Movies | the m0vie blog

Claws Out for Sex and the City? The Irish Times Has Just the Ticket…

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Darren

Sex and the City 2 came out last week. Not that it really affects or bothers me one way or the other. I just find it fascinating that The Ticket, the normally rather wonderful entertainment supplement which comes with The Irish Times, chose to offer its front page to the girls, while containing nothing but vitriol within. It seems a little contrary to have your reviewer and your features writer going at the film with the critical equivalent of baseball bats and then give them prime of place in your lineup and publicity, no? Especially given that the front page didn’t read “Sex and the City 2: It’s Quite Crap, Actually”.

Just the ticket?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ana carey, complaining, cynicism, donald clarke, film, irish times, Movies, sex and the city, sex and the city 2, sex in the city, Television, the irish times, the ticket, ticket, twilight | 11 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Battlestar Galactica – The Plan

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Darren

It’s a lie. For the first few years, Battlestar Galactica sold itself as a grand mythology. Every episode, in a narration repeated at the start of this film, we were reintroduced to the Cylons and reassured that “They have plan”. Except they didn’t. The show was written year-to-year, with no overarching scheme behind it all. This isn’t a criticism, but an observation. For most of its four year run, the show was the best thing on television. The series finale was a major disappointment but – for the most part – the design worked. So labelling this spin-off as Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is at best a little bit cheeky. At worst it’s a downright lie.

Relax, it's not the end of the world...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: battlestar galactica, battlestar galactica: the plan, cavils, cylons, dean stockwell, film, humans, Movie, non-review review, ones, review, science fiction, the plan, tv, twos | 8 Comments »

Chorus Lion: The Musical Magic of the Lion King…

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Darren

Thanks to the ever wonderful Andrew who is running a mini-blogothon event this weekend. I’m delighted to have been asked to take part, and I’m sure there are some interesting choices being made.

When you mention “musical”, is it a cheat to think “Disney”? I’m not really sure. I mean, I could point to any number of iconic and important live-action musicals. The Wizard of Oz is perhaps the most enduring of these, but they run the gauntlet from quirky indie numbers like Romance & Cigarettes to bona fides Oscar winners like Chicago. There’s ones that have transitioned from stage to screen and those who have gone from cinema to theatre. However, for me, it has to be a Disney film. And not just because they own a monopoly on my childhood. And, if it’s going to be a Disney film, it has to be The Lion King.

Pride and joy...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: be prepared, circle of life, disney, elton john, musical, simba, the circle of life, the lion king | 10 Comments »

Irish-Exclusive Get Him To The Greek Clip…

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Darren

Thanks to the guys over at Universal Pictures Ireland, check out this Irish-exclusive web clip from the upcoming Russell Brand and Jonah Hill film Get Him to The Greek, the spin-off from the rather wonderful Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It is probably our most anticipated comedy of the year. Give the clip a look below, and put the candy in the jar. Parental advisory.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: clip, comedy, get him to the greek, jonah hill, russell brand, universal pictures ireland | 14 Comments »

Trailing Off: Movie Trailer Music…

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Darren

Damn it. It’s happened again. About once a year, I’ll watch a trailer and something will stay with me. Not necessarily a line (though the sheer eighties-tastic-ness of the “How do we kill them?”/“How ever you can” exchange from the Predators trailer keeps bouncing around inside my head), but just something. Sometimes it’s a stunning image that inevitably looks better all isolated and alone within the trailer, but sometimes it’s a piece of music. I’m not talking about that stupid “let’s sample a pop song” mentallity that is the fare of comedies or romances or heart-rendering dramas, I’m talking about some solid instrumental work. Last year it was the rather wonderful “Two Steps from Hell” from the trailer to Star Trek. This year, it’s the wonderful and ominous and “could easily be written by frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer” tune “Mind Heist” from the Inception trailer which I raved about last week. It’s embedded below and well worth a listen.

It’s amazing what we remember, isn’t it? I’m quite partial to the “Hello Zepp” from Saw, for example, and the variations that Charlie Closer has done for the sequels. Which is odd, because I’m not a huge fan of the sequels (though I really dug the originals). Of course, in my humble opinion, the best ambient sound track ever has to “Crockett’s Theme” from Miami Vice. I don’t care about the allegators or the fashion, it is a damn travesty that this beautiful piece of music wasn’t ported over from the television show into the big screen adaptation.

What’s your ambient film music of choice?

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ambient music, crockett's theme, film, film music, Inception, mind heist, trailer, trailer music | 5 Comments »

Does Machete Matter?

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Darren

I imagine that Robert Rodriguez was bracing himself for controversy over his new film Machete. Given the uproar that the use of foul language in Kick-Ass caused, I think it’s safe to say that Rodriguez’s retro “mexploitation” film was just asking for trouble when it came out. I anticipated a lot of politically correct discussions about the film’s premise, and potentially some discussions of negative stereotypes it might evoke. However, I certainly could not have suspected that it would provoke some sort of “race war”.

Knife to see you...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arizona, exploitation, films, immigration, machete, mexploitation, Movies, politics, pressure, racism, robert rodriguez | 17 Comments »

They’re Adapting: Why is “Unfilmable” Such a Dirty Word?

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Darren

The word “unfilmable” is thrown around a lot these days. Mostly quite unfairly, but sometimes somewhat justly. It’s typically used as a go to word when somebody is genuinely terrified of what an adaptation of a certain work may look like, but don’t want to concede that the thought of what Hollywood will do to a clever and insightful idea chills them to the very bone (this is the system which turned down a chance to make Fahrenheit 451 because they couldn’t sell it to thirteen year olds). However, the word itself simply suggests that there are some ideas, stories, narratives, presentations, whatever that simply can’t be transitioned from one format to another – here, of course, the other is always cinema or television. So, is it ever fair to describe something is “unfilmable” and is there any shame in the idea?

Lost in Adaptation...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: adaptations, book to film adaptations, books, books to film, catcher in the rye, films, Movies, the naked lunch, the road, unfilmable | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Kill Bill, Vol. 2

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Darren

Another film, another only very vaguely controversial decision from Darren. I actually prefer Kill Bill, Vol. 2 to the Kill Bill, Vol. 1. There, I said it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Japanese samurai swords, massive brawls, over-the-top violence and kitchen knife fights as much as the next man, but there’s just something about the second half of this “roaring rampage of revenge” which appeals to me.

Careful with your knives at the table...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bill, exploitation, film, kill bill, kill bill 2, kill bill: vol. 2, Movies, non-review review, quentin tarantino, review, roaring rampage of revenge, sergio leone, the bride | 8 Comments »

Going Looney About 3D…

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Darren

Well, as far as 3D is concerned, I’m not convinced, despite it’s increasing presence in the market place. However, after all my time criticising post-rendering in 3D or how certain films don’t necessarily need the gimmick, maybe it’s about time I got a little bit excited about 3D and stopped complaining so damn much. Or at least recognised that it’s not all bad. The good news of which I speak? The Looney Tunes are coming back… in 3D.

This coyote is about to get ugly...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, animation, cats & dogs, coyote falls, film, looney tunes, looney tunes 3d, Movies, road runner, shorts, Warner Brothers, wile e. coyote | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Road

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Darren

Fire is a recurring image in the work of Cormac McCarthy. Particularly the notion of a generational line “carrying the fire” and being the good guys. There’s a moment at the end of No Country For Old Men, another adaptation of McCarthy’s work, where the tired sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones shares a weird dream he’s been having with his wife, where he finds himself walking down a long road, and he passes his father – who is carrying a torch. It’s a powerful image, which really cuts to the heart of the piece. For those wondering what that road and that torch may actually look like… well, there’s this.