the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: 1984

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Darren

1984 is a solid adaptation of a classic novel, featuring a fantastic leading performance from John Hurt as Winston Smith. The movie (released to coincide with the year) suffered a bit at the time (and in retrospect) from not being the best adaptation of Orwell’s ground-breaking novel to make it the big screen in 1984-5 – being somewhat upstaged by Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil. While obviously not a direct adaptation of the novel (in fact, Gilliam has admitted he hadn’t even read the book at the time of release), the latter film explores the same core themes and ideas. However, virtually any film would pale in comparison when measured against a movie like Brazil (which ranks in my top ten films ever), and 1984 really deserves to be seen on its own merits.

Welcome to an edition of Big Brother where every room is a "Diary Room"...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1984, arts, Big Brother, film, George Orwell, history, john hurt, Michael Radford, Movie, nineteen eight four, Nineteen Eighty-Four, non-review review, review, Richard Burton, Spanish Civil War, terry gilliam, thought crime, Three Year Plan, Twentieth Century, Winston Smith | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Whip It

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Darren

Whip It is sort of an inverse version of the Billy Elliot story. In that film, a young boy horrifies his family by wanting to practice ballet. In this film, a young woman shocks her mother by becoming a roller derby celebrity. Featuring the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, Whip It is a fairly formulaic and straightforward little coming-of-age and self-discovery movie with a quirky angle and a plucky protagonist, but it’s also rather well handled and quite charming.

Whipping the team into shape...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Billy Elliot, coming of age, Daniel Stern, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, films, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Movies, non-review review, Owen Wilson, review, rollerskates, rollerskating, Whip It | 2 Comments »

Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition – Volume III (Review)

Posted on April 20, 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 Ex Machina. And in June, I’ll be reviewing his Y: The Last Man.

We’re at the half-way point in this saga of the superhero mayor of New York City, so that means that Vaughan and Harris are turning things up a few notches. The three central threads of the series – Mayor Hundred’s time in office, his history as a superhero and the conspiracy surrounding his origin – are beginning to intertwine and collide in a variety of interesting ways. Being entirely honest, I’ve always been a bit skeptical about how the series hopes to balance all these different elements, particularly with a relatively short run of fifty issues. As things begin to move to a head, it becomes clear which of these particular threads that Vaughan is going to focus on.

Talk about catching the bus...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: brian k. vaughan, Brooklyn Bridge, Cold War, comic books, Comics, ex machina, Exmachina, Garth Ennis, Kurt Cobain, mayor hundred, mitchell hundred, New York City, power down, smoke smoke, the stars are down, tony harris, wildstorm | 1 Comment »

Joseph Gordon Levitt as Johnny Blake in The Dark Knight Rises…

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Darren

There seems to a strange bit of symmetry here. The same night that I went to see Thor, starring a hero with a fictional identity of “Donald Blake” (which… sorta… makes a cameo appearance), Joseph Gordon Levitt’s role in The Dark Knight Rises is announced as the long-established Batman supporting character John Blake.

Wait, what?

Even I don’t recognise that character. Thankfully, Bleeding Cool have done some digging and they’ve come back with the secret origin of Johnny Blake. He shares a history with the Joker. Follow the link above for the complete story.

More (genuine) thoughts about this casting announcement probably next week (including the “Marion Cotillard really, really isn’t Talia… we swear!” bit), but enjoy this in the meanwhile!

Also, no confirmation that Zack Snyder’s Superman will see Lex Luthor take forty cakes (that’s as many as four tens!), because that would be terrible.

Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: batman, Batman in film, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, john blake, Johnny Blake, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Thor

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

A special thanks to the guys over at movies.ie for sneaking us into an advanced preview screening.

To paraphrase the immortal Odin-son, “I say thee yay!”

In other words, a great start to blockbuster season.

If I had a hammer...

Note: Those unfamiliar with Thor might like to take a look at my informal introduction to the mythos, but – to be honest – Branagh handles it well enough you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ve also written a piece about the film over at ComicBuzz, if you want to check it out.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: chris hemsworth, howard stark, iron man, kenneth branagh, marvel comics, non-review review, review, review of thor, superman, thor, thor film, thor film review, thor movie, thor movie review, thor review, tom hiddleston, walt simonson | 10 Comments »

Boardwalk Empire: Season I

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

Well, I quite enjoyed that.

Better Nuck on wood the show stays this good...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Arnold Rothstein, Boardwalk Empire, hbo, martin scorsese, Michael K. Williams, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, sopranos, Television program, Tony Soprano | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Toy Story 2

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

For my money, Wall-E is perhaps the strongest Pixar film from an artistic point of view. The Incredibles is perhaps the most consistently entertaining. Finding Nemo is the most emotional. Truth be told, I could probably find a way to rank almost every Pixar film so that it was my favourite in some way or another, because they’re all pretty much that good (although I’ll concede that Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life and Cars were merely “good” or “very good”). So, having completely picked apart any lavish praise I could shower on the film, I have a very special fondness for Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy.

Just say Jesse...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Action figure, andy, arts, buzz lightyear, Collecting, films, jurassic park, List of Toy Story characters, Movies, non-review review, pixar, Recreation, review, Sheriff Woody, Shopping, star wars, Toy, toy story, toy story 2, toys, twitter | 9 Comments »

X Marks the Spot: Taking the X-Men Back to Relevance…

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Darren

I am quite looking forward to Matthew Vaughan’s upcoming X-Men: First Class, which looks to be the first “retro” superhero film. You could, of course, make the claim that the accolade belongs to Watchmen, which was set in the eighties, but it was an alternate eighties at that – where Nixon was President and big blue men wandered around with their glowing privates on display. However, it’s fascinating that the X-Men are the film franchise to really do that, to actually construct a period piece set amidst the Cuban Missile Crisis while John F. Kennedy was squaring off against the Soviet Union. Perhaps it’s ideal, because the sixties and seventies were undoubtedly the time at which the mutant metaphor was at its most potent.

Click to enlarge...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: chris claremont, Cuban Missile Crisis, grant morrison, john f kennedy, Soviet Union, stan lee, United States, x-men | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Network

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Darren

Network is a compelling condemnation of news television. The black comedy from Sydney Lumet is one of those great movies which actually feels more relevant now (thirty years after it was first released) than it did when it first appeared on the big screen. In particular, while some plot developments are clearly satire, it seems that quite a few moments in the movie seem a lot less ridiculous or fantastical in this day and age than they would have when originally written. It’s a rare movie that can do something like that, and the fact that it’s a lot easier to imagine some of the movie’s jokes coming to pass in this day and age only makes it all the more potent.

Beales appeal...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Archie Bunker, charlie sheen, film, Howard Beale, media, Movies, multimedia, ned beatty, Network, non-review review, Peter Finch, review, Sidney Lumet, Television | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Insidious

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Darren

I’m of two minds about Insidious, the latest entry in the “haunted house” horror subgenre. On one hand, I definitely respect its attempts to return to the roots of these types of films without dwelling on gore for the sake of gore. On the other, it doesn’t seem like the film is entirely certain what to show you when it can’t fill the screen with fountains of blood and guts erupting. Film is obviously a visual medium, but horror is very much an exception to the old maxim “show, don’t tell.” The problem is that Insidious shows too much.