January | 2012 | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Darren

The feature debut from director Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene, is a shockingly powerful piece of cinema. Deeply unpleasant and uncannily unsettling, Durkin’s debut is occasionally a bit awkwardly paced, but is intensely gripping for most of its runtime. While the film is making waves for a breakout performance from Elizabeth Olsen, it’s John Hawkes who steals the show as the enigmatic and sinister cult leader, known only as Patrick.

A cult film...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Charles Manson, cult, Durkin, Elizabeth Olsen, film, John Hawkes, Martha, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Movie, Patrick, review | 4 Comments »

Matthew Broderick’s Day Off…

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Darren

Part of me would love to watch the Super Bowl. Not for the American football, of course – I could make less sense of that than I can of soccer. For the advertisements. With a huge audience and incredibly expensive airtime, those investing in advertising spots tend to bring their “a-game.” This year, for instance, we have the below clip, which sees Matthew Broderick effectively re-living his most iconic role, skipping work. Of course, the Honda CR-V isn’t nearly as cool as Cameron’s father’s convertible, but we’ll chalk that up to suspension of disbelief, right?

I love the way that they actually use Yell-O’s Oh Yeah.

And it’s worth remembering last year’s stand-out spot, the famous Darth Vader commercial, which is only now airing in Irish cinemas. Yes, it’s taken us a year to receive the cast-offs of last year’s football.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: advertising, American football, ferris buellers day off, Honda, Honda CR-V, Matthew Broderick, matthew broderick's day off, matthew's day off, Super Bowl, Super Bowl advertising | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Young Adult

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Darren

Young Adult is a good film, even if it falls short of greatness. It has a wonderfully engaging premise, and a set of truly wonderful leading performances from Patton Oswalt and Charlize Theron. It is also, for most of its runtime, a very compelling and brave examination of a very flawed protagonist. For the first two-thirds of the film, it invites us to follow a truly loathsome lead character, one with very few redeeming features. Unfortunately, this rather gutsy set-up is undermined by a fairly shallow attempt to justify and rationalise her flaws in the movie’s third act.

Homecoming queen?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Buddy, charlize theron, Elizabeth Reaser, film, Mavis, Movie, non-review review, patrick wilson, Patton Oswalt, review, Theron, Young Adult | 5 Comments »

Going Against the Grain: Unpopular Movie Opinions…

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Darren

I quite liked J. Edgar. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think it was perfect or anything like that, but I thought it was an interesting piece of cinema that clearly articulated Eastwood’s views on twentieth century America, fitting as part of a tapestry the director had crafted exploring the country’s history. However, I still feel a little uncertain about my opinion. After all, it seems that most critics quite disliked it. I know that anybody writing or discussing film is required to formulate their own opinion, but there is a strange feeling that comes with disagreeing with the majority opinion. While the world wouldn’t be an interesting place if we all agreed, it’s sometimes hard to reconcile the individual’s opinion against that of the critical majority.

Suits you, sir...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: armond white, films, fresh, J Edgar, majority, Majority opinion, Movie, Movies, Opinion, Piggy Bank, Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, reviews, rotten, rotten tomatoes, toy story 3, United States | 11 Comments »

Dirty Dancing at the Grand Canal Theatre (Review)

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Darren

It’s hard to fault Dirty Dancing Live, the latest in a long line of screen-to-stage translations of popular works. It’s not exactly bold, or challenging, or excessively original – but the stage show has a sense of style that fits the material, and an ensemble who can really move. Between that and a handsome leading man in Paul-Michael Jones, it should have everything necessary to satisfy the target audience – even if it won’t really convert to many skeptics.

Try to catch him dancin' dirty...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: arts, Dirty Dancign Live, dirty dancing, grand canal theatre, Johnny Castle, Lady Gaga, Manchester, Patrick Swayze, Paul-Michael Jones, star wars, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Darren

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is probably the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. I’ll admit that I probably skew a little bit towards it, what with being a fan of cheesy horror movies and a sucker for a high concept comedy, but Eli Craig’s cinematic debut feature is a masterful comedic deconstruction of the conventional horror film, daring to turn genre conventions on their head and ask: why do we always side with the college students in these sorts of films?

What a waist...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alan Tudyk, Dale, Eli Craig, film, Hills Have Eyes, Horror film, Movie, non-review review, review, Tucker, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, Tyler Labine, wes craven | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Paul

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Darren

Paul is a charming little film. It’s not the most consistently hilarious comedy of the year, and it occasionally gets a little bit too hung up on a particular joke, but it does have a few chuckles and an affable quality that allows it go down easy. There’s a genuine sense of affection in the film, following two British nerds and the eponymous alien escapee on a road trip across America, but there’s also enough of a bite the film never wallows too much in sentimentality. It’s hard to find a single quality that Paul excels in, but it has a broad enough mesh of qualities that it makes for a pleasant enough viewing experience.

Ap-paul-ling behaviour...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: andy serkis, Bob Clampett, Charles Darwin, Computer-generated imagery, film, Frost, Hot Fuzz, Movie, non-review review, Paul, review, Richard Hammond, rise of the planet of the apes, Seth Rogen, Southern United States, United States | 6 Comments »

Pointing Eastwood: Clint Eastwood’s Moral Compass…

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Darren

Clint Eastwood is a fascinating director. It’s hard to imagine, watching those early Spaghetti Westerns, that the badass cowboy would emerge as one of the great American directors. To be honest, while he wasn’t the first major actor to work behind the camera, I think that Eastwood really paved the way for established actors being taken seriously as directors. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by Eastwood’s work, even when it isn’t necessarily completely satisfying as a viewing experience. I’ve still found something interesting and compelling in most of his films, even if they aren’t brilliant in and of themselves. I think that Eastwood manages a thematic consistency that’s very rare these days, and it’s possible to see a lot of the director’s moral philosophy in his work.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Blood Work, Brían F. O'Byrne, Christopher Carley, Clint Eastwood, conscience, eastwood, films, generation, Gran Torino, J Edgar, Million Dollar Baby, morality, Movies, mystic river, nelson mandela, old, themes, young | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: My Cousin Vinny

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Darren

My Cousin Vinny still works after all these years, I think, because it’s pretty broad and universal in its humour. It’s essentially two types of fish-out-of-water film blended together, simultaneously documenting a street-smart guy tangling with the red tape of legal bureaucracy, and offering a standard city-slickers adventure with “Noo Yawker” Vinny and his girlfriend adjusting to life in the Deep South. My Cousin Vinny is funny and frank, but never offensively so. It’s aware that it’s trading in caricatures and stereotypes, but never seems too mean in its portrayal of anybody.

Giving the legal system the fingers...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alabama, Crime and Justice, film, Humor, Jersey Shore, Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Movie, My Cousin Vinny, non-review review, review, Tomei, Vincent Gambini, Vinny | Leave a comment »

Academy Awards 2012: The Insiders’ Oscars…

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Darren

That was… underwhelming. I mean, I think I’m relatively happy with most of the nominees, and there’s very little I can vehemently object to as completely unworthy in yesterday’s Oscar nominations, but still… Yesterday’s Oscar nominations felt decidedly insular, as if the Academy had taken a complete U-turn on any of the amendments that had recently been made in an attempt to broaden the Academy’s horizons. The Oscars have always been a party thrown by the movie industry to celebrate themselves, but this year’s nominations feel increasingly isolated, with nominations and lists populated with the safest and most predictable choices. This is the first year in quite some time that there hasn’t been anything as pleasantly refreshing as the Best Picture nomination for District 9 or Toy Story 3.