Posted on September 15, 2011 by Darren
Last week, Total Film included a selection of heavily stylised posters for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. They do look quite fabulous and are well worth a look, but it has been pointed out that one of them does spoil the film by identifying the mole. This got me thinking – the information is already out there, both in le Carré’s original Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the BBC’s adaptation, so at what point does the identity of the “mole right at the top of the Circus”cease to be a spoiler and become fair game? More than that, with the identity having been in the public sphere for decades, is it possible that the revelation could ruin the movie for anyone?
Everything's under Control...
Note: I do not actually reveal the identity of the mole here, so feel free to read ahead without impeding your viewing experience.
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Alec Guinness, film, gary oldman, George Smiley, John le Carré, Mole (espionage), Sixth Sense, the usual suspects, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Total Film | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 15, 2011 by Darren
I’m honestly not quite sure what to make of Extract. Ironically for a movie about a factor producing flavour additives, the movie seems lack a flavour of its own. Is Mike Judge’s effort a quirky and eccentric anything-goes laugh-out-loud fest, or is it a more conventional cookie-cutter comedy? The film seems to fluctuate between the two extremes, at times playing incredible safe and yet occasionally swinging for the fences, adding to a vaguely disjointed feeling to the whole thing.
Meeting of the bored...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben affleck, Clifton Collins Jr, DavidKoechner, Extract, film, j.k. simmons, jason bateman, Kristen Wiig, Mike Judge, mila kunis, Movie, non-review review, review | 2 Comments »
Posted on September 14, 2011 by Darren
I’m a Star Trek fan, I’ll concede that. And I grew up with the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with the ensemble headed by Patrick Stewart as the decidedly British-sounding French Captain Jean-Luc Picard. While I’d argue that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the best of the shows, I hold a special place in my heart for the one that I came of age with. So it pains me to admit their swansong is a disappointing one. Of course, with the show’s preference for philosophical discourse and carefully-considered discussion, you could make the argument that they were never as perfectly suited to the big screen as Kirk’s crew. Still, Star Trek: Nemesiscan’t help but feel like a wasted opportunity, a film incredibly lacking in soul, that doesn’t bid a fond farewell as much as suggest mandatory requirement.
Looks like they'd hire any Tom, Dick or Hardy to play a young Picard...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 13, 2011 by Darren
I’ve always been fascinated by mysteries in fiction. That said, I will concede I’ve never really been particularly good at picking up on the hints within the work itself designed to point towards a particular perpetrator. I haven’t necessarily got the skills to pick up on what tiny little detail mentioned in dialogue or the tiniest little action that supports a particular conclusion – it’s just not how my mind works. Instead, perhaps as a direct result of watching far too many movies, I find it more relevent to look at factors outside the fictional world where the mystery is set in order to reach a conclusion – I’m more likely to identify the culprit by reference to the film itself than the clues on hand.
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Character (arts), Crime fiction, csi, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, fiction, film, mysteries, mystery | 2 Comments »
Posted on September 13, 2011 by Darren
Buried is a great high-concept thriller, with one hell of a hook and a fascinating premise. Basically the story of kidnap victim Paul Conroy, who is kidnapped by “insurgents” (or “criminals” or “terrorists”, depending on who you ask) and buried alive in Iraq. With only a limited source of light, and even less time, the truck driver is given mere hours to come up with a ridiculously large ransom or he’ll be left in the ground to rot forever.
It's a dirty job...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: buried, colin farrell, film, iraq, monty python, Movie, non-review review, Paul Conroy, review, ryan reynolds, Truck driver | 6 Comments »
Posted on September 12, 2011 by Darren
You know, even after all this time, I think that Finding Nemo views with The Incredibles as my favourite Pixar production. I respect and appreciate the sheer artistry and technical skill that went into Wall-E and I think Uprepresents the company’s most mature work to date, but I think Nemo perfectly captures everything that I love about the company – the maturity, the humour, the adventure, the technical skill of it all. Plus it has perhaps the best voice cast of the films.
The life aquatic...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Albert Brooks, finding nemo, Great Barrier Reef, non-review review, pixar, review, the incredibles, toy story, up, Up (2009 film), wall-e, Walt Disney Company | 5 Comments »
Posted on September 12, 2011 by Darren
I was very kindly invited along by the wonderful folks at the National Concert Hall.
I have to admit, I’m always in awe of the effort that the National Concert Hall make in presenting classic film. It really is something to see a classic movie projected on to a big screen, as it was intended, but with a full orchestral accompaniment. They recently hosted a celebration of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse complete with RTÉ Concert Orchestra performing a live soundtrack. This time, it was arguably something even more special, a premier of the remastered version of Guests of the Nation with a brand new score by Niall Byrne. It’s clear that a lot of love went into the project, and there was something genuinely touching about the introduction from Irish actor Stephen Rea. It’s really a wonderful celebration of Irish cultural heritage, and proof that our cinema legacy stretches back a lot earlier than most would give it credit for.
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Andrew Legge, Crying Game, Denis Johnston, Guests of the Nation, Irish Film Institute, National Concert Hall, New York City, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Stephen Rea, The Lactating Automaton, The Unusual Inventions of Henry Cavendish | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 10, 2011 by Darren
This latest in the long line of Jane Eyre adaptations stands quite well among them. My better half, whom I readily defer to in matters of culture (if not, sadly, also taste), assures my that it represents a relatively faithful and incredibly thorough exploration of the classic gothic romance, condensed down into a relatively short two-hour-and-ten-minute film. It really is a well-made film, produced with genuine skill and class from everybody on board, and I’d go so far as to suggest that the few problems I had with it stemmed directly from its source material.
Love is in the Eyre...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bbc, Brontë family, Charlotte Brontë, colin firth, films, frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Movies, non-review review, reviews, Wuthering Heights | 6 Comments »
Posted on September 9, 2011 by Darren
The Sum of All Fears is a strange little beast. By changing the nature of the movie’s threat from Middle Eastern terrorists to a secret cult of Nazis, the film seems to want to avoid seeming “heavy” or “relevent.”However, any form of entertainment that depicts a nuclear attack on a US city on the same scale as that depicted here, seems to carry a lot of weight with it anyway. I think that’s really the core problem with an otherwise reasonable solid film, the fact that it has difficulty balancing what should be an uncomfortable viewing experience with an attempt not to upset anyone.
Ryan, Jack Ryan...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben affleck, films, harrison ford, Jack Ryan, Jennifer Garner, Middle East, Movies, nazis, non-review review, nuclear weapons, Patriot Games, review, terrorists, The Sum of All Fears (film), United States, Warfare and Conflict | 3 Comments »
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Darren
When it first became clear that we were in for a long recession, there was a lot of fear about what that would mean for cinema. With less money to go around, and the ever-present fear of financial disappoint, a lot of people speculated that it would lead to a serious downturn in the production and distribution of “indie” movies by the major studios, a concern validated by the closing of various speciality divisions within major studios. While it has undoubtedly gotten significantly harder to produce and sell independent film, one look at last year’s Best Picture nominees suggest that these little gems are doing relatively okay – with films as provocative as Black Swan, as alternative as The Kids Are All Right and as gritty as Winter’s Bone all making the cut. Still, if the indie apocalypse that was foretold hasn’t come to pass, I do have to wonder what the cinematic cost of the current economic climate might be.
Hollywood's taken the occasional slap on the wrist over the past few years...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, ComCast, film, Gore Verbinski, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Jerry Bruckheimer, johnny depp, Kids Are All Right, Lone Ranger, movie costs, recession | 2 Comments »
