the m0vie blog

329. Seed of Chucky (#—)

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Charlene Lydon, this week with special guest Jason Coyle, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This week, Don Mancini’s Seed of Chucky.

Glen, the child of demonic dolls Chucky and Tiffani, has a crisis of identity. Seeking to discover their own past, the doll longs to connect with their long lost parents. Discovering that there is a feature film adaptation of the classic doll story in the works, Glen sets out to Hollywood. What follows is a surreal family drama and a journey of self-discovery, in which a trio of killer dolls cross paths with Oscar-nominee Jennifer Tilly as they set out to paint Tinseltown red.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Brad Dourif, charlene lydon, chucky, comedy, don mancini, gay, glen, glen or glenda, glenda, horror, jason coyle, jennifer tilly, john waters, queer, Redman, seed of chucky, transgender | Leave a comment »

342. 12 Years a Slave (#182)

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Lee Murkey, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

So this week, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.

In 1841 New York, Solomon Northup is a free man. While his wife and family are away, Solomon earns his way as a travelling musician. However, two conmen take advantage of his trust, drugging him and selling him into slavery. Transported to Louisiana, Solomon finds himself stripped of all the rights and comforts afforded a human being. Through twelve years of brutality, horror and violence, Solomon struggles not only to survive, but to live – and to hold on to some vestige of his humanity in the process.

At time of recording, it was ranked 182nd on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: 12 Years a Slave, academy awards, america, Barack Obama, chiwetel ejiofor, donald trump, history, John Ridley, lee murkey, lupita nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, podcast, racism, Slavery | Leave a comment »

328. Bride of Chucky (#—)

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Charlene Lydon, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This week, Ronny Yu’s Bride of Chucky.

Liberating the remains of the nefarious killer doll known as “Chucky” from a police evidence locker, Tiffany Valentine longs to be reunited with her former lover: the infamous serial killer Charles Lee Ray. However, the reunited couple quickly discover that their relationship was never perfect. In spite, Chucky traps Tiffany inside her own doll body, and the embark on a road trip across the United States in the hopes of reuniting the killer doll with his corporeal body.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Brad Dourif, bride of chucky, child's play, chucky, don mancini, film, horror, jennifer tilly, joey keogh, katherine heigl, Movie, podcast, postmodern, puppets, ronny yu, self-aware, slasher, The 250 | Leave a comment »

340. Oppenheimer (#59)

Posted on July 22, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer brought quantum physics to the United States. However, as the Second World War rages, the scientist finds himself drafted on to the Manhattan Project, and set a single all-consuming task: the creation of an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer throws himself into his work, but can even the best scientific mind of his generation be fully prepared for the consequences of this revelation.

At time of release, it was ranked 59th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: atomic, atomic age, auteur, certainty, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, director, ego, fame, film, J. Robert Oppenheimer, los alamos, Movie, nuclear bomb, oppenheimer, Physics, revolution, science, star, trinity, uncertainty, universal, vanity | Leave a comment »

339. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Indy-pendence Day 2023 (#—)

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Tony Black and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, a postscript for our Indiana Summer, celebrating Indy-pendence Day, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Veteran archeologist Indiana Jones finds himself adrift in 1969, estranged from his wife and worried that his best days are behind him. However, the daughter of an old friend sweeps into his life in search of a legendary artefact, with Nazis hot on her trail. All of a sudden, the intrepid adventurer finds himself embarking on a globe-trotting chase that has a deeper connection to his past than even he realises.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: box office, disney, harrison ford, indiana jones, indiana jones and the dial of destiny, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, indiana summer, James Mangold, karen allen, nostalgia, steven spielberg, tony black | Leave a comment »

327. Child’s Play 3 (#—)

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Darren

This week, Jack Bender’s Child’s Play 3.

After years of legal trouble arising from a high-profile controversy surrounding an alleged “killer doll”, Play Pals is back in business. However, the first doll off the line turns out to have a pretty mean attitude. Reconstituted from the remains of the original possessed doll, Charles Lee Ray once again finds himself trapped in a plastic body. Setting out to avenge himself on Andy Barclay, Chucky discovers that his old adversary has been sent to military school. This time, it seems, it’s war.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: andy barclay, Brad Dourif, charlene lydon, child's play, child's play 3, chucky, doll, gender, horror, killer doll, masculinity, military school, slasher | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Strange New Worlds” Finally Confronts a Long-Standing “Star Trek” Blindspot…

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist earlier this week. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is streaming weekly on Paramount+. So we thought we’d take a look at the second episode of the second season.

Strange New Worlds is obviously a nostalgic appeal to classic Star Trek, particularly the Berman era of the nineties. However, the show has been somewhat reluctant to engage with some of the blindspots of that era, in particular its refusal to acknowledge or engage with the ongoing debate around gay rights. Ad Astra Per Aspera represents a long overdue reckoning with this failure on the part of the franchise, constructing a very classic Star Trek narrative that reckons very overtly with the marginalisation of these minorities.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: ad astra per aspera, allegory, continuity, homosexuality, metaphor, queer, star trek, strange new worlds, transgender | Leave a comment »

338. Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Amélie) (#102)

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and with special guest Síomha McQuinn, This Just In is a subset of The 250 podcast, looking at notable new arrivals on the list of the 250 best movies of all-time, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain.

Amélie Poulain has always been something of a special person, somebody who sees the world in a way that nobody else around her understands. Living a life of quiet desperate, freak events throw Amélie into the life of a complete stranger. The feeling is exciting to Amélie, who takes it as her mission to start meddling in the lives of all those around her. However, Amélie very quickly discovers that such meddling is rarely as tidy as one might hope.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 102nd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: Movies, The 250 | Tagged: film, france, imdb, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, lady di, manic pixie dream girl, Movie, paris, podcast, princess diana, quirky, síomha mcquinn, The 250, whimsy | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Superhero Genre’s Existential Crisis…

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With no major new releases this week, and with the recent release of both Secret Invasion and The Flash, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the state of the modern superhero genre.

While there are ongoing debates about whether “superhero fatigue” has set in, these are largely besides the point. Watching contemporary superhero films, there is a palpable anxiety underpinning these blockbusters. Increasingly, these superhero films are about superhero films. In particular, they are movies and television shows that make an existential argument for their continued importance and necessity.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: existential, films, must there be a superman?, secret invasion, superhero, superhero fatigue, superhero genre, Television, the flash | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Secret Invasion” Finally Foregrounds Nick Fury…

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Darren

We’ll be running weekly reviews of Secret Invasion at The Escapist. To start with, the premiere.

Secret Invasion is notable as the first Marvel Studios project to truly foreground Nick Fury, a character who has been essential to the shared universe dating back to the closing credits of Iron Man. It’s interesting that it took the shared universe fifteen years to build a narrative around Samuel L. Jackson. Secret Invasion adopts an interesting approach to the character, treating him as an avatar for the increasingly beleagured media franchise, a veteran and hero that might be over the hill with his best years behind him.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.