Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.
Welcome back to Multiplex Goes Retro, the place where I watch the films that are hated, loved or both and see whether they've improved or worsened with age.
This time, I'm taking a look at 2002's Queen of the Damned, a loose adaptation of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series, specifically the novel of the same name and but also its prequel, The Vampire Lestat. I am a huge fan of both the novel and adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, so, in need of a film to watch one evening, I decided on this one. After doing a little research, it seems that the film divided a lot of people - some hated it furiously, others passionately defended it as a decent film. Naturally, something this divisive made me even more curious and as such, it was perfect for this column.
To celebrate the release of Iron Sky this Monday, we have a copy of the Blu-ray to give away.
Towards the end of World War II the staff of SS officer Hans Kammler made a significant breakthrough in anti-gravity. From a secret base built in the Antarctic, the first Nazi spaceships were launched in late ‘45 to found the military base Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) on the dark side of the Moon. This base was to build a powerful invasion fleet and return to take over the Earth once the time was right. Now it’s 2018, the Nazi invasion is on its way and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom."
Jackie Cogan is a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game.
Killing Them Softly (previously titled the much cooler, more direct Cogan's Trade) is the third feature from Andrew Dominik, who burst onto the scene with the giddy cinematic delirium of Chopper and followed it up with the elegiac, existential musings of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Jesse James, the first collaboration between Dominik and Softly star Brad Pitt, is without question one of the greatest films of the 21st Century. I will physically fight you over any words to the contrary. I left the cinema in a state of shock, yet convinced I had seen a movie that would be unfairly overlooked but that time would eventually vindicate as a masterpiece. I would hold it up to the lofty heights of films such as The Godfather, Raging Bull or Night of The Hunter. So, you can imagine my anticipation for Killing Them Softly is verging on fanaticism.
Alongside the quite frankly startling news that Tom Cruise has been lined up for the potential Van Helsing remake, MGM have announced that the Jerry Maguire star is attached to a new version of The Magnificent Seven.
I was a late convert to the wonder of Apple products, but I've made up for my tardiness since: iPod, iPhone, iPad: check, check and check. The seamless fusion of design and utility that characterises the Cupertino company is legendary, and testament to the enormous legacy left behind by its co-founder, Steve Jobs. It's no surprise that the sad occasion of his passing has led to something of a feeding frenzy to get a biopic on screen. Jobs was, remember, heavily involved in the movie business (with one of his most lasting bequests to us is the glorious early Pixar catalogue). You could make a pretty credible argument that he has been the most influential man of the 21st Century to date, and his almost biblical story - founds Apple, cast into the wilderness, returns as prodigal son to rescue said company from ruin - is more cinematic than even the story of Facebook, as brilliantly brought to the screen in The Social Network.
Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is the reason people create "Most Anticipated" lists at the start of the year. Following every release, Anderson's estimation climbs, and anticipation for his next gets higher. His last film was 2007's There Will Be Blood, a bona fide masterpiece and one of the greatest films of the last 30 years, so imagine the excitement surrounding The Master?
Rumours abound that Dwayne Johnson has been cast to play Lobo, the DC Comics super-villain who enjoyed a run of popularity in the 1990s.Despite that surge, it would be fair to say that he is not nearly as well known today as the other DC and Marvel properties that have been adapted in the last ten years, and this news - if it is true - could indicate that the bottom of the well is being scraped. Brad Peyton has been tipped to direct fresh off his work on Journey 2 - with, wait for it - Dwayne Johnson. Doesn't seem that much of a leap that this one might be true.
A 1950s-set drama centered on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as "the Master" whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man.
