the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Offence

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Darren

The Offence was reportedly one of the pictures that MGM agreed to fund for Sean Connery in order to get the veteran actor to sign on to reprise the role of James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. While the film is too slow, methodical and restrained to really qualify as an undisputed classic, I do sleep just a little bit better for knowing that something good came from Connery signing on to play Bond once more. (Although, to be fair, he also donated his salary to charity, so that speaks to his character as well.)

Gripping drama...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: al pacino, arts, drama, film, films, james bond, Movies, non-review review, play, review, sean connery, Sidney Lumet, The Offence, Trevor Howard | Leave a comment »

Ultimate Comics: Thor (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Darren

With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review.

“It burns,” Thor tells us as the comic opens. “The world tree burns… Surely this is the end of all things…” Yes, Jonathan Hickman suggests, it is indeed the end, but it is also the beginning. The lives of gods, like the myths themselves and the comic books they inspire, are cyclical and endless. This scene, as Nazi stormtroopers and frost giants march on Asgard, might be the end, but it is also the beginning.

Thor Smash!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, carlos pacheco, Comics, Jonathan Hickman, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, odin, retrospective, review, ultimate comics, ultimate comics: thor, ultimate marvel, ultimate thor, Ultimates | 2 Comments »

Memory Lane: The Joys of Channel Surfing…

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Darren

Hello dear reader. I’m very sorry. It’s going to be a relatively slow week at the blog here, I’m afraid. That blasted real world keeps getting in the way, as it must from time – I’m preoccupied with various boring concerns, and my attention to cinema perhaps isn’t as finely honed as I might have liked. Even over the weekend, although I took the occasion to treat the better half to her first viewing of The Queen (which I suspect I liked far more than she did), I found myself without a clear idea of what I was going to watch. I hadn’t made a note of anything, or decided to revisit a particular classic, or seek out an important film, or even overheard somebody in work talking about a cult or classic film. Indeed, I didn’t have any idea what I was going to watch. So I decided to just turn the television on and see what it was that home entertainment could offer me this time.

My childhood was a bit like this...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, BBC One, film, Filmmaking, films, kenneth branagh, Movies, network 2, rte, sergio leone, Sky News, Television, television schedule, tv3 | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Queen

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Darren

The middle part of Peter Morgan’s “Blair” trilogy, sitting between The Deal and The Special Relationship, the movie is perhaps better known for its portrayal of the eponymous monarchy than of the controversial British Prime Minister. It’s also a rather wonderful exploration of the British monarchy, and how it struggles to remain in touch with the people that it (nominally, at least) rules, and yet remains heavily insulated from. Taking the death of Princess Diana, perhaps the most trying period in the reign of the current queen, as a jumping-off point, the film wonders what the public expects from their royal family, and how the public and private lives of those born into the family must be balanced.

A skilful portrait...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: britain, British Empire, British people, Deal, Death of Diana Princess of Wales, Diana Princess of Wales, helen mirren, House of Windsor, michael sheen, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, non-review review, peter morgan, princess di, princess diana, review, Special Relationship, stephen frears, the queen, the queen (film), tony blair | Leave a comment »

Short Stories 2011: All In

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Darren

Last month, Ronan from Swear I’m Not Paul (he’s not) asked me to share a short film about Frank Turner with you. This month, he’s back with another little gem, All In, looking at the world of urban skateboarding. Check it out here or embedded below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, film, Film festival, Filmmaking, Frank Turner, Movie, Paul, Short film | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Water for Elephants

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Darren

Water for Elephants is undoubtedly a well made film from a technical point of view. It stylishly evokes a collective memory of Depression-era America with a skilled romanticism, all beautifully staged and designed, scored with music clearly intended to tug at the heart-strings. However, despite the technical proficiency with which the film is crafted, it ends up feeling ultimately quite lifeless, and a little stale – like a mediocre circus, the movie is stylish and momentarily distracting, but it never manages to grasp its audience, or to engage.

He packed his trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animal cruelty, christoph waltz, Circus, Cornell University, Cruelty to animals, Edward Cullen, Great Depression, non-review review, Reese Witherspoon, review, Robert Pattinson, Sara Gruen, United States, Water for Elephants | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Darren

I give a lot of credit to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for managing to cast aside a lot of dead weight from around the franchise’s neck. After the original film, it was apparent to anybody with half a brain that audiences weren’t flocking to the cinema to see the adventures of Will and Elizabeth, but the following two sequels insisted on keeping the large and expansive cast – long after it became clear that the writers had little idea what to do with them. The result was a trilogy that often felt over-loaded and over-burdened. This time around, adopting a ruthless approach to the supporting cast, the screenplay only really brings back Captain Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa as lead characters. Which is grand, because they’re who we’re here to see after all? The rest of the movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it strolls along pleasantly enough.

Life's a beach...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, Fountain of Youth, Hector Barbossa, Jack Sparrow, johnny depp, Keith Richards, Movies, non-review review, penelope cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, review, rob marshall, Will Turner | 8 Comments »

Doctor Who: The Doctor’s Wife (Review)

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Darren

“Are all people like this?”

“Like what?”

“So much bigger on the inside.”

– TARDIS and the Doctor

That was awesome. Neil Gaiman’s Doctor Who episode, The Doctor’s Wife, was perhaps the strongest stand-alone episode the series has had in quite some time – packed to the brim with wonderful and cheeky and clever concepts, executed in wonderful style. It had just about everything, from small fanboy-ish references (“the old control room”) through to clever explorations of the ideas the show takes for granted, managing to fit perfectly with what had come before and suggest some new takes on classic concepts at the same time.

The Smith-en young couple...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, Billie Piper, doctor, doctor who, Doctor's Wife, Douglas Adams, Fray, Gaiman Chubut, matt smith, neil gaiman, rory williams, Stephen Fry, steven moffat, tardis, Television, television review, the doctor's wife | 13 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Snuffed (aka Killer View)

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Darren

I had the pleasure of seeing a screener of Snuffed (aka Killer View), the indie horror from writer and director Brian James O’Connell. It’s a nifty little horror thriller, that is effective and deeply unpleasant in all the right ways, with an especially fascinating little hook. The basic premise is that an amateur reporter has hooked up with a practicing serial killer, documenting and interviewing the man as he goes about his business – discussing matters of philosophy, personal preferences and even practical matters. Filmed on a low budget with a small cast, it’s a well-made film which easily distinguishes itself from the rake of serial killer films out there.

Brian O'Connell (Director) instructing the actors during a scene.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, brian o'connell, crime, film, horror, Killer View, Movies, murder, noah key, non-review review, review, serial killer, Serial Murder, snuffed, snuffed (aka killer view) | Leave a comment »

The Sequel Myth and the Death of Originality in Hollywood…

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Darren

It seems that every other day somebody is taking the opportunity be bemoan Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy. The decision not to press ahead with Del Toro’s version of The Mountains of Madness sparked a similar debate a little while ago, and the success of films like The Fast & The Furious Five seem to be raising the topic once again as we enter summer. It’s become something of a mantra for film fans, quietly chanted and repeated, something that we can use to continually bash the studios over the heads with. And, truth be told, I’m tired of it.