The 1975 - It's Not Living If (It's Not With You) - Warren Fu's Latest Music Video Masterpiece

The 1975 are devotees to the art of surreal music videos and their new hit It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) is certainly no exception. The track’s lyrics illustrate lead singer Matt Healy’s struggle with heroin addiction from the point of view of a separate character named “Danny”. In an interview with NME, the singer stated that he was “trying to consciously hide it behind somebody else”, indicating his reluctance to disclose his addiction.

The extraordinary music video comes to you from the mind of Warren Fu, director of a huge host of classic videos including Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers as well as a few more recent hits such as Rose-Coloured Boy by Paramore and A Tribe Called Quest’s latest single The Space Program.

The video is inspired by the bizarre 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense featuring a live performance by twentieth century musical legends Talking Heads, created by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs). Warren Fu’s surreal creation features a few not-so-subtle references to the Talking Heads movie. Matt Healy enters the stage wearing an oversized suit identical to David Byrne. A pair of identical backing singers can be seen to the left of the stage, filmed from the centre crowd position in the same style as the 1984 concert film.

The video begins with singer Matt Healy waking up from a dream within a dream in a pre-music sequence intended to introduce the concept, a classic technique common to the style of the director. Healy is trapped in some kind of surreal nightmare, playing to an empty crowd, hallucinating, presumably due to the influence of heroin. Healy attempts to escape after seeing a second version of himself on stage taking his place, finding himself behind the set of Sincerity Is Scary, 2018’s previous video by The 1975, created by the same director, watching himself in disbelief.

It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) features a few interesting filming and editing techniques from wide camera shots, low lit close-ups and harsh lighting amongst intense darkness to thirty-second breaks from the music to enhance the almost disturbingly bizarre plot of the video. The hypnagogic music video is another classic example of Warren Fu’s unconstrained genius. He is not currently set to direct any new projects but with The 1975’s propensity towards making surreal videos, a tendency shared by the gifted director, it’s safe to assume that we can expect a few more collaborations in the future.

See the video here!

Back to the 2015 Oscars - Battle of the Biopics

At the 87th Annual Academy Awards back in 2015, two of the best biographical movies in film history went head-to-head, eventually walking away with just a single award each. The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch received eight nominations and took home a win for screenwriter Graham Moore for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Theory of Everything won Eddie Redmayne a single award for Best Male Lead after the film received a total of five nominations.

The Theory of Everything follows the story of exceptional British physicist Stephen Hawking, his quest for a single unified equation that explains everything in the universe, and the tragic decline in his health. The film stars Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts, Les Miserables) as Hawking himself alongside Felicity Jones (Rogue One, Inferno), Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones, The Iron Lady), Simon McBurney (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) and of course, a favourite from the Harry Potter universe, David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Dragonheart). The Theory of Everything was nominated for five Oscars in 2015; Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and of course, Best Picture, competing on several fronts with The Imitation Game.

The Imitation Game tells the story of mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing and the race to decipher the Enigma code during World War II using Turing's codebreaking machine. The film demonstrates the hardships that Turing and his team endured at the offices at Bletchely Park as well as the hardships Turing himself suffered after the war due to persecution over his sexuality and his eventual suicide by self-administered cyanide poisoning. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Turing with support from Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Atonement), Mark Strong (Kingsman, Sherlock Holmes) and Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, Spectre). The biopic received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Editing and Best Production Design; a grand slam total of eight nominations.

2015 was a tough year at the Oscars with exceptional hits on the board such as Whiplash, Selma, American Sniper, Gone Girl, Interstellar, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, Nightcrawler, Still Alice and of course the two titans of the year, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, both taking home four awards each. The decisions were surely almost impossible for the Academy to make but in terms of nominations alone, the two biopics shone brightly among other nominees with harrowing real-world stories of two of the greatest minds of the 20th (and indeed the 21st) Century.

1995's Heat - A Once In A Lifetime Supercast

In 1995, Warner Bros. gave us Heat, a classic crime drama with an exceptional story, great characters and an absolutely top class cast. The story follows a gang of top level thieves who botch an armoured truck robbery, impulsively killing several armed guards. The LAPD's major crimes unit quickly become involved led by a tenacious detective to hunt the criminals and bring them to justice.

The film was written and directed by none other than Michael Mann, the mind behind Manhunter and Last of the Mohicans prior to Heat, and since then has given us Ali, Miami Vice and Public Enemies as a writer and director. Mann will also be directing the upcoming 2019 biopic Enzo Ferrari. The writer, director and producer is a master of historic crime genre of movies and his career is far from over.

The cast of this movie is incredible. Admittedly, some cast members have found themselves considerably more famous here in 2019, but retrospectively, it's still a highly respectable lineup. Leading the bill are Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer with support from Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora and Jon Voight. Following behind are Ted Levine (Shutter Island), Amy Brenneman (Fear), Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy), Mykelti Williamson (Con Air, Forrest Gump), Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans), Hank Azaria (Godzilla), Dennis Haysbert (24), Martin Ferrero (Jurassic Park), Henry Rollins (Bad Boys II), Tom Noonen (Robocop 2), Jerry Trimble (The Flash), Tone Loc (Ace Ventura) and Jeremy Piven (Smokin' Aces, Entourage) as well as Danny Trejo, a very young Natalie Portman and of course, everyone's favourite that-guy actor, the mighty William Fichtner. 

The cast list is a bottomless Christmas stocking of awesome actors and actresses and the film itself is extremely well made, well edited, well directed and particularly well written and scripted. The movie was made on a budget of $60m and pulled down over $187m worldwide. It's an absolute must-see for fans of the crime genre movie and an absolutely essential addition to any DVD collection.

Death Note - A Critically Pounded Netflix Remake

Netflix' live action adaptation of Death Note (2017) has been the subject of some strong opinions by critics and outrage by fans. The film was heavily anticipated particularly by fans of the manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and the 2006 anime series but unfortunately, was not received well at all. 

The plot differs somewhat from the anime, following Light Turner (originally Light Yagami) and his girlfriend Mia on a supernatural killing spree in Seattle. Light accidentally finds himself in possession of book known as the Death Note. Once the user touches the book, he or she becomes the keeper of the Death Note and summons a Shinigami; a Japanese god of death. When a name is written in the book, they will die by a method of the keeper's choosing. A gifted detective, known only as "L", has been drafted in to hunt for Light, known to him as Kira (killer in Japanese).

Death Note is directed by Adam Wingard, the shot-caller behind 2016's Blair Witch and the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong with a screenplay by Fantastic Four writer Jeremy Slater and music by Leopold and Atticus Ross. Warner Bros. acquired the rights to an American remake of Death Note back in 2009 but after the idea was pushed around from studio to studio through various writers and directors, the distribution rights were repurchased by Netflix in April 2016 and the production companies involved (LP, Lin, Vertigo) were offered a budget of $50m. Several producers were involved in the project including Japanese-born producer and actor Masi Oka (Heroes) who cameos in the film as a detective in Tokyo.

The cast features Nat Wolff from harrowing romantic drama A Fault In Our Stars as Light, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Mia, Lakeith Stanfield (Selma, Get Out) as L and the fantastic Willem Dafoe as the voice of the Shinigami known as Ryuk. Death Note also features a well known that-guy actor many viewers will recognise from various movie bit parts and TV spots, Shea Whingham as Light's father Detective James Turner who teams up with L to catch Kira, unaware that he is chasing his own son.

The R-rated remake is packed full of odd, unexpected plot twists and quickly turns to a sinister psychological drama about an anti-hero who believes in his own cause and his twisted, psychotic girlfriend. The dialogue is a little ropey in places, the editing even more-so. The choice of music (i.e. 80's power ballads in the ferris wheel scene) is downright cringe-worthy. However, all that aside, it really is a good film, particularly considering that it's a remake of an anime classic.

Alpha - An Ice Age Epic

Later in 2018, Sony will be releasing Alpha, a story about the first bond between human beings and canines. The film is due for release on September 14th and is set 20,000 years ago during the last ice age. The trailer paints a picture of a historic epic focusing on the lead character's relationship with a wild wolf.

Director Albert Hughes (From Hell, The Book of Eli) is going solo for the first time after usually working alongside his brother Allen. The screenplay has been penned by first-time screenwriter Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt who's previous film experience extends to just a handful of production and miscellaneous crew credits. The film will be produced by relatively new enterprise Studio 8 Productions, a company which, so far, has only been associated with two other movie releases; harrowing post-war drama Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk featuring Vin Diesel and Kristen Stewart and White Boy Rick starring Matthew McConaughey. The release has been delayed twice, initially slated for September 2017. The date was moved to March 2018 and then again to a final date this coming September.

The story surrounds a boy on the cusp of manhood on his first hunting expedition with the elite hunters from his village in Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic era. He suffers an injury and is left for dead, struggling for survival in the harsh frozen wilderness. He discovers a wild wolf separated from its pack and over time, they form an unshakeable bond, helping each other survive as the boy finds his way home. The story illustrates how the first relationship between man and canine may have come to be. 

The film stars Australian-born actor Kodi Smit-McPhee who will no doubt be recognisable to many moviegoers as young Nightcrawler from X-Men: Apocalypse. Also appearing will be Natassia Malthe (Elektra, Lake Placid) and Leona Varela (Blade II) as well as a handful of other semi-famous faces... Better have the IMDb app at the ready!

Alpha features a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog to play the lead character's faithful canine companion, a fairly new breed developed in the 1950's. The dog, now accepted as a purebreed, was originally bred from German Shepherds and Carpathian Wolves in order to create a dog with the temperament of the shepherd and the pack instinct, hunting ability and body strength of the common wolf. A little controversy befell the movie when it transpired that five Alberta bison were slaughtered to display during a scene showing a carcass being butchered. Unfortunately as such, the film cannot carry the usual post-credit announcement stating that no animals were harmed during its production.

Controversy aside, this film is a must-see for dog lovers and will surely deliver a powerful and dramatic glimpse into the history of the human/canine relationship. With a solid cast, a fresh writer and a director who has proved his metal in Hollywood, It's difficult to see any way that this film won't be good!

Bond 25 - What We Know So Far

The James Bond series is the fourth most successful movie franchise of all time behind the MCU, Harry Potter and Star Wars and has grossed a total of over $7 trillion worldwide since the release of Dr. No in 1962. The powerhouse of a franchise has had its ups and downs but I think we can all agree that we are currently living in a good age for the exploits of 007. The 25th instalment is due to begin filming at Pinewood Studios in December of this year and so far, only a handful of information is currently available about the movie. 

Daniel Craig will return as James Bond for the last time before the character is recast again, meaning the film will almost certainly be a monumental finale to the current continuity. Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire) will direct the blockbuster with some help from Craig after he requested a more hands-on creative role in the film's production. The screenplay has been penned by John Hodge, writer of both Trainspotting movies.

In terms of supporting cast, although only Craig has been announced so far, it's probably safe to assume that Ralph Fiennes, Ben Wishaw and Naomi Harris will all return to reprise their iconic roles as M, Q and Moneypenny respectively. Unfortunately, Christoph Waltz will not be returning as Blofeld in Bond 25. This will come as sad news to many Bond fans who enjoyed Waltz' spectacular performance in Spectre, playing a role he was clearly born for and of course surviving the events of the movie, left marked by the classic scar across his eye. Waltz has stated that because the tradition in the franchise leans towards Blofeld being portrayed by a different actor in each film, he will not come back. This could, of course, be a red herring to throw the press off the scent. There may indeed be, at the very least, a cameo by the quintessential villain.

A few rumours have been floating around concerning the possible addition of world renowned actress Helena Bonham Carter as the main villain in the movie. An unnamed inside source told the Daily Mirror that Angelina Jolie was being tipped for the role but the producers preferred Bonham Carter. Other actors allegedly being eyed for roles in the film include Benedict Cumberbatch and Scottish star of the Kingsman movies, Mark Strong.

Other rumours surrounding the movie have tipped Beyonce and Dua Lipa as possible contenders for the much coveted job of performing the film's title theme. The as-yet-untitled movie will be distributed domestically by relatively new-to-the-scene Annapurna Pictures, the production company that brought you Detroit, Phantom Thread and American real-life war drama Zero Dark Thirty. International distribution of the film has been secured by Universal Pictures. With any luck we'll see the usual return of the Walther PPK, a new Aston Martin and maybe a couple of new gadgets courtesy of Q Branch. Bond 25 is set for release in November 2019.

Mowgli Movie Grabbed By Netflix

Mowgli has been bounced around all corners of Hollywood for the last few years and now it seems there are finally some solid plans. Warner Bros. originally had the movie slated for release in October 2016 but kept pushing the date back amid concerns about rushing the visual effects process and having to compete with Jon Favreau's live action retelling of The Jungle Book (2016). This week, Netflix has officially announced that they have purchased the rights to the movie and will release it on their online streaming platform in early 2019.

Unfortunately this news means that Mowgli will not be released theatrically but following the success of Favreau's 2016 remake which grossed nearly $1bn worldwide, it's unclear whether audiences will rush to cinemas to see another one quite so soon. There are some advantages, though! A Netflix exclusive release will mean the film won't be compared to its predecessor, or indeed any other film, in terms of box office success. Viewers who aren't fond of the cinema experience will be able to see the film for the first time from the comfort of their own homes.

The film directed by Andy Serkis has been produced through his own production company The Imaginarium which he co-owns with Bridgett Jones producer Jonathan Cavendish, a company that has contributed heavily to the recent Star Wars movies and the modern Planet of the Apes series. Several high-profile names are featured in the cast lineup including Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Naomi Harris and of course, Serkis himself.

The director has made it quite clear in interviews that Mowgli will feature a much darker and more gritty take on the story. The trailer appears to show a strong dramatic epic with a deeper story and certainly a much more graphic and potentially bloodthirsty depiction of Rudyard Kipling's classic jungle tale. The characters appear to be much more emotionally driven and multi-dimensional which could perhaps sway the sympathy of viewers somewhat.

Mowgli has been in the works for a long while now. The project has gone through various directors, cast members and studios before finally settling this year. Not much is known of the specifics of the story yet but it will certainly grab the attention of Netflix users worldwide upon release. Serkis stated that at one point, the production of this movie was running neck-and-neck with the production of Favreau's 2016 hit, but they wanted to take more time over principal photography and make sure the film was in the best shape in which it could be. This perhaps is a strong testament to the quality of the film!