In films such as Lord of the Rings, I can understand the necessity of telling such a detailed narrative in parts, so as not to bore the average audience member with the attention span of a flea (if you disagree, you clearly have not recognised the decreasing amount of one’s attention with the parallel increase of needless CGI effects.) I can even appreciate the necessity of the sequel in the Scream franchise, because it is just this – a franchise, nothing more, nothing less. Scream is for cinema what McDonalds is for food; cheap, fast and easy – a quick high before the nausea comes down when you’ve realised that you’ve sat through what is perhaps one of the worst takes on the horror genre – and to make it worse your money has now fuelled the idea that these films will create box office dollars, even if the audience are mainly made up by the ‘tween generation’ who do not know any better.

The horror genre however is not alone in the franchise business, in fact this is seen to be an increasing trend in cinema, as seen by the most recent Disney Pixar releases Shrek, Toy Story and next year Cars. Now realise Film Buzz readers that these are not cinematic masterpieces, and in the case of Shrek and Toy Story the second sequels were in keeping with the standard with their original counterparts. However – as much as we may have loved ‘part 2’ of these films, they then lead to the ultimate evil that is ‘part 3’; have we learnt nothing from Godfather III?

Cinema in my opinion, especially within the mainstream, has become more about creating a cash cow than creating a lasting piece of art that can be appreciated for its content as well as aesthetic values. We cannot be naive enough to assert that these franchise films must be withdrawn completely, as it is the revenue from these big blockbusters that allow studios to spend on the more ‘art house’ films – however it is the responsibility of cinema lovers everywhere to every once in awhile ignore the lure of the reminiscent happy memory of the original and break out and do something radical… like just watching something else. The reason sequels (apart from those which actually continue the narrative i.e. Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom (1984) ) reappear time and again, is because we become complacent and unadventurous in our movie choices and that is why I urge you to take a risk and pick a genre, a movie period or even just a random movie title and stay committed from beginning to end and you never know, you may find something better than I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998).

The Plot

The original toys return for a third adventure when their beloved owner Andy (John Morris), now seventeen years old, prepares to leave home for College. As he bids farewell to his childhood, he packs all of the toys – with the exception of Woody (Tom Hanks) – and intends to store them in his family attic.

Their lives turn kaleidoscopic as Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the team find themselves on an epic journey to return home after Andy’s mother inadvertently leaves them on the kerb to be collected as waste. Woody, not content with being separated from his friends, slips out of his box and attempts to rescue them from their doom, only to end up altogether at a day-care centre as donations.

While the new surroundings appear colourful and welcoming at first, the group become increasingly homesick as the other toys at the centre headed by “Lotso” (Ned Beatty) – an enemy in a warm, huggable disguise – manipulate and entrap Andy’s toys as prisoners. A crestfallen Woody leaps to his greatest endeavours to outsmart the treacherous Lotso and thus successfully take the companions back home.

The Thoughts

Admittedly I am not an eager fan of animated films, however those bearing the ownership name of Walt Disney are certified exceptions. Throwing out the original VHS tapes of the classics from our household was indeed sorrowful, only until they were replaced with newly restored, updated DVD versions which I feel have still managed to capture the “magic” within the discs.

Although the Toy Story franchise may not be considered as one of the timeless Disney “classics”, it certainly attains the sheer entertainment factor along with convincing, relatable characters which audiences of all ages and backgrounds grow to admire. Working with Pixar, the CGI animation is as impressive as anticipated, yet effectively retains its “childlike” imagery with Disney’s typically exaggerated features, excellent voice-overs and a remarkable range of bold, vivid colours.

I chose to watch the film in 2D because I did not want the (sometimes irritating) visual effect of the new craze of 3D cinema to distract me from what I believed was going to be a superb storyline.  I could not agree with the thought of a highly-anticipated Disney animation in 3D, so I listened to my own “Jiminy Cricket” and settled down to watch it in its original format.

The first five minutes were slightly confusing, nevertheless when the camera revealed it as a memoir of a young Andy playing with the toys, I considered it as an appreciative and very effective opening; particularly because that memory acts as the main motive of the toys’ characters throughout the film.

The personification of the toys was unquestionably the height of the film: from the start to the very end. This was a prime example of Disney’s clever manipulation of incorporating “real-life” themes and situations in to each of their motion pictures – one of the traits that makes them appealing to adults as well as children. Inside the theatre l I couldn’t help but notice the infants clapping and giggling on sight of the bright colours, dramatic sounds and inflated facial expressions; while the young adults and parents smirked, laughed out loud and even cried at the occasional innuendo and poignant human emotions portrayed throughout the whole 103 minutes.

Having heard that many adult viewers had wept, sobbed (including twenty-something-year-old males), or felt sincerely moved during Toy Story 3, before I had even watched it myself, I subconsciously remained on the edge of my seat, anticipating a battle with my sentiments but sneaked a few sheets of Kleenex in my pocket, should I surrender.  Soon enough my eyes found themselves shamelessly competing with the Niagara Falls; particularly during the infamous ‘furnace’ scene, where the consistent notions of family, loyalty, courage and acceptance reached their breathtaking climax.

I was creeping towards the shocking realisation that it was the dramatic end of the lovable toys, but I owed my sigh of relief to director Lee Unkrich who saved me from such sadness. I felt my heart strings being “toyed” with as I struggled to convince myself it was no more than a tale of fiction and the characters were mere productions of CGI, yet the emotions that the story had stimulated  were satisfyingly more potent than I had expected. The ending I felt was a suitable one – not quite a tale where everyone “lived happily ever after”, but it reflected the general message of progression and acceptance, almost as if it was a lesson. Reminiscing about it even now stirs many different emotions and thoughts, as I admit defeat to Disney who have yet again created a masterpiece.

The Film Buzz Rating: ********½~ (8.5/10)

UK Release Date: 19th July 2010

Director: Lee Unkrich

Writer’s: Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter (screenplay), Michael Arndt (story)

“It’s imminent. The coin is about to drop in the slot machine.”

Sounds like the project could be in the early stages, but good news for the Die Hard fans out there.

You think John McClane still has it in him?

[Source digital spy]

Emma Bunton, said on her Twitter:

Guys I’m sorry but I DID NOT mention that we would be doing another film! But we r very excited about r musical in the theatre!

I think we all had a lucky escape.

Judy Craymer, the producer behind the 2008 hit movie Mamma Mia, and who is currently helping to transform the band’s previous hits into a West End musical has been enlisted to help make this movie a success the second time around.

I’m trying to block out all memories from the previous Spice Girls Movie – I was only about 9 at the time, but even then I knew that Spice World was one of the worst films I’d ever seen.

We’ll keep you updated with any developments if this goes ahead….but pray we don’t have to.

[Source Daily Mail]

The original Predator movie from 1987 starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch the leader of a group of elite commandos who are sent to an undisclosed location to search for missing hostages but end up finding that they themselves are being hunted by a merciless predator. Predators is not so far away from the original plot.

This latest incarnation Predators is set in an alien world that is used as a game preserve and Adrien Brody plays Royce who along with several other mercenaries and soldiers are left to fight for their lives in the game preserve as they are hunted by the Predators. Since Predator was released there have been three sequels  including a tie in with the highly popular Aliens Franchise in the film Aliens vs. Predators.

The Predator franchise (including Alien spin-offs) is highly successful, raking in approximately $456, 866, 119 since the first Predator film, and Predators doesn’t look like it will disappoint.  Brody himself put on a few pounds to play the part of Royce, I still can’t picture him in the role  (all I see is The Pianist) so it will be good to see how he fares and Fishburne looks like he’s on fine form as ever. Expect lots of violence and things going boom.

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

UK Release Date: 8th July 2010

Director: Nimród Antal

Writers: Alex Litvak, Michael Finch

Links: IMDB, Official Site

Eddie Murphy hasn’t made a good movie since…well for quite a while now. His hey day is over. I admit when the first one came out it was funny, silly but kids loved it and it was a somewhat new idea at the time, but now they’re scraping the barrel with this one.

There’s no word on whether this has been given the green light to go ahead, whether Murphy himself will star in it, or whether he’ll just be behind the scenes this time…

Please dear Lord for the sake of our sanity don’t let this production go ahead…

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third film in the Narnia series, based on the books by C.S Lewis. Unfortunately no trailer yet, but there should be one very soon me thinks.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader hits UK cinemas on December 10th 2010. We cannot wait.

Iron Man 2 is one of the film’s I have been anticipating the most this year and it was certainly worth the wait.
Starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johnasson, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson – you can check out the trailer below if you haven’t already to get your taste buds salivating.

The Plot

Following on from six months after the first Iron Man movie, the world now knows that Tony Stark (Downey) is Iron Man, and now they all want a piece of either the Iron Man technology or Tony Stark himself. Stark is however unwilling to let go of his awesome technology and thus Stark ends up facing increasing amounts of pressure from friends and foe alike.

The Thoughts

It takes a little while to set the foundations of the film, but all with plenty of humour and lot’s of nice little references to other Marvel characters from the comics, those of which  I can only assume are tie-ins from other Marvel movies on the way.

Downey is 100% spot on as Stark! From now on Downey is and will forever be Tony Stark – he played the role to perfection. Stark is a selfish, cocky, arrogant but undeniably likeable and Downey was spot on in his portryal.

Paltrow also reprises her role as Pepper Pots and I like the way she plays Pepper – she looks as if she’s incapable but actually you know that in a fight she could probably take care of herself. Heaven knows why they keep putting her in those heels that she obviously cannot walk in!

I admit with Johnasson I was not sure if I would be able to deal with her in an action role. But she pretty much did exactly as she should have and I found myself wondering why they didn’t give her a bigger role – she was most certainly underused in this movie which was a disappointment.

Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke both play the ‘bad guy’ in Iron Man 2. Rockwell portrays Hammer as cheaper knock off version of Tony Stark, which doesn’t work for the character but made Rockwell’s portrayal all the more entertaining. Rourke was absolutely terrifying, if you saw this guy walking down the street towards you, there is no doubt that you would cross over to the other side to avoid him, whilst not taking your eyes off him the entire time. Rourke’s character Ivan Vanko doesn’t say much, but he doesn’t have to – the very presence of this man is enough to shake even Stark, and so far from this Iron Man franchise Vanko is by far the best villain.

Overall the film was well put together, perhaps there were one too many characters that wasn’t really needed as they didn’t aid to bringing the plot forward. Director Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) clearly has a talent for film making and took to this project with open arms – I just wish he would stop trying to act, but I guess everyone wants to be part of the Iron Man experience.

The visuals were stunning, not once did I notice the CGI or did it detract from the story telling. Most of the technology that Stark uses is slightly unbelievable,  although highly inventive – for me it’s still a little too early to believe technology could have advanced that much. A highly entertaining story with mostly strong performances from a fantastic cast that are under used.

Oh and don’t forget, if it’s not too painful for you, wait till the end of the credits to see a little something extra.

Iron Man 2 is out at all UK cinemas now, check it out.

Don’t forget to let us know what you think of Iron Man 2, by leaving a comment or you can Tweet us or Facebook us.

The Film Buzz Rating: ********~~ (8/10)

UK Release Date: 29th April 2010

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer’s: Stan Lee (comic), Justin Theroux (screenplay)

Links: IMDB, Official Site

I’m a huge fan of the animation that starred Billy Crystal and John Goodman as the voices of Mike Wazowski and Sully.

Monsters Inc was about monsters who scare kids for a living. However, they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children so when one of the children finds her way into the Monster World, the lives of their top scarer Sully and his sidekick Mike is turned upside down.

Monsters Inc 2 wil be released on 16th November 2012.