The year is 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Daniel Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky.

The Thoughts

Upon first hearing the concept of Cowboys & Aliens I was a tad excited shall we say, said film being directed by Jon Favreau who previously brought us Iron Man, even amidst below-par reviews. Having seen the film at the Empire Big Screen event at the O2 last Saturday I can say with great relief, that those fears can be put to rest and you too can enjoy the heavyweight action Cowboys & Aliens as I did when it opens in theatres nationwide this week.

For a ridiculous concept melding Western with science fiction, it works – for me anyway. Die hard Western fans will not necessarily agree but for most I think you’ll find the concept original and a breath of fresh air from the recent Hollywood superhero blockbusters. 2 hours whizzed by and before I knew it I was excitedly discussing Daniel Craig’s cleavage in the last scene and how this film made me fall in love with Sam Rockwell all over again.

Daniel Craig takes on the menacing ‘give me any crap and you’ll be sorry you were born‘ role with ease, you could say he was made for this role – breaking noses, shooting Indians, jumping off galloping horses onto an alien spacecraft – all whilst keeping the chiselled cheek pout composure and not batting an eyelid. Ford, who hits the big 7-0 next year plays the far too clichéd Colonel Dolardhyde, but still makes the character enjoyable to watch whilst Olivia Wilde takes on the role of eye candy, though she fell flat in delivering a solid, believable character as was the case with Sam Rockwell who is a stellar actor but wasn’t given enough to develop.

The reptilian aliens weren’t original in any way, although did hit some scary notes as they had a few extra hidden limbs shall we say. The story is pretty straightforward: aliens try to kill people; people try to shoot them with near-useless guns; Cowboys vs Indians; Cowboys & Indians vs Aliens but with such a wacky hybrid of elements – rustic vs futuristic – it almost doesn’t matter.

A few minor faults aside, I enjoyed Cowboys & Aliens immensely – drawing the audience in with a curious plot and brilliant, realistic effects, a bit cheeky at times and some pretty cool sci-fi tech to boot. If you’re a serious Western or Sci-Fi fan, you may want to look away but I say go see this film with an open-mind and be blown away!

The Film Buzz Official Rating: *******~~~ (7/10)

UK Release Date: 17th August 2011

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer’s: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman (screenplay), Steve Oedekerk (screen story) & Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (graphic novel)

Tron Legacy is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

See it if you liked: Avatar (2009), Speed Racer (2008), The Matrix (1999)

Certificate: PG

Release Date: 17 December 2010

Burlesque

Ali (Christina Aguilera) is a small-town girl with a big voice who escapes hardship and an uncertain future to follow her dreams to LA. After stumbling upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job as a cocktail waitress from Tess (Cher), the club’s proprietor and headliner. Burlesque’s outrageous costumes and bold choreography enrapture the young ingenue, who vows to perform there one day. Soon enough, Ali builds a friendship with a featured dancer (Julianne Hough), finds an enemy in a troubled, jealous performer (Kristen Bell), and garners the affection of Jack (Cam Gigandet), a bartender and fellow musician. With the help of a sharp-witted stage manager (Stanley Tucci) and gender-bending host (Alan Cumming), Ali makes her way from the bar to the stage. Her spectacular voice restores The Burlesque Lounge to its former glory, though not before a charismatic entrepreneur (Eric Dane) arrives with an enticing proposal…

Genre: Romance/Drama/Musical

See it if you liked: Nine (2009), Chicago (2002), The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Certificate: 12A

Release Date: 17 December 2010

Catfish

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel’s brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

Starring: Yaniv Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Melody C. Roscher, Megan Faccio

Genre: Documentary/Drama

Certificate: 12A

Release Date: 17 December 2010

In the lead up to Christmas, we shall be expecting a plethora of treats on the big screen, here is the pick of exciting movies released this week to whet your appetites.

Monsters

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and grow. In an effort to stem the destruction that resulted, half of Mexico was quarantined as an ‘infected zone’. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain the massive creatures… Our story begins when a jaded US journalist (McNairy) begrudgingly agrees to find his boss’ daughter, a shaken American tourist (Able) and escort her through the infected zone to the safety of the US border.

Starring: Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy

See it if you liked: Cloverfield (2008), District 9 (2009), The Road (2009)

Certificate: 12A

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller

Release Date: 3 December 2010

Megamind

Megamind is the most brilliant super-villain the world has ever known… and the least successful. Over the years, he has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt has been a colossal failure, thanks to the caped superhero known as “Metro Man,” until the day Megamind actually defeats him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, the fate of Metro City is threatened when a new villain arrives and chaos runs rampant, leaving everyone to wonder: Can the world’s biggest “mind” actually be the one to save the day?

Starring voices of: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill

See it if you liked: The Incredibles (2004), Shrek Forever After (2010), Toy Story 3 (2010)

Certificate: PG

Genre: Animation/Comedy

Release Date: 3 December 2010

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

It’s the eve of Christmas in northern Finland, and an ‘archeological’ dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town. When the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, young Pietari and his father Rauno, a reindeer hunter by trade, capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the misguided leader of the multinational corporation sponsoring the dig. Santa’s elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity. What ensues is a wildly humorous nightmare – a fantastically bizarre polemic on modern day morality. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a re-imagining of the most classic of all childhood fantasies, and is a darkly comic gem soon to be required perennial holiday viewing.

Starring: Per Christian Ellefsen, Peeter Jakobi, Tommi Korpela

See it if you liked: Bad Santa (2003), The Big White (2005), The Hole 3D (2010)

Certificate: 15

Genre: Action/Comedy

Release Date: 3 December 2010

The Warrior’s Way

The world’s greatest swordsman abandons his warrior clan to start a new life in the American Badlands in The Warrior’s Way, a visually dazzling modern martial arts adventure with stunningly choreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts. In an original, gorgeously realized journey into a mythical past, writer and director Sngmoo Lee seamlessly marries the cinematic traditions of East and West. Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun, Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston and Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Rush star in this epic story of revenge and redemption.

Starring: Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston

See it if you liked: Solomon Kane (2009), Jet Li’s Fearless (2006), Jonah Hex (2010)

Certificate: 15

Genre: Action/Fantasy

Release Date: 3 December 2010

Splice is a re-telling  of a bizarre tale about a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong with terrific special effects. This film hits home for those who love twisted psychological thrillers that produces images with shock-value.

Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named “Dren”, the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators – only to have that bond turn deadly.

“Beautiful” is not quite the word that comes to mind after seeing this deformed infant/alien baby – deadly she is alright. Intelligent and gripping, Splice borrows from predecessors such as “Alien” and manages to emerge with originality and fascinating scientific discoveries that makes one wonder whether such amalgamation of human and animal DNA to create a new breed really possible?

Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as the two young, but very brave scientists who dabble with DNA and dangerous organisms that escape from maximum security labs and wrecks havoc threatening to swallow scientists and anything else of similar size whole. Also stars Delphine Chanéac as Dren, David Hewlett and Abigail Chu and is directed by Vincenzo Natali.

After watching a trailer like that , it’s guaranteed to have freaky-sci fi horror addicts like me to be queuing up to watch this film as soon as it comes out!

The Film Buzz Anticipation Rating: *******~~~ (7/10)

US Release Date: 4th June 2010 (no UK Release Date as of yet)

Director: Vincenzo Natali

Writer: Vincenzo Natali (screenplay)

Links: IMDB, Official Site

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.

The Film Buzz Anticipation Rating: 6.5/10

UK Release Date: March 19th 2010

Director: Miguel Sapochnik

Writer: Eric Garcia, Garrett Lerner(screenplay),

Links: IMDB, Official Site

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.  DiCaprio is 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 Inception has 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.

The Film Buzz Anticipation Rating: 7/10

UK Release Date: Friday 13th August 2010

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer: Christopher Nolan

Links: IMDB, Official Site

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Set in the 22nd Century, on a distant planet named Pandora, home to a race called the Navi. Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation) plays Jake Sully, a paralysed marine, who is given the opportunity to become an ‘Avatar’, and help his fellow humans in searching for valuable minerals on the Navi home world. An ‘Avatar’ is a genetically engineered human-Navi hybrid.

While given a new lease of life as an Avatar, Jake unwittingly embarks on his mission on Pandora and finds himself falling in love with the Navi Neytiri (Zoe Saldana of recent Star Trek fame), he is also soon caught in the conflict between Earth and Pandora.

Avatar sounds like an amazing story and I think fans of the Sci-Fi genre would feel right at home with a tale like this one. But I can’t help feeling like I’m the only person who isn’t excited about this film, due to the sheer amount of Buzz this film is recieving.

Avatar is a concept dreamed up by Titanic writer James Cameron. Supposedly, Cameron had to wait 14 years to have this story finally told but I feel we could have waited another 14 years. However recent weeks have found Avatar shrouded in controversy, with Cameron being accused of plagiarism. Apparently Avatar isn’t so different from Poul Anderson’s short story ‘Call me Joe‘, from 1957.

Call me Joe also focuses on a paraplegic character who has a telepathic connection with an artifical life form on a distant planet, whose habitants are blue cat like creatures,  similarities, yes indeed!

Avatar sounds intriguing, but nothing really surprises me about the look and over all feel of the film, maybe I’m being far too sceptical and how much can you really tell from a trailer?
But the Navi look far too cartoonish for my taste and perhaps slightly unbelievable.

This film has an all star cast joining Worthington and Saldana with Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Giovanni Ribisi.  Avatar hits theatres in December of this year. Here’s hoping I’m wrong and won’t be feeling as cold about Avatar as the trailer left me.

Buzz Anticipation Rating: 7/10

UK Release Date: 18th December 2009

Director: James Cameron

Writer: James Cameron

Links: IMDB, Official Movie Page