Movies | the m0vie blog

Emo Spider-Man & Going Against the Nerd: It Isn’t Easy Being Geek…

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Darren

The Amazing Spider-Man trailer debuted during the week and it was… kinda okay, I suppose. Nothing too shocking or gripping or incredible, and nothing to push it too high on a “must see” list that includes The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers as two massive hits for my superhero fix. However, I was surprised at the rather immediate response from relatively mainstream sources to “emo Spider-Man.” Even non-geeks seem to have picked up on the fact that Peter Parker in a hoodie hunched over a text book is not a good sign. Surely Spider-Man III taught us that “goth Spider-Man” is not a good idea?

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Andrew Garfield, Batman in film, brian michael bendis, counter-culture, emo, films, geek chic, geek culture, high school, marc webb, Movies, punk rock, sam raimi, secondary school, spider man, stan lee, sub-culture, the amazing spider-man, the amazing spiderman | 15 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Darren

Truth be told, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has a lot of problems. It’s structurally the weakest of the films, existing as a bridge between what came before and what follows – but ultimately feels like treading water. One gets the sense that the ruthless editing that made Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire work so well was sorely missing here. It literally feels more like a collection of subplots rather than a movie in its own right. And then there’s the ending, which is ridiculously weak, but also somewhat undermines the threat the last film spent so long building up.

It's not a knock-out success...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: daniel radcliffe, Death Eater, Dumbledore's Army, films, games, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, HarryPotter, Hogwarts, Hogwarts staff, literature, Lord Voldemort, Magical creatures in Harry Potter, Ministry of Magic, Movies, non-review review, Online, review, Roleplaying, Rupert Grint | Leave a comment »

Captain America Lives! Omnibus (Review)

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Darren

In celebration of the 4th of July and the release of Captain America: The First Avenger this month, we’re jumping into Marvel’s comic book alternate history and taking a look at the star-spangled avenger every Wednesday this month.

I have to say, I am genuinely quite pleased with how they’ve been chunking up Ed Brubaker’s well-loved run on Captain America for these oversized omnibus editions. Each of the three omnibus editions – Captain America, The Death of Captain America and, now, Captain America Lives! – represent an act in his over-arching story, with the status quo continually changing and shifting. The first set of issues closed with the assassination of Steve Rogers, while the second set saw Bucky Barnes assuming the mantle in Steve’s absence and defeating the Red Skull. So the third collection returns Steve Rogers to the Marvel Universe. Does it make me a bad person if I kinda don’t want the original character back so soon?

Stars and stripes...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Bryan Hitch, Bucky, bucky barnes, captain america, captain america #600, captain america: reborn, comic books, ed brubaker, Ed McGuinness, gene colan, marvel comics, marvel universe, old friends and enemies, reborn, Red Skull, stan lee, Steve Epting, steve mcniven, steve rogers, the winter soldier, time travel, time's arrow | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Darren

“Everything’s going to change now, isn’t it?”

– Hermoine, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Truth be told, before I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was easily my favourite instalment of the series. It’s the perfect balance between the lighter start of the series and the much darker end of it, straddling the two distinct tones with ease, and managing to walk the line between it’s under-plotted predecessors and over-plotted successors. It’s still not quite perfect, but it genuinely feels like things are changing and world is lot more vast than the earlier films had led us to believe.

The series is finally firing on all cylinders...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan rickman, Alfonso Cuarón, films, Half-Blood Prince, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, HarryPotter, Hogwarts, JK Rowling, Mike Newell, Movies, non-review review, Order of the Phoenix (organisation), review | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Horrible Bosses

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Darren

“You can’t win a marathon without putting some bandaids on your nipples!” Dave Harkin, the “psycho” boss of Nick Hendricks, insists throughout the movie. It’s curious, because Horrible Bosses feels like a movie pacing itself for a marathon – and that’s not a bad thing at all. It’s consistently funny, with the humour spread evenly over most of the runtime. It’s hard to point to particularly brilliant sequences that had the audience in stitches, but instead the room was constantly giggling throughout. It’s a solidly entertaining comedy, which makes the most of a clever premise and superb cast, even if it does falter just a little bit as it reaches the finish line.

Spacey is boss...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Charlie Day, CharlieDay, colin farrell, film, Good Girl, Horrible Bosses, jason bateman, Jason Sudeikis, JasonSudeikis, jennifer aniston, kevin spacey, KevinSpacey, Movie, non-review review, review, Seth Gordon | 6 Comments »

Cinematic Nostalgia: Old Films on the Big Screen…

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Darren

Jameson, the wonderful people behind the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and the Jameson Cult Film Club are planning on launching their own film blog this week. It’ll be well worth a look and, based on their passion for good cinema, it’s sure to be wonderful. Anyway, as part of the launch, I was delighted to be invited along to a screening of Chinatown with a few other Irish film bloggers. Hosted in a lovely little cinema, I have to admit that there was just something incredible about watching a classic film I had only ever seen on television projected on to a big screen like (I suppose) it had always been intended to be shown. Given how much any love affair with cinema draws on classics from eras long gone, I have to admit that I was genuinely blown away by the chance to see such a classic film on such a big screen.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3-D film, arts, Batman in film, cinema, Citizen Kane, classic films, film, jameson dublin international film festival, Matrix Reloaded, Movie, Movies, nostalgia, Tingler | 14 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Darren

Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban represents probably the best transition from printed page to big screen in the franchise, boasting the most confident and comfortable direction of the big screen series. Director Alfonso Coarón, perhaps best known for his work on Children of Men crafts perhaps the most magical of the Harry Potter adventures, effortlessly crafting a world that seems strangely familiar and yet curiously foreign, simultaneously bright and coloured, but populated with dark brooding shadows. Even after the series has ended, the third instalment remains perhaps the most stylish.

Enchanting...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, David Thewlis, Emma Watson, film, film review, gary oldman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, HarryPotter, Hogwarts, literature, Magic in Harry Potter, Magical objects in Harry Potter, Movie, non-review review, Order of the Phoenix (organisation), Places in Harry Potter, terry gilliam | Leave a comment »

Short Stories 2011: Isle of Man Tourist Trophy

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

Following the popularity of the last instalment, Ronan sent on this latest entry in Relentless’ short film competition for 2011. This one focuses on guy Martin and offers a bit of a peak into the world of road racing on the Isle of Man. Check it out below. All the films so far have been remarkably put together, and this is no exception.

For more details of the Relentless Short Films competition, click here.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Autoblog, Government, Guy Martin, Isle of Man, Isle of Man TT, Maps and Views, Recreation and Sports, religion | Leave a comment »

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

It’s officially up! Check out the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises below and read our analysis here.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bane, batman, Batman in film, gary oldman, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film), Teaser trailer, The Dark Knight Rises, the dark knight rises teaser, the dark knight rises teaser trailer, twitter | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets works much better as an episodic collection of scenes than a single story. It’s prone to fluctuate between rather brilliant moments and a few misfires here and there. It definitely feels extremely childish, as if the studio was attempting to construct a G-rated Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the John Williams soundtrack adding to the effect, the set design of the eponymous chamber looking like some forgotten archeological tomb, and even Julian Glover being afforded a small cameo (okay, he was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but the point stands). It’s strange to look back at the second instalment, after all that has unfolded since, and look at how much more juvenile and simplistic it all seems in retrospect.