May | 2010 | the m0vie blog

May in Review

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Darren

When I wake up in the morning, love, and the sun light hurts my eyes…
And something without warning, love, bares heavy on my mind…
Then I look to you (then I look to you), and the world’s alright with me…
Just one look to you and I know it’s gonna be…
A lovely May…

Sorry, for some reason that tune is on my mind. It’s been a fun May. As of the start of the month, we are one year old. That’s like seven in dog years. And speaking of blog-related fun, congratulations to all the LAMMY nominees, a list so prestigious we aren’t even on it. Seriously, these guys are the best at what they do and take the time to show your love.

Otherwise, we did some serious pondering this month – perhaps appropriately given the Lost series finale (which didn’t really answer any question – not that it should have). We wondered whether books such as Watchmen and The Road were ever really “unfilmable”, or if the word even really applied.

We wondered what “success” is for a modern blockbuster after Iron Man 2 succeeded… adequately. That movie also got us thinking as to whether (if or when) movie outlets should refuse to publish spoilers.

We also took part in two rather wonderful blogothons. The one run by Mike over at You Talking to Me charting the movies that made going to the cinema suck (I took Spider-Man and Toy Story, for my sins) and a musical marathon blogothon over at Encore’s World of Film & Television (I nominated The Lion King). Both entries feature top draw talent and are well worth your time.

As an aside – this seems the place to mention it – my life has gotten a bit hectic of late, with work and life and stuff. I have taken to drafting articles over the weekend before publishing them, and letting them go out at two-a-day. I hope I can keep this up, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m still here. I sort through the comments whenever I can find an hour or two to set aside (once or twice a week) and I’m really grateful to everyone who comes here. I don’t get a chance to reply as swiftly as I would like, but I do try to reply to every comment here. Anyway, I said it in my birthday post and I’ll say it again – thanks for stopping by, it’s much appreciated.

Filed under: Months in Review | Tagged: may, may in review, month in review | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Battlestar Galactica – The Plan

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Darren

It’s a lie. For the first few years, Battlestar Galactica sold itself as a grand mythology. Every episode, in a narration repeated at the start of this film, we were reintroduced to the Cylons and reassured that “They have plan”. Except they didn’t. The show was written year-to-year, with no overarching scheme behind it all. This isn’t a criticism, but an observation. For most of its four year run, the show was the best thing on television. The series finale was a major disappointment but – for the most part – the design worked. So labelling this spin-off as Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is at best a little bit cheeky. At worst it’s a downright lie.

Relax, it's not the end of the world...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: battlestar galactica, battlestar galactica: the plan, cavils, cylons, dean stockwell, film, humans, Movie, non-review review, ones, review, science fiction, the plan, tv, twos | 8 Comments »

Chorus Lion: The Musical Magic of the Lion King…

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Darren

Thanks to the ever wonderful Andrew who is running a mini-blogothon event this weekend. I’m delighted to have been asked to take part, and I’m sure there are some interesting choices being made.

When you mention “musical”, is it a cheat to think “Disney”? I’m not really sure. I mean, I could point to any number of iconic and important live-action musicals. The Wizard of Oz is perhaps the most enduring of these, but they run the gauntlet from quirky indie numbers like Romance & Cigarettes to bona fides Oscar winners like Chicago. There’s ones that have transitioned from stage to screen and those who have gone from cinema to theatre. However, for me, it has to be a Disney film. And not just because they own a monopoly on my childhood. And, if it’s going to be a Disney film, it has to be The Lion King.

Pride and joy...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: be prepared, circle of life, disney, elton john, musical, simba, the circle of life, the lion king | 10 Comments »

Irish-Exclusive Get Him To The Greek Clip…

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Darren

Thanks to the guys over at Universal Pictures Ireland, check out this Irish-exclusive web clip from the upcoming Russell Brand and Jonah Hill film Get Him to The Greek, the spin-off from the rather wonderful Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It is probably our most anticipated comedy of the year. Give the clip a look below, and put the candy in the jar. Parental advisory.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: clip, comedy, get him to the greek, jonah hill, russell brand, universal pictures ireland | 14 Comments »

Gotta Have Faith: It’s a Wonderful Afterlife…

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Darren

Well I guess it would be nice…

Battlestar Galactica has a lot to answer for. It seems that religious-themed endings are now in vogue again, at least for mindbending television shows of choice. Both Ashes to Ashes and Lost came to an end within days of each other last week, and both included some fairly noticeable religious themes in their finales. Has religion somehow become a non-taboo subject on mainstream television?

Go in peace...

Note: As the introduction suggests, this article will contain spoilers for the finales of Ashes to Ashes and Lost. I’m posting it about now because I figure that anybody who wanted to watch them has had the chance.
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: afterlife, ashes to ashes, happy endings, happy ever after, lost, purgatory, religion, spirituality, Television | 4 Comments »

Ashes to Ashes: Dust to Dust…

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Darren

My name is Alex Drake… and your guess is as good as mine.

– Alex introduces us to the third season

Ashes and Ashes wound up last week. It seems to be the time of year for shows wrapping up. I could remark on how I’m hooked on this eclectic collection of British and American shows, but can’t find a decent Irish television show to watch week-in-and-week-out, but I’ll save that rant. It would appear that we have seen the last of the iconic Gene Hunt. And, you know what, it was nice. As nice as an attempt to give the old-fashioned politically-incorrect copper some closure could ever really be.

Gene Hunt takes some parting shots...

Note: This article will discuss the final episode of Ashes to Ashes and also has the capicity to retroactively spoil Life on Mars. You have been warned.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: ashes to ashes, ashes to ashes finale, ashes to ashes series three, bbc, finale, gene hunt, philip glenister, purgatory, religion, review, Television | 4 Comments »

Trailing Off: Movie Trailer Music…

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Darren

Damn it. It’s happened again. About once a year, I’ll watch a trailer and something will stay with me. Not necessarily a line (though the sheer eighties-tastic-ness of the “How do we kill them?”/“How ever you can” exchange from the Predators trailer keeps bouncing around inside my head), but just something. Sometimes it’s a stunning image that inevitably looks better all isolated and alone within the trailer, but sometimes it’s a piece of music. I’m not talking about that stupid “let’s sample a pop song” mentallity that is the fare of comedies or romances or heart-rendering dramas, I’m talking about some solid instrumental work. Last year it was the rather wonderful “Two Steps from Hell” from the trailer to Star Trek. This year, it’s the wonderful and ominous and “could easily be written by frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer” tune “Mind Heist” from the Inception trailer which I raved about last week. It’s embedded below and well worth a listen.

It’s amazing what we remember, isn’t it? I’m quite partial to the “Hello Zepp” from Saw, for example, and the variations that Charlie Closer has done for the sequels. Which is odd, because I’m not a huge fan of the sequels (though I really dug the originals). Of course, in my humble opinion, the best ambient sound track ever has to “Crockett’s Theme” from Miami Vice. I don’t care about the allegators or the fashion, it is a damn travesty that this beautiful piece of music wasn’t ported over from the television show into the big screen adaptation.

What’s your ambient film music of choice?

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ambient music, crockett's theme, film, film music, Inception, mind heist, trailer, trailer music | 5 Comments »

Does Machete Matter?

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Darren

I imagine that Robert Rodriguez was bracing himself for controversy over his new film Machete. Given the uproar that the use of foul language in Kick-Ass caused, I think it’s safe to say that Rodriguez’s retro “mexploitation” film was just asking for trouble when it came out. I anticipated a lot of politically correct discussions about the film’s premise, and potentially some discussions of negative stereotypes it might evoke. However, I certainly could not have suspected that it would provoke some sort of “race war”.

Knife to see you...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arizona, exploitation, films, immigration, machete, mexploitation, Movies, politics, pressure, racism, robert rodriguez | 17 Comments »

You All Everybody: The Series Finale of Lost…

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Darren

Those of us looking for an explanation of what the island is, how throwing a body down a well creates a smoke monster or why Locke getting off the island was a bad idea were undoubtedly a little disappointed (as I predicted they would be). In fact, I’ve spoken to a few at work, so I know that they are disappointed. However, I was still quite taken with The End, because it was… well, an end. It was a fitting coda to the series, wrapping up most of the major character arcs and giving the audience a sense of closure.

Excuse me, I was Lost in your eyes...

Note: This post will contain spoilers for the final episode of Lost which has already aired worldwide. Still, consider yourselves warned.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: jack, jacob, locke, lost, lost finale, lost the end, Television, the end, the island, the smoke monster | 4 Comments »

They’re Adapting: Why is “Unfilmable” Such a Dirty Word?

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Darren

The word “unfilmable” is thrown around a lot these days. Mostly quite unfairly, but sometimes somewhat justly. It’s typically used as a go to word when somebody is genuinely terrified of what an adaptation of a certain work may look like, but don’t want to concede that the thought of what Hollywood will do to a clever and insightful idea chills them to the very bone (this is the system which turned down a chance to make Fahrenheit 451 because they couldn’t sell it to thirteen year olds). However, the word itself simply suggests that there are some ideas, stories, narratives, presentations, whatever that simply can’t be transitioned from one format to another – here, of course, the other is always cinema or television. So, is it ever fair to describe something is “unfilmable” and is there any shame in the idea?