Thanks to Disney’s new streaming service Disney+, Marvel is now able to expand the superhero world more than ever and the animated series ‘What If…?’ is an example of this.
‘What If…?’ is a 10-episode series based on the Marvel spin-off comics, which explores alternative timelines and story arcs. A few examples being what if Penny Carter was given the super serum instead of Steve Rogers, what if T’Challa became Star Lord instead Peter Quill and what if the Marvel zombie universe existed?
The animation style looks vibrant and sleek, and the original MCU cast return to voice their respective characters. This small detail alone is incredible, but the fact that these comics are now being adapted to a series is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxsysYzcdN4
‘What If…?’ will be on Disney+ in 2021.
As previously mentioned, Disney have now released their streaming service, Disney+, in the UK and it’s a fantastic site. Which brings me onto how these weekly articles are going to be structured for the foreseeable future.
From next week (7th April), ‘Trailer Talk’ will instead be ‘Disney+ Talk’. These will still be uploaded onto ‘Battle Royale With Cheese’ every Tuesday but will be short reviews on any films or series’ that I’ve been watching on the streaming site.
‘The Wake’ is a 10-minute Irish Horror Short written and directed by Rik Gordon. When a relative passes away, a couple, Peter and Claire (played by Finlay Cormack and Kathleen Bridget Murphy), reunite with their families to mourn. However, the traditions held by the family are anything but normal.
This was a film that I had heard of back in 2016, when I met one of the crew members at London’s Frightfest Horror Film Festival. After speaking to them, I’ve been looking forward to the short since then.
In only under 10 minutes, this film packs a punch with its audience and does a lot with its short running time. The lead actor/actress, Finlay Cormack and Kathleen Bridget Murphy, are great and have fantastic onscreen chemistry. Their relationship is believable, making the twist near the end even more surprising. The rest of the cast are also fantastic.
While the family appear friendly on the outside, it’s obvious they’re hiding something, thus creating an air of tension between the characters. This something is definitely shocking when it’s revealed too! What makes it work is not only the build up in tension, but the lack of hints to the reveal, making it unexpected. The practical effects of the zombies are great and even a little gooey, making the design grotesque.
The decision to use make-up and practical effects is an aspect that I appreciate, considering the artform is usually overshadowed by CGI.
The soundtrack is eerie but minimalistic; it’s only there when necessary and to help build up the tension of the situation. It sounds similar to the 2017 horror game ‘Bendy and the Ink Machine’ but accompanies the visuals beautifully.
Overall, ‘The Wake’ is a fantastic short film that keeps you guessing. It takes an unexpected turn, but one that I love. The cast are all fantastic and, while the lead actor Finlay Cormack has a moment of an emotionless performance during one scene, it never took me out of the film.
‘The Wake’ is available on YouTube and Amazon UK and USA, so I highly recommend checking this mysterious short film out!
Just before you’re at death’s doorstep, what if you could upload your conscious to the internet and choose to live in a digital afterlife?
Well, that’s what new series ‘Upload’ revolves around, when a young man is given the chance to live life anew via a digital world. The satirical show is a comedy/sci-fi series and was created by Greg Daniels (Parks & Recreation, The Office USA).
The series resembles that of ‘Black Mirror’, except with more humour. The concept is interesting and looks extremely charming. However, this type of storyline could also get tiresome really quickly if it goes on for too long; an example I can think of where a human was able to change itself via technology in a charming tone was the 2017 film ‘Downsizing’. And its biggest downfall was its lengthy running time.
Overall, I’m interested in ‘Upload’; it looks funny, charming and the concept is interesting enough to intrigue me. However, I hope it’s a short series and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
‘Upload’ will be uploaded onto Amazon Prime 1st May 2020.
After giving toys, cars and
even emotions feelings, Pixar have looked to giving human souls feelings in
their new feature film ‘Soul’.
‘Soul’ stars Jamie Foxx, who voices Joe Gardner, a musician who has lost his passion for music and suddenly finds himself pulled out of his body. With the help of a soul who wants no part of joining Planet Earth (voiced by Tina Fey), Joe must find a way back to his own body.
While the animation looks
spectacular, the actual setting looks a little bland. The trailer doesn’t show
too much of the film, which I like, and I hope it won’t be another rushed film
like ‘The Good Dinosaur’. The lead voice actors are perfect for the roles and
it’s fantastic to see a film that may be including a soul and jazz musical score.
When I critique films, I always hope for the best; I may be disappointed by specific trailers, but I always still see the final film in hopes that it will be good, and this is no exception.
Pixar has made more fantastic films than bad films and I hope ‘Soul’ joins the good side of its filmography rather than it be bad and quickly forgotten.
The Pokemon Company recently have taken pleasure in trying to capture its older audience’s nostalgia. Their last three animated films have essentially been remakes of films or episodes from the Generation 1 era and with not much success at recapturing its roots.
However, that hasn’t stopped them from remaking one of my
favourite films ‘Pokemon: the First Movie’ with ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back:
Evolution’.
Like previously mentioned, ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution’
is a shot-for-shot CGI remake of ‘Pokemon: the First Movie’. In the film,
scientists create a new Pokemon from the DNA of legendary Pokemon Mew called
Mewtwo. However, the results are disastrous.
When it comes to remakes, I consider myself fairly open
minded; as long as the remake adds something new to the source material then I’m
happy.
This remake adds absolutely nothing to the source material.
If anything, it reduces any iconic reputation that the original has. While this
version does begin with some of the original Japanese opening (which
wasn’t included in the English language version), that doesn’t elevate this
remake above the original.
The CGI animation style is reminiscent of the cutscenes featured
in the recent Pokemon video games. Unfortunately, while this works for the
games because the art style is expected, it doesn’t translate well to film and
is jarring to look at here. The leathery texture of the Pokemon all look
strange, aside from the water Pokemon, which suit these types of creatures because
of their appearance.
With a new film comes new voicework on the film, and it shows: the delivery of the dialogue is dull in comparison to the iconic voice cast of the show and ‘First Movie’. The actors either sound bored or are putting too much effort in to try and make this stand out. The actual dialogue is essentially the same, but just said in a different way. Oddly enough, the series’ villains, Jessie and James, are the stand-out characters in terms of voicework and dialogue. Which is unfortunate, as their role in the film is to provide exposition and, therefore, do not appear in many scenes.
Furthermore, there is a lack of a musical score throughout
the film. This leads me to believe that either this film had a rushed production,
or the musical score was left to the last minute when making this and was,
therefore, forgotten about. It makes the film feel unfinished, and the silence
in most scenes really stand out when all that is heard is the dialogue and the
ambient sounds. It’s altogether an extremely strange decision.
If someone doesn’t know the source material then this will
probably be enjoyable. However, ‘Pokemon: The First Movie’ is one of my
favourite films, so the differences are obvious and painful to see/hear. When
it comes to remakes, you shouldn’t compare it to the original. However, that’s
difficult to avoid in this case when ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution’ is
literally a shot-for-shot remake…and one that somehow fails to cash in on the
nostalgia of its source material. It’s a lazy piece of production from The
Pokemon Company, and surprisingly, my moderate expectations of this weren’t
even remotely met.
In terms of its animated films, it’s time The Pokemon
Company stopped trying to cash in on nostalgia; it’s clearly not working.
‘Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution’ is now available on
Netflix
