the m0vie blog

A View to a Bond Baddie: Alec Trevelyan

Posted on October 9, 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.

Alec Trevelyan stands out amongst Bond’s foes on the big screen because he’s really the first to be constructed explicitly to contrast with Bond. You could argue that many of the outings in the series are more preoccupied with the villain than with Bond himself, and GoldenEye stands out as one of the films most tightly focused on Bond himself. Alec Trevelyan, as such, exists as a more direct mirror to Bond than most of his foes. The bad guy even operates under the code name “Janus.” There are several implied reasons – his knack for treachery and betrayal, the scar on the side of his face. However, it also suggests that Bond and Trevelyan exist as two sides of the same coin.

Smart Alec?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday, alan rickman, Alec, Alec Trevelyan, anthony hopkins, arts, bond, daniel craig, GoldenEye, james bond, James Bond in film, Kingsley Amis, Movies, pierce brosnan, timothy dalton | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Nick of Time

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Darren

Nick of Time is an underrated nineties high-concept thriller that really runs on the charm of its cast and the skill of director John Badham.In a way, Badham seems stuck in a race against time that is just as tense as anything facing his protagonist. Badham has to make it from the start of the film to the final fadeout before the audience stops to think too much about the somewhat convoluted plot taking place. Nick of Time features perhaps the most ridiculously convoluted assassination attempt ever, but it’s generally so much fun that it’s easy not to get tangled in some of the logic problems.

They weren’t trained for this…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Armie Hammer, arts, assassination, Bedham, California, charles durning, christopher walken, Counties, Damien Echols, daniel radcliffe, film, Gene Watson, johnny depp, Lone Ranger, los angeles, Movie, Nick, Nick of Time, non-review review, Photograph, review, tim burton, Tonto, United States | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Paranormal Activity 4

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Darren

I actually quite liked the opening set-up of Paranormal Activity 4. As far as horror franchises go, the Paranormal Activity series is still much more spry than most other long-running series, and there’s a certain charm to the opening hour of Paranormal Activity 4 that seem almost playful. It feels strange to talk about a movie featuring an ominous demon hunting a small suburban family in these terms, but there’s a surprisingly warm and endearing sense of humour to be found in the first two-thirds of the film. Things definitely come off the rails towards the finalé, as the movie (and the series) become too burdened down with mythology and story – and the last third certainly becomes a little over-crowded and generic, threatening to collapse under its own weight as so many modern horrors do.

While it’s nowhere near as innovative, clever or genuinely frightening as Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 4 measures up reasonably well to the standard set by the sequels, ending up much stronger than Paranormal Activity 2, and about on-par with Paranormal Activity 3.

Something to watch over me…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: @TweetYourScream, facebook, ghost, Google, Horror film, Investigators, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, paramount pictures, Paranormal, paranormal activity, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, twitter, United States, youtube | 4 Comments »

The Six Faces of 007: Timothy Dalton

Posted on October 8, 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.

Timothy Dalton’s tenure as Bond is almost as divisive as that of George Lazenby, the only actor to serve a shorter term in the iconic role. However, in the years since Dalton departed the franchise, I’ll admit that I’ve grown quite fond of his interpretation of the British secret agent. Between The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill, I think that Dalton portrayed the most human and most tangible of the character’s screen personas, and I think that he suffers from being cast twenty years too early in the part. Certainly, one can see a lot of Daniel Craig’s whittled-down take on the character in Dalton’s two outings as 007.

Dalton’s taken quite a beating…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Albert R. Broccoli, bond, Dalton, George Lazenby, GoldenEye, ian fleming, james bond, James Bond in film, Living Daylights, pierce brosnan, Roger Moore, sean connery, timothy dalton | 8 Comments »

American Vampire, Vol. 1 (Review)

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Darren

This October, to get us in the mood for Halloween, we’re taking a look at some awesome monster comics. Check back in every Monday this month for a review of Scott Snyder’s American Vampire Saga.

In the end, though, it’s all about giving back the teeth that the current “sweetie-vamp” craze has, by and large, stolen from the blood suckers.

– Stephen King’s introduction to the collection

Stephen King, who wrote the origin half of this collection based off Scott Snyder’s notes, remarks in his wonderful foreword, “Here’s what vampires shouldn’t be: pallid detectives who drink Bloody Marys and only work at night; lovelorn southern gentlement; anorexic teenage girls; boy-toys with big dewy eyes.” American Vampire seems to be a strong rebuttal to all those modern and soft depictions of the blood-sucking monsters we’ve been swamped with over the last decade or so.

If that isn’t enough to at least interest you, then I don’t know what will.

Ch-ch-ch-changes…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: American Century, American Vampire, comic books, Comics, danse macabre, dc, dc comics, horror, los angeles, monsters, rafael albuquerque, Scott Snyder, Skinner Sweet, stephen king, United States, vampire, vampires, vertigo | Leave a comment »

Listen! Adele’s Skyfall Theme…

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Darren

We’re doing a month celebrating James Bond’s fiftieth anniversary, so it feels fair to include the latest Bond theme, released on Friday. Adele actually seems like the perfect choice for a Bond theme, evoking the style of classic themes like Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger. I haven’t actually enjoyed a Bond theme since Garbage’s superb The World is Not Enough, but When The Sky Falls sounds much more classic than that, harking back to the middle of the Roger Moore era at the latest. (Being honest, I could easily imagine Shirley Bassey knocking it out as a Sean Connery theme.) It seems to support Sam Mendes’ claims he’s taking Bond back to his roots, with “echoes” of earlier films.

Check it out below, and let us know what you think. Interestingly, it may be disqualified from this year’s Oscars race, potentially blocking Skyfall‘s highest profile possible win. Ah well, it’s still a nice and classy Bond theme.

Filed under: Movies | 6 Comments »

A View to a Bond Baddie: Max Zorin

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Darren

An interesting thing about Roger Moore’s Bond films is the fact that the best baddies tended to pop up in the worst films. Okay, I have a soft spot for Julian Glover in For Your Eyes Only, arguably the best of Moore’s outings as James Bond, but I’m thinking of Christopher Lee in The Man With the Golden Gun and Christopher Walken in A View to a Kill. In particular, Walken’s Max Zorin stands out – in my opinion – as one of the best villains of the entire franchise. He’s a character who really stands at the half-way point between the classical Bond villains and the characters we’ve seen since, positioned half-way between Auric Goldfinger and Franz Sanchez. It also helps that Walken is having a whale of a time, and that fun is contagious.

Hang on in there…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: A View to a Kill, bond, christopher walken, Cold War, Dresden, East Germany, entertainment, Goldfinger, ian fleming, james bond, James Bond in film, List of James Bond villains, Man With The Golden Gun, Max Zorin, Moore, paris, Roger Moore, Russian, Russians, san francisco | 6 Comments »

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Darren

Stephen King’s Dark Tower Omnibus is an absolutely stunning collection. It might, in terms of production value, be the finest hardcover that Marvel have ever produced in their prestigious omnibus line. Ignoring the issue of content, it’s hard to think of any collection that looks or feels more impressive than this massive slipcase edition, housing two gigantic tomes of King’s iconic lore. One volume reprints the first six story arcs of Marvel’s Dark Tower series, all written by Peter David and stunningly illustrated by Jae Lee. The second book contains all manner of supplementary material – from interviews with the creators, to sketches, to prose pieces and background information on King’s absolutely monumental fantasy epic. While the comic book itself might have some flaws (some serious, some less so), there’s absolutely no faulting the skill and care that went into crafting this deluxe special edition.

A towering accomplishment?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Crimson King, dark tower, Grapefruit, Gunslinger, Jae Lee, king, Maerlyn, Roland, Roland Deschain, Stand, stephen king, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Wizard's Rainbow | 2 Comments »

A View to a Bond Baddie: Auric Goldfinger

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Darren

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her
It’s the kiss of death… from Mis-ter…
Goldfinger.

Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold
This heart is cold…

He loves only gold!

The first film in the series, Dr. No, did an exceptional job establishing the template for a Bond villain. Dr. Julius No had an island fortress, a stylish layer, an army of henchmen, a few key soldiers with a gimmick, a sinister plan and a physical deformity, all of which would become fairly key ingredients for an archetypal Bond baddie. That said, Joseph Wiseman only appear on-screen in the role for about twenty minutes, so the audience actually got relatively little time to know him. The follow-up, From Russia With Love, also had a set of memorable bad guys, but the interaction with Bond was limited to the final few minutes of the film. (That isn’t to suggest those few minutes weren’t fantastic.)

On the other hand, we actually spend most of Goldfinger with Auric Goldfinger, and he’s the first villain in the series who has a number of extended interactions with our hero.

His finger in many pies…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Adolf Hitler, auric goldfinger, bond, China, Fort Knox, Goldfinger, ian fleming, james bond, James Bond in film, Joseph Wiseman, Julius No, List of James Bond henchmen in Goldfinger, napoleon, Nazi, Pussy Galore, world war ii | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman Beyond – Return of the Joker

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Darren

The Joker holds a special place among Batman’s iconic selection of villains. Appearing as early as Batman #1 all those years ago, the clown prince of crime has managed to hold on to his position as the prime Batman bad guy for pretty much all of Batman’s publication history. It was the Joker who put Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair in The Killing Joke, and it was the Joker who killed Jason Todd in A Death in the Family. As such, it’s no real surprise that the character should eventually make his way to the futuristic setting of Batman Beyond, to give Bruce one last challenge.