Thanks to the guys over at Universal Pictures Ireland, check out this Irish-exclusive web clip from the upcoming Russell Brand and Jonah Hill film Get Him to The Greek, the spin-off from the rather wonderful Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It is probably our most anticipated comedy of the year. Give the clip a look below, and put the candy in the jar. Parental advisory.
Battlestar Galactica has a lot to answer for. It seems that religious-themed endings are now in vogue again, at least for mindbending television shows of choice. Both Ashes to Ashes and Lost came to an end within days of each other last week, and both included some fairly noticeable religious themes in their finales. Has religion somehow become a non-taboo subject on mainstream television?
Go in peace...
Note: As the introduction suggests, this article will contain spoilers for the finales of Ashes to Ashes and Lost. I’m posting it about now because I figure that anybody who wanted to watch them has had the chance. Continue reading →
My name is Alex Drake… and your guess is as good as mine.
– Alex introduces us to the third season
Ashes and Ashes wound up last week. It seems to be the time of year for shows wrapping up. I could remark on how I’m hooked on this eclectic collection of British and American shows, but can’t find a decent Irish television show to watch week-in-and-week-out, but I’ll save that rant. It would appear that we have seen the last of the iconic Gene Hunt. And, you know what, it was nice. As nice as an attempt to give the old-fashioned politically-incorrect copper some closure could ever really be.
Gene Hunt takes some parting shots...
Note: This article will discuss the final episode of Ashes to Ashes and also has the capicity to retroactively spoil Life on Mars. You have been warned.
Damn it. It’s happened again. About once a year, I’ll watch a trailer and something will stay with me. Not necessarily a line (though the sheer eighties-tastic-ness of the “How do we kill them?”/“How ever you can” exchange from the Predatorstrailer keeps bouncing around inside my head), but just something. Sometimes it’s a stunning image that inevitably looks better all isolated and alone within the trailer, but sometimes it’s a piece of music. I’m not talking about that stupid “let’s sample a pop song” mentallity that is the fare of comedies or romances or heart-rendering dramas, I’m talking about some solid instrumental work. Last year it was the rather wonderful “Two Steps from Hell” from the trailer to Star Trek. This year, it’s the wonderful and ominous and “could easily be written by frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer” tune “Mind Heist” from the Inception trailer which I raved about last week. It’s embedded below and well worth a listen.
It’s amazing what we remember, isn’t it? I’m quite partial to the “Hello Zepp” from Saw, for example, and the variations that Charlie Closer has done for the sequels. Which is odd, because I’m not a huge fan of the sequels (though I really dug the originals). Of course, in my humble opinion, the best ambient sound track ever has to “Crockett’s Theme” from Miami Vice. I don’t care about the allegators or the fashion, it is a damn travesty that this beautiful piece of music wasn’t ported over from the television show into the big screen adaptation.
I imagine that Robert Rodriguez was bracing himself for controversy over his new film Machete. Given the uproar that the use of foul language in Kick-Ass caused, I think it’s safe to say that Rodriguez’s retro “mexploitation” film was just asking for trouble when it came out. I anticipated a lot of politically correct discussions about the film’s premise, and potentially some discussions of negative stereotypes it might evoke. However, I certainly could not have suspected that it would provoke some sort of “race war”.
Those of us looking for an explanation of what the island is, how throwing a body down a well creates a smoke monster or why Locke getting off the island was a bad idea were undoubtedly a little disappointed (as I predicted they would be). In fact, I’ve spoken to a few at work, so I know that they are disappointed. However, I was still quite taken with The End, because it was… well, an end. It was a fitting coda to the series, wrapping up most of the major character arcs and giving the audience a sense of closure.
Excuse me, I was Lost in your eyes...
Note: This post will contain spoilers for the final episode of Lost which has already aired worldwide. Still, consider yourselves warned.
The word “unfilmable” is thrown around a lot these days. Mostly quite unfairly, but sometimes somewhat justly. It’s typically used as a go to word when somebody is genuinely terrified of what an adaptation of a certain work may look like, but don’t want to concede that the thought of what Hollywood will do to a clever and insightful idea chills them to the very bone (this is the system which turned down a chance to make Fahrenheit 451 because they couldn’t sell it to thirteen year olds). However, the word itself simply suggests that there are some ideas, stories, narratives, presentations, whatever that simply can’t be transitioned from one format to another – here, of course, the other is always cinema or television. So, is it ever fair to describe something is “unfilmable” and is there any shame in the idea?
Another film, another only very vaguely controversial decision from Darren. I actually prefer Kill Bill, Vol. 2 to the Kill Bill, Vol. 1. There, I said it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Japanese samurai swords, massive brawls, over-the-top violence and kitchen knife fights as much as the next man, but there’s just something about the second half of this “roaring rampage of revenge” which appeals to me.
Well, as far as 3D is concerned, I’m not convinced, despite it’s increasing presence in the market place. However, after all my time criticising post-rendering in 3D or how certain films don’t necessarily need the gimmick, maybe it’s about time I got a little bit excited about 3D and stopped complaining so damn much. Or at least recognised that it’s not all bad. The good news of which I speak? The Looney Tunes are coming back… in 3D.
Fire is a recurring image in the work of Cormac McCarthy. Particularly the notion of a generational line “carrying the fire” and being the good guys. There’s a moment at the end of No Country For Old Men, another adaptation of McCarthy’s work, where the tired sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones shares a weird dream he’s been having with his wife, where he finds himself walking down a long road, and he passes his father – who is carrying a torch. It’s a powerful image, which really cuts to the heart of the piece. For those wondering what that road and that torch may actually look like… well, there’s this.
the m0vie blog 