the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Superman II (The Theatrical Cut)

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Darren

I kinda feel sorry for Superman II. As a film, it’s overshadowed by the enormous controversy over the firing of director Richard Donner. Donner, who directed the original film, had begun work on the follow-up, when he was dismissed by the producers – reportedly for resisting the “campy” direction that the Salkinds where trying to force on the film. Richard Lester (who worked with the Salkinds as producer on The Three Musketeers, The Fourth Musketeer and as an uncredited producer on the original Superman) stepped in to fill the vacant position, and was ultimately credited on the finished product. While the film works relatively well, it suffers from the simple fact that Lester is nowhere near the craftsman that Donner was.

You'll believe a man can make a woman forget his secret identity!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Brando, Christopher Nolan, Clark, clark kent, dark knight, Donner, Eiffel Tower, film, Filmmaking, jor-el, Lois, Lois Griffin, marlon brando, Movie, non-review review, paris, review, richard donner, Richard Lester, superman, superman ii, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | 8 Comments »

Lyrical Dissonance: Musical Musings…

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Darren

I don’t normally write about music here… probably because I know next-to-nothing of music. I couldn’t pick most modern musicians out of a line-up. Not in a “modern musicians suck” sort of way, but in a “I don’t really listen to the radio, and therefore pop music” sort of way. So I’m actually even less qualified than a layman to talk of music and such. Still, I have to admit that I am fascinated at how so few people who rate so many classic songs so highly seem to be aware of what the song they’re listening to (or singing along to) is even about. While it isn’t anything that “grinds my gears”, I am still a little amused every time I hear Every Breath You Take played at a wedding, or Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) played at graduation.

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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: arts, Bob Geldof, Bowie, david bowie, every breath you take, Floyd, Good Riddance, i don't like mondays, In The Air Tonight, lyrics, meaning of music, Monday, music, music and lyrics, Pink Floyd, Shawshank Redemption, song meanings, song stories, Space Oddity | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Catch Me If You Can

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Darren

Catch Me If You Can is an enjoyable little film which feels like Spielberg indulging in some sixties nostalgia, while allowing Leonardo DiCaprio to scratch yet another name off his “greatest living directors” bingo card. It’s always impressive when a movie running for two-and-a-half hours just breezes by – some might suggest that such a film is “light”, and it’s a hard position to disagree with, but I think it marks a nice change of pace from the darker movies Spielberg was directing during the first decade of the new millennium. It’s not a classic, but it’s an enjoyable piece of cinema, crafted by talented people, that moves almost as fast as its lead character.

They should cheque better next time...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, arts, christopher walken, Clint Eastwood, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, DiCaprio, film, Fleming, frank sinatra, J Edgar, John Williams, Leonardo diCaprio, martin sheen, Movie, non-review review: catch me if you can, review, spielberg, steven spielberg, tom hanks | 12 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film: Alien, 29th November

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Darren

All film fans in the Dublin area! There’s date for your diary: the 29th November! The wonderful folks over at the Jameson Cult Film Club have put together a screening of Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 Alien… in a venue designed to look like the Nostromo itself. I can’t stress enough how incredible the Jameson screenings are. I’m normally cautious about plugging stuff on here, but these really are events that an Irish film fan would be absolutely mad to miss. You can tell that the guys at Jameson really love their cinema – their screening of Snatch was easily one of the highlights of my cinematic year. There’s a lot of genuine care and affection that goes into organising these nights, and I think they really pay off.

The best part? Tickets are absolutely free.

I’ve included the text of the press release below, but there’s no reason to read it – that just wastes valuable time you could be using to head on over to their website to apply for free tickets.

Ash to Ash...

I am psyched. This is actually up there with the release of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as my most anticipated film moment remaining in 2011.

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Filed under: Movies | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Twilight – Breaking Dawn, Part I

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Darren

Twilight tends to generate a great deal of controversy on the internet, which is something I’ve never really understood. After all, all aspects of fandom – movies, television, comic books, video games – tend to suffer from a mainstream prejudice, so it seems strange that Twilight should attract such a harsh response from fans of other niche culture. In fact, I’d subscribe to the argument that Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part I is just like any other major franchise film, like The Expendables or Transformers III. The only major difference is that it’s aimed at the female demographic rather than a male one. Keep in mind this isn’t a defense (it has many of the same weaknesses as those two films), but rather an observation – it’s something I’ve always found strange.

To have and to hold...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anna Kendrick, bella, breaking dawn, edward, Edward Cullen, expendables, film, Movie, non-review review, review, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, taylor lautner, Team Edward, team Jacob, The Twilight Saga, the twilight saga: breaking dawn, twilight, Twilight Saga, twilight: breaking dawn | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Clue

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Darren

Clue is an interesting movie. It’s an obviously flawed one, but it’s also conducted with such impressive energy and a cheeky sense of fun that it’s quite easy to overlook some of the structural problem, and rather glaring plot holes. It’s an affectionate parody of those classic “whodunnit” mysteries, stories like Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, featuring a small cast trapped together, investigating a murder. Based on the game Clue (or Cluedo to us Europeans), it’s the first movie based on a boardgame, and I can’t help but feel that it’s still the best.

The usual suspects...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Board game, Clue, Cluedo, Colonel Mustard, Crime fiction, film, Game, House Un-American Activities Committee, List of Cluedo characters, Movie, New England, non-review review, review, tim curry, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Anaconda

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Darren

Anaconda is a B-movie. It’s not a homage to a B-movie, or a love letter to that type of film. It’s not a nostalgic throwback, or an attempt to capture some of the elements of those old cheesy productions. It actually is a B-movie. There’s no real attempt to execute the film in a manner that rises above those, or even captures that type of filmmaking at its best, it’s just a solid example of what a B-movie might look like, were it produced today. It’s hard to argue that Anaconda is a good film – and I’ll readily concede that it’s actively a badone – but there is some charm to be found it, if only from the way that all the hyper-trashy elements seem to come together in what appears to be a perfect storm of creature feature cheese.

I always had a crush on Jennifer Lopez...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anaconda, Computer-generated imagery, Dick Dastardly, film, Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez, jon voight, Movie, non-review review, Owen Wilson, raiders of the lost ark, review | 1 Comment »

Mark Millar’s Run on Ultimate Fantastic Four – Vol. 3 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Darren

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, I’m taking a look at some of the stories featuring the characters over the past half-century.

Mark Millar isn’t quite the tough guy he makes himself out to be. Asked a few years ago about whether the birth of his child might tame some of his more sensationalist tendencies, Millar replied that – if anything – he would be even more motivated to push the envelope in order to demonstrate he hadn’t mellowed. And, in fairness, the years since have seen ideas like Kick-Ass or Wanted or Nemesis, all excessively and ridiculously cynical, graphic and violent. However, I maintain that Millar is a stronger writer when he channels his inner softer romantic – for example, demonstrating the respect he showed Superman in Red Son. Taking over Ultimate Fantastic Four for a year (perhaps on a trial run before writing for regular Fantastic Four), you get a sense that Millar has a genuine affection for these characters and their world – too much to try to make them “darker and edgier”, for example. While his run on Ultimate Fantastic Four isn’t the best thing he’s written, it is sharp and entertaining – and delivered with enough energy that it can’t help but warm the reader’s heart.

Never a drag...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: art, ben grimm, brian michael bendis, comic book, comic books, crossover, doom, fantastic four, film, frightful, frightful four, greg land, kick-ass, mark millar, mark waid, marvel comics, marvel knights, marvel universe, marvel zombies, namor, president thor, reed richards, stan lee, the tomb of namor, tomb of namor, Ultimate Fantastic Four, ultimate marvel, ultimate universe, ultimate x-men, warren ellis, zombies | Leave a comment »

Fresh Perspectives: Classic Directors and Not-so-Classic Films…

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Darren

I caught Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety at the weekend, and I have to admit, I liked it. I’d only heard the movie mentioned in passing from time to time, never discussed with the same reverence as Space Balls or Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein, but never with the same bitterness as Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It never really made it on to any conscious “to see” list with any of the great works from iconic directors. However, I really enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t consider it a forgotten classic, or a misunderstood gem overlooked in Brooks’ impressive filmography. It has its flaws and problems, but I enjoyed it. In fact, while I wouldn’t consider on par with some of his stronger films, I dare say that I actually enjoyed it more than some of them, despite the fact I hadn’t heard that much about it. In fact, I can’t help but wonder if I enjoyed it more because I hadn’t heard that much about it.

High expectations can lead to monstrous results...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Annie Hall, arts, DVD, Mel Brooks, Movies, Social Network, the godfather, Woody Allen, Young Frankenstein | 33 Comments »

Non-Review Review: High Anxiety

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Darren

I quite enjoyed High Anxiety, even if it didn’t rank quite as high as some of Brooks’ other efforts. While it still possesses the same wonderful wry moments, High Anxiety is a Mel Brooks film that arguably works better as a farce than as a parody. I suspect that this has something to do with the director’s intended target. While Westerns were ripe for mockery in Blazing Saddles and old horror films were perfectly suited to the sense of humour in Young Frankenstein, it always seemed like Alfred Hitchcock was aware of his own filmmaking style, and seemed to occasionally be gently mocking it himself, rather than playing his heightened suspense with a po-faced sincerity. I think that parody and satire work best when they represent an attack on a target that suffers from a little bit too much self-importance, while Hitchcock’s films are generally a little more self-aware than that.