I'm Stephanie and i love films, here i will post spoiler-free reviews!

Tuesday 21 May 2013

EPIC


 

Thanks to MSN Entertainment  I had the utter privilige to see the newest Blue Sky animation EPIC this evening.

As a huge fan of all things magical and all things tiny, a film about the magical adventure of a girl, MK (Amanda Seyfried), who is shrunk so that she can enter (and help to save) an enchanting World of the miniature society that inhabits a forest was definitely right up my street!

http://moresay.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/blue-sky-studios-epic-the-movie-.jpg
Beautiful Aesthetics
The setting is absolutely stunning and the 3D is simply breathtaking - from the moment the opening scene appeared onscreen a resounding 'wow' echoed around the cinema and the audience were noticeably taken in by the utter beauty of the film throughout.

Although animated films are always technically 'children's films' i found that Epic was a true delight for children and grown ups alike! The characters are diverse and well-rounded, not the simplified kiddy characters that you might find in some children's films, and the humour was clever and at times laugh-out-loud funny. It has one of the best voiceover casts that i have ever seen; Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell and Christoph Waltz gave stellar, meaningful performances alongside Amanda Seyfried as the lead cast whereas Chris O'Dowd and Aziz Ansari provided great comic relief as the snail/slug duo Mub and Grub. Music artists Beyonce, Pitbull and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith shined as the supporting cast and the whole team seemed to fit together flawlessly.

Obviously as a children's film it is not without its flaws, but in this case the flaws are mostly down to plotholes i.e. the distorted notion of time in order to convenience the plot, but this is a magical world that we are talking about and my suspension of disbelief can be extended to something as mundane as a time scale. Other than that i have no complaints - it moved at exactly the right pace to keep you interested and the bright, colourful, beautiful scenes were perfectly juxtaposed with the drab, decaying scenes that showed us where the bad guys inhabited. Before the three World's (the real world, the 'good' magical world and the 'bad' magical world) are linked together i found that the narrative flowed effortlessly between them; making the audience familiar with each aspect of the film before the time came for the Worlds to merge. This was not what i expected - from viewing the trailer i thought that we would be following MK and our first introduction to the magical Worlds would be once she has shrunk and been forced to enter them; seeing all three from the get-go was definitely the better option! There wasn't one moment of the film where i was bored or clock-watching or waiting for a scene to end, and i think that is all down to the charming cast, fast-paced narrative and, of course, the breathtaking aesthetics.
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Epic Pug

AND if that wasn't enough, there is an adorable chubby three-legged pug. A misfit animated pug in 3D - What more can you ask for than that?!

One thing that i will say is that i found certain scenes with the 'baddies' a little bit creepy when thinking of it in the eyes of a younger child; there are parts where they appear from the bark in the trees and jump out to the camera and this might be a little bit scary for more sensitive children.

All in all i award Epic ★ and thoroughly recommend it to both adults and children; a cinema trip for all of the family!

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,




Sunday 5 May 2013

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS


Walking The White Carpet

A couple of weeks ago i got an invite to the Star Trek: Into Darkness World premiere and when i saw this invite sitting comfortably in my inbox i literally choked on my drink from the excitement and very promptly RSVP'd with a BIG. FAT. 'YES!'

In all honesty, i am by no means a 'trekkie'. I'm not into Sci-Fi or Space. I hadn't seen the first Star Trek or Star Wars... I can't even sit through an episode of Big Bang Theory. The most i knew about Star Trek was all learnt from the incredible West End show Loserville. So, why was i so excited to be attending the World premiere of a franchise i have no real interest in? Okay, well it might have something to do with my love for the film's director JJ Abrams and it definitely had something to do with all of the hype surrounding the film, even if it wasn't a genre that i normally gravitated towards I was eager to get a sneak peak at what was sure to be one of the biggest films of the year.

Anyways, on Thursday morning i recieved my ticket and waited excitedly all day until the time came
My Ticket
to walk the white carpet. The amount of hardcore Star Trek fans (admittedly alongside the masses of hardcore Benedict Cumberbatch fans) that had waited all day at the premiere barriers in order to be a part of this event was absolutely mind blowing. Leicester Square was literally filled to the brim as hundreds of people hoped to catch a glimpse of the stars who had promised to make this installment of one of the World's most succesful franchises even better than the last.

JJ Abrams Introducing The Film
The Cast Join Abrams On Stage
Once everybody was seated and Alex Zane had interviewed all of the key cast and crew on the huge white stage outside, the audience were treated to an appearance from JJ Abrams himself as he introduced the film and called  down all of the stars to join him on the stage.The warm, loving relationship between Abrams and the cast was obvious to all as the group laughed and joked, excited to finally unleash their new film onto the World.

As you all probably know, this film is 3D. I don't usually watch 3D films as they normally make me feel a little queasy and when i have a choice i always see a made-for-3D film in 2D. So as you can imagine the 3D in itself was a big treat for me! I would definitely recommend trying to see the 3D screening, even though i know it costs a couple of pounds extra. The setting of Space just makes parts of it really beautiful and this beauty is so much more intensified through the lenses of 3D glasses and on top of that the schrapnel and characters flying towards the screen during inevitable fight scenes adds so much to the already high-tension scenes.

As soon as the film started, all of the worries i had about not being a 'trekkie' and not loving this genre of film just evaporated away. I was a little concerned that as a newbie to the whole franchise i wouldn't understand anything that is going on because i half expected Abrams to just assume that the audience know the back story so not include the relevant information in this film. I was completely wrong; all of the characters are introduced in a subtle but useful way, Captain Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scotty... All of their relationships with eachother and their tasks within the enterprise were clearly explained but in a way that is not patronizing or too time-consuming for your hardcore Star Trek fans. Everybody was accounted for. I'm not going to lie; there were a couple of incidents where some parts of the audience laughed or applauded for reasons that weren't too clear, so i'm sure that Abrams included some in-jokes especially for the Trekkies and although they obviously went right over my head, i appreciate the touch and even though i didn't understand the references, they did not interfere with the overall story arc throughout the film.

I surprised myself with how involved i got with the film, i have to say that there was a lack of character development at the beginning of the film, obviously because these are all well established characters within film culture but this meant that as a newbie i did struggle a little bit in connecting with  Captain Kirk to start with. He is just a little obnoxious and seemed pretty unlikeable as a character but as time went on i did really grow to love him and was on the edge of my seat vouching for him to win.  All of the performances were faultless, an absolutely perfect cast overall; Zachary Quinto was incredible as Spock and i found myself looking forward to his next scene when his last one finished - i think for me personally he stole the show. Simon Pegg as Scotty was a flawless choice; a choice i had originally doubted when  i first heard that he was cast (How could Shaun of the Dead possibly fit comfortably within the Star Trek enterprise?!) A friend of mine mentioned Anton Yelchin before i saw the film, so i was on the lookout for his performance as Pavel and although it is a relatively small role he is simply adorable in it and i just wanted to cuddle him and tell him how cute he is.

Hmmm, now... Am i possibly forgetting someone?! Have i not mentioned the man who stole the premiere's thunder? The man whose name evoked the most incredible response whenever it was mentioned to the hundreds of people outside of the cinema, craning to get a glimpse of him? The man who i actually knew nothing about before Thursday but have since learned that the Sherlock fandom is pretty much out of this World?! Ah yes... That's the one, the only: Benedict Cumberbatch. Playing myserious, sinister John Harrison. Creepy, creepy Harrison with his creepy, creepy voice and terrifying death stare. Another incredible performance from a very talented actor but is Harrison actually so bad?! You might have to watch to find out! For all the 'Cumberbitches' (really??), i think  you are most definitely in for a treat. He really does you, and the role, proud and will really mess with your head as you try to work out whether or not you can believe a word that he says.

The storyline itself is very engrossing. It isn't as simple as the enterprise having to catch the bad guy or bad things will happen and there are so many twists and turns it is guaranteed to keep you hooked and, most importantly, keep you guessing. There is a lot of action and once one high-drama, high-tension sub plot comes to its natural end, there is another to take over your interest. The film is over two hours long but the time really did fly by, and when it did end i could have happily kept watching for another hour or so. I often find myself clock-watching after about an hour and a half's worth of film watching but this one felt like i had blinked and it was over. There was just never a dull moment and that is pretty unique for a film of it's stance.

Once again let me say: I am not a Star Trek fan. I am not an action fan. I am not a sci-fi fan. This is not conventionally my cup of tea. So to anybody who is trying to urge their boyfriend/girlfriend/brother/sister/dog to see this film and they are moaning that they won't like it and it isn't their kind of thing - this is the review for them. You don't have to be a lifelong fan to enjoy this film, you will be kept entertained throughout, you will become involved with the story and when it ends you will be hoping for more. This is definitely one for you all to watch and it is one for the big screen and 3D glasses too - it is out on the 9th May, so make a date!

JJ Abrams and his flawless cast and crew have made something to be hugely proud of and i applaud the effort that has gone into creating this great piece of cinema.

Losing one star for the slight lack of character establishment and another point that i can't make as it is a pretty huge spoiler, i award Star Trek: Into Darkness with:

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,










P.S. Special thanks to the lovely Jonathan Ross and Union J boys for being so nice and friendly :)

With Union J

With Jonathan Ross