Category Archives: Genres

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Time is running out to visit Tatooine

The fictional city of Mos Espa is located within the sand dunes of Tunisia. The characters from Star Wars are walking down the marketplace with many domed buildings and sci fi structures around them.
The fictional city of Mos Espa is located within the sand dunes of Tunisia. The characters from Star Wars are walking down the marketplace with many domed buildings and sci fi structures around them.

Image via starwars.wikia.com

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, 1999 and Tunisia to be exact, George Lucas gave Star Wars fans the most detailed and strikingly beautiful location that the series had to offer. Just ask any Star Wars fan of the first city that springs to mind, they’ll undoubtedly think of Mos Espa, the hometown of one Anakin Skywalker. Fast forward well over a decade however, this real world location may soon be a thing of the past.

Located just to the west of the Tunisian city of Tozeur, lies one of the most detailed Star Wars sets ever built. Nestled amidst the dunes are around 20 buildings covering an area of around 10,000 square meters. One of the largest Star Wars sets produced, many tourists stumble upon the location thinking they’ve been transported in time.

This area was prominently featured in the first of the Star Wars prequels, Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace and has since become one of Tunisia’s key tourist attractions. Tourists can currently visit Mos Espa and get the feel as though they are on the fictional planet of Tatooine, the only thing that’s missing are the twin suns.

CNN reports however, that this iconic area may soon be lost by the very location it resides in. The sand dunes next to Mos Espa are currently moving at a rate of around 4cm per day, with the fictional city lying right in its path. Very soon, Mos Espa may be lost forever.

A domed hut is shown with sand creeping up the already decayed walls.

Image via holidaycheck.com. The sand is starting to surround the already weathered Mos Espa buildings.

This news comes at a devastating loss for Tunisia, as the area is frequently included in various holiday packages and draws many visitors, all wishing to gain an insight into this iconic fictional city.

In an interview with CNN, Tahar Karya, an expert in the sand dunes of Tunisia and George Lucas’ personal driver during filming, had this to say about how Tunisia benefited as a result of Mr Lucas:

“More than 1,500 background actors were employed. Agencies and hotels also benefited. Over a period of two-and-a-half months, (Lucas) brought activities to the region and beneficial economic activity. We hope he comes back here again.”

Perhaps George Lucas will return to Tunisia to film the latest Star Wars films? He’d better bring a spade.

The set has remained unused since 2003 after Lucas finished filming Episode 2, the final film that featured Mos Espa. At the time of writing, those interested can still visit the set, but for how much longer?

Better book those tickets sooner rather than later Star Wars fans, as Mos Espa may soon be swallowed up by the Sahara Desert itself. Perhaps a few centuries from now future civilisations may uncover the location and mistake it for a functioning city of our time and not that of a film set.

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“The Pixar Theory”

The Pixar logo is visible with various Pixar characters surrounding it.

image via mashable.com

“Every Pixar movie is connected.” Those are the words of blogger and self-proclaimed “movie fanatic” Jon Negroni, who became obsessed over hidden links between some of our favourite animated masterpieces, leading to him to compile the “The Pixar Theory”.

Negroni begins with Brave, released in 2012, as the catalyst for events to come. As the earliest time period covered in a Pixar film, set in the Dark Ages, Negroni pays particular notice to how Brave is the only movie that explains why animals have human abilities and characteristics. Merida, a young princess, discovers a form of magic, which she inadvertently uses to turn her mother into a bear.

Merida later finds that this magic comes from an odd witch, who disappears every time she passes through a door, leading Merida to question her very existence. According to Negroni’s theory, this is not the only time we have encountered this witch.

Negroni is very quick to explain that the “The Pixar Theory” is an idea, not fact. He states that “The point of this theory is to have fun and exercise your imagination while simultaneously finding interesting connections between these fantastic movies. If you hate fun and/or imagination, you probably won’t like this theory.” Regardless, the further you delve into the Pixar Universe, the more you will become engrossed in its seamless narrative.

Centuries after Brave, the progression of intelligence leads to a power struggle between humans and animals. Negroni explains that “The stage for all-out war in regards to animals is set by Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, and Up, in that order. Notice I left out A Bug’s Life, but I’ll explain why later”.

Alongside the growing power battle between humans and animals, Negroni also highlights the progression of artificial intelligence, including machines in the struggle. This begins in The Incredibles, as Buddy, aka Syndrome, creates the A.I “Omnidroid” in his attempt to defeat the superheroes. “The omnidroid eventually turns on Syndrome, and starts attacking humans in the city. Why would an A.I.
want to just attack randomly? Do machines have an inherent hatred of humans?” asks Negroni.

Things get even weirder as Negroni adds more and more films to the timeline. In fact, he manages to include every single Pixar film into the story, including “Newt”, which has never been released by the company. Negroni invites you to, analyse, deconstruct and offer new angles as his theory continues to grow and gain pace online.

“The Pixar Theory” does not fail to shock and surprise you, as Negroni consistently uncovers hidden links, backing them up with evidence and interesting logic, and we haven’t even scratched the events on the timeline, as the real treat is at the end.

To check out “The Pixar Theory” yourself, visit the Pixar Theory website. You can also follow the man himself at @JonNegroni

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The greatest film heroes

Luke Skywalker in the swamps of Dagobah, with Yoda.

The hero. Or heroine. The one person who goes above and beyond, faces insurmountable difficulties, but still comes out on top and saves the day. Some are made, shaped by the situations they find themselves in. But some are born. This is our top 5 most awesome, coolest and most heroic in film to date.

5. Ellen Ripley

Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.

Image via: http://images5.fanpop.com

Like I said, some heroes are born, and some are forged in the fires of action. Sigourney Weaver’s Weyland-Yutani frieghter officer certainly has a good rep sheet for these experiences – surviving and battling xenomorphs in Alien turns her into a completely awesome warrior. Eventually, she even turns into a superhuman half-alien clone. Her best moment must be jumping into an exo-suit cargo loader to beat the snot out of the Alien Queen.

4. Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones cracking his whip.

Image via: alphacoders.com

This one is special. During term-time, he’s a mild mannered professor of archaeology. But when school is done, watch out. He’s secretly a Nazi-stomping, whip-cracking, badass adventurer. Most iconic hero moment? Shooting the fearless swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I wish I was that effortlessly cool.

3. Jason Bourne

Jason Bourne pointing a handgun.

Image via: coen-eng.com

Once, he was David Webb. Then Operation Treadstone happened and he turned into a super-cool amnesiac rogue agent. Who can drive like a pro. And shoot. And he can literally fight anyone. In fact, in his best moment in The Bourne Ultimatum he leaps off a balcony and beats a guy down with a book. Actually using knowledge to incapacitate someone. So cool.

2. James Bond

Sean Connery as James Bond, sitting in a chair drinking an alcoholic drink.

Image via: blacklapel.com

He needs no introduction. The finest that MI6 has to offer. 50 years later he’s still the suave-est hero around, and you can always rely on him to protect Queen and Country. His coolest moment definitely has to be keeping his cool when his Crown Jewels were in trouble in the iconic laser scene of Goldfinger.

1. Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker sitting in a room.

Image via: http://thestarwarstrilogy.com/

And here we have it, the number one hero. At one time, every young boy wanted to be Luke Skywalker. The hero in a perfect tale of good vs. evil, Luke learns the ways of the Force and the lightsaber and sums up what it means to be a hero. Most deservedly, Luke Skywalker wins the top spot. Best moment? “You will take me to Jabba now”. How did he get so cool?

Got any more ideas of who should be on this list? Comment below with your top film heroes!

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Weapons of choice

Pictured is an M60 light machine gun, made famous by the Rambo films.

Think of any action movie character and you’ll more than likely think of their favourite weapon of choice. The guns featured in film are more often than not more iconic than the character itself. Below we list just some of the many iconic film guns and their associated character.

pictured is the Spas-12 12 gauge shotgun, made famous by Robert Muldoon in the film Jurassic Park.

Image via: imgur.com

Franchi SPAS-12
Made famous by: Robert Muldoon in Jurassic Park. (1993)

This shotgun is quite the ‘clever girl’. Most notably featured in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park film, this pump action, 12 gauge shotgun was pretty handy at taking out Velociraptors. First introduced in 1982 by Franchi S.p.A, this shotgun was initially developed to fire low pressure ammunition such as tear gas. The shotgun is still in use by military forces in Australia, Pakistan and Italy.

Pictured is the Desert Eagle semi automatic pistol, made famous by Agent Smith in the Matrix films.

Image via: imgur.com

Desert Eagle Mark XIX
Made Famous by: Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy. (1999-2003)

There’s no doubt why the main antagonist in the Matrix films chose this as his weapon of choice. Dubbed by many as a ‘hand cannon’, the most recent model of the Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistol fires a .50 AE round, something much bigger in comparison to other pistol rounds.

Pictured is an M60 light machine gun, made famous by the Rambo films.

Image via; imgur.com

M60
Made famous by: John Rambo in First Blood. (1982)

This Light Machine Gun weighs a hefty 10.5 kg and fires a 7.62x51mm NATO round. The M60 is belt fed, and can fire around 500 rounds per minute. The weapon first saw its introduction in the Vietnam war and has since been staple for the U.S army in combat since.

Pictured is the M9 Beretta semi automatic pistol, made famous by John McClane in the Die Hard films

Image via: imgur.com

Beretta 92FS
Made famous by: John McClane in Die Hard. (1988)

This semi-automatic pistol was most notably used by John McClane, the main protagonist in the first Die Hard film. Chambering a typical 9mm round commonly found in semi-automatic pistols, the 92FS was manufactured by Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro. The Beretta 92FS is arguably the most commonly used pistol by military forces worldwide.

Image shows actor Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing his muscles.

Image via: themancave-rayc.blogspot.co.uk/

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s guns
Made famous by: Every film with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

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Events, offers & releases 09/12/13

In the distance the ruins of a mountainside town can be seen, shrouded in smoke.
In the distance the ruins of a mountainside town can be seen, shrouded in smoke.

Image via www.reelcinemas.co.uk

The biggest announcement this week is the eagerly anticipated blockbuster, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which is released this Friday. In the second installment of the trilogy, Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves continue on their adventure to the misty mountain to reclaim Erebor from the dragon, Smaug.

If you’re struggling to find ideas for Christmas presents, why not treat someone you love to a cinema voucher. There are several brilliant films coming out over the next few months and a cinema gift card is a thoughtful present especially if you can visit the cinema together.