Darren

X-Men by Jim Lee and Chris Claremont (and Marc Silvestri) Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Darren

With our month looking at Avengers comics officially over, we thought it might be fun to dig into that other iconic Marvel property, the X-Men. Join us for a month of X-Men related reviews and discussion.

If the nineties could be said to belong to any particular comic book franchise, they belonged to the X-Men. Marvel has done a great job collecting classic X-Men storylines in oversized hardcover, already having more than half of Chris Claremont’s very long run available in the format. Reading his work collected here, I find myself frequently conflicted – I can’t decide whether the writer was one of the best long-form storytellers in the medium, or whether he was writing by the seat of his pants. A lot of the threads he ties together might not wrap up satisfactory, but his overarching stories suggest an incredible amount of planning. As the author led the Uncanny X-Men into the nineties, the title seems almost in chaos, but the most carefully organised chaos imaginable.

We all have our crosses to bear…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, Captain Britain, chris claremont, Claremont, dark knight returns, Havok, Jean Grey, jim lee, Len Wein, Marc Silvestri, marvel, marvel comics, Moira MacTaggert, Professor X, Shadow King, Siege Perilous, sigourney weaver, uncanny x-men, wolverine, x-men, X-Tinction Agenda | 2 Comments »

James Bond Skyfall Teaser Released…

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Darren

I’m a big Bond fan, so any bit of news about Skyfall is going to be of interest. Sony have released the teaser, which seems like the one that debuted at Cinema Con a little while back. I have to admit, I like the look of it. It looks to retain the same psychological complexity of the better recent Bond films (Casino Royale or GoldenEye) but with sacrificing any of the class or sophistication (like Quantum of Solace did, arguably). Featuring a stunning cast, an amazing director and released to celebrate the franchise’s fiftieth birthday, this is definitely one to watch. Check out the teaser below. It looks beautiful, featuring wonderful saturation in places – almost like one of the sixties films but with the character work from more modern instalments.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: casino royale, daniel craig, GoldenEye, james bond, James Bond in film, quantum of solace, Skyfall, sony | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Crimes and Misdemeanors

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Darren

I have to admit a special fondness for Crimes and Misdemeanors. It isn’t my favourite Woody Allen film, but it does sit somewhere near the top of my ranking of the director’s extensive filmography. More than that, though, it’s interesting to revisit Crimes and Misdemeanors in light of the director’s more recent work in films like Cassandra’s Dream or Match Point. Indeed, reflecting on it today, Crimes and Misdemeanors seems to occupy a strange middle-ground, literally positioned half-way between the director’s observational comedies and his more sombre meditations on the human condition. Anchored in a fantastic lead performance by Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors is an intriguing moral dramedy.

Well suited to each other?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abraham, Alan Alda, Allen, arts, comedy, Crimes and Misdemeanors, god, Israelite, Judah, Martin Landau, Match Point, Miriam, Misdemeanor, Misdemeanors, new york, New York City, Old Testament, Woody Allen | 7 Comments »

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Horse Player (Review)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Darren

As part of the “For the Love of Film” blogathon, I’ll be taking a look at Alfred Hitchcock’s contributions to his celebrated anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I’ll be looking at some of the episodes of the classic show that he directed. The “For the Love of Film” blogathon this year is raising money to keep one of Hitchcock’s earlier works, The White Shadow (which he wrote, edited, designed and assistant-directed), available on-line and streaming for free. It’s a very worthwhile cause and you can donate here.

The Horse Player actually makes for a nice conclusion to our run of Alfred Hitchcock Presents reviews. It aired in 1961, towards the end of the sixth season of the anthology show, a year before the show would be rebranded The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. It was the second last half-hour show that Hitchcock personally directed, but is generally agreed to be much stronger than his final effort, a morality play titled Bang! You’re Dead. Instead, The Horse Player is an enjoyable and engaging meditation on those cardinal virtues of faith, hope and charity.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, alfredhitchcock, anthony hopkins, art, Birds, catholic church, Claude Rains, Ed Gardner, helen mirren, hitchcock, Prayer, Psycho, The Horse Player, United States, Western Europe, White Shadow | Leave a comment »

X-Men: Schism (Review)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Darren

X-Men: Schism is a game-changer. It’s an attempt to realign Marvel’s X-Men line, a series of books that have faltered in recent years. After all, events like Messiah Complex and Second Coming couldn’t propel the line back to prominence, so Schism feels like a manifesto. Collecting the main series written by Jason Aaron, and the X-Men: Regenesis one-shot written by Kieron Gillen, it represents the most recent attempt to bring the some sense of life and purpose back to the X-Men books, which have been increasingly overshadowed by Marvel’s Avengers publishing line. And, to be frank, I can’t help but think that Schism works pretty well as an attempt to brush away the recent past and carve out a new and exciting future.

The hand of fate…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: blue, cyclops, generation hope, gold, grant morrison, Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, marvel, marvel comics, matt fraction, review, Schism, schism review, uncanny x-men, wolverine, wolverine and the x-men, x-men, x-men: regenesis, x-men: schism | Leave a comment »

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dip in the Pool (Review)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Darren

Hitchcock’s collaborations with Roald Dahl are always worth the time, and I have to admit I have a special fondness for A Dip in the Pool, which is a bitter little comedy about a bet that goes very far wrong. It’s a wonderfully cynical little story about a compulsive gambler who makes an impressive bet on a sure thing. Of course, this being Alfred Hitchcock Presents, there’s no such thing as a sure thing. Filled with Dahl and Hitchcock’s trademark bleak humour and a wonderful central performance from Keenan Wynn, A Dip in the Pool makes for an entertaining little drama.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: alfredhitchcock, anthony hopkins, art, Birds, Fay Wray, helen mirren, hitchcock, Keenan Wynn, Psycho, roald dahl, White Shadow | 4 Comments »

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Mr. Blanchard’s Secret (Review)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Darren

Mr. Blanchard’s Secret is a fun watch, if only for the joy of watching Hitchcock gleefully spoofing Hitchcock. Pitched by the director as “a tale of mystery and intrigue, played in middle-class suburbia” during his introduction, Mr. Blanchard’s Secret reads an affectionate parody of Rear Window, perhaps the Hitchcock film that lends itself so easily to comedic skewering. Mr. Blanchard’s Secret is hardly a groundbreaking or astonishing piece of television, but it is highly enjoyable and quite clever, proving that Hitchcock has a wonderful sense of humour about himself. (As if we needed proof.)

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, alfredhitchcock, Angela Lansbury, anthony hopkins, Birds, Blanchard, Blogathon, hitchcock, Love of Film, Marriage, Mary Scott, Psycho, rear window, White Shadow | 2 Comments »

X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Darren

In a way X-Cutioner’s Song marks a fairly significant turning point in the history of the X-Men franchise. The X-Men books were in a state of turmoil. They had lost their long-term writer Chris Claremont only recently, and Jim Lee had departed to work on other projects. The central theme of the books – exploring prejudice and racism – looked to be losing steam slightly as South Africa’s apartheid regime collapsed and the country developed into a truly democratic state. It seemed like the books were struggling to cope with all these changes occurring so rapidly, and X-Cutioner’s Song reads like an attempt to assert control on the franchise – as if to assure readers that everything was okay and it was business as usual.

They're playing our song!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: chris claremont, comic books, Comics, Fabian Nicieza, jim lee, magneto, marvel comics, Peter Milligan, Scott Lobdell, south africa, stryfe, uncanny x-men, x-cutioner's song, x-factor, x-men, x-men: x-cutioner's song | 2 Comments »

Two New Snow White & The Huntsman Clips…

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Darren

Hi. The guys at Universal just sent over these clips from Snow White and the Huntsman, which is opening here and in the States on the 1st June. They’re two behind-the-scenes videos and worth a look. Meanwhile, the nice folks as Universal Pictures Ireland have also given us two goodie bags to give away – enter the competition here.

Cheers, hope you enjoy.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: charlize theron, chris hemsworth, Huntsman, kristen stewart, Queen, Snow White and the Huntsman, SnowWhite, universal studios | 5 Comments »

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Hidden Thing (Review)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Darren

As part of the “For the Love of Film” blogathon, I’ll be taking a look at his celebrated anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The “For the Love of Film” blogathon this year is raising money to keep one of Hitchcock’s earlier works, The White Shadow (which he wrote, edited, designed and assistant-directed), available on-line and streaming for free. It’s a very worthwhile cause and you can donate here. I thought it might be worth taking a look at an episode from a director other than Hitchcock.

The Hidden Thing is a bit of a strange little episode. It has a strong central theme, even if it is a little blunt about it. It also has an interesting set-up, playing off a sense of unjust randomness. However, it never really ties all of its ideas together, finishing on a rather bland and – inappropriately enough – forgettable ending. In many ways, it seems like the ending to The Hidden Thing is a twist that just fell apart and, rather than enhancing the surrounding story, ultimately detracted from the episode.