Skip to main content

Day: 13 July 2017

How the ‘Shared Universe’ is taking over Hollywood

Written by Jamie McEvoy on . Posted in Film.

In 1977, the film franchise was born, with George Lucas’ Star Wars.  However, it was by no means the first seed of sequels.  Way back in 1916, the first ever film sequel was released: The Fall of a Nation, the follow up to D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, marking the first occasion that the big screen saw cinematic continuation.

In the years leading up to Star Wars, there had already been ten James Bonds, five Planet of the Apes films, and the The Exorcist series was underway following the disastrous sequel The Heretic (1977).  One film saga had even already concluded, in Sergio Leone’s ‘Man with No Name Trilogy’ (1964-1966), marking Clint Eastwood’s emergence onto the silver screen.

Yet it was Lucas’ iconic space opera which set the ball rolling in terms of studios and directors realising the true commercial power of pre-existing properties and follow ups.  Creative originality was becoming rapidly usurped by a thirst for box office domination and merchandising potential, and throughout the following 40 years, the film industry was ripe with both flourishing and floundering film franchises.

However, another strain of cinematic titan has recently been unleashed from Hollywood’s Pandora’s Box.  The ‘shared universe’.  The idea of a cinematic multiverse is not a complete stranger to film – King Kong and Godzilla faced off on the big screen in 1962, and the fantastic Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) charmingly interwove animated characters from Disney and Warner Bros’ Looney Tunes into its narrative.

But, in 2008, Marvel’s Iron Man marked the genesis of the first large scale, franchise crossover.  The goal from the studio was to be able to ultimately bring together various characters from its stand-alone films, including the titular heroes from 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor.  A goal which was successful, with 2012’s Avengers Assemble being a commercial hit as well as generally appeasing fans and critics alike.

Whilst Marvel has strived to extend their universe further, with the company’s biggest asset, Spiderman, about to make his solo debut under the studio in Spiderman: Homecoming, Warner Bros. has been fighting to keep up, creating a cinematic character base of its own in bringing various DC comic book characters to the big screen. Icons such as Superman and Batman have been revamped, whilst other characters have been given their film debuts, many of which arriving in 2016’s abysmal Suicide Squad.  The upcoming Justice League will unite the majority of these characters, and will no doubt be the first of several sequels which amalgamate DC’s various properties.

After dabbling in the concept with 2003 and 2004’s respective gung-ho crossovers Freddy vs Jason and Alien vs Predator, the horror genre is also getting its own shared universe, in the form of Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’.  This franchise will see horror icons such as The Invisible Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde meet on screen, as well as The Mummy from the aptly named, The Mummy (2017).

The idea of different cinematic worlds colliding is interesting and obviously appealing to a great majority of the popcorn audience, but does it mark a shift in the priorities of Hollywood cinema? Gone are the days where standalone, unique films would dominate the box office.  In fact, out of the top 100 all-time grossing films at the box office, only 8 are solo projects, Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010) and James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) being two examples.

Yet it appears even the original film is not safe from the germinating juggernaut which is the shared universe.  Earlier this year, Split, directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs), surprised audiences by turning out to be set in the same world as arguably the director’s greatest work, Unbreakable, Shyamalan having confirmed his next film will be a crossover between the former and the latter.

There have also been long-running rumours of a crossover between the Men in Black series and the 21 Jump Street film series, throwing the latter’s protagonists — played by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, into the sci-fi world previously occupied by Will Smith’s and Tommy Lee Jones’s Agents J and K.

Studios are evidently losing confidence in fresh ideas and scripts.  Whether this is a positive evolution of Hollywood, or merely a reflection of creative complacency, is up for debate, yet it is certain that the shared universe is a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Just like how in the 40 years after Star Wars began, the film franchise took over the box office, 40 years from now, we could be looking at a world of cinema which is dominated by multiverses and mashups.

With Disney owning Marvel, Lucasfilm, and of course its animated back-catalogue, who knows, we could very well be looking at a future showdown between Darth Vader, Donald Duck and The Incredible Hulk.  But I wouldn’t hold out on waiting for a Warner Bros. crossover between Happy Feet and The Conjuring just yet…

Review: 2000 Trees Festival 2017

Written by Hannah Brierley on . Posted in Music.

2000 Trees is described as being small but packing a punch. A strong statement to make, but very true to its words. Long gone are the days of shouting ALAN & STEVE and in 2017 it has since been replaced with, ‘OH JEREMY CORBYN’.

On Thursday festival goers were graced with plentiful of choice, from the band that ‘shout at the moon’, Mallory Knox, legends Young Guns and energetic performances from Pulled Apart by Horses and great performances from upcoming bands such as the likes of Bellevue Days. With such a strong line-up from the first night the bar was set extremely high for the following days that remained.

Friday was filled with sunshine, surprise acoustic acts in the chilled-out Forest Sessions and a lot of happiness (and sweat).

Photo: Ben Morse

Deaf Havana who were a high priority on my list did not disappoint. They left the set list choice to those on Facebook to vote, and with a lot of people intending to vote for ‘Nicotine and Alcohol’ but instead voting for ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’. Front man James exclaims that if this is what the people vote for then this is what you’ll get; swiftly breaking into the northern Oasis’ classic.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes were a real stand out act for me. With the set being stopped not just once, but twice to help people in the crowd. First, a girl who was being crowd surfed out lost her bum-bag, the singer stopped mid set and got the whole crowd to look at their feet for the bag, which resulted it being quickly returned.

For the second-time the reason he stopped was a little more serious; a small fight was breaking out between a boy and girl in the crowd, something along the lines of him grabbing her and she wasn’t happy about it; Frank got into the crowd all the way to them to find out what happened and he apologised profusely to the girl “I’m so sorry that happened to you”. Such a lovely and sincere thing to do, and so reassuring to see. Big Respect to you Mr Carter.

Photograph: Gareth Bull

Nothing but Thieves were nothing short of incredible, a spotless vocal performance.

Saturday brought more sunshine, cider and a wedding … yes an actual wedding happened on Saturday morning. But also best of all did I mention you can bring your own alcohol into the arena?!

Photo: Ben Morse

And as the final day rolled on so did the incredible music and scenes that came with it. A highlight of the final day for me was the Front Bottoms, (yep their real name) and a band I had never seen before, they were fun to jump along with their guitar solos and jingly riffs.

Fast forward to when Lower Than Atlantis performed on the main stage; a band who I have seen many times before yet every time they seem to get even more fun to watch — despite the fact they encouraged crowd surfing. I now don’t know which parts of me hurt because of the sunburn or because of the strong kicks I got from people overhead. Who knows? Regardless they were a pleasure to watch and to be involved.

The Rock-Punk duo from Kent, Slaves concluded the 3-Day Festival with an all-round outstanding performance, the cocky cockneys had such a strong outwards presence and ability to make a surprising amount of noise, which riled up the crowd and got them bouncing and moshing along to their tracks both new and old.

Other things to mention are that the cider met up to expectations and for less than a £5 was less than the average price of drink at a festival too! The Silent Disco was such fun and the headphones could pick up signal all over the site, meaning you could wander from tent to tent and not be too crowded. It was fucking great.

Tickets for 2000 Trees 2018 are available and can be found here:

Tickets

 

Review: My Life as a Courgette

Written by Eloïse Wright on . Posted in Film.

It is safe to say this is the best stop-motion since Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Originally an auto-biographical account of Gilles Paris’ experience in an orphanage (“Autobiographie d’une Courgette), we follow the string of events that happen to 9-year-old Icare, or rather Courgette as he prefers to be known, after what should be any child’s worst nightmare.

The very fact this film was in the form of stop motion intensified the magic of the story. Every emotional scene is heightened by the intricate workmanship going into the children’s interactions amongst themselves or with adults. This is an area My Life as a Courgette excels in, as the film recognises children’s receptiveness and perceptivity. Adult’s words and actions greatly impact children, becoming all the more important for them to understand how deeply these orphans are traumatised and just how they are dealing with this.

Authority figures such as the policeman or the social workers are shown in their best light, and is somewhat a tribute to the system. They are fully understanding of the children’s needs, such as Icare’s need to be called “Courgette” as his late mother nicknamed him. They do not underestimate their intelligence and give them a secure sense of home and family within the orphanage.

During a skiing trip organised by the orphanage, Camille (another of the home’s residents) and Courgette share a meaningful evening of confessed deep thoughts under the stars, as Courgette realises that now his alcoholic mother is dead, he is relieved his future will never involve drinking large amounts of beer with her as he always imagined. The orphanage has opened up doors and windows of happiness and possibility he never knew existed.

On the same trip, little Ahmed approaches a girl to compliment her red skiing goggles. The girl’s mother rushes over, immediately assuming Ahmed is a thief and demands where his parents are, to which he replies he doesn’t know. Aggressively shooing him away, she humiliates him by calling him a liar. Ahmed’s reaction is heart-breaking, he did not deserve to be shouted at, even less-so to be falsely accused of lying or stealing. If director Claude Barras and screenplay writer Céline Sciamma wanted to get the audiences tear ducts working, this scene did a brilliant job of doing so.

One of the best things about the film is the script, made up of small details that make the stop motion characters intensely realistic. A few things couldn’t help getting lost in translation, such as one child’s confusion of the words “préliminaires” and “préparatifs” in an adorable attempt to show off his knowledge about grown-ups and sex, but this is understandably imperceptible to anyone who doesn’t speak French. The discussions these children have reflect, at least for characters Simon, Courgette and Camille, the gift of insight, intuition and understanding.

A brilliant way the orphanage came up with helping the children communicate was to give them a communal weatherboard, or “La Météo des Enfants”. This was genius in its simplicity, as the moods ranged from stormy to sunny, being a good meter for each child to easily share what mood they are in. One’s state of mind can be difficult to articulate for anyone, let alone for young, traumatised children.

Each of these children have a huge amount of character, much to do with their individual background stories. We are told the reasons of their being in the orphanage, and suddenly the home becomes a microcosm of society’s problems today.

Sciamma mentioned being aware of the political dimension of My Life as a Courgette by portraying the palette of dysfunctional families that exist all around us. The character of Simon is particularly well done, his cliché hard exterior is justified by his acute take on reality. “We’re all the same” he reassures Courgette, “there’s no one left to love us”.

When Courgette and Camille spend a weekend at the Policeman’s home, they cannot help but notice the framed photo of a child and wonder out loud where he is. In a simple and honest manner, the Policeman explains that “sometimes, it’s the kids who leave the parents”. Then showing Camille and Courgette around, they marvel at his collection of succulents and plants. He tells the children that he likes to grow things, which I saw as a wonderful metaphor for his ability to nurture and protect.

The compact runtime of 70 minutes was a very smart move. Although obviously stop motions are painstakingly difficult and costly to make, which can explain the concise runtime, the story didn’t feel too long or too short, and immediately felt rewatchable for all the right reasons. Going into the cinema with extremely mild expectations, I welcomed the numerous ways in which this film touched me, left in utter amazement at the sheer perfection of this masterpiece.

Review: Transformers: The Last Knight

Written by James Gill on . Posted in Film.

Transformers films used to entertaining spectacles about alien robots hidden on Earth. They were never great films but they were great cinematic experiences. One thing they all shared though was some semblance of coherence. A story that, although way out there, kind of made sense. This one is a mess. A lazy, nonsensical mess.

I have to start of by saying the start of the film was impressive. As the stars of the Paramount Logo took their positions, fiery projectiles flew overhead. The camera pivoted and we watched them come crashing down into Saxon soldiers in Medieval England during a huge battle. Being a Michael Bay picture there was obviously liberal use of pyrotechnics but it set the tone for a potentially thrilling experience. It took until the first line of dialogue, perhaps a whole 90 seconds in, for me to realise that the next two and a half hours of my life were going to be one narrative car crash after another.

There are so many issues on so many levels that it is difficult to know where to begin. For instance when showing Mark Wahlberg around his castle in England, Anthony Hopkins mentions that ‘this is the watch that killed Hitler’. There is no explanation and it is never mentioned again after that moment. Shortly after there is a needless and entirely unrelated Nazi cutscene that added nothing that could not be said with words and I’m convinced was just used as padding for the budget. The $217 million production budget.

Another baffling Hopkins moment was when he was refused entry into 10 Downing Street, attempting to meet the Prime Minister. Upon this refusal he simply said that he’ll use the other entrance then, the secret one, which naturally comes out into the exact room he needs to be with the exact person he needs to see. Once inside he sits down and waits to be noticed, as if the alien planet on a crash course with Earth will just pause until he is ready to continue.

As that alien planet, Cybertron, reaches Earth, we see its anchors run along the surface of the Moon with one destroying the Lunar Landing area. Something which bothered me was how the American flag wasn’t bleached white from the Sun. This was probably for two reasons. Firstly, the Transformers films are all about American patriotism, the American Military and the strength of the American people. The second, and most important reason, is that Michael Bay and his crew just don’t care. They know that no matter how insultingly poor the film is, people will still flock to it.

In preparation for this film, it seems that Bay was presented with five or six different scripts. Instead of choosing just one, he picked the opening of one, a few pages from another, and so on before telling the writers to make the ending work. There are twelve knight Transformers who are supposedly among the greatest of their kind but barely get seen. They merge together to form a quite impressive looking three-headed dragon but when one gets killed later on they someone still manage to make the same three-headed dragon. Another transformer we meet has a gun that can slow down time within a certain range of where it is shot. Again we have no explanation of how or where it is from and no other character human or robot is even interested.

Michael Bay has always faced criticism for his films, but retorts that he makes them for teenagers. But do teenagers care about King Arthur anymore? Or about Suicide Squad knock-off character introductions? Or Stonehenge? Or even Transformers?