Movies | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Coriolanus

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Darren

I’m a big fan of Shakespeare adaptations, if done right. The proper cast and crew can serve to make the Bard easily accessible to modern audiences, allowing people unfamiliar with the tragedy in question to follow along with the work remarkably easily. Ralph Fiennes has assembled such a cast and crew for his directorial debut, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. Although not universally regarded as one of the truly great Shakespearean tragedies, it does have the epic scale and grand drama of some of the writer’s best work. T.S. Elliot would consider it to be, along with Anthony and Cleopatra, to be Shakespeare’s finest tragic play. I think that Fiennes adaptation makes a plausible argument for a long overdue reappraisal of the work. At the very least, it does an excellent job bringing it to a modern audience.

Roman around…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aufidius, brian cox, Butler, Consul, Coriolanus, Fiennes, gerard butler, James Nesbitt, Jon Snow, ralph fiennes, rome, Senate, shakespeare, Television, Tilda Swinton, Vanessa Redgrave, Volumnia, William Shakespeare | 2 Comments »

David Lynch’s Rock of Ages (Trailer)

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Darren

Occasionally I stumble across something in the wilds of the internet that I just have to share. Here is a rather interesting fan made trailer examining something all of us have wondered about: what if Rock of Ages were directed by David Lynch? Okay, maybe not all of us. But some of us. Probably. Anyway, it’s a work of bizarre brilliance, so check it out. I especially like the liberal application of Roy Orbison.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, Blue Velvet, David Foster Wallace, david lynch, Eraserhead, laura dern, Lynch, rock of ages, youtube | 2 Comments »

New Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Darren

Man, it is taking enormous self-restraint not to look at every single one of the TV spots being released for The Dark Knight Rises. With less than a month to go, I think I’m doing quite well, limiting myself to these larger trailers. Anyway, here’s the latest two-minute look at the film. It’s more action-packed than the last couple, and it has a lot more humour. (I’ve always felt that people overplay the seriousness of Nolan’s Batman films – yes, they are quite heavy, but they don’t take themselves too seriously.) And, I feel like an idiot, but I just got that “what are you?” and “I’m Gotham’s reckoning” are a conscious call back to “what are you?” and “I am Batman” from Batman Begins. D’oh.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight Rises trailer, gotham city, Nokia, nolan, Television advertisement, trailer | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Hunter

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Darren

The biggest problem with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is that it’s so mundane. You have this concept that is so incredibly ridiculous that you can play any number of ways – wacky “history-xploitation”; Hollywood “meta”-spoof; absurd parody. And yet director Timur Bekmambetov instead produces on of the most bland action movies imaginable. Despite the “wait? did the poster really say…?” premise, this film could be any action vampire movie ever. All Bekmambetov did was to swap speeding cars for horses and carriages, and cast a slightly taller lead with a badass taste in hats and facial hair. I’d argue that the problem with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is that it takes itself too seriously, but there’d be some fun in playing something like this absurdly straight. Instead, it’s just a generic action and adventure film with a slightly quirky title.

He was just clearing through his old things and… (four)score!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Bekmambetov, Benjamin Walker, dominic cooper, film, hollywood, Jefferson Davis, liam neeson, Lincoln, Movie, non-review review, Oval Office, review, Rufus Sewell, Seth Grahame-Smith, tim burton, Timur Bekmambetov | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Darren

Back in its heyday, Hammer Horror had a reputation as an assembly-line studio, churning out cheesy exploitation horror after cheesy exploitation horror with an efficiency that would make battery farmers jealous. I won’t pretend that the reputation is entirely undeserved, although I do have a certain fondness for the delightful schlock the studio would produce. Still, I think that this reputation tends to overshadow the occasional gem that the studio would produce, something that managed to transcend the cost-effective scenery and cookie-cutter approach to film-making. While it probably isn’t the definitive adaptation of the tale, Hammer’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is still an absolute delight for gothic horror aficionados.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it…

Note: This review contains spoilers. I consider a classic novel and fifty-year-old film to be fair game.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: André Morell, Arthur Conan Doyle, Baskerville, Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Watson, film, Hammer Film Productions, Henry, Holmes, Hound of Baskerville, Irene Adler, Moor, Movie, non-review, Peter Cushing, review, Sherlock, sherlock holmes, watson | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Darren

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow evokes pulp science-fiction cinema with an earnestness and an eagerness that is endearing, if not infectious. Although the special effects have dated significantly in the time since the movie’s release, it’s hard not to admire director Kerry Conron’s use of computer graphics to forge a connection to classic cinema. However, one senses that Conron might have been better suited to emulate the mood, rather than merely the appearance, of these old adventure serials. The problem is that despite its rather wonderfully crafted appearance, there’s never anything in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to really get excited about. And that’s a shame.

A ray of hope?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, arts, captain america, CaptainMarvel, Collecting, Conran, Father's Day, film, games, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Williams, jude law, Kerry Conran, Laurence Olivier, michael gambon, Movie, New York City, non-review review, orson welles, Retro-futurism, review, Sky Captain, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, superman, United States, video games | 11 Comments »

Doing Justice to the Justice League: 10 Tips For Warner Brothers in Building the Justice League…

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Darren

Rumour has it that Warners has made superheroes their top priority again. I wonder why that might be. Anyway, here’s 10 tips that might help them make the perfect Justice League film.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avengers, batman, Christopher Nolan, flash, geoff johns, green lantern, hal jordan, marvel, marvel comics, stan lee, superhero, Warner, Warner Bros | 19 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Red Lights

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Darren

With Buried, Rodrigo Cortés demonstrated a skill for executing a Hitchcock-esque high concept. While it wasn’t an entirely successful experiment, it demonstrated that Cortés was a talent to watch. His follow-up, Red Lights, affirms that potential, though it also fails to entirely deliver on its fascinating high concept. Cortés shows a real talent for the technical craft of direction – for framing his shots, use of colour and light and space, pacing and even editing. Writing, directing and editing this film, he demonstrates skill with big ideas and high concepts, as well as skill on a frame-to-frame basis. However, he’s still missing some connection between the two – some intangible skill at developing big ideas into dramatic story beats to fit his own style of film-making. That’s not to say that Red Lights isn’t a fascinating a well-crafted film, just to explain that there are some fundamental flaws.

Do you believe?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Buried (film), Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, film, Filmmaking, Joaquín Rodrigo, Joely Richardson, M. Night Shyamalan, Movie, non-review review, Paranormal, Red Lights, review, robert deniro, Rodrigo Cortés, sigourney weaver, United States | Leave a comment »

A Film By Any Other Name: The Art of Stupid Movie Branding…

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Darren

I have a confession to make. I did not go to see The Avengers. I went to see Marvel’s Avenger’s Assemble. I didn’t mention this before because… well, that’s a stupid name and people aren’t idiots. If I talk about “The Avengers” and mention details like a “giant green rage monster”, “Nick Fury”, “box office records” or even “enjoyable”, odds are that you will know the film that I am talking about. I’m normally quite reluctant to attack particular movie practices as silly or illogical, if only because I’ve no direct experience of how the industry works.

To be fair, I’ll generally assume that the studios know what they’re talking about when it comes to making movies. However, when it comes to slapping silly names on their posters and insisting that the audience refer to a movie by a convoluted, generic and awkward focus-group-crafted title, I do feel like I have an opinion. The Avengers is the most recent high-profile example, but I’ve found myself increasing irritated by this somewhat pointless branding.

Silly titles make Darren angry!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Avenger, Avengers", diana rigg, entertainment, inglourious basterds, Ireland, John Steed, marvel, marvel comics, Mel Gibson, nick fury, ralph fiennes, scarlett johansson, sean connery, Shopping, uma thurman, world war ii | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Sleeper

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Darren

Sleeper is an enjoyable Woody Allen film, coming from relatively early in the director’s career. He had yet to direct either Annie Hall or Manhattan, arguably his two most popular works, but was coming off a string of well-regarded movies. Sleeper is an affectionate look at many of the science-fiction movies that Hollywood was producing in the late sixties and early seventies, to the point that Allen himself actually sat down with Isaac Asimov to make sure the science-fiction elements of the script were kosher. However, Sleeper is remarkably fluid, allowing room within that framework for Allen to really explore any and all ideas that might possibly have occurred to him. The result is, to borrow a quote from the poster, a highly enjoyable and almost whimsical “nostalgic look at the future.”