My Uncharted film cast

The very best pieces of pop-culture transcend their respective fields. Michael Jackson’s Thriller isn’t just a pop album, The Godfather isn’t just a gangster film and The Wire isn’t just a cop television programme – they are so much more.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is, to my mind, the greatest video game of all time and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the above. It is more than just a game and like all great pieces of pop-culture it attracts an audience base that isn’t usually susceptible to the medium.

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I was not allowed, I repeat, I was not ALLOWED to play through Uncharted 2 without my other half in the room. She wanted to watch the game. Now this is the first time I have ever encountered anything like this.

My girl, who previously showed no interest in gaming, became emotionally invested in the characters Naughty Dog created. She gasped when I gasped at the surprise quick-time moments and was on the edge of her seat (and wouldn't shut up) during the games jaw dropping set-pieces.

I have played 'cinematic' video-games before but this was the first time I didn't have to point out to non-gamers why the said game was fantastic. They could see it with their own eyes - they wanted to watch a 10 hours plus game.

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This got me thinking, could Uncharted do for video-games what Batman and Superman did for comics? Could Uncharted be the source material that finally translates to a gre... no lets just stick with good... to a good film.


The main characters are more than strong enough to work on the big screen and their relationships are captivating enough to warrant a full blown movie. 

I don't accept the point that Uncharted movies would be Indiana Jones rip-offs, I think Drake and co would be able to forge their own unique silver-screen legend if given the chance.

But who would play the main four characters of Nathan, Elena, Sully and Chloe? Well here are my suggestions:

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Chloe Frazer

Chloe is a character who is more than capable of looking after herself in the merky world of treasure hunting. There are three actresses who I'd love to see take on this role: Rose Byrne who was very good in X-Men: First Class, I think she could make a lot of hay with the character; Jessica Alba who I think can bring the relative attitude needed for this character to work. 

But the person who I'd love most to play Chloe is Rosario Dawson. Ms Dawson has the acting chops and the much needed badassness to make this character her own. I've seen her recently in Trance and I loved her in Sin City - Rosario is no joke people.



Victor "Sully" Sullivan 

This one is hard for me. Sully is one hell of a character, get him wrong and you could ruin the whole dynamic of the Uncharted world. He is a father figure to Drake and he does have something that resembles a moral code but he is also a very shady character who was difficult to trust in the first two games of the Uncharted world.

Here are the three actors who I think would do a good job. Robert De Niro - now this maybe pure fantasy but I think he'd make an amazing Sully. You don't have to even question whether he has it in him to straddle between the lines of good and bad - we've seen him do it throughout his career.

Another actor who could make a good Sully is Jeff Bridges. The character he created in the first Iron Man movie, Obadia Stane, is pretty much Sully - only this time he wouldn't be stabbing his protege in the back. I also think Bridges would be able to pull off the comedy relief role very well.

My number one choice to 
play Sully is George Clooney. I think the man has the effortless charm to more than pull off this character. And that is the most important thing about Sully, he is charming and suave.  This is why he keeps getting out of what seems to be lose-lose situations.


Elena Fisher

So, who can play the naive field reporter who grows to be wary and tough. Amy Adams could do it simply because I'm head-over-heels in love with her and she's already played a similar character in Man of Steel.


Another good choice would be Emily Rose who voices Elena in the game. She more than looks the part.

My number one choice to play Elena is Kaley Cuoco. Yeh, don't dismiss her I think she has done more than just be the eye candy on The Big Bang Theory. She has shown tremendous range, comedic timing and importantly toughness. She'd make a great Elena.



Nathan Drake 

So this one is really hard and has been much discussed in the geekverse. Nathan Fillion and David Boreanaz are the two actors that keep cropping up and I always shrug. I personally think that people are not thinking big enough, with all due respect to Nathan and David.

I only have two choices for Drake and I genuinely don't know which I prefer - Michael Fassbender and Ryan Gosling. Two very different (looking) actors but actors that can bring something compelling and real to the character of Nathan Drake.

Here is the thing, I have always thought of Drake as a morally ambiguous protagonist. In fact, at times, I don't look at him as an antagonist at all. I have heard very strong arguments made that Drake is a villain and a mass murderer. But he is a charming son-of-a gun. That is why he is different to Indiana Jones.


 I think there is a lot of complexity to Drake which only an actor at the top of their game could explore. I cannot think of two better than Michael and Ryan.

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I have tried to not speak much about anything important within Uncharted 2, or the Uncharted world in general. I would hate to spoil this fantastic and unique video-game series for anybody.


Chocolate Dive

Guest Post: Man of Steel by @DCPlod

This guest piece is by DCPlod aka Danielle. I've been a huge fan of her Twitter account for some time. She is ruthlessly funny, intelligent and hard-as-nails tough. This is actually a repost from her blog which can be found here. This is what she made of Man of Steel.

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First off, let me state I’ve never read a comic book, so I have no idea how Man of Steel fits into or compares to the wider Superman universe. That said, I love the superhero genre, and we’re currently living in a golden age of superhero films (with some, or should I say Four, notable exceptions). I’ll be comparing Man of Steel to Superman 1 & 2 which I consider to be the only films worth watching (yes, not even Kevin Spacey could salvage the mess that was Superman Returns).

Man of Steel is a very worthy addition to the recent canon of serious superhero films – it has the grittiness and brutal realism of the Dark Knight (Nolan’s influence is clear), the spectacular clashes of the Avengers, and the emotion of Iron Man, but yet still retains the core of what makes Superman Superman. It ‘s a great re-interpretation of the character, played to perfection by Henry Cavill - and his history. He captures Clark Kent’s inner turmoil and sense of not belonging, without turning him into a walking pile of angst like Batman; he also puts the steel in his incarnation as the Man of Steel.  I will say this, however: Cavill has a lot of work to do on Clark Kent’s ‘hiding in plain sight’ act at the Daily Planet, which Christopher Reeve nailed. It’s ridiculously obvious he’s Superman.

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Amy Adams is a Lois Lane for the 21st century. Gone is the woman who throws herself off waterfalls to provoke Clark into proving she’s right about him being Superman; she figures out who he is very quickly and is considerably wiser in how she acts on this knowledge. She’s almost a sidekick as well as a love interest, proving to be far more of a help than a hindrance. Kevin Costner also revealed hitherto unsuspected acting skills as Pa Kent. Costner is an actor I have been singularly unimpressed by in every movie I’ve seen him in – notably Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, where the only thing he managed to outact was Sherwood Forest and that was by being more wooden – but here he brings the right emotional depth as Superman’s adoptive father, and you can see and believe the deep influence he’s had on Clark’s moral and emotional development.

Superman’s true father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) plays a far more active role here than he does in the previous films, while not altering the key means by which he communicates with his son. Crowe turns in a performance vastly superior to Marlon Brando’s phoned in effort. Of course, Brando making no effort is still better than many an actor giving it their all, but the Jor-El of Superman 1/2 still serves purely as an expositionary figure rather than a fleshed out figure connecting us (and Superman) emotionally to Krypton.  A far greater level of importance is attached to Superman’s origin story this time around: Jor-El’s status as a heretic and his reasoning behind sending young Kal-El to Earth are what set up the key conflict between Superman and General Zod.

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Right, on to said villain of the piece. While Superman calls General Zod a monster. He does indeed do monstrous things, but just how much choice does he have in the matter? Zod is the literal creation of a society where your sole purpose in life is determined by geneticists, and you are basically stored in a test tube until Krypton needs you. Zod was made to be a soldier, so while what he does is heinous, you can see why he does it. To him, Jor-El and Superman are taking his raison d’etre away from him, therefore he must stop them by all means necessary. It makes him a serious villain with understandable motives, a far cry from the General Zod of Superman 2 who took over Earth for kicks and was soon bored to tears by how easy mankind was to subjugate.

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With regards to the film as a whole: the fight scenes were great; my only complaint would be they went on a little too long, and I found myself thinking “when the hell is Superman going to defeat these guys?” They don’t go lightly on the destruction either – the joint really gets wrecked here. On a meta level it was hilarious watching a virtual parade of characters from my favourite TV shows appear one by one – why hello West Wing’s Toby Ziegler, Elliot Stabler of SVU, Boardwalk Empire’s Nelson van Alden, Hannibal’s Jack Crawford and Doug Stamper from US House of Cards!

All in all: Man of Steel is both a fantastic movie and a really great reboot which should do for Superman what Batman Begins did for Batman.

                       @DCPlod

Did the purple dragon slay Enchanted?

A villain is as important as the hero in a film.

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Can one scene ruin an otherwise brilliant movie? I didn’t used to think so – it would have to be one hell of a god awful scene of Ed Woodian proportions.

But I fear that the otherwise wonderful Enchanted has one of those scenes.

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The majority of Enchanted is fantastic. I remember being dragged to the cinema to watch it with Mrs Bear expecting nothing short of a ‘chick-flick’. To be honest, I only agreed to go along so not to ruin my chances of coitus (word to Sheldon Cooper).

Although I love Disney movies, before Enchanted I wasn’t interested in the ‘Princess’ films. It was over the course of watching Enchanted that I totally changed my stance. Enchanted is laugh-out-loud funny, heart-warming and surprisingly intelligent. Importantly, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it it’s “cartoons turn to life” concept isn’t ran to the ground.

The music in Enchanted are some of the best Disney has to offer; they are annoyingly catchy (just try to forget the ‘Happy Working Song’ once you’ve heard it) and they put stupid smiles on your face (the old people dancing to ‘How does she know’ gets me every time).

This is also the film where I utterly fell in love with Amy Adams – she is absolutely wonderful in this film. I simply can’t see any other actor doing what Adams did with Giselle. It may look easy playing an absent minded typical Disney princess, but the growth she had to show throughout the movie is bloody impressive.

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Enchanted is great because it immerses you into its world. You believe that Amy Adams is the same cartoon princess that appeared at the start of the film, you believe that she has fallen in love with Robert instead of Prince Edward. All of the special effects work very well and the set pieces (the songs) lift this film from being just good to great.

But then Queen Narissa turns up and ruins it all. The problem with the Susan Sarandon’s villain in this film is that she doesn’t pass the Jafar test. She brings no fear factor, no sense of revolution or dread at all to Enchanted. She’s a very 2D character that feels out of place in this film and this is made obvious in the ball room scene.

The ball room scene is the only time when the special-effects look terrible. Not forgivable terrible, but WTF terrible. For some reason, Enchanted loses its (sorry) magic and it’s frustrating to watch. Did the film-makers just get lazy? What happened?

I mean, look at the purple dragon? Listen to the dialogue during that scene?

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Enchanted could have been another Disney classic. It was so close, but for some reason it fell over at the last hurdle. They just didn’t put enough thought into the villain and the ‘boss fight’ at the end of the film. It’s a real shame.

                                                        

                                                @Chocoteddyfilms