Jupiter Ascending // Trailer 2 Review

Plot Synopsis:

In the future, a young destitute human woman (Mila Kunis) gets targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe, and begins her destiny to finish the Queen’s reign. Also starring Channing Tatum, Sean Bean and Douglas Booth.

Official Trailer:

Full Review:

With the Wachowskis directing, who famously blew everyone’s minds with The Matrix, you have to be interested or at least intrigued by this film. So when the first trailer for Jupiter Ascending hit the web, it had my curiosity but it didn’t have my attention (Thanks Calvin Candy!) I felt like it didn’t really satisfy me like should have, and something was missing. However, I was much more impressed with this trailer hence why I’m talking about it to you today.

The main problem with the first trailer was it was basically just a showcase for all the visual effects (which do look amazing!). This new trailer, which was released last night, seems to tell us more about the story and what to expect, but at the same time leaving enough unknown story elements and mystery that forces you to go and see the film in cinemas in order for all your questions to fully be resolved. The promotional team behind The Amazing Spider-Man 2 can learn a thing or two from this!

Speaking of the story, it doesn’t really seem like anything too ground breaking; treading on territory that many Young Adult novels have made common place. Mila Kunis (Ted, Black Swan) is ‘the chosen one‘ and she is the only one who can save the universe. But wait, she’s just an average girl. How on Earth is she gonna be able to achieve such a feat?! Sound familiar? That’s because it is! In all honesty, that’s probably the only problem I have but I’m sure that the public wouldn’t care anyway, since films with this exact storyline are being churned out faster than you can say Albuquerque!

The acting looks like it could be a treat as well, both figuratively and literally. For the men, the treat is Mila Kunis and for the women, it’s Channing Tatum. And for fans of Game of Thrones and Lord Of The Rings, it’s Sean Bean! Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) appears to be taking on a role that he hasn’t dealt with before. No longer is he this loving heartthrob with a quick wit sense of humour. Now he’s an intergalactic badass! Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn) also seems to be giving a noteworthy performance as a cold and slightly sinister villain. Although he appears to be overacting in some parts, Redmayne looks like an engrossing enemy for Kunis (Ted, Black Swan) to vend off against.

All in all, Jupiter Ascending appears to be an enjoyable watch that is almost guaranteed to be a spectacle when sat in the cinema, especially in 3D. However, it’s unlikely for me to be rushing out to my nearest cinema just to see this. For some reason, this hasn’t ignited a spark that makes me squeal in uncontrollable excitement like a five year old girl. If I’m honest, I might end up streaming it. I’ll save the money I could’ve spent on a Jupiter Ascending ticket and instead use it to buy a ticket to the upcoming Godzilla film in May!!

Fergie’s Final Fifteen:

Looks like a perfect popcorn flick and a visual marvel, but just isn’t enticing enough.

Rating:

B-

I’m not putting the film down in any way; it’s just that I’m not as hyped up about it as I should be. Who knows? The film might be one of 2014’s best films, but it doesn’t really seem that way from this or the previous trailer. But hey, if someone came up to me and asked if I wanted to see Jupiter Ascending with them, by no means necessary would I put up a fight.

So, what did you guys think of the trailer? Are you more excited than I am? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments section right this instant!!

 

Trailer Review (and Rant) // The Purge: Anarchy

Plot Synopsis:

A young couple works to survive on the streets after their car breaks down right as the annual purge commences.

Trailer:

Full Review:

For crying out loud! We’ve got yet another unnecessary sequel coming our way. This time round, it is the follow up to last year’s critically panned, but highly successful, home invasion flick The Purge. Before I give my verdict on the trailer for the sequel, I will briefly give my opinion on the previous installment. I thought it was horrible. Simple as that! The concept of all crime being made legal is a cool idea, but the film unfortunately wasted any shred of potential it once had by making it a home invasion movie. Yes, that’s right; a fairly original idea was somehow made incredibly cliché and predictable. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed with the direction the film took!

With this in mind, I definitely didn’t think to myself “I would like to see a sequel of this pile of sh*t” after sifting through ninety minutes of visual feces. But hey, in the land of countless Paranormal Activity sequels, it was kind of expected that The Purge would be granted a sequel. Especially when the film cost a mere $3 million to make and earned over $80 million at the worldwide box office during the summer season of 2013.

So this new trailer, which was just released earlier today, shows us exactly what we should expect from the film. What should we expect? Nothing. Nothing at all. Based on what’s shown, this seems like another classic example of Hollywood studios rehashing a idea and hoping to make the same amount of money they did the first time round. You’d think most of us would have learnt by now, but no. People are still handing over their hard earned cash to see films they’ve already seen but underneath a different title. I believe that Hollywood has developed a motto over the past couple of years, along the lines of “If it makes money, do it more often!”

And to be honest, I’m getting sick of it! I mean, REALLY sick of it! I’m at the point where whenever a film has a number at the end of it’s title, my attitude towards it immediately worsens. I very rarely see a genuinely unique film gracing international cinema screens nowadays which is a huge shame because Hollywood shouldn’t need to look towards other forms of media (books, tv shows, and graphic novels) and already existing films in order to move forward as an art form. If anything, making sequels no one wants and reboots/remakes we didn’t ask for is damaging cinema.

In my eyes, cinema is a medium for people to express and share their stories through the means of visual images. Unfortunately, Hollywood couldn’t give a toss about the quality of a story; all they care about is MONEY. In the eyes of studio executives, filmmaking is a business. A very poorly managed business, to be precise. As a student of Business Studies, I can confidently tell you that the primary objective of any business should be to identify and satisfy customer needs. And herein lies the problem. Hollywood. Doesn’t. Care. About. You. I only have one thing to say to those stuck up snobs joyously swimming in tidal waves of hundred dollar bills:

STOP IT HOLLYWOOD! YOU’RE GIVING ME CHEST PAINS!!

Sorry. I needed to get that out in the open. How about we actually talk about what’s in the trailer, eh? Well, even with the rant aside, the film doesn’t look remotely good to begin with. As I previously said, Anarchy doesn’t appear to offer anything new that we haven’t seen already, which sparked my momentary rage towards Tinsel Town as seen earlier.

Granted, the film seems to be approaching the storyline via a much larger scope where our lead characters have the entire city to explore and hopefully not get killed by the hooded hooligans. The expansion from the small household to the entire suburbia is a nice addition, but I’m not excited about this change since it still revolves around the same storyline as the previous film. Speaking of the hooded hooligans, one of them can be seen in the trailer during an absurdly noisy shot.

Seriously, look at the ugliness! This is a shot that made it’s way into a Hollywood film! Would you like to see image quality which is about as beautiful as a mole rat’s rectum on a large cinema screen? I certainly wouldn’t!!

Where was I? Oh yes!! The city setting! Although this can be seen as upping the ante, this has left a gaping hole in the storyline. In the first film, Ethan Hawke and his family were housing a fleeing stranger and tried to fend off a group of murderers which wanted the man dead. So it made sense why the killers were trying to kill Ethan Hawke as well. But here, it doesn’t look like there’s any justification why the hoodlums are trying to kill the main couple. This loses any dilemma for the characters to deal with and the masked thugs aren’t as threatening and intimidating because of this.

I think it’s quite obvious that I will not be checking this movie out when it’s released but I may stream it so I can review it to tell you guys how sh*t it was! To be fair, I’m judging and criticising this film way too early, for I haven’t even seen the movie yet, but then again isn’t that why trailers exist in the first place?!

Fergie’s Final Fifteen:

As pointless as a blunt pencil and completely unnecessary. Stop giving these people your money!

Rating:

E-

The only reason I haven’t rated it a flat out F is because they’re trying to expand the scope of the film, but it still gets an incredibly low grade for the aforementioned reasons. Trust me guys, I will drop the F-Bomb very soon on a film I absolutely loathe!

What did you guys think of the trailer? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!