Posted on May 17, 2010 by Darren
Lost is entering its final phase. Just two weeks left and it will all be over. I have no doubts that The End, the final episode, will be a bit of a phenomenon – ABC are reportly charging nearly $1m for advertising space during the finale. However, I imagine that a lot of people tuning in will be disappointed – as I expect a large number of viewers will be expecting an easy answer or several to (in fairness, perfectly reasonable) questions like “what is the island?”, “why was there a polar bear on the island and how did it survive?” and “what the hell happened?” To be honest, some of these questions have already been answered (not necessarily satisfactorily), but I still don’t think that the answers – even if they are provided – will be offered in a viewer-friendly mode. And I’m actually reasonably okay with that.
Lost at sea?
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: explanations, finale, jj abrams, lost, reasons, Television, the end, the island, the others, the prisoner, the x-files | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 13, 2010 by Darren
Occasionally something small and quirky comes to my attention which I can’t help but post here. In this case, it’s a unique (and clever) way of advertising Iron Man 2. Sure, it would be better if they spelt Terrence correctly, but who am I to judge?
I found this over on Rope of Silicon.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, iron man 2, meme, Movies, terrance howard, terrence howard | 25 Comments »
Posted on May 13, 2010 by Darren
The second of the blockbusters arrives, celebrating the true arrival of summer. Chosen to open Cannes and featuring a return of the powerhouse pairing of maestro Ridley Scott and love-‘im-or-hate-‘im matinee icon Russell Crowe in a historic setting brimming with action potential and historic appeal, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot of pressure on the iconic outlaw, Robin Hood. So does he carry it off as confidently as he carries off that bow-and-arrow?
Boy in da Hood...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: blockbuster, cate blanchet, cate blanchett, film, gladiator, historical, Movies, non-review review, review, ridley scott, robin hood, russell crowe | 15 Comments »
Posted on May 12, 2010 by Darren
I remember being assured by somebody that pop culture will eat itself. I’m not sure who and I’m not sure when (maybe this person had a time a machine – because it seems to be happening). I never understood if that was a promise or a threat, and I still don’t. However, if you wanted to get a look at the below of the beast, I imagine it might look a little like Hot Tub Time Machine.
Rubba dub dub, four men in tub...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1986, back to the future, clark duke, comedy, craig robinson, film, hot tub, hot tub time machine, john cusack, Movie, non-review review, pop culture, review, rob corddry, time travel | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 12, 2010 by Darren
Face facts, John. The real Hal Jordan is back. And he’s bringing the past with him.
– Batman
Batman states the above as if it’s some sort of dire threat. Perhaps to him, one of the darker of the superhero community, it is. However, to writer Geoff Johns, it’s a mission statement. Let the reconstruction begin. It’s easy to balk at a relatively recent superhero comic being given DC’s prestige ‘Absolute’ format (it’s even easier when you realise it’s only six issues long for that hefty price tag), but Green Lantern: Rebirth deserves it. Not because it’s as iconic as, say, Alan Moore’s Watchmen or Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, because it isn’t. Nor is it because of the series’ increasingly important place in the DC canon. It deserves the treatment because of what it represents. This was the moment that the pendulum swung back in mainstream comics, a conscious rejection of the “darker and edgier” philosophy that gripped the medium in the nineties. It’s also a pretty good read.
Shine a light...
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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute edition, absolute green lantern, absolute green lantern: rebirth, absolute rebirth, alan moore, comic books, dc comics, dc universe, ethan van sciver, geoff johns, green lantern, green lantern: rebirth, Guy Gardner, hal jordan, Kyle Rayner, parallax, rebirth, retcon | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 11, 2010 by Darren
A little while ago, I mumbled something about how ‘failure’ didn’t really mean much, despite how often the term was thrown around in discussions about films like Watchmen and Kick-Ass. They generally made their money back, received cult attention and didn’t enter the history books as massive wastes of time or energy – which I figured was kinda fair given that neither example was a box office bomb in the style of, say, Motherhood, Uma Thurman’s last film (opening weekend of £88 at the UK box office – I’m not kidding and I didn’t omit an ‘m’). Still, it looks like success isn’t a particularly better deal, given what is circulating on the web regarding Iron Man 2 and its opening weekend – just shy of $130m, I believe. When is success not success?
There may be blood in the water... but Ivan isn't the only shark circling...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2D, 3d, box office, box office records, cinema, failure, films, iron man, iron man 2, Movies, records, success, thor | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 8, 2010 by Darren
This is one of my entries on the latest cross-blogging event, tracking down some of the most overrated movies of all time. It’s being run by Mike over at You Talking to Me. I can’t spoil the list by giving you any of the other titles, but I did take a quick look at Spider-Man‘s legacy earlier in the week.
I love Toy Story. I love Toy Story II even more. I am anticipating Toy Story III with baited breath. I adore Pixar. The only two films they’ve produced that fall short of excellence (in my opinion) are Cars and A Bug’s Life and both are still above average as films go. So it may seem odd to critique the legacy of perhaps the first great computer animated film – but this is a strange world we live in. Think about it, though. Pixar have essentially killed conventional animated films – at least in this part of the world.
Computer-generated animation spreads its wings...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: animation, cgi, computer animation, conventional animation, disney, dreamworks, films, Movies, pixar, toy story, toy story 2, toy story 3 | 8 Comments »
Posted on May 7, 2010 by Darren
Michael Gambon is great. He really is. I’d pay to watch Michael Gambon sit on stage for an hour. Hell, I’d pay to see Michael Gambon eat a banana, he’s that good. And, thanks to the Gate Theatre and Samuel Beckett, now I can.
A name like "Krapp" just invites punning...
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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: beckett, dublin, gate, gate theatre, krapp, krapp's last tape, michael gambon, samuel beckett, the gate, the gate theatre | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 6, 2010 by Darren
I’m sucker for things that go bump in the night. It’s a personal thing. Some people are inherently weirded out by the very idea of zombies or insects or serial killers, but it’s ghosts (or demons or “spiritual presences” or whatever euphemism you wish to use) in their purest forms which terrify me. It’s a matter of personal horror preference – I can (admittedly reluctantly) take copious amounts of gore and graphic violence and, while I may flinch, I’ll shrug it off. It may get me while I’m watching it and I may even look away like a big baby, but it doesn’t really bother me. Give me something just a bit more abstract and I’ll spend the night shivering. So Paranormal Activity was right up my street, then?
A new house can be hell on a relationship...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, horror, Movies, non-review review, paranormal activity, review | 9 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2010 by Darren
I’m on a bit of a Wolverine binge at the moment. I got the quite enjoyable Old Man Logan last week and am slowly working my way through the Wolverine Omnibus at the moment. I would have picked up Enemy of the State if it had a nice hardback version. But such is life. I figured I’d dip my toes into Marvel’s Ultimate line. Basically a shrewd marketing decision to launch all their titles from scratch – the hope being that the line could attract readers alienated by decades of continuity in mainstream comics. The experiment was a bit of a mixed success – Ultimate Spider-Man might be the most successful interpretation of the web-slinger this decade, but Ultimate X-Men left a lot to be desired. However, this continuity-free playground offered Marvel a chance to do two things: invite big-name film and television writers to handle their properties (such as allowing Lost scribe Brian K. Vaughan and Heroes writer Aron E. Coleite to work on Ultimate X-Men), but also to shameless release miniseries to capitalise on their big screen projects. Released between the big screen adaptations of The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and featuring the work of Star Trek co-writer Damon Lindelof, this series attempts to do both. Does it succeed?
It's a game of two halves...
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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Comics, damon lindelof, leinil francis yu, marvel, marvel comics, review, ultimate hulk, ultimate marvel, ultimate universe, ultimate wolverine, ultimate wolverine vs. hulk, ultimate x-men, wolverine vs. hulk | Leave a comment »
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