Weekend box-office – 1st to 7th of November 2014 – will Ouija be a game for Fury?

When Brad Pitt’s WWII thriller Fury, depicted the crew of the titular tank, was released last week it smashed into US’ number one spot but it may struggle to retain it. This week, low budget horror Ouija (pronounced wee-gee) and action thriller John Wick debut. As well as Willem Dafoe, the latter stars a fledging Keanu Reeves, previously known for the rip-roaring successes of The Matrix, Speed and Point Break but now clearly struggling (particularly after the recent flop of 47 Ronin). Will Reeves prove himself as box office material once more or will the might of the micro budget win over.

US:

1. Ouija – Director: Stiles White – $19.9 million
2. John Wick – David Leitch, Chad Stahelski – $14.4 million
3. Fury – David Ayer – $13.4 million
4. Gone Girl – David Fincher – $11 million
5. The Book of Life – Jorge R Gutierrez – $10 million

UK:

1. Fury – David Ayer – £2.7 million
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – £1.9 million
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – £1.6 million
4. The Book of Life – Jorge R Gutierrez – £1 million
5. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball – £0.9 million

Ouija, which was trashed by almost all critics and watchers, has disappointingly, but unsurprisingly, triumphed. John Wick picked up a lot of critical praise but there’s been next to no interest or anticipation for it. It’s still a step in the right direction for Keanu though. Mexican family animation The Book of Life slip places while Gone Girl is proving that Oscar bait can still haul in cash as it crosses the $250 million mark worldwide. Fury’s UK victory is testament to Brad Pitt’s enduring popularity. This week I’ve scored a decent 5/10.

US:

1. Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
2. Ouija – Stiles White
3. John Wick – David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
4. Fury – David Ayer
5. Gone Girl – David Fincher

UK:

1. Fury – David Ayer
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman
3. Ouija – Stiles White
4. Gone Girl – David Fincher
5. Horns – Alexandre Aja

Olivia Cooke in Ouija, this week’s US number one.

Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman and Brad Pitt in Fury, this week’s UK number one.

McGregor, Gyllenhaal and MacConaughey in Doctor Strange rumour and DC announce new releases

The elusive casting of Marvel’s Doctor Strange still rages. Scott Derickson (Sinister) was hired shortly after the film’s confirmation but the crucial position of the lead role in the superhero fantasy has passed through many hands. So far Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, Panic Room), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road) have been named in connection until this summer when Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, Her) began negotiations. Months later, Phoenix dropped out and the chase began once more.

Names such as Adrien Brody (The Pianist) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men) have been thrown up in speculation. Hardy and Cumberbatch seem unlikely but Leto is still a viable option. More recently there were rumours of Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) and Ethan Hawke (Before Sunset) being involved but a new report claims a host of actors are on a shortlist. Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar, Mud, Dallas Buyers Club), Oscar Isaac (The Two Faces of January, Inside Llewyn Davis, Star Wars: Episode VII) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Source Code, Brokeback Mountain).

Most interestingly Ewan McGregor was also named. The Scot found fame in a Danny Boyle double bill of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting but seems to have been shying away from blockbuster roles since the subduing experience of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He’s since taken roles in The Impossible, Black Hawk Down, Moulin Rouge and Tim Burton’s truly loveable Big Fish. McGregor would be an excellent choice.

Warner Bros are following Marvel’s suit with a cinematic universe based upon the DC comic books. Following last year’s Man of Steel, the layout of their new set of films is at last being unveiled. As expected, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice rolls in March 25th 2016. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) gets a spin off in 2017 accompanied by Dwayne Johnson’s Shazam and the very first Justice League picture. Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wall-Flower, We Need to Talk About Kevin) plays The Flash and Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) is Aquaman, both arriving in 2018. David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) also helms The Suicide Squad, now confirmed as part of the line up. Ben Affleck’s The Batman and more Henry Cavill antics in Man of Steel will follow.

Doctor Strange – July 8th 2016

The Matrix rumoured for a further sequel and 12 Years a Slave wins at the Indie Spirit

Tonight is Oscar night but we’re focussing on a less mainstream event. The Indie Spirit Awards tend to provide a more alternative view but this year’s results seem to be going the same way as the others.

Best Feature:

12 Years a Slave

All is Lost

Frances Ha

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Best Director:

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

Shane Carruth – Upstream Colour

JC Chandor – All is Lost

Jeff Nichols – Mud

Alexander Payne – Nebraska

Best Leading Actor:

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis

Michael B Jordan – Fruitvale Station

Robert Redford – All is Lost

Best Leading Actress:

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Julie Delpy – Before Midnight

Gaby Hoffman – Crystal Fairy

Brie Larson – Short Term 12

Shailene Woodley – The Spectacular Now

Best Screenplay:

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Julie Delpy, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight

Nicole Holofcener – Enough Said

Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber – The Spectacular Now

Best Supporting Actress:

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Melonie Diaz – Fruitvale Station

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

Yolanda Ross – Go for Sisters

June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Supporting Actor:

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Will Forte – Nebraska

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Keith Stanfield – Short Term 12

The first Matrix film, 1999, was the biggest sci-fi game changer since Star Wars and subsequently launched itself to icon status. While massively profitable, its sequels were frostily received. Andy and Lana Wachowski haven’t quite reached those heights since, with the flop Speed Racer and the brilliant but widely misunderstood Cloud Atlas. Its now apparent that the brother/sister duo are negotiating a return to the series with a fourth, possibly fifth or sixth, instalment. Latino Review’s report doesn’t really suggest facts or speculation however stars Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Carrie Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne have themselves become icons for their own performances as Neo, Agent Smith, Trinity and Morpheus say can we expect them to return?

The Matrix 4 – 2017?

47 Ronin review

Director: Carl Rinsch

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Ko Shibasaki, Min Tanaka, Takato Yonemoto, Jin Akanishi, Hiroshi Sogabe

47 Ronin has a ridiculously large budget, the reason for which we’ll address later, but that’s not the only reason it’s proved to be a huge box office flop. Chris Morgan’s (Fast and Furious) script pitches a fantasy based take on the Japanese legend has a brilliant story trying to get out but, for numerous reasons, it didn’t.

Kai (Reeves) is a half bread outcast with a secretive backstory and surprisingly great fighting skills living in the woods. Abandoned as a child, he’s reluctantly adopted by a Japanese Samurai clan who fear him to be a demon, except for the kindly master of the clan Lord Asano (Tanaka) and his daughter Mika (Shibasaki). A conspiracy is laid in place by Lord Kira (Asano) and an evil, shapeshifting sorceress (Kikuchi) to tale over and rule Asano’s land and people. The vengeful Ronin, led by Kai and Oishi (Sanada), set out on a journey to kill Kira and rescue Kai’s love, Mika.

The film was announced to star Reeves back in 2008.Through further development problems, the film was then scheduled for a release in November 2012 before, needing work on the 3D effects, slided to February 2013 and then, with huge reshoots required, Boxing Day 2013. The result is a big, big mess of an attempt to get across the story. The key mistake was making an mainly Japanese ensemble speak English. The Hollywood seasoned Sanada, Kikuchi and Asano are all great but the rest of the cast seem like they’d be much more comfortable speaking their own language.

Reeves performs his usual steely delivery as Kai, an invented character who has barely any effect on the story. He’s just elsewhere having his own battle while the actual Samurai do the work. On the upside, 47 Ronin is visually stunning and beautifully shot, despite Carl Rinsch’s complete lack of feature filmmaking. The film turns rural Japan into a brilliant fantasy world but the giant creatures and earless demons, while impressive, are a step too far.

47 Ronin’s got some rollicking Samurai action as well as some brilliant imagery and great performances from Sanada, Asano and Kikuchi. I kind of wish that Kai was abandoned and the story focused on the former three’s characters however as they are much more interesting. Morgan’s script is weak and often faltering due to him trying to smother the legend with elements ripped out of 300, The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator and, most obviously, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Were the film in Japanese, they’d be a lot less problems as, proved by Crouching Tiger, foreign language action flicks filmed entirely with foreign casts can still bring in brilliant box office and critical success. This won’t and hasn’t and has an ending that, rather than subduing the audience as it thinks it is, just leaves everyone thinking “huh?”. However there’s still a good film trying to claw its way out of the above.

5/10

“Rivers of blood and mountains of corpses will not stand in our way!”