With a career that began back in 1969, Terrence Malick has become one of the best known directors in film, despite having directed just six films in the past fifty years, well known for the gaps between his films.

More recently, however, the writer-director has been beyond prolific, winning the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes with The Tree of Life, and having an untitled film starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Jessica Chastain, Rachel Weisz, and Javier Bardem currently in post-production, due out this year.

And to add to all of that, he’s also announced, and begun preliminary filming on, Lawless, which will star Ryan Gosling in the lead, alongside Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Haley Bennett, which will shoot in the autumn. And before that, he’ll be filming Knight of Cups this summer, which will also star Bale and Blanchett, as well as Isabel Lucas.

We’ve now got some more brilliant casting news to add to both Lawless and Knight of Cups, with Deadline reporting that the ever-talented Natalie Portman is joining the already impressive casts of the two films, which means that she, Bale, and Blanchett will all be starring in them both.

The films are set to be sold at the European Film Market in Berlin tomorrow, with FilmNation selling the international territories and CAA dealing the US rights. With such an established man like Malick writing and directing, and with two sets of wonderfully talented casts, hopefully they shouldn’t have too much trouble getting picked up.

On top of winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year, Malick’s last film, The Tree of Life, has three Oscar nominations to its name in the Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Cinematography categories, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out at the end of the month when the Academy Awards are held on 26^th February.

Portman, herself, is of course no stranger to the Oscars, having won Best Actress for her outstanding performance in Black Swan last year, and earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for 2004’s Closer, and these two projects will mark her first films since taking maternity leave after the birth of her first child last summer.

We are literally just days away from the 3D re-release of the first film in one of cinema’s biggest franchises, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Yesterday, we saw some never-before-seen images that took us behind the scenes of the film. And today, we have a great new featurette, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, in which we see George Lucas and John Knoll, VFX supervisor, discussing the process of the 3D conversion for the re-release.

Listening to them talk, it sounds like they’re going for a different approach to most 3D films these days, and not going for the gratuitous shots of things coming at you out of the screen, but are seeking to use the technology instead to give the image greater depth within itself.

Definitely an interesting take on things, and of course we get some brilliant clips spliced between Lucas and Knoll’s interviews. As Lucas says,

“Whether you see it in 3D or see it in 2D, see it on the big screen. There’s nothing like it.”

Provided the converted film is received well, the expectation is that we’ll get to see a 3D re-release for each of the six Star Wars films once a year over the next six years, which is most certainly something to look forward to.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 3D is released here in the UK on Thursday, 9^th February, and you can catch up on the official trailer for the re-release beneath the featurette in case you’ve missed it. I didn’t get a chance to see the film when it was first released back in 1999 (in my defence, I’d only just turned nine at the time), so I can’t wait to see it on the big screen for the first time.

There’s a lot riding on this re-release of George Lucas’s Star Wars films (now with added 3D) as this falls before the re-unleashing of James Cameron’s Titanic later in the year and all eyes will be as much on the quality of the post-conversion process as the film itself.

There’s no doubt that The Phantom Menace has a unique place in Star Wars history and it’ll be very interesting to see how the film plays thirteen years later and without the enormous expectation it was greeted with all those years ago.

I spoke to some veteran ILMers last year for the Blu-ray release of the films and their response was firmly that Lucas wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t just right. Say what you like about the changes made over the years there are few films which could lead the 3D Classic-o-convert (my new name for the process of post converting the favourite films of yesteryear) revolution as readily as these.

We’re due to see the film in a couple of days and we’ve got our hands on a number of images, never before seen, peeking behind the scenes of the film’s production as well as reminding us that it’s not all about Jar Jar.

The film is out in cinemas on the 9th of February. These are the pictures you’re looking for, click to make them larger and more powerful than you can possible imagine.

Becoming an increasingly well-known name both here and across the Atlantic, Tom Hiddleston will soon be returning to the big screen to reprise his role as Loki from Thor in Joss Whedon’s upcoming The Avengers.

Hiddleston has been speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, via ComicBookMovie, and has said that the sequel to last year’s Thor will be going before cameras a little earlier than expected, and will start shooting this spring rather than the summer.

Just after Christmas, we heard that Marvel had finally found its director in Alan Taylor, best known for his work handling directing duties on Game of Thrones, and it looks like they’ll be ready to press on with the film very soon.

“There is a Thor 2. It’s been green-lit, and I think it will start shooting in London in the spring. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman are coming back. I haven’t seen the script. This is where I feel the Marvel snipers are waiting and watching across the street…”

Excellent news. Though the search for the director has been a complicated one, with Patty Jenkins exiting from the job over creative differences late last year, the project is clearly well underway with Taylor now on board, and it sounds like things should be starting up here in the UK very soon. If you’re living in London, keep your eyes peeled for catching Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, or Tom Hiddleston walking down the street. You’ll be able to spot Hemsworth especially on account of the awesome hammer he’ll be wielding.

The project is one of two that have been officially announced as in development, with the other of course being Robert Downey, Jr.’s return in Iron Man 3. The third in the Iron Man arc will be out on 3^rd May next year, with Thor 2 following a few months later on 15^th November.

And before all that, we can of course look forward to seeing the whole Marvel superhero cast together in one epic film in the form of The Avengers in just a few months’ time. In case you’ve missed any of it, you can catch up on all of our coverage for it here. The Avengers will be out here in the UK in 3D on 27^th April, which puts the countdown clock at less than three months. Anybody else just a little bit excited?

In recent years we have seen Hollywood tap a variety of different resources in its ongoing search for new ideas. Stopping just short of sticking its hand down the side of the sofa and rummaging for loose inspiration, Tinseltown has instead chosen to adapt everything from the usual books, video games and television shows, to comic books, websites, theme park rides and – I still can’t quite believe it –  even board games. So, why not an entire year?

If 2011 were a movie, aside from reflecting such recent events as The Royal Wedding, the London riots, the Eurozone crisis and those pandas arriving at Edinburgh zoo, it would also have to reflect the trends and tendencies prevalent in the films it has seen released during its tenure. As such, it would most likely be a remake of a foreign language prequel, a motion-capture throwback and a steamy tale of friends with benefits, with no strings attached.

If 2011 were a movie it would star Michael Fassbender as a man haunted by an unsuppressable Irish accent, Ryan Gosling as someone who can wear clothes really well, and Natalie Portman in the midst of what must amount to the most productive pregnancy ever. Stellan Skarsgård would play a man with a hidden agenda, Felicity Jones’ character would ultimately win your heart and Justin Timberlake would appear as a surprisingly capable actor.

If 2011 were a movie it would be set in Rio de Janeiro, where birds come to mate, the fast are as fun as they are furious, and vampires routinely honeymoon.  At least, that is, until Michael Bay crashes a Transformer into it, forcing our heroes to set sale, on stranger tides, in search of the secrets of a unicorn. On a Zeppelin. It would see McLovin slay some vampires, James Bond team up with Indiana Jones, and Queen Amidala wooed by a bunch of carrots and a period mix.

If 2011 were a movie it would be called 2011: The Movie – Part II Of The Rise Of The Planet of The Apes Of The Moon 3D. It would have more punctuation than characters, more dimensions than punctuation, and in all likelihood be prefixed with Green. It would be a kid’s film by Martin Scorsese, a superhero movie by Michael Gondry, a live action movie by Brad Bird and an animated movie by Steven Spielberg.

If 2011 were a movie it wouldn’t be as good as the book, the original or the trailer for Sucker Punch made it out to be. It would miscast Liam Neeson, boast too much Nicolas Cage, and at some point feature a fat character shaving his head and shitting into her dress. Worst of all, however, New Year’s Eve would kill the finale. And it would be inexplicably steampunk.

More importantly, however, if 2011 were a movie I would pay to see it. I would marvel at its melancholy, gasp at its production values and laugh unabashedly at its failure to kill Bono. It would be surprisingly heartfelt for a summer blockbuster, unexpectedly jaw-dropping for a low budget Norwegian flick, as funny as the TV show, and a fitting conclusion to a much loved franchise.

If 2011 were a movie, 2012 would have a lot to live up to.

The first of our superhero films from Marvel this year, Thor was an impressive box office and critical success when it came out in April this year, taking just shy of $450m. from its $150m. budget.

Pretty much ever since it found such success in cinemas, there’s been talk of a sequel, and it officially came out in the summer that the original’s director, Kenneth Branagh, was opting out of returning for the sequel, in what seemed to be a completely friendly parting.

Since then, there was first talk of Brian Kirk, best known for his work on Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, coming on board the project, but then in October, Patty Jenkins officially signed on for the director’s job instead.

Earlier this month, though, word came that Jenkins and Marvel had parted ways based on creative differences, and the search has been back on since then to fill the empty chair. It looks like Marvel have now done just that, with Deadline reporting that Emmy-winning Alan Taylor will be the director for the superhero sequel.

Taylor’s name may not be a household name, but from what I’ve seen of his work, he’s a brilliant director, and after the awesome first film in which Branagh was unexpectedly cast, I can’t wait to see whatTaylorbrings to the table for the second film.

The director is largely best known for his TV credits, which include episodes on The West Wing, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones. So essentially, though you may not know his name well, you can trust that he’s an experienced director who knows exactly what he’s doing.

Thor was of course led by Chris Hemsworth, which did a great job of boosting the actor’s rising star, with support coming from the brilliant Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, and of course, Clark Cregg reprising his role as Agent Coulson.

Marvel president Kevin Feige gave a few details of what we can expect from the sequel back in September:

“[Thor 2 will] primarily be the journey of that character, of he and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and how the new dynamic with his father is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for the Nine Worlds.”

We can look forward to seeing a lot more of Hemsworth next year, kicking off first with the Joss Whedon-scripted The Cabin in the Woods in April, followed two weeks later by the Whedon-directed and highly anticipated The Avengers (in which he will of course reprise his role as Thor), followed by Snow White and the Huntsman opposite Kristen Stewart in June, and then the Red Dawn remake towards the end of the year.

With all of them having been completed or in post-production, Hemsworth is set to next turn his attentions to Ron Howard’s Rush, which sounds like it’s going to be amazing. WithTaylornow on board, Thor 2 should be moving forward nicely with Hemsworth back in the lead, and should still be able to meet its target of a November, 2013 release date. More news as we get it.

Surprising news from Deadline tonight as it appears that Patty Jenkins has quit as director of Thor 2.

The Marvel Studios sequel is set to roll into cinemas in July of 2013 and is already in pre-production while the studio wait (as do we all) for the highly anticipated Avengers movie to bust blocks next Summer. Kenneth Branagh did a fine job with the first Thor movie, starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, which had a wit not often seen in the Marvel and DC movie adaptations. Branagh was very complementary about the appointment of his successor who is best known for directing Monster as well as episodes of The Killing and Arrested Development, but reaffirmed his decision not to direct the sequel.

Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki and will be returning along with Hemsworth and Portman in the second film, recently spoke to MTV about Jenkins,

[Jenkins is] amazing…I actually had dinner with her earlier this week and she’s sensational, a really amazing woman and quite clearly an amazing director. Weirdly enough, you won’t believe me, but this is God’s honest truth, before I started shooting ‘Thor,’ Ken Branagh gave me two films to watch. He said, ‘Listen, this is sort of not related, but I want a quality of vulnerability from your performance, which is similar to these two things.’ One of them was Peter O’Toole’s performance in ‘The Lion In Winter’ and the second was Charlize Theron’s performance in Monster.

She clearly has an incredible grasp of story and character and a very powerful emotional engine behind her, which I think is what we need.

The thing about Patty is she has an innate courage and complete understanding of the muscularity of a character like Thor, but also a sensitivity and a nobility and things like ‘Monster’ and ‘The Killing’ which she directed, don’t shy away from darkness, they don’t shy away from murkier aspects of human nature and I think her fearlessness about all that will make ‘Thor 2′ quite interesting.

The report cites the reason for the exit as ‘creative differences’ so where this leaves the sequel’s tone is unclear. Surely Marvel would have been on the same page as Jenkins when the script was offered, and what Hiddleston says points towards a darker, more fearless Thor movie, so perhaps there’s a change in the sequel’s direction as well as director.

Place your bets on who is to sign up to take on the next film now…

Here’s some lovely lovely new banners from The Avengers courtesy of those lovely (did I mention lovely) people from Marvel.

The Avengers is directed by Joss Whedon​ and after you see this trailer, you’re going to be very keen to see the completed movie when it’s released 27th April 2012.

The Avengers will see many of you favourite Marvel characters all come together to create a rather epic movie. The cast of the new movie includes Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth​, Scarlett Johansson​, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner​, Mark Ruffalo​, Tom Hiddleston​, Jenny Agutter​, Gwyneth Paltrow​, Paul Bettany​ and Robert Downey Jr.​ with all of them getting a brand new poster for their trouble.

Man I love these! Click to enlarge!

Source: Yahoo! Movies , Moviefone

The road to making Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is proving to be a pretty difficult one to walk. Just taking a glimpse at our coverage of the film so far, and it’s easy to tell that it’s been having some trouble for a while now, both in finding its leading lady and its director.

Numerous actresses, including Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Blake Lively, and Scarlett Johansson have been circling the lead role, but all have ultimately passed on the project, and the same thing has been happening with its directors.

David O. Russell was initially going to be the one behind the camera, and then the job went to Mike White and Russell exited, and after White’s exit, Craig Gillespie came on board back in April this year.

But no more. Deadline are reporting that Gillespie himself has decided that it’s not going to be the film for him. His exit was on good terms with the studio, and was related to things like the casting of the film. Nonetheless, it looks like Lionsgate are pretty much back to square one with this – if not minus a few steps, given how much trouble it’s been having – and fans of Seth Grahame-Smith’s original novel, based of course on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, will likely still have some time to wait before the adaptation arrives on the big screen. You can look forward to seeing his other adaptation, however, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, next summer.

With the director’s chair now empty for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, though, the search is back on for both the leading lady and the director. More news as and when we get it.

I’m not sure where Marvel are going with this. By continuing to make (relatively) left-field choices with directors for their tent-pole projects (Kenneth Branagh, Shane Black), they could be demonstrating innovative, unconventional decision making. On the other hand, they might just be picking untried (in terms of this sort of material) names at random, hoping for the best and making sure that they don’t allow the director’s name to become bigger than theirs.

Whatever the grand plan might be (if indeed there is one), Patty Jenkins has now been officially confirmed as director of Thor 2, which will be released, surprisingly, in the autumn of 2013 rather than a summer slot. Who is she and what has she done previously? I’m glad you asked.

She directed Charlize Theron to Oscar glory in Monster and since then has directed episodes of TV series Entourage, The Killing and Arrested Development. Does this qualify her to handle an effects-laden $100m+ budgeted blockbuster? Why not? Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Kenneth Branagh, Marc Forster and Shane Black all had relatively little experience of big budgets and mammoth special effects sequences when they were signed up for their assorted tentpole debuts and all of those worked out pretty well. It is naive and perhaps a little patronising to suggest that unless a director has handled a big budget and huge set pieces before that they will be hopelessly out of their depth on a film like this.

Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston are all back for more as well. Here’s the official news release:-

Marvel Studios announced today that Patty Jenkins will direct THOR 2, which will be released in theatres on Friday, November 15, 2013. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman will return to star in the film along with Tom Hiddleston. Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige will produce the sequel to this summer’s blockbuster THOR, which has grossed over $448 million worldwide to date.

Patty Jenkins previously directed MONSTER starring Charlize Theron, who won an Academy Award® for her performance in the film. Jenkins, who received an Emmy nomination for directing the pilot of AMC’s acclaimed series The Killing, has also directed episodes of Entourage and Arrested Development. Most recently, she directed “Pearl,” one of the five short films that comprise Lifetime’s original movie FIVE.

In addition to THOR 2, Marvel Studios is currently scheduled to release MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS on May 4, 2012, and IRON MAN 3 which is slated for release on May 3, 2013.

Jenkins is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content, and Alan Wertheimer.

Source: Deadline.

The Avengers is the next Marvel movie that we’re all very much looking forward to after Captain America: The First Avenger. The Avengers is directed by Joss Whedon and after you see this trailer, you’re going to be very keen to see the completed movie when it’s released 27th April 2012.

The Avengers will see many of you favourite Marvel characters all come together to create a rather epic movie. The cast of the new movie includes Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Jenny Agutter, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany and Robert Downey Jr.

If you’ve missed all our coverage from The Avengers, you can keep track of it all here.

Earlier today, we had a trailer for the trailer but now, the full version is here in all it’s glory! Without further ado, he’s the trailer for the movie for your viewing pleasure!

Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Marvel’s Thor was released on DVD and Blu-ray last week and it’s a surprisingly fun film which did very well at the box office despite the God O’Thunder not being a hugely well known character.

The DVD has a ton of these little featurettes which, when combined, form a decent behind the scenes documentary and I thought it would be a nice diversion this fine morning to take a wander through Asgard to see how it was all done.

Initially considered an unusual choice, Branagh looks like he’s had the time of his life with his cast and there’s a little time spent with the designers of the film.

Take a look,

The Design of the Bridge

On the Wardrobe

On the Amazing Set

On Directing the Cast

On the Makeup of Laufey

It’s very hard to ignore the upcoming Avengers movie. There is so much excitement surrounding its release next year and there has even been some exclusive footage released on the Captain America Blu-ray/DVD.

But we mustn’t forget some of the other epic comic films coming up including Thor 2, due for release in 2013. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman were both great in Thor but both the chemistry and story of the characters felt slightly lacking. That could be because the characters didn’t get much screen time together. That’s apparently all going to change in the sequel.

Marvel president Kevin Feige has said:

“[Thor 2 will] primarily be the journey of that character, of he and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and how the new dynamic with his father is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for the Nine Worlds.”

Thor 2 sounds like it will have more depth than the first one and with rumours surfacing that Monster director Patty Jenkins will take over the reins, we should be in for a treat.

Source: Collider.

Back in July, we got the news that Kenneth Branagh wouldn’t be returning to helm Thor 2 after his fantastic direction on the first film. There wasn’t any suggestion of animosity there, simply that he would be moving on to other projects.

I think he did a great job with Thor this year, and probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, but given he was entirely unexpected to helm the original in the first place, it wasn’t a massive shock that he wouldn’t be doing the sequel, in spite of the fact that he did a great job first time around.

Then came the news in August that Brian Kirk, most known for his direction on TV’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, was in talks to take over the job. But now it looks as though another name has been thrown into the ring in his place.

Patty Jenkins, probably best known for writing and directing Monster back in 2003, which won Charlize Theron her Oscar for Best Actress, is now in early talks to take the director’s chair for the second Thor film, Variety report. Since making Monster, Jenkins has been fairly quiet, taking a few directing jobs on TV’s Entourage and Arrested Development (that great episode where they build a mini to-scale model house outside their windows for the Japanese investors), and has just been back in the spotlight for her Emmy-nominated direction of the pilot episode of The Killing, which was itself nominated for six Primetime Emmys this year.

Jenkins’ name is somewhat unexpected, given that she doesn’t seem to have much experience in the special effects department. But then Branagh was just as unexpected, and he made a fantastic film, so I’m sure Marvel know what they’re doing. The talks are still in the early stages, so nothing concrete yet, but if the job does go to Jenkins, it could certainly put her name back on the map. The film has already been scheduled for a 26^th July, 2013 release date, which should give us a great summer blockbuster to look forward to in two years’ time, with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins all set to reprise their roles from the first film. More news as we get it.

Reviewing this box set when it is out in stores and in all probability snapped up by eager Star Wars fans seems a little unnecessary. The promise of a shiny high def transfer and the long awaited deleted scenes from the Original Trilogy conspire to tempt you to part with your cash once more, to enjoy the long time ago all over again.

But there’s a problem. A wave of negative reaction to some of the changes made by Lucas for this box set became clear a few weeks prior to the release as rumours of some important scenes ruined by needless additions and more handy work by the CG Replacement Bureau. Then video clips were uploaded to confirm the changes and boycotts were threatened and those unhappy with the Special Editions and 2004 DVD ‘improvements’ found new voice and dusted off their VHS copies and chided those who had their pre-orders booked.

So, who’s right? Are the changes too much for those who loved the originals, or is the HD transfer and wealth of extras enough to make the purchase worthwhile? As with many things, both are right, from a certain point of view.

We’ve already looked back over the films this past week in our Video Vault series, so if you’re looking to find out more about Episodes I to VI then click here to read them; there is an assumption that you’re not going in totally blind here. If you’ve never seen the films at all and can spare the cash then this box set is an instant recommendation – just make sure you watch them in the order they were made, don’t be tempted to start your journey to the dark side and out again with The Phantom Menace.

The more pertinent question is perhaps asked of those who already own the DVD set (and probably the VHS copies as well): Do I need to buy this set too?

The HD transfer is most obvious in Episodes IV to VI, and what I found strange were the additions for the 1997 Special Editions and how they showed their age. The advancement of computer technology is so rapid and is  noticeable when some of the visual effects which impressed in the late nineties now look very out of place. The additions to Mos Eisley are not as polished as the 1977 footage, with some very messy compositing of the newer elements over the old and some problems with the focus in certain shots. It surprised me as the original footage looks incredibly sharp for the most part, occasionally there is a very muddy shot in between the crystal clear original footage which itself isn’t completely free from problems.

Looking on the positive side there are moments when I saw things I had never seen before, and I’ve watched these films a lot. In truth I’ve never seen the sparks that fly off the colliding lightsabers in the duel between Vader and Kenobi. At first it looks a little like CGI sweat and it may have always been in there but this was new to me. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s new scream to scare off the Sandpeople is a strange addition to those of us who have known the original but isn’t a huge offence overall. It was a genuine thrill to see the detail and the dirt of the first film in particular, not least in contrast to the clinical green-screenery of the prequels; the forests on the moon of Endor look lush and verdant and the ice planet of Hoth is so sharp you could shave a Wookie with it. The occasional transfer quirks aside this is the most beautiful version of the films we’ve seen and when I first saw the discs at the Big Screen event I was sold.

The additions will irk some, and infuriate others. I’m sure a lot of people may not even notice the newly CGI Yoda in The Phantom Menace or question Vader’s new, and controversial, cry of ‘Noooooooo.’ just before he saves Luke from the Emperor’s final attack, but you’ll know which applies to you. In all honesty the films remain some of the most exciting science fiction films we have and they have never looked better. I’d question the need to buy this new set if you already have the DVDs and aren’t too fussed about the HD, but as we’ll see there is a reason to keep your old copies around even if you do.

The menu system on the main discs are simple and won’t blow your mind but they are a vast improvement over those found on the three discs of extras which invite you to select a film, then a location (Tattooine, Hoth, Bespin etc) and then to select a category (interviews, deleted scenes etc) and then a further click to play them. It’s not fun to navigate this menu every time you want to see a particular special feature. The interviews to introduce each film’s extras are short and drawn from cast and crew and are a nice addition. The deleted scenes are a lot of fun, with the early scenes of Luke and Biggs on Tattooine being the most substantial. The scene with Han and a female companion in the Cantina is here, as is an extended scene in the land speeder with Luke and C3PO searching for R2D2 and while most of these have been seen before on various multimedia releases it’s good to have them all in one place.

What I alluded to earlier about keeping the DVDs handy is one of the more puzzling elements of this collection as the deleted scenes for the Prequel Trilogy do not include those found on the DVD releases. This is a strange omission and a real shame, nice though it is to see a brief cameo by Dominic West as a Naboo guard pushing over a defeated Battle Droid there were some substantial scenes excised from the original cut that would have fitted alongside the new scenes perfectly. Maybe there’s a definitive box set coming our way – maybe when the 3D version are put out…

When I was a kid the only way you could have Star Wars in your own home was as part of the documentaries made and televised at the time of release of the Original Trilogy films. These are included on the final disc of extras and proved a highlight for me as I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Also included, and perhaps the most intriguing extra, on the disc was The Masters – a discussion of the making of The Empire Strikes Back with the late Irvin Kershner proving a wonderful guide through the difficult second movie.

So in the end I was won over by the new transfer and the decent, if limited, set of extras. If you have the DVDs and are annoyed at the constant tinkering by Lucas then be warned – this won’t light your saber. If you’re a fan and want to see Star Wars in the best way possible then the choice is clear. The galaxy far, far away has never looked better.

And so it had come to this. Wearily yet with the obligatory expectation and excitement inherent in any new Star Wars film we walked into the cinema for the final chapter of the  saga to find out if the years of hope, which previously had given way to disappointment, would be worth it. I sat in the cinema with my parents for the first time in years, and my two best friends and we all had the same look on our faces, one which we couldn’t quite hide.  The one that said ‘I have a bad feeling about this…’

Flashing back a couple of decades and you’ll find the three of us gathered around the TV watching the credits roll on the new video of Episode IV: A New Hope. When the final name had scrolled upwards and the tape stopped it took us exactly three seconds to hit the rewind button and start it all over again. It was the defining film of our childhood and though we had no idea how big an impact it was having we knew, with a blissful unquestioning certainty, that here we had something truly special.

The world that flashed before our eyes was exciting, alien, morally uncomplicated and unabashedly heroic. Subsequent episodes in the original trilogy expanded the world and we became more entrenched in it, and at the final moments of Return of the Jedi, Ewok singsong aside, we were done and happy to be so.

Back to the cinema in 2005, with the recent double whammy of Prequel disappointment still smarting we watched the lights go down and hoped that our faith had not been misplaced.

It didn’t start well.

An enormous space battle opened the film, the likes of which we have never seen with hundreds of ships zipping to and fro avoiding mile wide laser blasts and swarms of fighters peppering the skyies above Coruscant with laser fire. It looked amazing, but had one fatal flaw. Despite the technical excellence here I had no idea who is fighting who, or why they are carving large chunks out of each other. During the rescue of the kidnapped Palpatine Count Dooku is dispatched by Anakin in perhaps the most uninspired way possible – the Dark Lord may as well have tripped on his robes and fallen down a flight of stairs. It was a shaky start and one which suggested that Lucas was keen to tie up loose ends in the most perfunctory way possible. But this was meant to be the end, with Anakin’s downfall leading to the thrilling final duel between Master and Apprentice which would lead to the rebirth of this petulant kid from Tattooine as the most feared warrior in the galaxy.

This was something Lucas almost got right. This scene here…

with Palpatine seducing Anakin to moral spasms that would lead to his fall to the dark side is a curious one. Ian McDiarmid is great fun, elongated the bizarre tale of Darth Plagueis and his death-defying forcery to suitably operatic heights while the-boy-who-would-be-Vader barely comprehending its not so subtle agenda. Once revealed as a Dark Lord of the Sith by Samuel L. Jackson and his fellow Jedi they are quickly dispatched by Palpatine and with the various battles raging on many different worlds Anakin stumbles into accepting his fate as a servant of evil, all because he has some dream about Padme dying in childbirth.

Then this happened.

A scene we really, didn’t need to see. He’s a bastard – we get it. That little kid can’t act for toffee but when he shudders as Darth KidKiller ignites his lightsaber it gets me every time. Even so this was a strange moment and an unnecessary one. I don’t buy it at all. If you want to serve evil to save the life of your pregnant wife why does it makes sense to kill children, surely destroying their Jedi teachers is enough. This is an ugly side effect of not having a solid foundation on which to base the downfall of Anakin.

Moving on, this then happened.

Then this.

And then this.

And finally this.

And we were back on the Tantive IV with the Jedi all but wiped out and Luke and Leia born and hidden from the newly besuited Vader. Bizarrely the entire visual landscape changes to evoke the original Star Wars film with bad hairstyles and Imperial officers in their grey outfits and silly hats. It seemed as if Lucas had slotted everything into place by taking a pair of scissors to the pieces of the puzzle and while the story was brought full circle it falls short of providing a logical and believable narrative. Anakin’s turn to the dark side was incredibly confused and made him out to be a bit of an idiot. All this promise lost in a haze of CGI and dreary political mechanics. But there was one moment that got me.

Having gone through the convoluted final duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin we have a legless Skywalker sliding into the lava and Ewan McGregor says the line:

“You were my brother Anakin. I loved you.”

That line saved the scene for me. It almost saved the whole damn prequel trilogy and it still gives me chills when I hear it. So much emotion in such a few words – emotion that is otherwise completely absent from the three films. I’m not ashamed to admit that there was a tear welling in my eye when I heard that for the first time. It is a line that strikes directly at the hearts of the young boys who sat watched the original trilogy, whose imaginations were afire with the mysterious Clone Wars and the days before the Empire. After nearly six hours of clinical plotting and bloodless emotional journeys we have a moment of passion and it is like a bolt of lightning in an otherwise pitch black night. Sadly that feeling was eclipsed by the moment Vader yelled ‘Noooooooooo’ and then a few minutes later we were done, it was over.

It’s hard to say where it went wrong, there are so many potential culprits but I have the feeling that if Lucas had a few more people challenging his ideas then we might have a more satisfying trilogy. It remains a difficult film to like, and as an accolade ‘Best of the Prequels’ is akin to ‘the mildest dose of Plague’, but it marked the end of an era, one which began in a long time ago and captured and informed our imaginations for years.

As I found myself sitting down to watch Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones for the first time in years, a familiar feeling washed over me.

I grew up with Star Wars you see; Return of the Jedi was one of the very first films I saw at the cinema and it still holds a special place in my heart (I kid you not, I will defend the Ewoks to my dying day). But that feeling I mentioned was that same one I had back in 2002 when I settled down to watch Episode II in the cinema, and the only way I can describe it is something approaching fear.

And that, as we all know, ultimately leads to the Dark Side.

I’m sure you know what I mean; for my generation, the generation who grew up with the original trilogy, the prequels didn’t exactly start off too well. Wait, I’m being kind there; I hated The Phantom Menace. I distinctly remember sitting in the cinema watching everything I loved about Star Wars crash and burn in a big CGI explosion. That being the case, I approached Episode II with extreme trepidation. But then, as now, I needn’t have worried because for the most part I loved it. OK, it’s by no means a perfect film, but where Attack of the Clones succeeded over its predecessor was in its ability to make that galaxy far, far away seem spectacular once more.

Picking up the story ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones finds the galaxy in increasing turmoil. A separatist movement led by the former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee, bringing some much-needed gravitas to proceedings) threatens a rebellion, and with the Jedi stretched thin the Republic are forced to consider forming an army to assist them. Of course, as we learnt with The Phantom Menace Star Wars doesn’t really do all that political nonsense terribly well so it’s just as well Attack of the Clones doesn’t dwell on it too long and instead throws not one but two assassination attempts in the direction of former queen, now senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), which in turn leads to a rather long but quite exhilarating action sequence as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) chase the would-be killer through the bustling skies of Coruscant.

Our two heroes subsequently go their separate ways for much of the film; Obi-Wan disappears off to the planet Kamino to track down the killer of the would-be assassin, while the all grown-up yet rather scarily temperamental Anakin is assigned the task of secretly ferrying Padmé back to Naboo. Once there our horny young Jedi quickly makes his feelings known and begins wooing the beautiful senator, willfully defying the rules of the Jedi order in the process.

After that nothing quite goes to plan for our heroes; Obi-Wan discovers that a clone army has been secretly created for the Republic on Kamino before he ends up a hostage of Count Dooku on the planet Geonosis. Anakin and Padmé, meanwhile, stop-off on Tatooine where the young Jedi goes off in search of his mother and butchers some Tusken Raiders, before reconvening with Obi-Wan on Geonosis where their execution at Dooku’s hands is only thwarted by the arrival of the Jedi and their new army of clones.

What impressed me most about Attack of the Clones back in 2002, and what continued to impress me on this most recent viewing, is the scope of the film; from Coruscant to Naboo, Kamino, Tatooine and on to Geonosis, Clones just feels more epic than its predecessor, more in keeping with the adventurous, action-packed nature of the original trilogy. And for a franchise that thrives on action, Attack of the Clones has it in spades; the assassination attempt on Padmé’s life in the very first scene comes as an unexpected shock, while the fight between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett on the rainswept landing platform of the Kamino cloning facility is a well choreographed and thrilling duel.

The climactic battle on Geonosis, meanwhile, must surely rank as one of Star Wars’ most spectacular action sequences, as the mission to rescue Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé sees the fighting spill out across the planet’s surface as they race to stop Count Dooku. And let’s not forget, of course, that Attack of the Clones gives us our first, some would say remarkable glimpse of the diminutive Yoda wielding a lightsaber in anger.

While improving immeasurably on its predecessor, Attack of the Clones is by no means perfect; the dialogue is clunky throughout and the acting for the most part is woeful. Lucas’s dependence on CGI for everything from characters to locations also lends the film a strangely cartoony look that lacks the realistic feel of the original trilogy or, indeed, the somewhat more gritty look of Episode III, which just goes to show how much technology had advanced in the three years between films.

Still, aside from the battle sequences there are a number of other praiseworthy elements. While Anakin comes across as a petulant child for much of the film, it comes as a genuine shock when we realise that he intends to slay the sand people who captured his mother; it’s a defining point on his path to the Dark Side, and that the extent of his vengeance is only revealed in his confession to Padmé only heightens the shocking brutality of his actions. Elsewhere Lucas wisely reduced the much reviled Jar Jar Binks to something more like a cameo appearance, albeit one that plays a major role as the character is directly responsible for granting Chancellor Palpatine the emergency powers that are so pivotal to his plans to seize control of the Republic.

So, as the second film of the prequel trilogy is it as good as The Empire Strikes Back, the middle film in the original trilogy? No, let’s not be silly. But as a stepping stone from the mediocrity of The Phantom Menace to the brilliant Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones is an enjoyable romp and served as much-needed proof that Lucas was successfully steering his franchise back in the general direction of pleasing its audience – and what more could we ask of a Star Wars film than that?

Over the past few months, we here at HeyUGuys have offered up a number of arguments in defense of underestimated filmmakers, their flawed films and the trends that haunt Hollywood even to this day. Never, however, has a property been more deserving of a rebuttal than George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy – an alleged travesty that has apparently robbed a generation of unforgiving fans of their precious childhood memories.

I’ve taken a decidedly different view of the latest additions to the Star Wars cinematic canon – whether as a result of the age at which I first viewed them (as a still-impressionable youngling) or the number of times I’ve since revisited them at the cinema or on DVD – one that is considerably more tolerant and more than happy to see them nestled before the original trilogy in my collection.

Convinced that it is nostalgia – and nostalgia alone – that has given the original trilogy its hallowed status among people of a certain age, it is my opinion that nothing was ever going to live up to the adventures of Luke Skywalker, his one-time love interest turned sister and their favourite scruffy-looking Nerf herder. Casting a critical eye over Episodes IV, V and VI, it quickly becomes clear that many of the criticisms leveled at the prequels are just as true of their predecessors – namely the clunky dialogue and juvenile archetypes characters. Heck, it’s almost as though they’re supposed to be like Saturday morning adventure serials.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

From the opening moments of Phantom Menace we are back, panning through space as though nothing has changed – the same musical cues, sound effects and exemplary set design conspiring to invoke the same excitement and sense of adventure inherent in every instalment to date. Though the substantial plot may kick in before we get much of a sense of who Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi actually are, if you care to remember A New Hope was not that much different itself – with R2D2 and C3PO escaping their blockade runner before you could even tell your Jedi from your Jawas.

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, the parody novel of Jane Austen’s 1813 original by Seth Grahame-Smith, has found its lead actress, offering the role of Elizabeth Bennet to the  rising star, Emma Stone, THR report.

The role was originally to go to Natalie Portman, but Portman eventually decided that she would serve only as a producer on the project, and after talk of Elizabeth to be played by Mia Wasikowska or Anne Hathaway, Stone has instead emerged as the favourite for the film, and the role is now hers for the taking.

Fans of Stone’s will of course remember that this wouldn’t be her first role in a zombie film, starring in 2009′s zombie comedy, Zombieland, as Wichita, alongside Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin. It was a role that really put her on people’s radars after gaining popularity in the teen comedy, Superbad, two years earlier. Both the original novel and Grahame-Smith’s parody are set in England, so whether or not we can expect to hear Stone sporting an English accent awaits to be seen. She’s shown already in her career how much energy she brings to her characters, which is what Elizabeth will need to thwart the zombie infestation.

The film is to be directed by Craig Gillespie, director of Academy Award-nominated Lars and the Real Girl, whose Fright Night remake will be coming to our cinemas at the start of September this year, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Whilst a zombie comedy is very different to what Gillespie’s worked on prior to Fright Night, the fact that DreamWorks entrusted the remake of Fright Night to him shows that he must be capable of taking on these projects.

As much as I would have loved to see Natalie Portman holding her own against zombies in early 19th-century England, I am a big fan of Emma Stone’s too, and can’t wait to see her take on this role. It’s been a busy couple of years for Stone since the success of Zombieland. She was exceptional in the lead in last year’s Easy A, which was the best John Hughes-esque film I’ve ever seen that wasn’t made by the writer-director himself. And we can look forward to seeing her in Friends With Benefits; Crazy, Stupid, Love.; and The Help, all by the end of this year. She’s also earned the lead female role in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man as Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s love interest, which is due out in July next year, and after now being offered the lead in Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, 2012 and 2013 are looking to be just as busy and just as successful for the rising actress as the past few years have been. If you ask me, it’s very much well deserved.

Darren Aronofsky is looking to direct an epic re-telling of the story behind Noah’s Ark, entitled, Noah, Deadline reports.

The project is one that he has written himself, and the script is being rewritten by John Logan, whose work is immensely impressive, including some of my favourite films: Gladiator, The Last Samurai, Sweeney Todd, and the upcoming Hugo Cabret and Bond 23.

Naturally, this is a project that a lot of studios will be vying for after Aronofsky’s success with his last film, Black Swan, which was originally envisaged as an independent film, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It of course gained massive worldwide acclaim, culminating in more than $300m. at the box office from a $13m. budget, as well as earning Natalie Portman a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Actress.

According to Deadline, New Regency (whose recent successes include Love And Other Drugs, Marley & Me, and Jumper) are looking to co-finance the film, with Paramount, Fox, and Summit also considering getting involved with the project.

Having made his last two films, Black Swan and The Wrestler, off relatively small budgets ($13m. and $6m. respectively), Aronofsky is now looking to step things up a notch and wants $130m. to make Noah. It’s described as,

“a big fantasy epic, and an opportunity for Aronofsky to create a world.”

The budget is a big one, and it’s a clear indication of just how epic his vision for this film is, so it’s definitely something to look forward to. After the brilliance of Black Swan last year, the expectations will be significantly high for any project Aronofsky’s involved with now, and a grand epic like Noah sounds like a perfect choice to show he’s capable of even more than he’s already given us.