What I’m Watching – July 2012

This list only includes films I watched for the first time this month. My most recent viewing is the top entry:

Ted (Dir: Seth MacFarlane, 2012) ***

The Karate Kid (Dir: Harald Zwart, 2010) ***

From Paris With Love (Dir: Pierre Morel, 2010) **

This Means War (Dir: McG, 2012) ***

The Dark Knight Rises (Dir: Christopher Nolan, 2012)

Gangs Of New York (Dir: Martin Scorsese, 2002) ****

Magic Mike (Dir: Steven Soderbergh, 2012) ****

The Five-Year Engagement (Dir: Nicholas Stoller, 2012) ***

Friends With Kids (Dir: Jennifer Westfeldt 2011) ***

Katy Perry: Part Of Me (Dir: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, 2012) ***

The Amazing Spider-Man (Dir: Marc Webb, 2012) ***

Insomnia (Dir: Christopher Nolan, 2002) ***

Thanks For The Shivers, Mr. Nolan

With The Avengers already a success story both critically and commercially, this summer is once again chock-full of superheroes – we mustn’t forget Sony’s Spidey reboot due in July. But out of the three, it is only this new trailer which gives me goosebumps. Yes, I adored The Avengers and came out feeling like a giddy three year-old who had eaten too many blue Smarties, and sure, the Spidey trailer has its moments, but they’re not a patch on the feeling of dread and stunning silence that enshrouds Nolan’s latest puzzle piece.

Far quieter than the viral run up to 2008’s The Dark Knight, Bane still feels almost entirely alien – a stark difference to the vast use of the Joker’s face. We have barely seen anything of Selina Kyle in either guise other than photos and, as for Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, well, what they’ll be up to beyond the allusions of their character names is anyone’s guess.

But where Nolan succeeds is with his phenomenally loyal fanbase. Though the viral marketing may seem sparse and cryptic and only readily available to those ‘in the know’ (yep, that’s us, fellow nerd), he never needed to present a trailer that provided any explicit storyline or character info. And this makes me so much hungrier for July 20th.

Rewatching the trailers for The Dark Knight, they may seem significantly more epic, but I have no doubt this third and final trailer for Nolan’s Batman bow out is only a meagre taste of the impact Bane and co. will have once they hit our screens.

In Nolan We Trust.

Trailer Talk: Spidey Rebooted, Wheelchair Dancing, Doctor Who And The Apocalypse

Yes, yes, yes, I apologise again for my laptop not loving me. As I posted a while back, it gave up on me, so I haven’t been able to post anything! So I’m sorry they’re so late, but I wanted to put them up anyway! So, soldiers, spiders, Jeremy Renner, Doctor Who, crazy Nazis, wheelchairs, Osama Bin Laden and the apocalypse – let’s talk trailers.

Closer Look: The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer

Scott’s back (take a look at his blog here) to take a more in-depth look at the new trailer for Marc Webb’s hotly anticipated film and Marvel reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man:

Empire Big Screen Round Up

Last weekend I spent three days at the O2 in London at Empire Big Screen.

A weekend full of screenings, panels and special guests, there is too much to simply put into print. So I thought a video would do nicely.

After turning my camcorder on and rambling for an hour or so, I finally managed to edit it down to two fifteen minute videos.

So please have a listen and make sure you join me next year!