesty. The main issue leveled at it was that it had too many villains. That was never the case, how ever many people said it. It was also a bloody lazy thing to say. The characters were utterly mishandled. Long established story elements were messed around with, and the one villain that everyone wanted to see was completely miscast. Emo Parker however, cannot be explained. That was just terrible.

So imagine the feeling of unease that fell upon me upon discovering that Harry Osborn, Rhino and Electro would all be squaring up against Andrew Garfield’s Spidey in this latest installment.

It turns out I was right to be concerned, though not quite in the way I feared. I’ll come back to that though.

Peter Parker is loving being a hero. With all the sarcasm and agility you could ask for we see a pretty much perfect representation of the web-slinger. It’s a joy to see and makes for really some fun gags and visuals. Put together the new costume with Garfield’s slender frame and charmingly cocky nature, and you have Spider-Man.

Parker’s reveling in the role rubs off on many of those he rescues, especially Max Dillon (Foxx). Finally feeling appreciated, Max reminds me somewhat of Jim Carrey’s Riddler, getting a touch too interested in his hero. One real cheesy lab accident later and we have a powerful villain whose obsession leads him down the wrong path. Foxx seems all too happy to run with dialogue that is generally hokey, but he looks great and gives us a chance to check out Peter’s (and Gwen’s) scientific know-how. I could do with some explanation as to how his costume comes about (and stays about), but with everything else going on it’s not a big deal.

Lots going on is the film’s biggest problem. At two and a half hours long it’s odd that it still manages to feel rushed in places. We’ve got a trio of villains, the ongoing back story of Parker’s parents, his relationships with Gwen/Harry/Aunt May, plus the obligatory world building and sequel setup. I can’t fault each character. I understand their motivations, their choices and their conclusions. Nor can I complain about the parents back story, whilst the Peter/Gwen relationship is just great and the best part after Spidey himself. The problem comes when you add them all together. It’s a complete jumble, with the tone constantly shifting. The film runs full speed with story threads, then drops them in a rush to get to the next part.

The character who loses out in this mix is DeHaan’s Harry Osborn. Though he does a hell of a lot with what he’s given I’d have liked to see more of him. His anger and loneliness belies his cool exterior and quirky haircut. A lesser actor would have become lost in the maelstrom.

On the flip side Peter and Gwen get plenty of time to shine. Webb’s only previous directing credit was the awesome 500 Days of Summer, and his comfort with these scenes is obvious. The frisson between them is wonderful, leaving me always pulling for them to stick it out together. It made me happy seeing them happy.

Not every comic book has to be grim of overly serious. I’m quite happy to hear enemy names proclaimed proudly. It has its place, and though I may have rolled my eyes a couple of times I really did enjoy the spectacle. My fears of a CGI fest were not realized, as it was all appropriate and very exciting. I could watch Spidey swinging around new York for an age.

Despite myself, I can’t help but root for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. No it doesn’t do enough to warrant its title, but damnit I really enjoyed it. I just wish the story matched the performances given by a great cast. We have a definitive Spider-Man. Now we need the story to back it up.

Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★

Chris Cooper is a Flickering Myth Staff Writer, and owner of the blog Super Duper Stuff. Follow him on Twitter @SDCCooper or visit the blog’s Facebook page.

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Our weekly round up of the latest stories from the world of screen superheroes, including The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Venom, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Superior, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Batman vs. Superman, Beware the Batman, Batman Beyond, Son of Batman, Batman: Assault on Arkham, Arrow, Heroes Reborn and more…

Sony took the next step in its fledgling Amazing Spider-Man franchise this past week as the Marc Webb-directed sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swung into cinemas internationally ahead of a North American release on May 2nd.  In the UK, Germany, Spain and Belgium the film enjoyed the biggest opening day of the year so far, bringing in a total of $5.5 million on Wednesday and setting the Spidey sequel off to a solid start. You can check out our reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 here, here and here [be warned, the last one contains mild spoilers... and is extremely negative], while for those of you yet to see the film we’ve also got a clip and a couple of extended TV spots [see here and here], along with two international posters that you can see here…

…The Amazing Spider-Man 2 may have just started rolling out, but producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are already hard at work fleshing out the future of the Spidey franchise – with The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (and 4) in development alongside the spin-offs for Venom and The Sinister Six – and this week Tolmach teased the possibility of Cletus Kasady, a.k.a. Carnage, popping up alongside Venom in the Alex Kurtzman-directed flick: “The idea of Venom and Carnage, taking it into consideration. Watch out for this Venom movie. We are crazy excited…”

…If you’ve caught The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in (non-IMAX) cinemas, then you’ll probably have noticed a mid-credits stinger for another upcoming Marvel film in rival studio 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. So, does this mean we can expect to see Sony and Fox teaming up to take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a Spider-Man / X-Men crossover? Well, not quite. According to reports, the reason for the cross-promotion is down a contractual wrangle with director Marc Webb, who held a commitment to Fox for another movie after (500) Days of Summer, which could have prevented him from directing the Spidey sequel, and to ensure his participation, Sony had to agree to offer free promotion for Days of Future Past…

…And sticking with potential Spidey crossovers, producer Matt Tolmach has ruled out the possibility of Andrew Garfield’s web-slinger making an appearance alongside the Avengers until Sony has “run out of ideas”, stating that: “[Fellow producer] Avi Arad always refers to that question as a stunt. If you were to do that, you know, Spider-man in The Avengers is a stunt. And I get why everybody – you know, fans and audience members and movie goers – I understand it. When you think about the Sinister Six and you think about Venom and you think about Carnage and you think about Spider-man in whatever way you want in association with those movies, they feel like they’re built for Spider-Man. Like that’s where his story needs to go and wants to go, and it has to be about more than a stunt. Stunts can be cool but its also a business, and so the other side of the answer is they’re owned by different companies. And there’s a ton left in Sony’s world – there’s a lot of business left because there’s a lot of story left. So for them to want to take this character and put it with Marvel and Disney is a huge undertaking and probably, as Avis’ saying, isn’t necessary until you feel like, ‘Wow, we’re sort of out of ideas. what should we do?’ And we’re far from out of ideas…”

…Taking a step back now to Fox’s upcoming X-Men sequel, and the studio has ramped up its game in terms of promotion for X-Men: Days of Future Past this week (perhaps not the best of weeks to do so, given the accusations flying around about Bryan Singer). As well as the release of an epic “final” trailer for Days of Future Past – which you can see here if you haven’t already done so, or you’d just like to see it again – the studio has also given us an extended clip of the opening battle between Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Warpath (Booboo Stewart), Blink (Fan Bingbing), Sunspot (Adan Canto) and Bishop (Omar Sy) and the Sentinels, as well as five behind-the-scenes featurettes and a new international poster [see here and here]. Meanwhile, any Rogue fans disappointed with reports that the character has been cut from the film will be pleased to hear that Anna Paquin is set to feature, although “essentially [it's] a cameo…”

…After expressing his interest in the role of Gambit last year, Channing Tatum has now revealed that he’s held talks with longtime X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner about taking on the role of the fan favourite mutant: “I met with Lauren Shuler Donner, and I would love it. Gambit is really the only X-Man I’ve ever loved. I mean I’ve loved them all, they’re all great, but I guess from being down south – my dad’s from Louisiana, I’m from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida – I don’t know. I just related to him. He’s just kind of suave… He’s the most un-X-Men X-Man that’s ever been in X-Men. Other than maybe Wolverine, who’s like the anti-hero. He’s a thief. He’s not even a hero. He’s kind of walking the line of grey…He loves women and drinking and smoking and stuff so he’s just a cool guy who happens to have a moral center… I hope it [comes together]. You never know it’s a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I’m already working on the accent. It’s crappy at the moment…”

…Sticking with Fox and the studio has moved to extend its superhero output beyond X-Men and The Fantastic Four by snapping up the rights to the Millarworld comic book series Superior, which revolves around a young boy with multiple sclerosis who transformers into the eponymous hero after being granted a wish from an alien monkey who turns out to be a demon. The movie adaptation will mark the third collaboration between director Matthew Vaughn and creator Mark Millar after Kick-Ass and the upcoming The Secret Service…

Continue on to the next page for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Batman vs. Superman, Beware the Batman, Batman Beyond, Son of Batman, Batman: Assault on Arkham, Arrow, Heroes Reborn and more…

The post The Week in Spandex – The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Batman vs. Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Beware the Batman, Batman Beyond and more appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Kate Kestrel (left), Hawkeye (right); bottom row (left to right): Ninestein, Hiro, Mary

Today Anderson Entertainment (founded by the late great Gerry Anderson MBE) announced that Terrahawks, Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr’s 1983 cult TV series, would be making its return with production company and publisher Big Finish for eight brand new audio episodes. Big Finish is best known for their audio adaptations of cult hits like Doctor Who and Blake’s 7.

Some thirty years after the original Terrahawks production ended on TV the original cast members are returning, with Jeremy Hitchen (Ninestein, Hiro, It-Star), Robbie Stevens (101, Hawkeye, Yung-Star) and Denise Bryer (Zelda and Mary Falconer).

As Jamie Anderson, Gerry’s son and Managing Director of Anderson Entertainment says, “39 episodes were originally produced of this hit TV series which had over 9 million viewers each week, with development of another series underway when production ceased in 1984.  We’ll be using stories planned for the unmade third TV season, as well as developing new material and hope to release the box set in Spring 2015.”

Nicholas Briggs, Executive Producer of Big Finish Productions, added: “I’m a huge fan of Gerry Anderson’s great TV shows and, for quite some time, it’s been my personal ambition for Big Finish to produce a series based on the great man’s work. I was lucky enough to meet his son Jamie a year or so ago and for a while now we’ve been working towards this moment. Terrahawks is a glorious slice of authentic Anderson, packed with larger-than-life characters, exciting stories and great, futuristic technology! It’s going to sound awesome, and we hope to add a visual dynamic too. I’m really excited about this.”

Terrahawks Volume One pre-orders have already been made available for the release next year and can be found here (£5 is applied for pre-orders).  Pre-orders will come with a CD featuring a ‘making of’ documentary and other, yet to be revealed, extras.

The late great Gerry Anderson MBE on set.

Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.

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We’ve already seen a promo and promotional stills from Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones, entitled ‘Breaker of Chains’, and now thanks to CBM we’ve got another selection of images from the third episode, featuring Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman), Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram)…

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) ponders his options. Tywin (Charles Dance) extends an olive branch. Sam (John Bradley) realizes Castle Black isn’t safe, and Jon proposes a bold plan. The Hound (Rory McCann) teaches Arya the way things are. Dany chooses her champion.

Meanwhile, we’ve also got a trio of images from the fourth episode, ‘Oathkeeper’, featuring Jon Snow (Kit Harington)…

Dany balances justice and mercy. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) tasks Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) with his honor. Jon secures volunteers while Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), Jojen (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Meera (Ellie Kendrick) and Hodor (Kristian Nairn) stumble on shelter.

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With the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios’ Cinematic Universe has already become the highest-grossing franchise of all time in North America, and with the Phase Two sequel now pushing its worldwide total beyond $535 million, the MCU has surpassed the global haul of James Bond franchise ($6.198 billion) to become the second biggest movie series of all time. Here’s the full breakdown of how the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have shaped up at the box office…

Iron Man – £585.2 million
The Incredible Hulk – £263.4 million
Iron Man 2 – $623.9 million
Thor – $449.3 million
Captain America: The First Avenger – $370.6 million
The Avengers – $1.518 billion
Iron Man 3 – $1.215 billion
Thor: The Dark World – $644.8 million

Leading the field globally is Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter franchise, with its eight instalments earning a combined $7.709 million – a figure that Marvel should surpass with Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and that’s before the studio’s Phase Three offerings such as Ant-Man and Captain America 3 hit cinemas. Of course, with Warner Bros. working on a trilogy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them spin-offs, the wizarding saga may not give up top spot without a fight.

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To celebrate the release of the Hammer classic ‘Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell’ – coming to 2-disc DVD & single-disc Blu-ray for the first ever time in the UK on 28th April 2014 – we have a copy to giveaway to one lucky horror fan!

The final feature film directed by the legendary Terence Fisher, ‘Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell’ is a perfect, unusually gory and beautifully gothic swan song for Hammer’s incarnation of Mary Shelley’s two accursed creations.

Featuring yet another standout performance by the brilliant Peter Cushing as the mad baron, ‘Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell’ is also notable for the pre-Star Wars pairing of the actors who would four years later reunite to play two of the most iconic villains in the cinematic galaxy – Darth Vader (David Prowse) and Grand Moff Tarkin (Cushing); read on for details of how to enter…

The finale to Hammer’s Frankenstein cycle features a young Doctor who is interned in the asylum where Baron Frankenstein supposedly perished after being found experimenting on stolen corpses. In the asylum he meets the mysterious Doctor Victor (Peter Cushing), and gradually comes to realise that Frankenstein is alive and well and continuing his work.

Pre-order Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell via Amazon.

To be in with a chance of winning, firstly make sure you like us on Facebook (or follow us on Twitter)…

By entering this competition you agree to our terms and conditions, which you can read here.

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Afternoon Delight, 2013.

Directed by Jill Soloway.
Starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch.

SYNOPSIS:

Bored and listless housewife Rachel visits a lap-dancing club to help spice up her marriage and connects with a stripper that she invites into her home as a live-in nanny, with surprising consequences.

Go on, you can tell me. Have you ever jumped into the back seat of your car as it trundles slowly through the car wash, just because you can, free for a moment of the responsibility of control, just for a different of view things?

No? Well, me neither. Already, I feel inadequate, quirk-wise, and the opening credits haven’t even finished.

Afternoon Delight may be the perfect film for someone, just not for me. I have way too much testosterone coarsing through my innards to really get down with the ladies here. The story of (now, when you’ve watched it, you can tell me which) a disillusioned/selfish/vacant/bored wife and mother with a flagging sex-life, a challenged libido and a distinct lack of direction is not as voracious as it may be, but is written well, with enough reality at its core to be recognisable to many of a certain age.

Kathryn Hahn leads this ensemble of considered female examples. To call them stereotypical is probably unfair, but they are more obvious when you’re old enough to have met most of them already. None are particularly striking or surprising, with characters that are mostly old enough to know better, but are still barren of satisfaction, and not just in the bedroom. Emotionally needy and only slightly psychologically challenged, this collection of women, though seemingly empowered, still seem at odds with a world of opportunity and their apparent inability to grasp it firmly by its very hairy bollocks. If this is a man’s world, then you just might have these ladies to thank for it, wasting their time with not even beginning to understand what they want, instead of knowing their own minds and just fucking well taking it.

“You want to blog with her? Name one good thing that’s come from blogging..”

Well I can think of at least one. Cited for best direction at Sundance, you can easily spend the first half of the film’s running time just wishing that these women would stop suffering under a cloud of whatever it is these soccer moms are ailed by. The arrival of stripper McKenna (Juno Temple) into the lives of these frustrating, frustrated women is a breath of fresh air for the audience and you would expect this to be true also for Rachel (Hahn) when she invites her to stay at her house, conveniently forgetting to check with her husband or son beforehand.

And this is where we have a problem. The story is at odds with itself. You can ask why she even needs to ask permission to invite a friend to stay, for as long as she wants? But she really should. This is about respect, after all. This is something she clearly needs from others, yet seems unable to provide it herself. If the intention was to make Rachel unbalanced and slightly avoidable, then this seems like a triumph. Personally, I get the feeling that we are, regardless of our gender, supposed to be engaged by her (we are to an extent), to understand her (we do, she is quite transparent) and to empathise (oh no, you can forget that, missy). Throughout the majority of the running time, Rachel becomes progressively more unlikeable and self-absorbed, pining for for a youth that’s long gone and quietly regretting the life she’s had since, for a number of reasons.

Hahn’s portrayal of Rachel is excellent and the acting performances are enviable throughout, with Juno Temple continuing to impress and deliver a range of performances only touched on here, but Afternoon Delight has trouble with what it wants to say, or come to that, even if it has something to say. As a contemporary temperature gauge for how women of a certain age feel today, then it’s all well and good, but you have to ask what the audience can take away from this, aside from a nodding appreciation if the audience also happens to be female and middle-aged. And if that is even the case, is there anything here besides recognition worth sitting through this navel-gazing story that is ultimately quite unpleasant, if we’re brutally honest.

Seemingly trapped in two stories, one of a lonely stripper, one of a lonely housewife, the two could rightfully be expected to meet somewhere in the middle with either one or both of these women learning from the other, making two worlds collide for some kind of purpose, but this never really happens. Or at least, I never saw it happen. Both of the two main characters are reluctant to change, yet neither is satisfied with their life as it is. Perhaps, despite being confident and assured, they try to learn to understand that their world does not stop immediately outside their bubble.

Well acted and scripted, the story is naive and beneath the audience it is trying to impress. The performances are easily the best thing about the film and the same cast with something more to chew on would have made a more satisfying project come to life with their abundant flair. This plods and lollops from one selfish, tired complaint to the next, rarely getting up enough steam to generate actual enthusiasm from an audience that were clearly already exhausted when they walked in. There is a shot in the arm for some kind of positive resolution, but this just isn’t worth the work to get the minute of payoff by its conclusion. If it achieved nothing else, it made me thankful that I’m not a middle-aged woman with goals still to achieve and desires to realise, as I would probably blow my own head off with the nearest shotgun.

Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★

Steve Leadbetter

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Villordsutch chats to Tom Petch, writer-director of The Patrol…

Tom Petch  is both writer and director of The Patrol (Soda Pictures),  which follows a physically and mentally exhausted British Patrol in Afghanistan as both ammunition and morale run dangerously low.  Tom himself spent 8 years within the British armed forces and later the Special Forces, and was able to draw on his experiences and other solider accounts to form the story of The Patrol.   A winner of the Raindance Best Film 2013 and described as “A Must-Watch” by the London Film Festival, Villordsutch managed to catch-up with Tom to ask him a handful of questions about his time he spent involved in the film.

Villordsutch: Tom can you tell us a small bit about your 8 year career within the armed forces?

Tom: I joined the army in ‘89 and left in ‘97 so I didn’t do Afghanistan. I joined a tank regiment in Germany and the moment I arrived the Berlin wall came down and everyone started fighting. I belong to a generation of officers who got sent everywhere. I went to Cambodia, the Middle East, Bosnia but we didn’t really intervene like in Afghanistan. At that time NATO didn’t have a role, it was the United Nations, it wasn’t till the end of Bosnia that NATO actually started to intervene, though all that actually meant to me on the ground was swapping my beret from blue UN  one. We learned a lot and I think my generation of officers got to see a lot of fighting and that informed us, it was very interesting times.

V- You obviously have undertaken so much  work when it came to writing and of course directing the film from equipment, tactics, personal accounts (of past and present soldiers) but when it came to getting your actors ready for their roles did you ask them to read anything in particular, or did you put them through their paces physically to prepare them for their roles?

T: I gave the actors playing officers some instruction on how we were taught as officers, and so Ben particularly would come and ask me questions about his role, and how to handle the situation. They were depicting a reality, of sorts, a film is not real, but I wanted to give the audience some insight into this world. Everyone on The Patrol I gave footage from Afghanistan to watch, not just the constant action which is more usually portrayed in war films, but some more idea of what it is really like. Then we took everyone to a basic training camp in the UK and we taught them all their weapons drills and their contact with the enemy drills. We also gave them their first taste of living in the field and route marches. Their instructors had done tours of Afghanistan so the cast really respected that, and paid attention, and like all good actors asked loads of questions. Then in the desert we issued the actors with the real equipment, and because they had been taught how to put it together we let them get on with it. I had this idea that the more real we made it for them the better they would seem as soldiers. And that kind of worked, because during the course of the filming the actors got better, they started looking a bit like a basic training unit. When they started out their kit was all over the shop, they always needed a bit of help, by the end of it they looked good. I would watch them and they always practiced, whether we were filming or not. Think they all developed enormous respect for the soldiers in Afghanistan as they did all this in the same heat.

V:  The monologue that runs throughout the film is quite clear with its message and also so is the story that unfolds during the unfortunately named Operation Icarus in the film, was this something you’d felt during your 8 years service that you had wished to capture on film or did the other  accounts you read later bring you to writing this story?

T: It was something later, my inspiration, the path to The Patrol, was when the 2006 NATO deployment in Afghanistan started I thought this doesn’t look good. I started asking questions, reading reports, and it was apparent the deployment had gone wrong. When I came to developing an idea of a script some of that was my own experience, like in Cambodia in ’93, where we held the first elections in the country while the Khmer Rouge tried to derail the peace process. I guess that is a similarity with Afghanistan, a violent minority, but that give the majority the choice they will never chose violence, and that just happened in Afghanistan with the elections on Saturday, just as it did in Cambodia. But it probably could have happened without 448 British soldiers dead and a load more civilian casualties. When I actually started writing I drew on incidents in my own career and set them in Afghanistan. Those incidents, death of a friend, insubordination, stress in combat, they are constant; you can read the Iliad and it’s all there, the reluctant hero, the misguided leader. In fact the Operation Icarus is loosely the real Operation Achilles, can’t believe they actually used that in Afghanistan but they did? The characters themselves are a mixture of people I knew when I served, but they are also archetypes, if they repeat, which they do, in Journey’s End, Norman Mailer’s ‘Naked and the Dead‘ then there is a reality to these portrayals of men in combat.

V: Where did the confidence come from in writing and directing your own debut film? Has this been a long time want for yourself or did you feel you couldn’t trust anyone with this material?

Ahead of its Cannes premiere next month, we’ve had our first look at Ryan Gosling’s trippy directorial debut Lost River (formerly titled How To Catch a Monster) with two images featuring Gosling’s Drive co-star Christina Hendricks…

“Set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city, Billy (Hendricks), a single mother of two, is swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. She must dive deep into the mystery, if the family is to survive.”

Also featuring in the cast of Lost River are Saorise Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Eva Mendes (The Place Beyond the Pines), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Iain De Caestecker (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Ben Mendelsohn (The Place Beyond the Pines).

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As we await the fallout of The Purple Wedding in tonight’s episode of Game of Thrones, showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have taken us ‘Inside the Episode’ of ‘The Lion and the Rose’ as they discuss last week’s shocking episode of the epic fantasy series. There are of course huge spoilers…

And here’s an ‘Anatomy of a Scene’ featurette of The Royal Wedding…

Game of Thrones season 4 continues tonight with episode 3, ‘Breaker of Chains’. Check out a promo and some images here, here and here.

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Yesterday, DC Entertainment continued its celebration of The Dark Knight’s 75th anniversary with a special Batman 75th Anniversary panel at WonderCon packed with star talent such as DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee, animator Bruce Timm, voice actor Kevin Conroy, director Kevin Smith and radio personality Ralph Garman. In addition to the Q&A, the audience was also treated to the world premiere of Darwyn Cooke’s Batman Beyond short, which features the voice talents of Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne and Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis. And, we just so happen to have it for you right here….

While you’re here, be sure to check out Bruce Timm’s Batman 75th anniversary short, Batman: Strange Days.

The Batman Beyond short will also be shown on Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block after Teen Titans Go! on April 23rd.

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During Saturday’s WonderCon presentation, Disney and Lucasfilm Animation debuted an extended look at the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, showing an action sequence featuring the Twi’lek pilot Hera (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) and the “grumpy” astromech Chopper; check it out after the official series synopsis…

“Star Wars Rebels continues the epic tradition of the legendary Star Wars saga with all-new exciting, action-packed adventures. It is a dark time in the galaxy, as the evil Galactic Empire tightens its grip of power from world to world. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. But there are a select few who are brave enough to stand up against the endless Stormtroopers and TIE fighters of the Empire: the clever and motley crew of the starship Ghost. Together, this ragtag group will face threatening new villains, have thrilling adventures, and become heroes.“

Star Wars Rebels is set to get underway on The Disney Channel with a one-hour premiere in the Fall before airing on Disney XD. The series is produced by Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class) and Greg Weisman (Young Justice), while Marshall is joined in the voice cast by David Oyelowo (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Scooby-Doo), Taylor Gray (Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures), Tiya Sircar (Vampire Diaries), and Steve Blum (The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes).

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Back in January, a depressed Quentin Tarantino announced that he’d decided to shelve his next project The Hateful Eight after the script for the Western leaked online. Well, it seems he may not have given up on the project after all, with the director revealing last night at a live script read in Los Angeles that he’s currently rewriting the screenplay.

“I’m working on a second draft and I will do a third draft but we’re reading from the first draft,” said Tarantino as he introduced the formally titled Film Independent Presents the World Premiere of a Staged Reading by Quentin Tarantino: The Hateful Eight. “The Chapter 5 here will not be the Chapter 5 later, so this will be the only time it is seen ever.”

The live-reading of the script for The Hateful Eight featured Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, James Remar, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern, Amber Tamblyn and James Parks.

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