July | 2009 | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Fox and The Child

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Darren

Myself and the girlfriend caught The Fox and The Girl (or Le Renard et L’Enfant) on Sky last night. It was a film with more than a few beautiful moments, but left us with the distinct impression that director Luc Jacquet works a lot better with animals than he does with humans.

Half-good, half-bad...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: documentary, fable, fairytale, film, kate winslet, Le Renard et L'Enfant, luc jacquet, march of the penguins, Movie, nature, non-review review, review, The Fox and The Girl | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Moon

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Darren

It’s been a good year for niche cinema. And looks to continue to be. For the moment though, Moon is one heck of a science fiction film. I’m goign to try to be careful and not really give away too many spoilers, but sufficed to say hat it is one of the most cleverly constructed science fiction films of the past decade – possibly since The Truman Show and Gattaca.

Sam Rockwell gets spaced out...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: duncan jones, kevin spacey, moon, Movie, non-review review, review, sam rockwell, science fiction | 10 Comments »

Comic Con – It’s Like All My Geek Christmases Have Come at Once…

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Darren

I’ll do a retrospective of this year’s comic con when it’s finished, but today has been a big day for news at Comic Con. These are two of my favourite discoveries:

Not only does Flynn live, but he’s a bad ass. The famous test footage from last year has been remastered and turned into a pretty intense teaser. Looking at it, it might just buck the trend with long-delayed sequels.
Gary Oldman has confirmed Batman 3 is coming, despite Christopher Nolan’s rumoured reluctance. Wow. Even Warner Brothers seem surprised. Michael Caine loves jerking fans around, but Oldman is normally pretty dead-on. He says we’ll see it in 2011.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: Batman 3, Christopher Nolan, comic con, gary oldman, jeff bridges, movie gossip, Movies, The Dark Knight, the dark knight sequel, tron, tron: legacy | Leave a comment »

The Bechdel Rule – Feminism in Movies

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Darren

I discovered a really fascinating movie-related concept this week, from my better half, who in turn picked it up from the Irish Times magazine. Basically, it’s The Bechdel Rule. Basically it states that the eponymous author will only watch movies that meet three simple conditions:

It has to have at least two women in it…
… who talk to each other…
.. about something besides a man.

There’s also a suggested corollary (known as the Mo Movie Measure) that the two women must be named characters. I’m dubious about using the test as a measure of quality, but it is interesting to think about how many movies meet that criteria. And which movies don’t.

So, does talking about how crap their lives are because they are oppressed by men count?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bechdel rule, equality, feminism, feminism in movies, gender, Movies, popular culture, roles, Television, the bechdel rule, the mo movie measure, women, women in movies | Leave a comment »

Crime and Pun-ishment: The Art of the CSI One-Liner

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Darren

I caught an episode of CSI: Miami last night and I am ashamed to admit that I had forgotten the cheesy power of Horatio Caine and the Sunglasses of Justice. I suspect that, isolated from each other, neither would be of note but, combined, they are unstoppable. Sure, some may question the ability of lead actor David Caruso, but I think it is a breathtaking performance. If he is a wooden performer, he is fashioned from rich mahogany. If he is two-dimensional, he is a Looney Tune of two-dimensionality. If he is a bad actor, he is the Marlon Brando of bad actors. And, in fairness, are you watching for anything other than the one-liners?

Raising Caine...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: csi, csi: miami, david caruso, drama, horatio caine, miami, one liners, puns, sunglasses of justice, Television | 1 Comment »

Sequels Separated by Decades…

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Darren

Flynn lives! Jeff Bridges’ career declines! The viral marketing campaign for the sequel to Tr0n kicks off this week at Comic Con and I’m skeptical – but not just because they haven’t decided to go with the logical title Tr1n. I’m mostly skeptical because it’s a sequel to a cult movie produced twenty years after the fact. How many sequels separated by decades have actually succeeded?

It was cutting edge for the time, I swear...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, chinatown, film series, films, flynn lives, franchises, godfather, indiana jones, james bond, jeff bridges, Movies, sequels, star wars, the godfather, tr0n, tr0n2, tron, tron 2, tron: legacy | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Rivals at the Abbey

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Darren

We caught The Rivals playing at the Abbey last night. I’m not sure quite what to make of it. Featuring characters with wits as sharp as their swords, a fantastically ‘theatrical’ set design and a solid cast, I couldn’t help agreeing with the author’s opinion as I’d read it in the Prologue earlier that day: the play is just too long. Apparently when it first appeared, the play was less than a success with audiences – being considered too long. Apparently Sheridan went back and significantly re-edited the play, and that is the version we are left with today. I would suggest that it is still just a tad too long, but only a little bit. Still, it was an entertaining evening sparkling with humour, flair and vitality, and there have been far worse productions this year. So, what did I make of George Washington’s favourite play?

We know who wins on style...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: abbey theatre, dublin, Ireland, play, play review, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the rivals, Theatre, theatre review | Leave a comment »

Machine Steals Giamatti’s Soul; Simpsons’ Plot…

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Darren

The first clip from Cold Soul, the upcoming movie starring Paul Giamatti as… Paul Giamatti, were released yesterday. And, hearing the plot summary, I couldn’t help thinking that The Simpsons already did it. Basically, Giamatti has his soul extracted and then discovers he misses it and then embarks on a quest to win it back, discovering that it has been sold on the black market. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s also the plot to the cleverly titled Simpsons-episode Bart Sells His Soul. I’ll wait to see how it turns out, but the movie’d want to be something really special to top that vintage piece of American television.

The similarities are astounding...

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bart sells his soul, cold soul, film, Movies, paul giamatti, plot, the simpsons, the simpsons already did it | 1 Comment »

Awards Season Forecast…

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Darren

It’s summer time! That means blockbusters, comic book movies! It’s comic con time! That means more blockbuster and more comic book movie gossip! It seems that everything from the Tron viral campaign to the impending release of the Alice in Wonderland teaser is generating a lot of buzz. And quite right, too. We do live in the era of the geek. However, once we get into autumn proper, there are more prestigious films approaching. Looks like the studios are sticking to the tried-and-true “cram as many Oscar contenders as you can into the least amount of time” method, and there’s a huge schlock of films coming out. Here are just some of the main ones I’m looking forward to during awards season.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2010 academy awards, 2010 oscar nominees, academy awards, amelia, avatar, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis, ewan mcgregor, film, hilary swank, invictus, james cameron, Leonardo diCaprio, martin scorcese, matt damon, moon, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Nine, oscar nominees, Oscars, peter jackson, pierce brosnan, precious, rob marshall, scorcese, Shutter Island, star trek, stephen soderberg, the ghost, the hurt locker, the informant, the lovely bones, the road, up | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: I Am Legend

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Darren

I Am Legend was always going to be a tough film to adapt, so it’s a surprise that it works as well as it does for as long as it does. Anchored in a fantastic lead performance, the film manages to be a very subtle, thoughtful and occasionally insightful action movie for the first two-thirds of its runtime. The ending falls down a bit, but it’s an enjoyable journey getting there.