9 Movie Trailer

No, not 9 movie trailers, the movie is called "9"... anything Tim Burton's involved with tends to look interesting, and this one looks interesting...

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Interview with Tom and Patrick Robinson (Halifirien)

I interviewed Tom and Patrick Robinson, who between them have a ridiculous number of job titles related to the indie movie Halifirien (including Director, Producer and pretty much every other crew job title you can think of).



What first made you want to make a fan film of Lord of the Rings?
We've been huge fans of anything Tolkien related for ages. It was seeing stuff like Born of Hope and Hunt for Gollum, and the frustration of being too far away to get involved, that really triggered it off.

What was the hardest part of filming?
The hardest part was trying to make it look like we had a lot of orcs. We only ever had four orcs on set at one time, and we were trying to film a battle!

How did you come up with the storyline for Halifirien?
It basically started as a bunch of action scenes. We wanted a night battle and a chase through the forest etc. So we went looking for a place in middle earth that this could go on.
The lighting of the beacons is one of the most inspiring scenes in the films and we read into it a bit more. Tolkien wrote about a few of the mountains and Halifirien seemed the perfect place. A wooded mountain on the borders of Gondor and Rohan. King Elendil was buried here. His awe and wonder lingers around his tomb. It's this that drives the orcs away when they are chasing Eradur.
Halifirien means Holy Mountain Rohirric, but is also known as the Hallowed mountain, Hill of awe, Whispering wood, Eilenaer and Amon Anwar (you may hear the wardens use "Amon Anwar" as their war cry in the night battle.)

Any scenes from Halifirien you’re particularly proud of?
One of my favourite scenes is the night battle. I love the darkness and realism, none of the fighting is rehearsed, so when you see an orc jump over the fire and get stabbed it's 100% real. [I’m hoping the term “real” was used here to mean spontaneous, not that someone genuinely had a knife put through them! - CaptainD] It was great fun to film too. We couldn't possibly have ever managed to pull of a straight battle scene with armies fighting each other... We just didnt have enough people!!
But, I think we managed to give the viewer the feelings they would experience if they where in a real battle at night..
...


...

...

TOTAL CONFUSION!


Any favourite scenes from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films?
Awww, this is a hard one! I think the most powerful scene has to be the death of Boromir - to me, that scene really is the Lord of the Rings.

To me your intro animations seemed like they were inspired by Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings film from 1978 – am I right or is it coincidence?
We originally hadn't original planned for it to be similar to the Ralph Bakshi. It was only when I was half way through it that I remembered the animated Lord of The Rings had a silhouette intro too!
We didn't want our film to be just a cheap copy of Peter Jackson's film, so, we tried to incorporate some of Ralph Bakshi's ideas. I'm very pleased with the result, it was extremely time consuming. Most of the people shown are live action pasted on, The rest is all drawn on Microsoft paint!

Any plans for a sequel / another fan film / another film of any type?
We will be making other films, we've all developed our skills hugely and it would be a shame to let it all die. Any future films will be announced on the Halifirien Website.


I'd like to thank Tom and Patrick for agreeing to be interviewed, and for making the film in the first place. We await their next movie with considerable interest!

See also my write-up and review of Halifirien.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Couples Retreat Trailer

If anyone's going to watch this and wants to post a review, leave a comment or send me an email... personally I just don't see that it can be particularly good. I've yet to like Vince Vaughan in anything I've seen him in, though to be fair he always seems to play a very unlikable character...

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Thinking about TV for a while...

To be honest I hardly watch TV these days, since with most things - especially long series as it happens - I really prefer to watch them back to back. However I became rather hooked on the quirky and intriguing Life, which sadly seems to have come to a premature end at the finale of its second series (anyone else think that wasn't the original script?). Flash Forward is also rather interesting - I've never had the slightest interest in watching Lost by the same team, but despite its rather Michael Bay-ish directorial style, it's kept my interest so far. All episodes back to the first are still available on Fiver's TV on Demand site (only another 6 days before Episode One isn't there though, so be quick).

Other than that, the extremely lovable Scrubs has become one of my favourites - not quite as surreal as the British show The Green Wing, but endearingly daft in its own special way.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Montage of PIXAR's Movies

Found this by chance today... very nicely done!

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Play,com Deal of the Day - Coraline

Coraline: Limited Edition - 2 Disc 2D & 3D

Version with Lenticular Sleeve Neil Gaiman adapts his own fantasy novel for this stop-motion animated adventure from the director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". 11-year old Coraline (Dakota Fanning) must escape an alternate reality where her parents dote on her when this seemingly perfect world starts to turns bad.

Grab this fab film for only £11.99 from Play.com with free delivery

Related links:

Movie Review - Coraline (3D)

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Fantastic Mr Fox Trailer

I'm not sure about this one... I do remember enjoying Roald Dahl's book when I was young, but I don't like the animation, not keen on the voices, and Mr Fox's trademark noise is intensely irritating. Am I being too critical, do you think?! (On the whole I think George Clooney is a good choice to voice the vulpine genius... but that noise is still annoying!)

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Movie Review - PIXAR's "Up"

The tenth full-length PIXAR movie, Up, has quite some reputation to live up to - PIXAR are (despite some great animated movies from Dreamworks and Sony Picture Animations) unquestionably the masters of the genre.  Here in the UK we had to wait 5 months for Up to arrive in cinemas... so was it worth the wait?  Absolutely!

The first thing to know about Up is that the trailers basically blindsided everyone - well, they did me, and I'm guessing that I wasn't the only person to be fooled.  One of the main characters, Carl Fredericksen, simply appeared to be a very grumpy old man intent on getting away from his neighbours by turning his house into a rather unusual airship.  The truth is that Carl is a complex character who certainly can be grumpy when the mood takes him, but his motives for getting away and his basic characteristics were completely different to what I expected.   Add in an enthusiastic young lad looking for the last achievement badge to complete his collection and make the transition from junior to senior member at the Wilderness Explorer's club.  Add in a talking dog (well a whole host of taking dogs actually), a childhood hero who becomes an arch-nemesis, a trip to exotic lands with rare wildlife, and you've just about got enough of the plot to be going on with.

The real key to the movie, however, is the romance between Carl and Ellie, who meet as children and have a long happy marriage, which unfortunately ends prematurely when Ellie dies.  There's a montage of scenes portraying their whole married life together, lasting only a few minutes and with no spoken dialogue; it's absolutely incredible.  If you think the romance between Wall-E and Eve was fantastically portrayed despite them not talking being saying their names, then you'll find this scene even more amazing.  You actually felt like you knew Carl personally after this.  There is another scene later on, which I won't divulge in case whoever's reading this hasn't seen it yet (but those who have will probably know what I'm talking about) that absolutely took my breath away, where Carl suddenly comes to understand his late wife more in a few moments than he ever has done before.  Amazing stuff.

Considering how much is in Up that children won't comprehend, the fact that it's still hugely enjoyable for young children is testament to the genius of PIXAR as film-makers and story-tellers.  There's so much going on in every scene that you could probably watch it several times and constantly find new delights in it.  The overall storyline, especially the undercurrents to what makes Carl do the things he does, are intensely emotional; however the film is also wildly funny and action-packed as well.  Each character had a fully developed and believable back story that unfolds naturally as the story progresses.

The visuals are stunning throughout; PIXAR seem to have this ability to capture every scene perfectly, with an amazing combination of vivid colours, fluid movement and great attention to detail.  The music also deserves a mention - Michael Giacchino's score is superb, and perfectly captures the spirit of every scene.  As you would expect the voice acting is spot on - I haven't heard of many of the voice cast to be honest, but who cares?  They all did a fantastic job.  Edward Asner as Carl Fredericken, Christopher Plummer (have heard of him) as Charles Muntz, Jordan Nagai as Russell (the young boy who always wants to help) were great.  Bob Peterson voiced two very different dogs - evil Alpha Dog and ultra-friendly Dug.  PIXAR regular John Ratzenberger voices a construction worker early on in the movie, making him the only actor whose voice has appeared in all ten PIXAR movies.

There was nothing - seriously, nothing - about Up that I can criticise.  It was perfect.  The only slight criticisms I do have are about the intro short, "Partly Cloudy" - it was okay but nothing more - and the 3D.  There were some nice effects in the 3D, but I still remain unconvinced that it's worth more to see it in 3D (though I continue to pay more to see films in 3D for some reason!)  Oh, and the fact that in the UK we had to wait so long for it - that still annoys me. 

Other PIXAR Movies:

Toy Story 2
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Cars
Ratatouille
Wall-E

See also:

My Top Ten Animated Movies
My Top Ten Computer-Animated Movies

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

TRON Legacy

I don't care what anyone says, Light Cycles always have been, and always will be, exceptionally cool...

Of course I still love the original TRON, despite the acting being atrocious in (many) places!

More TRON goodness:

• TRON Movie Review
• TRON Book Review
• TRON 2.0 PC Game Review

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

UP finally reaches the UK!

After a frustrating 5 months waiting for the UK release, Up has hit cinemas here - so was it worth the wait?

5 words...

• PIXAR
• Have
• Done
• It
• Again

Up is amazing. I don't know how they do it, but PIXAR somehow manage to continually produce animated movies of such quality that it takes your breath away.

I'll try to post a full review tomorrow, but for now all you need to know is that Up is definitely a must-see movie. Saw it in 3D, some good effects but again I'm left unconvinced that it's worth the extra money to see it in 3D. However many D you see it in though, just make sure you see it!

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Love Happens Trailer

Can't really make up my mind about this one... I'm a bit of a sucker for romantic comedies and I live both Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston, but... so many supposed romcoms have been a waste of time, will this be different? I guess I'll find out soon...

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Halifirien now released!

Story

During the time of the War of the Ring a young boy will face his own quest, to light the last beacon and signal to Rohan that Gondor calls for aid.

High on the mountain of Halifirien, overlooking the border between the two kingdoms, the wardens keep their watch for the ancient signal that will call the men of the west to unite against the threat of Mordor.

As Sauron's shadow grows over Middle Earth, orc war bands maraud further into the free lands, and one night invade the hallowed mountain upon which the wardens keep their watch. As Eradur (James Robinson) and his brother (Dominic Downes) are on guard they hear the noise of battle from further down the mountain. Do they go and help their friends? Or stay and keep to their sworn duty?

Eradur will face the loss of those most dear to him as he is hunted down by bloodthirsty orcs and forced to confront his fears alone.

Watch the movie

My Review:

There's a pretty strong story here based on a footnote of the Battle for Middle Earth, and it's nicely developed - like so many of Tolkein's own themes, this is a minature war within the setting of the great war against Sauron. Like most independent movies the sound quality is poor, which makes the movie a little less enjoyable than it would have been, though Peter Clarke's energetic music score helps things along nicely. The image quality is variable (they got a better camera after filming had started), but there are a lot of good ideas and eye-catching images here - it would be very interesting to see what Tom and Patrick Robinson (Director/Producer and Editor/Cinematographer respectively) could have come up with had they been able to use professional equipment. James Robinson is a fairly enigmatic lead and carries the film well despite the fact that his words are sometimes lost due to the poor sound quality.

Overall Halifirien doesn't try to hide its amateur roots but for all that it's quite an engaging little film. Don't expect something with the production values of The Hunt for Gollum, but I'd have to say that Halifirien has a much stronger story than its indie big brother.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Born of Hope Official Release Date

Finally we have an official release date for the fan-made film "Born of Hope", set in Middle Earth. It's now touted for an online release on 1st December. A bit later than we;d been expecting... better late than never though!

Catch up with the latest news on the official Born of Hope website.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Play.com Deal of the Day - Australia

This film certainly had some critics, but I really liked it, so when I got the email about Australia being the play.com Deal of the Day, I thought I'd post it. Click here for more details, here to watch the trailer or here for my review.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Buy One Get One Free offer on Disney films by Play.com

Disney Buy One Get One Free is live on Play.com right now. This promotion runs for 4 weeks from 5th October 2009 and is massively popular.

As always Play.com are offering FREE DELIVERY on everything!!

Click here to see what's on offer.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965)

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines is about a London-Paris flying race, set in the early years of flying when this journey took about 25 hours. It's a rather overlong movie and sadly lacking in genuine laughs, yet it retains a certain naive charm and it does have one or two very funny moments. (Probably my favourite is when the Italian competitor, having has to make an emergency landing, manages to enlist the help of local convent sisters by telling them that if they didn't help him, the race would be won by a Protestant.)

Featuring a whole host of star names including Terry Thomas (playing, as you might guess, a complete rotter), Roger Morely, Eric Sykes, Sarah Miles, Red Skelton, Benny Hill and James Fox, the cast hams it up something chronic and there's far too much slapstick. It has an endearing daftness about the whole thing though and that's just about enough to keep you watching, and there are some good moments later on in the film. There are a lot of similar movies but most of them involve cars - The Great Race, Monte Carlo or Bust, Genevieve etc - but this one has novelty value on its side for being about aeroplanes.

Not bad but could have been better with stricter editing. It also features (somewhat bafflingly for modern audiences) a musical interlude with a blank screen (the film is a little over 2 hours long, so an interlude would hardly seem necessary by modern standards), and an unintentionally (I think?!) duck (possibly goose) in flight - realistic it isn't, I can't make up my mind if it looked so awful by design or not. Most of the movie hinges on humour derived from cultural stereotypes; this only works to a limited extent. Still, if you like silly films this just might be something you'd enjoy. Much depends on Terry Thomas' roguish charm, so if you're a fan of his it helps.

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog

And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

Now if there's one thing you definitely can't do, it's turn a sketch show into a full-length movie. And if there's one thing the Monty Python crew were good at, it was proving that you actually can do things everyone knows you can't do.

Basically a series of their funniest sketches loosely linked together by other scenes or animation, the whole thing works because of the sheer random madness of it all. There are some reoccurring characters and themes, but basically it's very disjointed - however you'll be laughing far too hard to actually notice (or care). The film's title, taken from one of their catchphrases, also helps them get away with this lack of continuity.

Admittedly not every scene is laugh-out-loud funny, but it hits far more often than it misses - there are some priceless moments of surreal comedy here. The Hungarian Phrasebook, the Dead Parrot sketch, Nudge Nudge Wink Wink, the Lumberjack Song, How To Defend Yourself From Attack By A Man Armed With A Piece of Fruit, Climbing The Twin Peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro and right at the end (possibly my favourite of all), The Upper Class Twit of the Year Championships. Some parts had me literally crying with laughter.

The humour isn't for everyone, but if you get it... it's absolutely hilarious. Can't help but recommend it! (Know what I mean?)

---

CaptainD - Movie Reviews Blog