Fantastic 4 Movie Review: NOT SO FANTASTIC!

No spoilers below.

The reboot of Fantastic Four has been released this weekend across the UAE. The film stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. Though the characters all belong in the Marvel universe, the movie itself belongs to the Fox Studios which means that at least for the time being, there isn't any connection between the Fantastic 4 and the Avengers within the cinematic universe (this needs a separate blog post to explain).

Back to the movie itself now. Don't worry, won't give away any spoilers so you can feel comfortable reading on should you actually be thinking of going to watch the movie.

From the get go, I was a little skeptical about the cast members being in the film. The nature of the characters of the comic Fantastic Four, in my opinion, is very far away from the usual nature of the characters that the cast members normally play in other films. As an example, I am used to Miles Teller being more of a cool, chilled out guy who you would actually enjoy hanging out with in real life. In the film, Teller is casted as Mr Fantastic who is meant to be a genius scientist devoted to his research; i.e. not that much of a cool guy. Mr Fantastic is not just one of the Fantastic Four members, he is the leader and the brains of the team, and the force that holds everyone together. This is why, throughout the movie, I was in complete disbelief that the character portrayed by Miles Teller is indeed Mr Fantastic...and was, in fact, more like someone trying hard (almost pushing it) to pretend to be him. Even during the scene that Teller assumes his leadership role in, he completely lacks the inspiration you expect from a leader of heroes in such situations, and his 1-line speech felt more like something he was reading off a teleprompter. I can go on about the other characters too and where I think their characters went wrong but I think you get the point.

The movie also lacked building up suspense. The main (and only) fight between our heroes and Dr Doom ended before it started. Come on, Fox! That was the moment everyone was waiting for, and you blew it? If that action scene was done right, the entire movie could have been screwed up the way it was and the entire world would have still forgiven you for it...but to even ruin that? Come on!

The movie felt like it was the first episode of a 2-hour TV-series. IMDB rates it 3.9 and if you were as hopeful as I was that maybe, just maybe, that rating was unfair...it wasn't. If you do decide to go watch it, don't wait for a post credit scene. Again, that is something you would find in a Marvel Studios movie which Fantastic Four isn't (again, i'll explain more on this later). 

There are currently talks that a sequel may be planned for the movie and will be due for release sometime in 2017. Let us hope for all our sake that a miracle does happen, and that the movie gets salvaged by being handed over back to the Marvel Studios where it should belong in the first place.

Have you watched the movie? I would love to hear your thoughts too! Please share them either in the comments section below, or on social media (Facebook/Instagram).

Everything you need to know about The Hunger Games to watch Mockingjay Part 1

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 has been released this weekend in UAE cinemas, and you might be thinking that perhaps because you missed any of the previous parts that you need some catching up first!

Here is everything you need to know about The Hunger Games to be able to fully understand this part of the movie, and enjoy it!

Background:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is the third movie in The Hunger Games movie series. The movie is a depiction of a book trilogy with the same name that has been authored by Suzanne Collins. Mockingjay is the last part of the book, but the team behind the movie decided to split it in to two parts

Part 1: The Hunger Games

1. The Hunger Games is set in the nation of Panem, which is a country composed of a rich Capitol, and 13 other poorer districts. Every district is known for a specific trade. In the past, the districts were suffering from starvation, while the Capitol enjoyed wealth and as a result, a rebellion had taken place to end this hunger; however, the Capitol had defeated the districts and in the process, District 13 was destroyed.
2. As punishment for the rebellion, every year The Hunger Games are held, and every district offers one boy and one girl as tributes. The selection of the tributes are random (via a lottery), and those tributes are expected to fight off against one another till the death, until one victor remains.
3. In the first part of the trilogy, the 74th Hunger Games are being held. Peeta Mellark is drawn as the male tribute from District 12, and Primrose Everdeen is drawn as the female tribute. Out of fear of loosing her younger sister in the games, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take Primrose's place. 
4. Katniss had always had feelings for her hunting partner, and friend, Gale Hawthorne. Gale is obviously devastated with Katniss being sent off to The Games
5. Katniss and Peeta get trained by Haymitch, the only living winner from District 12 who survived the 50th Hunger Games and whom since has been an alcoholic due to the state of mind The Games has left him in.
6. During the preparation for The Games, Peeta starts developing feelings for Katniss. He also proves that he is very good on camera as The Games are televised nationwide, a matter Haymitch believes will be imperative for the survival of at least either Peeta or Katniss. 
7. During one of the pre-Games interviews, Peeta confesses his love to Katniss which completely throws her off.
8. During The Games, Katniss gets very close to Rue from District 11 because she reminds her of her sister. Shortly after, Rue gets killed; this emotionally scars Katniss who makes a tribute to Rue by placing flowers over her body as an act of defiance against the Capitol. The other districts also get moved with Katniss' gesture which starts clashes between the districts and the guards sent in from the Capitol, i.e. the beginning of a new rebellion.
9. A game rule change that allows two tributes to be declared as winners if they are from the same district gets Katniss and Peeta to be working together. After defeating all the other tributes, the Capitol revoke the game rule change which means only one victor must remain. Katniss suggests then that both her and Peeta are to commit a double suicide in defiance and also in hopes that the game rule change will be reinstated. Their attempt is successful but at the expense of The Capitol being upset with this defiance. 

Part 2: Catching Fire

1. The rebellion gets more aggressive in all the districts
2. President Snow visits Katniss in her home and threatens that he will harm her family and loved ones if she doesn't help in defusing the uprising.
3. Peeta and Katniss plan to tour the districts as victors, and also plan a public wedding even though Katniss' love for Peeta is an act and he is aware of it. Peeta only agrees to this to spare the citizens of District 12.
4. During the tour, Katniss' speech in District 11 (Rue's District) inspires the citizens to stand in defiance, and fuels the rebellion. The mockingjay pin she wore during The Games becomes the sign of the rebellion.
5. The Capitol announces a special edition for the 75th Hunger Games where all the victors in all the previous games will have to face off each other, this includes Katniss, and Peeta.
6. While in The Games, Katniss discovers that some of the previous victors are in fact allies. Together, they manage to destroy the arena where The Games are being held in after Katniss fires an arrow tied to an electrocuted wire and escape with the help from rebels from District 13 (which apparently hasn't been destroyed). During the escape, Peeta and District 7 ally, Johanna Mason, don't manage to get out and Katniss presumes that Peeta would be killed by The Capitol.
7. Gale informs Katniss that District 12 has been destroyed. Katniss also learns that her rescue had always been planned all along by Haymitch, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Finnick Odair among others given her symbol status to the rebellion as its mockingjay.

Follow us:

Facebook: EmiratesTrends

Instragram: @emiratestrends

Movie of the Week: Gone Girl

Gone Girl has been released this week in all UAE Cinemas. The movie stars Ben Afflick, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris. The plot of the movie is about the mysterious disappearance of Amy Dunn (Rosamund Pike) and how her husband, Nick Dunn (Ben Afflick) becomes a possible suspect of her murder. Without giving away too much, what I can tell you is that this thriller film definitely has its twists and turns and will leave you cracking up quite a few times. Do keep in mind that the running time is 2.5 hours so stack up well on those snacks! IMDB rates it 8.5 and I surely do think its worth every minute! Enjoy :)

Follow us for more reviews:

Facebook: EmiratesTrends

Instragram: @emiratestrends

Sky News Arabia Marketing Stunt in Vox Cinemas

As you drive by SZR, you might have noticed some of the columns of Dubai metro's red line branded with Arabic letters. Those letters combined spell out Sky News Arabia's slogan 'Al Aan Wa Min Kol Makan' which literally means 'Right Now, and From Everywhere'.

Image Credit: Jazarah.net

What you might not have been aware of is this hilarious cinema stunt that Sky News Arabia also did as part of their marketing campaign of their slogan a few months ago in one of the Vox's screens. Watch how the news anchor surprises the audience with a news bulletin right before the start of the movie (English subtitles available). The reaction of the movie-goers is EPIC! Enjoy!

James Bond 007 Skyfall Review and Alternative Plot

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE MOVIE YET!

Skyfall, the latest of the 007 James Bond series, marks the franchise's 50th year anniversary.

Director Sam Mendes succeeds in connecting the classic Bond with today's Bond! The movie surely marks a big shift from the older versions of the franchise; sometimes to the positive and sometimes (in my opinion) to the negative.

To start with, and ever since the franchise's reboot, this Bond (Daniel Craig) seems to be vulnerable to life threatening situations and injuries! We do believe he can actually die! Eve (a co-field operative) who is on a mission with Bond during the pre-credits opening sequence accidentally shoots Bond (after receiving strict instructions from M to take the shot) resulting in what appears to be his death-plunge!

Without keeping the audience in suspense, the movie quickly brings back a survived fragile Bond, who feels betrayed by MI6, and M in particular; and thus, choosing to remain in self-exile while he is announced dead to the world! It is only when Bond learns of the attacks targeting MI6 that he decides to come out of hiding and report back to duty.

Raoul Silva, as you learn through the movie, is an ex-MI6 operative who was captured during an assignment and was never rescued by MI6. You learn later from M that she traded him in to save 6 other agents; clearly that didn't sink in well with Silva. This is why, the plot of the movie was more focused on Silva instilling fear in people and M in particular (that's why he bombed the MI6 headquarters knowing she isn't there) and later put all his efforts to finding her in order to attempt to kill her. Bond's mission, in such a plot, becomes more of a protector of M rather than retrieving or penetrating enemy's headquarter's for the purpose of sabotaging the enemy's master plan (a Bond classic plot).

Without spoiling much of the fun, I will suffice with the above for now and introducing what I think should have been the alternative plot of the movie (this humbly comes from an amateur movie freak who has no experience in script writing) :)

Alternative plot (my opinion)

I would definitely reconsider the entire concept of how Bond theoretically dies and later resurrects. I believe it would have served the plot better if Bond indeed failed on his opening sequence mission of retrieving the list of MI6 undercover agents; but not by the shot taken by Eve rather than by a shrewd getaway by the villain, who in my opinion should have been Silva from the get-go!

Bond would have then had a hint on Silva's identity and would have confirmed it when he reports back to MI6, by confirming his hunch from M that Silva is indeed an ex-MI6 operative who went rogue. As a result of Bond's failed mission, Silva succeeds in bombing the MI6 headquarters and the release of the first 5 names on the list. With honor at stake, M assigns Bond with a mission to discover Silva's hideout and retrieve the list at all costs!

After discovering that Silva is taking refuge in the island, Bond and Eve set off to retrieve the list only to be met with the challenge of overcoming Silva's army. They barely succeed only to be completely stopped by Silva who shoots Bond and pushing the audience to believe that he actually might have died. Eve would have succeeded in getting away but reports, in despair, that Bond had indeed died!

The plot shifts focus now on Silva who makes his preparations to kill M publicly and attempts to push general consensus that MI6 is now obsolete. With pressure rising, M finds herself in a position to defend the existence of MI6 in front of the minister; but her rationale falls on deaf ears!

Silva now is at his strongest, and with the list he has in hand, decides to continue pursuing MI6 operatives one by one (including M). This forces MI6 to go underground to the bunkers built from the days of Churchill.

Meanwhile, we learn that the gorgeous Berenice Marlohe would then have found Bond and rescued him as she believes he is her way out of the life she currently lives under Silva's captivity. Fragile and destroyed, and with no MI6 support, he retreats to his home in Scotland believing that he is now obsolete. Once he learns of the dissolving of MI6 and the targeting of its operatives, he realizes that M is still in danger and he may be the only one who can rescue her.

Motivated by a past in which he believes that he is the cause of the death of his own parents, and by a caretaker who helps him overcome his fears of failure and who motivates him to go and fight for what he stands for (in this case M, his surrogate-like mother); Bond rebuilds himself to become stronger by learning from the mistakes and using the wisdom of the past; something Silva could not do.

On a parallel timeline, Silva succeeds to get closer and closer to M until he is forced, unexpectedly, to one last battle with Bond. I keep the finale here open to your interpretations on who lives and who dies and how that happens but you get the picture by now :)

Skyfall opened at the UAE box offices on October 26, 2012 and is available in all movie theaters. It is highly recommended to watch it in IMAX.

Step Up 4: Movie Review

Step Up 4: The Revolution was released in UAE cinemas on August 16, 2012. The story is a cliche Step Up movie plot of a guy and a girl who belong to "different" worlds, meet and fall in love, their love is challenged and troubled by their own worlds only so they can find their ways back to each other!

The dance sequences on the other hand are BRILLIANT! Very original and energetic; nothing like you have seen in previous Step Up or any other previous dance movies. I also liked the idea of "The Mob" which is a local popular anonymous dance group that decides to switch from performance dance to protest dance when they discover that a major developer has decided to take down and rebuild a part of Miami impacting the lives of thousands of residents in the process.

The dance sequences of The Mob is the essence of the movie. When asked "who is The Mob?" the response given is "The Mob is everyone!". Through their dance performances made at the most unexpected places, The Mob, in principle, is like the "Robin Hood" of Miami.

The movie left me feeling very positively energized at the end of it and even got some of my friends dancing in the middle of Mercato Mall right after it. You will definitely enjoy it if you are looking for something casual and chilled out to do.

I definitely recommend watching it at Grand Cinemas Mercato Mall as it wasn't packed that much, even on the first day of Eid!

IMAX @ Meydan: The New Kid on the Block!

Step aside Grand Cinemas, Meydan has recently opened up the UAE's biggest IMAX screen. Kind of makes you think about how much trouble Grand Cinemas will have to go through to edit its promo reel in which it claims that they have the ONLY IMAX screen in town.

Meydan IMAX Theater Sign

Meydan IMAX marked its opening with a red carpet special screening of the TDKR on August 15, 2012. Some 400 people, mostly from media, were there. The cinema does have the biggest IMAX screen for sure but it is its only screen. As soon as you walk in, you notice that they have 2 ticket counters only and probably 1 or 2 snack bar stations.

Ticket Counter

The theater itself is magnificent in size and the surround sound system adds to the movie experience to make it just perfect. There are two prices for the seats: AED 60 and AED 75; of course the higher price being of the best seats in the house.

Definitely worth checking out if the movie is shot in either 3D or IMAX; but definitely the competition will prevail in the 2D movies categories because of the cheaper rates.

Theater Entrance

They are currently only showing TDKR and you can book your tickets online at http://meydanimax.com. Check it out and let me know how your experience was!
 

TDKR Backdrop

The Dark Knight Rises: "Boy, you are in for a show!"

*SPOILER ALERT: THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS REFERENCES TO SCENES FROM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES MOVIE*

The Dark Knight Rises Dubai premiere was screened on August 14, 2012. It was organized by Warner Bros and Virgin Radio Dubai (104.4FM). The movie is the trilogy's end to Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise.

Image source:  http://www.moustachemagazine.com/2012/07/film-review-the-dark-knight-rises/ 

The movie is about 2.5 hrs long and follows the story (as you can imagine) of the fall and rise of Batman. The opening sequence from TDKR picks up from where The Dark Knight finished off, and that is Gordon's eulogy speech on the loss of Harvey Dent. It's been 8 years now and nobody has yet seen the Batman since he was held responsible for the death of Dent.

It is quite clear that Batman/Bruce Wayne want one thing and one thing only throughout the movie, and that is retirement. Wayne is shattered because he is lost without the Batman but feels he has no use for him during those 8 years so he ends up shutting himself from the whole world. Suddenly, a new evil rises, a bigger and more destructive type of evil that lays in the character of Bane and draws out the Batman from retirement.

From the three Batman movies of the Nolan franchise, Bane seems to be the strongest physically. He seeks revenge to Ra's Al Ghul's death and wishes to carry on his last mission, i.e. the destruction of Gotham City. Throughout the movie, Bane always made the audience believe that he was stronger than the Batman to a point where you doubt Batman's abilities to defeat him.

The plot of the movie is very coherent. Nolan really knows how to nicely link TDKR to The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. I was; however, somewhat disappointed with "the rise" of Batman twice during the movie. When Batman returns after 8 years 'in exile', his entrance wasn't as dramatic as expected. Surely he was chased by all Gotham's police force and gets away using his newest toy, The Bat; but still the entrance of the character should have been just bigger and better. Even when Batman was broken and imprisoned by Bane, his escape (to me) seemed as simple as how Cat Woman stole Wayne's mother's necklace from an "impenetrable" safe - you'll see this in the movie.

Without spoiling much of the fun, brace yourself to the subtle introduction (and re-introduction) of certain unexpected characters. The movie has got some twists and turns as well so hold on tight to your seat. Even though I think The Dark Knight was the best out of the three, TDKR managed to give a satisfying end to this franchise; an end that received an applause from our Dubai audience. I rate this movie 8.5 out of 10.

The movie will be officially released in Dubai on August 16 (just a few days before Eid) which may be a good opportunity to watch it then so as to avoid the Eid rush to the movies. Enjoy it as you are definitely in for quite a show!