So MovieCon has been going on this weekend on London’s Southbank.
Here is a round up of all the news you need to know!
Marvel gave us Brits the first play of the footage from the forthcoming releases of Thor, Captain America and The Avengers.
A preview of forthcoming relelase Monsters dubbed as the next District 9 but which shows much more promise than that. Gareth Edwards the man at the helm also held a Q and A where he dubbed the project an attempt at a ‘road movie for aliens’
Check the trailer out here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7o7YMvKZtw
A sneak preview of Ryan Teynolds new movie ‘Buried’
Extended clip of ‘The Voyage of Dawn Treader’ an adventure movie soon to be hitting the big screen.
3D also got it’s fair share of screen time with features including Saw in 3D and The Hole in 3D.
For a complete roundup please visit: http://www.empireonline.com/movie-con/
NO SPOILERS CONTAINED SO READ AT EASE!
Having been fortunate enough to attend a preview screening of the upcoming Gareth Edwards movie Monsters I thought I would share my thoughts on it with you.
As most of you will know from the trailer the aliens in ‘Monsters’ have been resident on earth for 6 years and occupy a large part of Mexico referred to as the Infected Zone.
Finding themselves on the wrong side of the border 2 Americans make a journey home, which will leave you reeling in the beauty of the cinematography.
With leans towards Apocalypse Now during some breathtakingly beautiful river boat scenes and an intense and painstaking nervousness shared between audience and cast alike reminiscent of Jurassic Park this movie really is 90 minutes of viewing pleasure. Do not assume that these references are anything close to a ‘rip off’ or a ‘copy’ because they are not. In fact this movie is somewhat unique. Shying away from a big budget and numerous redrafts whilst it had a set plot, the movie did not have a script and the two main actors Whiteny Able and Scoot McNairey improvised large parts of dialogue drawing in key elements instrumental to the unfurling of the story.
Essentially quite an Avante Garde technique the feel of Monsters is really enhanced by paced development of the story, allowing the viewer to be drawn in and feel as though they are part of the journey. A slow burning build up of fear, a warming relationship and 2 very personal journeys all come to light as the film goes on and you will find yourself breathing sighs of relief and freezing in terror along with your onscreen cohorts.
Not without it’s highly tense moments the movie will inevitably draw comparisons with previous and recent ‘alien’ films such as District 9, however as pointed out by the editor Colin Goudie during a Q and A at the end of the screening having other movies in the same genre released around the same time is no reason to not continue with a movie. In fact Monsters is something of a breath of fresh air.
Rather astonishingly for a film shunning so many of the Hollywood conventions Monsters proves to be not only an intense ‘journey’ movie, but is dripping with stunning shots.
For those of you who are debating whether to venture out and see this on its release, I implore you too. Not only is it so beautifully shot you will at times think you are viewing award winning photos, the slow burning story which builds to a tense and nerve wracking ending will keep you guessing long after the lights are up. Monsters has focused on the elements of humanity and tragedy as well as natural beauty in a time of fear creating one of the most unique and intelligent pieces of cinema I’ve seen in years.
The title in itself is also, throughout the movie, revealed to be poignant and in fact quite a statement. I won’t say any more for fear of ruining it but I would without a hesitation recommend this movie so get out to the box office upon its release in December and settle down for a British movie adventure.
