Yesterday, Amateur Reviews was lucky enough to attend the film premiere of the summer in London's Leicester Square! The garden's were decked out with a giant bat head, a flaming bat symbol, massive screens and even Bane's tumbler was there.
The stars were out in force although sadly Michael Caine and Gary Oldman could not attend. Tom Hardy was first to arrive on the red carpet with his fianceé Charlotte Riley at 5:15 sharp, looking dapper in a trench coat to face the rain, he proceeded to stay out for ages making sure no one went home disappointed. Charlotte Riley happily signed autographs with personal messages, while Tom signed and posed for pictures with all the fans.
Marion Cotillard and Anne Hathaway looked stunning and it was quite surreal seeing them both in real life! They are even more beautiful in the flesh. Anne Hathaway was especially chatty and spoke to some of the fans in our pen about her singing in Les Mis! Notoriously shy Cillian Murphy also was happy to sign autographs, although sadly we did not get one - but he did steal someone's pen! Also in attendance was Douglas Booth who is set to play Romeo in a remake of Romeo and Juliette, he was incredibly lovely and down to earth.
On the disappointing side of things, Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan did not approach to sign autographs or take pictures and neither did Morgan Freeman, but this was to be expected. As well as this Joseph Gordon-Levitt did not sign much which was a shame because we were by alot of his fans... But we were incredibly lucky to even see these starlets in the flesh!
If the movie in anyway reflects the magnitude of the awesome European Premiere, it is going to be epic! Here are a few of the photos we managed to take, as well as the autographs we recieved! This post is going to be a little photo heavy, but it's better to have too many pictures from the event than too little.
Outside the Odeon Theatre at Leicester Square
A bill board outside the Odeon showing a face off between Bane and Batman
The immense bat head that also acted as a stage
Fans outside the theatre
The flaming bat symbol
Sneaky walk down the red carpet while the barriers were being set up
Alex Zane looking like he's about to start Singin' In The Rain
Bane's majestic tumbler - a worthy opponent to the Batmobile!
The gorgeous actress Charlotte Riley talking to the fans
Tom Hardy mid interview
Not sure Bane would be smiling this much...
Marion Cotillard looking stunning
Marion Cotillard signing autographs
British actor Douglas Booth
Anne Hathaway smiling with the fans
Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing press (left) and Morgan Freeman (far right)
Fan boys and girls, the time is nearly upon us! The Dark Knight Rises premiered in New York City last night to very positive reviews, there have been a few not so positive ones (yes, Christie Lemire, we are talking about you) but only time will tell if Empire's 5 Stars are accurate!
Here are some of the pictures from the star studded event on the black carpet to feast your eyes on...
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Villain of the tale: Tom Hardy looking dapper
Anne Hathaway aka Catwoman
Tom Hardy and his fiance Charlotte Riley
Bruce Wayne himself, Christian Bale
Marion Cotillard looking stunning in angelic Dior.
Just an update on what's in the pipeline for this momentous week! As you all probably know, the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy graces theatres this week and as promised, we're going to cover it all for you. The New York Premiere is tonight and pictures will be up in due course. As well as this Amateur Reviews are planning on corresponding from the London premiere this Wednesday so will hopefully have coverage from there. Our review of the movie will most likely be up on Saturday the 21st so make sure you pop back to read the verdict! We will then be off on a week long hiatus, so don't be surprised if the blog slacks for a while - until then, enjoy all that's to come!
Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan and James Badge
Dale
Set in The Big Apple, Steve McQueen’s second movie follows
the life of Brandon (Fassbender) as he deals with sexual addiction and the unannounced
arrival of his sister (Mulligan).
This film has been terrifically difficult to review for the
simple reason that it’s partly fantastic yet heavily flawed, therefore it is
very hard to come down on one side of the fence. But the verdict was eventually
managed.
On the positive side of things, the acting is superb.
Michael Fassbender is something else. His portrayal of Brandon is a lot more
reserved than a lot of the roles we have seen him in previously and it was
clear he was pretending he was okay to the world but inside he was falling
apart. Steve McQueen’s artistic flair was greatly appreciated, call it showing
off, but those long takes he does that last for minutes without cutting are very
impressive. Watch out for a stunning tracking shot of a run through New York
City which is absolutely stellar. A member of the viewing party however
commented that artistic flourishes like this don’t actually bring anything to
the movie, but that can be greatly debated. The sex is handled well and is
almost clinical but this is not a sexy film because Brandon remains cold
throughout and there is no indication of love in any of it.
But here’s the thing, the whole film comes across a touch
pretentious, which people feel the need to fawn over. It’s not the fact that
the movie is about the edgy subject of sex addiction, generally it’s the fact
the film over indulges. Was there any need for Carey Mulligan’s 12 hour singing
session of New York, New York? Arguably yes, but it did seem unnecessary. Shame
relies on the concept, Fassbender’s talents and McQueen’s directorial skill. It
feels like the story came secondary to this as the movie was just a sequence of
events. Although maybe that was the point, a real insight into someone’s life?
Also, it does seem strange that it’s not even stated that
Brandon suffers sexual addiction, he could be construed as being really horny! He doesn’t feel shame and
his life is not exactly falling apart yet. But again, that may be the point: he
doesn’t know that it’s a problem so it’s never acknowledged.
Yet despite the criticisms, Shame is immensely mesmerising,
thought provoking and brave. People
use the word brave with regards to cinema too often, but to have Mulligan sing
the whole of New York, New York (although pretentious) is bold. And it’s
courageous to have Fassbender engage in half of the things he does, but it serves
a purpose. Shame is a searing tale of emotional pain and modern addiction which is more than worth seeing.
This film could be an 8 on an artsy day, but as it stands
Shame gets a regretful 6.5. More story and less pretence would’ve been top.
Rating: 6.5
Harsh? You know where to have your say Amateur Reviewers!
It’s been a
while since a movie news post, however after hearing about this little nugget
of goodness, now seemed like a prime time!
The
Bafta-nominated actor Michael Fassbender has been cast in a film adaptation
of video game titan Assassin's Creed. The X-Men: First Class actor will prove
his talent has no bounds as he is down to co-produce the movie as well.
Jean-Julien
Baronnet from Ubisoft games gushed Fassy’s praises by saying "Michael Fassbender
was our first choice," and called him "extremely smart, talented,
versatile and committed." That sounds about right…
If
sales of the video game are anything to go by (more than 30 million copies
sold) it feels like this movie may just be a hit. The game is about a family of
assassins and their conflict with the Knights Templar, which spans the
Crusades, the Italian Renaissance and, in a forthcoming instalment, the
American War of Independence.
And
just because we can, here’s a gratuitous picture of the man of the moment:
Michael Fassbender.
In very quick succession last year, movie goers were treated
with two very similar movies about casual sex. First we had February’s No
Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman as a highly strung doctor who embarks
upon a ‘relationship’ with script writer Ashton Kutcher. Then there was
September’s Friends With Benefits which chronicled headhunter Mila Kunis’ bond
with Justin Timberlake in New York City.
We’re going to highlight the fact that, unless you dig rom
coms like this, there is no need to watch both. So which one do you go for? For
us, the answer is clear – but to prove why we favour one over the other, here’s
a movie show down!
THE LEADING LADY
NATALIE PORTMAN vs MILA KUNIS
Both very attractive ladies, but Mila has the edge. Not even the edge. She wins by a mile. For starters it's hard to believe that Natalie Portman would embark upon such frivolous behaviour in the first place, but generally the role doesn't sit too well with her: Mila is far more at ease and funnier too.
THE LEADING MAN
ASHTON KUTCHER vs JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
This one was a lot harder to call, namely because both men are equally good in the films. However Ashton may just have it because he has more comedy moments than Justin.
Friends With Benefits has best female, and No Strings Attached has the best male. So which film in better? Ultimately it comes down to the fact that Friends With Benefits is significantly more funny, hipper, less cringeworthy, and although no less predictable, it's all together more entertaining. Also the cast is much more impressive in F.W.B - Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson are hilarious. Next time your scrolling through Sky Movies, opt for Friends With Benefits as it has won the battle against No Strings Attached.
1.
2.
Have your say: do you think this verdict is fair or would you have gone the other way? We'd love to hear your comments below!
Starring Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield and Rhys Ifans
Rebooted, reinvented, rewritten. Just a selection of synonyms
used by director Marc Webb while trying to avoid the taboo word in cinema:
remake. But let’s face it, The Amazing Spider-Man is precisely a remake of Sam Raimi’s
film from 2002. Many critics have claimed that it is simply too soon to
reinvent the franchise already, and part of Amateur Reviews agrees with that. However,
from a Sony point of view, it makes perfect sense. To freshen up one of the
only Marvel superheroes missing from Avengers Assemble before embarking on a
sequel seems like excellent timing.
The plot shares the main back bone with Raimi’s previous
offering: nerdy school boy who lives with his Uncle and Aunt gets bitten by a
spider and develops web slinging talent. The difference being that Webb has
tried to focus more on the individual characters and look further into Peter
Parker’s back story. Trouble is, a lot of these extra plot threads which seem
to make The Amazing Spider-Man different to your generic superhero movie seem
to be lost by the final explosive act. But credit to Webb, he has incorporated
some of the quirk from (500) Days of Summer and the exchanges between Parker
and his love interest, Gwen Stacy, really capture the awkwardness of youth.
Our two leads are superb. Andrew Garfield is great, given
the fact he’s a lot older than a 17 year old, he is extremely convincing in his
mannerisms and posture. We all knew his was a fair actor after The Social
Network, but Spider-Man has cemented him as one of the most talented youngsters
currently working in Hollywood. As far as comparing to Toby McGuire’s
portrayal, Garfield’s Parker is a lot edgier with better hair and mad skate
boarding skills: but the same character spirit remains. Emma Stone stars as
Gwen Stacy, daughter of NYPD policeman who is hunting down her beau. Stone
concocts her signature balance between sex appeal and goof ball, terrifically
endearing. Rhys Ifans is the villain of the piece, and it’s hard to hate him,
as he only goes off the rails as he is so driven to do good. Still, he’s
nonetheless impressive and different enough from the Green Goblin to be
original.
The Amazing-Spiderman, as a stand alone film, is cracking. Except the
issue is it’s not stand alone. Every other week it seems a new superhero movie
is released. The Avengers was one tough act to follow, and The Amazing
Spider-Man was not dramatically better than its predecessor, not to mention
Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. The Amazing Spider-Man lacks what Nolan’s
Dark Knight had by the bucket load: character acting, breath taking action sequences,
darkness and a complexly intricate plot. Even so, this is a quality summer
block buster, with good acting and some striking visuals, it’s good fun and so
very worth a watch.
