Movies | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2014.

“His world departed long before he entered it,” one of the narrators from The Grand Budapest Hotel notes of the film’s lead character. “But he maintained an elaborate illusion.” This description is applied to the suave sophisticated concierge Gustav H, played wonderfully by Ralph Fiennes, but it could also apply to director Wes Anderson – a director whose cinematic style is built upon nostalgic nods to a past that may never have actually existed.

Framed as a story within a story within a story, jumping back from the eighties to the sixties to the late thirties, Anderson draws even more attention to his artifice than usual. Wrapping a framing story around a framing story seems almost cheeky, as Anderson brings the audience incrementally into the past – suggesting that one needs to wade in rather than diving. The story of a romantic living in a cynical era, The Grand Budapest Hotel seems – despite its scale and scope – one of Anderson’s more intimate efforts.

It is also among his very best.

Vault out to see it…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: europe, grand budapest hotel, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, non-review review, nostalgia, ralph fiennes, review, the grand budapest hotel, wes anderson | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Book Thief

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2014.

Any film set in Germany between 1938 and 1945 narrated by death itself is going to feel a little… surreal. As wonderful as Roger Allam’s tones might be, there’s something decidedly unwholesome about the narration of the story told from the perspective of the Grim Reaper, particularly as he recounts a story from his “best of” collection.

The implication is that the life of the eponymous booklifter has touched the Death itself, which feels rather uncomfortable in the context of Nazi Germany. One would imagine that there would be quite a lot of moving and affecting stories to hold our narrator’s attention, without a need to single out one particular story as especially moving.

This is, in essence, the heart of the problem with The Book Thief, an efficient and well-produced – if condescending and tone-deaf – family film exploring the story of one family living in the shadow of Hitler’s Germany. It spends far too long telling us why these protagonists are unique, when the crux of the story seems to be that they are not.

She has no shelf-control…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: death, germany, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, literacy, national socialism, nazis, non-review review, reading, review, the book thief | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Calvary

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2014.

Calvary takes itself just a little bit too seriously for its own good. John McDonagh’s second feature film has a sterling cast, a witty sense of humour and some absolutely breathtaking cinematography; but there’s a sense that it’s trying too hard to say something meaningful and profound. Unlike the biting social satire of The Guard, which was buried skilfully beneath a charming screenplay and lightness of touch, Calvary has difficulty figuring out what it wants to be at any given moment in time.

Is it a scathing examination of rural Irish life? An exploration of guilt and integrity, sin and virtue? A meditation on the role that the church has played and has yet to play in Irish life? A critique of “detachment” as a default mode of being? The movie frequently transitions between hilariously exaggerated philosophical exchanges and attempts at more grounded human interactions, often missing a step in between.

Calvary is still a rather clever and powerful piece of Irish cinema, featuring a phenomenal Irish cast and trying to deal with important social issues; it just feels a little to heavy-handed and self-important in its attempts to do so.

Burning down the house…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: calvary, film, non-review review, review | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Monuments Men

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Darren

If you tried to take an Indiana Jones film and turn it into a meditation on the scale and conflict of the Second World War, you would end up with The Monuments Men. That is to say, if you sucked all the fun out of it while trying to balance a pulpy tone with a more weighty reflection on the cultural responsibilities that came with winning the Second World War. The movie is just as tone deaf and ill-judged as that description seems to imply – having a lot of clever things to say, but never being quite sure how to say them.

There is a good film to be found in The Monuments Men, if one looks hard enough. One can imagine writer, director and actor George Clooney chipping away at the story trying to find that good movie, like one of those artists whose work was rescued by this band of merry men. You get a sense that Clooney can see the angel in here somewhere; he’s just not sure how to set it free.

The art of the chase…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: america, george clooney, history, nazis, non-review review, review, second world war, the monuments men, world war ii | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Lego Movie

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Darren

The Lego Movie is – as one might expect – a wonderfully well-constructed family film. Following a construction worker repeatedly described as “normal” or “average” – but, one colleague hastens to add, “not normal like us” – named Emmet, the movie is structured as a conventional “special one” narrative. However, veteran directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller stir things up just enough to keep it interesting.

With a wry sense of humour and an acute awareness of the clichés of a typical “hero’s journey” narrative, Lord and Miller have actually managed to tap into the core essence of Lego – if a massive multi-platform brand name empire can be distilled to a “core essence.” It’s a story about the magic of playing with toys and the necessity of throwing away the instructions every once in a while.

The ensemble fits together perfectly…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, christopher miller, creativity, green lantern, Lego, non-review review, phil lord, review, the lego movie, Warner Brothers | 13 Comments »

Non-Review Review: RoboCop (2014)

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Darren

José Padilha’s RoboCop reboot is much better than the lame duck attempt to adapt Total Recall a few years back. It’s a functional action film, structured well enough to stand on its own two feet as a science-fiction thriller. There are the obligatory explosions and CGI, but there’s also a clear enough story populated by reasonably well-drawn characters with just the faintest hint of social commentary at the core. It is solid and functional on its own terms, even if it suffers in comparison to its source material.

Robocop 2.0…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, gary oldman, José Padilha, michael keaton, non-review review, Paul Verhoeven, r eview, reboot, RoboCop | 8 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of Jaws! With Richard Dreyfuss in Attendance! Tuesday 18th February!

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Darren

The James Cult Film Club have sent on the following press release about the upcoming screening of Jaws as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival that is kicking off next Thursday, the 13th February. The screening will take place on Tuesday the 18th, and will feature a question-and-answers session with actor Richard Dreyfuss, who collaborated with Spielberg on Jaws, but also on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The Jameson Cult Film Club has a special historical attachment to the festival. The first Irish screening was The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey in attendance four years ago. The Cult Film Club do screenings all through the year, bringing classic movies to live in a whole new way for audiences. They really are a highlight of the schedule, and tickets are always given away free via their website. You can sign up now, although I’m not sure if the ticket application is open yet.

It’s an experience that I wholeheartedly recommend, as they are always well put together evenings celebrating classic cinema. If you are looking for recommendations for the film festival, check out our own picks of the festival here. Otherwise, I’ve included the press release below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: cult cinema, cult film, dublin, jameson cult film club, jameson cult film festival, jaws, jdiff, Richard Dreyfuss, spielberg | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Armstrong Lie

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Darren

The Armstrong Lie is about a lot of things. It’s nominally about Lance Armstrong’s attempted come back in 2009, and then about how it was all one big lie once the doping allegations became impossible for the athlete to deny. Those are, in a way, the least interesting aspects of Alex Gibney’s documentary. Instead, the film works best as an exploration of power and vested interest, as well as an exploration of narrative and how that narrative is manipulated and shaped to suit agendas.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alex Gibney, armstrong, bikes, cheat, culture, cycling, dope, doping, drugs, lance armstrong, the armstrong lie, tour de france, UCI | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Darren

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is solid family entertainment. Too scattershot and inconsistent to really rank among the best of the Dreamworks animated feature films, it does benefit from an endearing energy and momentum – as well as a charming central performance from Ty Burrell as the eponymous super-inventor dog genius. It’s perfectly inoffensive fun that manages to get quite a few laughs, even if it doesn’t tug the heart strings quite as well as it might want to.

A dog and his boy…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, doctor who, dreamworks, film, mister peabody, Movie, mr. peabody, mr. peabody and sherman, mr. peaboyd & sherman, non-review review, review, sherman, time travel | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Inside Llewyn Davis

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Darren

Inside Llewyn Davis is great examination of a singer drifting through American music scene in the sixties, starting in Greenwich before embarking on a cross-country tour and then ending up right back where he started.

One of the nicer cinematic tricks employed by the Coen Brothers is a delightful sense of deja vu at the end of the movie. There’s a step backwards in time towards the start of the film, but also a sense that it’s so subtle you might be forgiven for missing it. After all, it doesn’t matter too much. The eponymous Llewyn Davis is an artist caught in a particular groove, stuck on repeat; despite his protestations to the contrary, he is a performing monkey who ultimately only knows one or two numbers that seem to resonate with the audience.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a melancholy examination of personal and professional failure, delivered in the Coens’ trademark tragicomic style. There’s a sense that the world itself has a cruel sense of humour, structuring a joke at the expense of Llewyn. The film doesn’t rank among the Coen Brothers’ best work, and it’s certainly not an instant classic, feeling too disconnected and occasionally too cynical to rank with with the best of their output. At the same time, a middle-tier Coen Brothers’ film is still well worth a look.