the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Darren

Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban represents probably the best transition from printed page to big screen in the franchise, boasting the most confident and comfortable direction of the big screen series. Director Alfonso Coarón, perhaps best known for his work on Children of Men crafts perhaps the most magical of the Harry Potter adventures, effortlessly crafting a world that seems strangely familiar and yet curiously foreign, simultaneously bright and coloured, but populated with dark brooding shadows. Even after the series has ended, the third instalment remains perhaps the most stylish.

Enchanting...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, David Thewlis, Emma Watson, film, film review, gary oldman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, HarryPotter, Hogwarts, literature, Magic in Harry Potter, Magical objects in Harry Potter, Movie, non-review review, Order of the Phoenix (organisation), Places in Harry Potter, terry gilliam | Leave a comment »

Short Stories 2011: Isle of Man Tourist Trophy

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

Following the popularity of the last instalment, Ronan sent on this latest entry in Relentless’ short film competition for 2011. This one focuses on guy Martin and offers a bit of a peak into the world of road racing on the Isle of Man. Check it out below. All the films so far have been remarkably put together, and this is no exception.

For more details of the Relentless Short Films competition, click here.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Autoblog, Government, Guy Martin, Isle of Man, Isle of Man TT, Maps and Views, Recreation and Sports, religion | Leave a comment »

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

It’s officially up! Check out the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises below and read our analysis here.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bane, batman, Batman in film, gary oldman, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film), Teaser trailer, The Dark Knight Rises, the dark knight rises teaser, the dark knight rises teaser trailer, twitter | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Darren

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets works much better as an episodic collection of scenes than a single story. It’s prone to fluctuate between rather brilliant moments and a few misfires here and there. It definitely feels extremely childish, as if the studio was attempting to construct a G-rated Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the John Williams soundtrack adding to the effect, the set design of the eponymous chamber looking like some forgotten archeological tomb, and even Julian Glover being afforded a small cameo (okay, he was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but the point stands). It’s strange to look back at the second instalment, after all that has unfolded since, and look at how much more juvenile and simplistic it all seems in retrospect.

Malfoy drives stick...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan rickman, Albus Dumbledore, arts, clear blue skies, Dumbledore's Army, fim, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Ultimate Edition) [Blu-ray], Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hogwarts, John Williams, julian glover, kenneth branagh, Magical objects in Harry Potter, Movie, non-review review, Order of the Phoenix (organisation), raiders of the lost ark, review, Ron Weasley, Rupert Grint, Severus Snape | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Cars 2

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Darren

Cars 2 is a Pixar film that runs on an engine, rather than on heart. Technically, it’s magnificent. It’s well put together, features a winning cast, a lot of quite wonderful jokes and absolutely stunning action movies. However, the movie fails to make even the most basic of emotional connections. We’re always watching a bunch of cool cars doing cool car stuff, but we never feel good or bad about it. Even when a handful of cars meet tragic ends over the course of the movie, we never feel bad about it – we don’t really care about them, so we’re never concerned at the dangers they face. It’s a shame, because it’s a stunningly beautiful piece of animation, it’s just missing that wonderful soul that Pixar seems to install with its movies as standard.

Lightning, cameras, action!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: cars, Cars 2, films, finding nemo, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Michael Caine, Movies, non-review review, Paul Newman, pixar, review, Tow Mater | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Platoon

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Darren

I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves. The enemy was in us. The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, the rest of my days. As I’m sure Elias will be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called “possession of my soul.” There are times since, I’ve felt like a child, born of those two fathers.

– ~~Oliver Stone~~ Charlie Taylor meditates on Vietnam

I honestly think that Platoon might be my favourite war film ever made. It’s almost certainly my favourite Vietnam film ever made, despite my considerable respect for Apocalypse Now. However, though Stone’s classic is steeped in allegory and metaphor (see the above quote), I think that it works better as a personal account of the conflict, rather than Coppola’s attempt to capture the surreal nature of the war on celluloid. Stone actually served a tour over there, and I think that there’s a lot of his own personal perspective poured into the film, which makes it feel like quite a raw and powerful piece of cinema.

War is dirty business...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Charles Taylor, films, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, military, Movies, non-review review, oliver stone, Platoon, review, tom berenger, vietnam, Vietnam War, willem dafoe | 4 Comments »

Check Your Listings: The Displaced Cast List…

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Darren

It happens every once in a while when I view a poster, or a DVD, or even browse the end credits of a film. I’m sure you’ve noticed it too. There’s a certain actor, who happens to be relatively well known (even in a particular geographic region) whose name happens to be featured rather prominently on those lists, ranking just below the leads of the given film. The only problem? Well, the person in question only appears in the film for a scene-and-a-bit, and actually warrants inclusion towards the end of the cast list… if at all.

One of these is the UK poster. Guess which one. Go on.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Christina Applegate, Gerry Boyle, Hall Pass, Jason Sudeikis, JasonSudeikis, Jenna Fischer, mark strong, marlon brando, Owen Wilson, Richard Jenkins, ricky gervais, Stephen Merchant, tim burton | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Fanboys

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Darren

Fanboys is a film that is borderline mediocre, but the tragedy is that it actually could have been really good. It’s quite strange, because the movie seems intent to straddle two audiences – aiming at once for both cult geek cred and mainstream appeal. Of course, the paradox of such an approach is that it frequently ends up alienating both core groups. The film is arguably too deeply entrenched in geek culture to ever find a large mainstream audience, but it’s also far too bland, safe and stereotypical for a geek audience. So it clearly hopes to please everyone, but winds up satisfying no one. Which is a shame, because it seems like it’s actually having a great deal of fun.

Indulge your Dark Side...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Avery Brooks, chris pine, Darth Maul, Epix, fanboys, fans, film, Geek, geekdom, geeks, Harry Knowles, Harvey Weinstein, james t. kirk, Movies, non-review review, Ray Park, review, Scott Bakula, star trek, William Shatner | Leave a comment »

A Bluffer’s Guide to the Dark Knight Rises Rumours…

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Darren

This week has been a bit of an early Christmas for movie geeks such as myself, with Warner Brothers unveiling both the teaser poster and the teaser trailer to The Dark Knight Rises, the much-anticipated closing chapter to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. When we know a bit more later in the year, I’ll dig into the movie in a bit more depth, but it occurred to me that a lot of fans on-line are throwing out concepts and references that might seem a bit foreign to the uninitiated. I can’t imagine how strange it must be for a non-comic-book-fan to hear titles like Knightfall or “Lazarus Pits” thrown into casual conversation. So I’ve put together a bluffer’s guide to all the speculation and rumours, so that you can hopefully understand a bit more of what nerdy geeks like myself are talking about when we casually reference stuff like “I will break you!” It should be stressed that all these are 100% rumour, and not meant to reflect the film, but to help understand geeky references in discussions about the film. Sort of like a handy guide to the “offside rule”in soccer or such.

Welcome to underground comcis culture...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bane, batman, Batman in film, Batman: Knightfall, bluffer's guide, bluffing, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, film, film rumours, Knightfall, lex luthor, liam neeson, movie rumours, Movies, ra's al ghul, rumours, Talia Al Ghul, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, the dark knight rises rumours, United States | 2 Comments »

Discussing The Dark Knight Rises’ Teaser Trailer: Long Day’s Journey Into Knight…

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Darren

The trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been doing the rounds on-line, as Warner Brothers try to keep it under wraps. Originally supposed to premiere before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II, I reckon it’s a matter of time before the studio officially releases it on-line. When they do, I’ll post it up here, but let’s actually talk a bit about the teaser and what it tells us – especially about this instalment as opposed to the previous two entries in Nolan’s superhero franchise.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Batman in film, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, gary oldman, gotham city, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Dark Knight (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray], The Dark Knight Rises, the dark knight rises teaser, the dark knight rises teaser trailer, the dark knight rises trailer, Warner Bros | 4 Comments »