Darren

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Disassembled (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Today and tomorrow we’ll be taking a look at the two Brian Michael Bendis events that kick-started the writer’s work on the franchise.

Avengers: Disassembled welcomed Brian Michael Bendis to the Avengers franchise. The super-star writer had enjoyed long and well-received runs on Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil, but his tenure on the Avengers franchise proved much more divisive. Taking over for a three issue arc on the main Avengers title, Bendis literally destroyed the team. Not only did he demolish a lot of the iconography associated with the bunch of superheroes, he also launched a fairly scathing deconstruction of the stalwart superhero team. Bendis wasn’t just going to adopt a caretaker position on the series, he clearly planned some very serious remodelling. That meant that some walls had to get knocked down. In many ways, Disassembled feels like a brutal demolition.

Things come apart…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alan moore, Avenger, avengers, avengers: disassembled, bendis, brian michael bendis, deconstruction, disassembled, Falcon, grant morrison, hawkeye, iron man, joss whedon, magneto, marvel universe, nick fury, Scarlet Witch, United Nations, Vision | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Safe

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Darren

Safe is remarkably up-front about what it is. It’s a collection of action clichés strung out on a series of contrivances and coincidences that exist purely so Jason Statham can appear menacing and get involved in brutal fight sequences. There’s no surprise to be had in Safe, save perhaps the charm of Statham as a leading man and his wonderful chemistry with the debuting Catherine Chan. The movie’s never outside its comfort zone, but it manages to do what it sets out to do with a respectable efficiency and charm. While he does occasionally succumb to the rapid-fire editing that plague modern action movies, I think that it’s safe to say that Boaz Yakin is a much stronger director than he is a writer.

Looking for a Safe house…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Action film, Boaz Yakin, Catherine Chan, film, guy ritchie, Jason Statham, Luke Wright, New York City, non-review review, ovie, review, Safe, Safe (film), Statham, Transporter, Yakin | 2 Comments »

Kurt Busiek’s Avengers – Avengers Assemble! Vol. 5 (The Kang Dynasty) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Darren

I’ll be honest. I am still not sure what to make of Kurt Busiek’s Avengers run, republished here in five lavish oversized hardcovers. The first three volumes of the set included the stellar artwork of George Perez, but the fifth and final volume contains the entire Kang Dynasty (aka Kang War) saga. For those unfamiliar with the storyline, it was a fairly massive plot told over fifteen issues and an annual, and marked the climax of Busiek’s five-year tenure on the title. For better or for worse, it’s a more than adequate conclusion to his run – complete with many of the flaws which chipped away at it, but also possessing many of the recognisable strengths.

"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!"

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, avengers, avengers assemble!, brian michael bendis, Busiek, captain america, Comics, graphic novel, iron man, joss whedon, kang, kang (marvel), kang dynasty, kang the conqueror, kang war, kurt busiek, marvel, marvel comics, retrospective, review, Rob Liefeld, stan lee, the kang dynasty, the kang war, thor | 2 Comments »

The Sopranos: Pax Soprana (Review)

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Darren

I think it’s possible to make the argument that The Sopranos can be read as that illusive “great American novel”, just handily divided into eighty-six chapters and televised as opposed to written. Sure, it’s a show about the mob, but it’s also a compelling examination of the disillusionment festering at the heart of the American psyche. Tony might be a New Jersey mob boss, but most of his problems aren’t too far disconnected from those eating away at the American middle class. (Hell, I’d argue that it speaks volumes to the Irish psyche and probably many other nationalities as well.) As such, across the crucial first season, Chase and his team of writers seem to lay down and establish the core themes, allowing Tony to confront and explore just one of the many gnawing insecurities eating away at any middle-class father. In College, Tony wrestled with the idea that his daughter might discover who he truly is, while Pax Soprana explores the notion of impotence and insecurity – some times literally.

Psyche!

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Carmela, Carmela Soprano, Chase, David Chase, godfather, hbo, Jennifer Melfi, Junior, Junior Soprano, Livia, Nancy Marchand, New Jersey, Pax Soprana, Soprano, the sopranos, Tony, Tony Soprano, United States | Leave a comment »

“I Want to Read Comics After Seeing the Avengers”: Post-Avengers Comic Book Recommendations…

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers opened in a lot of major markets this weekend. It is opening in the United States this Friday. It’s set to be huge and has been quite well received by critics and audiences. Now, I know that this massive blockbuster movie won’t convert the millions of avid movie-watchers into comic book fans, if only because other comic books have failed to see that appreciable a gain from success in other media. However, on the off chance that somebody comes out of the cinema thinking “hey, I really like that and would like to check out the source material”, I’ve compiled a handy list of recommendations that should be readily available and easy to find for would-be fans looking to get a taste for the iconic characters in their original media.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Avenger, captain america, Collecting, comic book, Comics, Henry Pym, iron man, jack kirby, kurt busiek, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, stan lee, thor, United States | Leave a comment »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Prime (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

Avengers Prime feels more like an epilogue than a new chapter. It’s a very clear attempt by writer Brian Michael Bendis to draw a line under the past five years of Marvel continuity, the direction of the Avengers franchise from Avengers: Disassembled through to Siege. It’s an attempt to sum up everything that had happened thematically, and to all his characters to move forward, hopefully stronger for the experience – a genuine attempt at character development inside the relatively static genre of superhero comics. While it feels, at times, a little bit too simplistic, it does feel like Bendis is tying up all his loose ends and ready to push forward on to new ground.

From the wreckage...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, avengers, Avengers:Earth's Mightiest Heroes, bendis, brian michael bendis, captain america, Hela, iron man, joss whedon, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, MarvelUniverse, Mightiest Heroes, robert downey, thor | Leave a comment »

Dance on Film at the IFI, 13th May 2012

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

The IFI are hosting a celebration of dance on film on Sunday 13th May 2012 as part of the annual Dublin Dance Festival. A ninety-minute selection of short dance films, including live action and animation, it promises quite an eclectic line-up:

Russell Maliphant’s Critical Mass filmed by David Hinton (director of several DV8 film masterpieces) features Maliphant himself and Jordi Cortes Molina. Antonia Franceschi, ex-New York City Ballet principal and ballerina in Fame, leads Mark Baldwin’s thriller Pointe Blank. Sultry figures glide through Prague streets in Topic II and dancing tableware appears in Paul Bush’s Furniture Poetry, while shuddering ballet dancers attempt the White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake in his Pas de Deux de Deux. Philippe Decouflé’s films are entertainingly French, while Ashley Roland & Jamey Hampton’s Advance is snappily American. One Thousand Steps drifts along urban pavements, distorting perspective and perception. Spot James Thierrée and Ballet Boyz Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, narrated by Sir John Gielgud. Fresh from the cutting room is the premiere of Jessica Kennedy’s Motion Sickness. And the winner of our RTÉ Dance on the Box online poll is… WildFire Films and David Bolger’s Deep End Dance.

The screening will take place at 4pm, and all twelve RTÉ Dance on the Box films will air on Network 2 as part of the festival, with scheduling to be confirmed. For more information on the IFI event, click here. For more information on the festival, click here. To view the rather impressive Dance on the Box competitors, click here. Here’s an example, below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Dance film, David Hinton, John Gielgud, New York City Ballet, Paul Bush, Philippe Decouflé, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Russell Maliphant, swan lake | Leave a comment »

New The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Not everything. Not yet.

-Selina and Bruce

The new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been released and it looks suitably epic. Hm. Looks like it really might be about “the idea of Batman” in a very Grant Morrison-esque sort of way. “I’m adaptable,” Selina boasts, but she could be speaking of Batman himself, who is capable of being anything pop culture wants him to be. I suspect Nolan will be hitting the idea of Batman as a mythic symbol quite hard, and I honestly think that’s the best way to cap off a trilogy that’s been about the notion of a “modern” Batman. In particular, it seems that it might be exploring the notion of Batman as an inspirational figure being more important than the man in the mask. I think my excitement just went off the scale.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avengers, batman, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, grant morrison, marion cotillard, Warner Bros | Leave a comment »

Win! Tickets to the Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of ‘The Blues Brothers’…

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Darren

The Jameson Cult Film Club have teamed up with the m0vie blog to offer one lucky reader a pair of tickets to the electrifying screening of the iconic comedy, The Blues Brothers (1980) in a secret Dublin location on May 8th. This very special screening promises to transport the audience right into the world of Jake and Elwood Blues as they resurrect their old blues band and run from the Illinois Law Enforcement! Join the ‘Blues Brothers’ along with the California Highway Patrol at this exclusive Jameson Cult Film Club screening on May 8th in the Joilet Correctional Centre (Dublin) – get onto www.jamesoncultfilmclub.ie and register for free tickets (shades optional!)

More info after the jump.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Blues Brother, Blues Brothers 2000, California Highway Patrol, dublin, Elwood Blues, Illinois, Jake, John Belushi, new york | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Lucky One

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Darren

It’s hard not to feel a tad manipulated by The Lucky One, a story that seems to want to be about the relationship between fate (or chance) and choice. Following a veteran of a foreign conflict as he tries to adjust to life back home, trying to make sense of his survival in a war that claimed the lives of countless friends and colleagues, I don’t doubt that The Lucky One was intended as a profound meditation on those themes. However, what we end up with is a rather muddled romance that never truly gets off the ground thanks to a lackluster central performance from Zac Efron and some rather uncomfortable subtext.