the m0vie blog

296. Jaws: The Revenge (Jaws ’87) – Shark Week 2022 (-#27)

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Emma Kiely, and this time with special guest Jason Coyle, 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.

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, rounding out the week with Joseph Sergeant’s Jaws: The Revenge.

Following the death of her son Sean in a freak shark attack, Ellen Brody becomes convinced that her family has become a supernatural magnet for sharks. Her surviving son Michael convinces Ellen to travel to the Bahamas, where she meets a mysterious sea plane pilot named Hoagie. As a relationship begins to blossom between Ellen and Hoagie, Ellen discovers that perhaps there are some secrets that can’t be escaped.

At time of recording, it was ranked 27th on the lists of either the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: bad movies, continuity, emma kiely, hollywood, home media, jason coyle, jaws, jaws '87, jaws: the revenge, joseph sergeant, lorraine gray, Michael Caine, nostalgia, richard jani, sequels, shark week, sid sheinberg, steven spielberg, universal, universal pictures, voodoo sharks | Leave a comment »

295. Jaws 3 (Jaws 3D) – Shark Week 2022 (-#75)

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Emma Kiely, and this time with special guest Joey Keogh, 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.

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, Joe Alves’ Jaws 3.

Working with eccentric billionaire Calvin Bouchard, Sea World is planning to open a new and expensive underwater attraction. However, these plans are complicated when a shark finds its way into the park. Eager for publicity, and sensing a rare opportunity, Bouchard hopes to capture the shark and hold it in captivity to draw audiences. However, remembering their ordeal on Amity Island, Michael and Sean Brody wonder is the terror is only beginning.

At time of recording, it was ranked 75th on the lists of either the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: 1980s, 1983, 3d, bottom 100, cocaine, Dennis Quaid, emma kiely, Florida, imdb, jaws, jaws 3, jaws 3d, joey keogh, louis gossett jr., manimal, podcast, seaworld, shark week, sharks, The 250, universal pictures | Leave a comment »

294. Jaws 2 – Shark Week 2022 (#—)

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Emma Kiely, and this time with special guest Jess Dunne, 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.

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, Jeannot Szwarc’s Jaws 2.

It has been several years since a series of shark attack scarred Amity Island, but Chief Brody is still scarred by the experience. As the community prepares to usher in a prosperous new era of investment and development, Brody starts to see signs that a shark is once again stalking the waters off these peaceful shores. Can Brody convince the community that they are in mortal danger or will the monster finish off the seaside town?

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the lists of either the best or the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Brody, emma keily, jaws, jaws 2, jeannot szwarc, jess dunne, roy scheider, sequels, shark week, sharksploitation, sid sheinberg, steven spielberg, The 250, universal | Leave a comment »

293. Jaws – Shark Week 2022 (#206)

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Darren

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, we are re-releasing our episode on Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, with a new intro.

Chief Brody moved to the remote island community of Amity to get away from the horrors of urban life. However, his plans for a fresh start are derailed when horrifically mangled bodies begin washing up on the sea shore. Based on the evidence, Brody reaches a conclusion that nobody on the island wants to hear: the town is being terrorised by a Great White Shark.

At time of recording the new intro, it ranked 206th on the list of the best or the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: emma kiely, jaws, podcast, re-release, shark week, steven spielberg, The 250 | Leave a comment »

292. Jai Bhim (#249)

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, 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, T. J. Gnanavel’s Jai Bhim.

When a tribal woman’s husband goes missing in police custody, she has no option but to turn to a civil rights lawyer named Chandru. Eager to help his client find her abducted husband, Chandru stumbles upon a web of police brutality and violence that extends far deeper than he initially expected. What Chandru uncovers will change Indian society forever.

At time of recording, it was ranked 249th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: caste, caste system, courtroom drama, dalits, india, irulars, jai bhim, mystery, podcast, social justice, suriya, tamil nadu, The 250 | Leave a comment »

291. Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition (#—)

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Darren

So this week, Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

When a mysterious entity appears at the edge of Federation space, Admiral James Tiberius Kirk finds himself recommissioned as commander of the Starship Enterprise. When his former Science Officer, Spock, is summoned from across the cosmos by the creature’s psychic cries, the crew find themselves on a desperate mission to save Earth from a creature that exists beyond human comprehension.

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: counterculture, gene roddenberry, god, horniness, horny, kirk, manson family, parenting, podcast, psychedelia, sixties, spock, star trek, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The 250, v'ger | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Thor: Love and Thunder” and the Rise of the Anti-Legacyquel…

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of both Top Gun: Maverick and Thor: Love and Thunder recently, it seemed like an opportunity to unpack what might be described as “the rise of the anti-legacyquel.”

The term “legacyquel” emerged in the middle of the last decade to describe a new kind of franchise film, one that allowed an aging cast to gracefully hand over the series to a younger generation. For a few years, it seemed like this might offer a sustainable model for Hollywood’s future. However, recent years have seen a very firm rejection of this approach, with Maverick and Love and Thunder serving as two very recent and very high-profile examples of stories about an older generation seemingly welcoming a new generation of heroes, only to take back control at the climax of the story.

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

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: all-new and all-different, Jane, legacy, legacyquels, maverick, Next Generation, sequels, thor, thor: love and thunder, tom cruise, top gun: maverick | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On The Rise of “the Fakeout Death”…

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist during the week. With the most recent seasons of both Stranger Things and Obi-Wan Kenobi playing the same familiar trick, it seemed like a good time to talk about one of my bugbears in modern pop culture.

In recent years, it has become customary for piece of popular culture to indulge in a phenomenon best summarized as “the fakeout death”: a beloved character dies, the audience feels sad, and then they are magically restored and resurrected. It has become ubiquitous in the past five or so years: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, The Book of Boba Fett, even the recent Scream movies. Pop culture feels incredibly reluctant to kill off any characters with any popularity, and the result is part of the reason so many of these franchises are stagnating.

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

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: death, fan favourites, fans, franchises, infantalisation, Obi-Wan Kenobi, pop culture, star trek, stranger things | Leave a comment »

290. Network (#219)

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Ciara Moloney and Dean Buckley, 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, Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky’s Network.

Howard Beale is a veteran newscaster on a struggling network. When he is given his two weeks’ notice, Beale threatens to shoot himself live on the air as his final broadcast. The television journeyman becomes a media storm and ratings sensation, as the network eagerly seeks to capitalise on what could be a once-in-a-generation phenomenon.

At time of recording, it was ranked 219th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, Bryan Cranston, capitalism, ciara moloney, dean buckley, donald trump, exploitation, faye dunaway, Fox, fox news, hippies, media, money, ned beatty, Network, networks, Oscars, Paddy Chayefsky, Peter Finch, power, ratings, reagan, Sidney Lumet, Television, the sundae, yuppies | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Strange New Worlds” Became Unconvincing “Star Trek” Karaoke…

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is streaming weekly on Paramount+. The first season finale broadcast today, and so it seemed like a good opportunity to look at the culmination of these ten episodes.

Strange New Worlds has spent most of its first season riffing on familiar Star Trek narratives, offering retreads of classic templates. A Quality of Mercy takes the concept to its logical conclusion, and throws the cast of Strange New Worlds into a remake of Balance of Terror. Unfortunately, this becomes an extended argument about why Strange New Worlds is inherently inferior to Star Trek, with the show making a very literal and very aggressive argument for its own irrelevance while treating the larger franchise as a fetish object.

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