August | 2009 | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I would love to have been there when the sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. The anticipation and the build up to a sequel to one of most brilliantly bright and fun adventure films ever made. I don’t know what I would have been expecting… but I don’t think it would have been this. As a piece of trivia, the film is actually a prequel, but that doesn’t matter. It has a bit of an odd child of the franchise (even after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), in that it’s the only film that doesn’t follow Indy’s quest for a mysterious relic. But that isn’t the only (or even the biggest difference). There’s a massive shift in tone between this and the film proceeding it and the film following. Everything’s just a hint darker and… well, weirder. Still, I’ve a soft spot in my heart for the black sheep of the franchise and I fully and whole-heartedly embrace that weirdness.

Indy bridges the divide...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, harrison ford, india, indiana jones, indiana jones and the temple of doom, Movies, non-review review, review, steven spielberg, temple of doom | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I’ll admit that Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably the most technically magnificent of the Indiana Jones trilogy, but Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has all the heart. It’s a surprisingly sweet, sensative and funny film, all wrapped inside the trappings that made Raiders of The Lost Ark so fantastic in the first place. That’s awesome of it itself. And then Spielberg goes and adds Sean Connery to the mix. Even more awesomeness ensues.

Harrison Ford and Sean Connery are on fire...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, harrison ford, indiana jones, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Movies, non-review review, review, sean connery, steven spielberg, the holy grail, the last crusade | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

To “celebrate” the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (what’s to celebrate?), Sky Movies ran all three of the original movies back-to-back over the weekend. That’s a pretty good start to the weekend. I caught the first and third films, as well as rewatching the fourth. I’m going to try to catch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom during the week. So, how do does the newly-formed tetralogy stand up?

"Doctor Jones, Doctor Jones... Calling Doctor Jones..."

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, george lucas, harrison ford, indiana jones, indiana jones and the raiders of the lost ark, Movies, non-review review, raiders of the lost ark, review, steven spielberg | 6 Comments »

G.I. Joe teams up with Uncle Sam…

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I’ll admit it. In my defense, I’m suitably ashamed. But I am a little bit interested in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Yes, I know – deep down in my heart – that it will be terrible. No, I was not a fan of the television show, nor the toys – so I have no defense. I am a fan of Christopher Eccleston and I always have been, so my faith in him is on the line. And Stephen Sommers is the guy behind the two really good Mummy films, right? Still, the most interesting aspect of the production (amid all the rumours and gossip, the leaked reviews – both good and bad) is the approach that the studio is taking to marketing. Some movies – like The Dark Knight or Tron: Legacy or Cloverfield – go the subtle, nuanced approach of viral marketing. They create an emersive, engaging experience. G.I. Joe, on the other hand, is not subtle. The marketing team seems to be hammering home on single message: if you don’t dig this movie, you just ain’t patriotic enough.

No Dennis Quaid, you can't out act him... He's Christopher Eccleston!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: andrews air base, audience, blockbusters, box office, critics, films, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, gi joe, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, middle america, military, Movies, patriotism, politics, premiere, previews, republicans, reviews, rise of cobra, stephen sommers, uncle sam | 1 Comment »

Absolute Sandman: Volume II

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I finished the second Absolutevolume last night at about 1am. It’s a little disappointing to think I’m already halfway through the epic, but that’s life. I can always read it again. And – for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on – I think that the second collection might be my favourite of the four. I don’t know what makes it slightly better and more compelling than the other three, but I can hazard some guesses.

Dream at the Helm...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: a game of you, absolute sandman, Absolute Sandman: Volume 2, Absolute Sandman: Volume II, American Gods, arts, classic, comic books, dc comics, dream, dreams, Gaiman Chubut, graphic novel, hbo, Marco Polo, morpheus, neil gaiman, review, sandman, season of mists, Short story | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Transsiberian

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Darren

This is another one of those movies that didn’t seem to make it to cinemas and instead found its way into Dad’s hands in extra vision (I blame the fantastic cast for that). It’s a story of lust, murder, drugs and Matryoshka dolls aboard the titular railway line. I wish I could make some sort of pun about the movie building momentum like a runaway freight train, but it doesn’t. It meanders and it wanders, never really going anywhere.

Trainspotting...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben kingsley, brad anderson, emily mortimer, Movie, non-review review, review, thomas kretschmann, trains, Transsiberian, woody harrelson | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Usual Suspects

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Darren

Wow. Neo-noir is a very tough genre to pull off. It really is. Think of how many dodgy movies you’ve seen about drug dealers and bent cops in the last year alone (I’ve even seen one this weekend). When it works, it works magically. It seems like the mid-nineties was the era for producing any number of classic modern noir-style tales. There’s Copland, L.A. Confidential and – of course – the movie that arguably started the whole trend. We’re looking at you, The Usual Suspects…

Calvin Klein models just aren't trying anymore...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bryan singer, christopher mcquarrie, crime, films, gabriel byrne, kevin spacey, Movies, mystery, neo-noir, noir, non-review review, reviews, the usual suspects | 9 Comments »

Absolute Sandman: Volume I

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Darren

I’m supposed to say that Sandman is a comic for people who don’t like comics. It’s not. It’s a comic for people who like stories.

Neil Gaiman created a series that ran for the bones of a decade following the resurrection and revival of Morpheus, the King of Dreams. DC Comics cleverly repackaged the entire collection as four slipcase Absolute Editions. I own all four and have read them cover-to-cover once (and occasionally going back and revisiting particular threads from time-to-time). I’ve decided to re-read the entire collection again from the very beginning. So, how does the first volume hold up?

"Mister Sandman, bring me a dream..."

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute death, absolute edition, absolute editions, absolute sandman, Absolute Sandman: Volume I, comic book, Comics, dc comics, death, dream, dream country, graphic novel, morpheus, neil gaiman, preludes & nocturnes, sandman, the doll's house, the endless, the sandman | Leave a comment »

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Darren

Released in a Deluxe Edition hardback format to compliment Neil Gaiman’s farewell to the Caped Crusader, this collection of Alan Moore Superman stories is a pretty cool purchase, and one significantly better than the Batman equivalent it is published alongside. A fond goodbye to the Silver Age of Superman (and comics as a whole), it reads fantastically well in retrospect as a goodbye in many ways to the innocence of the earlier superhero four-colour tales. The fact that it’s accompanied by arguably an even better Superman story is just icing on the cake.

"I can't stand to fly..."

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, batman, clark kent, classics, comic books, dave gibbins, dc comics, for the man who has everything, Legion of Super-Heroes, neil gaiman, Perry White, review, superman, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, watchmen, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? | 3 Comments »

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Darren

I guess… I guess I always knew that this was how it was going to end. That we didn’t have him forever. That one day someone would say, ‘Hey, Jim. Whatever happened to the Caped Crusader?’ I’d tell them. ‘Pretty much what you’d expect. He’s dead.’

I just didn’t think it would be today.

– Commissioner James Gordon

I actually quite enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, even if I wasn’t overly in love with it. The prospect of doing a final, definitive Batman story – one not anchored in a particular event, but designed to encapsulate the history of the Dark Knight – must be daunting. Even Alan Moore’s sensational Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? served as a fond farewell to one particular iteration of the Man of Steel. Gaiman’s “last ever” Batman story is a tad more ambitious, bidding goodbye to alliterations of the character. I’m not entirely convinced that it succeeds, although it makes a more than valiant effort.