Movies | the m0vie blog

The Top 30 Under-Reported News Stories of 2012…

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Darren

Today is a very special day. We’re officially a third of the way through 2012. It’s been a pretty solid year for movies, and it’s been an interesting year for movie news. However, some news stories haven’t had quite the traction that I would have expected, and might have passed readers by. So, to celebrate getting through the first third of 2012, here’s the 30 most underreported movie-related news stories of 2012.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: April Fools Day, black and white, george clooney, jean-luc picard, liam neeson, michael bay, Michael Fassbender, Navy, patrick stewart, Practical joke, quentin tarantino, robert downey, roland emmerich, Sex & The City, star trek: the next generation, StarTrek, Terrence Malick, William Shatner, Wrath of the Titans | 4 Comments »

ParaNorman Trailer

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Darren

Universal just sent on the trailer for ParaNorman, and it’s well worth a look. I’ve been a fan of stop-motion for quite a while, with Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists being one of my favourite films of the year so far. However, the trailer evokes the wonderful work of director Henry Selick, who directed both The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, both superb pieces of work. The film is directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell. While Fell has a history working as a director of family films, Butler served as artistic director on both Coraline and Corpse Bride, and wrote the script here. The cast is phenomenal, featuring John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. I am looking forward to this. Between this, Frankenweenie and Pirates!, it looks like a great year to be a stop motion fan.

Anyway, give the trailer a look below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: coraline, Corpse Bride, henry selick, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nightmare Before Christmas, ParaNorman, Sam Fell, stop-motion | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Titanic (3D)

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Darren

James Cameron’s Titanic is still a breath-taking production, even sixteen years after the fact. Sure, its huge budget and even bigger box office returns, coupled with its enormous pop culture impact, have all combined to make it a bit of a target for movie critics in the years following its initial release. To be honest, while I wouldn’t rank it as anywhere near Cameron’s finest accomplishment, I’ve always admired it for what it was: a romantic historical epic, perhaps the most recent film like that which Hollywood has produced. Even a decade and a half later, Titanic remains one hell of spectacle and a well-constructed piece of cinema, with Cameron displaying a mastery of form and an innate skill for story-telling. Couple with the best post-conversion 3D that I have ever seen, there’s no reason for anybody with a genuine interest in the film to stay away from the big re-release.

Her heart will... go on, finish it...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: American Civil War, Brock, Cameron, film, george lucas, hollywood, jack, james cameron, kate winslet, Leonardo diCaprio, London, Movie, non-review review, Phantom Menace, review, rose, Royal Albert Hall, Sherlock, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, titanic, United States | 4 Comments »

Hey Zeus, Meet Jesus: Wrath of the Titans & Judeo-Christian Archetypes…

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Darren

Somewhere, an expert on Ancient Greek mythology is crying. Probably a lot of experts on Ancient Greek culture. As enjoyable as Wrath of the Titans might be in offering charming (if a little shallow) spectacle, it doesn’t necessarily offer the most faithful depiction of Ancient Greek deities. It isn’t the only film to get things drastically wrong – Disney’s Hercules comes to mind. Presenting these mythical characters and creatures for modern audiences and sensibilities, the archetypes are skewed and twisted to conform to religious associations which most audience members might find familiar. In particular, these sorts of films often adopt a decidedly Judeo-Christian view of Ancient Greek gods. However, watching Wrath of the Titans, I couldn’t help but feel that the film was not only acutely aware of that narrative shortcut, but perhaps even cleverly exploiting it – developing the character arc of these ancient gods and transitioning them into the archetypes that we know and recognise.

Oh my gods...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Ancient Greece, clash of the titans, Clash of the Titans (2010 film), greek, greek mythology, hades, Jonathan Liebesman, liam neeson, Perseus, ralph fiennes, Sam Worthington, Titans, Wrath of the Titans, zeus | 17 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Wrath of the Titans

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Darren

Wrath of the Titans is effective spectacle, and certainly nothing less. It offers a large-scale canvas for director Jonathan Liebesman to offer us large-scale set pieces involving lots of mythical monsters, tonnes of fire and some decent action sequences. I’m one of the few people who enjoyed Clash of the Titans for what it was, and Wrath of the Titans isn’t an especially different beast. It offers the same level and quality of sound and fury helping distract from some storytelling problems. There are, of course, differences between the two films, both nothing especially drastic. While I wasn’t always engaged with the film, I did enjoy for what it was.

Giving the old man some stick...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: clash of the titans, film, Jonathan Liebesman, liam neeson, Movie, non-review review, Perseus, ralph fiennes, review, Sam Worthington, Toby Kebbell, Wrath of the Titans | Leave a comment »

Done in 60 Seconds: An Interview with Andrew Norton

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Darren

We might not be the best team in the world at soccer, we might not be the favourites to take home a record-shattering amount of gold medals in London, but the Irish have always had a bit of a cultural charm. This year, we were lucky enough to be represented at the final of the Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds competition, with Andrew Norton’s condensed spoof of the iconic District 9 landing a place among 29 international contenders on a shortlist including entries from Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Israel, Sweden and the Ukraine, among others. I had the pleasure of chatting very briefly about putting the sixty-second clip together, breaking into short-film making and the perils of looking like a security guard on the red carpet.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2012 Summer Olympics, 60 Seconds, Celtic, danny devito, Empire Award, Gold medal, Grafton Street, irish, israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, London, ron howard, Short film, sport, Sweden, tim burton, Ukraine, youtube | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Scream 4 (Scre4m)

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Darren

Alright, Kirby, then it’s time for your last chance. Name the remake of the groundbreaking horror movie in which the vill…

Halloween, uh, Texas Chainsaw, Dawn of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror, uh, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When A Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax, The Fog, Piranha. It’s one of those, right? Right?

(beat)

I got it right. I was &@#!ing right.

– Ghostface and Kirby redefine the frame of reference

In many ways, Scream 4 feels like a fitting end to the Scream franchise. In fact, it feels like it has come something of a full circle from the first film, which was envisaged as something of an obituary for the dying slasher genre. In the years since, prompted in a large part by the success of the original Scream, the genre has been resurrected. Watching the grind of horror films released, it seems that Hollywood has been churning out nothing but empty roman-numeral-denoted sequels and hallow remakes, with very little thought or creativity. Scream 4 feels a like a reflection on the “success” that the first film wrought, and actually feelings like a fitting closing act.

It's going viral...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: criticism, deconstruction, Emma Roberts, feminism, feminism in movies, films, gender roles, Ghostface, horror, irony, Jill Roberts, John Carpenter, Kevin Williamson, metafiction, Movie, non-review review, review, Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Sidney Prescott, slashers, wes craven | 7 Comments »

Win! Battleship Goodie Bags!

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Darren

The nice folks over at Universal Pictures Ireland have given us three goodie bags to give away for their upcoming blockbuster release Battleship. Each goodie bag contains:

A pair of tickets for the Battleship food and drinks after-work party followed by the Dublin screening of the film on April 11th.
A Battleship T-Shirt.
A pair of sunglasses as seen on the film.
Two caps.
A Waterproof case.

To be in with a chance to win one of these impressive packs, please answer the question below and submit the form. There’ll be more news and giveaways from Universal Pictures Ireland‘s Facebook page, so check it out for details. In case you need any hints, here’s the trailer for the film:

This competition is now closed. Winners shall be notified shortly.

Terms and conditions apply. Prize is non-transferable. Entrant must be based in the Republic of Ireland and available to attend the preview screening on 11th April 2012. The contact information provided above will be used to contact the eventual winners and for no other purposes.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: battleship, Brooklyn Decker, dublin, Facebook features, peter berg, Republic of Ireland, Taylor Kitsch, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Wild Bill

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Darren

Wild Bill is the charming directorial debut from veteran character actor Dexter Fletcher. The established actor, who has worked on projects as diverse as Band of Brothers, Press Gang and The Three Musketeers, also wrote the screenplay for this slightly quirky British domestic drama, which sees an absentee father fostering an emotional connection with his abandoned kids. It’s a fairly conventional plot, and Fletcher doesn’t cram too many surprises in there, but the movie is wry enough and has a thinly-cynical exterior that makes the pill easy enough to follow. It’s not quite a masterpiece, but it’s engaging and diverting enough to leave a pleasant impression.

Wild at heart...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: andy serkis, bill, Charlie Creed-Miles, Computer-generated imagery, Danny King, Dexter Fletcher, film, Foster care, Jason Flemyng, Leo Gregory, Liz White, Marc Warren, Movies, non-review review, Press Gang, review, rise of the planet of the apes, Sean Pertwee, Wild Bill, Will Poulter | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Casino

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Darren

You didn’t see the scam? You didn’t see what was goin’ on?

Well, there’s no way to determine that, Sam.

Yes, there is. An infallible way! They won!

Sam explains how Las Vegas works to Ward

If you ask a bunch of people to name their favourite Scorsese film, you’ll get a bunch of different answers. Some will go for his iconic gangster tale, Goodfellas. Others will go for the superb drama of Raging Bull. Some might even opt for the unforgettable Taxi Driver. I, on the other hand, am probably the only guy in the room who is going to opt for Casino. Conventional wisdom would argue that Casino is merely a bloated and over-loaded attempt to re-tread ground Scorsese already covered in Goodfellas, but I can’t bring myself to agree with that. While Goodfellas feels like a personal tale of greed and corruption, and the implosion that inevitably followed, there’s something grander to Casino. Offering the social history of Las Vegas, the rise and fall of the mob’s empire, it feels like large-scale tragedy. There’s just such an impressively epic scale to Scorsese’s film that I can’t help but admire it.