Gravity

Finally, a 3D film to get excited about

There are two things you should know about Gravity, the new film from Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The first is that you should go and see it. To put it simply, it’s really good: a 90 minute cascade of adrenaline – a thriller made with tremendous care and attention to detail that is undoubtedly one of the best films you’re likely to see all year.

The second thing to know is that you should see it in 3D, and preferably in IMAX. I have written previously about my opposition to how stereoscopy has been used in recent years, but I genuinely think that Gravity is an absolute first: a film intended for mass release that has been meticulously designed for 3D by a director who really knows how to use it. Even Mark Kermode, the Commander-in-Chief of the anti-3D army, has been forced to admit that “Gravity is worth seeing in 3D”.

Review: Prometheus

In film, no one builds worlds like Ridley Scott

It has often been said that Ridley Scott is at his best when he is creating worlds. Gladiator and Blade Runner stand as testament to this, but on a smaller scale, though no less impressive, sits Alien, his 1979 Sci-Fi horror.

The success of that film is down largely to its incredible design. Not only do we have the worn-down, yet futuristic, confined spaceship, but in the film’s first act we have this intriguing planet, complete with mysterious, wrecked starship and an infestation of the eponymous beasties. The world is complete, draws you in and makes a not too comfortable place to have your fears played out.

That legacy of original design was trampled upon in James Cameron’s bland, action follow-up, Aliens, and the less said about Alien³ and Alien: Resurrection the better, but now, 33 years after the original, we get a new edition from the Alien universe: Prometheus.

Scott has hesitated to call this a prequel. Whilst it technically is, one can see just cause for his reticence. This film could readily stand on its own, so if you haven’t seen the original film, this is open to you. If you have seen the original, then let me assure you: it will be satisfying.

Review: Terra Nova

Time-travel, Dinosaurs and Stephen Lang: this Sci-Fi Dream Team Should be Great Fun

On first showing, Terra Nova is the Harlem Globetrotters of sci-fi. Take a dash of Blade Runner for starters followed by a smidgeon of Stargate and a whole load of Avatar (there’s even Stephen Lang), mixed with Jurassic Park plus a little bit of Lost, and you have Terra Nova.

The set-up is that by the 22^nd Century, Earth has been utterly choked, but a rip in time has appeared providing a portal to a different time stream, 85 million years in the past. In short, mankind is going to the time of the dinosaurs to build a perfect new society, and we follow a family who are joining this brave new world.

Juror's Film Festival: Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)

One of the greatest science-fiction films ever made has been ruined by the mother of all spoilers. If you, by some frankly inexplicable stroke of good fortune, do not know the ending of the original Planet of the Apes, I implore you to go and watch it and stop reading this review forthwith. I envy those who have been able to watch this film unspoilt.

Review: The Skin I Live In

In the hands of a madman...

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar, based on the novel “Tarantula”, by Thierry Jonquet

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suarez & Roberto Alamo

Plot: Doctor Robert Ledgard is a successful plastic surgeon living in a secluded where he is keeping “a patient”, the beautiful Vera, in total isolation. The arrival of the maid’s criminal son arrives whilst Robert is away triggers a series of recollections about Robert’s tragic past, how Vera came to be there and what her surgery may have been for.

Running Time: 120m 19s

Certificate: 15 - Contains strong sex, sexual violence, brief gore & very strong language

The issue of spoilers in reviews is a tricky one. You must give a small idea of what the plot is but shouldn’t give away too much. It’s the observer effect in film form – to talk to somebody about watching a film is to change their experience of watching it. In the case of Pedro Almodóvar’s new film, The Skin I Live In, it feels as though to say anything about the content of the film or even the films it is drawn from is to tamper with it.

Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

He came. He saw. He made a damn fine blockbuster.

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Screenwriters: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo & Andy Serkis

Plot: Will Rodman is a scientist who is seeking the cure for Alzheimer’s. After one of his experiments on apes goes wrong, he smuggles a baby ape out of the lab only to discover that it has been affected by the trial and is incredibly intelligent. He keeps it and calls it Caesar but, when Caesar grows up, a moment of anger brings him to an animal pound where exposure to other simians and mistreatment by his keepers bring about a change in Caesar that poses a great threat to the world outside.

Film Review: Super 8

Michael Bay take note: this is how to make a proper spectacular

Director & Screenwriter: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee and Ron Eldard

Plot: A bunch of kids in a small American town are making a zombie movie with a Super 8 camera. Whilst filming at a train station one night, a passing Air Force train crashes. As the army move in to clean up, a number of curious and increasingly terrifying events start to take place in the town.

Film Review: X-Men: First Class

These superhumans are uncharacteristically underwhelming

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne & January Jones

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Screenwriter: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn

Plot: In the 1960s, the new breed of mutants is emerging, and as Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) begins to plan using their powers for evil, Charles Xavier is determined to make human beings and mutants accept one another. Caught in the middle of this is Erik Lehnsherr, the young Magneto.