the m0vie blog

How Nicolas Cage Chooses His Movies…

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Darren

As a movie fan who is amazed at how Nicolas Cage can alternate between fascinating films like Kick-Ass and Bad Lieutenant and pure dreck like Next, Knowing, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice… well, the list goes on… anyway, as a movie fan, I’ve wondered how no one has ever attempted to stop him from making terrible choices. Apparently the guys at College Humour have also pondered the question and here’s the fun result:

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, college humour, film, kick-ass, Movie, nicolas cage | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Gladiator

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Darren

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

– Maximus sums up the plot in case you were sleeping for the first hour and a half

The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!

– Commodus also reiterates the plot in case you weren’t paying attention

I think a lot of the appeal of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator rested on the fact we hadn’t seen a film quite like this in over a generation. In the years since we’ve witnessed a rejuvenated genre, with historical epics becoming more and more common. It’s easy to forget the impact of the Ridley Scott’s swords-and-sandals epic in the wake of films like King Arthur, Robin Hood or even Kingdom of Heaven – let alone 300 or shows like Spartacus: Blood & Sand. And yet, even after all these big all-action historical endeavours, there’s still something special about Gladiator.

It's the eye of the tiger...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: best picture oscar, Commodus, djimon hounsou, epic, film, gladiator, Gladiators, Hans Zimmer, history, Joaquin Phoenix, Marcus Aurelius, maximus, Movie, non-review review, oliver reed, review, richard harris, ridley scott, russell crowe | 5 Comments »

Is Classism Alive And Well At The Box Office?

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Darren

Richard Nixon introduced the phrase “the silent majority” into the popular lexicon, referring to those people who weren’t out protesting or stirring up a storm, but quietly and strongly sanctioning his actions. Since then the term has become almost synonymous with “middle America” or the “the big red middle”, the clear indication that liberalism and activism were traditionally associated with the coasts of the country – specifically concentrated around Washington, New York and California. Whenever loud and vocal protests arise in these regions, expect the more conservative politicians to speak about the silent majority of decent middle-class folks in “flyover country” who don’t make big deals of things and vote with their feet. These are the people, these politicians will tell you, who save their public political expressions for the election day. And so, it would seem, this central part of the country has voted on The Social Network. And silence was certainly there in spades.

The Silent Majority turned down The Social Network's Friend Request...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: box office, cinema, CinemaScore, classism, coastal america, david fincher, entertainment, film, films, gi joe, middle america, Movies, politics, richard nixon, rotten tomatoes, Social Network, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Young Victoria

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Darren

There are a few period dramas about classical nobility released every year. Most of them, such as The Dutchess are fairly bland and lifeless affairs – indeed, it’s hard to create an energy or dynamism around a world most of us have never known which is built upon self-restraint and self-control. The tendency is towards po-faced self-importance and excessive melodrama. While I would be hard pressed to describe The Young Victoria as “exciting” or “thrilling”, it is one of the better period pieces I have seen to focus on the British Royal Family, perhaps because – despite the impressive scope of its subject matter (Queen Victoria was, as the end titlecard informs us, the longest-serving monarch of Great Britain) – it remains tightly focused. It’s a story of courtship and romance, loyalty and dependency. It’s a genuinely and honestly romantic film.

Royalty and politics make strange bedfellows...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: actor, British Royal Family, Emily Blunt, film, jean-marc vallée, jim broadbent, martin scorsese, Miranda Richardson, Movie, non-review review, paul bettany, prince albert, Queen Victoria, review, royalty, rupert friend, the young victoria, Victoria of the United Kingdom, Young Victoria | 1 Comment »

Is TV the Natural Medium of Comic Book Adaptations?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Darren

It recently surfaced that David E. Kelley (creator of Ally McBeal and The Practice) is working on a Wonder Woman television show. Presumably it will be somewhat less campy than the Linda Carter version. Last month news broke that there are plans for a television version of Neil Gaiman’s epic story The Sandman. Later this month we’re see the airing of a live action version of Robert Kirkman’s critically acclaimed zombie comic book The Walking Dead. Part of me wonders if this is the logical shift in the market. After all, comic books arguably have more in common with television than they do with movies. So is this the real future of these adaptations?

It's a Wonder we didn't think of this earlier...

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Filed under: Comics, Movies, Television | Tagged: adaptations, arts, batman, comic book, Comics, david e. kelley, miniseries, neil gaiman, sandman, Smallville, Television program, wonder woman | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Ghost

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Darren

The Guardian once made a point that what distinguishes British writers from their American counterparts is that they simply refuse to ascribe to simplicity would could be blamed on malice:

The conspiracy theory has become an off-the-peg solution for writing about politics in Britain – to the detriment of writing, politics and Britain. If The Wire had been made here, its hero McNulty would have discovered that Baltimore’s problems were not the result of a shortsighted political culture, or the weakness of human nature, but were the fault of one property developer in a polo-neck.

It’s an astute observation, rendering The Ghost a very British reflection on the most turbulent legacy of a recent Prime Minister.

How will Lang keep his spirits up?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adrian lang, conspiracy, conspiracy theory, ewan mcgregor, film, Ghost Writer, hokey, Movie, non-review review, pierce brosnan, politics, Prime Minister, review, Robert Harris, roman polanski, the ghost, the ghost writer, tony blair | 2 Comments »

Lex is More: Bringing Lex Luthor to the Screen…

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Darren

I’ve been swamped with real-world work this week, so announcing that Zach Snyder would be directing the new Superman movie and that General Zod would be the primary bad guy on Monday (and a plot synopsis on Tuesday) really threw me for a loop. Anyway, I cobbled together some thoughts on bringing Superman to the big screen. I’ll hopefully have some more general thoughts early next week.

Lex Luthor shouldn’t be so hard to get right on the big screen. I mean, it’s not from lack of trying. The character is more than just Superman’s arch-enemy, he’s a member of his supporting cast. More than the Joker to Batman, Luthor is inexorably linked to the Man of Steel – no matter which enemy is invading Metropolis, Luthor is usually helping them or hindering them or figuring out a way to turn the events to his advantage. As such, he has appeared in all but one of the live action Superman films released over the past three-and-a-half decades, even where he isn’t the main adversary (as in Superman II, where he attempts to manipulate Zod’s vendetta against Superman). And yet, despite being portrayed by two incredibly talented actors – Kevin Spacey and Gene Hackman – the big screen never managed to essence of Luthor’s character. Zack Snyder was earlier this week named director of the Nolan Superman reboot, and although General Zod was named the villain of the film I’d be fairly certain that Luthor will put in an appearance. So, how do you do Lex Luthor right?

Green there and done that?

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: Arctic, Christopher Nolan, DC Universe Online, gene hackman, general zod, kevin spacey, lex, lex luthor, Lexluthor, lois lane, luthor, Prometheus, richard donner, Smallville, superman, superman 3.0, superman ii, superman returns, supervillian, zack snyder | 7 Comments »

Facebook Off: Tyler Durden’s Cameo in The Social Network

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Darren

Fans of David Fincher will be pleased to know that Tyler Durden, the character played by Brad Pitt in Fincher’s breakout hit Fight Club, has a (sort of) cameo in The Social Network, one of my most anticipated films of the coming weeks. Reportedly the film see Facebook founder Zuckerberg set up a fake account to cheat on his art history assignment. No points for guessing (from the title of this article), the name he uses:

In a brief scene where Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is using Facebook to cheat on an art exam, the student profile he searches for art explanations is Tyler Durden’s. Just keep your eyes peeled and look for his name on the top left of the computer screen during the scene. It is a quick one, so be ready.

I like little teasers like this. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled when watching the film.

Would you let Tyler Durden "poke" you?

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Art history, brad pitt, david fincher, facebook, fight club, film, jesse eisenberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Social Network, tyler durden | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Special Relationship

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Darren

The third part of Peter Morgan and Michael Sheen’s superb “Tony Blair trilogy” seems perfectly timed. In fact, being honest, I’m surprised that HBO couldn’t muster up enough enthusiasm for a small-scale cinematic release, what with Blair’s political memoir A Journey doing the rounds at the moment (I’m working my way through it and it’s probably the best political memoir I’ve read since Churchill). Blair is easily one of the most fascinating political leaders of the last few decades, and Morgan does well to juxtapose him against perhaps his greatest political influence: Bill Clinton. Still, all that being said, and with this reportedly the final part of the trilogy, it might have been best to focuse on his relationship with the leader who most strongly defined his legacy. However, Morgan has admitted time and time again that he simply didn’t want to write Bush. While I’m happy with what we got, it doesn’t exactly feel like a fitting coda.

Bro's before interns accusing you of gross impropriety...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bbc, bill clinton, Dennis Quaid, films, hbo, hope davis, michael sheen, Movie, non-review review, peter morgan, politics, Queen, review, Special Relationship, the queen, the special relationship, tony blair | 1 Comment »

Quelling the Prequels…

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Darren

I’ve always wondered who thought prequels are good ideas. I mean, the ending is a foregone conclusion. It has to end as the other film started. No matter how much danger your leading character is place in, he has to live through it. In fact, the very idea of a prequel is to play out events that you’ve heard about already – so even then you know roughly what’s going to happen and how it’ll turn out before the film is even written. Sure, there are particulars that need to be specified, but it’s an incredibly risky venture – those particulars need to be really awesome in order to justify the film.