Welcome Jammers and non-Jammers alike to The Spread’s March issue for 2017!
Seeing as though spring has sprung, and so have the first big-scale blockbusters, it seems audiences are looking at a lot of ends and new beginnings right now. So we thought we’d get in the new-life spirit for our March issue. We’ve got discussions about all things reboot, remake, reimagining and recycled in this month’s Rebirth Issue.
We have reviews for the highly anticipated new beginning of King Kong in Kong: Skull Island and the even more anticipated ending of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in Logan. We also take a look at two new films fuelling our hopes for a birth of a new horror wave with Jordan Peele’s hugely successful Get Out and the indie chiller Don’t Knock Twice. Matthew Wilson then takes a look at two of the biggest cinematic revivals of the year as he finds out if John Wick: Chapter Two can top the original’s praise and if Fifty Shades Darker can do better than the scorn heaped upon the first instalment.
We’ve also got a host of great features examining the trends that have put us in this position of seemingly endless sequels, reboots and remakes. Edward Wragg asks the obvious question “has Hollywood run out of ideas?” while I take a look at why Star Wars: The Last Jedi could very well be a remake, and why that’s a bad idea.
On a more upbeat note, Matthew Wilson counts down nine films he thinks deserve the reboot treatment while John Higgins takes a look at how War of the Worlds and Invasion of the Body Snatchers got the remake trend right. I also take a moment to show some love for William Friedkin’s Sorcerer: The greatest remake ever made and draw some attention to the mystery behind another often-overlooked great as I ask “is La La Land a remake?”
Also this month, Savannah James-Bayly breaks down the tropes used to represent non-monosexual identities in mainstream media and whether or not the birth of better representation for the LGBTQ+ community is on the horizon. Maybe even starting right now at the BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival 2017. Flare liked Savannah’s article so much in fact that they invited her to speak on one of their panels, so if you’re not heading down to check out it out already - make sure you do.
We then take a look at the birth of a new talent on the filmmaking scene as Natalia Ryumina interviews director Rafael Kapelinski after his Crystal Bear win at Berlinale.
There’s been a lot of news on the cinematic rebirth scene this month too. Matt Reeves revives Warner Brothers’ new Batman film as he finally, officially, steps on board to direct. Screenwriter Zak Penn also, officially, confirms his involvement in the new Matrix film and answers some questions about whether or not it’s a reboot or a remake. While Woody Allen’s Manhattan is reborn in a glorious 4K reprint that will be screening throughout the year.
While we’re talking about exciting news regarding cinematic rebirths, it’s worth noting that the prolific cinematographer Phil Meheux, who reinvented the look of Bond twice in his rebirths Goldeneye and 2006’s Casino Royale, will be our special guest speaker this month at our Jam Session. Be sure to check it out!
