the m0vie blog

Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World: Oscars 2011

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Darren

You know what? I’m not actually that ticked off with the Academy Awards this year. In fact, as I mentioned in discussing the nominees, I was quite happy with the candidates up for the award. Now, nearly a week after the ceremony, I must concede that I’m generally relatively happy with the way that the awards were divided up on the night. CinemaBlend summed up the ceremony as a “group hug” to movies released in a great year for cinema, and I find it hard to object to that succinct summary.

By all accounts, the hosting was a bit of a drag...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: academy, Academy Award, academy award for best director, Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, AMPAS, awards, Eli Wallach, films, Hailee Steinfeld, Inception, King's Speech, Melissa Leo, Movies, Oscars, Social Network, the social network | 6 Comments »

When the Sheen Comes Off: The Lonely Ballad of Charlie Sheen…

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Darren

It’s human nature to want to rubberneck at some grotesque car wreck. I have no idea where that grim compulsion is rooted, but it is buried deep within our human nature – we can’t resist it, like some form of morbid curiosity. In fact, on major motorways, the problem is so intense in that it has been suggested in the Netherlands that police should erect blank screens to stop passing drivers from peering at accidents. As I watch Charlie Sheen’s continuing descent into madness (because it seems – defying the laws of nature – like there is no rock bottom), I can’t help but wonder if we should do something similar about the actor’s recent attempts to train wreck his career.

He's not Half the Man he used to be...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: actor, addiction, CBS, CharlieSheen, Chuck Lorre, democratic media, drugs, giving the people what they want, Health, internet, media, Platoon, Television, Two and a Half Men, Wall Street | 5 Comments »

GoSave Deals…

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Darren

The guys over at Simply Zesty sent this link on, and it’s something close to my better half’s heart, so I thought I’d share it. Basically, GoSave.ie is a website that runs deals on Irish businesses, and donates a certain percentage of their costs back to charity. It’s a very handy way of supporting the local economy, which is – understandably – a source of concern for many people in this day and age. If you’re Irish, and interested in this, you can check them out on Facebook here or by clicking the link below.

Note: I am sharing this link because I think it’s the kind of thing that might be important people viewing the blog, and I know that supporting local industry matters to some people very close to me in my personal life. I’m not earning or receiving anything in return for this post, nor does it represent a direct endorsement of the service – I’m merely sharing something that some readers might find interesting. It’s unfortunate that this sort of thing needs to be clarified, but it’s important that I am open and transparent with you, the reader, on why I post a link to a corporate website.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: business, ethnicity, facebook, Google, Simply Zesty, social media, Social Network, twitter | Leave a comment »

In Defense of Blockbusters: Are We Unduly Harsh on Big Budget Hollywood Movies?

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Darren

I was just remarking how much I love cinema – how much I am predisposed to like a film – and I got thinking, why are we so harsh on big budget Hollywood films? Don’t get me wrong, the studio system produces its fair share of crap, but it seems to be the target of choice for any person looking to decry the death of modern culture. We’re assured, virtually everywhere, that the blockbuster is meant to be a cheap, disposable form of entertainment – and that it’s simply a “guilty pleasure”, if at all. I’ve noticed this trend quite a bit of late, as this is the time of the year that movie geeks look ahead to the summer season and realise… seemingly to their horror (though it can’t possibly be to their surprise)… that the summer is filled with big-budget mainstream blockbusters from wall-to-wall. Ignoring the fact that Hollywood’s annual cycle is highly predictable these days (save only the emerge of what I like to call “quirky March” in recent years), why is the arrival of the summer fare universally treated as a bad thing?

Swimming with sharks...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, arts, blockbuster, Blockbuster Inc., blockbuster movies, blockbusters, film, hollywood, jameson dublin international film festival, King's Speech, Movie | 2 Comments »

Like a Good Kick in the Side: Sidekicks and Superheroes – a Childish Combination?

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Darren

Let’s be honest, a lot of the early superhero movie adaptations – from Richard Donner’s Superman to Tim Burton’s Batman – played fast and loose with the source material that they were drawn from. There wasn’t really the same sense of fidelity that one sense at work in modern comic adaptations, the sense that modern audiences are geeky enough to accept concepts like superhero nostalgia or deconstructions of comic book heroism without having to “sanitise” them for mass consumption. There’s a sense that there’s relatively little that can be deemed “too geeky” or “too corny” for a mainstream audience, at least not if done in the proper manner. However, there is one concept which still seems a little too “out there” for popular audiences: that of the kid sidekick. Captain America: The First Avenger cast its sidekick as 27-year-old Sebastian Stan, rather than the teenager of the comics. Why are we so embarrassed by this one element of superhero lore?

Compare and contrast...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, batman & robin, batman forever, Bucky, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, child soldier, comic books, Comics, dick grayson, ed brubaker, Grantmorrison, mark millar, richard donner, robin, Sebastian Stan, sidekick, teenage, tim burton | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: A Somewhat Gentle Man

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

A Somewhat Gentle Man was a very pleasant little surprise to catch on the last day of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It’s a delightfully dark Norwegian comedy about a man recently released from prison, trying to make his way in the world.

He's got snowhere to go...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: A Somewhat Gentle Man, film, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, Movie, non-review review, norway, Organized crime, prison, review, Scandinavia, Stellan Skarsgård | Leave a comment »

Critical Predisposition: What Preconceptions Do You Bring Into Movies?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Darren

Over the last week, I had the pleasure to visit the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. I saw a lot of films as part of that, and the reviews have been popping up all week. Anyway, they give out an audience award, which gave me occasion to actually score films. Regular readers here know that I am loath to try to objectively rank cinema, as it’s a very subjective medium and I have difficulty reconciling relative grades, but I went along with it. Anyway, they use a four-point scale and, long story short, I found myself using a lot of “3” grades, which is the second-highest rank. This kinda got me thinking: Am I a little too generous to films I really shouldn’t be? How do I approach the cinema? Do I look for things to love? Do I have a pre-disposed bias? Do I want to love films, even if they aren’t especially great?

Me, aged about eight...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Action film, Adjustment Bureau, avatar, bias, cinema, criticism, cynicism, demolition man, film, film critics, godfather, jameson dublin international film festival, Movie, Movies, optimism, outlook, watchmen | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Rango

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Darren

I quite enjoyed Gore Verbinski’s Rango, even though I was never quite sure what to make of it. While it isn’t quite as strong as the typical Pixar fare, the film compares rather well with some of Dreamworks’ better output over the last number of years.

A prickly customer...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, bill nighy, cgi, Ennio Morricone, films, Gore Verbinski, Jack Sparrow, johnny depp, Movies, non-review review, Rango, Raoul Duke, rattlesnake jake, review, sergio leone, western | 8 Comments »

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (Review)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way. In honour of the Scottish scribe, I thought I’d review the latest chapter in his on-going Batman epic.

It’s a testament to writer Grant Morrison how much I enjoyed his weird and fantastical six-chapter “Batman lost in time” adventure epic. Between this and his superb run on Batman & Robin, Morrison might have redeemed himself for the mess that was Batman R.I.P. That said, the collection isn’t for everyone, but it marks a rich exploration of the evolution of the Batman archetype through his various iterations – a meta-textual look at the elements which make Batman who he is, and why those elements are important to him. It also, of course, features Batman in a sword fight with Cthulhu.