Michael Gambon is great. He really is. I’d pay to watch Michael Gambon sit on stage for an hour. Hell, I’d pay to see Michael Gambon eat a banana, he’s that good. And, thanks to the Gate Theatre and Samuel Beckett, now I can.
A name like "Krapp" just invites punning...
Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: beckett, dublin, gate, gate theatre, krapp, krapp's last tape, michael gambon, samuel beckett, the gate, the gate theatre | Leave a comment »
I’m sucker for things that go bump in the night. It’s a personal thing. Some people are inherently weirded out by the very idea of zombies or insects or serial killers, but it’s ghosts (or demons or “spiritual presences” or whatever euphemism you wish to use) in their purest forms which terrify me. It’s a matter of personal horror preference – I can (admittedly reluctantly) take copious amounts of gore and graphic violence and, while I may flinch, I’ll shrug it off. It may get me while I’m watching it and I may even look away like a big baby, but it doesn’t really bother me. Give me something just a bit more abstract and I’ll spend the night shivering. So Paranormal Activity was right up my street, then?
A new house can be hell on a relationship...
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, horror, Movies, non-review review, paranormal activity, review | 9 Comments »
I’m on a bit of a Wolverine binge at the moment. I got the quite enjoyable Old Man Logan last week and am slowly working my way through the Wolverine Omnibus at the moment. I would have picked up Enemy of the State if it had a nice hardback version. But such is life. I figured I’d dip my toes into Marvel’s Ultimate line. Basically a shrewd marketing decision to launch all their titles from scratch – the hope being that the line could attract readers alienated by decades of continuity in mainstream comics. The experiment was a bit of a mixed success – Ultimate Spider-Man might be the most successful interpretation of the web-slinger this decade, but Ultimate X-Men left a lot to be desired. However, this continuity-free playground offered Marvel a chance to do two things: invite big-name film and television writers to handle their properties (such as allowing Lost scribe Brian K. Vaughan and Heroes writer Aron E. Coleite to work on Ultimate X-Men), but also to shameless release miniseries to capitalise on their big screen projects. Released between the big screen adaptations of The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and featuring the work of Star Trek co-writer Damon Lindelof, this series attempts to do both. Does it succeed?
It's a game of two halves...
Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Comics, damon lindelof, leinil francis yu, marvel, marvel comics, review, ultimate hulk, ultimate marvel, ultimate universe, ultimate wolverine, ultimate wolverine vs. hulk, ultimate x-men, wolverine vs. hulk | Leave a comment »
It’s hard to believe in retrospect, but the movie that kick started the whole superhero movie subgenre is nothing but a gigantic, big budget B-movie. And, trust me, that’s a compliment.
I guess this is a web review (geddit?)...
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, green goblin, jk simmons, marvel, Movies, non-review review, review, sam raimi, spider man, willem dafoe | 6 Comments »
This is one of my entries on the latest cross-blogging event, tracking down some of the most overrated movies of all time. It’s being run by Mike over at You Talking to Me. I can’t spoil the list by giving you any of the other titles, but I can tell you another entry will be appearing on this very blog before the week is out.
Let me pitch you a scene. It’s early 2002. There’s a whole rank of huge blockbusters looming. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Star Wars: Episode II; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Austin Powers in Goldmember; Men in Black II; Ice Age. And then there’s a strange one. Spider-Man, from that guy who made The Evil Dead. Really? Sure, Richard Donner’s Superman was great, but that was decades ago. Joel Schumacher had killed the Batman franchise only a few years back. That Bryan Singer fella had proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder with X-Men, but it wasn’t exactly box office gold (only the eighth biggest film of 2000). Comic book movies were a strange proposition – transitioning the characters to the big screen just didn’t work naturally. Somethings aren’t meant to be adapted.
Has Spider-Man Blackened the Name of all Superhero Films?
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blogging, comic book, comic book films, comic books, daredevil, films, Movie, Movies, spider man, spider-man 2, spider-man 3, spider-man ii, spider-man iii, superhero movies, superheroes | 10 Comments »
This post comes about from a bit of a debate that has emerged following the revelation of certain spoilers about Iron Man 2. Given that the movie is just out state side, I’m not going to spoil it for anyone stumbling across this page. I just find it an interesting abstract discussion: Are movie spoilers news? Or should web news outlets simply refuse on principle to publish these sorts of rumours?
Nick Fury has his eye on you...
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: CHUD, films, iron man, iron man 2, Movies, secret endings, spoiler tags, spoiler warnings, spoilers | 6 Comments »
“Love,” someone suggests at a key moment in Joss Whedon’s big screen sequel to his cult television show Firefly, is what keeps a ship afloat, “Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she’s hurtin’ ‘fore she keens. Makes her a home.” In a way, it’s hard not to feel that he could just as easily be talking about this particular movie adaptation. Serenity is a movie which by all rights shouldn’t exist. Based on a television show unfairly cancelled by a network which couldn’t bring itself to offer it a fighting chance, it seems odd to see the series transitioned to the big screen in search of closure. The movie is itself an act of love – an act early in the film confused (understandably) with madness – love for the show, for its concepts and for those who gave it the benefit of the doubt that its own producers couldn’t.
Thank god there's a master at the helm...
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: chiwetel ejiofor, film, firefly, joss whedon, malcolm reynolds, Movie, nathan filllon, non-review review, review, serenity, Television | 8 Comments »
And we are a year old today! 557 posts, quite a lot of words and a great deal of fun. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read us, thank you to all our friends and thank you to those people (especially the individual known as “the better half”) who have offered nothing but patience and encouragement. But that’s enough from me. Let’s get on the blogging. Woot!
We like to have our cake and eat it...
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: anniversary, happy birthday, one year old | 18 Comments »
Hey, I’ve been tagged by the always fantastic Aidan at Cut the Crap Movie Reviews to take part in a little movie-meme-related madness. This time it’s an interview-style questionaire. Can I phone a friend?
Over dramatic? Moi? Never!
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: me, meme, Movies, trivia | 12 Comments »
the m0vie blog 