Posted on December 5, 2009 by Darren
While watching Star Trek with my family over the weekend, I noticed something. Something small, probably insignificant. But you know how things are. They grab you and they stick in the back of you mind like a piece of thread, slowly unravelling over time until all of a sudden you have some sort of epiphany. My epiphany is this: what if Spock – as imagined by JJ Abrams – is Superman? Yes, the four-colour comic book character. Or – at the very least – a stand-in for him? It might not be as crazy as you think…
Okay, it’s probably as crazy as you think. But hopefully not crazier.
The world's favourite aliens...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: jj abrams, krypton, Movie, richard donner, star trek, superman, vulcan | Leave a comment »
Posted on December 4, 2009 by Darren
… and why it must be 100% faithful to the book.
I’m not a Twilight fan. I don’t have the same loathing for it that some do – I try to be a tolerant guy. My aunt and my little sister love the movies and the books, but even if there were unpleasant overtones in the film (give me one thing that isn’t wrong with the Bella-Edward relationship), it’s still the sparkling that rubs me the wrong way. I know I should be more concerned about the pedophilic implications or the abusive nature of the relationship, but I’m not. Vampires don’t sparkle. Anyway, I’m a live and let live sort of guy. My own tastes must appear quite esoterical to anyone viewing from the outside, so I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Still, I stumbled upon a discussion of the last Twilight novel, Twilight: Breaking Dawn, over at Cinematic Happenings Under Development and Rope of Silicon, which I thought actually make it seem like this movie might seem like some classic abstract David Cronenberg masterpiece.
We had an image to go with this, but it was just too intense...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bella, breaking dawn, CHUD, david cronenberg, edward, imprinting, rope of silicon, the twilight saga: breaking dawn, twilight, twilight: breaking dawn, vampire baby, werewolve | Leave a comment »
Posted on December 3, 2009 by Darren
Well, I guess Twilight: New Moon was ahead of the curve in at least one regard. Perhaps horror tastes are cyclical, as it seems that werewolves have cycled back into public consciousness after a few hundred years. Disregarding the aforementioned sequel, we have the release of The Wolfman coming up next year. That the werewolf has been chosen to spearhead the planned relaunch of classic Universal horror properties is perhaps a large vote of confidence in the beasts, and perhaps a long overdue one. How come, for all the cheesy B-movies they’ve been featured in, werewolves have never pierced popular culture in the same way that vampires, zombies or even plain old ghosts have?
Benecio del Toro looks only slightly hairier than usual...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: an american werewolf in paris, creatures, films, horror, Movies, teenwolf, the wolfman, twilight: new moon, vampires, werewolf, werewolves, wolf, zombies | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 2, 2009 by Darren
Stumbled across this the other day and thought it was worth a post. Basically it’s Irish Times film critic Donald Clarke’s top twenty films of the last ten years. I have to say – as someone who rarely agrees with him at all – his list is populated with good choices. Still, I’m not sure that the majority of those would make it into my top fifty, let alone my top twenty. Which reminds me, I probably should put some sort of list together to commemorate the end of the decade – but it’s not over yet. I’m not even sure I could put together a list for this year, seen as I haven’t seen nearly anything, let alone nearly everything. Anyway, Donald Clarke’s list (and some comments) are below.
There Will Be Blood! Let The Arguing Commence!
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 00s, cinema, decade, donald clark, donald clarke, films, irish times, Movies, naughties, screenwriter, top twenty | 6 Comments »
Posted on December 1, 2009 by Darren
You know how interested I am in quirky interpretations of the deeper meanings of popular culture – like the discussion over whether Anton Chigurh of No Country For Old Men is actually an angel or whether this year’s Torchwood: Children of Earth miniseries was actually about the recession. So it should come as no surprise that when I read about how The Shining by Stanley Kubrick is supposedly about the genocide of the Native Americans, I was more than a little intrigued.
Even the baking powder is in on it…
Continue reading →
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: allegory, film, genocide, holocaust, horror, indians, kubrick, metaphor, Movies, native americans, racism, shining, stanley kubrick, the shining | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Darren
Who would have thought that the writers’ strike last year would have been a blessing in disguise? Not only did the condensing down of seasons of House and Lost give the series a tighter narrative flow, but we also got the highest-profile “web original” series ever written. It may have been somewhat disingenous of Time to name this little musical masterpiece “one of the best inventions of 2008” – as there have been web-based series before – but what is astounding is how well this little drama stands on its own. Produced with a shoestring budget using favours called in from all over the industry as a means of artistic expression circumventing the studio system (which was being boycotted by the strike), Joss Whedon continues to demonstrate his cult credentials with another sure-fire geek hit.
The doctor will see you now...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: doctor horrible's sing-along blog, dr. horrible, dr. horrible's sing-along blog, felicia day, joss whedon, musical, nathan fillon, neil patrick harris, non-review review, review, superhero, supervillain, web original | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Darren
You have to admit that the premise, at least, is intriguing. Maybe the execution is less so, but the basic premise (a martial arts movie directed by maestro wordsmith David Mamet) deserves at least a little consideration. In fairness, the movie plays its cards pretty well. It’s populated with kind of deceit and self-deceit which we have come to expect from the characters which Mamet presents to us on a regular basis. It’s a grim and dark and seedy world, even underneath those bright lights. The problem is that the movie’s core appeal (articulated in its title, premise and marketing) of a martial arts movie simply cannot deliver in that environment. These two facets of the movie lock themselves in mortal combat like two prize fighters in the ring: Mamet’s cynicism and human drama facing off against the requisite showiness and razzle-dazzle of martial arts. At one point a character suggests that the money is in a draw (since a rematch is a huge moneyspinner), and maybe that’s why we get no winner here. We don’t even get an entertaining struggle.
The blows come as quick as the dialogue and are almost as sharp...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: david mamet, film, martial arts film, Movie, non-review review, play, red belt, redbelt, review, tim allen | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 29, 2009 by Darren
Is just me, or are the Judd Atapow machine comedies getting crasser and crasser? Sure, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up weren’t exactly incredibly clean pieces of comedy, but they certanly demonstrated far more maturity than most of the recent output from that particular comedy factory – for better or worse. It’s just hard to find bodily function jokes and profanity funny for their own sake, and – if that is the measure of humour these days – that sort of humour is a dime-a-dozen these days. That’s not to say that Step-Brothers is entirely without charm (it has more than a few engaging moments), but just that it seems to think that appealing to the lowest common denominator is a legitimate form of comedy when it can’t think of anything better to do.
Brothers in arms...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adam mckay, comedy, film, funny, john c. reilly, man-child, manchild, Movie, non-review review, review, step-brothers, stepbrothers, will ferrell | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 28, 2009 by Darren
I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Batman. I mean, I hate what the series became with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, but I think that Burton managed to craft a unique and yet suitable visual and design aesthetic for the character and his world, while Keaton managed to embody a tragic Batman who really seems quite distinct from most iterations either before or since. While I wouldn’t argue this take on Batman should be “definitive”, or that it fits as comfortably as Nolan’s Batman Begins or even Batman: The Animated Series, I do think it’s a valid and intriguing exploration of one of pop culture’s most enduring and evolving characters.
Full moon…
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman 1989, batman 89, Christopher Nolan, danny elfman, green goblin, jack nicholson, joker, michael keaton, Movie, non-review review, review, tim burton | 3 Comments »
Posted on November 27, 2009 by Darren
My mum can’t watch horror films. She just can’t. Even if they aren’t that scary. Even if they are horror-comedies or versions of stories she’s heard before. She can’t even be in the same room when they’re on – even if nothing actually horrific is happening. It turns out that – in her youth, while an au pair in Belgium – one of her friends convinced her to see a movie playing in the local cinema. A film about a family in a hotel over the winter, starring Jack Nicholson. That movie scared her to death, and has arguably scared her ever since.
That movie is – if you haven’t gathered from the title of this post and the plot description – The Shining.
Baby, it's cold outside...
Continue reading →
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, ghosts, haunted, haunted hotel, horror, hotel, jack nicholson, Movie, non-review review, overlook hotel, review, stephen king, the shining | 4 Comments »
