Flight: After far too long in the world of motion capture, visionary director Robert Zemeckis is set to direct his first live action feature in many years. It will be an adaptation of a novel called Flight; a pilot’s dark past comes back to haunt him after becoming a celebrity after saving his flight after an emergency. Denzel Washington is being mentioned as the lead. This one is most definately on my radar as one to watch.

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Thankfully, this reinvention of the universe – charting the early days of the friendship between Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) and the formation of the X-Men – is unlike anything we have seen before in the franchise, or any other comic book movie for that matter.

The film is epic, charting large swathes of time and history. The way it integrates the mutant powers we love into moments of history is fun to watch – like most reviews have said, here it is a cross between Connery-era Bond and the best of the X-Men storytelling – longing for acceptance.

The cast are exceptional – James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender make this friendship, and it’s inevitable end, utterly believable. They also make the roles their own – capturing the essence of the future characters portrayed by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, but not mimicking

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Life Of Pi: The release date of Ang Lee’s long-gestating adaptation of Life Of Pi has been announced; December 21st 2012. This is a slight shift by Fox following Warners confirming the release date for The Hobbit.

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Dark Shadows: Production has commenced on Tim Burton’s latest – Dark Shadows – an adaptation of the cult 60s soap. Burton states that the film will buck the trend and not go 3D and will be similar in tone to the creepy original show. I hope this is more in the vein of Burton classics like Ed Wood – his recent movies have been too over-the-top – see the awful Alice In Wonderland.

The Hunger Games: Donald Sutherland has been cast as President Snow in the adaptation of The Hunger Games. Having not read the books, the growing stellar cast is getting me more intrigued – though it does sound like an American (aka tame) version of the awesome Battle Royale.

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After a few years away, Mr Spielberg is back and he is back with some tricks up his sleeve.

Suitably impressed with the technology created by James Cameron for Avatar, Spielberg and fellow filmmaker Peter Jackson have decided to embark on a mission…together. Together they will create – via state-of-the-art motion capture and 3D technology – the world of Herge’s Tintin.

Spielberg will direct the first instalment, Jackson will direct the second and the third spot has yet to be filled.

Behind the camera are a team of superb writers – Joe Cornish, Edgar Wright and Stephen Moffat.

Donning the leotards and having their motion captured are Jamie Bell (Tintin), Daniel Craig (Captain Haddock) and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (the professor twins).

A brief teaser trailer has now been released, giving audiences their first look at this hybrid world – I for one think it looks superb (even more so in

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Elysium: The cast for Neil Blomkamp’s (director of District 9) next movie grows further; Alice Braga (Predators, Repo Men, I am Legend) has been cast in an unspecified role – joining Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley. The plot for Elysium remains tightly under-wraps.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: The first official pictures from the upcoming movie have begun to surface (see Collider.com). The film – directed by Tomas Alfredson (director of the original Let The Right One In) – is based on a novel by John Le Carre and was adapted for TV some years ago. Set during the Cold War, the story sees a semi-retired agent trying to flush out a Soviet mole in MI6. Due out

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The remake of a very good Swedish adaptation of a very good novel would not normally cause such a stir but one name already makes this a must see – David Fincher.

The one question that many film fans have had since the remake was announced – will the Americans water down this hugely dark and intense story? – can safely be answered, after seeing this teaser, with a resounding “No”!

With Fincher on a roll in the director’s chair and experience with the darkest of dark material (Seven), the film certainly looks fantastic and with Daniel Craig and (an recognisable) Rooney Mara (recently seen in The Social Network) in front of the camera, the film has good anchors.

Lastly, the commitment of the studio should also be noted – the trailer proudly claims it as “the feel bad

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After two already shaky sequels (Dead Man’s Chest and At Worlds End) comes a fourth instalment that is so uninspired and dull that this viewer actually fell asleep at one stage – not a sign of a good movie.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp in a now routine performance) returns – for no real reason – and is embroiled in a journey to discover the Fountain Of Youth.

It’s hard to review this film as so much of it is completely void of anything – the aforementioned outline is as deep as it gets. Yes, there are sub plots, Blackbeard, some mermaids etc, but it is all so clunkily flung together that the whole thing just blurs into a mess.

The addition of a love interest for Jack – in the form of Penelope Cruz – doesn’t add anything to the plot as we get just another dose of sea faring and island exploring – this entry doesn’t even benefit from the epic feel of

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Sam, a nurse, is on her way home from a late shift at the hospital when she is mugged by a bunch of “yoofs”. During the attack, an object crashes down from the sky and a strange creature runs into the night. Thinking there is money to be made, the gang set off in pursuit of the creature and quickly discover that their home – The Block – is under attack from vicious aliens.

So far so tacky. But the great thing about this film is how it deftly juggles real life scenarios with out of the world set pieces.

When we first meet the gang, they are the stereotype we are all aware of – hoodies, incomprehensible slang etc – but as the story rolls on, we discover they are just frightened kids just trying to make their mark on a

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The film opens on a beautifully shot snowy landscape – seeing a young girl methodically dispatching of some local wildlife for her dinner. Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) it seems, lives in total isolation with her father (Eric Bana) and has never seen the outside world. It is clear, however, that Hanna is being primed for a larger purpose – learning multiple languages and skills in combat. One day Hanna’s father reveals more of her past and she sets off on a quest for vengeance.

What follows is a blend of Bourne style espionage and a tale of redemption and revenge in the vein of Leon.

Unfortunately, despite the superb cast (also including Cate Blanchett as Hanna’s target) and stunning photography, this film did nothing for me. Maybe I was expecting it to be something else but I found it actually boring at times – there was nothing new on offer in the plot to keep

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After a lacklustre blockbuster season in 2010 – for me Inception and Scott Pilgrim were the only memorable movies of last Summer – this year is looking much more promising. See below for some thoughts on the latest big trailers:

Transformers: Dark Side Of The Moon

After the terrible Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, fans of the giant robots and big explosions are hoping the third film will be a return to form.

The latest trailer certainly pulls out all the stops and seems to be going for a darker, edgier approach this time.

Not a whole lot is known of the plot, but the trailer seems to indicate that Shia LeBeouf’s Sam is again called upon to save the Earth from a deadly attack.

The money shot in this trailer is a robot ripping a skyscraper in two as our heroes topple down with it – after being shot in 3D this should have plenty of “wow”

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The film sees a young couple and their three young children move into a new house, but after one of the children falls into a coma-like state, things start to go bump in the night…and day!

To say much more about the plot would ruin the ride, suffice to say that the writers clearly have a fondness for the classic Poltergeist.

There have already been reports on how Insidious has already made huge box office profits due to it’s tiny $1 million dollar budget. Some would think this means the film will look cheap. On the contrary, it means the filmmakers have to be more inventive and it works superbly well.

I am a fan of old school horror – buckets of blood and CGI beasties do nothing for my chill factor; seeing nothing is hundred times more scary in my book (hence my fondness for the Paranormal Activity films) – the team behind Insidious understand this; the film takes it time, building the suspense and leading

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Now having seen the film, I can tell you I responded very well!

Director Kenneth Branagh – renowned for his epic Shakespeare adaptations – has done a superb job in bringing Thor’s world to life. With stunning views of the land, huge sets and grand costumes, it’s fair to say audiences haven’t seen anything like this for a while. I especially enjoyed the depiction of the Byfrost – a gateway to other worlds – there was just something about it that really wowed me.

Thor is taken to Earth after causing trouble in his realm; he must learn humility from us lowly Earthlings. Here he meets Natalie Portman and here is also where the film sagged a little for me – just abit run-of-the-mill for me – though there are some fun

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Director Alfonso Cuaron – riding high after his success helming the third Harry Potter adaptation – does a superb job in this depiction of a future Britain that has gone to hell over the 18 years since women stopped being able to give birth. In this world, Britain has closed it’s borders, is being ravaged by pandemics and is on the brink of civil unrest from cruelly treated refugees. The London we see is even grubbier than the one we know and terrorist attacks are commonplace – it’s not a very subtle comment on today’s world but it never feels forced.

In such a bleak future you would wonder what enjoyment anyone would get from seeing it, but Cuaron directs a superb cast and has a great leading man in Clive Owen. Owen’s Theo begins as a cynical man, ground down by the world around him, but as the story unravels, and he is thrust into a mission to save the world’s only pregnant

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Watch this space in the next few weeks for reviews of the films I’ve seen and more movie news!

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Is this the kind of film that will work, who knows. Although it looks interesting and it certainly is a twist I can’t help but feel it’s too tongue and cheek to seriously work. However, there’s a star studded cast list including Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford so that’s a plus.

I for one look forward to seeing and reviewing Cowboys & Aliens, watch this space!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJixNxFxhT4

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ

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Finally been able to get a sneak peak of the next X-Men film in the series… First Class.

This prequel delves into the origins of the original X-Men, Charles Xavier, Erik Lensherr, Henry J. McCoy, Raven Darkholme, amongst others and promises to be a thrilling adventure.

Check out the trailer below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ccSiH4olo

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If you’re wondering what www.everyonesacritic.co.uk is all about then you’ve come to the right place, why not check out the about section of the website.

As this is the first post on the site there’s not a lot to see here at the moment but in the meantime why not settle in, have a snoop around, send me a message or subscribe to my rss feed?

Alternatively, check back here as often as you fancy and see what changes… I hope (fingers crossed) to update this site frequently with the random musings of a movie geek!

Till next time… take care x

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