White House Down

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SYNOPSIS

White House Down is an upcoming 2013 American action-thriller film directed by Roland Emmerich about an assault on the White House by aparamilitary group. The film’s screenplay is by James Vanderbilt and stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film will be released on June 28, 2013.

CAST

  • Channing Tatum as John Cale, a US Capitol Police officer.
  • Jamie Foxx as James Sawyer, the President of United States.
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal as Carol Finnerty, a Secret Service agent
  • Jason Clarke as Emil Stenz, the leader of the mercenaries that invade the White House and the main antagonist of the film.
  • Richard Jenkins as Eli Raphelson, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
  • James Woods as Martin Walker, the Head of the Presidential Detail
  • Garcelle Beauvais as the First Lady of the United States
  • Lance Reddick as General Caulfield
  • Joey King as Emily Cale, the daughter of John Cale
  • Rachelle Lefevre as Melanie, the ex-wife of John Cale
  • Michael Murphy as Alvin Hammond, the Vice President of the United States
  • Nicolas Wright as Donnie Donaldson, White House Tour Guide

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After Earth (preview)

after-earth

SYNOPSIS

After Earth is a 2013 American science fiction adventure drama film directed by M. Night Shyamalan that he co-wrote with Gary Whitta based on an original story idea by Will Smith, about a military father and son crash landed on Earth one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to abandon it for a new home planet. The teenage son must save his dying father by trekking alone across the hostile terrain, encountering highly evolved creatures and a ruthless alien beast along the way, to recover their rescue beacon and also prove that he can live up to his father’s reputation as a legendary soldier. It is the second film since The Pursuit of Happyness that stars real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith, with Will Smith also producing via his company Overbrook Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is available on IMAX and is the first film fromSony Pictures to be both shot and presented in 4K resolution.

CAST

  • Jaden Smith as Kitai Raige
  • Will Smith as Cypher Raige
  • Sophie Okonedo as Faia Raige
  • Zoë Isabella Kravitz as Senshi Raige
  • David Denman as McQuarrie
  • Kristofer Hivju as Security Chief
  • Gabriel Caste as Ranger
  • Lincoln Lewis as Bo
  • Chris Geere as Navigator

4K SCREENING

Ryan Nakashima of Associated Press was generally impressed with 4K resolution picture quality, though the visual effects shots that comprised about a third of the movie were done in 2K resolution to save cost and time. Nakashima commented “I could see details I’ve never noticed before – the actors’ tiny skin imperfections, or Smith’s salt-and-pepper whiskers. In a distant shot of Smith’s son Jaden running down a riverbed, I was struck by how many small rocks were defined clearly from such a distance. Yet other shots that included computer-generated cityscapes or otherworldly creatures looked less sharp.” The cinematographer Peter Suschitzky was apologetic on that, saying “The movie is only half in true 4K. I’m sad about that. It still looks good.”
Scott Wilkinson of AVS was similarly impressed though did not enjoy the movie itself, commenting that “Even sitting too far away, the movie itself looked gorgeous—sharp as a tack with beautiful colors. The smallest details, such as Jaden Smith’s character in the far distance, somehow looked clearer than I would have expected under normal circumstances; I got the distinct impression that the image could have been blown up by quite a bit and no detail would have been lost. The CGI animals did look a bit artificial, but that didn’t bother me very much at all.”

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Iron Man 3 (preview)

 

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SYNOPSIS

Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.1 It is the sequel to 2008’s Iron Man and 2010’s Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the first major release in the franchise since the crossover film The Avengers. Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce and which uses concepts from the “Extremis” story arc by Warren Ellis. Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the title character, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle reprising their roles as Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, respectively. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as an executive producer and reprises his role as Happy Hogan. Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film’s principal cast.

After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May 2012, the film’s supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles. The film’s visual effects were handled by 17 companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.

Iron Man 3 was converted to 3D in post-production.The film premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013.It was internationally released on April 25, 2013 in IMAXand was released on May 3, 2013 in the United States.

The film was both critically and commercially successful. As of June 2013, it has grossed over $1.15 billion worldwide, becoming the 16th film to gross over $1 billion. It currently ranks as the fifth highest-grossing film of all time and the highest-grossing 2013 film.

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EPIC (preview)

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SYNOPSIS

Epic is a 2013 American 3D computer animated fantasy-adventure comedy-drama film loosely based on William Joyce’s children’s book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios, and directed by Chris Wedge, the director of Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). It stars the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O’Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, with Steven Tyler and Beyoncé Knowles. The film was released on May 24, 2013.

In 2006, it was reported that Chris Wedge would be directing an animated feature film based on William Joyce’s book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs for Fox Animation. Joyce, who had already collaborated with Wedge as a designer and producer on the 2005 film Robots, was set to produce the film. At one point, Wedge got permission to find a new home for the film and turned to Pixar, led by John Lasseter, whom Wedge knew from working on Tron. When Pixar tried to close the rights for the film and start development, Fox changed their mind, and the film returned back to Fox. The film was officially greenlit in 2009, under the title Leaf Men.In May 2012, Fox announced the final title for the film, its first cast details, and a plot.

Although the film is based on Joyce’s The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, and it borrows many characters from the book, its plot has been significantly changed. Wedge explained: “But while Bill wrote a wonderful book, it is a quaint story. We wanted to make a gigantic action-adventure movie.” To address online speculations about whether the film is similar to other films, like FernGully: The Last Rainforest or Avatar, Wedge said: “I hate to associate it with other movies. It is adventure on the scale of Star Wars. And it does immerse the audience completely in a world like Avatar. But it has its own personality.

Following the death of her mother, Mary Katherine (a.k.a. M.K.) (Amanda Seyfried), a 17 year old teenager, moves in with her estranged and eccentric scientist father, Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), who has been searching for tiny human soldiers, about which M.K. is skeptical. She wants her father to stop his work. Unknown to the both of them, Bomba is right that there are tiny soldiers called Leafmen. They protect the forest Bomba lives near from evil creatures called Boggans, who shoot arrows that can kill any living thing, and their malevolent leader, Mandrake (Christoph Waltz), who plans to destroy the forest. An independent young soldier, Nod (Josh Hutcherson) decides to quit, much to the ire of the no-nonsense Leafmen leader, Ronin (Colin Farrell), who wants Nod to learn about teamwork.

The queen of the forest, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), who is aware of Ronin’s apparent attraction to her, decides to choose an heir to her throne and goes out to a field of leaf pods, guarded by a laid-back slug named Mub (Aziz Ansari) and an uptight snail named Grub. Tara chooses the smallest pod as the heir; however, immediately after doing so, the Boggans attack. Tara flees the area with the pod, and though her bodyguards do their best to protect her, they are soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of Boggans. Tara uses her magic to slow down her pursuers, and is at one point rescued by a flower child who idolizes her; eventually, Ronin arrives for her, and the pair fly off on Ronin’s hummingbird mount. They are then attacked by Mandrake and his son and lead general, Dagda (Blake Anderson); Dagda is killed by Ronin, but Tara is shot by Mandrake, and falls off Ronin’s bird into the forest.

Meanwhile, M.K., annoyed at her father, decides to leave and leaves a note on one of his security monitors. Before she can leave, her and Bomba’s one-eyed, three-legged dog, Ozzie, runs into the woods. While looking for Ozzie, M.K. sees Tara falling. A dying Tara gives her the pod and uses her magic to shrink her. She tells M.K. to take the pod to a Glowworm named Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler) before she dies. After meeting Ronin and the Leafmen, along with Mub and Grub, a confused and scared M.K. joins them. Ronin discovers that Nod has entered a race against other creatures and bugs on birds. He goes back on a deal with a tough bullfrog named Bufo (Pitbull). Before Bufo and his gypsy moth and scorpionfly goons can kill Nod, Ronin intervenes and orders the goons to leave. A reluctant Nod joins him, M.K., Mub, and Grub after hearing about Tara’s death.

They eventually find Nim Galuu, who is a showman and keeper of magic scrolls that tell what has occurred during the times, in a tree. After learning about Tara’s death, he leads the group down to the scrolls, where M.K. discovers Tara’s brief message before shrinking her, and a message that will get her back to normal size. When Ronin leaves, Nod takes M.K. on a deer ride and they fall in love. Mandrake (to whom Bufo fearfully reveals the location of the pod, which he overheard from Ronin and Nod) arrives and kidnaps Mub and Grub and imprisons them, along with the pod, which he hopes to bloom in darkness to destroy the forest. To get into Boggan territory undiscovered, M.K., Nod, and Ronin set out to Bomba’s house to get some disguises, where M.K. learns that her father is what the Leafmen call a “stomper” and have been leading Bomba off their trail. After getting the disguises, Ozzie (who earlier returns to Bomba’s house) sees M.K. and chases her, catching Bomba’s attention. He sees the group and catches M.K., but faints after seeing her. Before leaving, M.K. marks where the Leafmen territory is on one of Bomba’s maps with a red push-pin.

When they reach the Boggan land, which is a wasteland of dead trees, Ronin distracts the Boggans while M.K. and Nod rescue Mub, Grub, and the pod. They are eventually found out by Mandrake, who summons the Boggans to stop them. M.K., Nod, Mub, and Grub escape alive, but Ronin sacrifices himself to ensure their escape. Before the full moon can sprout the pod at Nim Galuu’s place with moonlight, Mandrake’s bats block the light, causing the pod to sprout in darkness. When the Leafmen set out to fight the Boggans (with Grub unsuccessfully joining them) M.K. sets out to get her father for assistance, but an exasperated Bomba, after regaining consciousness, decides to give up on what he has been doing to find his daughter and shuts off all his cameras, believing that he didn’t really see M.K. and that he’s been insane all his years, but changes his mind when he sees the push-pin in his map.

After locating M.K., Bomba is overjoyed to see that he has been right and when he follows M.K. to Moonhaven, he (with his daughter’s persuasion) uses his iPod to make bat sounds, causing the bats to follow Bomba. Meanwhile, Mub and Nim Galuu try to stop Mandrake from reaching the pod, but are unsuccessful. Just then, Ronin appears, bearing scars and bruises from Boggans. Mandrake manages to outdo him, but Ronin is defended by Nod, who earlier finally understands the importance of teamwork. Before Mandrake can obtain his victory, the moonlight takes over the pod before it blooms in darkness, causing it to bloom in light and Mandrake gets sucked into a tree. It also heals the forest after much damage from the Boggans.

The chosen heir is the flower child who idolized and saved Tara earlier in the film. Grub becomes a Leafman, Nod and Ronin reconcile, and Nod and M.K. kiss and become a couple before M.K. is given back her original height by the new queen. After reuniting with Bomba and becoming his assistant, the reunited human family still keep regular contact with their new small friends as they continue the research of the world by their home.

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Fast & Furious 6 (review)

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SYNOPSIS

Fast & Furious 6 (alternatively known as Fast Six or Furious Six) is a 2013 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the sixth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. The film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Chris Bridges, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, and John Ortiz. Fast & Furious 6 follows a professional criminal gang led by Dominic Toretto (Diesel) who have retired following their successful heist in Fast Five (2011), but remain wanted fugitives. U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) offers to clear the group’s criminal records and allow them to return home in exchange for helping him to take down a skilled mercenary organization led by Owen Shaw (Evans) and his second in command, Dominic’s presumed-dead lover Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez).

Fast & Furious 6 was in development by February 2010 as the first film in the series to move away from the underground car-racing theme of the series’ previous films which was considered to have placed a barrier on audience numbers. Pre-production had begun by April 2011, and principal photography began in London, England in July 2012. Filming locations also included the Canary Islands, Glasgow, and Los Angeles. The film was first released in the United Kingdom, on May 17, 2013, followed by an international release on May 24, 2013. A sequel is scheduled to begin filming in August 2013.

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Star Trek Into Darkness 3D 2013 (preview)

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SYNOPSIS

Star Trek Into Darkness is a 2013 American science fiction action film. It is the twelfth installment in the Star Trek franchise and the sequel to 2009’s Star Trek. It was directed by J. J. Abrams from a screenplay written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof, based on the series of the same name created by Gene Roddenberry. Lindelof, Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams also serve as producers, along with Bryan Burk. Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain James T. Kirk, with Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood reprising their roles from the previous film. Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller and Alice Eve round out the film’s principal cast.

After the release of Star Trek, Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Kurtzman and Orci signed up to produce the film. In 2011, the supporting cast was rounded out with Cumberbatch, Weller and Eve brought in to portray key roles. Filming began in January 2012. The film was shot entirely in California. The film’s visual effects were handled by Industrial Light & Magic.

The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Star Trek Into Darkness premiered at Event Cinemas in Sydney on April 23, 2013,and was released on May 9, 2013, in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and parts of Europe and Peru,[7] with other countries following. The film was released on May 16, 2013, in the United States and Canada, opening at IMAX cinemas one day earlier

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