Yes, the Lynx (or Axe) adverts are generally ridiculous and some may take offence to the scantily clad models that lust after those who buy it, but the adverts are also generally hilarious. These new short adverts which can be picked on the YouTube homepage at the moment are pretty funny, so I thought I would collect and share them for you. The Party Girl above - the amount of times I've broken my own code of 'never dance' to try to keep an energetic stunner entertained, just to have her leave with a wave and nothing more; who knew I just needed the right Lynx showergel!
The Sporty Girl - I knew I should have taken up a real sport to excel at - Ultimate Frisbee only impresses women who actually play Ultimate Frisbee. Damnit.
The High-Maintenance Girl - I learnt the hard way that you should never accompany a girl shopping unless you are going out with them or at least have the possibility of being rewarded for your patience. I mean seriously, do women actually think we would volunteer to do this for free?!
The Brainy Girl - I suppose feigning interest in something intellectual is more rewarding than feigning interest in celebrity gossip or The Only Way is Essex
The Flirty Girl - perhaps my favourite and the most heart-breaking girl. If you've ever been with a girl like this, I applaud you for your perseverance, confidence and ability to not sucker punch every guy who makes eyes at your woman. If the above ever happens, however, you don't need my applause.
I really don't know much about the producers, director or writers behind this film, but it hit the spot. It's funny, charming, sexy (see Meagan Good and Gabrielle Union for the dudes, Michael Ealy and Terrence Jenkins for the dudettes) and well produced - not too long and not too short, with a plot that isn't ground-breaking in terms of most romantic-comedies, but is still fresh enough to surprise you. There are star-studded cameos, some better than others, and a number of the lines can be guaranteed to wriggle into London slang talk if enough people see it. Kevin Hart is hilarious in it and it's great to see him in a bigger part than usual, and he is just as able to make fun of himself in a big picture as he is in his stand-up routines. If you see it in a cinema, expect to constantly hear hilarious commentary from groups of women around you, as well as applause for some of the pure class moments that the male characters have. I have a couple of favourite scenes, but I can't appropriately describe them to you without stealing the magic. All I will say is; the 'chirp chirp girl' scene with the flash car, 'did that boy just steal my coffee?' and pretty much every scene with Kevin Hart.
I realise I probably haven't done this film much justice, but seriously, if you're waiting around for the big blockbusters to come around and you want to take your significant other to something that you both will genuinely enjoy, go see Think Like A Man - it looks to have a pretty limited release in my area, so catch it while you can!
Most annoying thing ever ever ever for film lovers
No, not British films about good looking female athletes overcoming adversity and blah blah blah - good sports films work well in getting adrenaline pumping and perhaps more importantly getting people into the sports that they glamorously advertise (see films like Bend it like Beckham or Cinderella Man) but the thing that annoys me about the above trailer is the fact that I feel that I have seen most of the film by watching it condensed into a 2 minute advert. Understandably, this looks like it could quite a low budget film that won't push boundaries, so will need to really capture the attention of the viewer to get bums on seats, but from watching this I already know that; the main character has a crush on another character and gets with him, that the main character has a rivalry with another character but that this is resolved, and that any drama that for whatever reason would add tension is resolved in the end. Great. Again, I know that this isn't a film that everyone has been looking forward to, but so many films do this. It's really annoying. When a film is coming out that I have REALLY been looking forward to, I will deliberately avoid trailers and news in the weeks coming up to release. Take for example The Dark Knight Rises which is out later this month - I kid you not that I have closed my eyes and plugged my ears whilst sitting next to my friend in the cinema, with him on the order to tap me when it finishes. The difference is, however, that I am fairly certain that the Batman trailers won't give away anything too devastating so that it takes away from any particularly jaw-dropping sequences, while Fast Girls (above) although not a blockbuster, has meant that I don't feel I'll be surprised by anything that it has to offer.
Now, the obvious rebuttal of my rant is that I haven't seen the film, so I don't actually know if there is something exciting being kept from us. Like maybe aliens turn up or there's a zombie-apocalypse and these four relay girls are pretty set because they can, like, run really fast. But there are plenty of trailers that do a film justice while not giving anything major away. The trailer for Prometheus (2012) was good enough to generate heap loads of hype despite being a sub-par film, and while the trailer for Inception (2010) displayed some of the jaw-dropping scenes, it only gave glimpses and there were still scenes that came as a complete shock. In my opinion, this is how all trailers should perform:
Comedy films - show ONE of the best gags and some of the lesser ones - keep others in the chamber
Action films - show a few explosions, an excerpt of a car chase or a gun fight or whatever, and a sexy lady.
Science Fiction - SPAAAAAACEEEEEE but remain mysterious about what is out there
Romance - set the premise, show the characters, but for the love of god don't actually show us if they get together in the end
Westerns - horses and guns and sand and shit
All films - Don't do what Fast Girls did and include an announcement saying 'with music from...' - I don't care what artists have lent their vocals to the soundtrack. This wont happen; "Oh good lord, these characters are severely underdeveloped and this plot is dull, but I can forgive this because they used that track by Tinie Tempah that I like so much"
But yeah, good trailers but keep us guessing. Thank-you everyone.
I've only read snippets of information around this potential release, but it looks like a remake of probably one of the best Western films ever is in the works. Now, sometimes there'll be a collective intake of breath at even the suggestion of remaking a classic, and a lot of people will be concerned that once again Hollywood will attempt to drag a piece of classic cinema through the mud. But this hasn't always been shown to be true. While remakes such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) with Keanu Reeves or The Wickerman (2006) with the hilarious Nic Cage might have bombed, other attempts have managed to at least be good enough to introduce an old film to a potentially new audience. For example, I really enjoyed True Grit (2010) and I've never seen the original - so in seeing and enjoying the modern rendition of the film, I am much more likely to go back and watch the original at some point. Maybe I'll find that the original is better, but if I never get round to seeing it I'll still be pretty satisfied with the version that I've seen. The Ocean's Eleven films were great, 3:10 to Yuma (2007) is another great Western remake, and there are a number of films that wouldn't necessarily be called remakes so much as re-imaginings. Even the original Magnificent Seven (1960) is a remake of Seven Samurai (1954) - which is just as good with the added bonus of katanas!
The reason most of the good re-makes work is down to good direction and good casting. Christopher Nolan has brought Batman from a pretty mediocre run of films, and sticking acting greats such as Jeff Bridges, Russell Crowe and George Clooney in the above mentioned films surely helped each film with its success, so in the case of this Magnificent Seven remake, the rumours of Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Costner has to be a good sign. Each of this actors has probably had a very limited number of bad films, but the vast majority of their films and performances have been top class - so surely having them all together in an ensemble kick-ass Western can only tip the odds in epic proportions. If, and none of this has been officially confirmed as of yet, these four actors are down to play some of the Seven themselves, that - if my maths is correct - will leave three more slots to be filled up, and with actors of such high calibre already you can bet that there'll be more brilliance to be added.
I think the reason why I find myself more able to give this re-make a chance than I would some other attempts is because Western films, which are some of the best films - especially for lads -, have more or less passed by my generation. Yes, it would be nice if there could be original stories and characters bringing Westerns back into cinema, but some of the old classics are just so good that it'd be criminal to not introduce new audiences to them in a new form. I do sometimes find it hard to go back and watch the originals, especially when many of them are made over sixty years ago, partly because it can actually be hard to get hold of a decent copy. So while it would definitely be criminal to attempt to remake The Godfather, some of the ventures into the ol' West are more than welcome in my opinion. I wish I was a cowboy.
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.
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.
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.
