the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: World’s Greatest Dad

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Darren

It’s hard to talk about World’s Greatest Dad without spoiling it, but I’m going to try. I’m going to try, because – despite the fact that every article discussing the film spoils a fairly key plot development – it’s a movie that’s best seen with relatively little idea of where the plot is going. Bobcat Goldthwait’s satire on fame, the price success and the public’s desire to rewrite an unsavoury history is dark, but never unnecessarily cruel, and feels strangely relevent without ever feeling too forced or unnatural. It’s acerbic and well-observed, without ever being tasteless or needlessly offensive – which is a rather wonderful target for a comedy like this to hit. The fact that Goldthwait has given Williams one of his better roles in recent years is also quite an accomplishment.

Too cruel for school?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bobcat Goldthwait, Daryl Sabara, New Yorker, non-review review, review, robin williams, World's Greatest Dad | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call New Orleans

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Darren

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a mess of a movie. I don’t mean that as praise, nor do I mean it as criticism. It’s just a jumble of ideas and scenes, plot contrivances and random incidents, all tied together through the central performance of Nicolas Cage as Lieutenant Terrence McDonagh. Watching the film, I’m not entirely convinced that it really works, but I do have increased respect for Nicolas Cage, who seems to hold Werner Herzog’s shattered examination together through the sheer force of his performance.

Off the cuff...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abel Ferrara, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, brendan gleeson, Call New Orleans, film, ghost rider, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, nicolas cage, non-review review, review, Werner Herzog | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Bronson

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Darren

Nicolas Refn’s Bronson is a rough film, quite like its central character. It’s tough and it’s challenging, and it doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, very much like “Britain’s most violent prisoner.” While it’s probably quite frustrating for most viewers, I actually quite admired the fact that Refn doesn’t try to explain or rationalise the conduct of his central character, instead daring to examine a man who is so institutionalised that he thinks of prison as a “hotel”, a hotel he’s been staying in for well over thirty-five years.

Like a caged animal...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bronson, Charles Bronson, Charlie Bronson, david bowie, Michael Gordon Peterson, Nicolas Winding Refn, non-review review, Pet Shop Boys, Refn, review, Thin White Duke, tom hardy | 2 Comments »

Batman Live at the O2 (Review)

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Darren

I had the chance to check out the new Batman Live stage show at the O2 (the Point) this evening, fresh off the british leg of its world tour. It was very much Batmanas camp pantomime, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it is, after all, a show to bring the whole family to. Still, I couldn’t help wondering if the show was looking to the wrong sources for inspiration. After all, batman has been many things to many people over his seventy years of existence, so there’s a lot of stuff to draw on no matter what angle you choose to take. So I found it quite a bit strange that the stage show opted to draw on Tim Burton’s darkly gothic Gotham when offering light family entertainment, especially when one suspects the Adam West iteration of the character might have suited the tone of the material better.

Joker's wild...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: adam west, batman, batman forever, batman live, dick grayson, joker, o2, robin, the point, tim burton, Tony Zucco | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: 30 Days of Night

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Darren

I really wanted to like 30 Days of Night. I’m a sucker for vampire films, and David Slade’s adaptation of the horror comic started off on all the right notes, with a rather ingenious central concept. After all, if you were a vampire, could you imagine a better hunting ground than a town that spends thirty days in absolute and complete darkness, isolated completely from the outside world? It’s a novel take, and one that really should be more interesting than the rather generic desaturated gore fest that it becomes.

In need of a reVamp?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 30 Days of Night, Alaska, arts, Ben Foster, David Slade, film, horror, Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, non-review review, Otherkin, People, review, vampire, Vampire film | 1 Comment »

Absolute Planetary, Vol. 2 (Review)

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Darren

With Wildstorm being officially folded into the relaunched DCU (the “DCnU”), I thought I might take a look at some of the more successful and popular Wildstorm titles that the company produced. In particular, Planetary, the which will apparently inspire Paul Cornell’s Stormwatch – easily one of my more anticipated titles of the relaunch.

“We keep the world strange because that’s the way it’s suppose to be.”

– Elijah Snow outlines Planetary‘s mission

I really do love Warren Ellis’ Planetary, a love letter to pulp fiction in all its forms, about a team of crack pop culture archeologists, tracking down and preserving many of the weird and wonderful fictional specimens that we see all too rarely these days, from cowboy vigilantes to kung-fu epics. There’s a genuine love poured into the series by Ellis and his artistic collaborator, John Cassaday, as the pair celebrate some of the truly wonderful fiction of the twentieth century, as we brace ourselves for the twenty-first.

Little drummer boy...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Absolute Planetary, alan moore, arts, comic book reviews, comic books, dc comics, Elijah Snow, Ellis, Garth Ennis, grant morrison, IPad, john cassaday, Paul Cornell, Planetary, randall dowling, review, the four, warren ellis, wildstorm | Leave a comment »

Clyde’s Shelton’s Final Repose: Law Abiding Citizen & Deconstructing The Dark Knight…

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Darren

I had a chance to watch Law Abiding Citizen over the weekend, and I kinda liked it. I found some problems with the way that it handled its philosophical points about the balance between the justice system and the chaos that it attempts to regulate, but it was an enjoyable little thriller. However, while watching the film, I couldn’t help but feel that the movie had more than a passing similarity to the other thriller that explored how the criminal justice system could withstand a sustained assault on its basic foundations from a lone and psychotic terrorist. In short, it reminded me of The Dark Knight, but with an interesting twist or two. In particular, F. Gary Gray’s movie feels a bit like what might have developed had somebody removed the character of Batman from Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster in pre-production.

"I'm gonna pull the whole thing down. I'm gonna bring the whole f&%@in' diseased, corrupt temple down on your head. It's gonna be biblical."

Note: This article includes spoilers for both films.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, Christopher Nolan, Clyde, dark knight, F. Gary Gray, films, joker, Law-Abiding Citizen, Movies, Nick Rice | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Law Abiding Citizen

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Darren

Law Abiding Citizen is an interesting movie. It’s a well-made thriller that seems to have some underlining arguments about the justice system and civil liberties, even if it tends to get a bit muddled towards the end. However, director F. Gary Gray knows how to handle tension, and has two very strong leading actors, which helps carrying an intriguing premise through some of the difficulties it has with its own moral philosophy.

Naked guns?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Clyde, Clyde F.C., Death Wish, F. Gary Gray, film, gerard butler, jamie foxx, Law-Abiding Citizen, Movies, non-review review, review | Leave a comment »

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (BBC) (Review)

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Darren

Let’s not be melodramatic. Control would disapprove.

– Smiley sums it up

It’s odd coming to the BBC’s 1979 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in the opposite direction of most fans. I’ve never read la Carre’s original novel, and I saw Tomas Alfredson’s movie before watching the miniseries. So my perspective is slightly askew, as if I’m moving in the wrong direction. My viewing of the miniseries is informed more by the 2011 movie than by the book that inspired it. Still, it’s very hard not to be impressed by the television adaptation, which really seems like it pulled out all the stops in translating the story from page to screen, featuring an all-star cast, of which Sir Alec Guinness is only the front man.

Smiley fellow, eh?

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alec Guinness, bbc, gary oldman, George Smiley, John le Carré, Joss Ackland, Peter Guillam, review, Smiley, Television, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson | 1 Comment »

Short Stories 2011: Dagdraumer

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Darren

Ronan from Relentless Short Films competition sent on another finalist in 2011 competition (so The Pit was not the last one). I’ve enjoyed the other entries so far, so I thought I’d share this one with you.