the m0vie blog

Don’t Leave Us Hanging: Going Out on a Cliffhanger…

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Darren

So, I saw the final episode of V last night. Talk about disappointing. The series throws us a giant big cliffhanger and then… boom! It’s cancelled by the network in what has been referred to as a “bloodbath.” What makes it more frustrating, though, is the fact that the cancellation was quite probable even as early as last year, so it wasn’t as though the series was cut down in its prime without any warning. The cast and crew knewthat there was a fairly significant chance that this episode would be the last to see the light of day… and they ended on a whopping big cliffhanger anyway. I can’t help but feel a little bit disappointed.

After two years, the visitors are sent packing...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: aliens, arts, cancelled, cancelled tv shows, cliffhanger, cliffhangers, lost, Meaghan Rath, Programs, Sam Huntington, Scrubs, Season finale, Television, Television network, television shows, tv shows, v, V (tv show), visitors | 6 Comments »

Pixar and the Weight of Expectation…

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Darren

Well, it probably had to happen. I know it’s probably not statistically impossible, just highly improbable – but I guess that I always knew (deep down) that Pixar’s batting average was too good to last. I mean, I (at the very least) really like all of their films, and I genuinely love the majority of them. And that fact is borne out by the Rotten Tomatoes ratings of the various films. The vast majority rank in the 90% to 100% range, something any studio would kill for: Toy Story (100%), A Bug’s Life (91%), Toy Story 2 (100%), Monsters Inc (95%), Finding Nemo (98%), The Incredibles (97%), Ratatouille (96%), Wall-E (96%), Up (98%), Toy Story 3 (99%). Even the single film that ranks lowest, the only one not in the range, still had mostly positive reviews, Cars with 74%. However, Cars 2 looks to have bucked that winning trend, with reviews that not only fall far short of Pixar’s impressive average, but is actually pretty negative.

I can’t help but feel more than a little bit sad.

Do Pixar need to get in gear?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: A Bug's Life, cars, Cars 2, cynicism, disappointment, disillusioned, disillusionment, disney, films, finding nemo, monsters inc., optimism, pessimism, pixar, pixar studios, reviews, rotten tomatoes, the incredibles, toy story, wall-e | 119 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Next Three Days

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Darren

The Next Three Days is actually, when it gets down to it, quite a clever and inventive little prison break movie, with a strong central performance from Russell Crowe, with a smart script and a great supporting cast. However, the problem is that, for a prison break movie, the actual prison break only takes up a relatively small amount of the film. While it’s clear a great deal of care and research went into the production, and it feels like Paul Haggis is really showing his work, it throws the pacing off a bit, and feels almost like we’re watching the episodic adventures of a guy planning to break his wife out of prison.

This couple really needs a break...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Brian Dennehy, DVD, elizabeth banks, escaping from prison, film, jailbreak, liam neeson, Movie, Movies, next 3 days, Next Three Days, non-review review, Olivia Wilde, paul haggis, prison break, review, russell crowe, the next 3 days, the next three days | 4 Comments »

On Second Thought: Apocalypse Now (Redux)

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Darren

I wrote in my review of the original version of the movie that the two-and-a-half-hour cut captured a great deal of the insanity that seems to have been a defining characteristic of the Vietnam War, with the movie feeling like a crazed surrealist trip into madness, a collection of abstract meditations on the American condition that felt compressed at over two hours. If that is the case, Apocalypse Now Redux captures another aspect of the conflict. It’s now less insane, but the instability and absurdity appear more systemic and endemic. It’s bloated, terrifying, harrowing and seemingly eternal.

Much like the war itself.

Back into the Heart of Darkness...

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Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: apocalypse now, Apocalypse Now Redux, directors cut, film, francis ford coppola, history, marlon brando, martin sheen, Movie, non-review review, review, Twentieth Century, United States, vietnam, Vietnam War | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Apocalypse Now

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Darren

Apocalypse Now was what might be described as a “troubled” production. Francis Ford Coppola was never intended to direct the film, which ran into trouble with local weather and local politics, undergoing script changes on a daily basis, an overweight and overpaid Marlon Brando who refused to read either the script or the book it was based on (leading Coppola to read it to him), Dennis Hopper’s drug addiction and countless other factors. Actor Martin Sheen at one point had a massive heart attack and had to walk a quarter of a mile for help, which Coppola had to cover up (claiming he collapsed due to exhaustion and filming with extras and voice doubles) for fear of losing funding. Al Pacino had been considered for the role, but had the foresight to turn it down, with Coppola suggesting, “Al would do the film, if we could film it in his apartment.” If that’s true, he might be the smartest person associated with the production.

I mention this, because I think a significant amount of that trouble seems to feed through the film. There’s a sense that isn’t a safe production, which is somewhat fitting, given the subject matter.

Up the creek...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: al pacino, apocalypse now, dennis hopper, film, francis ford coppola, history, marlon brando, martin sheen, Viet Cong, vietnam | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Flightplan

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Darren

Truth be told, I think part of the reason I have a soft spot for Flightplan is simply because Jodie Foster doesn’t make enough films. She’s an actress who devotes so little time to major releases of late that each of her movies is a gem of itself. That’s not to argue that she shouldn’t spend time with her family or pursue other interests, it’s just an acknowledgement that she’s really one of the best actresses working today and – sadly – works all too infrequently. She’s an actress who can add a high level of quality to what might otherwise be a mundane production, and here she manages to turn a rather disappointing thriller into an enjoyable hour-and-a-half of entertainment.

Aisle watch Jodie Foster in anything...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, British English, conspiracy, crazy, films, Flightplan, imaginary, jodie foster, kidnapping, Movie, Movies, non-review review, panic room, peter saarsgard, Peter Sarsgaard, review, sean bean, timothy dalton | 4 Comments »

The Mustache Must Dash: Random Thoughts on Green Lantern’s Facial Hair…

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Darren

I’d like to take a moment to deflect attention away from the disappointing quality and box office returns on Green Lantern, and focus on a matter much more serious and important. You see, I noticed the most peculiar thing. The cast of Green Lantern features two major supporting players with that most oft-maligned piece of facial hair: the mustache. It strikes me as quite strange in this day and age (at least outside of National Mustache Month) to see so many key players wearing that delightfully old-fashioned piece of facial hair.

In fairness, their mustaches are the first indications that they're evil...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: charlie chaplin, David Niven, Facial hair, green lantern, Hector Hammond, incredible hulk, mustache, sinestro, Tom Selleck, Young Victoria | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Bridesmaids

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Darren

It’s kinda interesting. Bridesmaids opens over here a month or so after it does in the States, so I’ve had the opportunity to pick up quite a significant amount of chatter on the film, as a good film tends to attract on the information super highway. Most of the discussion around the film has been centred around the movie’s gross-out humour, with reviews branding it as “The Hangover in heels”or some such, and a great deal of discussion focusing on the fact that it demonstrates women can do that sort of disgusting and crass physical comedy. Such a discussion seems to be just a little bit over-the-top, as the movie really only features three absurdly crass set pieces (one of which admittedly opens the film, another competes with anything else in a comedy this year, and the third is tucked away in the credits) – so much so I doubt anyone would bat their eye if the same level of juvenile conduct were contained in a film about a bunch of dudes. It’s a damn shame that this seems to monopolise the conversation on Bridesmaids, because it’s actually just a really good film.

Maids of honour?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Annie, brides, Bridesmaid, comedies, comedy, feminism, films, funny women, greg kinnear, Hangover, John Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Movies, non-review review, review, Rose Byrne, the hangover, tina fey, weddings | 4 Comments »

Y: The Last Man – The Deluxe Edition, Book IV (Review)

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Darren

In an effort to prove that comic books aren’t just about men in spandex hitting each other really hard, this month I’m reviewing all of Brian K. Vaughan’s superb Y: The Last Man. In April, I took a look at all the writer’s Ex Machina.

It’s very clear that we’re now entering “end game” when it comes to Brian K. Vaughan’s spectacular Y: The Last Man. Even if I didn’t know that the next deluxe edition will be the last, there’s a clear sense that the writer is moving everything into position for the final few issues. Characters die, our heroes are closer than ever to their goals, explanations are teased… It seems that the stage is being well-and-truly set for the last chapter in this magnificent saga.

No time for no monkey business...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, arts, Beth, brian k. vaughan, catholic church, Culper Ring, Exmachina, james robinson, Mayor, Pia Guerra, sandman, y: the last man | Leave a comment »

Farewell to Nerds: The Big Studios & Comic Con…

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Darren

Last year, around this time, I was discussing how great it was to be a nerd or a geek. Hell, Comic Con in San Diego seemed like an obligatory stop-off point for the major studios promoting their latest blockbusters to an overly geeky crowd, debuting the trailer for Tron: Legacy or announcing the cast of The Avengers, not to mention footage and panels based around any number of big-screen blockbusters designed to cater towards the geeks and nerds in the movie-going audience. So it feels like a rather dramatic shift that very few of the major movie studios appear to be planning much for the iconic (or, at least, briefly iconic) Hall H in San Diego this year.

Does this mean that the era of the geek is over?