New Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Posters, Banners and Trailer

Christmas is definitely coming early with the biggest of blockbusters being displayed like bright lights on the particularly large house that is the internet. The studios behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be keen to capitalise on the successes of the first in each film series and long ago started the marketing ball rolling with stills, posters and trailers. Expect the marketing machines to go into over drive as we get closer to the November and December release dates.

For now, some lovely new banners have been released for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and also a brand spanking new poster for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The Desolation of Smaug banners are all the usually sumptuous range of imagery and really reminded me of the marketing of The Lord of the Rings and the weight of expectation that each new poster or trailer for that trilogy carried every Christmas.

The first banner focuses on Bilbo and the team of dwarves battling their way through what is likely the darkness of Mirkwood. Then there are separate banners for Elf-King and Legolas Dad Thranduil and finally Luke Evan's new addition Bard the Bowman. There are no more signs of Smaug but Peter Jackson is undoubtedly saving the big final reveal of the dragon until December 13 when the film is released. Enjoy the banners below:

If that hasn't tickled your fancy, perhaps a further slice of Katniss might do the job. Ahead of the November 22nd release date, Lionsgate have unleashed another fiery image from the Hunger Games sequel. Katniss is still determined to maintain her archery skills but despite being thrown back into an arena to fight for her life against former winners, is also being encouraged to 'remember who the enemy is'. The real enemy of course is President Snow and the system that imprisons Katniss and her fellow captive tributes but we will have to wait until Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 to see Jennifer Lawrence and co rage against the real machine. For now, enjoy the poster:

Liking the look of these posters and banners? If none of that whets your appetite, why not try the brand new Desolation of Smaug trailer:

Sunshine on Leith Review

Some films are impossible to not smile at. Even if you hate musicals, happy endings, romantic comedy or kitchen sink drama, Sunshine on Leith is destined to thaw the coldest of hearts. Even if you hate The Proclaimers who provide the songs stuffed into this Scottish musical of romance and heart break.

If you would walk 500 miles just to avoid this kind of saccharine stuff, just pause for a moment and read on. Sunshine on Leith has two returning soldiers Ally (Kevin Guthrie) and Davy (George MacKay) arrive back in impossibly sunny Edinburgh and attempt to get their lives back on track after tours in Afghanistan. Ally loves Davy's sister Liz (Freya Mavor) and wants to propose while Davy is set up with Liz's mate Yvonne (Antonia Thomas) and the pair quickly fall in love. Added to the story of these young lovers is Davy's parents Rab and Jean who are also finding love comes with its ups and downs.

It all starts off so happy, sunny and cheery that you may find yourself wondering where the conflict is going to come from. Everyone seems happy and songs are sung with all the gusto of people living in blissful denial of the troubles that surround them. Unemployment and PTSD may be hinted at (very mildly) but mostly the ex-soldiers skip along the pavements to Proclaimers songs before winning hearts and all seems settled and stress free.

Soon however the inevitable cracks emerge. Liz wants to see the world, Yvonne wants to see her family back in England and a secret from the past threatens to tear apart Rab and Jean after 25 years of marriage. Though the young stars might fill much of the running time, it is the pairing of Peter Mullan and Jane Horrocks as the mature couple and the very difficult situation that they are forced to confront that gives Sunshine on Leith its real dramatic intensity.

However Sunshine on Leith is not a depressing affair. It is sweet and sincere and the cast give it their all in singing, dancing and emoting. Dexter Fletcher follows his directorial debut Wild Bill with a very different film though still finds time to squeeze old pal Jason Flemyng in for a stand out scene and elicits great performances from all of his cast. The photography is also frequently stunning with Fletcher including aerial shots and gorgeous sunsets that will keep the Scottish Tourist Board happy.

Like a sugary drink, Sunshine on Leith is impossible to dislike but might leave cynics with a feeling of slight sickness. In terms of musicals it is far superior to Mamma Mia and therefore deserves to find as big an audience. It would make a great pick me up after the rather more grueling and distinctly less sunny view of Scotland presented in Filth, also out on October 4th. Consider them a yin yang double bill.

If nothing else Sunshine on Leith should have you singing along to many of the tunes and confirms Dexter Fletcher as a diverse director to watch. It is a sunny delight!

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

How I Live Now

Filth

The Call

Rush

The Lone Ranger

You're Next

We're the Millers

2 Guns

Man of Steel

This is the End

Fast and Furious 6

September 2013 Movie Reviews and Round Up

September has been another busy month and with much less movie watching than I'd have liked. However the reason for this is that I have been trying to catch up with Dexter before the show finished (fail) and keeping up with Breaking Bad (win) so no one can spoil it for me when it also comes to its climax.

I've still got an entire series of Dexter to go but will be watching the final episode of Breaking Bad soon after all the AMC viewers sometime tomorrow. I cannot wait to see how this ends though I'm not sure it can beat some of the recent episodes we've been treated to. Still it's great to see the show go out on an incredible high as I have heard not a lot good about the final series of Dexter.

Once those two are finished I will be catching up with Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and then I can get back to some serious movie viewing. As for this month, I watched a grand total of 8 films. Please feel free to click the titles to check out my reviews:

More Than Honey

Elysium

The Call

No One Lives

Filth

How I Live Now

Machete Kills (Review coming soon at Filmoria)

Sunshine On Leith (I also got to attend the premiere of this and meet director Dexter Fletcher, star Kevin Guthrie and attendees Jonathan Ross and David Tennant. My interviews with these guys should be up at Tastic Film very soon.

And because I love a milestone, here's a few interesting stats that have made me very happy this month:

I Love That Film made it to 250,000 views!

Also my articles for Yahoo surpassed the 300,000 view mark as well this month.

For the first time ever, I Love That Film received over 20,000 views in one month. So September 2013 is officially the biggest month of this blog ever. Let's hope those number remain consistent now forevermore.

Other stuff I posted this month includes:

• Need for Speed trailer stars post Breaking Bad Aaraon Paul
• The War Game: way ahead of its time and still pres...
• Batfleck, Beorn, Dexter and Walter White
• Breaking Bad: The final countdown
• More Fast and Furious 7 and 8 News
• Deconstructing Romeo + Juliet @Static Mass Emporiu...
• Short Story Published at Starburst Magazine: Livin...
• Recent Publications: Gangnam Style and Prison Movi...

Best film of the month: Filth

Worst film of the month: More Than Honey

How I Live Now Review

Adaptations of popular novels for young adults are clogging up Hollywood production lines quicker than authors can write them. Following the success of Twilight and The Hunger Games comes a far grittier, grounded tale of ordinary kids at war starring Saoirse Ronan.

As American abroad Daisy, Ronan is outstanding, at first precocious teen before becoming a slowly budding flower when shipped to the English countryside to stay with her cousins. With World War 3 about to break out, her Aunt Penn leaves Daisy with the children; hunky Edmond (George MacKay), nerdy Isaac (Tom Holland) and their imaginative but annoying little sister Piper (Harley Bird).

Just as Daisy starts to let herself go, breaking down the barriers she puts up against the world, a nuke devastates London and worse still, she starts to fall in love with cousin Edmond. Heartbreak ensues as the kids are split up, forced to survive the war apart and desperate to find a way back home.

Director Kevin Macdonald creates two very distinct moods; optimism, hope, beauty and the joy of being young and free in the outdoors before the second half paints a bleak portrait of life under occupation. Despite the mood swing, Franz Lustig’s gorgeous bursts of close up photography stay beautiful throughout, adding pathos to the already emotional story.

While some elements of the novel appear lost in translation (the telepathic stuff sits uneasily with the realism of the rest of the film), Saoirse Ronan gives a magnificent performance transforming slowly from self-centred teen to terrified but determined victim and finally to something more.

Adapted from the novel by Meg Rosoff, it really treats its audience as adults containing mild incest, plenty of swearing, a dash of sex and some shocking moments of violence. It is admirable for not toning down the brutality of war (hello Hunger Games) or the language and lust of its protagonists (goodbye Twilight).

THE VERDICT A YA adaptation with the focus firmly on the adult, How I Live Now mixes forbidden romance with a bleak vision of World War 3. Twilight it ain’t.   

Certificate 15 Director Kevin MacDonald Starring Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Tom Holland, Harley Bird, Anna Chancellor Screenplay Jeremy Brock, Tony Grisoni, Penelope Skinner, Jack Thorne Distributor Entertainment One Running time 101 mins

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

Filth

The Call

Rush

The Lone Ranger

You're Next

We're the Millers

2 Guns

Man of Steel

This is the End

Fast and Furious 6

Filth Review

If you thought Trainspotting’s collection of junkie scumbags were the lowest of the low, get ready to wallow around in a stinking pit of depravity that would make even Francis Begbie blush. Meet reeking cesspool of a copper Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy) and then be very, very glad you only had to see him on the big screen in Filth and not knocking at your front door with his badge in his hand.

Filth is the unsanitary and unsavoury depiction of bent Scottish cop Bruce Robertson (a never better James McAvoy), created by Irvine Welsh and adapted for the screen by writer/director Jon S. Baird. Taking tips from the mother of all Welsh adaptations, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, Baird has crafted a surreal and squalid trawl through Edinburgh’s underbelly starting with one of the sick scumbags who is supposed to police it.

Little piggies will squeal with delight at the whiskey guzzling, coke hoofing, sexually depraved antics of Scotland’s finest while the rest will take comfort in watching the decline of Bruce Robertson’s sordid existence as he struggles to catch a killer, gain a promotion and mess with the minds of everyone unfortunate enough to be close to him.

Checking out the wild life of Robertson as he plays his nefarious games with colleagues, their wives and his freemason friend takes up the majority of Filth’s first hour. A pivotal scene in which Imogen Poot’s more-than-simply-posh-totty colleague gets under his terrible skin reveals the layers beneath the dirt with McAvoy’s performance becoming increasingly mesmerising as his character starts to really unravel in the final third.

As Robertson’s sad little life spins increasingly out of control, his wild life leads to wildlife haunting his hallucinations. Faces of those around him turn to pigs, witches and all manner of horrors as Bruce sinks faster into addiction and loses his grip on reality.

McAvoy makes an almost sympathetic anti-hero out of Bruce by the end with Baird’s script and slight alterations to the source novel making Filth a far more appealing ride than the book ever was. As Bruce flits between fun and filthy, there is plenty to laugh, wince and gasp at while some of the secondary characters such as Eddie Marsan’s Clifford Blades are the ones that should be tugging at the heart strings. However with a performance as demented, ferocious, feral and frequently fun as McAvoy’s the likes of Jamie Bell and Marsan barely get any scenes to shine out of the muck.

The supporting cast add touches of humour with buckled down Marsan particularly getting one stand out scene while raving on ecstasy but Jim Broadbent takes weird to the next level when he pops up as Bruce’s Australian shrink in increasingly surreal episodes that hammer home exposition while reminding of the superior nightmarish moments of Trainspotting.

THE VERDICT With a sensational soundtrack and putrid performance from McAvoy, Filth is far more fun than it should be. Wallow in it…                  

Certificate 18 Director John S. Baird Starring James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Shirley Henderson Screenplay John S. Baird Distributor Lionsgate Running time 97 mins       

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

The Call

Rush

The Lone Ranger

You're Next

We're the Millers

2 Guns

Man of Steel

This is the End

Fast and Furious 6