April | 2011 | the m0vie blog

X Marks the Spot: Taking the X-Men Back to Relevance…

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Darren

I am quite looking forward to Matthew Vaughan’s upcoming X-Men: First Class, which looks to be the first “retro” superhero film. You could, of course, make the claim that the accolade belongs to Watchmen, which was set in the eighties, but it was an alternate eighties at that – where Nixon was President and big blue men wandered around with their glowing privates on display. However, it’s fascinating that the X-Men are the film franchise to really do that, to actually construct a period piece set amidst the Cuban Missile Crisis while John F. Kennedy was squaring off against the Soviet Union. Perhaps it’s ideal, because the sixties and seventies were undoubtedly the time at which the mutant metaphor was at its most potent.

Click to enlarge...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: chris claremont, Cuban Missile Crisis, grant morrison, john f kennedy, Soviet Union, stan lee, United States, x-men | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Network

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Darren

Network is a compelling condemnation of news television. The black comedy from Sydney Lumet is one of those great movies which actually feels more relevant now (thirty years after it was first released) than it did when it first appeared on the big screen. In particular, while some plot developments are clearly satire, it seems that quite a few moments in the movie seem a lot less ridiculous or fantastical in this day and age than they would have when originally written. It’s a rare movie that can do something like that, and the fact that it’s a lot easier to imagine some of the movie’s jokes coming to pass in this day and age only makes it all the more potent.

Beales appeal...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Archie Bunker, charlie sheen, film, Howard Beale, media, Movies, multimedia, ned beatty, Network, non-review review, Peter Finch, review, Sidney Lumet, Television | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Insidious

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Darren

I’m of two minds about Insidious, the latest entry in the “haunted house” horror subgenre. On one hand, I definitely respect its attempts to return to the roots of these types of films without dwelling on gore for the sake of gore. On the other, it doesn’t seem like the film is entirely certain what to show you when it can’t fill the screen with fountains of blood and guts erupting. Film is obviously a visual medium, but horror is very much an exception to the old maxim “show, don’t tell.” The problem is that Insidious shows too much.

A (para)normal family?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, films, Haunted house, Horror film, Insidious, James Wan, Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, Movies, MTV, non-review review, paranormal activity, review, Rose Byrne, sam raimi, saw | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Legion

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Darren

Imagine The Terminator if you were substitute “heaven” for “the future” and you’d have a good idea of what this movie is about, right down to a mother offering a philosophical closing narration (okay, that’s Terminator II, but still…). Oh, and maybe drop the quality expectations a bit.

Okay, quite a bit.

Don't cross him...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Archangel Michael, Charles S. Dutton, film, Gabriel, god, Kevin Durand, legion, legion (film), Michael (archangel), Movie, non-review review, paul bettany, review, Satan | 4 Comments »

My Knight With Danny McBride

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Darren

After attending the premiere of Your Highness, I got a chance to grab a drink with actor and writer Danny McBride in The Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin. “This place is older than my country,” Danny jokingly observes we take our seats. He promptly explains why we’re gathered in this rather casual faction. “We thought about doing the standard thing, the interview in the hotel room, but we figured it would be a bit awkward with the lights and everything, so we thought we’d just go out and have a drink instead.” And, if there’s one thing about Danny McBride, it’s that the comedian is never awkward. He seems surprisingly at home in this establishment, no sign that he’s been out touring the world promoting his new movie – this could just be a nice after work pint.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: danny mcbride, Eastbound & Down, Fawlty Towers, Garth Ennis, george clooney, Independent Film Channel, iphone, James Franco, marvel knights, Northern Ireland, United States, Your Highness | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Your Highness

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Darren

Your Highness is crass, stupid, vulgar and fun. However, it’s endearingly aware of the fact. I found myself warming to the film quite a bit as I sat down to watch it, somewhat comfortable in the knowledge that Danny McBride’s latest will undoubtedly end up playing on the DVD players of countless college students into the wee hours of the morning for some years to come. It isn’t going to be a film for everyone, but I do think it will find an audience. It’s not perfect or classic, but then none of the films that it is attempting to emulate are. It does succeed in offering a constant and endearing stream of low-brow jokes for its runtime.

The best of the quest?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: danny mcbride, david gordon green, Fantasy film, films, James Franco, Jim Henson, Justin Theroux, Movies, non-review review, Other Guys, review, Your Highness | 6 Comments »

Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition – Volume II (Review)

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Darren

In an effort to prove that comic books aren’t just about men in spandex hitting each other really hard, this month I’m reviewing all of Brian K. Vaughan’s superb Ex Machina. And in June, I’ll be reviewing his Y: The Last Man.

It’s interesting how times change. Ex Machina was originally published in August 2004, written by a New Yorker as something of a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It’s an exploration of a time when the country needed heroes and figureheads more than it needed politicians and diplomats. Is a superhero in Gracie Mansion any more insane than a cowboy in the White House? However, reading it now it’s interesting to see the similarities between Vaughan’s protagonist, the Honorable Mayor Mitchell Hundred, and Barack Obama. It’s the sign of a good storyteller that the tale remains relevant years after initial publication. It’s the sign of a great storyteller that the tale becomes even more relevant in the years that follow.

He's got the whole world, in his hands...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Barack Obama, comic books, Comics, ex machina, Exmachina, fact v. fiction, fact vs. fiction, Gracie Mansion, graphic novels, Great Machine, life & death, life and death, march to war, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor, Mayor of New York City, New York City, off the grid, tony harris, Vaughan | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Rollerball

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Darren

MGM has been running a rather wonderful sci-fi season this past week, screening classics like Robocop along with smaller cult films, like Rollerball. One of the great things about having channels like this that it gives you a chance to sit down and watch what you wouldn’t normally – there’s something specially about stumbling across a gem on television that you might otherwise have missed. In fairness, Rollerball isn’t quite that gem, but it’s an entertaining high concept science-fiction ideas and some great direction, even if it does seem a little bit heavy-handed and cheesy from time to time.

Is Jonathon all burned out?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, films, James Caan, Jonathon, Movie, Movies, non-review review, Norman Jewison, review, Rollerball, star trek, Video game | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Return of the Living Dead

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Darren

Return of the Living Dead is a fairly strange beast. Something of a black comedy spin-off from George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the film is a ridiculously campy exploration of trashy low-rent horror… and yet somehow has been picked up and embraced by popular culture. After all, this is the movie that introduced the idea that zombies weren’t just satiated by consuming large quantities of meat (most often from humans) – this was the film which introduced the idea of zombies stumbling forward, repeatedly droning “braaaaains!” It’s a concept which has been so throughly incorporated into pop culture’s definition of zombie (although it’s rarely the case, we still expect it and recognise it), so it seems strange that it came from a spoof.

No bones about it...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Dan O'Bannon, film, george romero, horror, Horror film, Living Dead, Michael Jackson, Movie, Movies, night of the living dead, non-review review, parody, popular culture, return of the living dead, review, sam raimi, schlock, zombie | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Crimson Tide

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Darren

I love Crimson Tide. It comes from a time when, through my nostalgic eyes, Tony Scott could do no wrong. This was the nineties, when Scott was after directing the under-rated True Romance and on his way to helming the solidly entertaining Enemy of the State. Sure, there was also The Fan in there, but we really don’t talk about that. Part of the appeal of Crimson tide, beyond it’s wonderfully powerful basic premise, is the fact that concept could work as either a powerful Aaron Sorkin stage play, or as a bombastic Michael Bay production – the set-up is such that either approach is possible with the material. Scott manages to straddle the middle, offering a tense action thriller which isn’t afraid to ask a few probing questions about the nature of the chain of command and the morality of blinding following orders.