On Second Thought | the m0vie blog

New Escapist Video! On “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” as the First Fan Service Blockbuster…

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Darren

So, as I have mentioned before, I am launching a new video series as a companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch with every second Monday article, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel the following week. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film channel – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

This week, following the release of Mortal Kombat, we thought we’d give audiences what they really wanted. Yes, that’s right: a deep dive on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: blockbuster, continuity, fan service, fans, history, in the frame, intellectual property, Lore, mortal kombat, mortal kombat: annihilation | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” as the First Fan Service Blockbuster…

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Mortal Kombat over the weekend, it seemed like as good a time as any to take a look back at the earlier nineties iteration of the cinematic franchise.

In particular, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a much more interesting movie than is often acknowledged. It is a complete disaster in just about every sense, but is a revealing one. Watched from remove of two decades, Annihilation often feels like a template for the sort of fan service blockbuster that we now take for granted, with its broad themes of “family” and its plot that serves primarily as an object on which continuity references and nostalgic shoutouts might be ornately arranged.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: annihilation, blockbusters, fan service, film, in the frame, mortal kombat, mortal kombat: annihilation, Movie, the escapist, x-men 3 | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “Mortal Kombat – Review in 3 Minutes”

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Darren

I’m thrilled to be launching 3-Minute Reviews on Escapist Movies. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be joining a set of contributors in adding these reviews to the channel. For the moment, I’m honoured to contribute a three-minute film review of the new Mortal Kombat movie that is now available in cinemas and on HBO Max.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: 3 minute review, 3mr, escapist, mortal kombat, the escapist, video game movies, video games | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Fast Five” as the Best (and Most Complete) “Fast and Furious” Movie…

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of the trailer for F9, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the best entry in the larger Fast & Furious franchise: Fast Five. Fast Five arrived at an important moment for the larger Fast and Furious franchise, representing a pivot point between the earlier urban western adventures and the superpowered blockbusters that would follow. Fast Five is the moment at which the film series commits to becoming a twenty-first century blockbuster franchise, but also never loses sight of the origin. The result is a movie that is perhaps the most holistic and representative embodiment of the Fast and Furious as a franchise. You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: blockbuster, Dwayne Johnson, f9, fast and furious, Fast Five, masculinity, the fast and the furious, the rock, Vin Diesel | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On the Appealing Meaninglessness of “Godzilla vs. Kong”…

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Darren

This week, following the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the film’s appealing meaninglessness, particularly in an era that seems so over-signified with meaning.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: escapist, Godzilla, godzilla vs. kong, in the frame, king kong, monkey, the escapist, video | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Unknowable Monstrosity at the Heart of “Shin Godzilla”…

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, it seemed like a good time to take a look back at Japan’s iconic reptilian monster. In particular, the way in which Godzilla evolved from an embodiment of monstrous uncertainty to protector of the planet. In this context, Shin Godzilla is a fascinating piece of work. Building on co-director Hideaki Anno’s work on earlier projects like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Neon Genesis Evangelion, the monster at the centre of Shin Godzilla is hauntingly unknowable, a grotesque intrusion of something almost beyond human comprehension into the material world. The film is all the more effective for that. You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: apocalypse, atomic power, escapist, Godzilla, hideaki anno, in the frame, kaiju, monster, monstrous, neon genesis evangelion, shin godzilla, Shinji Higuchi, the end of the world, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Guardians of the Galaxy” as the MCU’s Best Exploration of Loss…

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist yesterday. With all the talk about how so much of the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe is about “loss”, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not a machine that is designed to deal with concepts like loss head on. After all, most of its major departures were down to contract negotiations rather than narrative priorities. Characters are often resurrected, and losses are often temporary. This is what makes Guardians of the Galaxy so compelling. Director James Gunn understands that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a space into which the audience and characters escape to avoid dealing with loss, even if it haunts them still.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: death, decay, grief, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, James Gunn, loss, the escapist, trauma | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Meaninglessness of “Godzilla vs. Kong”…

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release and success of Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max and in cinemas last week, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the film’s aggressive rejection of meaning. Godzilla vs. Kong is not a movie particularly concerned with subtext or metaphor. It is not a parable for mankind’s confrontation of the unknown, the hunger for war that lurks in every human heart, or even the dangers of how mankind is treating the environment. Instead, it’s a movie about a giant monkey punching a giant lizard until one of them falls down. However, maybe there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, particularly following a year that has – for many people – been over-infused with meaning. You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: blockbusters, Godzilla, godzilla vs. kong, in the frame, king kong, meaning, pandemic, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How the MonsterVerse Has Forsaken Awe and Wonder…

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist yesterday. With the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, it seemed like a good opportunity to look at the film in the context of the larger MonsterVerse – in particular, Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Godzilla vs. Kong is pure spectacle. The film features a host of impressive and showstopping sequences, including two major bouts between the title characters. However, there is something missing in all of this carnage. Like King of the Monsters before it, and like a lot of other modern blockbusters, there’s a curious lack of awe and wonder to the spectacle on display.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

A smashing success?

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: awe, Godzilla, godzilla vs. kong, gojira, in the frame, jurassic park, king kong, monsters, monsterverse, Movie, steven spielberg, the escapist, wonder | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On “Justice League” and the Triumph of Art Over Content…

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Darren

This week, following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at the theatrical release of Justice League. In particular, the differences between the two cuts and the way in which the theatrical cut was a cynical plot to erase any distinct identity from the film and reduce it to empty superhero “content.”