Posted on April 30, 2010 by Darren
Legacy. It’s all about legacy. What we leave for our children and what we inherit from our parents. Sometimes it’s bitterness and hatred, sometimes it’s more than we think. Iron Man as a concept is inherently linked to the Cold War and American foreign policy, so it’s a fitting theme for the sequel to tackle. Fathers and sons dominate the film, as does the simple and haunting fact that the now is shaped by the then. Some of us get to change the world, some of us simply leave big smoking craters behind us. Even the bad guy, a Russian, consciously evokes conflicts fading from memory that shaped our modern world.
Sometimes you just need to slow down and take a break...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: black widow, blockbuster, don cheadle, film, iron man, iron man 2, ivan vanko, jon favreau, justin hammer, marvel, Mickey Rourke, Movie, natasha romanov, nick fury, non-review review, review, robert downey, robert downey jnr., robert downey jr, sam rockwell, samuel l. jackson, scarlett johansson, tony stark, war machine, whiplash | 10 Comments »
Posted on April 29, 2010 by Darren
This is the poster for Buried, the indie thriller which is based around the idea of Ryan Reynolds being buried alive. I love a good high concept thriller (think Phone Booth or Cellular, for example) – but I especially love a cool high concept poster.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: buried, films, Movies, poster, ryan reynolds | 10 Comments »
Posted on April 29, 2010 by Darren
Date Night is a perfectly okay film (okay, maybe a tinsy bit better than “perfectly okay”, but “a tinsy bit better than than a perfectly okay film” just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as it should). It essentially coasts off its deliciously old-school comedy-of-errors premise and the charisma of its two leading actors (plus their ensemble of cameo! friends), while never really trying too hard or ever really hitting a note of pitch perfect comic genius. There are no lines you’ll be quoting to yourself for weeks afterwards (except maybe “kill shot!” every time somebody tilts their sideways gun at you – but I’ll assume that doesn’t happen too often).
Their date night is about to become a late night...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: comedy, date night, film, Movie, non-review review, review, shaun levy, steve carrell, tina fey | 7 Comments »
Posted on April 28, 2010 by Darren
I’ve been thinking a bit lately about how I write my “non-review reviews” and what I make of a given film and so on. In particular, I’ve been wondering if I should start offering some form of “grade” to my reviews, like some sort of overzealous teacher – “this film has Darren’s seal of approval!” The thing is, I’m not quite sure if I should.
Stars in my eyes...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: film, grades, Movie, Movies, points, ratings, reviewing, reviews, stars | 12 Comments »
Posted on April 28, 2010 by Darren
What is it about the X-Men and crapsack futures? Mark Millar has taken everybody’s favourite feral anti-hero and dropped him in his own particular horrible future. Old Man Logan takes a familiar Millar conceit – “what if the bad guys won?” – and applies it to the familiar Marvel Universe. Of course, this being Millar, he’s piled even more horror and crappiness on top of that, giving us an inbred Hulk family and wild dinosaurs, but it’s an idea that many will recognise from his own Wanted, among other works. Of course, this being a Wolverine book, we follow the familiar antihero as he attempts to navigate post-apocalyptic America (divided into four kingdoms) while delivering a mysterious package with former Avenger Hawkeye.
A hulkin' good time...
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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, arts, comic book, dark knight returns, mark millar, marvel comics, marvel universe, old man logan, Red Skull, steve mcniven, wolverine, x-men | 8 Comments »
Posted on April 27, 2010 by Darren
The Time of Angels aired on Saturday on BBC and managed to singlehandedly demonstrate that Stephen Moffat is the master of scary Doctor Who and also that the show’s budget cuts were nowhere near crippling. Looking absolutely stunning in High Definition and looking every part, as Moffat alluded, like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster, The Time of Angels also offered the second appearance of Moffat’s own creation, the Weeping Angels, following their initial appearance in Blink a few years back. Part of me wonders if Moffat has, four hours into his first season, done what Russell T. Davies spent his entire run attempting – has he introduced a classic recurring Doctor Who monster?
Angels and demons...
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc television, blink, doctor who, flesh and stone, stephen moffat, the time of angels, the weeping angels | 2 Comments »
Posted on April 26, 2010 by Darren
Avatar is already the fastest selling Blu Ray of all time, knocking The Dark Knight from its perch. But what really struck me is how close the Blu Ray sales figures – estimated at 2.7m – are closing in on the DVD numbers – 4m. Could Avatar not only save the planet, but also the home media format?
Blue Ray?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, blu ray, bluray, DVD, dvds, home media, records, sales, vhs | 14 Comments »
Posted on April 26, 2010 by Darren
I hope you aren’t tired of comic book movies, because it seems like the past few summers have just been an attempt to whet our appetites for even more of the four-colour heroes. Marvel, ever keen to stay one step ahead of their “distinguished competitor”, have announced a scheme to allow the less well-known of their characters a day in the spotlight. DC is still struggling to get its iconic heroes to the screen, let alone put together a coherent shared universe, and Marvel is already scouring the depths of its published materials for new films. I have to admit, I’m kinda excited about the news.
Who's next?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: comic book films, comic books, dc, film, genre, marvel, Movies, subgenre, superheroes | 7 Comments »
Posted on April 25, 2010 by Darren
I love Gift Grub. I really do. Due to traveling arrangements to work, I seldom get to hear it on the radio any more, so I jumped at the chance to see it live in Drogheda. For those unfamiliar with the concept, they’re a series of softly satirical sketches which run on the commercial radio station Today FM, gently mocking all manner of high profile Irish figures – begining with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and gradually ballooning out to cover Ronan Keating, Roy Keane and even international celebrities like Jose Mourinho. The series of sketches have enjoyed all manner of successes, even releasing singles ‘Jose and his Technicolour Overcoat’ and Keane’s ‘I Think I’d Better Leave Right Now’. The audience last night was treated to fantastic renditions over both songs, including an encore of Technicolour Overcoat (with karaoke ‘woah-oh’ thrown in). It was a good night.
Infacta...
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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: bertie, bertie ahern, drogheda, gift grub, gift grub live, keith duffy, liveline, mario rosenstock | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 24, 2010 by Darren
Myself and the better half had the pleasure of taking in a show in the national theatre last night. Director Jimmy Fay has brought Shakespeare’s MacBeth, the play known in the industry as “the Scottish play”, to the stage. I studied MacBeth in secondary school, as one of the big four tragedies. I would have rather studied Othello or Hamlet, but at least it wasn’t King Lear. We had high hopes in settling into our seats for the full performance – Fay had brought The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui to the stage only last year in a show that remains perhaps my favourite of all the plays I have seen at the Abbey. Did MacBeth live up to those expectations?
"Something wicked this way comes..."
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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: abbey, aidan kelly, dublin, eileen walsh, jimmy fay, macbeth, macbeth at the abbey, play, review, shakespeare, the abbey, the abbey theatre, Theatre | 3 Comments »
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