the m0vie blog

World War Hulk (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Darren

This is the sixth in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s continuity (and particularly their “Avengers” franchise) over the past five or so years, as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity. Get an overview of what I’m trying to take a look at here.

Forget sides. They’re all screwed when the Hulk gets back.

– a popular internet meme which puts Civil War in perspective

I have to admit, World War Hulk reads like something of a guilty pleasure. The fantastic artwork from John Romita Jr. (whose fantastical character designs work much better here than in Kick-Ass or even Enemy of the State) certainly helps, as does the relative brevity of the miniseries. It’s a relatively self-contained five-issue storyline, as opposed to the large House of M or Civil War which directly preceded it and Secret Invasion which would follow – it also helps that the tie-in issues seem a lot less essential (and certainly less omni-present) than they did for any of those series. World War Hulk is pretty far from perfect, but it’s an enjoyable little arc from a writer who is clearly familiar with the Incredible Hulk.

Hulk makes quite an impact...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: avengers, Civil War, crossover, Greg Pak, hulk, john romita, john romita jnr., john romita jr, marvel, marvel universe, planet hulk, Rick Jones, superhero, the incredible hulk, World War Hulk | Leave a comment »

Remember Me: The Box Office & Pop Culture Longevity…

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Darren

I was reading an interesting article on Rope of Silicon which pondered whether Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was our generation’s iteration of The Big Lebowski. Much like the comparisons between The Social Network and Citizen Kane, it doesn’t matter whether the question is downright ridiuclous or even improper, it simple serves to illustrate the type of movie that people think of when they see these modern films. That people would even utter “Scott Pilgrim” and “The Dude” in the same sentence is a huge compliment to the latter, no matter what the literal result of the comparison. Of course, this is small comfort to the studio which is no doubt disappointed by the less than stellar box office returns. However, ignoring the obvious immediate and practical impact of box office receipts, do they speak at all to a film’s longevity?

Does the box office disappointment mean "game over" for Scott Pilgrim?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Big Lebowski, box office, Citizen Kane, Eat Pray Love, film, Frank Capra, Movie, Movies, ridley scott, scott pilgrim, scott pilgrim vs. the world, the social network | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Darren

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is one of those films that you have heard so much about that you feel almost obligated to check out. It’s like a challenge. “It can’t possibly be that bad,” you laugh off criticism from just about everybody you know, “I mean, if it’s that bad, it has to at least be entertaining – you know, in the same way that Ed Wood films are entertaining?” And those people reply in what gradually become pleas, imploring you to just accept that it’s a terrible film and let it go. And yet, it’s like a “do not touch” warning to a small child – it draws you closer, attracts your attention, arouses your curiousity. It couldn’t be that bad.

Oh, but it is.

Two-and-a-half hours of torture...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, Bad Boys II, Cloverfield, Decepticon, films, John Turturro, megan fox, michael bay, Movies, non-review review, review, shia labeouf, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 5 Comments »

Why The Social Network isn’t an “Outside” Choice for Best Picture…

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Darren

I enjoyed The Social Network. Hell, I loved The Social Network. I think it’s easily one of the best films of the year. It has – deservedly in my humble opinion – generated a huge amount of buzz about the Best Picture Oscar. However, the more interesting facets of discussion measure the film against the other favourites, like The King’s Speech or Black Swan. A number of these arguments suggest that The Social Network deserves the Oscar because it is “more socially relevant”, even painting the Oscar voters at a crossroads – forced to choose between a modern film (The Social Network) and a classy but stuffy period piece (The King’s Speech). However, I find this argument rather disingenuous. While the Oscar voters in that situation would undoubtedly be choosing between two solid films, I think it clearly misrepresents the appeal of David Fincher’s deconstruction of the American Dream.

Will Academy voters be getting a friend request?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, academy voters, Citizen Kane, david fincher, dest director, facebook, Hurt Locker, Inception, moment, Oscars, Social Network, the king's speeck, timeless, timely, Vietnam War, zeitgiest | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Social Network

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Darren

Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth.

– The Bible. It’s in the back somewhere.

I’m blogging about The Social Network. How post-modern is that?

Should it be the anti-social network?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, arts, Citizen Kane, david fincher, eduardo saverin, facebook, films, Mark Zuckerberg, Movies, non-review review, review, Sean Parker, Social Network | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Punisher – WarZone

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Darren

Punisher: WarZone is not a good film. But it’s not necessarily a poorly-made film, either. There’s a fair amount of skill on display here, but the problem is that the movie never seems to be sure how seriously it wants to be taken. Perhaps the closest point of reference is one of the well-made Steven Seagal films: it spends a great deal of its time delivering what amounts to ridiculousness while offering itself to the audience with a stoic face. It’s a fairly entertaining piece of disposable action fare, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Oh shoot, it's another Punisher movie...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, Colin Salmon, comic book, Dominic West, film, Garth Ennis, jigsaw, lexi alexander, marvel, Movie, Movies, non-review review, punisher, punisher war zone, punisher warzone, Ray Stevenson, review, the punisher, wayne knight | 2 Comments »

Banksy’s Simpsons Couch Gag…

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Darren

I know the conventional wisdom is that The Simpsons aren’t as funny as they once were, but this opening couch gag is pretty… out there. I know the show has gotten progressively darker over the last decade or so (and competing with Family Guy hasn’t helped), but this intro really manages to cross the line twice. It’s fairly dark (particularly since the show does outsource its animation), but it becomes gradually darkly humourous towards the end of it. It’s the “biting the hand that feeds” aspect which appeals to me – I can’t believe Fox let them do this. Maybe the old dog has some life in it yet.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: Banksy, family guy, Fox, Fox Broadcasting Company, Recreation, simpsons, Television, The Simpsons opening sequence | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Game

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Darren

The Game is perhaps something of a black sheep on David Fincher’s filmography. It wasn’t quite an early work like Alien 3, but it falls between two of his larger and better received works, Se7en and Fight Club. While it contains the same thematic depth which would define Fincher’s work (and continues to), exploring ideas like the nature of social interactions and the hostile world, it isn’t quite as readily accessible as most of his other work. From the outset, it’s almost as though The Game wants you to believe that it is just a set-up, that it’s rigged, that it will have a ridiculous and illogical conclusion, which makes it a difficult movie for the audience to engage with or trust. The Game hinges on the audience (and the central character) being unable to distinguish between the set-up and reality – effectively letting the audience know that they are going to be toyed with, and potentially alienating them. Which is a shame, because it’s a cleverly constructed little film which would be a lot more charming if it didn’t spend so much of its time informing you of how smart it is.

Quit clowning around...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alien 3, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, david fincher, fight club, film, Game, Michael Douglas, Movie, non-review review, review, san francisco, the game, Wall Street | 5 Comments »

Thoughts on Snyder’s Superman

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Darren

It has been over a week since the news that Zack Snyder would be directing the Superman reboot was announced. And what a week it has been. No sooner was the movie announced than details started flooding in – Luthor would not be the main villain, it would be an origin story of sorts, it would not share continuity, Zod would be the primary antagonist, Brandon Routh would not return. That’s quite a bit of news to get straight out of the gate, and I took a while to really shape my opinion of it all. And I’m optimistic, just very cautiously so.

Look! Up in the sky!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: birthright, brandon routh, bryan singer, Christopher Nolan, clark kent, Comics, dc comics, superman, superman 3.0, superman reboot, superman returns, superman: birthright, The Man of Steel, Warner Brothers, zack snyder | 7 Comments »

Annihilation – Vol. 1-3 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Darren

This is the fifth in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s mainstream shared universe over the past five or so years – primarily with a focus on The Avengers as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity. This is more of a tangential entry, though, as we’re going into space with marvel’s “cosmic” titles. But still, sometimes you need to go away to come back.

When people think of the Marvel crossover events of the past decade, they’ll name ones like Civil War or Secret Invasion or House of M. Very few will mention Annihilation, Marvel’s first big cosmic crossover event of the past ten years, but those few will generally speak quite highly of it.