The most hugely anticipated film of this year yet – Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton brings you the epic 3D fantasy adventure of one of the most beloved stories of all time with a magical and imaginative twist.
With Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19 year-old Alice as she returns to the quirky, whimsical world she visited as a child to reunite with her old friends: The White Rabbit, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. As the fantastical journey unfolds, Alice must find her true destiny and end the Red Queens reign of terror.
You’d be mad as a hatter if you didn’t catch this film as soon as it’s released.
Certificate: PG
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Family
Release Date: 5 March 2010
Case 39 (2010)
Some cases should never be opened.
Case 39 starring Renée Zellweger as an idealistic social worker who tries to rescue an abused 10-year-old girl from her parents only to discover that the girl is not as innocent as she thinks…
When the last angel falls, the fight for mankind begins.
A super-natural action thriller with an apocalypse theme of epic proportions – when God loses faith in mankind, he sends a legion of angels to bring on the apocalypse. The survival of humanity lies in the hands of a group of strangers stranded in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany).
Set in the near future where artificial organs are bought on credit – a man who has purchased an artificial heart is struggling to make payments for it. A very slick system is in place to chase down those who do not pay in full for their artificial organs, so he must go on the run before his heart gets repossessed.
Originally called ‘Repossession Mambo’, Repo-men is a heavy and gritty action flick, with the action whipping by you can scarcely catch up. Filled with plenty of nail-biting sequences, and bloody scenes with bodily parts being re-possessed, this isn’t for the faint-hearted. Enjoy excellent performances by all the cast and is that isn’t enough – they’ve thrown in a small treat: a little feast for the eyes a.k.a. an extremely well-buffed Jude Law getting his muscles out for this action hero role.
Stay tuned for Repo-Men hitting cinemas in March 2010.
Julianne Moore stars as Catherine alongisde Liam Neeson who plays David as the “perfectly married couple” with a teenage son but when David misses a flight and his surprise birthday party – Catherine starts to suspect that there is more than meets the eye. Her imagination runs wild with thoughts of David cheating on her and she decides to hire an escort to test his loyalty. Catherine employs attractive young Chloe and directs her encounters with David and Chloe reports back exactly what goes down in those encounters. However, as the meetings multiply, descriptions get more graphic and things start to get very out of control…
Directed by Atom Egoyan who previously brought us Where the Truth Lies (2005), you are fore-warned that the sexual scenes are going to be of graphic nature, however fear not, it’s not trashy porn material – we are reassured that the eroticism is tastefully done.
If that doesn’t persuade you to see this erotic thriller – Julianne Moore gives a truly excellent performance whilst Amanda Seyfried is absolutely stunning as the steamy “seductress” – 100 times better than her performance in Jennifer’s Body.
The Road is yet another apocalyptic tale from the never-ending flow of miserable stories/previews of our world “as we know it” ending. Differing from 2012 and Knowing, The Road is a dark, chilling drama/thriller that is gritty and depressing rather than a colourful, action-packed adventure, and is actually based on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.
The Plot
Fans of the book will be pleased to know that the film plot sticks very closely to the book’s – a nameless father and son are among the last remaining survivors on Earth after an unexplained tragedy and as the pair head south, they encounter many problems including man-eating cannibals. Nice. The plot is minimal and doesn’t overload you with technicalities, rather it examines the relationship between a man and his son, and their struggle for sheer survival.
Starring critically-acclaimed Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings series) as nameless man and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy, both of which are nominated for numerous acting awards. The film itself is being vigorously nominated for best cinematography, screenplay etc.
The Thoughts
This film is definitely depressing, dark, bleak and weary. Do not watch if you are already suffering from depression, however mild. Because I found this film extremely depressing and not in an entertaining/worthwhile way. Not that depression should ever be entertaining or worthwhile, but it wasn’t something I felt I needed to go through. I’ll admit the acting was exceptional and the relationship between man and son is touching but that wasn’t enough to hold my interest – particularly as my brain felt like it was going through a strainer the whole time – ouch. The landscapes photography was impressive though, and if anything this film has done a great job in capturing McCarthy’s vision of a cold and bone-chilling Earth.
However miserable it makes you feel, The Road will still leave it’s mark in reminding us what we’re in store for if we abuse Mother Earth any more, like many apocalyptic films preceding it.
This summer Christopher Nolan’s, (director ofThe Dark Knight) next flick - Inception which he wrote, directed and produced hits theatres. Check out the mysterious trailer below.
Inception is being plugged as a sci-fi mystery set within the mind and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a man named Cobb, who ends up getting involved in a blackmail scandal. This film certainly has an Equilibrium feel to it – another Chris Nolan film incidentally, but then again Equilibrium just tried too hard to be The Matrix. Either way looks like we’re going to see some mind bending stuff. DiCapriois joined by Marion Cotillard(Nine), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Ken Watanabe(Batman Begins), Ellen Page (Juno) and the legendary Michael Caine(Harry Brown) makes an appearance.
Inception Film Poster
Filming for Inceptionhas taken them all over the world, with scenes being shot in our very own London at UCL, as well as Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles. All very mysterious at the moment but this one looks like it’s going to be another good one from Nolan; we do enjoy his work, more details as we get them.
Harry Brown is a crime thriller with plenty of gritty gang violence, enough English thugs to terrify you (and make you feel ashamed if you’re a Londoner), a nomination-worthy performance from “King of Cool” Michael Caineand a gripping plot to make hairs at the back of your neck stand on end.
Michael Caine is Harry Brown – an eldery widower and ex-serviceman who is hell-bent on avenging his best friend who was his only company but was then brutally murdered by a gang of thugs. These gangs run the streets with drugs and guns and aren’t afraid of anyone… until Harry Brown dishes out his own form of blood splattering justice giving the thugs something to fear. Do not mess with Harry Brown.
This British masterpiece, whether it aims to or not, brings into focus the street crime and gang culture of Britain, the sink estates they live in. Their realistic way of life – choice or not, they have to put up with their surroundings and make the most of what is available to them and is portrayed in a rusty, dark lense byDaniel Barberthe director.
Critics say this is the “Best British Film of the Year”, (ooh, look out Hollywood!) and Caine seems to have served us one of his best performances yet – many reckon nominations are on plate too. I say this film, likened to Gran Torino(2008), will bring shock value to those living in Britain and those outside of Britain, bringing a new perspective to gang violence and some of the morally wrong decisions that life forces us to make.
Do you live in London? Do you think this is an accurate portrayal of gang violence in London?
Carrier Bags? No. Zombies, in point of fact. ZOMBEEHHHSSSSS!
Waz here, your zombie blog guru blogging about a zombie flick to be released in the UK on 11th December.
Written and directed by Àlex Pastor and David Pastor, Carriers is a thriller/horror film that is set in the US and focuses on four individuals in their attempts to survive a viral pandemic.
During their struggle to survive, they come across all sorts of people looking for aid and following their rules of survival, they stay away from as many infected as possible.
Over the course of their survival each individual is faced with extreme moral decisions that no one should have to face and as the story progresses, they feel as though they are more dangerous amongst themselves than the actual viral pandemic.
As you all should know, I lurve me some zombehs, so there’s nothing I’d rather review than a zombie film. After watching the trailer I found myself quite intrigued, even more so than Zombieland. Carriers seems less childish and is set in a time frame where the virus is spreading and a mass of zombies has not erupted. In a way, this film is quite similar to that of 28 Days Later (2009) about a viral pandemic. As much as I enjoyed the trailer and the idea of zombie survival, I did however question the amount of actual zombies within this film. I mean, I know that there are zombies, that’s a given, but the extent to which zombies were active during this film is to be questioned; I didn’t see any zombies crazed over with a hunger for flesh, they just seemed to pop up from a bed an go ‘boo’.
Saying this I’m questioning the true extent to which this is even a zombie film, as the plot summary suggests, they find themselves more dangerous than zombies and then end up eating at each other? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a zombie/viral pandemic film? Take away the zombies and you have any other film where it’s every man for himself. As previously mentioned in my Zombieland post, zombies are always a great start but have a habit of going pear-shaped when it comes to films.
Comparing Carriers to Rec (2007) and 28 Days Later (2009) - my two favourite zombie films, I would say that this film is worth a watch but be prepared for it to prove itself as too predictable. Also another point to add is that this film was released in the US in September and the DVD will available to rent from December 8th – yet again questioning the true quality of this film.
So based on the fact that the trailer and plot synopsis almost gives everything away, I would give this particular zombie flick a Film Buzz Anticipation Rating of… 6.5!
Originally I had it at 6.0, but I’m a sucker for zombie films I have to see.
2012is a disaster film exploiting the idea of a global doomsday event due to the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar’s cycle, in which the end of the world will occur on or around December 21, 2012. Mankind were forewarned by the Mayan’s premonitions of the apocalypse, and now they will suffer the consequences of not listening to the warnings. The story follows Jackson Curtis (played by John Cusack) – a divorced father on a trip with his two young children when reports start coming in of mass suicides in the Mayan jungles of people who knew the end is nigh and reacted upon their better judgement. Soon the whole world is tapping in on the news that the doomsday is about to happen very soon and Curtis must find a way to get his family together and escape to somewhere safe. Cue chaos in every city of the world as buildings start collapsing, the ground starts splitting etc. How will humanity cooperate to survive and avoid the impending apocalypse?
I personally love disaster/apocalypse films, I love the gut wrenching feeling of watching Mother Nature get her revenge on mankind and just how measly we are in comparison to her. So 2012 couldn’t be more of a dream come true for me, I have been anticipating this film for a year now!
Looking like the apocalypse film to end all apocalypse films, this is a no-stops, we’re-going-all-the-way-to-end-this, suspense-packed, edge-of-the-seat thriller with phenomenal special effects so detailed you will be knocked breathless. This film must be seen on the big screen to be appreciated in it’s full monstrosity and intensity and I absolutely cannot wait for this Friday 13th for the release.
The Fourth Kind is a feature/documentary film in the science fiction/horror/thriller genre about alien abduction, also known as the fourth and final kind in the classification of extra-terrestrial encounters. This film claims to be based on true events and boasts real archival audio and video footage alongside re-enactments by actors.
Set in modern-day Nome in Alaska, the population of Nome is ridden with the highest number of missing people every year with the most unexplained disappearances despite the most FBI investigations and visits to the area. Psychologist Dr Abigail Tyler (played by Milla Jovovich) conducts an on-going study on patients with sleeping disorder who all seem to be claiming that they’re seeing the same owl by their bedside window who is causing them to lose sleep. As Dr Tyler digs deeper into this mystery, disturbing evidence is unveiled and all is not what it seems. Abduction theories seem to be the only theories to explain the sinister happenings.These patients and witnesses are all videotaped and audiotaped, with the validity of these claims being continually investigated during the course of the film and the end results are shocking to say the least.
Although the film claims to be based on true events, backed up by real archival footage, the case studies are not specified, leading to many critics questioning the validity of the claims and whether Dr Abigail Tyler is a real person or just a ficitonal character used in the internet viral campaign.
Upon seeing this film, I realised that it’s been a long time since I’ve been that freaked out by a movie. Throughout the film, I had constant chills, felt very tense and my blood ran cold a few times. I also jumped a few times during the more horrific demonic scenes. I had trouble sleeping the night I saw this film, and I’m usually pretty good with falling straight to sleep after watching a horror movie. Part of what disturbed me was the claims that this stuff is real, that alien abduction really happens but authorities just put it down to people going missing. A few of the most disturbing scenes featured patients under hypnosis re-encountering what happened when they were abducted and they go into a demonic possession-type state which is in my opinion, one of the ultimately horrifying showcases of the horror genre.
Another reason for why this movie has that ‘freak-out’ factor is because it doesn’t use any gimmicks that usual horror movies employ and almost no gore whatsoever. In fact, the source of the fear – the aliens – are never truely portrayed in this film. This is the genius part – the fear of the unknown. We never get to see the true nature or face of what is freaking us out and it freaks us out even more.
Overall I was completely shaken by this film, my senses had been brutally assaulted, my nerves felt like they had been put in a blender at the highest setting.
What you want to believe is your choice but if you give this movie a chance i.e. watch it with an open mind, you might just embrace it for it’s originality and be truly terrified at the same time.
A new trailer was released for Angelina Jolie’s new flick Salt. Jolie plays Evelyn Salt a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian sleeper spy, check out the trailer below.
This will be Jolie’s first film since Wanted in 2008, and it looks like she’s heading back to the old action movie genre, some of us are going to love this, others are going to hate it. You can decide for yourself in August 2010.
The Film Buzz is a film blog created by two friends Alice and Maz who are so very passionate about film. Delivering personal reviews of films either fresh out of the Box Officeor as a tribute to Previous Releases; previews of Upcoming Filmswith anticipating ratings; the newest DVD Releases; Monthly Features; Film Newsand most importantly - HD/HQ Trailers and Clips!
We are a new-ish site, so expect constant improvement and change. We also really appreciate comments from our readers on relevant posts to get discussions buzzing!
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