Author: BRWC

The Best TV & Film Spinoffs Of The Last 20 Years

Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe redefined shared films back in 2012 with their mega-hit The Avengers, almost every studio has been looking for the next big shared property. As a result, there are a number of spinoffs in production. There’s the Young Han Solo film, Solo set to be released in May and the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff rumored to be in the works. There’s also a Transformers Bumblebee spinoff starring Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena is set for release this summer.

The X-men universe has a Kitty Pryde spin-off with Deadpool director Tim Miller and there are a rumored FIVE Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works at HBO. So with all these potential spinoffs in mind, we’re looking to some of the most successful spinoffs of the last twenty years.

Frasier

Frasier was always the fan favorite of NBC’s Cheers. Kelsey Grammer spun what was only intended for a few episodes into a recurring role, and then a main role for six seasons. After Cheers ended it seemed only right for everyone’s favorite uptight psychiatrist to get his own spinoff. The spinoff saw Frasier Crane move back to his hometown of Seattle and try his hand at becoming a radio psychiatrist. Coming off a highly successful original product and bolstered by an excellent supporting cast, Frasier was highly critically acclaimed, the show and the cast won 37 Emmys in the show’s run, By the time the show wrapped, in its 11th season, Kelsey Grammer had been playing the character for 20 years.

Daria

The monotone teen made her first appearance on the controversial Beavis and Butthead before moving to Lawndale and her own show. Although Daria was created by Beavis and Butthead showrunner Mike Judge, the show had an entirely new creative team – and it certainly showed. Daria was less interested in the lewd humor of the original and more its critique of society. The rather intellectual show was known for its sarcasm and deadpan commentary on suburban society.

Get Him to the Greek

Russel Brand’s drugged out rock star Aldous Snow was the breakout character of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so when the time came for a spinoff he was, of course, the character the film centered on. Get Him To The Greek replaced the fantasy of Hawaii with the fantasy of Las Vegas, arguably a more accessible fantasy. Las Vegas is far more popular nowadays because casino games have become even more popular thanks to their accessibility online. With blackjack games available online with Super Casino in many variants, as well as roulette and slots, audiences are more used to storylines involving gambling and the lights of Las Vegas – definitely more relatable than a Hawaiian Vacation.

Xena: Warrior Princess

Originally a villain on an episode of The Legend of Hercules, the character of Xena was so popular that she got her own show. A cult hit Xena: Warrior Princess ran for six seasons and arguably left a far greater footprint on pop culture than its predecessor.

The Wolverine Films

Wolverine

This spinoff franchise had a little bit of a rocky start. X-men Origins: Wolverine was panned by critics, and its flaws have only been amplified since the success of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool reminds audiences just how badly Wolverine treated the character. Wolverine was far better received, however, and the latest installment, Logan, was critically acclaimed and even nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Do you agree with our list? Is there anything you think has been left off?

17th May 2018
The Perfect Home Movie Set-Up

As a cinephile (or movie-lover), there’s nothing more appealing than creating the ultimate home theatre. Being able to skip the crowded theatre where you have to listen to the loud munching of popcorn and buzzing of cell phones sounds like a dream come true. With a few purchases, the vision of a home theatre can become a reality. If you’re ready to create the ultimate home movie theatre, here are the essential items you’re going to need.

Projector

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the first thing you’re going to need is a high-end projector. If you want to get that authentic theatre feeling, a TV screen won’t do the trick. Projectors can range anywhere from $200 to almost $3,000 depending on the brand and the machine’s capabilities. Before buying a projector, decide what kind of picture quality you want and if you’re interested in having the ability to connect gaming systems as well. An HD 1080p projector can cost you as little as $500, but if you make the jump to 4k, it could be as much as $1,800.

Home Set Up?

Computer

A great alternative to a traditional Blu-Ray player is a desktop computer. While it might cost a little bit more, you will have the capability to stream and rent movies online. If you’re a bit more tech savvy, you could torrent an impressive movie collection. Having a desktop computer hooked up to your projector opens the door to things like YouTube, twitch, and so much more. Why waste hundreds of dollars on disks when you can own digital copies of all your favorite movies instead?

Projector Screen

If you spend $1,800 on a 4k projector, but you set it up with a plain white bed sheet, don’t expect excellent results. If you want to see in perfect 4k conditions, you need a screen to match the quality of your projector. Depending on the size, a high-end projector screen typically won’t cost you more than $200. A fixed display is the best option for viewing quality and convenience; drop down screens tend to warp and bend overtime, and there’s no need for a portable tripod screen if you don’t plan on moving your home movie set-up to different locations.

Speakers

When you watch a movie like Dunkirk, you need to hear the steady roar coming from the engines of the RAF Spitfires as they glide across the screen. Bose offers an incredible surround sound speaker set up that will have you feeling like you’re right there in the movie scene. Line your walls with speakers just like at the movie theatre for an authentic experience.

A massive screen!

Seating

Perhaps the best part of creating a customized home theatre is the seating. Rather than being stuck in a dated foam seat with plastic armrests, you can install a state of the art couch or multiple lazy boy chairs. Websites like htmarket.com offer a wide variety of luxury home theatre seating for incredibly reasonable prices. However, if you don’t want to break the bank on seating, you can always keep it casual with a standard couch. A set of papasan chairs is an excellent alternative to a row of expensive recliners if you’re trying to build your home theatre on a budget.

Popcorn Machine

A trip to the movies isn’t an authentic experience without a big tub of popcorn. Traditional popcorn machines add a certain level of aesthetic appeal and accouterment. With a home popcorn machine, you can gorge yourself on fluffy, golden popcorn without having to sweat the insane prices at the theatre.

Black Felt

Have you ever noticed how dark it tends to get in movie theatres? That’s because the projector won’t work very well if there’s any natural or unnatural lighting in the same room. If the room you plan to set your home theatre up in has any window(s), you’re going to need some black felt to block out the light. Blackout roller shades are a great alternative and slightly more appealing to the eye if you want your home theatre room to be multi-purpose.

Now stop wasting money at AMC and start making your home theatre dreams come true!

15th May 2018
Tech Advances In Cinema

Entertainment has come a long way since the camera obscura and magic lantern were considered cutting-edge technology.

It’s almost unimaginable that such novel ideas were the norm, given that cinematic experiences today involve the biggest screens, ultimate picture quality and complete surround sound. Since the Golden Age of Cinema, massive strides have been made towards visual storytelling that have been so groundbreaking and innovative, they have transformed a rather sedate experience of sitting in the dark staring at a screen for 2 hours, into a fantastically immersive event people have fallen in love with.

In a post-Avatar world, people demand quality, nuance and, above all, an unforgettable experience. As a result, technology has improved at a staggering rate, stretching the possibilities of cinema to its limits. One of the main propagators at the top of the tree in the technological revolution, IMAX, is celebrating its 50^th birthday this year and continues to push the envelope with the recent release of Avengers: Infinity War, the first Hollywood film shot entirely with IMAX cameras. To celebrate this milestone in the history of cinema, we’re listing the biggest technological advances in movie-going history. From old-school filmmaking, to the futuristic meta-experiences of today, the transformation is truly astonishing…

Where it all began

Cinématographe: Every technological marvel must have a prototype to use as a base to evolve from, which, in hindsight, will inevitably look like a breezeblock on a stick. Though it’s not the first motion picture camera ever made, the Cinématographe took, printed and projected film. This was an advancement that catalysed the formation of the film industry at the latter part of the 1800s and built the foundations of what we call ’cinema’ today.

The lens of the Cinématographe was responsible for popularising film and led the charge of innovators and inventors who sped to perfectly capture the moving image. The Lumière brothers’ invention has cemented them into movie history and is responsible for perpetuating one of the most popular urban myths of a train gaining in size on the screen, causing an audience to stampede out of the auditorium believing it to be real. The Cinématographe proved the catalyst for technological advancement in film, and thus opens our list.

Making Noise

Talkies: The line “My Precious”, wouldn’t have had quite the same effect if the dialogue for The Lord of the Rings popped up on a card 10 seconds after a character spoke. Nor would it be as impactful if Gollum was accompanied by the sound of Honky-Tonk piano music. Silent cinema has its charms and is not to be scoffed at in the slightest; look at the success of The Artist. But sound and visuals are now an essential symbiotic relationship that a modern cinema audience may take for granted.

It’s been 91 years since the first ‘talkie’, The Jazz Singer, wowed audiences. Synchronized sound was the Achilles’ heel of motion pictures at the beginning of the 20^th century and studios scrambled to release a story that had more to it than a soundtrack and effects; to create true immersion. The Jazz Singer contained live recorded singing by Al Jolson and was fundamentally ground-breaking. In the years following its release, Hollywood erupted with sound and has never looked back.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Colour: The addition of colour to black and white moving images was developed around 1902, not long after the development of cameras that had the capability to capture moving images. It wasn’t until the invention of Technicolor that colour in film really took off. Cinema purists would undoubtedly know that the first feature shot in Technicolor – The Gulf Between – is now lost, with only a few frames surviving. To the layman, The Wizard of Oz is likely the first title that springs to mind when discussing colour in film.

Though Technicolor was heralded as a triumph in the 1920s and 30s, it is perhaps not as big an advancement as sound being added to the screen. For instance, the dawn of colour in film didn’t trigger a frenzy of filmmakers running to abandon black and white. In fact, in more recent times, filming in black and white has become a cliché of modern art-house fare. That is not to downplay the magnitude it had, though. A Hollywood without colour would be starkly different and less successful than the one we know today. It is perhaps the most important visual advancement in cinematic history and one that brought fantasy one step closer to reality.

Seeing is Believing

IMAX: How is it possible to improve upon a form of entertainment that solely offers sound and pictures? How much more did film have to offer past the Golden Age of Cinema and the addition of colour to the moving image?

Quality.

Immersion isn’t one sided; it isn’t the sole responsibility of the audience to feel immersed in the story they are viewing on-screen. To craft a memorable experience, quality does a majority of the heavy lifting. Enter IMAX. Since 1968, it has been at the forefront of large-format immersive sound and images, and has been unparalleled in the mainstream screenings of quality films. It picked up where the Golden Age left off; experience. The expanded aspect ratios showing up to 40% more picture, breakneck speed of advancement and cutting-edge projection systems have made IMAX into a behemoth in which filmmakers can design for and revel in.

The impact of IMAX stretches beyond the screen, with Christopher Nolan using IMAX cameras as his weapon of choice for key scenes in The Dark Knight and Dunkirk. As CGI and visual effects get better, so does the technology supporting the medium that allows the unimaginable to appear real.

Avengers: Infinity War has continued the trend of using IMAX cameras to bolster an audience’s experience with expanded aspect ratios and crystal-clear projection. However, it is on the precipice of a new era in filmmaking, having been shot in its entirety on IMAX cameras. From source to finished product, Avengers: Infinity War will have all the hallmarks of a medium that has transformed cinemagoers’ experiences forever and will be the first film of its kind.

See AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR in IMAX screens now! To book tickets, go to: https://imax.com/movies/avengers-infinity-war

8th May 2018
The Defining Elements Of A Bond Movie

By Ellen Royce.

The Bond movie franchise started before most of us were born. Since the first movie, Dr No came out in 1962 based on Ian Fleming’s novels about the Secret Service 007 agent, 26 movies have been made. Some of them were more successful, while some were called an outright disaster. However, in any case, the directors and screenplay writers have always shown consistency in what makes a good Bond movie.

There are some key ingredients to the recipe of a trademark Bond film.

The Two Essential Elements Of A Bond Movie

1 – The Bond girl. The sexy agent 007 is always accompanied by a main female character that often ends up forming a romantic relationship with him of some sort. The tradition was initiated by the very first movie, Dr No, with the iconic scene of Ursula Andress stepping out of the ocean (this scene was then relieved by Halle Berry in Die Another Day). It became such a staple of the series, that it even turned into a term of its own. Some of the women were more significant than others to Bond himself, some were just passers-by. And the most recent James Bond movie Spectre features what was called “the Bond girls” since there were two women involved with the agent in this movie.

2 – An iconic villain. Nothing helps make a movie intriguing and engaging as much as a good villain. Sometimes it is hard not to make him goofy, looking almost like the Austin Power’s Dr Evil, which some of the Bond films did (Ernst Stavro Blofeld, for example). And sometimes, the villain is just an ordinary bandit. However, most of the recent Bond movies, like Casino Royale and Skyfall managed to create strong and eye-catching villain characters that keep you loving them and hating them throughout the entire movie, while Spectre fell a little bit short in that department.

What else makes a good Bond movie?

Here are some other elements instituted by the Bond franchise:

3 – The rifle barrel. Every Bond movie traditionally opens with a rifle barrel scene, where the agent is seen through the barrel pointing a gun or making other cool moves. You know a Bond movie is starting just by seeing this iconic image.

4 – Alcohol. Bond drinks alcohol in every film; it is almost part of his personality. His world-famous Vesper cocktail recipe (“Shake, not stir”) is now a real thing served in many real-life bars. His other sins include visiting top-notch establishments and possibly destroying them in some action scene.

5 – An opening action scene. Before the titles, there is always a traditional action scene. It does not usually introduce the villain, however, it always lights the audience up.

6 – A hit song that comes with the titles. Some of the songs, like Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger” or Adele’s “Skyfall”, have become all-time favourites. There were some that were not so successful, like Madonna’s “Die Another Day”. However, a good James Bond movie opening implies good music.

7 – Cool gadgets. Starting from “From Russia with Love”, James Bond is regularly supplied by high-tech gadgets and fancy multifunctional cars by his colleagues from MI6. Technology always plays a vital part in making the movie full of action and shaping Bond’s favourable image.

Even if some of the elements are not present in every James Bond movie, most of the directors stick to them as the key elements of the movie’s success. They make us look forward to every next Bond movie.

7th May 2018
Avengers: Infinity War – BRWC Spoiler Filled Review

By Finley Crebolder.

Cast your minds back to last July’s Spiderman: Homecoming, and more specifically, it’s post-credits scene, where Captain America speaks directly to the audience about patience, saying “Sometimes it leads to very little, and seems like its not worth it… and you wonder why you waited so long for something so disappointing…”. Heading into Infinity War, a film that fans have awaited 10 years for, it was hard not to think back to these words and worry. The challenge faced by the Russo Brothers was monumental, could they really live up to the sky-high hopes of the fans, balancing an abundance of characters in the process? To put things simply, yes, yes they could.

And a word of warning, spoilers ahead. Lots and lots of them.

In the build up to this film the Russo Brothers constantly spoke of how this was Thanos’s film, and they weren’t exaggerating. It could even be said that “Thanos; Infinity War” would have been a more appropriate title. The MCU have always had a problem with villains, and right from the off it was made abundantly clear that this was about to change.

How? Well, having him slam about a character we’re used to seeing doing the slamming was harrowing, so harrowing in fact that poor old Hulk was too scarred to come out for the rest of the film. If that wasn’t enough to establish the threat of the Mad Titan, the ease and brutality in which he murdered Loki with Thor watching on helplessly certainly did it.

This set high standards for the Titan to maintain for the rest of the film, but if anything, he just got better and better. The more we learnt about his tragic past, the more we understood his motives, and whilst he is undoubtedly a villain rather than an anti-hero, by the end of the film it was difficult not to emphasise with him. The emotional depth and layers of the character were done so well in fact, that even after he wiped out half of our beloved heroes, I still found myself not entirely hating him. Thanos is not only the best villain the MCU has seen, but one of the best characters.

So, the villain was great, but what about the heroes? Well, it was always going to be difficult to give every single one of them the arc they deserved in this film, meaning that many don’t get the development we would have hoped for, with the most major ones being Captain America, Spider-Man and Black Panther. However, the former is likely to get the spotlight (for the last time) in the next film, whilst the latter two have years ahead of him in this universe.

On a more positive note, Robert Downey Jr was typically brilliant as Tony Stark/Iron Man, being hilarious and heart-breaking in equal measure, whilst a character he spent the entire film with, Doctor Strange, showed that he’s more than capable of taking the mantle of the MCU’s leader heading forward.

The highlight, however, was undoubtedly Thor. The character was always seen as one of the more disappointing Avengers up until November when Taika Waititi gave the character a much-needed revival, and the new and improved Thor was carried over into this film. His interactions with Star Lord when first meeting the Guardians were entertaining, but it was his and Rocket’s relationship that stole the show.

It was much more than just comedy that made Thor the best character of the film though, Thanos aside. After the first ten minutes of the film, he was now in a place where he had lost his mother, father, brother, friends, planet and species, and through Hemsworth’s performance we truly felt the pain he was carrying with him, with his “What more could I lose?” monologue being one of the most emotional moments of the film.

It was also nice to see his awesome godly power shown appropriately at last; his arrival on Wakanda is arguably the greatest moment in the MCU, let alone the film. With Hemsworth’s contract up after Avengers 4 and Thor already having had his standalone trilogy, it looks likely that he’s to bow out next year, but this would be a huge shame following the characters development in his past two films.

Balance was a key theme throughout the film, and it was also exactly why the film worked so well. There was a constant sense of hopelessness throughout, with it at no point feeling like the heroes had the upper hand, but rather that they were simply delaying the inevitable. It would have been easy for this to take the fun out of the film and make it too dark, but this was avoided with well-placed comedy, namely coming from Thor and the Guardians, that didn’t hurt the movies high stakes and often dire situations. Too little comedy and the film could’ve gone the way of a DC movie; too much and it could’ve become too Joss Whedon-y, but the movie, much like the universe, ended up perfectly balanced.

Whilst there were hilarious moments, the more serious, dramatic ones were where the movie thrived. Throughout, characters are constantly forced to decide the fate of their loved ones, whether it be Loki with Thor, Scarlet Witch with Vision, Star Lord with Gamora or Thanos with Gamora. Due to how well these relationships have been developed in both prior films and this one, we felt the emotional struggle of the characters in these moments, with Scarlett Witch’s and Thanos’s decisions to ultimately kill their loved ones being extremely powerful.

These said relationships also made the ending much more effective. Seeing both Cap and Rocket see their best friends die in front of their eyes packed a serious punch, whilst the sheer fear in Peter Parker’s voice as he was wiped away made us feel as broken as his mentor and father figure, “Mr Stark”. The impact of the deaths at the end was however somewhat lessened by the fact that they are all almost certainly going to come back to life, given that almost all of the victims are key players going into Phase Four.

Nevertheless, it was generally a bold and brilliant ending, leaving the good guys in a situation worse than anything they’ve ever faced, whilst, with Doctor Strange’s “It was the only way” line and the arrival of Captain Marvel hinted at in the post-credits scene, leaving us with just about enough hope to carry us through the year.

Looking forward, it’s likely that the next film will be a send off for our original Avengers as they somehow sacrifice themselves to make way for the next generation of MCU heroes (what was that about no trading lives Cap?), and, if it’s anywhere near as exciting, emotional and exhilarating as Infinity War, what a send off it will be.

27th April 2018