Those anticipating Hugh Jackman’s last roll of the dice as Wolverine will have noticed something different about the clawed crusader. Publicity for the film depicts Logan as he’s never been seen on the big screen before. With this fresh visual take on an MCU stalwart about to slash its way into cinemas, now is a good time to look back at other classic comic book characters who got a major makeover, courtesy of those handed the keys to their respective franchises.
Sometimes a visionary director will dictate a new style. Sometimes a new element will be brought in from the printed page, as yet unknown to a casual audience. And every so often sheer lunacy rules the day! Either way, the business of bringing these illustrated icons to life in a movie is one fraught with peril, as the beady eyes of comic book fans prepare to deliver their all-important verdict. Who got it right and who burned in the fires of online forum hell forever…?
It is fair to say this year is going to be a great year for film, especially for the action genre. With that being said we have put together some of the highly anticipated action/superhero movies of 2017.
Logan (March 3rd)
Logan is the tenth instalment in the X-Men film series. The film is set in the future (2024) where the mutant population has decreased dramatically which drives Logan to surrender himself to alcoholism. The mutant finds himself involved in a series of event that forces him to ask himself whether he would like to put his powers to good use.
Logan is played by Hugh Jackman, who is known for the previous roles as the physically enhanced character. The film is directed by James Mangold.
He started in 1998 with Pleasantville; five years after he got two academy award nominations for Seabiscuit; in 2012 he brought Katniss Everdeen to the big screen with The Hunger Games* and last year he let us ride around the Free State of Jones alongside Matthew McConaughey. His name is Gary Ross and now he is pushing things further as the director of Ocean’s 8. the Sandra Bullock starred spin-off of the Ocean’s Trilogy.
With George Clooney aka Danny Ocean and Steven Soderbergh aka the director of the saga now on the producers sit, Ross and newcomer screenwriter Olivia Milch take us to New York where Danny’s estranged Sister Debbie (Bullock) assembles a gang to do what the Oceans do best: entertain (while they pull of the biggest heist in history). Whereas some old pals of the trilogy like Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) will appear, the focus will be on the new crew members: Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kalling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and (wait for it) Rihanna; 2 Oscar winners and one Oscar nominee to begin with. Not bad for being an Ocean. What else?
Ocean’s 8: First Look Image
The UK release will be in summer 2018 with Warner Bros. Pictures as worldwide distributor, and Village Roadshow Pictures in select territories. As an appetizer, a first look image has been launched and we would like to share it with you.
With this all-star cast, what can go wrong? 😉
*Mandatory mention: Battle Royale (2000); in case you didn’t know, The Hunger Games uses its premise for a marshmallowed Hollywood adaptation. Now go watch the original; Mrs. Everdeen wouldn’t have lasted a minute.
It’s fair to say that M. Night Shyamalan hasn’t been on his best form for quite some time. After exploding onto the scene in 1999 with his iconic, mind-bending horror The Sixth Sense, the master of gut-punching twists steered into a colossal creative nosedive. After churning out middling films such as Unbreakable and Signs, he spectacularly shot to rock-bottom with the likes of The Happening and After Earth. The upsetting thing is that we all know he has it in him to do so much better, and yet he has never seemed to be able to capture that same lightening in a bottle that came so effortlessly in his early career. It’s therefore pleasing to see that with Split, Shyamalan appears to finally be pulling up out of one of the most astounding slumps in the history of cinema.
Split focuses on the story of Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), an introverted teen who has trouble connecting with her classmates and deliberately gets detention just to be by herself. But solitude stops being an option when she is forced into close quarters with two of her peers after they are kidnapped by a severely disturbed James McAvoy, suffering from dissociative identity disorder (or multiple personality disorder). Gradually, Casey tries to turn her captor’s competing personalities against one another, hoping to make her escape in the confusion, before his most monstrous alter-ego emerges from the depths of his psyche.
Split
It’s an intriguing premise and Shyamalan uses it to great effect to slowly drip feed revelation after revelation, keeping us captivated throughout. But, whereas past efforts have spent the majority of their runtime teasing a satisfying conclusion and falling at the final hurdle, Split manages to deliver on its promises. Even as the story descends into surprising territory, including a brutal left-hook of a sub-plot, the integrity of the plot remains intact, holding up where others have buckled before it.
This is due in no small part to the strength of the central performances. Anya Taylor-Joy continues to prove she is one to watch, having already garnered well-deserved critical acclaim for her performance in The Witch (easily one of the best films of last year) and shows she is just as at home in a more mainstream setting. But credit really should go to McAvoy who puts in not just one excellent performance but 23. While we only spend any significant time with a few of the many personalities that reside within the mind of Kevin Wendell Crumb, McAvoy makes sure that each of them have their own mannerisms, their own expressions and twitches. It’s this attention to detail that means each alter-ego can be accepted as a character in their own right.
Split
This being a Shyamalan film, it will probably come as no surprise to learn that there is indeed one of his signature twists lurking at the end. For some, this will likely be a jaw-dropping revelation that serves as a welcome cherry on top of an already serviceable thriller. For others, it will undoubtedly be completely meaningless. For me, it seemed to be an unnecessary crowd pleaser, unceremoniously crow-barred in to film that didn’t need it. Regardless of your feelings, it certainly poses some very interesting questions about the path ahead. Hopefully that’s vague enough.
While Split still doesn’t quite hold up to what we know Shyamalan is capable of, it certainly suggests he is back on even footing. Hopefully, this marks the beginning of an upward trajectory that mirrors the strength of his fall from grace.
Do You Dream in Color? is a documentary following four blind high-school students and the hurdles they face to achieve their individual dreams. The film explores the institutional and social difficulties they must work through; revealing how the system that is meant to work for them actually works against them. Unfortunately, much like the system, the film lets these kids down; portraying their experiences in a well-meaning but artless film.
Do You Dream in Color?
The film sets up their dreams and charts their progress: Nick is a musician who wants to play gigs; Conor skateboards and wants to be sponsored to compete; Sarah wants to complete her senior year in Portugal; Carina is a second generation Mexican-American who wants to be the first person in her family to graduate from high-school. The teens vary in their charisma and eloquence but all have an honest presence, both awkward and confident in a very adolescent way. A lot of their difficulties are not in a failure to do something – each are highly competent in their abilities – but in proving to institutions that this is the case. For example, Sarah has an excellent grasp of languages and can navigate confidently in public spaces, but has to fight for the education-abroad program to even consider submitting her application to collaborating countries. It’s moving to see how hard they have to work to experience what are regular milestones to most teenagers – travelling, graduating, prom. The film is sad but not overwhelmingly so, with a light touch and a thick bed of music that is unsubtle but not overtly manipulative.
We observe their lives, see interviews with themselves and their parents, witness the important conversations and significant phone calls. While their Kickstarter shows sincerity behind the filmmaker’s intentions, in their hands the film is awkwardly shot and awkwardly handled. However, they do succeed in highlighting some troubling inequalities. It tells us that almost one third of blind people fail to graduate high school and 70% of blind people are unemployed. Through the experiences of the kids we see these statistics manifest themselves first hand; how hard they have to work to even access to their school’s curriculum.
Do You Dream in Color? is a documentary following four blind high-school students and the hurdles they face to achieve their individual dreams.
The film occasionally attempts artistry; one instance of provocative editing raises the intersecting issue of class. One student’s middle school was unprepared for his needs two weeks before school started. His mother describes how she took two months leave to work on her son’s case for the access to the curriculum and tutelage he legally requires. She then asks: what about families that can’t afford to take two months off work to fight for their kids? The filmmakers cut to lower-middle class Carina whose mother’s income and vulnerable status as an immigrant means they can’t afford to fight the frustrating long-term administrative battle for her right to access education. The documentary also includes hidden-camera footage of a decisive meeting in Carina’s case. The footage shows us that the system that’s supposed to be there for the blind actually serves to reduce the work the privileged have to put in.
With these techniques the film resembles better documentaries but fails to present their startling revelations in a truly compelling way. An occasionally inspirational, often boring film on a topic that needs more attention. Each of the high-schoolers offer expressive insight to their perspective as a blind person. But I wish they had a better film to better call attention and stir empathy to their plight.
Do You Dream in Color? is released on VOD on February 10th and will be released in select US theatres in 2017.
