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Therefore

PLEASE NOTE: All films deliberately chosen to prove whatever point I was trying to make

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It’s that time of year again; the Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House line-up has been revealed with the usual mix of classic films, cult hits and UK premieres. There’s no better way to see a film than outside at night as you lie on stone floor with your friends eating a middle-class picnic.

Tickets go on sale this Friday 18th May from the Somerset House website and before you go be sure to read our Somerset House survival guide, do not go unprepared.

How anyone could resist seeing The Birds on the big screen is beyond me.

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Joss Whedon has always been a big name in my circle of friends. This is the man who brought us Buffy and Angel, the man who made the short-lived and overlooked Firefly, and the man who made Dollhouse – a series I’m still trying to forget.

Now Whedon’s Avengers is breaking box office records having just had the biggest US opening weekend of all time. Joss Whedon is suddenly king of the blockbuster, the man can do no wrong and wears a crown made entirely of frozen fanboys’ tears of joy. This achievement is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that this is Whedon’s second film as director and that his first attempt was nowhere near as successful.

Serenity has a few things in common with Avengers; featuring an ensemble cast banding together to share witty dialogue and fight the good fight against bad guys from outer space. That’s pretty much where the similarities end. Serenity had no big-name actors compared to Avengers, which hired the entire contents of IMDb. The budgets are separated by $180 million with Avengers costing the same as five and a half Serenitys. The origins of each film’s mythology are also wildly different; Avengers having had six feature films preceding it and decades of back-story in comic form, while Serenity was a spin-off from a 13 episode TV series that was never aired in full.

Joss Whedon’s talents as a film-maker have always been there. What has changed in the past seven years is that he has finally been given an audience willing to watch. When Serenity came out I was in full fanboy mode and saw the film three times before it was even released, a feat easily trumped by a number of other fans, but the general population barely noticed its appearance. In total Serenity made less than $40 million in cinemas, while Avengers has already made well over $700 million and counting.

Joss Whedon has only released two films as a director and they are barely comparable. His third bucks the trend even further, an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing shot in black and white in a matter of days at his own house. Whedon is sure to be a success in the future but it looks like he’ll be keeping us guessing with each new film. Now where’s my Giles spin-off?

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Two very poignant lines as spoken by two of popular culture’s most ubiquitous female characters. Maybe the name of something doesn’t matter but it still would be nice to have a clear idea of what that name is. I’m looking at you Upcoming Superhero Film From Joss Whedon About Those Avengers Guys.

Back when it was announced that the UK would be getting an alternative title to America and everyone started calling the film Marvel Avengers Assemble I thought people were just being a little too literal in reading the logo from the poster (above). The title everyone kept repeating just sounded silly, surely that couldn’t the name of one of this year’s biggest releases? It’s time for another of my pointless investigations. Avengers Assemble or Marvel Avengers Assemble? Cue theme tune…

As in any such investigation my first port of call was IMDb, hallowed ground for any film fan, as was presented with precisely what I wanted; Avengers Assemble. Knowing better than to simply accept one source as gospel I double checked with the Film Distributors’ Association, they have to get it right. Sadly they offered up Marvel Avengers Assemble. Bugger.

With conflicting information I thought maybe the film’s official UK website would settle the matter but it was not that easy. They claim that the film is called Marvel’s Avengers Assemble adding an extra letter and some punctuation. Has the world gone insane!? There’s only one group who can settle this dispute, a team who legally have to get the film right. Time to check out the BBFC.

Marvel Avengers Assemble it is then. Confusion over.

Side-note: I thought it odd that the UK were getting the studio name tacked onto the start of the film’s title when the US were not. Then I checked out the MPAA’s website (they’re like the American version of the BBFC but less cuddly) and they list the film as Marvel’s The Avengers.

ARGH!

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Last night I finally saw The Cabin in the Woods and can think of nothing to add to Rach’s succinct review. Instead I am going to briefly ponder the fuss that is being made about the level of spoilers in other reviews for this film and in the film’s trailer. If you haven’t seen the film this probably won’t make too much sense so you should probably get to the cinema and fix that – it is well worth your money.

The Cabin in the Woods features the familiar premise of a group of teenagers alone in the woods being terrorised by some manner of evil, but the film has one vital “twist” that separates it from the horror films it draws from. This “twist” is not revealed at the end but actually features from the opening scene and, while we do learn certain specifics in the final act, is never really hidden from the audience. The plot twist in The Cabin in the Woods is in fact the plot and as we know about it from the start it is never used to fully turn the film on its head and make you reconsider what you are watching.

As I said there is a reveal towards the end of the film but this doesn’t feel too twisty either. At no point was anything revealed to the audience that would make you watch the film in a different light a second time through. A second watch would most likely only reveal the huge amount of clever references to other horror rather than any foreshadowing of the film’s conclusion.

While The Cabin in the Woods plot does not contain a twist in itself, I would argue (and am right now) that the whole of the film is in fact the plot twist for hundreds of other films. This film now allows us to go back and watch other horror films for a second time and experience them on another level through the The Cabin in the Woods lens. This film is the plot twist to Friday the 13th, The Strangers, The Evil Dead and any number of other horror movies.

The Cabin in the Woods is clever, funny and a hell of a lot of fun with a few surprises up its sleeves. Just don’t go expecting a plot twist.

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