the m0vie blog

The Six Faces of 007: Pierce Brosnan

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate James Bond’s 50th birthday on screen (and the release of Skyfall), we’re going to take a look at the character and his films. We’ve already reviewed all the classic movies, so we’ll be looking at his iconic baddies, and even at the character himself.

I have a great deal of affection for Pierce Brosnan’s term as James Bond. I think the actor easily portrayed the most rounded James Bond since Connery, capable of being an angel or a killer as the script demanded it. His run got off to a solid start with (for my money) the most consistent two-fer in the franchise’s history. (Taken together, I’d argue that GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies are the perfect revision and update of the Bond mythos.) While the last two films of his tenure were awkward and uneven efforts, Brosnan never gave the role less than his all. He has gone on record as being disappointed that his term as James Bond didn’t last longer than four films and, despite the mess of Die Another Day, I can’t help but agree with him.

I was quite shaken by his departure…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Bond girl, Brosnan, Cold War, Die Another Day, George Lazenby, GoldenEye, james bond, James Bond in film, Movies, pierce brosnan, Roger Moore, sean connery, World Is Not Enough, xenia onatopp | 13 Comments »

DC Comics Classics Library: Roots of the Swamp Thing (Review)

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Darren

Sometimes a creator leaves such a massive impression on a character that it’s almost hard to believe that the character ever existed before the writer in question began their run. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing is one such run, a modern day comic book classic which still reads as one of the best continuous runs by an author on any serial publication, ever. However, despite the fact that Alan Moore effectively defined the monster, Swamp Thing actually enjoyed a long publication history even before Moore began writing the title.

Roots of the Swamp Thing only collects the first thirteen issues of the first Swamp Thing title, but it’s enough to get a flavour for the title under Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. While it still remains in the shadow of an author who took over later, it’s not a bad monster book in its own right. It still struggles a bit to find its own identity, but there’s some interesting ideas – and it’s easy enough to find some of the ideas Moore would develop to great success gestating between the lines.

It’s alive!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Aceh, alan moore, alec holland, Anton Arcane, Bernie Wrightson, Carbon Cycle, Carbon dioxide, Carbon Management, dc comics, Environment, Health, House of Secrets, Irwandi Yusuf, Len Wein, Leuser Ecosystem, Moore, North Sumatra, Peat swamp forest, Scott Snyder, Shopping, Sumatran orangutan, Swamp, swamp thing, Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis, Wein | Leave a comment »

Irish and UK Posters for Les Misérables

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Darren

Universal just sent over these one-sheets for the upcoming Les Misérables, featuring Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. It’s opening on January 11th, and I’m actually quite excited. Click the images below to enlarge.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: les mis, Les Misérables, posters | 2 Comments »

A View to a Bond Baddie: Francisco Scaramanga

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate James Bond’s 50th birthday on screen, we’re going to take a look at the character and his films. We’ve already reviewed all the classic movies, so we’ll be looking at his iconic baddies, and even at the character himself.

You see, Mr Bond, like every great artist, I want to create an indisputable masterpiece once in my lifetime. The death of 007 mano a mano, face to face, will be mine.

You mean stuffed and displayed over your rocky mantelpiece?

That’s an amusing idea, but I was thinking in terms of history. A duel between titans. My golden gun against your Walther PPK. Each of us with a 50-50 chance.

Six bullets to your one?

I only need one.

Scaramanga and Bond

Was there ever a better Bond villain wasted in a more terrible film? Okay, maybe Christopher Walken as Max Zorin comes close, but Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga feels like the only potentially redemptive aspect of the tonally mismatched The Man With The Golden Gun, a movie about a duel to a death that involves a karate school, secret lairs, giant frickin’ lasers and a slide whistle. Scaramanga is easily the most compelling thing about the whole film, and that might explain the contempt that many people hold for it. After all, the eponymous assassin is missing for most of the middle section of the film.

The eyes of a killer…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bond, Christopher Lee, christopher walken, Curzon Street, Fleming, Francisco Scaramanga, Guy Hamilton, ian fleming, james bond, James Bond in film, KGB, Kingsley Amis, Man With The Golden Gun, Max Zorin, Roger Moore, Rosa Klebb, Scaramanga, White Elephant | 8 Comments »

Watch! New Django Unchained Trailer!

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren

I’m still hurting a bit from the decision to push Django Unchained‘s Irish release date into 2013. Then again, I shouldn’t be too disappointed – hopefully it’s worth the wait. Anyway, they’re released a new trailer for the film, and I have to agree with The Guardian when they suggest that Leonardo Dicaprio might prove a dark horse in the Best Supporting Actor race. Of course, as with most of the Oscar season excitement, I’ll only be catching up after the fact.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: christoph waltz, django unchained, Guardian, jamie foxx, Kerry Washington, Leonardo diCaprio, quentin tarantino, samuel l. jackson | 4 Comments »

Homeland: Season 1 (Review)

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren

In many respects, Homeland feels like a more character-oriented version of 24. The comparison makes sense, beyond the spy games and the paranoia and the espionage, if only because of massive overlap between the production staff on both shows – with Howard Gordon, Sean Callery and Chip Johannessen working on both projects. I don’t think 24 gets enough respect as an exploration of the post-9/11 zeitgeist, probably due to its admittedly pulpy nature. Homeland feels a little bit more restrained, and more firmly grounded. The show is anchored in two fantastic lead performances from Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, and the series works best when it’s centred around the two main characters, driven by their issues and their demons.

Nicholas Brody and his “great big bushy beard!”

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Brody, Carrie, Chip Johannessen, claire danes, Damian Lewis, Emmy Award, Homeland, Howard Gordon, Saul, Sean Callery, Tom Walker, United States | Leave a comment »

Watch! Hitchcock Trailer!

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren

I must have missed it, but the screen adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock & The Making of Psycho has now been officially titled the much blander (but more accessible) Hitchcock. It doesn’t really matter, though, as the new trailer has arrived and it’s really quite wonderful. I’m a massive Hitchcock fan, so recruiting Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren to headline a film about the making of one of his most high-profile works is certainly fascinating. Looking forward to this one. It’ll start a limited release in the States in late November, but we’ll be waiting until February to see it over here.

Ah well. At least they can’t spoil they ending.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alfred hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock & the making of psycho, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Alma Reville, anthony hopkins, helen mirren, hitchcock, Psycho, scarlett johansson, Stephen Rebello | 9 Comments »

Dancing on the Edge of a Blade (Runner): Prometheus & Hyper-Intertextuality

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren

Prometheus arrived on blu ray last week. I’m a big fan of the movie, despite the palpable sense of disappointment generated on its arrival – I suspect that I was wise not to expect answers, and instead to enough the movie for what it was. I’m not alone in considering the film’s ties to Alien to be among its weakest elements, forcing the movie to tie into something that had been a massive movie mystery for decades, rather than allowing it to be its own thing. However, it has emerged that Ridley Scott apparently hoped the movie could go further than that. Reportedly, the director had hoped that it could serve as something akin to “connective tissue” to tie together two of his most definitive science-fiction universes. Apparently, the director wanted to set the film in the same world as Blade Runner.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alien, blade runner, David, inglourious basterds, List of Blade Runner characters, los angeles, Prometheus, quentin tarantino, ridley scott, science fiction, Steven Soderbergh | 4 Comments »

Tomb of Dracula Omnibus, Vol. I (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren

It’s almost hard to imagine, looking at today’s comic book industry, but there was a time when horror comics were a major money-spinner for the “big two” comic book companies. The Tomb of Dracula stands out as the longest running and most successful of Marvel’s horror titles from the seventies, but there were a whole line of books being published featuring monsters old and new. It’s great that Marvel have taken the time and care to publish the complete series in three deluxe hardcover volumes. The Tomb of Dracula is a gem in Marvel’s seventies publishing crown, a delightfully enjoyable pulpy horror series that feels palpably more mature than a lot that the company was publishing at the same time.

A tome of Tomb…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Abraham Van Helsing, Blade, Bram Stoker, chris claremont, Colan, Count, Count Dracula, doctor doom, Doctor Sun, dracula, Gardner Fox, gene colan, god, Jonathan Harker, Marv Wolfman, marvel, marvel comics, Mina Harker, Quincy Harker, Rachel Van Helsing, Romania, Scotland Yard, Tomb of Dracula, vampire, Van Helsing | Leave a comment »

Son of Danse Macabre On Sale Now!

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren

I’m not a big fan of using the blog to give endorsements on how to spend your money – after all, I’m not even sure I trust my own opinion, so why should you? – but this is too good to ignore.

The wonderful Bryce Wilson from over at Things That Don’t Suck has published his eBook, Son of Danse Macabre. Bryce is just about one of the best writers on horror in cinema that I know, and he has a passion that shines through in his writing. All that, and he’s a nice guy. It’s always great to see a guy like that get a break.

Besides, any affectionate reference to Steven King’s superb (if sadly dated) horror handbook Danse Macabre demonstrates that it’s starting from a good place. As an added bonus, if you buy the book, Bryce is willing to review a horror film of your choice. Now that’s service with a smile. I’m just hoping nobody nominates Crossroads. That film scarred me.

You can buy the book directly here, but I also think it’s worth taking a look at Things That Don’t Suck to get a feel for his style of writing. Think of it as a massive and entertaining free sampler. If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will.