universal studios | the m0vie blog

Win! Kick-Ass 2 Goodies!

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Darren

Thanks to the wonderful people over at Universal Pictures Ireland and Kick-Ass 2 we have two (2!) Kick-Ass 2 goodie packs to give away.

Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Mark Millar’s 2010 hit Kick-Ass, one of our favourite superhero films of the past few years. Most of the cast is returning, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kick-Ass, Chloé Grace Moretz as Hit Girl and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the Mother-f&%!#?. There are also several new additions, including Jim Carrey as “Colonel Stars ‘n’ Stripes”, but also Donald Faison and John Leguizamo.

It’s released here in Ireland next Wednesday, 14th August. You can check out the trailer below and get a glimpse of what’s in the packs below.

Simply fill out the form below to enter.

Each pack includes:

7″ Action Figure
Character Pin Set
Kick-Ass Keyring
Hit Girl Keyring and Heroclix Mini Figure

It’s quite an impressive haul, as you can see below.

To be in with a chance to win, fill out the form below:

The competition is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly.

Your contact details will only be used to inform the winners. You must be a resident of Ireland or Northern Ireland to enter. Good luck!

Check out more details on the Kick-Ass 2 facebook page.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Christopher Mintz-Plasse, hit girl, Jane Goldman, Jeff Wadlow, jim carrey, kick-ass, mark millar, matthew vaughn, Northern Ireland, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Watch! Keanu Reeve’s 47 Ronin Trailer!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Darren

Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over the trailer for Keanu Reeve’s 47 Ronin. The film is a heavy fictionalised version of the tail of the forty-seven masterless samurai who avenged the death of their master Asano Naganori in the early part of the 18th century. I’ll admit that I’m rather lukewarm on the decision to cast Keanu Reeves as an original (half-Japanese half-English) character to headline the film, but the story which inspired the film is intriguing.

In Japan, the story is so influential that it has even spawned its own subgenre of fictionalised accounts of the event, Chūshingura, spanning various media. It’s easy to see the appeal of the tale, and it’s great that the story is getting this sort of high-profile release and adaptation from a major studio, even if some of the concessions to the mainstream seem a little unfortunate and potentially troublesome.

I’ll keep an open mind until the film’s release in December, as it’s impossible to gauge the execution until we actually see it. From the trailer below, it seems a little heavy on the oriental exoticism, but does look visually lavish. Barring the occasionally awkward piece of CGI, it’s certainly eye-catching and vivid. The colours are striking and some of the compositions look like they could be beautiful. Anyway, check it out below and make up your own mind.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 47 Ronin, Asano Naganori, Chūshingura, Hiroyuki Sanada, Keanu Reeve, Rinko Kikuchi, ronin, universal studios | 2 Comments »

Watch! New Fast & Furious 6 Trailer!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Darren

The folks from Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over these two clips from The Fast & the Furious 6. I actually quite liked Fast Five, so I’m a little curious if the franchise can maintain the relatively light touch and no-nonsense action movie vibe for another instalment. I remember watching one of the trailers at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival before the surprise film. The audience reacted much more strongly to two minutes of the tank and highway mayhem of The Fast & the Furious 6 than to a full two hours of the somewhat sterile Hollywood-violence-in-London of Welcome to the Punch.

Anyway, check them out below and let me know what you think.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Action film, fast & furious, Fast Five, hollywood, jameson dublin international film festival, London, universal studios, Vin Diesel | 4 Comments »

Watch! Behind the Scenes on the Man With the Iron Fists!

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Darren

Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over this featurette looking behind the scenes at RZA’s upcoming action film, The Man With The Iron Fists. It certainly looks like an interesting genre mash-up, with Russell Crowe, RZA and Lucy Liu in front of the camera and Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth working with RZA behind the scenes. I’m not quite sure what to make of it at this point, but I am just hoping for a pulpy action film. Anyway, give the featurette a look and let me know what you make of it.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Eli Roth, Lucy Liu, Man With The Iron Fist, quentin tarantino, russell crowe, RZA, universal studios, Wu-Tang Clan | Leave a comment »

Despicable Me 2 Trailer

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Darren

Universal Pictures Ireland just sent on this trailer for Despicable Me 2, the sequel to the very soldi animated film starring Steve Carrell. This time, Carrell is joined by Al Pacino, which I am actually quite excited about. There’s no denying Pacino’s contributions to modern cinema, but at this point in his career Pacino is at his best when he’s gloriously chewing down on the scenery. Given his voice can be downright bombastic (“HOOO-ah!”) at times, casting him as an over-the-top supervillain in an animated film seems pretty ideal.

The trailer doesn’t offer any hints to Pacino’s role. Instead, like the Ice Age trailers, it focuses more on the engaging supporting characters – “the minions.” I like the minions, if only because they lend themselves well to broad physical comedy, in a way this isn’t really all that challenging but is quite effective. The trailer doesn’t really offer anything new in that regard, but it’s still charming enough. Silly golf clothes are always funny, and Tubular Bells always brings a smile to my face. Check out the trailer below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: al pacino, animation, despicable me, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, russell brand, Steve Carell, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Frankenstein (1931)

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Darren

We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation – life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even – horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now’s your chance to – uh, well, we warned you.

James Whale’s Frankenstein tends to be overshadowed by its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, as perhaps the definitive take on the mad scientist and his creepy, tragic monster. While the script for Universal’s 1931 Frankenstein is occasionally a bit too loose for its own good, it’s still a stunning piece of classic monster movie cinema. I had the pleasure of watching the recent blu ray release of the film, and it looks just as good now as it ever did.

“It’s aliiiive!”

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Boris Karloff, bride of frankenstein, Doctor Waldman, frankenstein, Frankenstein Monster, Fritz, Frontal lobe, god, Henry, Herman Rosse, James Whale, Mad scientist, Mary Shelley, romanticism, universal studios, Victor, Victor Frankenstein | 2 Comments »

Watch! Live Singing in Les Misérables…

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Darren

Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over this behind-the-scenes look at Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables. The film is opening here in January 2013, and I’m actually quite curious to see how it pans out. We’ve had juke box musicals, and modern movies like The Muppets incorporating songs, but there really haven’t been too many legitimate old-school-style musicals in the past number of years. Even Sweeney Todd seemed remarkably subversive. I’m fascinated with this attempt to play the genre straight, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a musical in a cinema. I can’t remember a large-scale musical like this, with a lot of pundits suggesting the genre has been relegated to history.

I actually find this snippet quite insightful, because I would have assumed – for purely practical purposes – the film would have been shot with actors recording the songs separately to filming the scenes. It also illustrates just how skilfully Hooper has put all this together – even offering an off-hand reference to a tune from the musical, Hugh Jackman has a fantastic singing voice. Anyway, check it out below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Amanda Seyfried, anne hathaway, arts, Eddie Redmayne, Hooper, hugh jackman, Les Misérables, russell crowe, Tom Hooper, universal studios | 2 Comments »

Win! Savages Goodie Bags!

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Darren

With thanks to the always lovely folks at Universal Pictures Ireland, we have some goodies to give away for Oliver Stone’s latest film, Savages. The cartel thriller has a phenomenal cast (including John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Blake Lively) and opens in Ireland on 21st September 2012. It’s the story of two guys growing dope in Southern California who find their existence threatened when a Mexican cartel decides that a merger would beneficial.

To find out more about the movie, check out their facebook page here.

We have some prize packs to give away, each one including:

Sunglasses
Windbreaker
Bandana

If you’d like a chance to win these goodies, simply answer the question below.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Benicio del Toro, Blake Lively, john travolta, oliver stone, salma hayek, Savage, Southern California, Taylor Kitsch, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Bourne Legacy: A Look Inside the Story…

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Darren

Have to admit, I’m quite curious to see how The Bourne Legacy plays out. It’s being released in the States on Friday and here next Monday. I’ve written before about how the structure of the film intrigues me, and Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over this behind-the-scenes look at the film. Enjoy. And if any international readers get a chance to see this before I do, let me know what you thought. (No spoilers, please!)

You can also win some Bourne-related goodies here, with thanks to Universal.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, jason bourne, jeremy renner, matt damon, rachel weisz, Tony Gilroy, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Win! Bourne Legacy T-Shirts!

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Darren

Courtesy of our friends at Universal Pictures Ireland, we have five T-shirts to give away to celebrate the release of The Bourne Legacy on 13th August 2012. The film is the fourth in the “Bourne” series, and sees Jeremy Renner starring as another Treadstone agent dealing with the consequences of Jason Bourne’s activity. It’s being directed by Tony Gilroy, who directed Michael Clayton and wrote all three Bourne films, and it has one heck of a cast assembled. It looks to be a very interesting take on the story – rather than trying to carry on or continue the story from the first three, it looks like The Bourne Legacy takes place “around” those films, its own narrative that overlaps and intercepts at points.

Thanks to Universal Pictures Ireland, we have five T-shirts to give away for the film. To enter the competition, just fill in the form below.

Click to enlarge…

Note: All entrants must be based in the Republic of Ireland. You must provide a valid address and phone number so that you can be contacted if you win. Your details will not be used for any other purpose.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, jason bourne, jeremy renner, matt damon, Michael Clayton, Republic of Ireland, Tony Gilroy, universal studios | Leave a comment »