the m0vie blog

Doctor Who: Cold War (Review)

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Darren

Hair. Shoulderpads. Nukes. It’s the eighties. Everything’s bigger!

– the Doctor

The theory that this fiftieth anniversary half-season is intended as an homage to Doctor Who‘s rich and varied past holds up with Cold War. If The Bells of St. John was a Pertwee-era invasion tale, and The Rings of Akhaten was a shout-out to classic Hartnell world-building, then Cold War wears its influences even more brazenly. It’s the archetypal “base under siege” story popularised in the Troughton era, to the point where it even brings back one of the era’s most iconic monsters.

Indeed, the “Troughton base under siege by classic monsters” story is the only classic Doctor Who formulation that this half-season visits twice. While Cold War is easily weaker (and less ambitious) than Nightmare in Silver, it still fills that niche remarkably well. After all, if any Doctor Who writer can channel nostalgia, it’s Mark Gatiss.

Going green…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, Billie Piper, Cold War, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Gatiss, history, Ice Warrior, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Mark Gatiss, matt smith, Monster of Peladon, rose tyler, Russian language, Twentieth Century, Unquiet Dead | 4 Comments »

Ultimate Comics: Divided We Fall, United We Stand – Ultimates (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Darren

To get ready for Iron Man 3, we’ll be taking a look at some Iron Man and Avengers stories, both modern and classic. We hope to do two or three a week throughout the month, so check back regularly for the latest update.

There was a time when Marvel’s Ultimate Universe was the place to be. Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates were among the best-reviewed and best-selling books published at Marvel in the early part of the last decade, offering a fresh new take on classic comic book characters, and offering readers an opportunity to engage with a continuity-free world just as the super-hero movie craze took off. I’ll always be fond of the Ultimate Universe, because without The Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man, I simply wouldn’t be a comic book fan today.

However, in the last number of years, for any number of reasons, the line has wavered a little bit. Despite attracting Mark Millar back to write Ultimate Comics: Avengers, and Brian Michael Bendis generating massive headlines by writing The Death of Spider-Man, it seemed like the publishing brand was fading a bit. There have been several attempts to re-energise the line. Divided We Fall is just the most recent one, a crossover between the three books currently making up the Ultimate imprint.

The story of America falling apart, told from three different perspectives, it’s certainly timely. And, as crossovers go, shrewdly constructed. While Divided We Fall suffers a bit from the fact that Marvel is no longer consistently collecting the books leading into it, it is still an interesting comic book story, and one that takes advantage of the Ultimate Universe setting to tell a story that would be impossible in the mainstream Marvel brand.

President Cap…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, avengers, brian michael bendis, iron man 2, iron man 3, IronMan, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, Movie, robert downey, Shane Black, spider man, ultimate comics spider-man, ultimate universe | 2 Comments »

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (Review)

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I’ll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC’s Doctor Who.

Resurrection of the Daleks originally aired in 1984.

The universe is at war, Doctor. Name one planet whose history is not littered with atrocities and ambition for empire. It is a universal way of life.

Which I do not accept.

Then you deny what is real.

– yes, in case you’re wondering, the show did let Davros win a philosophical debate with the Doctor

It’s a bit of a cliché to suggest that writer and script editor Eric Saward didn’t actually like Doctor Who. It’s a bit of sensationalist nonsense that appears quite frequently in discussing his contributions to the series. The evidence most often cited in favour of this admittedly exaggerated position points out that Saward had a tendency to marginalise the Doctor within his stories, to portray the character as inefficient or ineffective within the context of an increasingly cynical universe. This characterisation of the Doctor as inherently weak really came to a head during the Colin Baker period of the show, but you can see traces of it during the Peter Davison era, most notably in Earthshock.

However, Resurrection of the Daleks also provides a pretty compelling case study, if only because it makes a compelling case for the Doctor as a massive hypocrite and a coward. You have to worry when the script seems to side more with Davros’ outlook on life than with that of the title character.

Putting the Fifth Doctor to the test…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bbc, Colin Baker, Dalek, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Davros, doctor, DoctorWho, Eric Saward, List of Doctor Who henchmen, London, Regroup, Resurrection of the Daleks, science fiction, Sixth Doctor, tardis, Terry Nation, Time Lord, Unearthly Child | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Olympus Has Fallen

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Darren

It’s easy to see why Die Hard is such a popular action movie template. It’s a formula that is very hard to do wrong. Sure, you might end up with a clumsy and disjointed mess of movie, but the format of man trying to save hostages in a base under siege is so straight-forward that it’s almost always an effective vehicle for an action film. Olympus Has Fallen takes that familiar movie outline and rigidly adheres to it. After all, once you’ve figured out the formula, all you have to do is plug in a few variables and a movie practically makes itself. As compared to a boat or a train or in a stadium, Olympus Has Fallen at least has ambition. It’s Die Hard in a White House.

It’s a clumsily constructed film, one that doesn’t excel at anything and fumbles at quite a few things. However, there’s only so far you can screw up a formula and Olympus Has Fallen winds up being a watchable, if very far from exceptional, mid-tier action film.

“Look, this is what happens when terrorists attack while Bruce Willis is on holiday…”

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: die hard, film, gerard butler, Movie, non-review review, North Korea, Olympus Has Fallen, review, Rick Yune, South Korea, United States, white house | 3 Comments »

Watch! 21 and Over Trailer!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Darren

Entertainment One just sent over this trailer for 21 and Over, the new comedy from the producers of The Hangover. It’s released on May 3rd, so check back at the end of April for our review of it. Check it out below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 21 and over, Hangover | Leave a comment »

Watch! ABC Family Batman Begins Trailer! Batman Fight For Family… But Live for Love!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Darren

I kinda love misleading trailers. Okay, there’s nothing worse than being duped into seeing a movie that you wouldn’t have wanted to watch, but it’s often quite impressive to watch how skilfully advertisers can twist something to make it look like what they want it to look like. For example, they make Batman Begins look like a feel-good romantic family drama. But credit where credit’s due, I didn’t even realise that Christian Bale smiled that much in the entire trilogy. And you gotta love that “whip” sound effect they add as Bruce hits the brakes on the Tumbler.

Watch out for the trailer to The Dark Knight pitching it as a hilarious laugh-off between Batman and the Joker while Rachel struggles to pick her one true love, or The Dark Knight Rises as the touching story of how hope can help a man triumph over adversity and recover from a damaging spinal injury to help those orphans facing an uncertain future in a city far away.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, batman begins, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, drama, joker | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: Dalek (Review)

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Darren

Dalek originally aired in 2005.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I swear, I just wanted you to talk!

Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!

– Van Statten and the Dalek

Dalek is a pretty effective reintroduction of the show’s most iconic villain. It’s also something of a tour de force for lead actor Christopher Eccleston and Dalek vocal performer Nicholas Briggs. It’s full of interesting ideas, and perhaps the biggest swipe the show would make at “superfans” this side of Love & Monsters. That said, Rob Shearman’s script is occasionally a bit clumsy in its execution, never quite managing to convince the audience that the Doctor might be turning into a Dalek, no matter how firmly it labours to point. Still, minor quibble aside, it’s a wonderful way of welcoming the Daleks back to the fold.

The loneliest Dalek…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, Ascension Islands, bbc, christopher eccleston, Cyberman, Cyprus, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, List of Doctor Who villains, Love & Monsters, New Zealand, Nicholas Briggs, Parting of the Ways, science fiction, Sea Devil, tardis, Terry Nation, Time Meddler | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Oblivion

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Darren

Director Joseph Kosinski wears his science-fiction interests on his sleeve. Tron: Legacy was obviously an update of an eighties science-fiction cult classic, and Oblivion feels like another form of pulpy homage. At its best, Oblivion feels like a spiritual successor to those wonderful cult science-fiction movies of the seventies and eighties, by way of classic version of The Outer Limits. Oblivion isn’t the strongest piece of science-fiction I’ve seen this year, nor the most ambitious, nor the most intelligent.

The movie is full of twists and turns, but few that any genre aficionado will fail to see coming. Instead, the movie largely works because it feels like an affectionate homage to those old-school post-apocalyptic pulpy sci-fi adventures. It’s cinematic nostalgia, but it’s lovingly crafted and skilfully rendered. Kosinski might not be the best storyteller working in the business, but he has a wonderful eye and keen sense of how to construct a beautiful scene.

On top (what remains of) the world…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Andrea Riseborough, Cruise, film, imax, Joseph Kosinski, Kosinski, Movie, non-review review, Oblivion, Olga Kurylenko, outer limits, review, science fiction, tom cruise, tron, tron: legacy | 4 Comments »

Stan Lee’s Iron Man – The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Darren

Working in collaboration with a stable of fantastic artists, Stan Lee created so many iconic characters and franchises at Marvel Comics that you could easily believe that everything he touched turned to gold. His work on The Fantastic Four, Thor and The Avengers with Jack Kirby so perfectly captured the sci-fi spirit of the sixties, and his creation of The Amazing Spider-Man with Steve Ditko redefined comic books, so it’s hard not to imagine that everything Lee set his mind to worked out perfectly.

Of course, inevitably, there were books that didn’t quite work right out of the gate. While his first reboot of Captain America was so awkward that he had to retroactively re-write the stories to feature a crazed Captain America impersonator, a lot of these titles were given the time and space necessary to try to figure out how to make them work. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Lee was quite sentimental towards some of his creations, with the awkward development history of The Incredible Hulk suggesting that Lee was going to try to figure out any way to make that character gel.

The Invincible Iron Man was never quite that troublesome, but he also never entirely clicked under Lee’s pen. While none of the character’s re-tools and re-workings are as severe as the kind of things that Marvel tried to do with the Hulk, there’s a very clear sense – reading this mammoth collection of Tales of Suspense short stories – that Lee wasn’t entirely sure about how to write Iron Man.

I am Iron Man!

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: captain america, crimson dynamo, egypt, Gargantus, genghis khan, Gwyneth Paltrow, iron man, iron man 2, mandarin, marvel comics, Movie, Red Barbarian, robert downey, Rock Hudson, stan lee, Tales of Suspense, thor, tony stark | 5 Comments »

Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks (Review)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Darren

Revelation of the Daleks originally aired in 1985.

There’s an argument to be made that Revelation of the Daleks is the only truly classic episode that Doctor Who produced during Colin Baker’s stint in the leading role. I’m not sure I agree – I’d argue that Vengeance on Varos, despite a misleading title, is surprisingly solid and clever – but I can see the logic. In fact, Revelation of the Dalekswas a fitting choice to close out Baker’s first season in the role, the last episode to air before BBC placed the series on hiatus, as it represents the very best of mid-eighties Doctor Who.