In the not-too-distant future, an Artificial Intelligence-led nuclear attack on Los Angeles leaves millions of humans dead. Realising the active threat AI poses to the very fabric of our ongoing existence, the West wages war on all AI, however not everywhere on the planet agrees with this approach. In New Asia, AI lives harmoniously with humankind, and it’s there that a rumoured new ‘weapon’ is being harboured. Joshua (John David Washington), a former military man, is tasked with helping a covert mission to locate and destroy this threat, but when the AI is revealed to be a child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), Joshua must wrestle will mixed emotions, including a link to his traumatic past.

The ensemble of ‘The Creator’ is impressive, with John David Washington once again spearheading a bold and ambitious science fiction epic with authority and undeniable screen presence (especially after his turn in Christopher Nolan’s polarising ‘Tenet’). Washington’s Joshua shares a believable chemistry with Gemma Chan’s character Maya. Chan gives an effortless grace and poise to every project she’s in. Young Madeleine Yuna Voyles is impressive as Alphie, the AI that could spark the end of the world. It’s nice to see Allison Janney steal her scenes as Colonel Howell, a dogged military officer on the trail of Joshua, and even Finch from ‘The Office’ aka Ralph Ineson pops up as a army general looking for Joshua’s help in defeating AI for good. The legendary Ken Watanabe is also a big highlight as Harun.

‘The Creator’ is truly a labour of love for Gareth Edwards, and you can see that in every frame on the big screen. His vision lends itself perfectly to big-format cinema, with IMAX screens certainly the best way to fully immerse yourself in this fantastical world. The film is gorgeously rendered and offers a beautiful study into the marriage of man and machine in the not-too-distant future. In a world where we are used to seeing impressive visions of futuristic existences from the likes of ‘Blade Runner’, ‘Terminator 2’, ‘Robocop’, ‘Avatar’ and ‘Minority Report’, ‘The Creator’ manages to deliver that awe-factor to its visuals, keeping the viewer utterly enchanted by the feast laid out in front of their eyes.

The story of ‘The Creator’ isn’t as fresh or ground-breaking as it would like itself to be though, with audiences having already seen this type of narrative played out many times before, most recently in ‘Avatar’ – essentially a hero infiltrates a native species, but soon learns to love them and their plight before rampant corporatism and military action come knocking. ‘The Creator’ basically follows along similar lines, but it does so with its own panache.

A tad too long, and with a second act that loses the impressive momentum built from the film’s brilliant opening sequences, ‘The Creator’ is still a rewarding watch. It’s nice that big subjects like AI taking over our world are explored, and even better that the machinations of a potential AI treat is weighed up against human error and our own insecurities. ‘The Creator’ offers up a lot of interesting questions about where we, as a civilisation, are heading in the future, and the role technology has to play in not only our day-to-day lives, but on the bigger subjects of existence and purpose. ‘The Creator’ is an engaging sci-fi with an impressive visual style and lots of emotional weight, that holds your attention throughout.

Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Ralph Ineson, Sturgill Simpson, Veronica Ngo Director: Gareth Edwards Writer: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz Certificate: 12A Duration: 133 mins Released by: Disney Release date: 28th September 2023

The post ‘The Creator’ review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu was a runaway hit at the global box office taking more than $431 million against a $150 million budget. The film has revitalised the franchise’s big screen prospects and it delivers a fun, action-packed film that the whole family can enjoy. I admit my knowledge of the Pokémon world is somewhat limited but from what I do know, I think the film brings to life a very faithful version of the world that has millions of fans hooked across the world.

Centred around Tim, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu serves up a twisty story that packs in plenty of surprises and boasts some seriously impressive visual effects. As Tim navigates his new relationship with Pikachu, the wise-cracking and loveable Pokémon, he is pulled into a conspiracy that keeps leading him back to disabled visionary Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy) and his son Roger (Chris Geere), the founder and president of Clifford Enterprises respectively. I don’t want to give away too much more about the plot for risk of spoiling it for those that haven’t seen the film yet.

For me, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a good old-fashioned blockbuster that’s suitable for the whole family. It’s packed with thrills, laughs and it’s visually very attractive. Once Tim arrives in Ryme City, the colours become more vivid and the world of Pokémon really comes to life. While only really Pikachu gets a rounded character from the Pokémon, there are plenty of recognisable faces for long-time fans of the franchise.

Ryan Reynolds is the scene-stealer here without a doubt. His take on Pikachu is perfect for the film and he’s very, very funny. His warm voiceover work immediately draws the audience to Pikachu and he’s the character you stick with from start to finish. Justice Smith continues to impress following Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom as Tim and Kathryn Newton brings a quirkiness to the film as Lucy that works. Smith in particular is proving very adept at comedy and he’s a lot of fun to watch onscreen.

The Blu-ray edition of the film is packed with extras including Detective Mode, a series of featurettes – My Pokémon Adventure, Creating the World of Detective Pikachu – along with an Alternate Opening, Mr. Mime’s Audio Commentary, Ryan Reynolds: Outside the Actors Studio, and the music video for Carry On by Rita Ora (who appears in the film in a small role) and Kygo.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is enormous fun and I’m already excited about the upcoming sequel. I hope they keep all of the characters from this one and continue to explore the vast world the film creates. While the story may be overly complicated at times, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is always fun and even if you’re not completely on top of the plot, you’ll find plenty of other things to enjoy about the film. I think this is one of the best blockbusters the big screen, and now home entertainment, has seen in a long time.

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Rita Ora, Ikue Ōtani Director: Rob Letterman Writers: Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Rob Letterman, Derek Connolly, Nicole Perlman Certificate: PG Duration: 104 mins Released by: Warner Bros Home Entertainment Release date: 16th September 2019 Buy Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

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One of the most breath-taking elements of the film is its special effects, which are used so well to create some great movie-magic onscreen. MPC Film’s VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss the making of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the challenges that presented themselves when trying to bring the beloved character back to vivid life on the big screen.

The Moving Picture Company (MPC) have been involved in some of the biggest and best VFX films in recent years. Having picked up numerous awards along the way, the London-based visual effects and production company also have a presence around the world in Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Amsterdam, Bengaluru, Paris, and Shanghai.

Guillaume Rocheron has most recently worked on Ghost in the Shell, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Man of Steel, Godzilla and the groundbreaking Life of Pi.

Known for their photo-realistic VFX and animation, MPC creates everything from lifelike fur, to dynamic crowd sequences, to larger-than-life destruction scenes and explosions.

Check out what VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron had to say about his experiences working on Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Life of Pi and what he thinks about the current climate of TV & Film.

Can you tell us how you got involved with the Godzilla: King of the Monsters project?

MPC and myself were involved in Gareth Edward’s 2014 Godzilla, so Legendary invited me to meet with the director Michael Dougherty, when they were looking to crew up for King of the Monsters.

What challenges did the film present initially?

We really wanted to show the creature’s personalities without them ever feeling like a cartoon or over-animated. They are the main stars of the film after all! Mike Dougherty, the director, really wanted to showcase these creatures as ancient gods – mythological creatures. MPC’s Character Lab department made significant improvements to the eyes and facial rig tech which really helped us craft their performances, without ever having to go overboard.

Godzilla is one of those characters that just seems to resonate with audiences, no matter the era. Why do you think that is?

Throughout the years, Godzilla has always been depicted as the counter-balance from nature and I think this speaks to people from all generations. He is a well-known mythical creature in our pop culture.

Talk us through the design of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the challenges of bringing this massive world to life.

The movie is taking us to places that are un-filmable or fictional; after 2 films we are finally seeing Monarch’s secret bases and its technology. Because of that, and of course the creatures, we tackled the movie very much as a hybrid with physical and virtual production. We designed and pre-animated most of the film before shooting it, so we could have a sense of the full picture, with virtual sets and creatures during principal photography. It required a close pre-production collaboration between us in visual effects, the production designer Scott Chamblis, the cinematographer Larry Sher, director Mike Dougherty and the co-writer / producer Zack Shields.

Was it hard implementing your own visual inspiration for Godzilla given how much source material there was to draw inspiration from in the past?

You obviously have to respect the original designs and concepts, but technology allowed our VFX artists to really bring those creatures to life like never before. Giving them personality and making them feel like ancient mythical creatures was one of our main goals.

How is Michael Dougherty to work with, and what does he bring to the table that particularly resonates with the work you and your teams produce?

Michael is a lifelong Godzilla fan; for him those creatures were as important as any other characters. He really embraced working with us and was involved with the process of designing and working up the shots. I really liked that he pushed to represent the creatures like mythical creatures, both in terms of performances but also with the look of the shots. Some of the shots were designed to feel like Renaissance paintings of Greek mythology.

Life of Pi was game-changing in that the VFX was so believable. Did you feel that something special was happening when you were working on that film?

Yes, we felt it was a turning point in our industry where VFX could also be used as a storytelling tool, rather than to just create moments in a film.

You’ve worked on so many superhero and genre films, I was wondering what you make of the current film climate. With Avengers: Endgame breaking records every day, do you think this is a golden age for these stories coming to life through VFX?

Yes, but I don’t think this is limited to one genre only. Our main goal is to allow directors to tell bold and ambitious stories.

Do you think big VFX shots are used too soon in terms of marketing a film these days, thus losing the element of surprise for the audience?

In a way you must show your audience why it is worth going to an IMAX screen to see your film. In a perfect world, you would show nothing at all, so people can discover a film in the cinema, but this is not how audiences work nowadays.

Many believe that we are in a golden age of TV, and that it’s overtaking Film. What do you think?

I think TV has become incredible and keeps surprising us and raising the bar, but I think it is complementing film very well, opening new and different storytelling opportunities. I think some stories are better told episodically and some stories are better suited to be told over 2 hours on a big screen.

How has the industry changed since you started? Do you think it’s easier to get started now?

The industry is now so much bigger and structured, with many job opportunities around the globe. You have great schools and training programs that allow the younger generation to get a foot in the industry.

Can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

TBD!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is in cinemas now.

The post Interview: Godzilla: King of the Monsters VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron discusses the movie appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Gareth Edward’s Godzilla had its fair share of problems but it at least had the nucleus of an interesting idea. Kong seemed to learn from those mistakes and redressed a certain imbalance, delivering a popcorn-friendly blockbuster that revived interest in the franchise. The ad campaign for Godzilla: King of the Monsters made a point of addressing some further concerns, mainly in the look of the creature, and how often he would be seen onscreen. So far, so good.

As great as Godzilla looks (and make no mistake, he looks amazing onscreen), it all gets lost in a film with no clear purpose or direction. The story is all over the shop and makes very little sense. Then throw in haphazard visual images that (whilst looking beautiful) only assault your eyes because it’s nearly impossible to make out what the hell is going on, and you have a very frustrating movie-going experience all round. It’s not Transformers 2-levels of bad, but it’s not far off. If you have the stamina to make it through a fight scene there are some cool moments to pick out, but these are far too infrequent, with clouds and rain obscuring the nuts and bolts of every fight set-piece. It’s a wonder the audience doesn’t get epilepsy after watching this.

The plot is ludicrous and involves Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), estranged from her husband Mark (Kyle Chandler) and who is still suffering from the loss of their son during the attacks of 2014 (the events of the first Godzilla movie). Dragging her teenage daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) along with her, Emma teams up with an eco-terrorist group funded through the trafficking of Titan DNA led by ex-military man Colonel Alan Jonah (Charles Dance). He has his own plans to resurrect the Titans living under the Earth in an epic battle for them to reclaim the world. Monarch, the crypto-zoological agency who harbours their own secretive agenda, thinks that the only way to stop them is to unleash Godzilla to fight for mankind.

The film has amassed an impressive roster of acting talent who are all, uniformly, wasted here. Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe and Zhang Ziyi all deserved so much better, and it’s a real shame to see this ensemble fall by the wayside of poor writing. And for a monster film the human characters are actually onscreen a hell of a lot, but are never really doing anything interesting.

As mentioned before, Godzilla looks incredible and he certainly raises excitement levels when he’s onscreen, but for me there’s not one single fight scene of genuine worth that will stay with you for very long. Kong had memorable set-pieces but given the opponents Godzilla has to face (namely Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah), I rightly expected a lot more effort in making these monster fights at least memorable. There’s the odd scene that is done well, but for a monster film of this calibre it should have been overflowing with cool moments, and it simply isn’t.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters had everything going for it and it still manages to screw it all up. It’s a very disheartening film to watch as I wanted to love this and was willing to give this a lot of slack. The finale of the film delivers a pretty bleak and damaging world, and I honestly can’t see where they can take the story next. But we are due to have Godzilla v Kong coming up soon so hopefully they can once again find the enjoyment factor and bring this franchise back to calmer waters.

Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi Director: Michael Dougherty Writer: Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields, Max Borenstein Certificate: 12A Duration: 131mins Released by: Warner Bros Release date: 29th May 2019

The post Godzilla: King of the Monsters review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

One of the most outstanding features of the film are its special effects, which are used so well to create some great movie-magic onscreen. We caught up with MPC Film’s VFX Supervisor Pete Dionne to discuss the making of Detective Pikachu and the challenges that presented themselves when trying to bring Pokémon into a live-action world.

The Moving Picture Company (MPC) have been involved in some of the biggest and best VFX films in recent years. Having picked up numerous awards along the way, the London-based visual effects and production company also have a presence around the world in Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Amsterdam, Bengaluru, Paris, and Shanghai.

Known for their photo-realistic VFX and animation, MPC creates everything from lifelike fur, to dynamic crowd sequences, to larger-than-life destruction scenes and explosions. Pete Dionne has most recently worked on Passengers, Goosebumps, A Wrinkle in Time and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Check out our review of Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Fans everywhere can now experience Pikachu on the big screen as never before, as Detective Pikachu, a Pokémon like no other. The film also showcases a wide array of beloved Pokémon characters, each with its own unique abilities and personality.

The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim (Justice Smith) to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself.

Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City — a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world—they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.

Check out what VFX Supervisor Pete Dionne had to say about his experience working on Detective Pikachu, Passengers and what he thinks about the current climate of TV & Film.

First off, congratulations on Detective Pikachu Pete. Can you tell us how you got involved with the project?

I officially joined the team on Detective Pikachu a few months into pre-production, but this film was on my radar from the very beginning because of my past relationship with overall VFX supervisor Erik Nordby and VFX producer Greg Baxter. We all worked together on Director Rob Letterman’s previous CGI creature-heavy film, Goosebumps, so it was great to be able to build upon our shared experiences of the last show, to raise the bar even higher on this one.

How familiar were you with the world of Pokémon before working on the film?

To be honest, I wasn’t very familiar with the world of Pokémon when I first joined the show, but I knew this franchise had generations of passionate fans who deeply love these characters and the world they inhabit. Fortunately, my children are 8 and 10 years old, so I had them to educate me from the perspective of the younger fan base, as well as an entire VFX studio of young adults to also learn from. We really wanted to pay respect to the nostalgia and reverence of the franchise, so we all got up to speed fast.

What challenges did the film present initially?

From a visual effects perspective, our main challenge at the start of the project was to find the right balance between respecting these fantastic but cartoonish designs, while creating creatures which felt real and plausible. This was especially critical for Pikachu, due to the performance demands that were required from him. Early on in the process, we evaluated dozens of past films which had similar challenges as us, and though many of them stood on their own merits, there weren’t any which we could point to that managed to successfully retain the core source designs while also hitting the level of real-world believably that we were after. But we gleamed quite a bit from this process, probably more from the failures than the successes.

Ryme City is a beautifully rendered place with so much to see and do. Talk us through the design and initial implementation of bringing this world to life. London also seemed to be a big visual inspiration for it – was that a conscious decision at the start?

To design Ryme City, we referenced several cities to achieve Rob’s vision. We wanted to retain the look of London, which is where the majority of the location work was shot, but with a skyline as dense as Manhattan, a vibrancy in our street and large-scale building signage as you would find in Tokyo, and located at the foothills of a mountainous region, like Vancouver. Ryme City was a very significant build for us, as we required this fully CGI city for the third act battle scenes, for all of the establishing shots peppered throughout the film, as well as for all of the BG embellishments to the street-level location photography. Overall, we had several hundred shots with our digital city in it.

To create Ryme City in CG, we captured a tonne of data within a five block radius of the downtown London core where we were shooting using high resolution ground, drone, and helicopter photography, as well as ground and rooftop lidar scanning. As London doesn’t naturally have a dense skyline of tall towers, we designed and built over 100 skyscrapers to embellish the this downtown core with, following a layout logic similar to Manhattan. We then took large-scale lidar of Vancouver, including the surrounding mountains and ocean, and replaced Vancouver’s downtown area with our Ryme City environment.

We then designed and built hundreds of unique signs, of varying scales and purposes, and splattered them throughout the city, referencing different areas of Tokyo to inform our own distribution and density logic. We spent 8 intense months developing this city to completion before we could drop it into shots, but the team put an incredible about of thought and detailing into its design, and it turned out great!

Pikachu himself is one of the cutest creations we’ve ever seen – tell us about bringing him to life in a real world setting and the challenges that brought.

There is a lot of comedy and character in the juxtaposition between how adorable Pikachu looks and how crusty his personality is, and this relied on us realizing Pikachu to be as cute as possible. Fortunately, the 2D manga design of Pikachu is endlessly adorable, so we were starting from a pretty strong place. One of our stated goals was to not stray too far from this recognizable and highly revered design as we weaved complexity into this character, but through anatomical detailing as well as his motion design.

Our first step in designing Pikachu was to closely match the silhouette and proportions of the 2D character design for his outer form, while conforming an anatomically accurate quadruped skeletal system inside of this volume. We then layered in a plausible musculature system over top, and filled the remaining volume with fat for an appealing amount of jiggle and softness. The decision to put fur onto Pikachu was controversial for some, but Pikachu as a realistic hairless creature doesn’t look that appealing, so it was an easy choice for us to make. To prevent him from simply appearing as a furry stuffed animal, we tried to get as many natural animalistic details captured in his fur as possible. We used kitten and bunny fur as our primary references, paying very close attention to variance of details across the entire body, like density, length, stiffness, colour, and even how the different follicles transmit light.

For additional detailing, we looked for animalistic features that we could add without detracting from his adorableness. For example, we embraced things like cute fuzzy bunny paws and moist kitten noses, but avoided weird bits of anatomy inner ear cavity detailing and overly articulated teeth and gums. We designed his eyes as dark discs like in the anime, but added a dark brown iris, so that we could track his eyelines, as well as motivate an additional layer of caustic glinting into his eyes.

What was it like working with director Rob Letterman?

Working with Rob Letterman is always a pleasure. He is very experienced in both animation and visual effects, so to execute his vision he is able to operate and communicate at quite a high-level, which is great for us. I also really appreciate his instincts and qualities as a filmmaker, especially his ability to weave humour into his drama and dialogue, without sacrificing heart and sincerity. He has a very cinematic aesthetic as well, so the plates that he shoots with his cinematographer always look amazing.

I’m a big fan of Passengers, could you talk a little bit about your experience working on that project. It had a very distinct visual style which conjured up some of the best sci-fi visuals I’ve seen in cinema recently.

Passengers was a very exciting project to be a part of, especially to have the opportunity to contribute to the striking visuals which defined that film. Though both Detective Pikachu and Passengers relied heavily on world building to tell a story, it was a completely different experience for us working in visual effects. Where Detective Pikachu was so heavy on animation and character design, the most significant work of Passengers hinged on strong environmental production design for both the interior and exterior of the spaceship. They both had massive visual effects teams, and I’m very proud of the work they produced for both films.

Many believe that we are in a golden age of TV, and that it’s overtaking Film. What do you think?

Most television projects cannot afford the luxury of spending two years and a massive budget to focus on 95 minutes of context, so I think that high-end film visual effects will remain in a class of its own for the foreseeable future. However, I think it’s exciting to see what is happening in the midfield of the industry, where we are definitely seeing the lines beginning to blur in the level of quality between mid-sized film and television work. And this trend will only continue as the technology and process of digital production filmmaking continues to evolve.

How has the industry changed since you started? Do you think it’s easier to get started now?

I started my career in Vancouver 20 years ago, at a time when there were less than 100 local jobs in feature film visual effects, and I’ve since watched it grow into a local industry of thousands of positions across several world-class studios. The same thing is occurring in many other cities across the world, as the visual effects industry continues to grow and mature. Not long ago you had to relocate to either California or London to work on high-end projects, and now there are dozens of VFX hotbed cities globally which provide an entry point for young talent. So I think these entry-level opportunities are definitely more accessible than when I started out, which is fantastic.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is in cinemas now

The post Interview: Pokémon Detective Pikachu VFX Supervisor Pete Dionne discusses the movie appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

We join 21-year-old Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) who comes to the sprawling metropolis of Rhyme City to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his Father after a road accident. He comes across a talking Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds), whom he can understand perfectly. This is a rare thing, so Detective Pikachu and Tim reluctantly team up, and along with rookie reporter Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) and her Psyduck, band together to help each other out. In the process they uncover a nefarious conspiracy that could threaten the entire Pokémon world.

Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy make up the live-action cast and mostly all do a great job. Justice Smith is clearly a talent on the rise and has bags of charisma which helps sell the premise and makes us champion his quest for his father. It’s nice to see Kathryn Newton finally get a big leading role and hopefully this sparks more of the same for the actress, who impresses as Lucy. Ken Watanabe was awesome and it’s such a shame he wasn’t used more. Chris Geere, who will be familiar to Modern Family fans as Alex’s professor boyfriend from last season, does a surprisingly good job and is frequently funny.

But this film belongs to one person – Ryan Reynolds. He may not have been the voice many were expecting to play Detective Pikachu (and they do address this in a very clever and inventive way in the film), but Reynolds is fantastic here. Bringing his usual brand of wit and quick-fire humour to the table, he gives Pikachu a great, three-dimensional persona that carries the weight of the film exceptionally well. Kudos also has to go the effects and design teams who have done a staggeringly great job in making Pikachu feel real. He’s so cute and fluffy that he’s just instantly funny in every scene. Add Reynolds to the equation and you have the main reason why this film will put a broad smile across your face.

The city that they have created is wonderful and that’s where a lot of the film’s magic lies. Ryme City is gorgeously rendered and is full of amazing sights and sounds to take in. The colours and the inventive coupling of the real world and the Pokémon world conjure up some truly great visuals. These scenes are actually too infrequent and I think Detective Pikachu would have benefitted from having more of its plot centred in and around Ryme City. You’ll want to revisit these scenes to pick out all of the gags and to spot your favourite Pokemon going about their business.

There are things that don’t work in the film – mainly that I was expecting to see a lot more Pokémon used in bigger roles. There are some great Easter eggs that you can catch in the background, but I would have liked more characters to have been front and centre. Rita Ora’s inclusion is pointless because she hardly does anything. It felt like her role was a token regional character that gets recast depending on where you see the movie in the world. That’s a worrying trend that I don’t like appearing in family films – usually its flavour-of-the-month reality stars that voice characters in one scene. I’d much rather have consistencies than fad-casting.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a great way to usher in the summer blockbuster season for the whole family. With gags that frequently land, a story that’s genuinely exciting to put together and the cool factor of seeing Pokémon in a live-action setting, Detective Pikachu does the basics just right. Hopefully a second crack at this will utilise the entire Pokémon roster much more – after all, we’ve gotta catch them all at some point. Until then, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is an entertaining jaunt for the whole family.

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Rita Ora, Ikue Ōtani Director: Rob Letterman Writer: Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Rob Letterman, Derek Connolly, Nicole Perlman Certificate: PG Duration: 104mins Released by: Warner Bros Release date: 10th May 2019

The post Pokémon: Detective Pikachu review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

Featuring fan favourite show numbers such as Getting to Know You, Whistle a Happy Tune and Shall We Dance, the popular production transferred to the London Palladium in June 2018, with the three original Broadway lead actors reprising their starring roles – Tony Award-winner (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for The King and I) Kelli O’Hara, Tony and Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Tony Award-winner (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for The King and I) Ruthie Ann Miles.

The London production continues to draw huge critical acclaim, smash box office records – including the biggest grossing week in the London Palladium’s history, taking £1,058,317.50 for an eight performance week, play to packed houses and receive nightly standing ovations.

Directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, it first opened on Broadway in 2015 for a critically acclaimed 16 month run at The Lincoln Center Theater, this was followed by an unprecedented record-breaking sold out USA tour.

Don’t miss your chance to see the show the critics are raving about, etcetera etcetera etcetera…

Title: The King and I: From The Palladium Date: 29 November 2018 (*additional US date: 4th December 2018) Cast: Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles
Runtime: 180 mins TBC Certificate: 12A TBC Tickets: www.kingandimusicalcinema.com

Watch the exclusive new trailer below now:

The post The King and I: From The Palladium released in cinemas for one night only appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

What did kids think of this movie? I’d be fascinated to know, because despite it being an animated film featuring talking animals, it is most certainly not a film for children. There is nothing remotely cute or cuddly about Isle of Dogs, the latest film from Wes Anderson. Let’s be clear, a stop-motion conspiracy-cum-adventure movie about disease-ridden dogs living on an island of garbage off the coast of Japan ain’t exactly Cats and Dogs now is it?

The plot centres on Atari (Koyu Rankin) the nephew of Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura), the evil, dog-hating Mayor of Megasaki. Following an outbreak of dog-flu, Kobayashi exiles every canine in the city to Trash Island, which is exactly what it sounds. As an act of good faith to the people of his city, the first dog exiled is his nephew’s dog Spots (Liev Schreiber). Needless to say, Atari embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue his dog.

Once on the island, Atari encounters the pack of “indestructible alpha dogs” who in reality are anything but that. There’s Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum), all scrapping to survive on the island. They team up with Atari and set off in search of Spots, and on the way discover a conspiracy hatching on the mainland that threatens them all.

Although animated with extraordinary detail and precision, from a narrative perspective this is easily the most freewheeling film Wes Anderson has ever made. Like most of his films it is told in a novelistic style. There are chapters, and a prologue, there are flashbacks, random cutaways, fourth wall breaking, and narrative segues that go nowhere. Only the dogs speak English, and the dialogue for most of the Japanese characters isn’t subtitled. When it is, it is done in the traditional tategaki format of top to bottom.

With everything that is happening on the screen, there’s a certain manic slapstick energy that will certainly appeal to younger viewers. The fight scenes are particularly fun – a cloud of cotton wool dust with random limbs appearing mid scrap. However, all of the frenetic storytelling adds layers of narrative and structural complexity that Anderson acolytes will adore, but may well alienate kids simply looking for a fun doggo movie.

That being said, I have long maintained that to fully appreciate the films of Wes Anderson you need to be tuned to his very particular comedic frequency. If you are already in that bandwidth, then you’re in for a world of puppy snaps treats, because Isle of Dogs is an absolute riot. The humour is of course as dry as the barren wasteland of Trash Island, but is frequently of the laugh out loud variety. The running gag about the dogs holding votes to decide their next course of action is brilliant. When one of them begins to uncover the truth about his past, he fearfully asks the question, “was I the runt?”

In news that will shock no one, the film is stunningly gorgeous. Every frame is a masterpiece of detail and exquisite artistry. Drawing heavily on traditional Japanese culture, history, and the cinema of Ozu and Kurosawa, the film is imbued with a unique style and rhythm, though this has led to some stinging criticism of cultural appropriation being levelled at Anderson. I think in truth he is just in love with the country and its culture.

A final word on the cast – it is so vast and starry there is very little room for any one to make an impact. With most of the cast adopting that pedigree deadpan Wes Anderson delivery, they tend to get lost along the way. Only Bryan Cranston and Ed Norton are the real standouts. Nonetheless this is a charming and heart-warming film, visually enchanting from first minute to last.

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Akira Takayama, Kunichi Nomura, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Live Schreiber, Courtney B. Vance Director: Wes Anderson Writer: Wes Anderson Released By: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Certificate: PG Duration: 101 mins Release Date: 6th August 2018

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To celebrate the film, The Store X, 180 The Strand and Fox Searchlight Pictures will present an exclusive exhibition of original sets and puppets from the film, open to the public from Friday 23rd March to Thursday 5th April.

Isle of Dogs tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

Set in Japan, twenty years in the future, Isle of Dogs was largely filmed at 3 Mills Studios in East London. Curated by Wes Anderson and the production team the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to see 17 original sets plus many of the puppets and experience the world of this highly acclaimed and masterfully crafted film.

Alongside sets and puppets from the film the exhibition will feature a life-size recreation of one of the sets: a ‘Noodle Bar’ where visitors will be able to enjoy traditional Japanese Ramen, created by acclaimed chef Akira Shimizu – executive chef at Soho’s Engawa restaurant – and Sake cocktails during late night openings Thursday/Friday.

The exhibition itself is free and the noodle bar will be selling food and drink throughout the day.

All against a background of the original score by Academy Award®-winning composer Alexandre Desplat plus classic Kurosawa soundtrack music and the psychedelic sounds of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band from the Isle of Dogs soundrack.

With an arts programme curated by The Store X, 180 The Strand is an iconic Brutalist building in the heart of London’s West End that provides a space to house creative industries, where innovative businesses and visionary talents can collaborate.

Fox Searchlight Pictures and Indian Paintbrush present an American Empirical Picture, Isle of Dogs, directed and written by Wes Anderson and story by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura.

The film stars Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Mari Natsuki, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Liev Schreiber and Courtney B. Vance.

The creative team includes producers Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, director of photography Tristan Oliver, animation director Mark Waring, production designers Adam Stockhausen and Paul Harrod, senior visual effects supervisor Tim Ledbury, head of puppets department Andy Gent, original music by Alexandre Desplat, music supervisor Randall Poster, supervising editor Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E., editors Ralph Foster and Edward Bursch, animation producer Simon Quinn, animation supervisor Tobias Fouracre, lead animators Antony Elworthy, Kim Keukeleire and Jason Stalman, co-producer Octavia Peissel, executive producers Christopher Fisser, Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken, and casting by Douglas Aibel, CSA and Kunichi Nomura.

Check out the trailer for Isle of Dogs below;

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”165640″ player=”531″ title=”ISLE OF DOGS Official Trailer”]

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Isle of Dogs is released in UK cinemas on 30th March 2018.

Isle of Dogs tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi.

When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots.

There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

The film stars a great selection of talent including Koyu Rankin, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Kuniche Nomura, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Akira Ito, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Akira Takayama, Kara Hayward, Fisher Stevens, Yojiro Noda, F. Murray Abraham, Ken Watanabe, Courtney B. Vance, Bob Balaban, Frank Wood, Nijiro Murakami, Mari Natsuki and Yoko Ono.

Check out the trailer below;

[brid video=”165640″ player=”531″ title=”ISLE OF DOGS Official Trailer”]

The post New trailer released for Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The monster hit of 2014 finally arrives and brings with it huge levels of expectation. Thankfully in the hands of Welsh director Gareth Edwards, Godzilla proves to be an entertaining spectacle that justifies the hype to a certain degree. Regardless of a few shortcomings, it perfectly entertains throughout and does provide lots of jaw-dropping moments.

A stellar cast including Bryan Cranston, Juliet Binoche, Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe and Elizabeth Olsen join front-man Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a human-interest blockbuster that puts characterisation first. The start of the film plays out better than the end with Cranston and Binoche doing particularly well in establishing an emotional back-story that runs through the film. Olsen doesn’t have a great deal to do but she sells the angle of a young wife looking to reconnect with her husband well.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson preps for his upcoming stint in The Avengers sequel with a strong leading turn as a young soldier caught in the melee. He has bulked up considerably and handles the action well. Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins add to the films gravitas but sadly don’t have much to do other than look shocked. They do it better than most though.

Godzilla is a disaster movie first and foremost and plays every hand with precision to cultivate a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. The effects are superb, the set-pieces keep you hooked and the first reveal of Godzilla in all his glory is worth the admission price alone. But in a conscious effort to do things differently, Gareth Evans has adopted a teaser approach to the action throughout the film which frequently glimpses something awesome but then cuts away to something else. This is all well and good if the end pay-off is spectacular but Godzilla’s final fight is very underwhelming. Call me old fashioned but I want to see a lot more of Godzilla smashing things and fighting in the final third – the audience certainly deserves that.

Godzilla is a very entertaining summer blockbuster that has a lot going for it. It goes without saying that this is an event movie in the truest sense and as such, fully justifies a watch. But you will be a little underwhelmed given the great set-up, the awesome effects and the stellar cast. Godzilla has never looked so good and is a commendable effort, but it still hasn’t got the balance quite right.

The post Godzilla Blu-ray review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The actors will join legendary voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker with Goodman playing Hound and Watanabe playing Drift. Cullen will reprise his role as the voice of Optimus Prime and Welker will voice new character Galvatron.

“I am pleased to welcome two gifted and versatile actors, John Goodman and Ken Watanabe, to the world of Transformers,” said director Michael Bay. “And to reteam with Peter and Frank, who have brought Transformers characters alive from the beginning. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best voice talent in the business, and together we will introduce several exciting new robots to fans of the franchise around the world.”

Rounding out the voice-over cast are actors John DiMaggio, Mark Ryan, Robert Foxworth and Reno Wilson. DiMaggio and Ryan will voice new characters Crosshairs and Lockdown while Foxworth reprises the role of Ratchet and Wilson returns as Brains.

Transformers: Age of Extinction star an all new live action cast including Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Li Bingbing , Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, T. J. Miller, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor and Titus Welliver. The film will be released on 10th July 2014.

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