Movies | the m0vie blog

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 »

See The Dictator First – The London Premiere Streaming Live to Selected Irish Cinemas

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Dictator.

The lovely folks at Paramount sent around a release about the upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator, which is being released on May 16th. They are streaming the London premiere live to selected Irish cinemas, so if you are in Dublin, Galway, Cork or Belfast and want to get a sneak peak, the details (and links) are below:

For one night only, before the release of The Dictator hits cinemas ( May 16) 4 cinemas in Ireland will host special screenings with a live link in to the World Premiere screening in London at the Royal Festival, The Eye Cinema in Galway, The Odyssey Cinema in Belfast, The Omniplex in Cork – and limited number of tickets to the Irish Premiere Screening at the Savoy. Doors open at 6pm and there will be a live link in till 7.15pm where you can experience the red carpet and presenter Alex Zane will host and then see the film first at this special event. For more details and to book tickets please check out their respective websites and box office

I’ve already nipped down to the Savoy and picked up a ticket. At the very least, it looks to be one of the more interesting blockbuster releases this summer.

Please note that the trailer below is kinda spoiler-y.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Belfast, Dictator, dublin, Ireland, London, premiere, Royal Festival Hall, sacha baron cohen, The Dictator | 2 Comments »

Not Everything, Not Yet: Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises and the Prospect of Finality

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Darren

Read our in-depth review of the film here.

It’s a funny thing watching The Dark Knight Rises trailer that was released earlier in the week. It seems that a lot of people had the same response that I did. Colleagues in work, friends and family members, all looked at the trailer for the third in Nolan’s trilogy that began with Batman Begins and seemed to have the same observation. “I think he might kill Batman,” a lot of people remarked on viewing the teaser for the film. Given how safe most major studio productions are, especially those that are part of a cash-cow franchise, it’s amazing that the possibility even exists at all, hovering faintly over the film.

Broken bat…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avengers, bane, batman, Christopher Nolan, daniel craig, Dark Knight Rises, film, Luke Skywalker, nolan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, sam raimi, Warner Bros | 8 Comments »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Disassembled (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Today and tomorrow we’ll be taking a look at the two Brian Michael Bendis events that kick-started the writer’s work on the franchise.

Avengers: Disassembled welcomed Brian Michael Bendis to the Avengers franchise. The super-star writer had enjoyed long and well-received runs on Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil, but his tenure on the Avengers franchise proved much more divisive. Taking over for a three issue arc on the main Avengers title, Bendis literally destroyed the team. Not only did he demolish a lot of the iconography associated with the bunch of superheroes, he also launched a fairly scathing deconstruction of the stalwart superhero team. Bendis wasn’t just going to adopt a caretaker position on the series, he clearly planned some very serious remodelling. That meant that some walls had to get knocked down. In many ways, Disassembled feels like a brutal demolition.

Things come apart…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alan moore, Avenger, avengers, avengers: disassembled, bendis, brian michael bendis, deconstruction, disassembled, Falcon, grant morrison, hawkeye, iron man, joss whedon, magneto, marvel universe, nick fury, Scarlet Witch, United Nations, Vision | Leave a comment »

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 »

“I Want to Read Comics After Seeing the Avengers”: Post-Avengers Comic Book Recommendations…

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers opened in a lot of major markets this weekend. It is opening in the United States this Friday. It’s set to be huge and has been quite well received by critics and audiences. Now, I know that this massive blockbuster movie won’t convert the millions of avid movie-watchers into comic book fans, if only because other comic books have failed to see that appreciable a gain from success in other media. However, on the off chance that somebody comes out of the cinema thinking “hey, I really like that and would like to check out the source material”, I’ve compiled a handy list of recommendations that should be readily available and easy to find for would-be fans looking to get a taste for the iconic characters in their original media.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Avenger, captain america, Collecting, comic book, Comics, Henry Pym, iron man, jack kirby, kurt busiek, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, stan lee, thor, United States | Leave a comment »

Dance on Film at the IFI, 13th May 2012

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

The IFI are hosting a celebration of dance on film on Sunday 13th May 2012 as part of the annual Dublin Dance Festival. A ninety-minute selection of short dance films, including live action and animation, it promises quite an eclectic line-up:

Russell Maliphant’s Critical Mass filmed by David Hinton (director of several DV8 film masterpieces) features Maliphant himself and Jordi Cortes Molina. Antonia Franceschi, ex-New York City Ballet principal and ballerina in Fame, leads Mark Baldwin’s thriller Pointe Blank. Sultry figures glide through Prague streets in Topic II and dancing tableware appears in Paul Bush’s Furniture Poetry, while shuddering ballet dancers attempt the White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake in his Pas de Deux de Deux. Philippe Decouflé’s films are entertainingly French, while Ashley Roland & Jamey Hampton’s Advance is snappily American. One Thousand Steps drifts along urban pavements, distorting perspective and perception. Spot James Thierrée and Ballet Boyz Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, narrated by Sir John Gielgud. Fresh from the cutting room is the premiere of Jessica Kennedy’s Motion Sickness. And the winner of our RTÉ Dance on the Box online poll is… WildFire Films and David Bolger’s Deep End Dance.

The screening will take place at 4pm, and all twelve RTÉ Dance on the Box films will air on Network 2 as part of the festival, with scheduling to be confirmed. For more information on the IFI event, click here. For more information on the festival, click here. To view the rather impressive Dance on the Box competitors, click here. Here’s an example, below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Dance film, David Hinton, John Gielgud, New York City Ballet, Paul Bush, Philippe Decouflé, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Russell Maliphant, swan lake | Leave a comment »

New The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Not everything. Not yet.

-Selina and Bruce

The new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been released and it looks suitably epic. Hm. Looks like it really might be about “the idea of Batman” in a very Grant Morrison-esque sort of way. “I’m adaptable,” Selina boasts, but she could be speaking of Batman himself, who is capable of being anything pop culture wants him to be. I suspect Nolan will be hitting the idea of Batman as a mythic symbol quite hard, and I honestly think that’s the best way to cap off a trilogy that’s been about the notion of a “modern” Batman. In particular, it seems that it might be exploring the notion of Batman as an inspirational figure being more important than the man in the mask. I think my excitement just went off the scale.