Astronaut Mickey (Robert Pattinson – The Batman) is sent on a mission after undergoing an experiment – every time he dies, a clone of himself is created to continue the mission.
Robert Pattinson is an actor that I’ve quickly grown fond of; he’s not only great, but the films he picks are always unique in some way and this is no exception. He has a fantastic range as an actor, plus the rest of the film’s cast are impressive: Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things, Avengers Assemble), Toni Collette (Hereditary, The Sixth Sense) Steven Yeun (Nope, Mayhem) and Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice) are also attached.
Not only is the cast fantastic but ‘Mickey 17’ is written and directed by Bong Joon-Ho(Parasite, Okja). Considering his strong filmography, this gives me hope that the film will be great.
The idea of a character dying over and over to complete a mission is not a new one; an example of this is 2014’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. But this film adds a new layer to the idea, as the trailer shows Mickey waking to find a previous version of himself hasn’t died. It’s a really interesting idea and the execution makes ‘Mickey 17’ stand out.
‘Mickey 17’ came out of nowhere but, with a new spin on a familiar premise, a brilliant writer/director and a fantastic cast, it’s one to be excited for.
With the arrival of October, and spooky month, it’s time to dim the lights, decorate pumpkins and watch scary movies. And I thought it would be fun to pick a horror film franchise to review this month and, seeing as the 6th entry will be released next year, the chosen franchise is ‘Final Destination’. So, let’s travel back to the year 2000 with the first film, simply titled ‘Final Destination’.
After having a premonition that the plane he’s on will crash, Alex (Devon Sawa – Idle Hands, Black Friday) succeeds in getting his classmates off and to safety. But they’ll soon learn that they can’t cheat Death, and it’ll come to claim them all.
Originally coming from a rejected ‘X-Files’ script written by Jeffrey Reddick and Glen Morgan, which followed a similar synopsis, the first film quickly became a staple in horror film history. Twenty-four years later, its success has helped spawn four more films (with a new film coming next year), a book series and even a graphic novel. And it’s easy to see why ‘Final Destination’ was a success; it’s still a fantastic film with a unique concept.
From the opening scene, ‘Final Destination’ takes its time to introduce viewers to the cast of characters and it does this beautifully. The lead cast includes some well-known names either at the time or later on which not only includes Devon Sawa, but Ali Larter (Legally Blonde), Chad Donella (Saw: The Final Chapter) and even Seann William Scott (American Pie) and Tony Todd (Candyman). The cast are all fantastic as is the writing: each character has their own personality and characteristics which are emphasized throughout the film. This means that the film explores how each character reacts to the ongoing situation, and they’re all different, making each person stand out. And, with a runtime of 98 minutes, ‘Final Destination’ is really well paced. While the later entries move into the gorier side of the horror genre, this film is not only a horror film, but a mystery film. It also focuses on two detectives (Daniel Roebuck – Terrifier 3/Roger Guenveur Smith – Do The Right Thing)who are put in charge of the plane crash case, thus following a similar journey that Alex is forced to take on. While they have a lesser screentime than the lead cast, they’re still included in the cast of characters that are trying to understand the situation. This aspect is interesting and added a slightly different perspective compared to what the rest of the cast are experiencing.
But the focal part of ‘Final Destination’ is Alex’s premonition and the consequential creative deaths that the franchise quickly became known for. Even years later, the film does a fantastic job at creating a terrifying situation in the beginning of the film, which is the plane crash. The film takes its time to establish the journey to the airport, as well as the reasoning behind the journey. And when the inevitable happens, ‘Final Destination’ doesn’t hold back in showing its audience how terrifying and dangerous the situation is. The sequence works because it’s executed so realistically; practical effects are mostly used to achieve the horrifying imagery of the crash.
But even after Alex thinks he’s saved his classmates; the next part of the film arrives which is the kills. What makes this franchise unique is that the villain isn’t a creature or human killer; it’s Death itself. Not only does this mean that the stakes are a lot higher compared to other horror films, but it means that creative kills are a must! This is another aspect of what put ‘Final Destination’ on the horror map and, even if some of the deaths seem absurd, the execution of each death is done so in a realistic way. What made these deaths terrifying, even now, is that it shows viewers each step that led up to the kill, further emphasizing a sense of realism to the absurd. That, and the practical effects. Even though there isn’t a lot of it in this entry, as the film instead opts for quick cuts and darker lighting for effective shock value, the practical effects that are used are fantastic.
Twenty-four years later, it’s still so clear why ‘Final Destination’ has cemented its place in horror film history. It introduced a unique concept and, with that, new fears for generations to come. Overall, it’s hard to deny that this was, and still is, a fantastic introduction to an iconic horror franchise.
‘Better Man’ is a biopic chronicling British singer/songwriter Robbie Williams’ life, from his childhood all the way to his iconic three-day Knebworth gig event in 2003.
The trailer for this particular biopic has caught people’s attention purely because of the way it’s been executed. While this is live action, every cast member is a human all aside from Robbie Williams himself, who will be portrayed as a motion capture CGI Monkey.
While this may be a strange and surprising choice to some, it’s very expected for Robbie to take this direction.
A lot of the promotional material in his solo career revolved around Chimps in some way, so this isn’t out of left field. Furthermore, the Chimp himself looks incredible; it’s reassuring to know that the visual effects/motion capture industry haven’t forgotten what can be achieved because of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise.
Lead cast choice aside, the film looks fantastic and, with ‘The Greatest Showman’ director Michael Gracey on board, it’s sure to be a visual spectacle.
The biopic’s execution is unique and interesting and, as someone who grew up with Robbie Williams’ music, this is one I’m definitely keeping an eye out for.
Social media can be a blessing when it comes to discovering new films and TV shows and, earlier this week, Tiktok showed me the trailer for a film called ‘Flow’.
‘Flow’ is an animated film that follows a group of animals as they journey through a world in which a giant flood has wiped out all of humanity.
With the film being shown at London’s BFI Film Festival in a few weeks’ time, critics have already dubbed this as the best animated film ever, which has made me very excited. It looks incredible, with the beautiful visuals resembling that of a painting. Plus, the lack of voice cast attached hints that ‘Flow’ will contain no dialogue. With the film featuring only animal characters and possibly no talking, I’m hoping this will be more of a visual treat rather than a plot-heavy feature.
With the film revolving around a cat and a group of animals in a post-apocalyptic world, it feels reminiscent of the video game ‘Stray’. Being a huge fan of the game, I’m really excited for ‘Flow’. The visuals and art style are beautiful, the characters are adorable, and it looks like it’s going to be a visual treat.
‘Flow’ is being shown at the BFI London Film Festival on the 13th, 19th and 20th October.
From a Wolf Man to a…Dog Man? Another adaptation was revealed last week but, this time, it’s an adaptation of a children’s book.
‘Dog Man’ is based on the best-selling series by Dave Pilkey (Captain Underpants series) that sees a police officer and his canine companion fused together after an accident. Now the police officer is a humanoid dog!
What I love most about this trailer is the animation style, which carries the same style as the 2017 adaptation of ‘Captain Underpants’. It makes sense that the animation style is connected to both properties since both adaptations are originally by the same author. But it translates perfectly with the art style of both book series.
Plus, it also looks funny: the humour looks like it will be based around the situation of the focal character, rather than opting for what most modern kids’ films do recently. Instead of fart jokes and slapstick, the jokes will revolve around the fact that the main character is now a humanoid dog that still has his canine instincts, e.g.: getting distracted by a squirrel during a chase sequence.
Dreamworks Animation evidently know the source material when it comes to adapting ‘Dog Man’. And, after loving the adaptation of ‘Captain Underpants’, it’s great to see another series of Dave Pilkey come to life on the big screen and, once again, utilize the same animation style that was used in the previous Pilkey adaptation. This was an unexpected trailer to appear but, as someone who wants to see different animation styles used in film, it’s one that I welcome happily.
