Darren

Non-Review Review: Alien vs. Predator – Requiem

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of Prometheus in the United States this week, we’ll be taking a look at the other movies in the Alien franchise.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem is pretty close to indefensible. I’m not the biggest fan of the original Alien vs. Predator, but I’ll concede the film throws a few interesting ideas into a disappointingly generic and less-than-enthusiastic monster mash run-around. While the first film wasn’t original, it at least looked to acknowledge its hokeyness in places. In contrast, the sequel is just soul-destroyingly mundane, taking anything that had been unique or compelling or interesting about these two iconic movie monsters and rendering it all completely pointless as it devolves them to the equivalent of generic teenager slasher villains.

Death of a franchise…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alien, alien vs. predator, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Brothers Strause, Ellen Ripley, film, james cameron, Jason Voorhees, Jesus, Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, Movie, non-review review, Paul W.S. Anderson, predator, Prometheus, review, ridley scott | 13 Comments »

Avengers Disassembled: Thor (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Darren

Thor: Disassembled is easily the strongest solo arc to stem from the events in Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers Disassembled. It’s full of interesting and clever ideas about the nature of stories, and serves to wrap up Thor’s story fairly efficiently, leading into the big reshuffle of the Marvel Universe. Rather than merely treading water waiting for J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor, writer Mike Avon Oeming takes advantage of the unique set of circumstances before him to present that rarest type of superhero story: one with an ending.

Thunderbolts and lightening, very, very frighteningly…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, Avenger, brian michael bendis, captain america, dark knight returns, Fandral, green lantern, J. Michael Straczynski, Jane Foster, loki, MarvelUniverse, Mjolnir, spider man, thor, Volstagg | 1 Comment »

Django Unchained Trailer!

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Darren

Hey, it’s the awesome trailer for Django Unchained, which was one of my most anticipated movies of 2012… until Sony moved its UK and Irish release to 2013. Still, it looks pretty awesome. And I think it’s now officially my most anticipated movie of 2013.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: django unchained | 4 Comments »

On Second Thought: Aliens (Director’s Cut)

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of Prometheus in the United States this week, we’ll be taking a look at the other movies in the Alien franchise.

It seems that James Cameron’s Director’s Cut of Aliens is the only alternate cut of an Alien film preferred by any of the directors. Ridley Scott has gone on record stating that he considers Alien: The Director’s Cut to be an “alternative” cut of the film intended for long-time fans. David Fincher has explained that the only way he’d produce a version of Alien³ that he’d be happy with was if he were to shoot it from scratch. Jean-Pierre Jeunet believes that the theatrical cut of Alien: Resurrection is his preferred version of the film. So it seems that Cameron is the only director who has been able to successfully reintegrate material to produce what he feels to be a definitive version of the film.

And, to be honest, I’d agree. Aliens: The Director’s Cut is probably the best example of how to enhance an already superb film through the addition of previously excised material.

On LV-426, everyone can hear you scream…

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Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: alien, Alien Resurrection, Aliens colonial marines, aliens: the director's cut, Cameron, david fincher, directors cut, GameStop, Hudson, james cameron, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, List of Alien characters, Prometheus, ridley scott, Ripley, special edition, United States | 5 Comments »

Avengers Disassembled: Iron Man – Turf War (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Darren

It’s probably true that in comics, like in any other medium, you have a preference towards the stories that brought you into that medium. While I think Marvel was doing some truly exceptional stuff during the early part of the 2000s, like Morrison’s New X-Men or Waid’s Fantastic Four or Garth Ennis’ Marvel Knights: Punisher, I think that the Avengers line of books were all struggling to find a direction. While I have some issues with the clunky crossover- and tie-in-reliant nature of the period, I do think that there was a lot more energy for the Avengers-related titles after Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers Disassembled. Ed Brubaker’s Captain America and J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor can stand alongside the best interpretations of the characters, with Matt Fraction’s later Invincible Iron Man run also standing as a classic Iron Man run.

These Disassembled tie-in issues offer a pretty solid indication of where Marvel’s Avengers comic book line was just before the crossover, and most of them seemed to be in very serious trouble. There are two arcs from The Invincible Iron Man collected here, from two very different teams, and neither seems to know exactly what it is doing.

Iron Man decompressed?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers: disassembled, brian michael bendis, captain america, ed brubaker, Garth Ennis, iron man, J. Michael Straczynski, John Jackson Miller, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel knights, matt fraction, Tony, tony stark | Leave a comment »

Celebrating 100 Years of Paramount in Poster Form…

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Darren

I’m a sucker for a bit of movie nostalgia. To celebrate 100 years of Paramount, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles have released this special and stylish poster counting down many of the iconic films they’ve released over the years. While I’m not too ashamed of how I did, I’ll freely confess that I didn’t quite get all of them. Might make a nice game over the weekend. Anyway, check it out below and click to enlarge. Awesome.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, art, arts, Channing Tatum, Film poster, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Memorabilia, Movie, paramount pictures, paul rudd, poster | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Alien vs. Predator

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of Prometheus in the United States this week, we’ll be taking a look at the other movies in the Alien franchise.

I like cheesy movies. I have a fondness for those old fashioned mix-and-match creature features from back in the day. I have a remarkable tolerance for some of those incredibly awkward B-movie adventures featuring relatively bland characters trapped in a strange and slightly illogical situations. As such, I’m probably a bit fonder of Paul W.S. Anderson’s creature-feature fight-night beat-’em-up schlock-fest Alien vs. Predator. I’m not so fond that I’d argue it’s a good movie – in fact, I’d readily concede that it’s a disappointing lifeless husk of a movie. However, I will concede that there are some interesting concepts and ideas buried quite deeply in the middle of that film.

Natural born predators…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alien, Alien (film), Alien Resurrection, alien vs. predator, Alien vs. Predator (film), aliens, Antarctica, Cameron, Colin Salmon, film, james cameron, John McTiernan, Lance Henriksen, Movie, nick fury, non-review review, Paul W.S. Anderson, predator, predators, review, ridley scott, United States | 10 Comments »

Avengers Disassembled: Captain America (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Darren

The fourth volume of Captain America had a brief but troubled run. Launched on the Marvel Knights imprint by John Nay Rieber, the book was originally intended to follow the eponymous hero as he attempted to make sense of the world after the September 11th attacks. It was precisely as heavy-handed and awkward as you might imagine. After Rieber departed the series, supposedly due to differences with editorial, Chuck Austen arrived to write a story where the US government apparently conspired to freeze Captain America in the block of ice because the hero had discovered plans to use a nuclear weapon. So, when Robert Kirkman was assigned the task of helping the series limp across the finish line so that it could be relaunched as Ed Brubaker’s Captain America, it felt somewhat appropriate that the writer cast the story as a much more conventional and goofy superhero adventure.

A punchy little run?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers: disassembled, captain america, Chuck Austen, Diamondback, ed brubaker, marvel knights, nick fury, robert kirkman | Leave a comment »

Looking at it Sideways: 2012, The Year of Unconventional Franchise Narratives…

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Darren

By now I think we’ve all become quite familiar with the cycle of Hollywood movie franchises. I’m not inherently opposed to the concept – I think that Sturgeon’s Law applies at least as much to original and independent films as it does to big-budget franchise films. The prospect of movie sequels, reboots, prequels and remakes isn’t a new thing, after all. Hollywood has always had a tendency to emulate financially successful movies, finding a way to exploit the movie property to maximise the profit off the back of it. It’s an inherently commercial prospect, but virtually any form of mass media must be in order to be viable. However, I’ve been fascinated with how the Hollywood franchise train seems to be working this year – it seems like we’ve been getting stuff that’s a little different than the conventional reboots, sequels and remakes.

It’s a whole other universe out there…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alien, arts, business, Cinema of the United States, film, Franchising, hollywood, james bond, magneto, Movie, Opportunities, Prometheus, ridley scott, sequel, X-Men: First Class | Leave a comment »

New Bourne Legacy Trailer

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Darren

Hey, here’s the new trailer for The Bourne Legacy. It’s the latest film in the Bourne series (the original trilogy consisting of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremecy and The Bourne Ultimatum). Matt Damon isn’t returning, but the new film will focus on Jeremy Renner, who seems to be having quite a year. The supporting cast is suitably impressive, with David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Albert Finney and Scott Glenn all returning – while adding Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz and Oscar Isaac. (Personally, I’m also actually quite geeked to see Stacey Keach, Željko Ivanek and Corey Stoll playing supporting roles as well.)

Hope you enjoy.

I have to say, I’m intrigued at the approach they’re taking – it looks like this film is being structured as a sort of a “side-quel” to the Bourne series, exploring events from another angle. While it’s very clearly an attempt to get the “Bourne” brand out there, I think it’s a pretty cool way of playing with narrative – it seems structured more intricately than a simple reboot, sequel, prequel or remake.

One of the things I’ve found really fascinating about 2012 as a year in mainstream cinema is the way that the studios have been playing with narrative links. Prometheus wasn’t a direct prequel to Alien, more like a spiritual predecessor. The Avengers isn’t a direct sequel to any of the Marvel films, but rather a composite of story threads flowing from each one. I know people decry the rise of franchise cinema (as if that’s something new), but I thing there’s some interesting stuff going on here. I don’t know quite how it’ll work out, but I am intrigued by the approach.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, bourne ultimatum, David Strathairn, edward norton, jason bourne, jeremy renner, joan allen, matt damon, Oscar Isaac, Stacy Keach, Tony Gilroy | 5 Comments »