Non-Review Reviews | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Critters 3

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Darren

I have a confession to make. I have never seen a Critters film before. They were always sitting there on the lower shelves of the horror section in the shop where I used to rent DVDs, but I just never picked one up. I can’t quite explain why – that sort of trashy horror-comedy would probably have seemed right up my street, but I guess I was probably more fascinated with the more iconic horror monsters and menaces. Anyway, my better half has always had a bit of affection for Leonardo DiCaprio, and when we discovered that his first big screen role was as a kid in Critters 3, I suggested that we could watch both watch it. And, I’m surprised to admit, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Laugh it up, fuzzball…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, arts, Comedy horror, Critters, critters 3, DiCaprio, DVD, entertainment, film, Frances Bay, george lucas, horror, jonah hill, Jordan Belfort, Leonardo diCaprio, martin scorsese, Movie, Movies, new york, nightmare on elm street, non-review review, review, Wolf of Wall Street | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Dictator

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Darren

The obvious point of comparison for The Dictator would seem to be Borat or even Bruno. After all, the film reteams Sacha Baron Cohen with director Larry Charles, while providing a vehicle for exploring American society. However, The Dictator is a very different beast – it’s a much safer film, which is quite something to say about a film featuring a joke about “911 2012.” It is more conventional, more accessible, and more driven by a clearly focused narrative. In a way, it feels almost closer to Ali G in da House, only a lot funnier.

The Dictator is a very funny film, but it does feel like Cohen is a little more constrained than usual, a lot more rigidly structured. This lacks the sort of anarchic spirit that viewers have come to expect from Cohen, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it. Still, Cohen has a unique ability to blend offensive boundary-crossing with classic comedy, and The Dictator feels like a film that will have a broader appeal than his cult hits. Despite the abundance of jokes about male and female anatomy, I think this might be the first Sacha Baron Cohen film I would recommend to my parents.

Coming to America…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aladeen, ali, Borat, bruno, Cohen, Dictator, film, Howard Stern, israel, Larry Charles, Movie, non-review review, review, sacha baron cohen, United States | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Dark Shadows

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Darren

I really liked Dark Shadows. Of course, the film comes with the proviso that it’s probably nothing at all like anybody is expecting, at least based on the trailers. While there are elements of a comedy about a vampire lost in time, Tim Burton is far too busy constructing an elaborate spoof of a gothic melodrama to every really develop that thread. Instead, it’s a movie that seems wry and self-aware more than it is side-splittingly hilarious, an old-fashioned homage to the melodramatic horrors of old rather than a compelling story in its own right. I don’t think anybody could argue that this is truly “classic” Burton, measured against Ed Wood or Batman Returns. However, it is a director who seems to be having a great deal of fun playing with some rather esoteric toys.

Collins family values…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Angelique, art, Barnabas Collins, burton, Chloe Moretz, Dark Shadow, Dark Shadows, Ed Wood, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, eva green, film, helena bonham carter, jackie earle haley, johnny depp, Julia Hoffman, michelle pfeiffer, Movie, non-review review, review, tim burton | 114 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Jeff Who Lives at Home

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012. As the movie’s getting a delayed Irish release this weekend, I thought I’d share it again.

There’s a common misconception about the films of Mark and Jay Duplass. It’s easy to confuse their films with comedies. Just look at the cast they assembled for Cyrus, including Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly (with Marisa Tomei taking home her Oscar for a comedic turn in My Cousin Vinny), or even the one they’ve gathered here. After all, Jason Segel is still most recognisable from How I Met Your Mother or The Muppets or Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Ed Helms’ filmography includes The Office and The Hangover and Cedar Rapids. While Jay and Mark Duplass include a wonderful amount of humour in their work, it tends to distract away from their core themes or ideas. Beneath the awkward triangle in Cyrus, there’s a coming-of-age family drama. Underneath the witty exterior of Jeff Who Lives at Home, there’s a sincere and optimistic romantic drama. And I’m a sucker for romantic drama.

Rub a dub dub, two men in a tub…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Academy Award, cyrus, Ed Helms, Hangover, jason segel, Jay Duplass, Jeff, Jeff Who Lives at Home, john c. reilly, jonah hill, Judy Greer, Marisa Tomei, Mark, Mark Duplass, Movie, susan sarandon | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Blues Brothers

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Darren

I had the pleasure of catching a Jameson Cult Film Club screening of The Blues Brothers earlier this evening. And it was awesome. Really, really great night. Might have been the best yet. I’ll have more details on it later in the week, but now seems like a good time to revisit the classic.

It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

– Elwood and Jake

It might seem a bit redundant to say it, but The Blues Brothers has soul. Not just the funky music, though it has plenty of that. Nor an evangelical message, although the two brothers are, as they claim, “on a mission from God.” No, The Blues Brothers has a core of pure exuberance, a sense of joy that is all too rare – it doesn’t seem like writers Dan Ackroyd and John Landis threw ideas at the wall to see what stuck, so much as they demolished the wall and threw it at another wall. The Blues Brothers is, by turns, absurd, wry, grounded, sarcastic, charming, heartwarming and sardonic, with those elements frequently overlapping to an almost insane degree. In many ways, like John Belushi’s scheming, manipulative and aggressive Jake Elwood, it’s far more charming than it really should be. But we love it for it.

It’s a dirty business…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Blues Brother, Chicago, Dan Aykroyd, Elwood, films, Illinois, Jake, John Belushi, John Candy, john landis, Movies, non-review review, Rawhide, Ray Charles, review, Steven Williams | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Half Moon Street

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Darren

I do feel a little pang of sorrow that Half Moon Street opens with the “RKO” branding. RKO was the studio that gave us Citizen Kane and King Kong, so it’s just a bit disheartening to see the studio branding a half-hearted thriller that seems to exist only to show as much of Sigourney Weaver naked as humanly possible. Don’t get me wrong, of course, I’m not a prude. I have no problem with the notion of an “erotic thriller”, were it well handled. However, Half Moon Street is just a disjointed poorly-conceived mess featuring two leads who seem to give up on the movie about half-way through. It’s not as if there isn’t fertile ground for a gripping espionage thriller here, it’s more that the script by Edward Behr and Bob Swaim is so lifeless (and Bob Swaim’s direction so lethargic) that there’s absolutely no reason to care at all about anything that unfolds throughout the series of insanely massive coincidences that drive the plot.

“Okay… try to look inconspicuous…”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bob Swaim, Citizen Kane, Edward Behr, film, Half Moon Street, Jan Hammer, Michael Caine, Middle East, Movie, non-review review, review, sigourney weaver, Slaughter | 2 Comments »

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 »

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.

Not quite picture perfect...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Blythe Danner, Dr. Seuss, Efron, film, High School Musical, Lucky One, Movie, Nicholas Sparks, non-review review, Posttraumatic stress disorder, review, Romeo and Juliet, Taylor Schilling, youtube, Zac Efron | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Seamonsters

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Darren

Seamonsters makes for an interesting feature film directorial debut from Julian Kerridge, Kerridge has a long and distinguished filmography as an actor, and has directed a pair of short films before this, but Seamonsters stands out as a fascinating first feature-length effort. Working from a script by Kerridge and co-writer Martin Sadofsky, the film offers an exploration of teenage life in a quiet seaside town. While Kerridge does seem to lose a grip on the plot during the second half, Seamonsters benefits from a wonderful young cast, a mostly light approach to its subject matter and an endearing almost ethereal atmosphere, perfectly capturing the idleness of teenage life.

All at sea...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Atlantis, film, Georgia Henshaw, Jack McMullen, Julian Kerridge, Kerridge, Leila Mimmack, London, Martin Sadofsky, Moony, Movie, New Zealand, non-review review, reece noi, review, sea monsters, Seamonster, seamonsters | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Albert Nobbs

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012. It’s getting its Irish theatrical release this weekend, so I thought I’d re-post this one.

Albert Nobbs is a fascinating little film that plays host to two fascinating central performances. It’s no secret that the movie has been something of a passion project for Glenn Close since she first played the role on stage, and she relishes the opportunity to bring the eponymous character to the big screen. Just as impressive is Janet McTeer as her confident and an unlikely friend. However, the movie suffers a little bit from a script that offers clever and enticing symbolism and metaphor, at the expense of offering an accessible narrative.