Posted on July 6, 2010 by Darren
Terminator 2 is a pop culture classic, a film that single-handedly made Arnold loveable despite films like Junior and Jingle All the Way, typecast Robert Patrick as a distinctly unpleasant individual and reminded us that not all teenage protagonists had to be eye-roll inducingly bad. Spielberg’s Jaws is frequently regarded as “the first blockbuster”, but I think the case can be made that Terminator 2 redefined the kind of summer movie we saw – for better or worse, it laid down a blueprint which has been followed countless times since.
Prepare to be blown away...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: actions, Arnold Schwarzenegger, blockbuster, blockbusters, classic, edward furlong, film, james comeron, linda hamilton, Movies, non-review review, review, sci-fi, science fiction, terminator 2, terminator 2: judgement day, terminator 2: judgment day | 7 Comments »
Posted on July 5, 2010 by Darren
Am I the only person hugely disappointed with the summer so far this year? I mean, the summer isn’t traditionally where you find the best movies of the year, at least no more or less than any other time of year, but I’m not looking for great movies, just good ones. just solidly entertaining ones. At the most basic level, I’d settle for just an excuse to go to the cinema on a Friday night (although I’m sure my better half is glad of the weak string of movies – it really frees up our schedule). What the hell is wrong here?
Leo's looking for good movies too...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, cinemas, films, get him to the greek, hollywood, Inception, Movies, predators, robin hood, summer, summer movies, toy story 3, world cup | 20 Comments »
Posted on July 5, 2010 by Darren
Alien³ is generally regarded as an inferior Alien film, and the start of a slippery slope that would lead us through Alien: Resurrection into Aliens vs. Predator and even Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. It’s also regarded as something of a hiccup in the career of David Fincher, and an example of how meddling from greedy corporate executives can potential derail the rise of a young talent. That’s a lot of pressure for a single film to carry – particularly one which has enough trouble standing on its own two feet. However, I am quite fond of this particular incarnation of the franchise. Not enough to call it a “classic” or even “great”, but enough to argue that it was a relatively brave and ultimately valid experiment for the franchise – much more so, arguably, than the fourth film.
It’s an emotional reunion, to say the least…
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alien, alien 3, alien franchise, alien trilogy, aliens, charles dance, charles durning, david fincher, films, Movies, non-review review, review, sequels, sigourney weaver, xenomorph | 4 Comments »
Posted on July 2, 2010 by Darren
I have to confess that I have a soft spot for Dogma. It’s very much the black sheep of Kevin Smith’s “View Askew” trilogy (of six films), veering away from incorporating his trademark witty banter and dialogue with a relatively new philosophical and religious undercurrents. Dogma is, in fact, an odd film by any standard – one part “group on a quest” film akin to The Lord of the Rings, one part slapstick comedy and part indie introspective dramedy. Smith admittedly has great difficulty balancing the different demands on his script, pulling it one way or the other. It doesn’t always work, but the cocktail is certainly interesting and – truth be told – I am actually quite fond of the film.
Alan Rickman found himself winging it...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan rickman, angels, ben affleck, christianity, comedy, god, irreverant, jason lee, jay, jay and silent bob, kevin smith, linda fiorentino, matt damon, religion, salma hayek, silent bob, theology, view askew | 16 Comments »
Posted on July 1, 2010 by Darren
Trailers are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, they tease you with footage from that upcoming realise you’ve been anticipating (or can even get you excited about one you couldn’t care less for) – but that comes at a price. More often than not, trailers frequently spoil the film that they advertise. There are quick shots of action, but you can see something that doesn’t occur until more than half-way through the film, or a comedy which frequently includes its best laughs in the trailer. Of course, this makes sense – if you want to convince an audience to see a comedy, the trailer needs to make ’em laugh, so you include the really hilarious scenes; for an action movie, you want to tease what you have, so show them clips from the climax (usually larger than the other action scenes). So what are we supposed to do?
We actually need something like this...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, get him to the greek, Movies, predators, spoilers, trailers | 15 Comments »
Posted on July 1, 2010 by Darren
We all know the story. Artists are apparently particularly self-destructive, especially those who write country and western songs. Crazy Heart isn’t exactly a boldly original film by any stretch of the imagination – in fact, it’s typically predictable up until the end – but it does have a thing or two working in its favour, which elevates it just a bit above these almost conventional films. The first is a rather endearing soundtrack which is – in many ways – better written than the film itself. The second is Jeff Bridges.
Jeff Bridges plays your heartstrings...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bad blake, biopic, colin farrell, country, country and western, crazy heart, film, jeff bridges, maggie gyllenhaal, Movies, music, non-review review, otis blake, review, soundtrack, western | 5 Comments »
Posted on June 30, 2010 by Darren
They’ve lost their power. And I’m not talking about magic genie-rings or batarangs. I’m speaking about their real power. You don’t need them anymore.
– Lex Luthor discusses superheroes
Are superheroes redundant? In many ways, they’ve formed the basis of an American mythology in the twentieth century – many fo the classical superheroes represent a pantheon of gods not unlike the Greek or the Roman conception of the same. This is particularly true of DC’s panel of major superheroes, who may as well sit atop Olympus looking down on humanity. However, the past few decades haven’t necessarily been kind to the notion of the superhero – increasingly deconstructed and darkened and shaded and compromised beyond any similarity to their original status – and you’d be forgiven for wondering whether the genre has passed its sell-by date. This is the question at the core of Justice, the twelve-part maxi-series by Alex Ross and Jim Kreuger.
A league of their own?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: absolute justice, alex ross, comic book history, comic books, dark age, dc absolute edition, dc comics, graphic novel, jim kreuger, justice, justice league, kingdom come, nostalgia, silver age | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 28, 2010 by Darren
There are somethings you can’t put a positive spin on. The rape and murder of a fourteen-year-old girl is one of those things.
A little too lovely...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, heaven, mark wahlberg, Movies, non-review review, peter jackson, rachel weisz, review, saoirse ronan, stanley tucci, susan sarandon, susie salmon, suzie salmon, the lovely bones | 9 Comments »
Posted on June 28, 2010 by Darren
The wonderful lads over at Anomalous Materials are running a tournament over the summer to find the best comedy of all time. Think of it as a world cup, for film nerds. However, the competition – like our quad-annual footie fest – has had its share of upsets. Most notable in an early round where Galaxy Quest triumphed over Some Like it Hot or the trumping of Arsenic and Old Lace by A Fish Called Wanda another day (the same day The General went home empty handed, losing to Mrs. Doubtfire) or Bringing Up Baby getting trounced by Little Miss Sunshine. There are more borderline cases, with The Apartment beating The Circus or The Great Dictator losing to The Graduate. However, the only victory for a “classic” classic film I could find was that of City Lights over A Christmas Story. This sparked a bit of discussion between those taking part (which is, in fairness, the rather wonderful thing about events like this), but it got us wondering: Is comedy a fickle mistress? Has what the audience expected from a comedy changed dramatically with the times? Are what many consider to be “classics” of the genre subject to this winds of change and popular taste?
Modern Times are tough for Charlie...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Anomalous Materials, best comedy of all time, black and white, buster keaton, charlie chaplin, classic, classic comedy, comedy, forgotten, humour, jokes, modern, modern classic, modern comedy, Movies, popular opinion, sense of humour, silent film, taste, zeitgeist | 12 Comments »
Posted on June 28, 2010 by Darren
I was delighted over the weekend to be asked to take part in a joint blog post with the rather wonderful Frank over at the Pompous Film Snob, outlining my favourite trailer and why. The article’s well worth a look and features some fantastic contributions. There’s a lovely selection right there. Anyway, he got me in the trailer frame of mind and I thought I’d maybe just post some of my favourite trailers for non-movie-things here, as a kind of a spin-off.
This post is rated "A" for awesome...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: film, Movies, parodies, Television, trailers, video games | 4 Comments »
