Movies | the m0vie blog

Watch! New Gravity Trailer!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Darren

Gravity is easily one of my most anticipated movies of this last third of 2013. The talent involved is enough to attract attention, from two wonderful lead actors through to a visionary director telling a story which seem intriguing and ingenious at the same time. Early word on the film has been pretty strong. I’m particularly reassured by the revelation that the explosions and such were only effects added for the trailer – so much so that the introductory text here seems to have been added to sway other skeptics. (That said, this trailer still features its fair share of noise in space.)

Warners have released another trailer for the film, and it looks – as one might expect from Alfonso Cuaron – absolutely stunning. Check it out below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Alfonso Cuarón, george clooney, Gravity, james cameron, Movie, sandra bullock | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: About Time

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Darren

About Time is pretty much vintage Richard Curtis. I don’t mean that in a bad way – certainly not in an entirely bad way. Curtis knows how to structure a romance, has a gift for distinguishing characters in a large ensemble, and has the capacity to employ sentimentality to calculated and devastating effect. About Time has moments of brilliance and emotional punch, framing the main character’s inexplicable ability to time travel in delightful metaphorical terms.

At the same time, Curtis has his weaknesses. Most notably, there’s the sense that his lead characters are all variations on the same character – with more cynical pundits suggesting the base model might be Curtis himself. Similarly, his ensembles are constructed efficiently as a collection of quirky characters who do quirky things quirkily, living out the most quaintly British of lives involving afternoon tea and indulging in the most stereotypical of exclamations (“just a tick…”, “oh gosh…”, etc). There’s a sense that Curtis’ world exists inside old-fashioned post cards more than in anything approaching the real world.

More than that, though, Curtis labours his point just a little bit too much, as if worried the audience might miss the whole “we’re all travelling in time” metaphor and the “secret to being happy” philosophy if it isn’t explicitly articulated in a voice-over monologue set to an upbeat pop song.

Time enough at last…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: About Time, arts, bill nighy, Curtis, Domhnall Gleeson, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hugh Grant, Love Actually, rachel mcadams, richard curtis, time travel, Woody Allen | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Rush

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Darren

In many ways, Rush quite resembles the last collaboration between director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan. Both are built around contests between two larger-than-life personalities. One is old-fashioned and conservative, averse to risk and obsessed with victory; the other is young and impetuous, arrogant and self-assured without the experience to back that up. However, while Rush lacks the screen presence of performers Michael Sheen and Frank Langella, it benefits greatly from the fact that it refuses to choose a side.

As much as Frost/Nixon might have offered a slightly more sympathetic-than-usual Nixon, it was clear that the audience was intended to root against the corrupt former president, and champion the ascension of young up-and-comer David Frost. Rush manages a more delicate balance, firmly refusing to favour one protagonist over the other. Both the reckless young go-getter and the safety-conscious number-cruncher are portrayed as sympathetic and well-developed characters.

This makes Rush that rarest of sports movies: the one where the audience is rooting for both contenders.

Not quite to Formula…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Auto racing, chris hemsworth, david frost, Formula One, frank langella, frost/nixon, Hunt, James Hunt, Lauda, michael sheen, Morgan, Niki Lauda, nixon, peter morgan, richard nixon, ron howard, Rush | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Riddick

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Darren

Riddick is remarkably candid about the trouble with The Chronicles of Riddick. “Somewhere,” Riddick tells us in his introductory monologue, “I lost my way.” The movie sees Riddick trying to get back to his roots – literally and figuratively. He abandons the trappings of The Chronicles of Riddick, casting Karl Urban aside after little more than a cameo and a convoluted back story. He longs to return home.And, in a way, he does.

Eschewing the scale of The Chronicles of Riddick, the movie finds Riddick and the crews of two ships locked in combat on the surface of a planet, discovering that the elements are against them – and the monsters hiding therein. The movie is acutely aware of how tightly it’s mirroring Pitch Black. At one point, before an alien onslaught begins, one co-star asks how many survivors emerged from the crash at the start of Pitch Black. “As many as are in this room,” Riddick replies, underscoring the similarities.

However, Riddick is strongest when it tries to recapture the mood of Pitch Black, rather than trying to connect more directly with its predecessors. The decision to hang the back story of the film on a minor character from a movie released a decade ago feels like a miscalculation, and the movie’s introduction suffers from an indecisiveness about whether it’s breaking free of or following on from its direct predecessor.

Apocalypse how?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Chronicles of Riddick, Dave Batista, David Twohy, film, god, Han Solo, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff, Matthew Nable, Pitch Black, Pitch Black [Blu-ray], Riddick, Vin Diesel | 8 Comments »

Win! Tickets to the Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of DieHard!

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Darren

The Jameson Cult Film Club is returning to Dublin for their biggest and most electrifying double screening to date. Continuing on from this year’s successful screenings of Intermission and LA Confidential, the Jameson Cult Film Club promises to transport the audience right into the world of the high suspense action classic, Die Hard (1988), which will be screened at a secret Dublin location on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th September 2013. This special screening promises to transport the audience right into the world of this cult classic for an unforgettable viewing experience. Attendees will be treated to much more than a typical screening, as actors, live theatre and special effects timed perfectly with on-screen action help to create an electric atmosphere throughout the screening. Check out www.jamesoncultfilmclub.ie for details and register for the chance to win free tickets to one of the screenings on either 17th or 18th September.

So if you would like to win one of two sets of TWO TICKETS to the screening on WEDNESDAY 18th SEPTEMBER answer the following question:

The competition is no closed. Winners will be notified shortly.

All entrants must be over 18. You must be available to attend the screening. The contact details above will only be used to contact the winners of the competition.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Blu-ray Disc, cult film, die hard, dublin, LA Confidential, Movie, Tuesday, United States | Leave a comment »

Jameson Film Club: Die Hard Double Screening!

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Darren

Due to popular demand, the Jameson Cult Film Club is returning to Dublin for their biggest and most electrifying double screening to date. Continuing on from this year’s successful screenings of Intermission and LA Confidential, the Jameson Cult Film Club promises to transport the audience right into the world of the high suspense action classic, Die Hard (1988), which will be screened at a secret Dublin location on Tuesday 17^th and Wednesday 18^th September 2013.

If you want to get your ‘Hans’ on some tickets, register now on www.jamesoncultfilmclub.ie. These free events are more than just your typical screening, as characters from the movie, live theatre and special effects timed perfectly with on-screen action help to create an electric atmosphere throughout the screening.

The venue is only revealed to ticket holders and will be completely transformed into a series of sets from the film. DJ Aidan Kelly will be spinning the sounds from the movie before and after the screening while guests are treated to ‘Yippee-Ki-Yay’ burgers and refreshing Jameson, Ginger and Lime long drinks.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: aidan kelly, arts, cult film, die hard, dublin, Movies, Theaters, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Star Trek (2009)

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Darren

This August, to celebrate the upcoming release of Star Trek: Into Darkness on DVD and blu ray, we’re taking a look at the Star Trek movies featuring the original cast. Movie reviews are every Tuesday and Thursday.

Star Trek was not in a healthy place at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The last film, Star Trek: Nemesis, had been box office poison – partially due to the terrible script and direction, and partially due to the monumentally stupid decision of opening it during a winter season including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Die Another Day.

On television, things hadn’t been much brighter. Ratings had been in decline since Star Trek: Voyager hit the air, and Star Trek: Enterprise went through both a re-tool and a creative shift before becoming the first Star Trek television show since the eighties to be cancelled before running a full seven seasons. Even the most ardent Star Trek fan would have to concede that the franchise did not appear to have a bright future at that point in time.

And yet, against all odds and despite all the goodwill the franchise had lost, JJ Abrams and Paramount managed to reinject both an energy and a vitality into the film, producing one of the best blockbusters of the decade.

A commanding Enterprise….

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abram, film, J Abrams, kirk, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Movie, Nero, non-review review, review, Sarek, spock, star trek, Star Trek canon, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, star trek: the original series, Starfleet, StarTrek, Uhura, Zachary Quinto | 3 Comments »

Watch! A Belfast Story Trailer!

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Darren

We have a trailer for the new Irish film A Belfast Story, releasing in Irish cinemas on September 20th. Starring Colm Meaney, it’s an exploration of the Troubles which plagued Northern Ireland, and one man dealing with the consequences of that horrific violence. I’m always glad to support Irish film, so check out the trailer below and let me know what you make of it. I’m a big Colm Meaney fan, so I am very much looking forward to it.

I also got some interesting viral stuff in the mail, which I’ll try to share early next week. I think it’s great to see an Irish movie being so aggressive in terms of marketing, and so forthright and assertive.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Belfast, Belfast Story, Cinema of Ireland, colm meaney, irish, Northern Ireland, Starring Colm Meaney, Troubles | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Star Trek – Generations

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Darren

There are lots of problems with Star Trek: Generations. It feels too much like a two-parter from the television show. It tries to fit in a laundry list of demands from the studio. It wastes Malcolm McDowell. It decides that the only part of the original series deserving a send-off is James T. Kirk, and then pushes him off-screen for an hour before dragging him back into the movie to kill him off in the most ironic and anti-climactic manner possible.

Yet, despite these considerable flaws, Generations also has a lot to recommend it. Although the script occasionally feels a little overcooked, the themes concerning mortality lend it a serious amount of weight. Director David Carson demonstrates that he can work wonders on a tiny budget. Cinematographer John A. Alonzo finds a way to shoot familiar sets in a way that makes them look incredibly beautiful. None of these strengths can fully compensate for the very fundamental flaws with the seventh Star Trek cinematic outing, but they do mitigate them somewhat.

Generations isn’t a great Star Trek film, and it isn’t even the best odd-numbered Star Trek film, but it is far from an unmitigated disaster. Well, except for the way it treats Kirk.

Riding the wave…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: james t. kirk, jean-luc picard, kirk, Leonard Nimoy, Malcolm McDowell, patrick stewart, Rick Berman, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: the original series, StarTrek, Stratford-upon-Avon, Trekkie | 36 Comments »

Wanted! Contestants for Irish Quiz Show!

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Darren

RTÉ is launching a new quiz show that will be recorded on September 4th as part of the network’s “format farm” season. The producers over at Vision Independent Productions got in touch with me and let me know that they are looking for contestants for Division. I’m always glad to help Irish film and television, so the full text and details are below. If you’d like to enter for a chance to win a €5,000 holiday, drop them a line at the contact details below. Or visit the website.

If you do decide to enter, best of luck!

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