September | 2009 | the m0vie blog

Bah Humbug! Are We Past the Point Where Technical Wizardry Can Amaze?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Darren

Hmm… I bet Robert Zemickas was expecting a somewhat bigger reaction for the release of the first trailer for his version of A Christmas Carol (aka Jim Carrey plays almost everyone), the follow-up to The Polar Express (aka Tom Hanks plays everyone), than the collective ‘meh’ that it received. I’ve watched the trailer and it looks technically magnificent (and I’m sure it’ll be even more technically impressive in 3D) – but why should I care? If I’m going to put on a pair of glasses and look at something beautiful until it give me a mild headache, shouldn’t I at least be looking at something interesting and intriguing of itself? Are we past the point where technical wonders alone are enough to lure the geeks out in droves?

Here's hoping Santa can bring Zemickis a 150% return on his investment...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, a christmas carol, animation, audiences, avatar, box office, cgi, digital, films, final fantasy, final fantasy: the spirits within, first, groundbreaking, heaven's gate, imax, james cameron, jim carrey, pioneering, pixar, robert zemickis, star trek, technical, technical wizardry, the final destination, the polar express, toy story | 1 Comment »

Lisbon 2 – The Sequel

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Darren

I try not to get too political over here, seen as how this is a pop culture blog. I did happen to notice, however, that the Irish government has decided to expand the Lisbon Treaty debacle into a franchise. We’ve had economists, armchair pundits and politicians weighing in on the matter, but why don’t we ask the people who really count: the film critics? I humbly submit my thoughts on the proposed Lisbon 2.

Maybe you can go too European with the posters...

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Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: brian cowen, farce, films, Ireland, lisbon, lisbon 2, lisbon referendum, lisbon treaty, Movies, politics, referendum, referendum campaign, sequel | Leave a comment »

The Killing Joke

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Darren

Hmm… Understandably quite a controversial comic (Alan Moore himself reportedly has very little time for it), The Killing Joke remains the most definitive comic to examine the dynamic between the Caped Crusader and his polar opposite. It also reveals a bit of twisted logic to the character, providing an almost logical motivation for his countless heinous actions. It also features some of the best artwork that you are liable to see on a Batman comic.

The Joker didn't get he was meant to bleach his HAIR...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, barbara gordon, batman, brian bolland, comic book, comic books, Comics, dc comics, deluxe edition, feminism in comics, graphic novel, joker, oneshot, review, The Dark Knight, the joker, the killing joke, the killing joke: deluxe edition, women in refrigerators | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Star Trek – First Contact

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Darren

I love it when the movie channels have an unexpected treat for me. Like coming home from work on Saturday and finding Star Trek: First Contact playing in high definition on Sky movies. Also known as “the only good Next Generation movie”, the film stands the test of time well and is – thus far – the only movie in the franchise that all my family can agree on. It is awesome.

"You're all astronauts... on some kind of... Star Trek?"

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: borg, enterprise, first contact, james cromwell, jean-luc picard, jonathon frakes, non-review review, patrick stewart, review, science fiction, star trek, star trek: first contact, star trek: the next generation, the borg, the next generation | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Angels & Demons

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Darren

Well, the only way to go from The DaVince Code was up, right? Good, because this doesn’t go too far up, lest you get all excited. It’s a fairly run-of-the-mill chase movie without any charm or wit or intelligence (and severely lacking in logic, one might add). It commits the cardinal sin (he he, cardinal… geddit?) of thinking that it is far smarter than it actually is, and it never manages to be particularly exciting or engaging. Still, Ron Howard can’t completely hide his talent amid a jumble of half-baked action sequences and illogical clues.

Try as you may, you can't outrun the inevitable threequel, Hanks!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: angels & demons, angels and demons, dan brown, film, Movie, non-review review, pope, review, robert langdon, rome, ron howard, the church, the davinci code, the vatican, tom hanks | Leave a comment »

Non-Review review: Panic Room

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Darren

We happened to catch Panic Room on TV3 last night. It’s interesting to watch in retrospect, considering that David Fincher was between the two high watermarks of his career to date (se7en and Zodiac – we can discuss The Curious Case of Benjamin Button later). It’s interesting to see Fincher play with the thriller genre in a much less radical way than he did with either of the films that sandwich it. What we’re left with might not necessarily be groundbreaking, but it is solidly entertaining.

Hell of a time for Jodie Foster to adapt to texting...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: david fincher, dwight yoakam, film, forest whitaker, jared leto, jodie foster, kristen stewart, Movie, non-review review, panic room, review, thriller | 1 Comment »

Nazi-ploitation! Or How We Treat Nazi Germany in Modern Cinema…

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Darren

I moaned last week about the loss of the two-dimensional evil Nazi. Brushed aside in a tide of political correctness or extreme sensitivity. I think it’s time to talk about what Hollywood has presented us with in its stead. I think it’s interesting to discuss the general trend in the presentation of the Third Reich that we’ve seen emerge in the past year or so.

Tom Cruise played a vision-impaired conflicted German during the Third Reich... Where's his Oscar?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: good, good film, history, hollywood history, moral ambiguity, Oscars, schindler's list, shades of gray, sophie's choice, the boy in the striped pyjamas, the reader, the third reich, tom cruise, valkyrie, viggo mortensen | 1 Comment »

The District 9 Racism Debate Rages On…

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Darren

Looks like the District 9 race row is far from over. On Tuesday, The Guardian ran an article defending the portrayal of the Nigerian gangsters in the film, amidst the rising pressure to get an apology from the film makers. While I have my own reasons for believing the film isn’t racist – check out our review – I’m not entirely convinced by the article in question.

Prawn-rights groups were unavailable for comment...

Prawns Rights groups were unavailable for comment...

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: allegories, district 9, ethnic stereotypes, media, neill blomkamp, nigerians, nigerians in district 9, peter jackson, political corretcness, race row, racial sensitivity, racial stereotypes, racism, racist, the guardian, Tola Onanuga | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Dorian Gray

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Darren

I thought that monster remake mania wasn’t kicking off until The Wolfman finally gets released? This Oscar Wilde adaptation is an odd beast: one part slow, stately and almost cumbersome exploration of a boy who can never grow up and another part Universal horror movie for the MTV generation. It’s a very strange mix which works in parts and fails in others. I’m fairly sure I’m satisfied with my viewing experience, if not completely won over.

The portrait of the writer as a young man?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adaptation, ben barnes, colin firth, dorian gray, ealing studios, films, jack the ripper, literature, Movies, no-review review, oliver parker, oscar wilde, rebecca hall, review, the portrait of dorian gray, wilde | Leave a comment »

The Indestructable Daleks…

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Darren

I’ll confess. I loved the malevolent pepperpots. The only plumbers hell-bent on galactic domination, the Daleks are arguably even more famous than Doctor Who, the show that spawned them. Stick an image of a Dalek in front of anyone and they’ll recognise it, even if they can’t name it. Whatever of their invasion plans, their infiltration plans seem to have come to fruition. But are these most famous of arch-foes over-exposed? Should they be forcibly taken away from the powers that be at the new series for at least a few years?