As the years have gone by during the media dynasty which is the 21st Century, I have grown older and wiser and in turn so has my favourites playlist on Youtube. It takes a special video to make it into this particular category, and directors and cinematographers alike can feel proud to receive this accolade. However yesterday I discovered an enlightening video which beats them all, and not just well, but outrageously well.
It’s a collection of clips showcasing the most extreme things human beings have achieved in the year 2011. It’s backed by an amazing beat and the clips are of a crisp, high quality, which is always refreshing. But most all this video demonstrates exactly what the title itself details, which is how frigging awesome people are.
It would probably have been more fitting to present this to you on the 31st of January 2011, the reason being in the title, but alas I only chanced upon it a few days ago. So instead I present it to you today. Enjoy.
What’s your favourite Youtube video ever? Let me know below.
So everyday another slice of news is released regarding another film about to start filming, huge casting decisions and original trailers hitting Youtube. However a lot of this news is fairly boring and mundane (who really cares that Ben Affleck has finally managed to land an acting job?). So below you’ll find a brief collection of media news from the past week that has managed to pique my interest, and thus hopefully should yours.
1. Aston Kutcher to star as Apple tycoon Steve Jobs
This surprising piece of news came to surface yesterday (April 1), so many people could be forgiven in thinking it was an April Fools joke. Unfortunately it is not. Sure Kutcher does actually resemble a young Steve Jobs, but I predict that the similarities will end there. Yeah I’m not Kutcher’s biggest fan.
Joshua Michael Stern is directing, it’s going to be simply entitled Jobs and shooting will start next month when Kutcher takes a break from the fantastic Two And A Half Men (heavy sarcasm).
The original film’s makers Hammer will be teaming up with Susan Hill, author of the novel, in a sequel entitled The Woman In Black: Angels of Death. It will be set 40 years after the original tale, following a couple foolishly moving into Eel Marsh House which the woman in black still haunts with a vengeance.
Jon Croker, writer of the scripts sequel, says, “It’s a wonderful new tale every bit as atmospheric and terrifying as its predecessor. We’re proud to be working with Susan Hill again.”
3. Teddy trailer gets people talking
Coming straight from the mind of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, it’s no big surprise that this trailer contains a plethora of swearing, drug use and excessive violence. And of course it’s safe to say that Ted looks absolutely bloody fantastic. Stars Mark Wahlberg (brilliant), Mila Kunis (even better) and Seth Macfarlane himself as the infamous teddy bear.
4. Hunger Games remains top of US Box Office
I saw The Hunger Games last week and thought it was absolutely fantastic. A startlingly well realised dystopian future, well acted (step forwards Woody Harelson) and wonderfully directed (yes I like shaky cam). And it seems like the rest of the world agrees with me as it fought off Sam Worthington and his impressive mullet in Wrath of the Titans. It earnt $61.1 million this week, pushing it’s gross since release over $250 million. Impressive eh? No wonder a sequel is already in the pipeline.
5. Game of Thrones rocks my socks
Season 2 Episode 1 is online now, why are you reading this? You should be watching IT RIGHT NOW. Yes, it is that good.
That’s all for now folks!
Andy García stars as famous Mexican freedom fighter Enrique Gorostieta Velarde.
Directed by: Dean Wright
Starring: Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole…
What price would you pay for freedom? In the June 1 release, an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as General Gorostieta (Garcia), the retired military man who at first thinks he has nothing personal at stake as he and his wife (Longoria) watch Mexico fall into a violent civil war. Yet the man who hesitates in joining the cause will soon become the resistance’s most inspiring and self-sacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his countrymen… and transforms a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force to be reckoned with. The General faces impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government. Yet it’s those he meets on the journey – youthful idealists, feisty renegades and, most of all, one remarkable teenager named Jose – who, reveal to him how courage and belief are forged even when justice seems lost.
“Chernobyl Diaries” is an original story from Oren Peli, who first terrified audiences with his groundbreaking thriller, “Paranormal Activity.” The film follows a group of six young tourists who, looking to go off the beaten path, hire an “extreme tour” guide. Ignoring warnings, he takes them into the city of Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, but a deserted town since the disaster more than 25 years ago. After a brief exploration of the abandoned city, however, the group soon finds themselves stranded, only to discover that they are not alone…”
An irradiated horror, with deformed, screaming children, all shot on the location of the sniper level from Call of Duty. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but this trailer has really piqued my interest.
The few scenes that the trailer show look very dark. Trapped in the open in a condensation smeared car, with the Geiger counter going erratic? At night? Indeed, it is one of the first times I have been genuinely disturbed by a film trailer.
It looks like the direction (from Bradley Parker) will contain elements of narrative, interspersed with the old ‘found footage’ technique, which made comparable horror movies Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project so popular.
I prefer my horrors to be of the supernatural kind and this film seems to be relying on not showing you too much, which is always refreshing.
Now you’ve seen the trailer, what do you think? The scene with the kid and the torch make you shiver like me? And did you know it stars the guy that voiced Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks? (Jesse McCartney) Or do you even really care? Comment below.
And it seems like justice has been served. A quick search on the South Wales Police Twitter page (@swpnorth) uncovers this.
“South Wales Police have arrested 21 year old male in connection with racially offensive comments on Twitter. He is in custody.“
His rugby club, Treorchy RFC, have also tweeted and released an official statement on their website.
“Treorchy R.F.C. is aware of the recent comments made on Twitter by one of its registered players.
These comments refer to the recent tragic circumstances regarding the Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba.
The Club values its position and reputation within the local community and the wider rugby community and at all times encourages our members to treat others with dignity and respect.
The Club wishes to completely disassociate itself from these comments and will be carrying out a full investigation into this matter.
It seems that due to a indignant twitter reaction, culminating in hundreds of people reporting Liam to his University, who have also promised to look into the matter, the police and his rugby club, that Mr. Stacey is in serious trouble.
Obviously we must try to remain impartial, he’s innocent until proven guilty after all. Someone may have hacked his account as he has claimed, although as I pointed out on my previous article, further evidence hints otherwise. What is certain is that if Stacey is found guilty, this moment of stupidity has effectively ruined his life. What future employer is going to hire him when a simple name search on Google will unearth all this controversy?
Lastly, thoughts go out again to Fabrice Muamba, who is still in a critical condition in hospital. On the whole the social media reaction has been phenomenal and the wider world has been united in praying for his recovery.
As I am sure a lot of you may have heard, this afternoon Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba collapsed during a Quarter-Final F.A. Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur. He is currently in the intensive care unit of the heart attack centre at the London Chest Hospital, fighting for his life.
This is an absolutely tragic occasion, something that you never want to see in Football, never mind to a fit and healthy 23 year old. The fans of both teams have been praised for their reaction to the incident, chanting Muamba’s name and the footballing world has shown a huge deal of support.
However, this praise has been marred yet again from social media source Twitter. And it comes in the form of bigoted racist, Liam Stacey. Although he has since closed his Twitter account, possibly due to an influx of hate mail, some smart people had the sense to make copies of his hateful tweets.
In this video he claims his account has been hacked, that he is not responsible for these views and that he is certainly not a racist. However further evidence suggests otherwise.
One of the tweets which took place after the racist drivel is as follows, “I am awfully apologetic about anything I have said. I do not condone anything that has been said…” Obviously not the sharpest tool in the box either are you Stacey?
Also I could point you in the direction of his Bebo account where under his musical dislikes he lists “black music” and that he is afraid of “illegal immigrants”. Yeah of course you’re not racist Liam, we believe you!
Reports have already been filed to the police, his rugby club and his University (Swansea). All we can hope for is that there are some serious, legal ramifications for his actions. It has got to be made known that people can’t just hide behind their keyboard anymore. How is the internet going to look down the line when tweets like this are a mainstay? It is disgraceful.
Already we’ve got another racist jumping on the bandwagon. Have a look at this guy’s past tweets.
There is an e-petition to be signed with the aim of hopefully getting this xenophobe kicked out of his university. Whether or not it will come to anything I don’t know, but you may as well eh? (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/liam-stacey-to-be-punished/)
I had to get this off my chest. The more publicity this gets the more likely it is that action will be taken against this horrific human being. Please share this if you can, the more people that know about it the better.
1995. Seventeen long years since Mel Gibson and the Scots lifted their kilts and bared their highland arses to the English in an Oscar winning film widely regarded as one of the best historical dramas of its time.
It remains popular to this day. To give this some perspective I work at an American Summer Camp where kids chant the phrase “Freedom!” at meal times in the hope of a Scottish employee standing and reciting Mel Gibson’s famous speech. It’s a timeless classic.
And now, following the success of sword-wielding dramas such as Spartacus and Game of Thrones, Braveheart has inspired its own spin off t.v. series.
The shows premise has spawned from an idea by Kent Dalian and Seoras Wallace (co-incidence?), who worked on the original film. It’s going to focus on William Wallace’s backstory, his love life and battles with famous historical figures Edward Longshanks and Robert the Bruce.
“This was a turbulent time in Scotland’s history, in which William Wallace had a starring and pivotal role,” STV director of content Alan Clements said in a statement. “We plan to delve deep into his character and explore his passions, bringing parts of history to life in a spectacular and raw depiction. With all eyes on Scotland in the current political climate, this also seems to be a very appropriate time to tell this story in more depth.”
However it may look a little different to the 1995 classic, drawing on elements which have made similar genre’s so recently popular. So expect plenty of blood, gore, sex and boobs.
Empire magazine interview Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow) about who has the easiest time on set, film locations and who they think will survive the dangers of Westeros. And don’t worry, it doesn’t contain any spoilers. Enjoy.
I remember my first experience of Susan Hill’s infamous ghost tale. It was a school trip to see the story live on the stage. And I distinctly remember, as a 14 year-old teenage boy, trying to act cool and laugh off the scares. In reality the play scared the living daylights out of me, culminating in a slightly homoerotic entanglement with my best friend as we cried in terror at the rocking horse scene.
I will be seeing the film later this week and to say I’m ridiculously excited is an understatement. Ever since the first trailer was released way back in April 2011 I have been looking forward to seeing Daniel Radcliffe’s attempt break away from the shadow of the Harry Potter series, and what relative newcomer James Watkins can deliver in terms of direction.
British homegrown horror film The Woman in Black was always going to be a hit with British audiences. English actor and main star of the film Daniel Radcliffe has already amassed a huge fan base due to the mega-grossing Harry Potter film series. The stage adaptation has run steadily all over the country since 1989 and the book has remained a cult horror classic since its release way back in 1983.
Another possible explanation for its success could be its 12A certificate and the wider age demographic the film is targeting. It’s something many die-hard horror fans may find off-putting, but it’s clear that a partial allure of The Woman in Black is its ability to successfully communicate a dark, gothic tale through atmosphere and suspense rather than blood and gore.
In terms of box office figures it is plain to see that The Womanin Black has been a huge success in the U.K. and long may it continue to be so.
English actor David Morrissey has be announced to play the role of fan-favourite The Governor in season 3 of The Walking Dead.
What an addition eh? I’m a huge fan of David Morrissey, particular highlights include his roles in BBC mini-series State of Play, musical comedy Blackpool and the fantastic Channel 4 drama Red Riding. Although I’ve not read the comics I have heard that The Governor is a particular nasty character.
AMC are keeping quiet about his exact role in the third series, stating that he is “the leader of Woodbury, a small settlement of survivors” who “becomes the chief antagonist for Rick Grimes.” With the latest episode leaving our rag-tag gang still residing on Herschel’s farm it’s fair to say that there’s potential for a lot to happen between now and season 3.
Would you shine this Governors boots?
It seems AMC cannot get enough of its hit zombie show at the moment. In season 1 we had six episodes to sink our teeth into, season 2 a tasty twelve and now season 3 will contain a whopping sixteen mouth watering episodes.
As The Walking Dead goes from strength to strength after a disappointing first half to season 2, this cast announcement has provided us fans with another reason to stay tuned in the months to come.
