Rush.

To make a film there are obviously some things you will need, besides money that is. You will require a story or at least someone to adapt a story and write a screenplay. Peter Morgan, a British screenwriter who name has been synonymous with films like The Queen (2006), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), The Damned United (2008) and Clint Eastwood's supernatural drama Hereafter (2010), should fit the bill. Then of course you're going to need a director lets say Ron Howard who most of us will remember as Richie Cunningham in no less than 171 episodes of the TV series Happy Days that originally aired between 1974 and 1984. He made his directorial debut in 1977 and has to his credit award winning films like Cocoon (1985), Apollo 13 (1995) and A Beautiful Mind that won him an Oscar in 2001 for Best Director. Other films of note have included the western The Missing (2003), The De Vinci Code (2006) and the political drama Frost/Nixon in 2008. But of course without the Director of Photography you will have nothing to look at! There are some very good cinematographers but none better than the British camera man Anthony Dod Mantle who was responsible for the camerawork on the first of the film’s made under the Dogme 95 banner Festen (1998) directed by the Dane Thomas Vinterberg, and three films with Lars Von Trier including 2009's controversial Antichrist. He also worked with Danny Boyle on 5 movies including the recent psychological thriller Trance (2013). Now your need a sound track or a score, not all films need one but generally if you intend to produce an exciting drama then you probable will and one of the best composers in the business is Hans Zimmer who has been involved with composing a great many film scores including Gladiator (2000), The Dark Knight (2008) and another award winning Christopher Nolan film Inception (2010).

 

Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl.

Coincidently this team were used on the recent very well made and extremely exciting biographical sporting drama Rush (2013), a dramatized account of the rivalry between two very famous Formula One drivers. The drivers involved were British born James Hunt, the George Best of motor racing, whose climb to the top started with touring car racing and then the Formula Three route driving for Lord Hesketh’s Racing team and then in 1973 entered Formula One leaving Hesketh to join the McLaren team were he earned most of his success. The other driver involved in this rivalry was the Austrian Niki Lauda who eventually won the F1 World Championship three times.

 

Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

The intense competitiveness between these two totally different men is very well formulated, Hunt comes across as the devil may care playboy who love of racing is only matched by his love of women, whereas Lauda is the technocrat, more interested in mechanical engineering and risk assessment than the high life. Two things make this film very special firstly great casting with Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, best known for his role as the mighty Thor, plays James Hunt with German actor Daniel Bruhl (Good Bye Lenin 2003, The Edukators 2004, Inglourious Basterds 2009) as Niki Lauda. Both actors bear an uncanny likeness to the actual drivers as we witness at the end of the film when we get some archive footage. Secondly its spectacular motor racing sequences which really do have you on the edge of your seat. But what makes the film even more adsorbing is that we are given a glimpse inside two of F1 great characters, and we are left only to decide, as Peter Bradshaw asked ‘which was the champ and which was the chump?’[1]

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[1] Peter Bradshaw The Guardian September 2013

Avengers Assemble.

All credit to Joss Whedon’s writing and direction on what amounts to his first Hollywood blockbuster, a sequel to the proceeding five Marvel Cinematic Universe movies Iron Man (2008),  The Incredible Hulk (2008)  Iron Man 2 (2010) Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Avengers Assemble (2012) is an absolute dynamite adaptation of a comic book action adventure and one certainly worthy of the description of ‘action movie’ with CGI that is more than impressive with its post 9/11 imagery and references. It also includes, in abundance, one of the most important ingredients of any comic book movie: humour.

Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow.

Hawkeye.

The plot involves our collective superheroes, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America and the lesser known Hawkeye and the ultra sexy Black Widow, battling a supervillain, well actually a Norse God, who has stolen an energy source resembling a blue translucent cube called a Tesseract, which is powerful enough to destroy earth.

The Norse God Loki.

One of the great strengths of this movie is its villain Loki, played brilliantly by Tom Hiddleston, who you will remember from Thor as the crown prince of Asgard’s adopted renegade brother. The cast’s commitment to their particular character’s help to conjure up a totally realistic Marvel world, Robert Downey Jr as the heir to the Stark dynasty giving the role the eccentricity it deserves, all American hero Captain America is again portrayed by Chris Evans, with Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Thor and Mark Ruffalo finally giving the kudos that the role of Bruce Banner deserves. Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye a S.H.l.E.L.D agent whose skill with a bow and arrow gives him the title of the world’s greatest marksman. Scarlett Johansson brings superspy Natasha Romanoff, better known by her code name Black Widow, to life. Also involved is Samuel L. Jackson who plays the director of S.H.l.E.L.D Nick Fury responsible for bringing the superheroes together to help fight world domination by the evil fascistic Loki. To all Marvel Cinematic Universe virgins I challenge you to watch this film and not fall in love with the whole comic book concept.

Commander Nick Fury.

Will the Hulk save the day?

Snow White and the Huntsman.

Snow White with the Huntsman.

Based loosely on the German fairy tale Snow White, collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, British director Rupert Stevens debut film version of the famous story Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) differs slightly from the one we all read as a child.

Snow White in her Joan of Arc guise.

The young Snow Whites mother dies. Her father, the King Magnus, falls for the beautiful Ravenna and consequently marries her but the poor man gets more than he bargained for when she murders him while consummating their marriage. Now Queen of all the kingdom she imprisons Snow White in the traditional high tower, scares away all the decent folk that lived in the castle including the Duke Hammond and his son, Snows playmate Prince William. Ravenna’s equally wicked brother Finn, with whom she asserts a reign of terror, soon joins her. The only person that can neutralise the evil Queen’s power is imprisoned in the tall tower.

   

The beautifully wicked Ravenna.

The story develops to include a very unnerving Dark Forest; two love interests, a cracking grand finale when Snow White dressed in armour (we are reminded of Joan of Arc) leads her army along the Marloes Sands beach against Ravenna and her brother who are shacked up in the brilliant computer generated castle on Gateholm Island. And dare we forget the eight, yes eight, Dwarves who are played by a whole horde of very well known British actors, who have had their faces digitally transmuted onto small bodies, which apparently upset the Little People of America organisation, but they manage to add a sense of amusement to the proceedings.

The castle on Gateholm Island.

Although it was backed by American finance the movie was mostly photographed in the United Kingdom and boasts some great special effects.  It also has some very interesting casting including Kristen Stewart as our heroine Snow White which meant that even my local cinema, that’s better known for art house productions than blockbusters and rom-coms, did entice an audience of young pubescent girls obviously attracted to the actress in her Bella Swan guise than perhaps her portrayal of Joan Jett in The Runaways  (2010). The cast also included Sam Claflin, who was last seen on the big screen in the latest Pirates film On Stranger Tides (2011) as Prince William, Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna and Chris ‘Thor’ Hemsworth as the Huntsman of the title. I thoroughly enjoyed this very watchable, well-made movie it certainly kept me entertained for its fast-moving 127 minute running time and I for one will be looking forward to its planned sequel.

Six of the eight dwarves.