Netflix has revealed the full-length trailer and incredible poster for David Fincher’s new film Mank, arriving in theaters and on Netflix later this fall. The 1930s Hollywood era re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane for Orson Welles.
Starring Gary Oldman as Herman J. Mankiewicz, with a stellar cast including Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies, Lily Collins as Rita Alexander, Arliss Howard as Louis B. Mayer, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Grossman, Charles Dance, and Tom Burke as Orson Welles. The film looks absolutely beautiful with luminous black and white cinematography, golden age Hollywood production design, and Fincher’s trademark control of all the moving parts.
Gary Oldman inhabits the role of Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s new film, Darkest Hour. The first trailer for Darkest Hour has been released online, offering just a hint of Oldman’s performance as Churchill, one that is already generating award buzz. The extensive makeup and Oldman’s lowered, gruff voice makes the versatile actor almost unrecognizable.
This iteration of the famed Churchill will be hitting screens just after John Lithgow’s great turn as the British Prime Minister on Netflix’s The Crown, a performance to which Lithgow has already collected numerous awards for.
So now two new trailers have arrived for the film which is fast becoming the bane of all pop culture fans everywhere. Yes you guessed it it’s the Robocop remake. Why do people hate this movie so much compared to other remakes? The lure of nostalgia is obviously strong and the fact the original movie is beloved by fans (because of its hard-hitting violence and social commentary means the new movie has very big expectations to live up to. As a Robocop fan myself I feel their pain, there have been too many sub standard remakes to make anyone think differently. But after seeing the first trailer a while ago it did peak my interest enough to not be to judgemental about it. This new trailer expands more on the information we saw in the first trailer. Watch it below and see what you think.
Some interesting things come out of this. We see a lot more emphasis on Alex Murphy as a family man and the problems caused with him now being a big old cyborg. Gary Oldman Doctor gets to show the more sensitive side of science here and he is engaging enough, while Joel Kinnaman as Murphy looks in this trailer a little bit of an under whelming screen presence. In his defence though aside from a few brief moments of confusion over his new form, he is mostly seen blowing stuff up which we see a fair bit off. ED 209 and the Robodrones cover the streets and some nice scenes of Robocop in training and jumping about on the street show the action is a lot more streamlined and (dare we say) Hollywood than the gritty original. The robots have a Battlestar Galactica feel to them which I am still not sure about, more exposure should confirm whether I like or dislike this style. The worry that the speed that the CGI scenes whiz by the viewer could easily turn this into another Transformers movie if all the film is constantly like this.
Let’s move on to the next trailer now and we notice a slightly different tone here. Check out the trailer below.
“Why is America so Robophobic?” is not only an awesome line but could also be a little tongue in cheek jab at the haters of the film. There are some more alternative action scenes here, but for the most part this focuses on the propaganda element of the film and it does this to great effect.. Media spinning Samuel L Jackson as Pat Novak and money grabbing Michael Keaton as Raymond Sellars shine when ever they are on-screen (not surprising with their strong screen presence). The trailer makes sure that the audience knows that O.C.P are still money grabbing scum bags.
So overall the film still looks kind of impressive and this reviewer is still very interested to see how this all pans out. There are some concerns here aside from the memories of the past affecting the present. The action scenes from both trailers, though they look fast and streamlined also look a bit to sharp and kind of hollow. It fits in with the style of movie they are going for, less grime more style but I’m concerned that this will become more style over substance. This gleaming, futuristic look the film is going for were everything is made to look slick and polished makes Murphy having his hand still human seem slightly redundant. Would O.C.P not just whip it off and give him a robot hand as it is more productive? I can understand the face exposure because that shows a human side to him which people can relate to. I assume the hand has been left there as a nod to the fans. Story wise I doubt it will make a difference either way. I have noticed that each trailer seems to make Robocop less cop and more superhero like. The shots of him jumping high up in the air and the sleek, black armour he now has on would not look a miss in an X-Men movie. Some of the fears I have about this been a tad dull and suffering from Total Recall remake syndrome (look at my previous article on this to see what I mean ) are still there, but it is tricky to truly know from just a trailer. At least it warrants a watch and if nothing else I want to be able to see this film and then say whether it crashed or burned through my own view point. All we need is an entertaining movie and that cannot be too hard to make right? Well should not be to long until we find out the films released on February 2014 (changes withstanding). For now I leave you with some publicity stills that showcase a few familiar faces you may recognise from the above trailers (like Jackie Earle Haley as Mattox). Enjoy and remember don’t be a Robohater people!
Over the years DC have been pretty successful with TV shows based on its flagship characters. Superman has enjoyed numerous incarnations such as Lois and Clark as well as CW’s Smallville. CW also has Arrow, based on the adventures of the titular Green Arrow. Batman has had a few himself, mainly animated, including the bloody amazing Batman: The Animated Series. Now Fox are planning to revisit Gotham City with a series, currently titled Gotham, following the early years of Gotham Central’s finest, James Gordon. Gotham will be headed up by TheMentalist creator Bruno Heller who has signed on for a series commitment.
When news that a remake to Robocop was coming out, the internet almost imploded with the sheer volume of venom and bile that was unleashed. The original Robocop has always had a warm place in the hearts of fans. The clever mix of ultra violence, angst and social commentary meshed well to give us a truly stunning piece of ’80s cinema. So it’s understandable that there may be a certain amount of tension when a new version is released. Even this reviewer was slightly nonplussed by the news, and when shots of the new suit came out face palms were felt all around the world. It looked pretty dire and people could hardly believe they were thinking of using this version over the classic silver suit Peter Weller wore. It did not really exude confidence in the new film. Well now it is time to put up or shut up because the new trailer is out. See what you think below.
So there you go. Now I do not know how this trailer went down with everyone else, but personally, I liked it. The tone still seems to be dark, but not as gritty as the original. The darkness is still there hidden under all the shiny metal and techno heavy visuals. Hopefully it will not suffer the same fate as the TotalRecall remake, where the futuristic look over shadowed the fact that the film somehow managed to take all the fun out of the movie and made it a dreadful bore. This trailer is anything but that, with the action coming at you thick and fast and for once you can actually see the events as they take place, rather than say the Transformers franchise where the gleaming metal battles all gel into a CGI mess.
Let’s not forget about the cast, and boy what a cast. Samuel Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Gary Oldman are just a few of the names involved, and they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. Unlike the OCP from the original where most of the people working for the company were dicks (and we loved them for it, who can forget Dick Jones, Bob Morton and Clarence J.Boddicker), here it seems Oldman is to be the scientist with a heart, while Keaton is chewing up the scenery in a more corporate way than his predecessors.
Giving Alex Murphy and his family more screen time seems to be a good call as it adds a nice dynamic to the tale. How do decide if your husband should be given a new lease on life but lose some of his humanity? These clips with the family should make for some touching scenes in the movie if the trailer is to go by.
The new designs look great. ED 209 has been slightly revamped, and as much as I love the old clunky model I am interested to see how this new, more streamlined version will fare on-screen. The new suit after all the moaning does look good in action. The visor sliding up and down adds a nice element, and again helps to keep the human side of Robocop visible more. The scene with numerous Robocop models taking on the Alex Murphy Robocop certainly interested me and the voice is spot on. The main downside to this is there is no police presence in the trailer that I could see. So the dynamic that Murphy and Anne Lewis had in the original seems to have been removed to focus more on Alex Murphy’s family issues. I can see the point, but it does not mean that I a tinge of remorse we are going to lose that side of the movie. But that’s what happens with change.
Let’s just get one thing clear in our minds. This is never going to be Paul Verhoeven Robocop. That movie is irreparable. But much liked other remakes that have worked (Dawnof theDead, The TexasChainsaw Massacre, Star Trek) it has taken the core idea and given it a different spin. Do we forget about the original Texas Chainsaw movies now that the remake has been made? Of cause not. Both live together in cinematic harmony and both have their own fan bases. Could we have room for two Robocop’s? I believe so, but only if the film is good. The last thing we need is another shitty remake. Fingers crossed this will be the former rather than the later, and if it lives up to the promise of the trailer we could be in for a treat. No matter what, Peter Weller’s iconic turn in the role of Robocop will never be forgotten, but maybe we can find a space for Joel Kinnaman portrayal too? I would like to think so, we’ll just have to look past that PG-13 rating first…
Indiana Jones and Commissioner Gordon are pissed at each other, or at least I think that’s what this new Paranoia movie is about. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman headline a pretty solid cast in this corporate espionage flick, with Liam Hemsworth playing the pawn stuck in the middle. Hemsworth is hired by Dracula Oldman to spy on his old mentor Han Solo Ford and steal company secrets. His motivations for doing this are purely altruistic as he just wants to help his ailing old man, played by Richard “I don’t need this, I was in Jaws“ Dreyfus. I’m sure driving the cool car and banging Amber Heard had no baring on his decision-making. Check out the trailer…
Grizzly Bomb 