Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) is a man with a plan - to execute the perfect bank heist. Storming a Manhattan branch with three other accomplices, he gets into a cat and mouse game with police negotiator Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) who is battling his own problems. Adding fuel to this fire is the mysterious Madeline White (Jodie Foster) who has her own ideas about who’s going to walk out with what they want.

Russell has everything planned to perfection - from the disguise as painters, to the technical wizardry, to taking everyone hostage and dressing everyone in the same outfit as what the robbers are wearing. It’s hard to tell who’s who, which is precisely the confusion that Russell wants to create.

Inside Man is Spike Lee’s latest directorial outing and probably his most commercial. Driven by a clever script, which could have degenerated into the typical bank robber movie, it has moments of great humour as well. Lee delivers the required tension between the characters with ease - although sometimes you feel he’s got the paint-by-numbers sheet handy. The story moves along well and at times is intercut with future action of the detectives still trying to figure out what’s going on. Dalton Russell’s plan is working perfectly.

What delivers this movie from mediocrity is the great performances of all involved. The moments between bank robber Dalton and detective Frazier are intense and exciting - Owen and Washington are simply magnetic. Up and coming star Chiwetel Ejiofor plays detective Frazier’s partner, Bill Mitchell, and although he’s not given much to do he really shines in the scenes interviewing the hostages. Jodie Foster infuses her character with a real drive and confidence which you can’t take your eyes off and Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe round out a cast of characters that can’t be faulted.

Inside Man is a cleverly written, engaging film which rises above its counterparts. Lee manages to inject his usual salient social commentary about racism and community but never gets heavy handed. It’s worth watching for the engaging script and the performances of all involved.

Posted in Reviews •

For a television show in its 43rd year and 28th season, Doctor Who is certainly looking very sprightly. Having undergone a major reinvention courtesy of a genius scribe named Russel T Davies and a charismatic thespian called Christopher Ecclestone, the TARDIS rematerialized on television screens in 2005 and scored top ten audience viewing figures in the process. With a quirky blend of humour, wild inventiveness and bubbling on-screen chemistry, the Timelord and his impish companion dragged the comatose television franchise into the 21st century and charmed a new generation of viewers and their parents.

Now dazzling the critics Stateside, albeit with a ‘visual inventiveness that sometimes exceeds its budget’ (as one reviewer politely put it), 2006 sees the arrival of a new series, kick-started already by the Christmas special in which new lead, David Tennant inherited the keys to the famous blue police box. With the return of some familiar faces, a promising new Doctor and some fascinating story ideas, fans are hopeful that the new series will build on the impressive opener.

So, what can we expect when Doctor Who returns to our screens?

It would be natural to expect that the creative team behind the ‘new’ Doctor Who would want to distance themselves from the previous incarnations of the show and make their own mark, especially with the bold new direction in which they’ve steered the franchise. However, it’s refreshing to see that they have chosen to pay homage to the rich history of the Whoverse by bringing back some familiar faces from the past, a decision that will surely delight the generations of old-school fans out there.

This season, expect to see the return of:

Sarah Jane Smith
With the Doctor now sharing the interior of his dimension twisting space vehicle with 29th companion Rose Tyler (played by diminutive ex singer Billie Piper), it’s time to turn back the clock and catch up with Sarah Jane Smith played by Elisabeth Sladen. The character of Sarah Jane, an investigative journalist, was a regular on the show between 1973 and 1976, accompanying both the third (Jon Pertwee) and fourth (Tom Baker) Doctor. Sarah Jane returns in episode 3, ‘School Reunion’.

K9
In Whoverse history, K9 was created by Professor Marius, as a highly intelligent and armed mobile computer designed to replace the dog he had left behind on Earth. The amusingly designed robot dog made his debut in 1977, his popularity even spawning a brief solo sojourn into television adventure in the stillborn ‘K-9 and Company’ with Elisabeth Sladen (above). John Leeson returns for the new series to provide the familiar vocals, whilst K9 will return in the same Mark III configuration gifted to Sarah Jane Smith.

The Police Commissioner
David Warwick returns as the Police Commissioner, reprising the role of Kimus from 1978’s ‘Pirate Planet’ starring Tom Baker and ‘Gallifrey: A Blind Eye’ which also featured his wife Louise Jameson who played Doctor Who companion Leela.

Such has been the huge success of the reinvented Doctor Who, that a spinoff series is in the works with another strongly rumored-

Torchwood
John Barrowman, the charismatic Captain Jack Harkness from the last series of Doctor Who has earned his own series. The man who failed to secure a role in US sitcom Will & Grace for ‘being too straight’ will reprise his role as the dashing and sexually ambiguous adventurer in Torchwood. The show will air on BBC3 and is described as a darker, sexier, more adult science fiction show, focusing on a renegade team investigating human and alien crime, and extraterrestrial technology that has fallen to Earth. Torchwood will feature three main characters including Gwen Cooper, played by Eve Myles. Although James Hawes, the original producer has bowed out of the project due to a change of schedule and filming has been postponed until July, Torchwood is a go. Barrowman says “It’s going to be Britain’s answer to The X-Files, with the craft and the humour from This Life.”

K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company, the pilot of which called ‘A Girl’s best friend’ was broadcast on the 28th of December 1981 to favourable viewing figures. Unfortunately for all those involved, the show never saw the light due to a change of controllers at the BBC. Much derision by fans of the shows title sequence, music (by Ian Levine) and plot have not done much to endear it aficionado’s. Now it seems that remarkably, 25 years later, the show might get a second chance to prove itself. The Sun reports that an as yet unnamed serial will be made specifically for children’s television.

At the time of writing there is some conflicting information about how the series will pan-out, with the production team being notoriously secretive. The following episode list is as accurate as possible:

Episode 1) New Earth
Vain and bitchy ‘human trampoline’ Cassandra ( Zoe Wannamaker) returns in a story about a plague farm administered by evil cat people where humans are the subject of experiments. Supposedly set after End of the World from the last series, Cassandra is out for revenge.

Episode 2) Tooth & Claw
Another trip back in time with Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine) playing Queen Victoria. The Doctor and Rose must protect the Queen from an alien attack in Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. Apparently the monsters will be werewolves and the episode will be lensed ‘Tarantino style’. Pauline Collins returns to the show after nearly 40 years, having previously appeared in ‘The Faceless Ones’ in the original series.

Episode 3) School Reunion.
Old assistant Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and robot dog K9 join the Doctor in battling Headmaster Finch (an alien shape-shifting Krillitane) played by Buffy’s Anthony Head. Interestingly, Head auditioned for the role of the Doctor in 1996. Word has it that the Krillitanes will “get kids diving behind their sofas again”. Russell T Davies said that when Sladen did her first read through, “I thought Stephen Fry was going to faint. I’m not kidding, you could actually feel this shiver go through the room.”

Episode 4) The Girl in the Fireplace
The Doctor and Rose travel to the court of Louis XIV with Sophia Myles as Madame Du Pompadour and Ben Turner as King Louis. Word has it that we will see the return of the Autons. If you were creeped out by “Are you my mummy?” last year, apparently the ticking of a clock will do the same this year.

Episode 5/6) The Rise of the Cybermen Part 1 & 2
The alien cyborg race created by show science advisor Dr. Kit Pedler in 1966 returns to battle the Doctor. Although the chunky re-design of the gold-hating baddies has raised a few eyebrows, the producers claim that the Cybermen are going to look awesome on screen. Rumours of a full-scale invasion of a parallel Earth sound almost too good to be true. Starring Roger Lloyd-Pack as John Lumic, a wheelchair bound evil genius and Tracy-Ann Oberman (Chrissy Watts from Eastenders) as another baddie.

Episode 7) The Idiot’s Lantern
An alien intelligence takes advantage of the technology of television in the 1950’s. Featuring Maureen Lipman as ‘The Wire’, the Idiot’s Lantern sees the Doctor and Rose end up in 1950’s London at the time of the Queen’s coronation.”Rose will be wearing a huge fluffy pink circular skirt with layers of petticoats, a blue denim top and a pink ribbon in her hair. David Tennant will be riding a Vespa scooter, wearing a white crash helmet. Underneath his helmet, the Doctor will be sporting a teddyboy style DA hair”. Jamie Foreman who played Dickensian badboy Bill Sykes in Polanski’s Oliver Twist will also appear.

Episode 8/9) The Satan Pit Part 1 & 2
The new Doctors first foray onto an alien world, described as being very much like Hell. Danny Webb (Alien 3, Henry V) and Will Thorp (Casualty) are rumored to appear.

Episode 10) Love & Monsters
A typically tongue-in-cheek concept with a monster called the ‘Abzorbaloff’ (the name might give a clue as to the method by which it consumes its prey) that is somehow born from the design of a Blue Peter (classic British kids TV show) competition winner. Featuring Peter Kay (Phoenix Nights) in a rare serious turn as the ‘cold and powerful’ Victor Kennedy. Just announced today, Marc Warren (Hustle) and renowned Scots actress Shirley Henderson will also star.

Episode 11) A Blind Eye?
Penned by Matthew Graham (Life on Mars) after it was decided that Stephen Fry’s effort would be held back until series three, this episode is rumoured to be about the 2012 Olympics. Includes a cameo from real-life psychic fraudster Derek Acorah of ‘Most Haunted’ fame and an appearance from Trisha Goddard (both playing themselves). This might also be the episode where Barbara Windsor appears as her famous television character, mouthy matriarch Peggy Mitchell alongside other Eastenders stars. Nina Sosanya, (Tennant’s lover from Casanova) will appear as the mother of a key character.

Episode 12/13) Army of Ghosts & Doomsday
The first of a two-parter, again featuring Roger Lloyd-Pack as John Lumic alongside Tracey Ann-Oberman as Yvonne Hartman. The Cybermen return as well as another old enemy. Russell T Davies assures us that “Series 2 will end on a f****** colossal cliffhanger. It’s so huge I can’t describe it. I hope they can get it on film.” Rumours of Eve Myles replacing Billie Piper as the Doctor’s companion for series three (filming commences July and is rumoured to be entirely digital) might come into play.

Following Christopher Ecclestone, new boy David Tennant (Casanova) has a lot to live up to, but his performance in the Christmas special hints that he is up to the job. Expectations are certainly high, with insiders on the production team claiming that he is ‘the best Doctor since Tom Baker’. Whether his ‘cheeky geezer’ take on the Timelord works as well as Ecclestone’s intense and twitchy portrayal inside the complex Whoverse is yet to be conclusively proved, but fans are eager to find out. One can only hope that his stint as the Doctor is not as short lived as his predecessor’s.

There will be a press launch in Cardiff on the 28th of March to launch the new series and announce the transmission dates (rumored to be mid-April). Doctor Who will again fill the BBC1 7.00pm Saturday night timeslot.

BBC
U.N.I.T.
Outpost Gallifrey
Wikipedia
Scifi
Drwho-online

Additional thanks to the legendary Throb for helping me research the individual episodes.

Posted in Commentary, Doctor Who, Movies •

This year, the British alternative rockers Placebo return to the spotlight with their fifth album ‘Meds’, the follow-up to 2003’s ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’. Being a year-long fan of Placebo myself (they rank among my three favorite bands still playing, with the other two - Muse and Radiohead - also set to release new material later this year), this review is likely to be biased, but hopefully at least thoroughly so! I feel that in order to really determine where a band is currently standing, you need to look at where they’ve come from and what they’ve been through. Which is why I will use a paragraph or two to discuss band’s progression over the years first, before I take in ‘Meds’, so bear with me.

I was alone / falling free /
trying my best not to forget /
what happened to us / what happened to me /
what happened as I let it slip

Placebo’s sound on their self-titled debut started off as a welcome alternative to britpop rock in the mid nineties, while their sophomore effort ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ in 1998 established Placebo’s unique style (both musically and in appearance), featuring hit singles such as ‘Every Me, Every You’ and ‘Pure Morning’. The third record ‘Black Market Music’ (released in 2000) saw Placebo leaning more towards pop, offering new listeners an easier access to their music, despite lead singer Brian Molko’s lyrics dealing with non-mainstream issues such as the depths of his drug abuse (’Special K’), his bisexual orientation (’Taste in Men’) and his broken childhood (’Black-Eyed’). Before recording ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ (which would be released in 2003), the band promised to move towards more electronical sounds, but ended up merely laying-off the predecessor’s straightforward guitar-sound and being more experimental in their song arrangements. Critics were quick to claim the band’s music was stagnating at last and that tracks on ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ could be substituted with songs on ‘Black Market Music’ to no audible effect.

We’ll rise above this /
we’ll cry about this /
as we live and learn /
A broken promise /
I was not honest /
now I watch as tables turn

In spite of all this, Placebo had meanwhile managed to establish an enormous fanbase, particularly on continental Europe (while their home the UK continued to be skeptical of Molko’s seemingly pretentious mannerisms), usually headlining the (prestigious) music festivals they were invited to, and making friends as well as collaborating with giants in the business such as David Bowie, The Cure, Pixies and R.E.M. Placebo decided to release a Singles collection in late 2004, which also featured the non-album track ‘Twenty Years’, their first real venture to atmospheric synthesized sound scapes with much less rock. So when the band returned to their recording studio for album five in November 2005, the big question was if ‘Twenty Years’ would be indicative of their sound to come, or if they would stick with their trademark tunes that had brought them so much success.

As your skin starts a scratching /
wave yesterday’s action goodbye /
forget past indiscretions and stolen possessions /
you’re high //
In the cold light of morning /
while everyone’s yawning

And now that ‘Meds’ is out, it’s time to assess just this. Upon giving the album its first listen-through, two things became immediately apparent to me: (1) this is not Placebo’s ‘Kid A’ (i.e. a breaking leap away from the accustomed) and (2) ‘Meds’ is very versatile. The former will obviously be held against them by neutrals, and indeed, when I scoured the web for other people’s opinions, I found the frequent “but this sounds just like ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’/'Black Market Music’” comments. I disagree with them. ‘Meds’ is edgier and broodier than its predecessors, and I can definitely hear the band leaving their ‘comfort zone’, which is the approach they had aimed for together with producer Dimitri Tikovoi (Trash Palace). Take the track ‘Space Monkey’ for example, which doesn’t come close to anything they’ve ever recorded before, both musically - it reminds me of Nine Inch Nails, ‘The Downward Spiral’ era - and lyrically:

Space monkey in a place to be /
a mass of contradictions in a golden frame /
raising the roof in a calamity way /
completely meretricious of a poke in the eye

I’d also describe ‘Meds’ as the darker brother of ‘Black Market Music’ in the sense that both albums share a similar versatility. You won’t find any specific formula the band have applied to all songs, no two sound alike in any way. The fact that the song progression runs so smoothly is testimony to the band’s experience and the quality of the production (Tikovoi) and mixing (Flood) work. From the first chord on the title-giving opener ‘Meds’ until the final “Goodbye” on the last track the listener is taken through a wide selection of moods and impressions, ups and downs: megalomania (’One Of A Kind’), desperation (’Blind’), masochism (’Pierrot The Clown’), wrath (’Infra-Red’), pity (’Drag’), contemplation (’Follow The Cops Back Home’), and sobering up (’In The Cold Light Of Morning’), to name a few.

Now I’m trying to wake you up /
to pull you from the liquid sky /
cause if I don’t we’ll both end up /
with just your songs to say goodbye

Among this gripping succession of emotions and pictures, not once do I feel the need to skip a track, I simply can’t find any boring filler material. It is almost equally difficult to single out highlights. ‘Song To Say Goodbye’, the current single, would be an obvious choice; the track’s title and its placement as the last song on the album belie its pace and energy, and the song’s arrangement and structure are amongst the band’s most gripping. ‘Follow The Cops Back Home’ features a wonderfully engrossing guitar line and feels just as powerfully immersive as ‘Special Needs’ does on ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’. The song is further beset with some of the album’s most interesting lyrics:

The call to arms was never true /
I’m medicated, how are you /
Let’s take a dive, swim right through /
sophisticated points of view //
Let’s follow the cops back home /
and rob their houses

‘Space Monkey’ and ‘Infra-Red’ deserve special mentions also, for being so radically different from the band’s previous efforts, but no less engaging. ‘Broken Promise’, a collaboration with R.E.M.’s lead singer Micheal Stipe and a further highlight, features haunting piano-verses and a powerful chorus (the guitar riff when Molko sings “I’ll wait my turn / to tear inside you” sounds like its doing just that), while the other track featuring a guest, ‘Meds’, is no less noteworthy with its brilliant guitar build-up and a somewhat self-mocking but cool hook by Alison Mosshart from The Kills. My unquestionable favorite though is ‘Pierrot The Clown’, a song with such an amount of brutal honesty and intensity that I haven’t heard from the band since ‘Black-Eyed’ on ‘Black Market Music’. The band seems dangerously close to pathos here, but fortunately they never give in, there’s no anguished screaming, and the beautiful background melody is perfectly underplayed. The song’s real strength, however, is its paradox narration between longing and physical harm, which reflects the theme Molko deals with, namely masochism:

Leave me dreaming on the bed /
see you right back here tomorrow for the next round /
Keep this scene inside your head /
as the bruises turn to yellow /
the swelling goes down //
And if you’re ever around /
in the city or the suburbs of this town /
be sure to come around /
I’ll be wallowing in sorrow /
wearing a frown like Pierrot the clown

Concluding this review, I’d have to say that I appreciate ‘Meds’ not only as a further step forward in Placebo’s musical career, but also as an engaging, coherent, versatile, edgy and brilliantly produced rock album. It is all that I could have hoped for as a fan, but I imagine I would have also thoroughly enjoyed it if I had not been previously familiar with the band. ‘Meds’ also comes in a special edition that features a bonus DVD with a making-of documentary, demos, lyrics, a picture gallery and live videos (including a duet of ‘If Only Tonight We Could Sleep’ with The Cure).

Posted in Reviews •

In the space of a few years, nearly every major comic book franchise has been made into a movie. A new Batman series. Two Spider-man films, with a third coming in 2007. Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Sin City, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Hellboy, and lest we forget, the third X-Men film hits theaters in May.

Continuing the surge of comic-based movies is V for Vendetta, based on the Alan Moore’s graphic novel and brought to life by the brothers Wachowski, creators of The Matrix trilogy. However, this film, in a manner similar to Sin City, is not your average superhero movie. This film breaks the rules of comic books, and will surely make some hardcore patriots a little perturbed. Because in this film, the hero is a terrorist.

The year is 2020. America has seen its demise at its own hands (the current war on terror) and Britain is now a corrupt, dictatorial government not unlike that of Orwell’s 1984. On November 4th, the eve of the night that commemorates Guy Fawkes’ attempt to overthrow the government in 1605, Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) is attacked by a couple of crooked cops. Enter V (Hugo Weaving), a vigilante clad in a creepy, smiling Fawkes mask. Believing not in coincidence but fate, V, having rescued the young woman with some insane knife skills, promptly shows her to a rooftop to watch the Old Bailey courtrooms blow up, an act of rebellion for which he is responsible.

After the masked freedom fighter airs a tape warning the public of their government’s corrupt ways at the news channel where she works, Evey hides out in V’s home. As the two of them become friends, V continues to hunt down and kill shady government officials in what will result in the ultimate overthrow of the government, climaxing the next November 5 in the destruction of the British Parliament and likely the assassination of the High Chancellor, who appears on monitors in a very, very Big Brother fashion. As V sequentially hunts down and kills corrupt government officials involved in a concentration camp-like incident and the police investigate the situation, V’s story is revealed, along with the true evil of the government.

V for Vendetta is a gripping tale of corruption, rebellion, and revolution. Weaving’s V is a delightful cross between Batman, the Joker and the Phantom of the Opera, at once human and inanimate, kind and intimidating. The role is executed with exceeding gusto, despite the fact that not once in the film is his face shown and he is left to perform without any facial expressions besides the one on his porcelain mask. This film also shows Natalie Portman in one of her finer roles (here is where I add that even with a buzz cut, she’s still pretty hot.) And for those less concerned with the certain degree of depth that the film offers, there are some pretty sweet action sequences - V is a master of knife-fighting as well as of making things go boom.

However what’s most important about this film is that, somewhat like The Matrix trilogy (okay, the first one), and unlike too much of Hollywood, it makes you think. This movie has been in the works for a few years, pushed back because, you guessed it - it has terrorist themes. There are some very eerie parallels to the way things look like they might be headed in the world today.
The film is bound to piss off some conservatives, and it may provoke you to ask yourself if you’re comfortable rooting for a terrorist. The buzz V for Vendetta’s been getting is not undeserved, whether you agree with the views in it or not.

Posted in Reviews •

The Star Wars movies may be over, but the franchise is far from. We previewed the television projects - two upcoming shows, an animated one set during the Clone Wars and a live-action one set between the two trilogies - a couple of months ago (and we’ll be providing an update on their status in the near future), but these won’t be the only new stories to reach us from that galaxy far, far away. The Star Wars Expanded Universe (comprised of the Star Wars lore in books, comics, video games etc.) is set to make the most daunting move yet, pushing forward the adventures to a point they’ve never been before: a hundred years in the future!

This June, Dark Horse Comics will start a new comic series entitled Star Wars Legacy, set 100 years after the events in Return of the Jedi, and featuring a new Empire, new Sith - and a new Skywalker! Dark Horse conjured up the following ad to promote the imminent series:

On their website, Dark Horse introduces Star Wars Legacy with the following text: More than a hundred years have passed since the events in Return of the Jedi and the days of the New Jedi Order. There is a new evil gripping the galaxy, shattering a resurgent Empire and seeking to destroy the last of the Jedi. Even as their power is failing, the Jedi hold to one final hope: the last remaining heir to the Skywalker legacy. The following two previews offer a glimpse at what appears to be a female Sith warrior from the same race as The Phantom Menace’s Darth Maul along with two other Sith, and at the new Skywalker: Cade is a direct descendant of Anakin and Luke Skywalker who has turned his back on his Jedi legacy, prefering a life among smugglers and bounty hunters instead. Having dropped his Skywalker name, no one around him is aware of his lineage and his aptitude in the ways of the force.

The stories will be written by John Ostrander, with Jan Duursema and Sean Cooke providing the illustrations. Ostrander and Duursema are a successful team who have previously collaborated on many of the Star Wars: Republic and Star Wars: Clone Wars comics. Sean Cooke is entirely new to Star Wars comics. Six pages (in black and white, without text) from Star Wars Legacy have appeared online already, offering looks at Cade Skywalker and a couple of the new Sith - here’s a preview (go to SithClan to view them all):

A special preview issue (#0) of Star Wars Legacy introducing the new time setting and the main characters of the series will be available from May 17 for $0.25. Issue #1 (full color, 32 pages) is scheduled for June 7 at the price of $2.99. The official description reads: The Jedi Temple is attacked, an Emperor is betrayed, and the Sith are born anew! A lot can happen in a hundred years, but all of the above happens just in this first issue! Not since Luke Skywalker first stepped aboard the Millennium Falcon has the galaxy seemed like such a vast, exciting, dangerous place!

Star Wars Comics can be discussed in our Star Wars: The Expanded Universe subforum at the X-Boards.

Posted in Movies, Star Wars •

DVD release dates: 20 December 2005 (US), 27 February 2006 (UK)

The Film

War-veteran Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) is captain of the Firefly-class spaceship ‘Serenity’. Together with his loyal but rough crew he scours the edges of the galaxy, taking up smuggling and heist jobs for wealthy clients to earn a living. But two new passengers on the Serenity threaten Captain Reynolds’ low-profile existance: the young doctor Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his telepathic sister River (Summer Glau) are fugitives running from the Alliance. But it’s not only the ruthless military and the blood-thirsty cannibalistic Reavers who pose a threat to Serenity, the biggest danger may be on board the ship itself.

Serenity is the continuation of writer/director Josh Whedon’s cancelled cult TV show Firefly, the story of which is finally brought to a deserved closure. It’s very rare for a cancelled show to be picked up again at a later point, much less theatrically, and in the case of Serenity the film was largely made possible thanks to Whedon’s relentless pursuing of a solution and the huge so-called ‘Browncoat’ Firefly-fanbase that had established itself across the globe, even in countries where the series was never aired. The attraction emanating from Whedon’s sci-fi tale is due to the diverse, flawed, rugged and loveable group of central characters on board the Serenity and the original and fun adventures they find themselves in.

Serenity is the story of the biggest of these adventures, and continues Whedon’s style of characters first, special effects second. Explosions, action scenes and CGI never distract from the main plot, the dynamic of which is carried by the relationships between the characters, making Serenity a fun and refreshingly witty film. Our more indepth discussion of the movie can be read in our Serenity Movie Review, which we had published to accompany the film’s theatrical release last year.

The DVD

The film is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorph Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The picture transfer is spotless, sharp and with vivid colours. The DVD menu consists of spectacular graphics which look like a translucent touch-screen computer panel over a background of planetary bodies in space. The disc is stocked with bonus features, such as the nine deleted scenes, a few of which are extended versions of scenes in the movie, but most are completely new. Many of these surround Mal and Inara and are of particular interest to fans of Firefly who felt that the relationship between these two characters was left too short in Serenity. You can also activate an optional commentary track in which Whedon explains why the scenes were cut. To show off how much fun the cast and crew had while shooting there’s also an outtakes video on the disc.

Furthermore there’s an array of behind-the-scenes type clips: ‘Future History The Story Of Earth That Was’ is more or less an extended version of the film beginning and illuminates the history of the Firefly/Serenity universe (humans leaving Earth and terraforming other planets, the forming of the central government, the war between the Alliance and the Independents); ‘Whats In A Firefly’ mostly talks about the creation of the visual effects and the preperation of those via pre-visualization; ‘ReLighting The Firefly’ is a mini-documentary focusing on how Whedon and his cast and crew went from a cancelled tv series to a big movie release (featuring footage of Browncoats going wild at Comic Con); ‘Joss Whedon Introduction’ is a short clip that was presumably attached to advanced screenings of the film in which Whedon asks the fans to drag their friends to the cinema once the film is out; ‘A Filmmakers Journey’ (not on the US DVD release) is the longest video, clocking in at about 20 minutes, and functions as the ‘making-of’ the film, showing the cast preparing for the shoot, mucking about on the set, Summer Glau training for her fight scenes and Joss Whedon talking about what a great family they all grew into while filming.

The commentary track by Whedon begins as follows: “Hi, I’m Joss Whedon, I wrote and directed this mes.. this film! so I’d like to provide you with exciting commentary on it if you have in fact turned on this commentary track. If you’ve done it by accident, I recommend that you turn it off right away.” And that pretty much sums up his commentary, not so much the turning off part, but the fact that it’s simply fun and engaging to listen to!

Serenity is an uncondescending science-fiction film that defies the genre’s usual shortcomings like being too technical and effects-driven. It’s also perfectly enjoyable for viewers unfamiliar with Firefly since Serenity resonates so well thanks to the Han Solo-like characters, each rugged in their own way. The film looks good on disc and has lots of additional insight to offer with its bonus content, and if enough of you go out an buy it, maybe another installment in the Firefly/Serenity universe sometime in the future will come to fruition after all, just like the DVD sales of the TV show had made Serenity possible.

Posted in Reviews •

DVD release dates: 28 February 2006 (US), 6 February 2006 (UK)

The Film

Set in early 19th century England, Pride & Prejudice tells the story of the middle-class family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett (Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn) and their five daughters. When the prosperous bachelor Charles Bingley (Simon Woods) and his cultivated friend Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) set up their summer residence in a nearby estate, Mrs. Bennett sees the chance to marry off her eldest daughters Jane (Rosamund Pike) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and secure the family’s wellbeing. Bingley is attracted to Jane at once, but when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy first meet, it becomes clear that a lot of pride and prejudice must be overcome if their hearts are to meet. And there is more than one other man vying for Elizabeth’s affection in the background.

Director Joe Wright’s adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel is a tour de force of misunderstandings, mishaps, tears and laughs. He was faced with the daunting task of creating a coherent movie with a sensible running time out of a book filled to the brim with details and anecdotes and he succeeds in most parts: the two hour film is fast paced and seldomly drags, while still leaving room and time for the more important dialogue-driven scenes to flourish. The main focus rests on Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, and some of the supporting cast’s screentime had to be sacrificied in favor of the main story. Nevertheless, Wright and his crew treat the source material with much care and delicacy. The film is beautifully shot against the backdrop of some truly extraordinary estates and landscapes, together with the intricate costumes believably recreating 18th century rural England. The lush visuals are also joyfully underlined by Dario Marianelli’s lovely piano-based score.

At the heart of the film are the strong and delightful acting performances of the entire cast. Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland are the cause for most of the film’s humourous moments in their roles as the strong-willed, caring and agonizing parents, Rosamund Pike assuredly portrays the beautiful but shy eldest daughter who finds it difficult to be up front about her emotions, and Jena Malone’s british accent is as impeccable as her performance as Lydia Bennet, the vive and naive younger sister. But the strongest plaudits belong to Keira Knightley, who delivers a surprisingly disarming performance in her first serious role. Her interpretation of the headstrong, selfconfident but flawed Lizzie is delightful to behold.

The DVD

The film is presented in 2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The picture transfer looks good, the contrast does the lush visuals justice. Special features on the UK release include the ‘Alternate Us Ending’, which is a clichéd and pointless extra scene between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy added in after the original final scene. There are two interesting but short clips detailing some of the film’s historical aspects (’The Life And Times Of Jane Austen’, ‘The Politics Of Dating’) and a picture gallery of 19th century costumes and places. A further series of brief videos takes a look at the Stately Homes that served as the magnificent estates during the shoot while ‘The Bennetts’ and ‘On Set Diaries’ provide behind the scenes interviews with the cast and crew talking about the Bennett family, filming and on-set bonding. The ‘Pride And Prejudice Family Tree’ meanwhile serves as a helpful interactive orientation over the story’s entanglements between the individual characters.

The highlight among the bonus features though is director Joe Wright’s audio commentary. I must at this point confess that I’ve never been much of a commentary listener, even though I usually crave every bit of insight I can get on a film that I like. When I purchase a DVD, I’ll watch the film first, then the bonus material, and by then I’ll have reached a point where I cannot possibly bring myself to follow the commentary track(s), as it would mean watching the entire film again. In the case of Pride & Prejudice, because I knew I was going to review the disc for the site, I figured I’d give the commentary a short listening-in, five or ten minutes to get a feel for it. I ended up rewatching the first hour of the film, glued to the screen over Wright’s insightful and fun commentary. Wright explains little details without getting boring, compares experiences on the set with his previous work on television, gives his critical opinion on how certain parts of the movie were filmed, and when he thinks this or that could have been done better, he says so and explains. Wright is very humble and also so knowing about Austen’s work and it really shows - a very entertaining commentary, and I only switched off because I had to due to time restraints.

Pride & Prejudice is a beautiful film that was shot by a newcomer director on a relatively low budget but goes a long way, thanks to the love and care put into the project by the crew and the satisfying acting performances by the cast. The DVD features some standard bonus material in the form of short behind the scenes clips, but the commentary track with director Joe Wright is an unexpected joy to listen to.

Posted in Reviews •

The 78th Annual Academy Awards were handed out to last year’s best (well) cinematic efforts at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood tonight, and everything seemed to look like it would turn out the way most had expected - up until the final, most prestigious award was announced: Best Picture did not go to Brokeback Mountain, but to Crash instead! Both films won three Oscars each, the same amount as Memoirs of a Geisha and King Kong, although the latter two’s successes came in the technical categories. Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for his role in Capote, while the Best Actress prize went to Reese Witherspoon as June Carter in Walk The Line. Triple-nominee George Clooney (Syriana) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) won in the supporting acting categories.

You’ll find pictures of the stars on the red carpet and the winners with their prizes as well as transcripts of the winner’s acceptance speeches (onstage and backstage) in the comments below. The winners of our Oscar competition will be announced in a short while.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Motion Picture
CRASH

Best Director
Ang Lee / BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman / CAPOTE

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon / WALK THE LINE

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney / SYRIANA

Best Supporting Actress
Rachel Weisz / THE CONSTANT GARDENER

Best Original Screenplay
CRASH

Best Adapted Screenplay
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Best Art Direction
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Best Cinematography
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Best Editing
CRASH

Best Costume Design
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Best Make-Up
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Best Sound Editing
KING KONG

Best Sound Mixing
KING KONG

Best Visual Effects
KING KONG

Best Original Score
Gustavo Santaolalla / BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Best Original Song
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from HUSTLE & FLOW

Best Animated Film
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

Best Foreign Language Film
TSOTSI

Best Documentary Feature
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

Best Documentary Short Subject
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN

Best Animated Short Film
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION

Best Live Action Short Film
SIX SHOOTER

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

Eragon is Fox’s big hope at imitating the success of New Line Cinema (The Lord of the Rings), WarnerBros. (Harry Potter) and Walden Media/Disney (The Chronicles of Narnia) with a holiday release fantasy epic. Both the film project, locked firmly in the Christmas 2006 release slot, and the book it’s based on have received considerable coverage on this site (Eragon movie preview; Eragon Book Review; Eldest Book Review). With the film already in post-production (those unfamiliar with the book should know that the film adaptation will require lots of computer-generated imagery) and the largest part of the shoot completed, I feel it is time to try and assess what we can expect from this first film of a potential new franchise. This assessment is largely based on two factors: visuals from the film that have been released onto the internet and the previous projects this film’s cast and crew have worked on.

Below is one of the earliest Eragon images that surfaced sometime in mid-2005 which highlights the quite respectable cast attached to this film, clad in their character’s attires:

From left to right we are presented with Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty, The Beach) as Durza, the evil henchman of King Galbatorix, played by John Malkovich (Con Air, Being John Malkovich, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy), Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Gladiator, The Island) as the rebel leader Ajihad, newcomer Ed Speleers as Eragon, Jeremy Irons (The Man In The Iron Mask, The Time Machine, Kingdom Of Heaven) as his sage mentor Brom, Sienna Guillory (The Time Machine, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) as the elf Arya, and Garrett Hedlung (Troy, Friday Night Lights) as Eragon’s sturdy companion Murtagh.

The first really promising glimpse of the film followed in the form of a short behind-the-scenes video that seems to have vanished from internet in the meantime. Not only did it contain key members of the crew sheding some light on the production, it also featured brief film clips in pretty much their finished form (thus none of these scenes sport much in the way of CGI). Here are a couple of screenshots from some of those scenes:

Arya and Eragon overlook the plains // Eragon prepares to unleash an arrow

Murtagh emerges // Brom confronts Eragon

The Gedwëy Ignasia on Eragon’s hand // Eragon and Murtagh ride in the sunset

Eragon and Murtagh on horseback // Arya leads the way

The first official movie still released by Fox depicts two of the film’s better known cast members, John Malkovich and Robert Carlyle, in a scene that never took place in Eragon, the book. In fact, Malkovich’s character Galbatorix is not once ’seen’ in Paolini’s novel, but only narrated in flashbacks and referred to in other characters’ speeches and conversations. So where in the book you are privy to Durza’s evil deeds only, the movie seems to showcase how the chief himself gives instructions to his number one minion. It appears Fox and/or the screenwriters wanted to harness the antagonistic forces into a recognizable face:

So far so good. Only recently though, a batch of new photos from the set were published over at Shur’tugal (which means ‘Dragon Rider’ in the book’s fantasy Ancient Language), probably the number one source for Eragon news and information right now. And the initial reaction to them among followers online has been somewhat negative, especially over the shots permitting the first glance at Urgals (who are sort of representative of the Orcs in The Lord Of The Rings). In the book, the Urgals are described as men with bowed legs and thick brutish arms made for crushing. The Kull, the strongest race of Urgals, stand over eight feet tall on average, and their legs are thick as saplings, making them veritable giants (quoted from Wikipedia, as I’m too lazy to go and look up the descriptions in the book myself). Below is how the Urgals will be presented in the film adaptation:

What we see here, in fact, are Hungarian bodybuilders in ridiculous make-up and uninspired costumes. According to this newspaper story, they were forced to shave bald, or near bald […] much to their dismay. Combined with the tattoos, they much more resemble a gang of veteran Harley bikers than fearsome combat opponents, to me at least.

Furthermore we are offered a look at the set of Farthen Dûr which does no justice at all to the majestic mountain city revealed in the book (granted, much of the magic that can make this work will be created in post-production):

Going by all these images, how serious and epic an approach can we expect? Much of the responsibility of bringing this film to life rests in the hands of director Stefen Fangmeier. Upon cross-checking his previous credits in the IMDB the first thing that captures your eye is the fact that Fangmeier has not directed a single film so far. Eragon is his first. His entire experience has been gained working as a visual effects supervisor on films such as Jurassic Park, Twister, Saving Private Ryan, The Perfect Storm, Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World and Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. I, for one, hold some concern over his direction possibly focusing a little too much on the visual side, given his background, though I’d gladly be shown otherwise come December.

Paolini’s novel itself isn’t as focused on action and fights as one might imagine. Indeed, the story’s strongest point is probably the relationship built up between the lead character and his dragon, who share an intimate mental link. I’m very curious to find out how the issue of Eragon and his dragon conversing with eachother in their minds will be portrayed on screen, a task that will have initially been tackled by the screenwriters Peter Buchman and Lawrence Konner. Checking the IMDB for their credits, by the way, yields the following results: Buchman has previously only scripted Jurassic Park III (he’s written screenplays for Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming Guerillia and Peter Weir’s War Magician in the meantime, though, which is very encouraging), while Konner has penned various teleplays for the TV show The Sopranos and provided scripts for films like Mona Lisa Smile, Planet of the Apes, Mighty Joe Young, Mercury Rising and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, among others.

Taking all of this into account, I’d have to say I’m awaiting the film release of Eragon with mixed impressions. I enjoyed the book a great deal, and the preview clip together with the movie stills enable me to hope for an adequately enjoyable film adaptation, but I must admit that the attached crew and studio have me quavering slightly. There is as of now no word yet on when to expect the first trailer for the film, which should certainly allow for a better judgement on what to expect of this year’s big fantasy release. But when it does hit, we’ll be sure to roll this issue up again and offer an indepth analysis of the new imagery. In the meantime, interested readers can discuss Eragon in this discussion thread at the X-Boards or visit our Eragon database entry for more information on the film or view more images in our Eragon gallery.

Lastly, I’d like to point out that author Christopher Paolini will be attending a chat over at Shur’tugal on Sunday, March 5, at 3pm EST. He is expected to answer your questions on anything about Eragon, Eldest, the upcoming third (and final) book and the film adaptation.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •