This week we look at the upcoming remakes and rumours, Park Chan-Wook’s new film Stoker and the Oscars aftermath. We’ll also be taking a look at updates and new images from superhero sequels and more.
Hello again, and thanks for coming back for this week’s installment of Geeks on Film. Hopefully our lovely readers are enjoying my ramblings and I’ll avoid further Nic Cage hate rants in this edition. So instead I’m going to start off with a few thoughts on the results from the 85th Academy Awards which took place over the weekend.
Firstly, I was delighted that Lincoln didn’t just sweep the board and only scooped a well-deserved Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis. I was particularly thrilled to see Christoph Waltz take home Best Supporting Actor for his role in Django Unchained, beating favourite Tommy Lee Jones for his Lincoln performance. Hathaway’s Best Supporting Actress was a given and Django picking up a second award for Best Original Screenplay was also up there for me. I was also pleased to see Affleck take home Best Director for Argo, a very rare win for the category since it wasn’t up for Best Picture.
Now that little rant’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the top stories in the world of film from the past week, new releases and why I’m not quite sure if I’m excited for the upcoming Evil Dead remake.
This Week’s Top Stories
Over the past week there have been updates and images released for many of the upcoming Marvel superhero sequels. We’ve had a look at Spidey’s new threads and some film updates for it’s 2014 release, an official Iron Man 3 poster and comments on Captain America going political for The Winter Soldier.
Personally, I’m loving the new Spider-Man suit, mostly because it’s much closer to the one found in some of the comic-books, particularly the Ultimate Spider-Man series. The bigger eyes are a great feature, creating a closer image in this adaptation.
In other Spidey news, it has been announced that Chris Cooper will be joining the cast as Norman Osbourne, a mentor to Peter Parker at this stage in the story. It’s doubtful we’ll see his Green Goblin appear in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but I’m sure there’ll be a nice set up before the credits role.
The new poster for Iron Man 3 failed to excite me, despite it looking pretty swish. I do enjoy the Iron Man films but I’m finding them a little tired; just some action filler for 2013 ahead of Avengers 2‘s 2015 release. Also, there have been talks of a Hulk reboot starring Mark Ruffalo, but Joss Whedon has concerns that the character only really works as part of the ensemble, as he’s not a ‘real superhero’.
More superhero sequel news as Kevin Feige, chief of Marvel, has declared that Captain America: The Winter Hero, will be a ‘political thriller’. That will make for an interesting release next year, but with both Captain America and Spider-Man sharing an April 2014 release, I can see more success for the latter.
New Releases
Today’s main release is Park Chan-Wook’s Stoker, which I mentioned in last weeks post. Mia Wasikowska plays India, a girl suffering with grief after the death of her father, with little comfort from her emotionally unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). At the funeral, India’s long-lost (and unknown to her) uncle (Matthew Goode) appears and begins to stay with the family. She suspects this mysterious man to have ulterior motives for his sudden appearance, but becomes infatuated with him.
The Independent has called Stoker ‘Park Chan-Wook’s gothic homage to Hitchcock’ and I for one cannot wait to see it. This is the Korean director’s first English language film and the suggested intertwining of violence and sexual awakening in the plot is something we’ve seen before in his work. At first glance, Stoker appears to be beautifully shot and a refreshing change in the thriller genre. Look out for a Geek Pride review once I finally get my eyes on it!
So that’s this week’s main release, they’re few and far between at the moment. Next week we’ll take a look at Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, starring James Franco, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.
I’m Excited About…
Speaking of Sam Raimi, it’s time to take a look at what I’m excited about. Or rather, something I’m not sure whether to be excited about. Sam Raimi’s horror classic – The Evil Dead has been remade by new kid on the block, Fede Alvaraz and is to be released next month. Evil Dead is apparently sticking very close to the original, and with Raimi’s input as Producer, it just might work. However, I was deeply disappointed by Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, which was intended to pay homage to cult horror, but in my opinion failed to do so. Some new images and posters were revealed earlier this week, so let’s have a look.
The Evil Dead still remains one of my all-time favourite horror films. Yes, it’s cheesy, and at times it’s so hilariously awful, but that’s one of it’s charms. There are scenes in the original that no other director would dare touch, the infamous tree for instance, and it’s easy to see why. To be perfectly honest, I’ve no clue why Raimi even okayed a remake in the first place. There have been rumours this week about a remake of The Crow as well, which seems even more absurd to me.
The Evil Dead is such a cult classic, and that’s where it should remain, especially since the remake seems almost identical to the original synopsis. However, there are suggestions that there may be surprises in store, and the gore factor will be significantly upped. Maybe Evil Dead will be utterly magnificent, but I don’t have high hopes. If you’re going to give it a chance and haven’t seen the original, I demand you do so. Right now. You’ll definitely enjoy a few laughs, and see how horror should really be handled. Watch out for those trees though…
