Posted on December 1, 2009 by Darren
Well, the first four episodes of V have aired now. It’ll be 2010 (March, I believe) before we see any further action on that front. It seems like a very long break if the show wants to retain its audience (we’re talking the bones of four/five months – a third of a year), but it probably makes sense since ABC decided to clean house behind the scenes. And – looking back over the first four episodes, it seems like a necessary decision. Despite the Obama-centric publicity which followed the first episode, I don’t think I’m alone in being a little bit disappointed with the initial run. Being honest, there are a whole rake of problems with the episodes that have aired, but these are typified by one thing that everyone I’ve been talking to over the past few weeks has observed: it needs more lizards.
I always found Diana oddly a-peeling
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: aliens, anna, diana, invasion, lizards, rats, series, Television, tv, v, v (2009), visitors | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Darren
It was a relatively quiet month, maybe because Christmas is already being pushed down our throats, maybe because of a million and one things going in the real world.
On the home front, we considered the rant against the ‘hypocrisy’ of Pat Kenny.
Internationally, we looked at the notion of retirement in Hollywood (and why everyone should have three or four) and the on-going craze adapting video games. And is the new series of V really a commentary on Obama-mania?
We also discovered the only object which could withstand Roland Emmerich’s apocalypse in 2012: Mecca.
Filed under: Months in Review | Tagged: months, Months in Review, november | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Darren
Who would have thought that the writers’ strike last year would have been a blessing in disguise? Not only did the condensing down of seasons of House and Lost give the series a tighter narrative flow, but we also got the highest-profile “web original” series ever written. It may have been somewhat disingenous of Time to name this little musical masterpiece “one of the best inventions of 2008” – as there have been web-based series before – but what is astounding is how well this little drama stands on its own. Produced with a shoestring budget using favours called in from all over the industry as a means of artistic expression circumventing the studio system (which was being boycotted by the strike), Joss Whedon continues to demonstrate his cult credentials with another sure-fire geek hit.
The doctor will see you now...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: doctor horrible's sing-along blog, dr. horrible, dr. horrible's sing-along blog, felicia day, joss whedon, musical, nathan fillon, neil patrick harris, non-review review, review, superhero, supervillain, web original | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Darren
You have to admit that the premise, at least, is intriguing. Maybe the execution is less so, but the basic premise (a martial arts movie directed by maestro wordsmith David Mamet) deserves at least a little consideration. In fairness, the movie plays its cards pretty well. It’s populated with kind of deceit and self-deceit which we have come to expect from the characters which Mamet presents to us on a regular basis. It’s a grim and dark and seedy world, even underneath those bright lights. The problem is that the movie’s core appeal (articulated in its title, premise and marketing) of a martial arts movie simply cannot deliver in that environment. These two facets of the movie lock themselves in mortal combat like two prize fighters in the ring: Mamet’s cynicism and human drama facing off against the requisite showiness and razzle-dazzle of martial arts. At one point a character suggests that the money is in a draw (since a rematch is a huge moneyspinner), and maybe that’s why we get no winner here. We don’t even get an entertaining struggle.
The blows come as quick as the dialogue and are almost as sharp...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: david mamet, film, martial arts film, Movie, non-review review, play, red belt, redbelt, review, tim allen | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 29, 2009 by Darren
Is just me, or are the Judd Atapow machine comedies getting crasser and crasser? Sure, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up weren’t exactly incredibly clean pieces of comedy, but they certanly demonstrated far more maturity than most of the recent output from that particular comedy factory – for better or worse. It’s just hard to find bodily function jokes and profanity funny for their own sake, and – if that is the measure of humour these days – that sort of humour is a dime-a-dozen these days. That’s not to say that Step-Brothers is entirely without charm (it has more than a few engaging moments), but just that it seems to think that appealing to the lowest common denominator is a legitimate form of comedy when it can’t think of anything better to do.
Brothers in arms...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adam mckay, comedy, film, funny, john c. reilly, man-child, manchild, Movie, non-review review, review, step-brothers, stepbrothers, will ferrell | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 28, 2009 by Darren
I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Batman. I mean, I hate what the series became with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, but I think that Burton managed to craft a unique and yet suitable visual and design aesthetic for the character and his world, while Keaton managed to embody a tragic Batman who really seems quite distinct from most iterations either before or since. While I wouldn’t argue this take on Batman should be “definitive”, or that it fits as comfortably as Nolan’s Batman Begins or even Batman: The Animated Series, I do think it’s a valid and intriguing exploration of one of pop culture’s most enduring and evolving characters.
Full moon…
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman 1989, batman 89, Christopher Nolan, danny elfman, green goblin, jack nicholson, joker, michael keaton, Movie, non-review review, review, tim burton | 3 Comments »
Posted on November 27, 2009 by Darren
My mum can’t watch horror films. She just can’t. Even if they aren’t that scary. Even if they are horror-comedies or versions of stories she’s heard before. She can’t even be in the same room when they’re on – even if nothing actually horrific is happening. It turns out that – in her youth, while an au pair in Belgium – one of her friends convinced her to see a movie playing in the local cinema. A film about a family in a hotel over the winter, starring Jack Nicholson. That movie scared her to death, and has arguably scared her ever since.
That movie is – if you haven’t gathered from the title of this post and the plot description – The Shining.
Baby, it's cold outside...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, ghosts, haunted, haunted hotel, horror, hotel, jack nicholson, Movie, non-review review, overlook hotel, review, stephen king, the shining | 4 Comments »
Posted on November 26, 2009 by Darren
What we’ve got here is a solid, old-fashioned ghost story with more restraint and grace than any number of Hollywood shockers. A slow, moody and intense look at the collapsing marital relationship between Claire and Norman Spencer after their daughter goes to college, it takes its time getting were it’s going, but manages to seem a classy flick.
I was also shivering a bit after watching the movie...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, ghosts, harrison ford, hitchcock, horror, michelle pfeiffer, Movie, non-review review, review, robert zemickis, what lies beneath | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 25, 2009 by Darren
What an odd film. It’s bright and colourful and simplistic and airs on Sky Family and full of Robin Williams flailing around in a way that is sure to impress small children. On the other hand, it features a lot of curse words, some rather disturbing violence and fairly explicit sexual references (including a father-son-nurse romantic triangle, escalated by a pity shag). It’s arguably too plain and niave to draw in an adult audience (with Barry Levinson of all people pioneering the MTV school of film-making for audiences with ADHD) and yet too adult and sophisticated for children. Who is going to want to play with these toys?
Oh, ball(s)...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: barry levinson, film, joan cusack, ll cool j, merchandising, michael gambon, Movies, non-review review, review, robin williams, toy factory, toys | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 23, 2009 by Darren
“Never underestimate the sentimentality of a Scotsman, Clark.”
– Batman knows how much Morrison likes comics
‘Tis the season for ever-so-slightly oversized hardback editions, what with DC reissuing the entire run of Starman and this re-release of the relaunch of the original superteam. The fact that they can put creator extraordinaire Grant Morrison’s name on the cover surely isn’t a problem either. Nor is the fact that the book (under his stewardship) was one of the best selling comic books of the nineties. So, what aren’t I getting here? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a perfectly adequate book (that isn’t necessarily as smart as it thinks it is), but it’s not gold. It moves at the speed of the Flash and seems intent to throw ideas at the reader at headache-inducing speed. It’s solid, reliable and it manages to recreate the zany madness that defined the group, but it never seems to completely transcend it. And it just keeps trying.
Rocking your world...
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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, comic books, darkseid, dc comics, dc universe, deluxe edition, elseworlds, flash, grant morrison, green lantern, imaginary stories, invaders from mars, jla, jla: deluxe edition, jla: secret origin, justice league, justice league of america, morrison, rock of ages, secret origin, superman, the day the earth stood still, them! | 6 Comments »
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