Fast and Furious 7 Teaser Posters Arrive

The countdown is on until the first Fast and Furious 7 teaser trailer screeches onto the net. To mark the last seven days before we get some quality footage, Universal is releasing something special each day for fans.

So here it is: the first real poster for Fast and Furious 7, thankfully with the 'Fast and' intact after yesterday's banner (below) that only read 'Furious 7'.

Seeing as how Fast Five was called Fast Five and most people just referred to the sixth as Fast Six, it would be a bit weird to have to start calling it the 'Furious' franchise suddenly. On the other hand, I suppose the Furious is in keeping with the idea of vengeance which apparently, according to this poster, is about to hit home.

Lest we forget, this will be our last chance to see Paul Walker doing his thing in these films. It is only a month until the first anniversary of his death and I'm sure this film will give him a fitting send off. RIP.

I'm also hoping for big things from this film as Saw director James Wan took the wheel for this installment. Let's hope he steers the franchise in a thrilling direction with newbies Jason Statham and Kurt Russell on board!

Like the posters or had enough of this franchise?

Much more Fast and Furious 7 news at Yahoo
Trailers at I Love That Film
More on Fast and Furious 7 at I Love That Film
Reviews at I Love That Film

I Love That Film Abroad: Thailand 2013

Who wants to see some snaps of Thailand? Before all you movie lovers head for the hills, let me tell you some movie related bits. The Beach, Alex Garland's awesome novel (and my favourite book of all time) is set in Thailand and Danny Boyle's (not very good) film version used the island Ko Phi Phi for some filming. Also The Man with the Golden Gun was shot here too but I didn't visit either of these places as I had already been to them on a previous trip to Thailand back in 2009.

However still on films, Thailand generally seems to care little for copyright laws especially when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters. So on a coach ride from Bangkok to Chumphon, the driver chucks on a dodgy DVD copy of Fast and Furious 6 for all us smelly travellers to watch on a crappy little TV. Then later while on the island of Ko Tao, we're sitting in a restaurant having dinner and they play another dodgy copy of F&F 6 on a big screen. We couldn't get away from it.

Anyway apart from getting some hideous stomach bug, I still love Thailand. It is still incredibly beautiful but increasingly over run by tourists just like me. The amount of litter on the beach is disturbing so please if you ever visit, please please just put your crap in the bin. We flew in to Bangkok, went down to Ko Tao, over to Ko Pha Ngan, down to Railay then to Ko Lanta and then up to Ko Phi Phi and back up to Bangkok. Ko means island by the way so lots of sitting on beaches and island hopping. Here are some pics:

Pre- and Post-Viewing Experiences and Conditions of Reception: The Relationship between Audiences and Films Part 7

The enjoyment of a film can also be affected by the pre and post-viewing experiences of the person who watches it and where and how they watch it. For example if a viewer watched all the trailers, promotional clips, interviews with the stars etc before a film is released, they may have extremely high expectations of the film. This might mean the film fails to meet these expectations. Comedies often have many of the best jokes in the trailers of the films and these jokes will not be as funny when they are in the final film if you have seen the trailer a few times. Similarly many trailers give a great deal of the story away and show many of the best stunts. The recent Fast and Furious 6 trailer seemed to have clips from all the major set-pieces and therefore there was no sense of surprise when watching the film. Prometheus was also a victim of its excellent marketing because people had huge expectations and the film was not as good as many had hoped.

Before or after a film, reading reviews might also affect a person’s enjoyment of a film. Sometimes I read a review and I can’t get the words of the writer out of my head and it ends up affecting my opinion. For this reason many wait till after they have seen a film to read any reviews. Also discussing a film after it has finished can potentially change your opinion of it. Though I still love The Dark Knight Rises, hearing people pick out the all the plot holes has lessened my love for it a little bit.

How you watch a film is also important as watching a film at an IMAX cinema with state of the art sound is a very different experience to watching a film on a mobile phone or a dodgy pirate DVD copy. Blockbusters particularly are supposed to be seen on a big screen in a dark room with the sound up loud to get the full audio visual experience. If an audience is laughing in a comedy or screaming in a horror, it will likely have an effect on other viewers. Watching a film with mates is different to watching it with parents or on a first date and watching it alone is very different to watching it with a large audience. All these factors can affect enjoyment and interpretation. 3D is supposedly more immersive but many hate it and some people have home cinema set ups because they would rather watch a film in their own home. I also find that if I see a really good film early (at a preview before it is released) I think I often love it even more than if I was (seemingly) the last to see it. I certainly feel the need to talk about it more to convince more people to go and see it.

And that is the end of this series on the relationship between audience and films. Hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to argue with me all you want it the comments below and check out the other posts in this series. All the links are below:

Did you miss...?

Part 1 on active vs passive spectatorship.

Part 2 on the pleasures of film watching. 

Part 3 on frameworks of interpretation.

Part 4 on media literacy and intertextuality.

Part 5 on the effects of film.

Part 6 on fandom.

Recent Articles for Yahoo Movies

I've been writing lots of articles for Yahoo Movies recently on the likes of Man of Steel, the possibility of a Justice League movie, the Fast and Furious franchise and The Hobbit. Yahoo want people to write about the major film franchises so that's the reason for picking these films to write about. It's not that I'm a huge Superman or Fast and Furious fan, I just like being on Yahoo Movies and am happy to write about any movies really. Some of these articles have had over 20,000 page views already which is far more than anything on this blog so it's nice to know my words are being read by lots of people. I hope that you might be tempted to join in and click some of the links below to check out my articles at Yahoo Movies.

Here are some recent examples:

Man of Steel teases Justice League and more
What comes next for the Man of Steel and Henry Cavill?  
Justice League merchandise hits shop 
Damon Lindelof talks Justice League movie problems 
Will Guillermo del Toro make DC's Justice League Dark movie after Pacific Rim? 
Give Zack Snyder the job of directing Justice League movie 

The unexpected stars of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer

Fast and Furious 7 will begin new trilogy in continuing franchise 
Best scenes of Fast and Furious 6 goes to Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Gina Carano 
Will Fast and Furious 6 be biggest of the series? 
Rihanna could join Fast and Furious 7  
The star cars of Fast and Furious 6 
Fast and Furious 7 news and rumours  
Get ready for Fast and Furious 6 flip car 
Will Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty survive Fast and Furious 6? 
Why James Wan is an excellent choice for Fast and Furious 7 director

May Movie Reviews and Round up

In May I've watched a measly 10 movies but reviewed 8 out of the 10 so that's not bad. I've also spent a weekend in Paris, read and reviewed a book, been appearing on the radio lots and just today interviewed the director of The Last Exorcism Part 2. Also known as The Really Last Exorcism... We Mean it this Time... Maybe... Unless this One Makes a Killing at the Box Office. Apparently that title was considered too lengthy so they made a last minute change to help it fit on the posters.

Anyway the films I watched this month were:

A Hijacking (Reviewed for Filmoria)
Ruby Sparks
Bellflower
Motel Hell (Reviewed for Filmoria)
Black Sabbath (Reviewed for Filmoria)
The Great Gatsby (Reviewed for Filmoria)
Fast and Furious 6
Behind the Candelabra (worth seeing for a pair of mesmerizing performances from Matt Damon and Michael Douglas)
Blow Up (Reviewed for Filmoria)
Sweet Vengeance (Reviewed for Filmoria)

My reviews for Our Children, Side by Side and Everybody Has a Plan were also published this month.

The book I read and reviewed is called Boy Nobody. I also saw and reviewed The Book of Mormon, the musical from the South Park guys.

I did a couple of box office reports for Tastic Film: one on Iron Man 3 and one on Star Trek Into Darkness.

I also got a few news stories written for both Starburst Magazine and Filmoria:

Sharlto Copley and Neill Blomkamp Reteam for Sci-fi Comedy CHAPPIE

Sweet Vengeance Trailer Promises Bloody Revenge

PACIFIC RIM Banner Promises Sydney Harbour Bridge Destruction!

First Poster for Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac Bares All

I've also written two features to be included in the latest edition of Starburst Magazine, one is a preview on Pacific Rim and one is a preview on The Wolverine so if you don't already subscribe to Starburst Magazine, please go do so now!

Also this month I finally finished Game of Thrones series 1 (and wrote a hit list) and have raced to about the half way mark of series 2 now. I'm absolutely loving it. Netflix offered me a second free month trial this week so I immediately started to take advantage of it. I'm about half way through Arrested Development series 4 already and plan to get up to date with Breaking Bad by watching series 4 and the first half of series 5 before the month ends!

 I wrote lots of articles about Fast and Furious for Yahoo Movies, practiced for the day the media (inevitably!) come knocking at my door to interview me about found footage movies and also applied for lots of jobs. As usual it's been a busy month.

 On the plus side, I'm only a couple of chapters away from finishing my book on The Blair Witch Project and am just about to finish a first draft of another chapter of my thesis on found footage movies.

This month I've already got preview screenings of This is the End and Summer in February lined up and also have to write a director retrospective on Roland Emmerich for Filmoria. I've also got a couple of DVD's to review; Come as You Are and To the Wonder.

Best film of the month was Ruby Sparks! Worst was Motel Hell. What did you see this month? Any recommendations? 

You can check out more of my monthly round ups by clicking here.

The Many Methods of Movie Marketing: Part 4 Premieres

This is the fourth part of my many posts on the different methods of movie marketing, this one covering premieres. This is mainly for my film students who are looking at the relationship between film producers and audiences. First we looked at how producers get information from audiences and now we move on to how producers give information to audiences. You can find part one on posters and trailers here. Part 2 on TV, radio and print media advertising and using the internet and viral marketing is here. Part 3 on movie merchandise is here.

Premieres are another way to help market a movie, particularly if the film has big internationally recognisable stars that are willing or contracted to attend. Premieres are the first official screening of the film to the public and are often big events in major cities across the world. They have a red carpet and the press and fans gather outside the cinemas to see the stars arrive for the screening. The press interview the stars and filmmakers on the red carpet (or blue in the case of Fast and Furious 6) and these interviews help to publicise the film in the media. 

Sometimes premieres for the biggest films even end up being covered by news programmes because they are such a big story. This is excellent publicity for the studios as it gets the film in the consciousness of everybody who watches the news or reads magazines. Often the stars are dressed in the latest fashions and minor celebrities also attend so pictures, videos and news items appear in celebrity gossip and fashion magazines. This targets an even wider audience for the film than the other forms of marketing.

The final Harry Potter film was covered by the news because fans were sleeping out on the streets in order to see the stars. Some premieres appear to take over Leicester Square with the landmark being transformed into a scene from Willy Wonka's chocolate factory complete with giant candy canes and lollipops for the premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The bigger the stars and the more work that is put into making the premiere an event, the more attention it will get.

Having even just one international star can really boost a smaller film if that star attends the premiere. For example the small British film Is Anybody There? would not have the same marketing budget as a Hollywood blockbuster but because Michael Caine stars in it and attended the premiere, there will be more attention brought to it in the press than a similar small British film with no recognisable stars in the cast.

Next part is on press junkets and preview screenings.

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Fast and Furious 6 is not the best of the series but it does what the franchise is known for very well; crashing, smashing, jumping, racing and chasing cars. It also adds in a great deal of excellent hand to hand and gun toting combat to the mix with some real punch present in the fight scenes.

Fast and Furious 6 continues the supposedly developing mythology of the franchise with the crew all living off their millions in a sunny paradise but banished from the USA for their previous crimes. When pictures of Dom's lost love Letty emerge, Agent Hobbs gets the crew to help him out in taking out a baddie and getting their missing 'family' member back.

The set up is so brusquely taken care of that there is barely a moment for you to take in exactly how ridiculous it all is. The exposition in the early scenes is painfully delivered and the cast keep such worryingly straight faces, that you wonder if the whole film is going to be this serious. The word 'family' is forced down your throat many times to make you really remember what all these ridiculous later actions scenes are all about. The sentiment does not stop there with family values permeating the representation of the characters at every turn. Wives are meant to stay at home and look after babies, only to become damsels in distress when needed and the whole film even finishes with a lovely scene of a 'family' dinner complete with saying grace before eating.

It's not like you watch a Fast and Furious movie much for the characters or to deeply consider the representation of women though. The action is where it's at and most of it is stunning. There are some jaw dropping set pieces and for the most part, not too much CG augmentation. Some moments stretch belief way beyond the realms of possibility (but at least provide one OMG moment in the trailer) but on the whole the action is well choreographed and occasionally spectacular. And that is what we came for.

The problems lie with the straight faced cheesy dialogue and the attempts to get deeper into the relationships of these characters. It's a shame as Fast and Furious 6 could be fun and funnier if it just dropped the extra baggage.

Check out the trailer:



More on the Fast and Furious franchise:

Fast and Furious 7 news and rumours

Fast and Furious Articles at Yahoo Movies

Fast and Furious Director Articles at Yahoo Movies

Recent reviews at I Love That Film:

This is the End Review 

Ruby Sparks Review

The Look of Love Review 

21 & Over Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

Spring Breakers Review

 

 

 

 

 

Fast and Furious 7 news and rumours

I'm writing fast and furiously for Yahoo Movies on the big, loud, little bit dumb franchise at the moment. My latest articles cover what is actually known about Fast and Furious 7 so far, including Rihanna joining the cast and also details about the cars featured in Fast and Furious 6, out tomorrow!

I hope it's not obvious from the second article that I know very little about cars and actually have very little interest in them. Hopefully this article will appeal to the hard core fan base of Fast and Furious fans who really love the smell of petrol, burning rubber and the sound of squealing tyres and crunching metal.

I have to say I'm really looking forward to Fast and Furious 6 despite not really being a fan of any of the films since the first one. For a film that ripped off Point Break from the start, it has morphed into something more spectacular and silly than anyone could have ever imagined. Getting the cast of the franchise back together for Fast Five was a master stroke and turning it into a globe trotting crime film that goes way beyond its street racing roots was also a smooth move.

Fast and Furious 7 will have to pull something pretty spectacular out of the bag to beat this latest instalment by the sounds of things and with the incredibly short schedule for shooting and all the rest before the July 2014 release, sounds like new director James Wan will have his work cut out.

Here is a review of Fast and Furious 6 from Chris Haydon at Filmoria that got me pretty excited for the movie.

Fast and Furious Articles at Yahoo Movies

Fast and Furious 6 is only a week away from release and anticipation is high, especially considering the fact that this franchise seemed to stall years ago. Even the reunion of the original cast failed to boost the fourth film anywhere beyond deeply average. But then the franchise found it's fifth gear, adding the Rock and heading to Rio and suddenly fans of the franchise have re-emerged from the woodwork.

I have been writing a few articles for Yahoo Movies on the latest entry in the fast car series and my latest two were published yesterday. One is on whether Michelle Rodriguez's character will survive Fast and Furious 6 which I was thinking she might not due to her claims to be quitting acting and the other is on the 'flip car' which has been produced to send cars spinning and flipping high into the air in action scenes. Please click the links to read the articles.

Recently I was also speculating about who would take over from Justin Lin as director on Fast and Furious 7, due to start shooting this summer in time for a 2014 release. There was reportedly a shortlist of three directors that were being considered and then James Wan, the director of Saw, was given the job. Any director tasked with turning around a blockbuster of this kind of size with this short a schedule is making a brave choice but I think James Wan could bring something interesting and fresh to the franchise.

The final trailer for Fast and Furious 6 was just released last week and shows that if nothing else, the action looks spectacular. I've heard rumours Jason Statham is joining the franchise for the seventh entry so that should be fun! What do you think, is Fast and Furious 6 going to be big dumb fun or just plain dumb?

Fast and Furious Director Articles at Yahoo Movies

I've just had my first two stories for Yahoo Movies published on who will take over directing the Fast and Furious movies now that Justin Lin has departed.

The first article is all about the three directors that were rumoured to be on the short list to take on Fast and Furious 7. Who will direct the next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise? All three names are interesting if not terribly exciting but the article is worth a look to see the three names that looked likely according to early reports.

Then another name was thrown into the mix. The second article works on the assumption that James Wan, the director of Saw and Insidious, might be the director tasked with taking on the next film in the Fast and Furious franchise. This really excited me as later in the year I will be doing a director retrospective for Filmoria on James Wan ahead of the release of the Insidious sequel. This article looks at why James Wan is an excellent choice for being the Fast and Furious 7 director.

Now I guess fans of the franchise just have to hope the producers are not being overly optimistic and that the sixth one actually lives up to some of its hype and that it makes a killing at the box office. The trailer does look pretty good to me. I'm all for less of the street racing and more of the 'vehicular warfare' and seven is supposed to start shooting this summer!



Anyone up for this? All these posters with the characters facing away are pretty cool too don't you think?