November | 2010 | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Hot Fuzz

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Darren

“You haven’t seen Bad Boys II?” a character states in complete disbelief to police ~~man~~ officer Nicolas Angel. I’m fairly sure that Hot Fuzz is consistently clever and entertaining even if you’re never seen a testosterone-laden big-budget explosive action cop movie, but Edgar Wright’s parody/homage is absolutely ingenious to anyone remotely familiar with the concept. At its most basic, the movie asks what would happen if you asked Michael Bay to make a balls-to-the-wall action movie in a small English village. The result might look a little bit like this, but I bet it wouldn’t be half as charming.

Timothy Dalton takes the biscuit...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: edgar wright, film, Hot Fuzz, jim broadbent, michael bay, Movie, nick frost, non-review review, Paddy Considine, review, scott pilgrim vs. the world, shaun of the dead, Simon Pegg, spoof, timothy dalton | 4 Comments »

Aaronofsky to Wrestle “The Wolverine”: Are Independent Directors the Best Choices for Superhero Cinema?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Darren

I’m going to be honest, I like it when relatively obscure film directors are handed the reigns to huge blockbuster properties. It seems that these “cult” film makers tend to bring something fresh from outside the studio system to their work. I might sound more than a bit pretentious, but it reminds me of the way that many of the blockbuster directors of the seventies – including Lucas and Spielberg – originated from outside the studio system before revolutionising it from inside. As a concept, would I rather watch Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen or Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins? No choice there. Any film with the name “Jerry Bruckheimer” attached or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man? Again, no choice. So, despite the fact that Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a critical failure and an infuriatingly (but, sadly, not unpredictably) disappointing film, am I alone in getting a little excited about Darren Aaronofsky’s The Wolverine.

Against all odds, I might be feeling pretty Jack(man)ed about this...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman forever, blockbusters, bryan singer, comic book movies, Darren Aronofsky, films, gavin hood, hugh jackman, indie, sam raimi, wolverine, wolverine 2, wolverine ii, x-men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Two Jakes

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Darren

I’m going to be completely honest here, and possibly ruin my reputation as a film boffin. Until I held the DVD of The Two Jakes in my hands about ten years ago, I didn’t even know there was a sequel to Chinatown. The belated sequel languished in development hell after real life intervened – there was no way that Polanski could direct a sequel to perhaps his most famous film (at least not in Los Angeles, where it was set) and the movie that followed became caught in a tug of war between actor Jack Nicholson and writer Robert Towne, both of whom wanted a shot at directing. Nicholson won, but one can’t help but get the feeling in watching the film that the movie might have been better served with a stronger and more impartial director.

Will the bad guy get his just deserts this time around?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: chinatown, film, jacknicholson, Jerry Goldsmith, los angeles, Movies, non-review review, Raymond Chandler, review, Robert Towne, roman polanski, sequel, the two jakes, Van Dyke Parks | Leave a comment »

Green Lantern 101: A Beginner’s Guide to The Green Lantern Mythos…

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Darren

The trailer for Green Lantern arrived yesterday. I’m already excited about the release. However, I acknowledge that Hal Jordan isn’t quite the household name that Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent is. So I put together this collection of frequently asked questions about Green Lantern, which will hopefully give you a bit of an introduction to the character. If this proves popular, I might do the same for Thor or Captain America, the other major comic book releases of next year. Check out the trailer below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Abin Sur, bruce wayne, clark kent, comic books, faq, film, frequently asked questions, GoldenEye, green lanter trailer, green lantern, green lantern 101, green lantern movie, hal jordan, Hector Hammond, iron man, Kyle Rayner, martin campbell, Movie, questions, ryan reynolds, sueprheroes | 14 Comments »

Annihilation: Conquest (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Darren

This is the tenth in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s shared universe (particularly their “Avengers” franchise) over the past five or so years, as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity.

Perhaps it was the novelty of Marvel’s Annihilation crossover which lent the series its appeal. It took some of the more often overlooked space heroes of the Marvel Universe and tied them all together as part of a gripping narrative fighting against the extinction of life itself. It was loud and bright and colourful and frentic – it was perhaps the best crossover that Marvel have produced in the past five years or so. So I was very much anticipating the sequel, Annihilation: Conquest – hoping that it could be another breath of fresh air in this long trek through Marvel’s shared universe. Unfortunately, it seemed that a lot of energy of the original was gone – the series couldn’t help but feel somewhat anti-climactic.

Feel the Wraith...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: aliens, andy lanning, annihilation, annihilation conquest, borg, captain marvel, Comics, conquest, cosmic marvel, dan abnett, games, marvel, marvel comics, Marvel Super Heroes, nova, phalanx, quasar, Roleplaying, ronan, Star Lord, starlord, Super Heroes, ultron, wraith | Leave a comment »

Nova: Annihilation (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Darren

I’m currently taking a look at the modern history of the Marvel Universe. I kinda figured that I should go through at least one cycle of big continuity-heavy events to at least engage with this style of storytelling, so I can get a feel for it. Although I’m focusing on The Avengers (what with the movie and all), I’m also checking out cosmic Marvel and the X-Men at the same time. My review of the big intergalactic crossover Annihilation: Conquest is going out today, so this is a bit of a sidenote on that. Nova was the first relaunched on-going “cosmic” Marvel series, launched in the wake of Annihilation, so I thought I’d follow the first year of the book.

I have to confess that I quite enjoyed Marvel’s attempt to reinvigorate their line of cosmic comic books with the gigantic crossover event Annihilation. And it apparently did quite well, spawning a series of associated crossovers in the years that followed, as well as an on-going series following the character perhaps most greatly affected by the events of the miniseries. Although the character has had his own series in the past (no fewer than three times) and featured in a few high-profile teambooks, it’s good to see Nova returned to prominance, particularly written by two authors who clearly know and cherish him.

Iron Man expects Richard to show some Initiative...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: andy lanning, annihilation, annihilation conquest, art, cosmic marvel, cosmic marvel universe, dan abnett, geoff johns, green lantern, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, nova, Nova Vol. 4 | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Chinatown

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Darren

“You may think you know what’s you’re dealing with,” a character warns private detective Jack Gittes at one point during Chinatown, “but, believe me, you don’t.” Later on, Gittes confesses to his lover that, when he was a police officer working in Chinatown, his beat consisted of doing “as little as possible”, an anecdote that screenwriter Robert Towne reportedly heard from an officer who had actually served in Chinatown – rather than an officer involving himself in some sort of event that he couldn’t possibly comprehend, the police would actively disengage themselves from the community. That’s the core of the corruption at the heart of Polanski’s film – how little anyone actually knows about what is really happening, and how it’s easy to ignore these things rather than attempting to deal with them.

A nosey detective...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: china town, chinatown, classic noir, faye dunaway, film, Film noir, films, jack nicholson, jacknicholson, jake gittes, john heuston, los angeles, Maltese Falcon, memento, Movies, neo-noir, noir, non-review review, review, Robert Towne, roman polanski, Two Jakes, Usual Suspects | Leave a comment »

We Made a F%$&ing Movie! MacGruber and Unsympathetic Comedic Leads…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Darren

The film is a slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy. I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore. He’s a single dad, bringing up his daughter with the help of his mom. He takes his job seriously. He may be chubby, but he’s brave and optimistic.

– Roger Ebert on Paul Blart: Mall Cop

I watched MacGruber over the weekend. It was okay – it wasn’t fantastic, and it wasn’t one of the best examples of anything, but if you wanted a shedload of juvenile humour, well… it was right up your street. However, watching the film did get me thinking about just how much of a jerk the title character was. How much of a horrible person can a comedy protagonist be? When did it become the norm for these sorts of characters to be presented with completely irredeemable traits?

Sometimes it's an up-hill struggle to empathise with a protagonist...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 40 Year Old Virgin, adam sandler, arts, audience connection, audience empathy, audience sympathy, Baldrick, Billy Madison, comedy, happy gilmore, jim carrey, Liar Liar, macgruber, Movie, roger ebert, Rowan Atkinson, Saturday Night Live, unsympathetic comedy protagonist, unsympathetic protagonist | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: MacGruber

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Darren

MacGruber features a villain whose surname is “Cunth”. That is the litmus test to see whether the movie will appeal to you.

Has MacGruber got a wire loose?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: comedy, film, Kristen Wiig, macgruber, macgyver, Movie, non-review review, review, Richard Dean Anderson, Ryan Phillippe, Saturday Night Live, val kilmer, Wayne's World, Will Forte | 5 Comments »

When it Hits the Fan: What Do Creators Owe Fans?

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Darren

Fans are a very dangerous group to court – although I suppose that’s implied, what with the word being an abbreviation of “fanatic”. Sure, they’ll follow a particular project with zeal and enthusiasm that most producers could only dream of, and (perhaps) prove an invaluable marketing tool in this era of the viral campaign – at the very least, they are more likely to invest a lot more money in your product than a regular consumer. However, that investment comes with a downside – one that I wonder how much creators ultimately end up resenting. To call it “demand” perhaps understates the matter – after all, plenty of non-fanatic movie fans wait for the big blockbusters of the year – but there tends to be a note of what is best described as “possessiveness” or “entitlement” that comes with a large invested fan group. And is that necessarily a good thing? Do these fans feel that these creators “owe” them something for their extended loyalty? Is it fair to demand that from any producer or writer or director?