the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: State of Play

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Darren

Ah, the good old conspiracy thriller theory movie is alive and well, it would appear. For those not quite up-to-date on Hollywood’s fascination with sequels, remakes and adaptations, State of Play is a remake of the classic BBC miniseries of the same name. Following an old-fashioned investigative reporter as he attempts to investigate the death of a Congressman’s aide, he finds himself getting drawn closer and closer to a lion’s den of corruption and defense contractors. It’s a solid conspiracy movie elevated by superior performances that doesn’t really live up to its potential.

Russell Crowe attempts to explain the plot twists of State of Play to a confused Ben Affleck...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben affleck, conspiracy, defense contractors, films, helen mirren, jason bateman, jeff daniels, journalism, Kevin Macdonald, Movies, non-review review, rachel mcadams, review, robin wright penn, russell crowe, state of play | Leave a comment »

Paul Dini’s Run on Detective Comics – The Heart of Hush

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Darren

Batman’s rogues gallery is a strange one. Thanks to the character’s absorption into popular culture (by the live action series, the cartoons, the movies), he has a fantastically strong and well-recognised selection of villains – to the point where people who haven’t picked up a comic book wonder whether The Riddler will be the villain in the next Batman film. He has tonnes of opponents who are easily recognised by the public and are wide and diverse, many that any other comic book character would kill for. However, once every few years the powers that be will attempt to introduce a new major villain into the character’s life – for example Grant Morrison populated his own run on the title with new enemies (and the Joker). Very occasionally these are succesful – Bane is a fairly well-known addition to the ensemble, despite only arriving about fifteen years ago, and Victor Zsasz remains the most recent bad guy to be featured in Nolan’s movies – but mostly these are failures – like Orca or KGBeast. Here Paul Dini is attempting to move the most recent major bat baddie from the latter category into the former. Does it work?

Eye see you...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, batman r.i.p., batman rip, batman: heart of hush, batman: the heart of hush, catwoman, comic book, detective comics, graphic novel, heart of hush, hush, paul dini, review, the heart of hush | 2 Comments »

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Darren

What we have here is an interesting companion story to Alan Moore’s seminal The Killing Joke, a sequel of sorts to Frank Miller’s classic Year One, a direct follow-on to the two Matt Wagner miniseries Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk and a bit of an introduction to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween. That’s one hell of a nexus to find your story at the centre of, even if you weren’t trying to tell the definitive first encounter story between Batman and the Joker. So, does Brubaker pull it off?

What a Joker...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, Batman: The Man Who Laughs, brubaker, comic, ed brubaker, graphic novel, joker, made of wood, review, the joker, the man who laughs | 3 Comments »

Are Bloggers Critics?

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Darren

Is any profession less secure than film criticism? Really. I mean, I was depressed about the box office success of Transformers 2 as well and was disappointed no one heeded you, but I didn’t begin to doubt my very profession. Similarly I was upset that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was marketed around film critics, but I didn’t become openly petty about you guys not seeing the film for free. This time, it’s the fact that critics are being grouped with bloggers that has prompted a rather severe reaction from some quarters. Is there any point to be made?

The film critic on new media...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: awards daily, bloggers, blogging, criticism, critics, film criticism, films, hollywood elsewhere, indieWire, jeffrey wells, Movies, roger ebert, sasha stone, tiff, toronto international film festival | 34 Comments »

Still Dead Set on Deadpool…

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Darren

Looks like Robert Downey Jnr. isn’t Hollywood’s only two-franchise man at the moment – apparently Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool is still on the cards, at least according to the character’s creator. This is interesting not just because Reynolds will be the leading man in two major superhero productions (and possibly franchises) in the coming years, but also because he will be the first leading man to work with both DC Comics and Marvel Entertainment at the same time. Sure, he was in Blade III, but we don’t count that. It never happened. And I doubt he’d disagree with us on that.

Apparently Green Lantern's secret identity is Deadpool...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: comic book movies, Deadpool, film, green lantern, marvel, Movies, ryan reynolds, x-men, x-men origins: deadpool | Leave a comment »

Tommy Tiernan and the Art of Self-Censorship…

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Darren

Ah, an Irish comedian has said something stupid and distasteful that has garnered massive media attention. Whodda thunk? This time quintessential Navan man Tommy Tiernan chose to make an ill-considered joke about efficiency and the Holocaust at Electric Picnic. Yep. As you can imagine – this being the country that now has an anti-blasphemy law – everyone has jumped all over it, and they’re right to. In fairness, most commentaries have been fairly reasoned, but I still roll my eyes when people talk about how we should have laws to stop these sorts of things. Yes, he shouldn’t have said what he said. But he should be able to.

Up to his neck in it...

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Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: electric picnic, free speech, freedom of speech, holocaust, holocaust denial, self-censorship, stand-up, stand-up comedy, tommy tiernan | 2 Comments »

Non Review Review: Cliffhanger

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Darren

I picked up Cliffhanger on bluray because it was €9 and because I’d never seen it before. My aunt and uncle both suggested that the film would look absolutely stunning in high definition – and they were right. Say waht you (and even I) will about Renny Harlin’s storytelling ability or his difficulties with actors, he does shoot good scenery. The scenery gives the best performance in the film, with the aerial photography give a huge sense of scale to proceedings. Nice mountains, shame about the movie.

No, don't let go! Being in the movie isn't THAT bad...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action movie, cinematography, cliffhanger, films, john lithgow, Movies, non-review review, renny harlin, review, stunts, sylvester stallone | 1 Comment »

The Ambiguous Ending of The Usual Suspects…

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Darren

This post is somewhat prompted by an interesting discussion over at MCarter’s review of The Usual Suspects, concerning the ending. Some people remarked that while they were impressed with the ambiguity of the film, they thought that the ending was just a little bit too clear cut. I have no problem with a definite ending to a film, but I’m not so sure that The Usual Suspects is as open and shut as it might seem. But wait! you protest, as someone who has seen the film, That ending was fairly clear. Maybe it was. But maybe it wasn’t.

The highest quality photo of the "real" Keyser Soze...

Note: Seeing as how this is a discussion on the ending of The Usual Suspects, it will obviously contain spoilers on the film. Don’t read this if you haven’t seen the movie. Really. Go, rent or borrow or buy the movie, watch it and come back – and give us your thoughts. The Usual Suspects is a movie you owe it to yourself not to ruin.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ambiguous, discussion, ending, films, gabriel byrne, keyser soze, kobayashi, Movies, noir, Opinion, Pete Postlethwaite, surprise, suspects, The usual suspects. kevin spacey, twist ending, verbal kint, who is keyser soze | 61 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Good, The Bad & The Weird

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Darren

That was fun. Really, pure unadulterated fun. A skewed trip through the Sergio Leone Westerns with the ingenuity of Raiders of the Lost Ark thrown into the mix, filtered through a modern Tarantino-esque filter of pop cultural awareness and thirst for action and violence. It’s a jumble of a million and one different things, a fresh and mostly original cocktail that leaves a rather pleasant taste in the mouth. If it doesn’t quite measure up to the classics it seeks to emulate, it can take great pleasure in the fact that it is a much more fitting tribute than anything Hollywood has produced in the last two decades.

Naked gun...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Byung-hun Lee, film, Ji-woon Kim, Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom, Kang ho-Song, korean cinema, Movies, non-review review, review, sergio leone, the good the bad and the ugly, the good the bad and the weird, the good the band & the weird, western, world cinema | Leave a comment »

Neil Jordan at Trinity College

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Darren

I had the great pleasure to pop along to a discussion with Neil Jordan hosted by the University Philosophical Society in Trinity College last night. I didn’t have a pen and paper handy, but I did make a few notes on the conversation which at least offer an interesting perspective or two from the Irish autuer. The Phil website normally has recordings of event up fairly promptly, so I’ll add a link to them soon. In the meantime, there are a few interesting thoughts in what the man said.