Neill Blomkamp’s Incredible Vision of the Future is Unleashed with New “Elysium” Trailer

Here is the first look at the trailer for Neil Blomkamp’s new movie Elysium from the Io9 website. Starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley, we see the Earth of 2159 where the rich live in luxury on a man-made station above the planet. The residents of a ruined Earth below struggle to survive and it is one of these residents that takes on a mission that could change the balance of both of these groups and bring equality to the polarized worlds. Below is the brand new trailer.

The first thing that catches your eye is the incredible realism of this future Earth. In all of Blomkamp’s work he has always had a talent of making the science fiction elements of the story blend into the real world we live in today. The Earth of the future looks very much like an exaggerated version of parts of our world. The huge ultra modern buildings and technology of the elite class mixed with masses of floral surroundings makes the harsh, war like life the people living on Earth have to suffer seem that much more tragic. The rich here have a flair for decadence that makes their world seem breath-taking and the poor people on Earths struggles seem a little too much like life on our planet right now. The trailer clearly defines these class struggles and felt a lot like the alien residents plight in District 9.

Certain parts of the trailer felt like the scenes following the human survivors from the Matrix movies, the bald head, modern and very rough looking technology, dirty clothing and wrecked housing probably helps to enforce that look. Matt Damon looks great sporting the above look and the insertion of his robotic Exo- Skeleton into his flesh was an incredible moment, as were the scenes where Matt Damon is smashing and blowing up his robotic foes. Sharlto Copley looks great in the same suit and has some great scenes where he to gets to blow stuff up. The mix of action and class struggle is handled fantastically and adds an exciting story to the trailer. The robots also look great. Neil has always had a soft spot for technology in his work, especially robotics and this film seems to be no different. The fact that he handles this interaction between CGI and live action so well is cause for celebration and certainly blew me away when I was watching this trailer.

This trailer has everything a fan of science fiction could hope for. The only downside is the lack of Jodie Foster, who only pops up in a few scenes and gets very little trailer time. But this is a very slight fault. Futuristic class struggles like Elysium shows have been around since films like Logan Run brought them to the cinematic masses in the 70’s and Neil is continuing that tradition with his own unique brand of science fiction action. The film is released on August 9^th of this year and that time seems to far away for this reviewer. Keep checking Grizzly Bomb for regular updates on this superb looking movie.

CCI 2012: Neill Blomkamp Talks Elysium, District 10 & Something Called Chappie

First off let’s talk about Elysium a little bit since it’s the next of his films to come out and we will be hearing more about it soon. Also 6,000 fans were treated to a seven minute clip of Elysium at CCI (More on that later). The film stars Matt Damon as an Earth resident determined to infiltrate the secure space paradise, and Jodie Foster plays an Elysium leader determined to stop him. District 9 star Sharlto Copley returns, this time as a villain, which is very interesting.

The seven-minute clip shows Damon working to escape the filthy planet, enduring a mysterious mechanical brain-implant procedure that leaves him with machinery protruding from the back of his head and encasing his arms.

Previous articles on Elysium;

‘Elysium’ from the director of ‘District 9’: Plot & Images

So what about Neill Blomkamp sequels? Well he did talk a little about future District 9 sequels. Not a great deal given away but still we have hope he comes up with a great idea for a sequel.

“The obvious place to work with him [Peter Jackson] again,” Blomkamp said, “is on ‘District 10,’ or ‘District 8,‘ whatever you wanna call it, however, I’m not sure I’m making that film. It would be cool, but these films take two or three years to make, and the investments are so extreme, you can’t accurately predict where you’ll be a few years from now, I believe. If you’re not creatively invested in it, you’re making a mistake, and that creative investment happens day to day. So I don’t know when that feeling for a ‘District Whatever’ film happens.”

Finally something about a Sci-Fi comedy film Neill Blomkamp is making with Terri Tatchell which I have not heard about before but apparently is going to be his next project. It’s called ‘Chappie’ and Blomkamp spoke a little about it below:

“I wrote ‘Elysium’ on my own, but I wrote ‘Chappie’ with Terri [Tatchell], that was written at the same time. It’s like a fundamentally more simple story, a comedy, a heartfelt story, in a science fiction setting. And it’s f***ing hilarious, it’s a really cool film. I can say that with confidence … It’s a smaller film, a more esoteric one.  It may very well be my next project.  It probably will be. But A) I wanna take some time off, and B) you need to know for sure that that’s what you’re going to do for X number of years. I have another idea for a horror, and for a comedy, but they’re way less fleshed out than ‘Chappie.’ ‘Chappie”s ready to go, and I think ‘Chappie”s what I’m making. But I’m gonna take some time to make sure.”

Check out more Comic-Con coverage here, more pics on our Tumblr and follow the action at the Con over on our Twitter!

CCI 2012: Banner Poster Impressions!

It’s nerd Mecca time, and this year the bevy of posters, trailers, previews, easter eggs and all the other little tidbits in between are being analyzed by every single person who isn’t at CCI, while everyone who is there ignores them while waiting in line for their Hall H panel. Having been to SDCC twice before, I can attest that it truly is the spectacle people make it out to be, and is one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have, that is also extremely horrible at the same time. But I digress, because you’re not here to read what I think about the Con itself, you’re here to look at the juicy, juicy posters and coverage of the event! So let me transport you there for a moment with a collection of the posters themselves, which I believe are mostly self evident of their awesomeness, but I’ll talk about them anyway.

Pics Via [Collider]

I’m totally stoked to see how The Evil Dead remake is gonna be. I like the use of the original font, and the inclusion of the #Necronomicon is a nice touch that echoes the poor idea of reading the books pages aloud, only now it’s on social media. I’d like to think that was a clever marketing decision on purpose, but even if it isn’t, I’m digging it. Check out our previous coverage of the movie here.

Here’s the complete banner. Spring 2013! Awesome.

Of course GoT is there reppin’ themselves rightly. Season 3 is gonna make everyone shit bricks. Can’t wait.

I was a huge fan of District 9, and remember being intrigued by the viral marketing for the movie they had at the 2008 SDCC, and after seeing it in theaters, Neill Blomkamp cemented himself as a visionary director to keep your eye on. His new project here, looks fascinating. Read our previous coverage here.

I didn’t even know they were remaking this. Reading about it though, seems it’ll be an interesting remake, as Kimberly Peirce is directing. She’s best known for Boys Don’t Cry, and her work on The L Word, which means she knows how to direct stories about women, and messed up relationships.

What can I say about this movie it’s awesome trailer already doesn’t? Joseph Gordon-Levitt has yet to be in a bad film, and Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis. Plus it’s directed by the guy who did Brick, which also starred JGL. Seriously, go see Brick if you haven’t already. Time travel, guns, JGL, Bruce Willis, what more could you want?

I am not familiar with this show, but the banner makes me laugh. The use of internet memes becoming legitimate marketing ploys is so strangely recursive it almost works.

Seeing these banners makes me wish I was there at Comic-Con International, but then I remind myself a bottle of water there is 6 goddamned dollars and am glad I’m not there. BUT if you wish you were, you can find more CCI related coverage right here! On Grizzly Bomb! The site you’re reading right now! YAY!

New Trailer for ‘Prototype’ – Robot in Disguise!

Just to clarify, this is not the film adaptation of the 2009 Activison game Prototype, nor is it based of the 1983 TV movie with the same name starring Christopher Plummer. It is however the latest movie from the Bandits Brothers (the company behind Act of Valor). It does however seem to take elements from both of these movies (hooded main character, a robot with AI, etc) so it’s easy to get confused!

‘Elysium’ from the director of ‘District 9’: Plot & Images

Elysium in case you haven’t heard of it yet, is an upcoming science fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9). The film will star the following massive actors; Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Wagner Moura and Alice Braga. The film is currently scheduled to be released on March 1st or 8th, 2013.

Elysium is set on another planet in the far future. The film will combine socio-political ideas and action! We haven’t had something like this since Minority Report, so we hope it does very well.

If you think it’s a bit weird that you haven’t heard a thing about this big production Sci-Fi with lots of popular stars, you’re not alone as the director (Neill Blomkamp) has been keeping everything about this film very close to lip. Hopefully this film will release more information soon, so keep an eye out.

Plot

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, built by the Armadyne Corporation, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky ex-con Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Source from Collider.

This film looks to be going down the same path as District 9 with Social upheaval, but this isn’t really shocking considering a lot of films (The Hunger Games, Dark Knight Rises) and TV shows (Continuum, Legend of Korra) recently have pointed to this genre, it is very relatable in our world (rich get richer, poor getting poorer).

Images

If that’s not enough to tide you over then we have some great still that raise some questions, such as what’s that tech on these guys?, Why is Matt Damon bald?, and finally why can I not get more pictures? Well that’s because it’s a super-secret production without any leaks or spoilers.

Is that a Katana on his back, I think it is!

So finally what are your thoughts? Did you like District 9? Do you think Neil Blomkamp can repeat his earlier success? Or, do you think it will just suck? All views are welcome.

Grizzly Review: Battle: Los Angeles

I’m a huge fan of movies involving extra terrestrials, [Ed. – ET for Life!] and there here has been a whole slew of them in the past year. None though stood out to me, or left a real lasting impression. I either disliked the aliens in them, or the cast of human characters trying to survive against them. Out of District 9, Monsters, and Skyline – I really only took a liking to District 9. Monsters didn’t show me enough aliens and Skyline had too many idiotic humans in it. But then I watched Battle LA.

Battle: Los Angeles was basically a simple storyline with excellent visuals. But being simple didn’t by any means make it a terrible movie. By simple I mean “Aliens are here killing people. We had better kick their asses.” which makes up pretty much 85% of the movie, but all the fire fights between the marines and aliens never wore thin for me. It was spread out and the scenes in between gave chances (albeit sparse) for character development. They also gave a nice overview of the characters at the beginning.

The cast was pretty rounded, very well put together. You get to see Ramon Rodriguez in a not so annoying role as a young commanding officer, as opposed to his vomit-inducing portrayal of Leo Spitz in the crap pile that was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Bridget Moynahan and Michael Pena were good, though both felt under-utilized. To their credit though, as civilians they didn’t bog the movie down at all and their characters actually enhanced scenes.

Even Michelle Rodriguez took a departure from her normal role as “Female Hardass Character who Yells a lot” in to a more realistic Air Force intel specialist who can fire a rifle. Still no ‘Damsel in Distress’, but something different for her. And then our hero of the movie, Aaron Eckhart. Eckhart was solid and believable as Marine Corp Staff Sargent Nantz, who was actually on his way out of the Corps when the alien aggressors launched their invasion. It’s his experience that gets our cast of characters moving.

The cast also includes a great young ensemble of actors as the grunts, including Cory Hardrict (Gran Turino), Noel Fisher (Terriers), and Will Rothhaar (Jack Frost). Hell, we even had child actor Bryce Cass, who was better than twenty Jake Lloyd‘s could have ever been!

Now I’m expecting a lot of people to ‘rabble rabble‘ about how cliché and melodramatic Eckhart’s couple of speeches to the troops are, but personally I had no problem with them. In terms of melodrama Independence Day still takes the cake on that one. And while I may feel the different about Battle: Los Angeles in about ten years, right now, I thought it was well done and heartfelt.

The movie was shot in a familiar way, the closest thing I can think of being Black Hawk Down, in terms of the urban warfare and house-to-house fighting. The camera utilized the ever-popular ‘shaky sense of urgency’ during the battle scenes, making you feel like you were in the middle of a firefight, actually watching the aliens landing in L.A. And their drone ships hovering all about the war-torn landscape of Los Angeles gave me goosebumps.

The aliens themselves overall were done pretty well. You only catch glimpses of them at first as they ambush our brave marines and seem nearly unkillable. After a certain point though, a weakness is obviously discovered, and then it’s game on.

The aliens reasoning for attacking Earth (which I won’t spoil) may initially sound stupid, but makes perfect sense once you think about it. If anyone out there is a fan of military movies, and alien invasions then this movie is the best of both worlds for you. Good pacing, great cast, and realistic looking effects.

It’s also very refreshing to see it win the weekend box office up against a variety of animated kids films and a Red Riding Hood-Twilight hybrid with a $36 million rake in. (Box Office Mojo)

Overall I give this movie a 4 out 5 Bears