So as I sit here in New Zealand, basking in the summer sun and Christmas is a mere two days away. I am away from my closest family and friends so I have taken stock in the small surprises that come my way knowing that physically I won't be receiving gifts or eating a classic Christmas dinner. So the past three days have dealt out three amazing presents for anyone who has a shred of taste when it comes to blockbuster movies.
I know I may be repeating what many of you have already been made aware of but you have to agree, these three contenders would have you running to the cinema even if you hadn't seen a trailer. All three have a lot to live up to, the pressure is on, and if each of these films pull off the monumental task of living up to expectations then we will be looking at some of the finest franchises to be committed to celluloid (or digitised to a projector these days, uuugggh it just doesn't have the same ring to it).
First up the undisputed heavy weight champion of comic book adaptations for the past 6 years. Christian Bale will once again growl through the cowl of the Dark Knight and shit is going to blow up in massive IMAX resolutions. The final instalment of Christopher Nolans Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises . . . .
With TDKR coming out in the summer (northern hemisphere) 2012 you can't help but think the next film is long way off. However if anyone who religiously went to the cinema for a certain film every Christmas between the years 2001 and 2003 will attest to, a mere one year wait for the first half of this next monumental picture should be a breeze. I came to New Zealand for many reasons, but one reason towers way above the others, and I made several pilgrimages to certain streets in Wellington and a farm just outside of Matamata to pay homage to my favourite films, The Lord Of The Rings. It took a long time but everything has fallen into place and Peter Jackson is once again in Tolkien mode and Directing the cinematic adaptation of The Hobbit, and splitting it into two mega films. The first of which got its trailer debut just yesterday, and here it is.
So yes as you can imagine I am very over excited about The Hobbit, it is looking and sounding amazing. I thought nothing could get much better than these two trailers coming out one after the other . . . well I was wrong. Now this next film may not be as deep in the public concious as the last two giants, but trust me this one is just as exciting as the last two. Today the eagerly anticipated trailer for Ridley Scotts new film was offered up to the internet. Now I hear the sighs already, another Gladiator style epic, god no! Well stop right there. I do love Ridley Scotts epic sword swinging films but I am obsessed and in awe of his earlier sci-fi creations Alien and Blade Runner. Well at long last he has gone back to sci-fi and not only that he is unearthing a back story as to what happened on LV-426 before Ripley and her crew landed on it in Alien! I love this trailer, it has such echoes of the original Alien trailer however it's not being sold on the back of the Alien franchise, it looks to be a very different kind of film, and it looks incredible.
and just to show how Ridely has pitched so similarly to his original Alien, below is the original trailer.
So yes I am very excited for the year of monster movies ahead and coincidently Alien is a film I watch every year at Christmas time, a weird tradition I know but for some reason it happened two years on the trot and it just stuck. However I have just realised I'm in New Zealand and I don't have a copy of it . . . a visit to the video store will be needed post haste. Have a great Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year.
