Incoming...

Anchorman 2

Old news for some, but our favourite news anchor is on the way back and here is the first teaser trailer to whet our appetite. That's right, the legendary Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 Evening News Team are back and ready to take the world by a storm of pure masculine power. 

I have insanely high hopes for this film, and it's definitely one that they have to get right. The Hangover was brilliant, and although the Hangover 2 was still funny, it was nowhere near as brilliant. Generally, comedy sequels don't really live up to their predecessors, but there have been some happy exceptions and every Ron Burgundy fan will be praying that this is the case for Anchorman 2. There are a couple of things that the film has to get right:

1. Same stars, same characters

I'm not sure of the premise of the film, whether significant time is supposed to have passed since the original or whatever, but each character in the original film was well loved by fans. From the big roles such as Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell) to the much smaller roles in Ed Harken (Fred Willard) the news director and his assistant (Chris Parnell), each character has a moment that can produce a real laugh, so to have them back will really help the film to shine. Reportedly, the bigger stars such as Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and of course Will Ferrell have had to take some major pay-cuts in order to allow this film to be financially possible, which you would presume would mean that this is a film that they are all really passionate about making. 

2. New characters, but the right characters

Time has passed since the last Anchorman, and since that time some forms of humour have evolved and new stars have made themselves into household names. You can expect that there will be a shed-load of personalities appearing as cameos in this film (hopefully we will see Ben Stiller reprise his role), but this is still a film that should concentrate on the main cast predominantly. Sure, bring in Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Tina Fey, but don't go overboard and try to get the whole cast of How I Met Your Mother somehow slotting in. Audiences will want to see their new favourite comedians turn up, but a memorable cameo doesn't have to be much more than that.

3. New News Story

This may be one of the tough ones to achieve, but I have faith. In the original we saw a love-story marred by Ron Burgundy's tragically hilarious downfall, but what will we see this time? Will we see the Channel 4 team adjusting to new media technologies and a changing society? Or will it simply be a rehash of the same story in a different location (Hangover 2)? The cast will probably be able to keep the film above water in any case, but it'd be good to have some sort of structure behind what's making us laugh.

4. More of the same!

What made Anchorman funny is sure to make Anchorman 2 just as funny, as long as it keeps itself fresh. We'll want more hilariously improvised conversations, more talking dogs, more street-fights and more memorable one-liners, just as long as they aren't exactly the same or overly predictable. I personally would want to see another news team fight, if they can work it in in an original way.

So, are you excited for the next Anchorman? You stay classy San Diego.

In other news...

Don't kiss this Fresh Prince

Yeah I think it's probably fair to say that Will Smith might have overreacted here, but people need to know that just because you see a certain celebrity, film or music star in the media over and over, time after time, in movies, music videos and on chat shows, it doesn't mean you actually know them. In many parts of Europe this is a normal way to greet someone...that you know. Not a stranger. So yes, maybe Will Smith shouldn't have put hands on the man, but it makes for an amusing watch, and I wish that I could lightly (and it is lightly) backhand people who decide that kissing me on the cheek is an appropriate way to make an introduction. - handshakes are fine, hugs are pushing it, kisses are reserved for relatives and hot people.

Funny though!

UPDATE - Turns out the reporter is actually Vitalli Sediuk who is one of those sort of TV pranksters in Russia - along the same lines as the guy who squirted Tom Cruise on the red carpet. Meh. Still funny to see his rather sheepish reaction to a slap.

Incoming...

Gangster Squad

For guys, the films that get us excited are Westerns, Martial Arts, Superhero, Science Fiction....okay actually most films get us excited, but the point I'm making is that most guys - particularly more mature ones - would put at least two gangster/mob films in their all time top ten. The Godfather series, Goodfellas, Scarface, and more modern renditions in Snatch or Rock-n-Rolla, but it's been a while since we've had a good ol' Tommy-Gun and sleep with the fishes gangster film. Public Enemies (2009) was pretty good in my opinion, mainly because it had a stellar cast (Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard to name a few) but it failed to excite the gangster-loving masses, so will this film sate our appetites? 

Personally I think that this looks a real treat; it looks dark, gritty, slick, and with car-chases and shoot-outs it'll  keep the adrenaline pumping. Ryan Gosling had an amazing year in 2011, especially with Drive (2011) which has meant that men don't have to pretend they haven't heard of 'that guy from The Notebook'. Sean Penn will be sure to impress, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, and more look to make probably one of the most good-looking gang cast we've seen in a long time. Supposed to hit screens in November, be sure that this will be something that the lads will be treating themselves when winter starts to rear its head.

In other news...

Drop Out Venus

Little known fact about me; I happen to have insanely talented cousins. One of my cousins is in this band. I'm really bad with descriptions of music and such, and so I'm not sure what genre Drop Out Venus come under, but I would really implore you to give them a listen - you might find something you like. For me, it's the kind of music I can imagine as the background to some inspirational indie film or critically acclaimed television show. Called it here first, if it ever happens. 

Their official site, twitter and facebook

Give them a listen, follow, like on facebook, that sort of stuff -they're going to be big one day and you want to be able to be one of those people who can say "yeah I liked them before everyone else did" - just not in an annoying way.

Peace :)

Alex Reviews...

FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World

Where is Melanie Iglesias?!

So, it's that time of the year again when the magazines and websites start releasing their Top 100 whatever of the year, and it's time for FHM's top 100 sexiest women - the full list can be found here. Spoiler alert: the winner of 2012 is Tulisa - singer from N-Dubz and X-factor judge, as well as apparently having some coincidental sex tape out and about, apparently. One of the reasons I'm saying apparently is also the reason why I'm somewhat surprised that Tulisa is even in the top ten - I don't find her that sexy. Well, that's unfair, but I can think of sexier people out there, and if this is definitely a 'world' study I really don't think that Tulisa can even take the sexiest woman in Britain.

First off, Emma Watson is at number 64. 64?! Sofia Vergara is at number 83, Natalie Portman is at 71, and that's not even the worst of it. Elisha Cuthbert is nowhere to be seen, and neither is Melanie Iglesias or Kate Upton. Obviously whoever voted on this haven't seen the flipbook videos (search back a few entries) or any Upton videos. It isn't surprising though; you can't be voted into a top 100 sexiest list if people don't know who you are, otherwise that girl that worked at the bar on my 20th birthday would be at least number 24, and that's not just because I swear to god she smiled more when she served me. So I guess for anyone that reads this, the mission is to raise awareness of the people you think are sexy, so that it isn't the same group of women in the top ten lists each year. 

Alex Reviews...

Avengers Assemble

My heart was in my mouth before I watched this film; so much hype had surrounded it that if it was to fail, it would actually be soul-destroying. But, my fears would not be recognised - this film is epic.

I would say that you will enjoy this film a lot more if you have seen at least some of the films that preceded it, but it does a good job bringing you up to speed in any case. For those of you who don't know, the premise is that a super secret agency known as SHIELD hopes to bring together a team of heroes to combat the ever increasing threat of supernatural forces. Lucky really, because a god from another realm has touched down on Earth with the ability to conjure up an entire army of aliens to wreak havoc. So, the head of SHIELD, Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), reaches out to Earth's best and brightest - Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and more importantly his Iron Man persona, Captain America (Chris Evans) who is still getting used to living in the modern world, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) the super sexy and kick-ass spy, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) as an amazing scientist with a equally amazing angry green secret, as well as Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and the god from Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Together they must defeat Loki (Tom Hiddleston) before he can reap destruction on Earth (although in this case it's mainly New York, but you know). But, it can't be as simple as that - putting superheroes in a room doesn't make them a team - heads butt, fists fly and Hulk's smash, and the Avengers have a long way to go before they can hope to defeat anyone.

I don't know how responsible Joss Whedon is for the success of this film, but his influence is definitely all over it as director, producer and writer (I think?). First off - it's really funny; full of Whedon's trademark tongue-in-cheek humour and pulled off superbly by the acting talents available. Second, the action is immense - every hero in this film seems badass which is exactly what we want and expect - it's hard to pick a favourite. I was worried that Hawkeye and Black Widow would be overshadowed by the bigger names and physically stronger members, but Hawkeye still astounds with his abilities with a bow, and Black Widow holds her own and pulls off some of the cooler fight sequences in the movie - which is of course to be expected when someone who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer is at the helm. The dialogue is great and the relationships between the characters are well thought out - I particularly liked the relationship between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner when they work together briefly in a laboratory setting; it really captured the idea of having two amazing scientists work together with mutual respect for each other. The visuals were amazing, even when in 2D (because I really hate 3D these days) and although the film was actually pretty long, it never felt stagnant or boring. It deserves all the accolades that are pouring in for it, and my only worry is that when sequels come out (Avengers 2 is almost certainly on the way) they will struggle to match it. But real credit should be given to Marvel creating a batch of films (albeit some better than others, but all still good) that are able to web together to form this superhero hybrid of a blockbuster. What will we see next? Will the new adaptation of Spiderman show up in Avengers 2? Will we see some of the other founding members show up (Antman?)? Will the X-Men members make an appearance? Even if the next film in the pipeline doesn't reach the magnitude of this one, I can be happy knowing this film exists and I will surely be having Marvel-marathons in the years to come.