Review: Prometheus

Rating: 15

Duration: 124 mins

Ridley Scott makes a bold return to the sci-fi genre -- one that fundamentally defined him as a pioneer in the genre with the likes of Blade Runner and Alien -- as it becomes his first directorial outing since 2010's Robin Hood.

The hype surrounding his latest epic Prometheus, has certainly elevated in 2012. Whilst it hasn't reached the obsessive levels of Dark Knight Rises fever, Scott's hiatus from the genre has only heightened expectation, as well as reignite speculation surrounding him bursting back on the scene with a Blade Runner sequel.

Unavoidable comparisons and intrinsic links to Alien will be made, and with just cause; if you're familiar with Alien, similarities are there, yet remain slightly ambiguous in the sense that it's not an overt prequel, but more of a potential precursor to the face-hugger classic.

The set-up feels familiar; when a series of ancient artefacts point towards the chance to discover who mankind's makers are, a team of scientists are assembled to journey to the outer reaches of space to discover, and hopefully answer, the biggest questions humanity have: why are we here?

The two significant aspects here are the film's aesthetic and story. From the opening shot of breathtaking landscapes, down to the detailed space craft interior, it's safe to affirm its visual mastery. From its architecture to technology, every scene maintains an extraordinary quality that's simply gorgeous to look at. However, whilst it is an aesthetic marvel, it is the loose nature of the narrative that stutters proceedings. For the main part, there are some fascinating elements amidst some tantalising reveals, but aren't expressed coherently enough. Therefore, other moments suffer as a result as there's a distinct lack of terror and suspense Scott's prior work possesses in abundance.

Inevitably, the hype was always going to drown the movie, no matter how good it is, but such expectations can indeed prove dangerous. The film by no means fails, but buying into the ridiculous expectations set, you may feel let down. Admittedly it doesn't possess that spark (at least not initially) to deems it a modern classic, but is a feature that perhaps warrants a second look.

Fans of Alien and Ridley Scott's work will be more than drawn into his immersive world; one he creates superbly. He knows how to construct a living, breathing existence, even if the script isn't quite up to the same high standard. Those unfamiliar will also find themselves enchanted by its beauty and ability to entertain as a blockbuster.

VERDICT: Prometheus plays out predominantly as science fiction rather than juxtaposing itself with horror, but it terms of the former, it works wonderfully and certainly looks and feels the part. It can't help but come across as a precursor to Scott's 1979 classic, which by no means is a bad thing. However, plot-wise it remains sketchy and the acting isn't as accomplished as it could be, but Fassbender makes up for this with an intriguing role. 

Whereas Alien is sci-fi and horror that transcends a deeper meaning with more naturalistic acting and believable plot, Prometheus seems to cater more towards modern audience expectation, opting for  high concept accessibility rather than high concept intelligence.

Competition: Win a copy of Haywire on Blu-ray & a Hoodie!

In conjunction with DDA PR, The Littlest Picture Show is giving you the chance to not only win a copy of Steven Soderbergh's HAYWIRE on Blu-ray, but a HAYWIRE branded hoodie as well! What's more, there are TWO sets of these great prizes to giveaway, so simply read on to find out how to enter...

Soderbergh directs an all star cast in action thriller HAYWIRE, including mixed martial arts supremo Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, a highly-trained black ops specialist, contracted for hazardous covert missions by the US Government. When her paymaster’s point-man (Ewan McGregor) teams her with fellow agent (Channing Tatum) to extract a Chinese journalist held hostage in a Barcelona safe house, the mission swiftly unravels and she barely escapes with her life. During her next assignment in Dublin, with Irish assassin Paul (Michael Fassbender), Mallory is violently betrayed and pursued across the city by the local police and assorted ruthless hitmen.

HAYWIRE is released on DVD & Blu-ray on May 21st 2012

HOW TO ENTER:

FOLLOW me on Twitter here and TWEET the following:

#COMPETITION: #WIN HAYWIRE on Blu-ray & a branded hoodie! RT & FOLLOW @littlestpicshow to enter! Details here: http://tiny.cc/9b82dw #film

NOTE: If you're not on Twitter, then you can email the above quote to mike@thelittlestpictureshow.co.uk including your name, with 'HAYWIRE Blu-ray & hoodie COMPETITION' as the subject title.

For more info: www.facebook.com/HaywireUK

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Entries must be in by May 19th .
The winners will be selected & notified on May 20th.
Open to UK residents only.
No cash alternative. 
Entrants must be 15 or above.


(C) 2011 FIVE CONTINENTS IMPORTS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Review: Lockout

Rating: 15

Duration: 95 mins

Guy Pearce is memorable for some of his film roles, whether it be the amnesia-suffering Lenny in Memento or the unpopular by-the-book Exley in L.A. Confidential, and it's fair to say he doesn't always opt for the conventionally straight forward. However, here he takes on the character of devil-may-care, misogynistic slacker Snow, in space romp Lockout.

What's clear from the beginning is the visual aesthetic of the film: it's clunky, small-fry and very cheap looking, but can arguably be its intention in order to replicate those low-budget sci-fi action flicks of the 90s. Similar to Battleship, it is perhaps important as to how one interprets: either take it at face value as a genuine, serious attempt, or perceive as homage to trashy 90s TV movies.

Pearce exudes a witty, unconcerned and, at times, charming performance that feels at home within the context of the film but is ultimately a very throwaway mixture of character and plot. The dialogue is ridiculously cheesy, and surely intentionally so, because it generates some laughs due to its absurdity.

Whilst Lockout offers action, fun and frivolity, the tackiness and sheer daft nature makes it hard to really appreciate and engage with, making for a very forgettable film, that includes some other talent such as Joseph Gilgun (This Is England). Maggie Grace (Taken) slots into the world well, but it's unsure whether her acting is intentionally bad and whether in fact she is 'in on it' or not.

The locations looks rather small and confined (even though they are admittedly on a locked down space craft), but not in a good way. It fails to pull off the satirical angle it strives for, especially with some horribly created CGI such as as scene where Snow partakes in a high-speed motorbike chase because it looks truly ghastly.

VERDICT: A lot of people will see this as a poorly made film that reflects its low-end budget - around $30m, which, for a modern sci-fi with a big name as the lead, isn't a lot - and sadly, whatever its intention, just comes off as a sloppily formed and terribly cheesy adventure that holds no weight in the scheme of things (pun possibly intended).

Review: The Avengers

Rating: 12a

Duration: 142 mins

Joss Whedon seems to be the name-of-the-moment in 2012 after the initial success and hyperbole of The Cabin in the Woods. A mere few weeks later, in only his second director outing (the first being 2005's Serenity), he sees his prowess aired on a much grander scale, with the $220m hugely anticipated blockbuster The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble as per the altered UK title).

Such was the scepticism surrounding the "unfilmable" Watchmen; the logistics of Marvel's ensemble adventure was given the same verdict, however, it would appear there was no better person to attempt the feat than the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, rightly handing him writing as well as directing responsibilities. And credit where it's due, because The Avengers offers up more of what we've seen before in the likes of Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, only on a much more impressive scale. Indeed, The Avengers is bigger, louder and funnier than any Marvel superhero movies that's come before it.

Whedon tackles the unenviable task of crafting a film that not only juggles several big names (Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man), but must also tie in and offer a degree of back story for everyone involved before the film can really get going. This exposition is achieved competently and manages to introduce the characters without it feeling overly cluttered or clumsily rushed. With so many characters and intertwining stories, there's always the danger of the structure unravelling into an ungodly mess, not to mention the drawn out fight scenes. Where the likes of Transformers fails, here the extended battles work a lot better due to a finely tuned narrative and manner of direction.

Whilst the film lacks any genuine depth, it does do a lot of things right: the set pieces are thoroughly entertaining, as are some of the enthralling sequences, which consist of the battle/fight scenes that make up a bulk of the lengthy duration. These elements form the basis for an action-orientated romp, yet the entire film does feel a little drawn out.

The plot is this: after a powerful energy source known as the Tesseract transports exiled Norse god Loki (Tom Hiddlestone), to Earth, he decides to steal it as he plans an army invasion in order to take over the world. S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Sam Jackson), begins assembling an elite group of heroes to battle this foe, thus saving the world from imminent destruction. 

What takes place over the first hour is the initial assembling of the gang. It's not the most thrilling time, but a necessary chore. This process is followed by Avengers bonding, bickering and then bonding some more on the battlefield. The interspersion of some great jokes makes this super hero instalment feel much more jovial and light-hearted, and is genuinely amusing throughout. However, that sums up the degree of engagement and peak of intellect as it ceases to opt for anything on a deeper or maturer level. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, as The Avengers ticks the boxes when it comes to creating a well-balanced, exhilarating and entertaining genre movie. 

Showing in both 2D and 3D, the latter offers effective depth perception (which is, after all, the main purpose of the feature), but fails to generate any 'wow, that looks amazing in 3D!' moments. It works as (in)effectively as pretty much every other 3D conversion, so don't be fooled into thinking the third dimension is a must.

VERDICT: The Avengers is a souped-up Marvel movie that's more balanced, structured, better written and far funnier than anything that has preceded it. It fits a lot into the lengthy duration, too, but Whedon and cohort Zak Penn have conjured a tight script that offers whimsical excitement and some great CGI thrills, culminating in a spectacle that'll please existing Marvel fanatics, but may struggle to win over the non-converted.

N.B. Listen carefully for the marvellous line of "mewling quim!" Loki spouts in the direction of Black Widow. I take my hat off to whoever let that belter slip past the BBFC.

Review: Gone

Rating: 15

Duration: 94 mins

Director Heitor Dhalia follows suit with another unintelligible thriller that believes it's far cleverer than it actually is. Couple a fairly brainless, run-of-the-mill script with the teen appeal of Amanda Seyfried, and you've got the ingredients for a film aimed solely for the teenage demographic.

Jill (Seyfried) becomes paranoid when her sister Molly (Emily Wichersham), goes missing one night, that it's the same abductor who imprisoned her two years ago. She sets out to prove it, but is ignored by the dismissive police leading us to question whether her sanity is all as it seems.

We're presented with a Veronica Mars style detective, hell-bent on snooping around and asking questions, when in reality she'd no doubt be stopped in her tracks with her nosey disposition. What's even more unbelievable is how she manages to evade the authorities so nonchalantly throughout the film: including local detectives and a multiple police car chase.

Because it strives so hard for accessibility over intelligence, it therefore suffers in engaging on a maturer level: we see a slightly demented Seyfried scurry round, chasing clues and following leads as she manages to completely evade the detectives and police force that are after her. It almost feels like it's trying to replicate a Bourne style caper, albeit it an adolescent one.

Clearly aimed towards a younger, perhaps more susceptible viewer; the script unintelligently slots all the pieces of the puzzle together far too neatly: it feels like a mere paint-by-numbers rather than anything possessing any weight or depth to the mystery. In fact, the plot is so thinly laid out and divulged that any associations with the genre are quickly dispelled and replaced by an unengaging, dull and frequently laborious nothingness.

Yes, Amanda, we're just as baffled as you are

Exposition-wise, it is terribly vague in contextualising any of the featured characters: Seyfried's Jill comes across as slightly neurotic and potentially insane, but we're left to ponder over this. Other characters that should bare more significance are painfully underdeveloped to the point where you simply don't care what happens to them either way, as you're given nothing to work with in the first place.

VERDICT: Gone attempts to throw you off, but this join-the-dots thriller exudes zero intensity with its adolescent style. Seyfried does her best with a woefully dull script and silly dialogue, but can't save it from simply becoming another teen orientated, throwaway mess.

Review: Battleship

Rating: 12a

Duration: 131 mins

Much like Michael Bay, Peter Berg bastardises the Hasbro name for both filmic and monetary purposes, albeit to a lesser extent with his latest big budgeted film, Battleship. It may be early on in the year for said blockbuster types, but at around $200m someone must have been extremely confident that this would appeal to the masses, or simply didn't care once it had been green-lit.

So far, Battleship appears to have done its job; having strolled to the top of the UK box office with ease. However, the way one approaches this film can bare relevance, especially surrounding the 'willingness' factor.

What Berg dishes up is a cheesy, action packed and utterly brainless maritime romp, with the likes of Liam Neeson,  RiRi and John Carter (that's provocative pop princess Rihanna and Taylor Kitsch to you and I) to take us on an epically silly journey.

Whereas the likes of Robocop and Starship Troopers were presented with a whiff of satirical mockery, you'd be seriously tested whether Battleship in fact does the same. Indeed, if this is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek take on the sci-fi genre, then this oceanic farce really hits the spot: the goofy lines and character actions are, at times, hilarious as viewing it as self parody will generate a lot of laughter throughout.

However, the other (and probable) perception is that this is a genuine attempt to make a serious film, which is a somewhat disturbing notion indeed. Surely an entire cast and crew can't make such a laughably daft movie and not see right through its paper-thin nothingness, or can they?

There's a very basic plot in that a fleet of ships, headed by Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson), are out conducting naval training exercises when a series of objects fall from space and crash into the ocean. Navy wild man Alex (Kitsch), is heavily involved alongside Raikes (Rihanna) in taking down whatever hostilities come their way. Suffice to say that shit hits the fan once they boisterously begin to poke around.

RiRi screams constantly when holding a massive weapon

Using the term 'heavily involved' for these two characters is no understatement, either. Alex and Raikes are not only overtly placed as the film's heroes, but astonishingly they can do pretty much anything that needs to be done: from operating everything aboard the entire ship, to their impeccable hand-to-hand combat, to precise weapons training, to superior intelligence (debatable); the pair put past all-action champions like Arnie and Van Damme to utter shame. Again, this makes for some entertaining viewing as we see there's literally nothing these characters cannot do (besides act).

Another fantastic addition is the use of product placement. These completely random shots that separate some action sequences are priceless. Take for example a scene of destruction: we cut to a shot of a young girl holding a drink from Subway towards the camera, before we simply cut back to the action. Brilliant stuff.

Mr. Kitsch showing off the ship's additional gun

Regardless how you read Battleship, one thing is for sure: it's a bad film. But look beyond this and will yourself to believe it is meant to be like that, and you'll take something completely different from it. Surprisingly the 131 minute running time doesn't drag, which is a credit to the movie.

VERDICT: To summarise: Battleship is loud, dumb and utterly brainless. If you approach it thinking that it is intentionally mocking itself in the most subtle of pastiches, then you're likely to happily embrace and enjoy the experience.

N.B. If you're insistent on a serious, straight-up critique, then minus a star. However, look at it in the vein of Paul Verhoven and you'll laugh your way through this comical farce with great pleasure; in which case, add one on.

Review: The Cabin in the Woods

Rating: 15

Duration: 95 mins

Buffy and Firefly creator Joss Whedon is the brain behind this modern horror that picks apart everything fans are accustomed with, and offers a very contemporary, yet playfully welcomed edge. As well as the reliable skills of Whedon, Drew Goddard co-writes the script and assumes control as director of what can only be described as a conventionally familiar, but original take on the genre.

With both having a reputable history in fantasy and science fiction, it's perhaps safe to assume that some of these elements are bound to weave their way into proceedings. The set-up is common and simple: a group of youngster go away to a cabin (in the woods) for a weekend of promiscuous frivolity. These conventions are palpable as it consciously acknowledges said clichés that have been tirelessly recycled over the years. It's this awareness and self ridicule that makes the first half of the film mightily fun and entertaining. Combined with a witty and often amusing script, the initial reveal offers an intriguing direction as to where the film will ultimately go. Yes, the film contains a reveal (very early on, in fact), and not a twist. It's this element that (even though shown in the trailer) makes a Cabin review hard to convey without succumbing to potential spoilers.

As far as constructing a typical horror movie goes, Goddard directs and includes exactly what's necessary with tongue firmly in cheek. Exposition is fine, as are the amount of scares, unease and gore you'd expect; it never offers too much, nor too little.

To say Cabin is a 'game changer' is a term devaluing such a meaning. Sure, Whedon and Goddard gift us something very different, ultimately original and never before seen in the horror genre, but to deem it revolutionary is an overstatement. In fact, it actually adheres as a social commentary on something else (and that 'something' shall remain unnamed); plausible in the sense that because it's not actually a typically scary film, drifts away from horror in terms of its focus. It's certainly one to take note of, but feels more like the beginning of a new breed of genre hybrid that'll no doubt become as saturated as the shaky-cam a few years down the line.

The second half of the film intentionally feels detached in the sense that the story progresses in a contrived nature, as the latter part of the film tends to underwhelm more than the strong first. However, the interesting development will keep audiences engaged in what is a uniquely satisfying movie that deserves  to be seen to be appreciated and contextualised.

Cabin is a rather funny and somewhat whimsical film that, with gruesome depictions of horror, proves experimental genre splices can work to one's advantage if executed correctly. The writing is spot on, as is the tone of the acting and narrative, all culminating in a piece that will reinvent, if not completely redefine.

VERDICT: It isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is, but The Cabin in the Woods pulls down its pants and takes a proverbial dump over the horror genre. It's a film worth exploring for its initiative and for capitalising on a think-outside-the-box strategy with its alternative intuition, as opposed to following every other formulaic clone out there.

Trailer Talk: Looper

Rian Johnson's Looper has just hit the Internet and as a sci-fi fan, it looks rather enticing to say the least. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, it appears to have all the mouthwatering elements you'd expect from the genre and the writer/director of Brick.

But don't just take my word, have a look yourself...