the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Planet 51

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Darren

Planet 51 is an enjoyable little animated film. It mostly skirts by on it’s rather interesting premise (what if an astronaut landed on an alien world exactly like fifties America?) and razor-sharp pop culture references (I wonder how many kids are going to get the references to E.T. let alone Alien or 2001: A Space Odyssey), but it’s ultimately let down by the fact that nobody involved seems to be trying too hard… or at all, really. The film relies on its intriguing premise to carry it, which it just about does, but it’s hard to feel that there isn’t so much more that could have been done.

I'm not sure if Chuck demonstrates to Planet 51 that there's intelligent life out there...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: aliens, animation, cgi, film, jessica biel, justin long, Movies, non-review review, planet 51, pop culture, review, the rock | 6 Comments »

The Great and Powerful Downey…

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Darren

Remember how I mocked the idea of remaking The Wizard of Oz? I may take it back. The rumour is that Oz The Great and Powerful has entered production, a sort of prologue to the book and movie, based on the cult book Brick. It is basically an origin story for the Wizard himself. And rumour has it that Robert Downey Jnr. may be starring, with Sam Mendes directing. I’m waiting for more to get really excited (as, with Iron Man 2 coming out, this is the silly season for Robert Downey Jnr. related stories – we’ll see him linked to everything over the next two weeks), but this is certainly interesting.

I'd be off to see the wizard...

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: oz, oz the great and powerful, robert downey jnr., sam mendes, the great and powerful oz, the wizard, the wizard of ox | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Joneses

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Darren

The Joneses is a sharply observed, perfectly timed, more than a little cynical examination of American suburbia. Trust me when I say that it’s hard not to leave the movie thinking of American Beauty, I mean that in the most flattering way possible. Yes, I bought what it is the Joneses were selling.

Sometimes you can choose your family...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: advertising, amber heard, american beauty, david duchovney, demi moore, films, gary cole, glenne headley, keeping up with the joneses, marketing, non-review review, review, selling, stealth marketing, suburbia, the joneses, the right hook | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Comfort of Strangers

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Darren

Let me tell you something: My father was a very big man. And all his life he wore a black mustache. When it was no longer black, he used a small brush, such as ladies use for their eyes. Mascara.

– Robert

The Comfort of Strangers is… a strange film. I can appreciate what it’s doing (or rather what it is trying to do), but it never quite comes together. Perhaps it’s because the movie seems structured as too much of a thought exercise rather than a finished dramatic production. There’s food for thought here, but there’s really not too much else.

Never wander off with strangers... ESPECIALLY if they're Christopher Walken...

Note: I will be discussing the film’s ending, which is kinda important. But don’t worry, I’ll flag it beforehand. Plus, this film is nearly twenty years old, so I figure it’s fair game.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: christopher walken, comfort of strangers, films, harold pinter, helen mirren, ian mcewan, Movies, natasha richardson, non-review review, paul schrader, review, rupert everett, the comfort of strangers, venice | Leave a comment »

Sympathy for the Daleks: Steven Moffat & The Shifting Status Quo

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Darren

I suppose you could bring them back, but I’d be slightly puzzled, because they were robots that went wrong. Generally speaking, and maybe Russell wouldn’t agree with a word I’m saying right now, but my favorite Doctor Who story is the one with brand new monsters that you see once and once only. The moment you start crowding the universe with familiar monsters, I think it’s less interesting. Two of the words that you could reasonably apply to the Daleks are ‘reliably defeatable.’ You know those guys are going to lose at the last minute anyway, and you always know what they’re up to, so the best bit about bringing back old monsters is the reveal. After that, it’s all downhill. It’s like Agatha Christie deciding that the butler should always do it, because it was successful in the last book, so that’s not my favorite kind of Doctor Who story. I like brand new monsters.

– Steven Moffat

That answer comes from an interview he gave waaaay back in 2006 – about the time he was writing The Girl in the Fireplace, his second story for the relaunched Doctor Who. I don’t know if he knew then that he was heir apparent to the throne and would succeed Russell T. Davies, but I wonder if being positioned as showrunner has somewhat changed his perspective. In his inaugural year running the show, we’ve already had the return of the Daleks, three episodes in with Victory of the Daleks, next week we’ll witness Moffat returning to one of his own monstrous creations in The Time of Angels and previews have already confirmed that the Cybermen themselves – foes dating from the show’s first leading actor – will be returning as well (with Roman centurians). I’m not complaining at all (a writer as talented as Moffat can do pretty much whatever he wants and I’ll trust him), but I can’t help wondering if perhaps Moffat is playing his own long game with the franchise in his opening season.

Don't worry, this Cyberman is mostly 'armless...

Note: This article contains spoilers for the end of this week’s episode, The Victory of the Daleks, so those who haven’t caught it yet might want to look away or come back to this when they’ve seen the episode. You’ve been warned, so you have.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: cybermen, daleks, doctor who, mark gratiss, status quo, steven moffat, Television, the doctor, victory of the daleks, would! you! like! some! tea! | Leave a comment »

Desert Island Discs: Mark II

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Darren

Cool. When I put together this bad boy last week, not everyone was quite on board, so I went back over it this weekend to add in those I missed. I think I got everyone (as of 6pm on Saturday), but please let me know if I didn’t by leaving a comment. Anyway, here’s the revised list, for those OCD people like myself who want an easy place to follow who took what. Enjoy!

Some more trivia (I like trivia!):

Lotsa people cheating and bringing whole trilogies. Mostly The Lord of the Rings, although all three individual movies have been brought separately as well.
Some more people bringing television shows, with The Wire, Arrested Development and The X-Files along for the ride.
The original Star Wars trilogy has been rounded out.
X-Men II is the only non-Batman superhero film on the list.
The Dark Knight is still the most ‘desert-island-able’ film in blogdom.
Red over at Anomolous Materials wanted to bring The Hobbit on preorder (I assume both movies), but I didn’t count it (in my defence, he’s taking all three Lord of the Rings).

Click the above for a larger image. Thanks again to Andy for all his hard work.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: desert island, desert island discs, desert island dvds, films, lists, Movies | 6 Comments »

Why Not Every Superhero Has To Be “Dark and Edgy”…

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren

News surfaced earlier in the week that reported Sony are reportedly less than pleased with how The Green Hornet is turning out. What are they unhappy about? Oh yes, the fact that the movie from Seth Rogan and Michael Gondry about a man who fights crime in an emerald business suit with a domino mask and a Japanese man-servant might not be delivered with the poe-faced gravitas that the very concept deserves. Apparently, it’s campy.

Wait, what?

Darker and edgier, what?

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: batman, comic books, darker, darker and edgier, edgier, films, green hornet, michael gondry, Movies, mvoies, seth rogan, the green hornet | 14 Comments »

What Happened Happened: Mainstream Alternative Histories?

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren

Alternative histories have long been a staple of science fiction. The basic idea is simple enough: take a key moment in history and play it out just a little bit differently (or a lot differently). The Man in the High Castle, the story of how America lost the Second World War, may be the most famous example, but there’s literally a whole subgenre of literary science-fiction based around the idea of playing things out in a way different from how they did. However, this fascination with alternative history never really spilled over into cinema. However, there are slowly emerging signs that audiences may be gradually adjusting to the genre and the potential it offers.

Twenty more years!

Note: This is not to be confused with the historical school of alternative histories, which are all based on perfectly reasonable assumptions, like if a courier who really existed was late or if a wound to a historical figure had been fatal. It seems in mainstream sci-fi these are more likely to involve pepperpot-shaped aliens or glowing blue supermen. So, some historians out there may object to the term – maybe I should use ‘speculative history’ instead. But it’s all semantics.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alternate histories, alternate history, alternative histories, books, Movies, possible history, science fiction, speculative history, Television, the man in the high castle, watchmen, what could have been | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Whiteout

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Darren

Whiteout is a “just okay” thriller, perfectly average in most areas (but hopelessly deficient in others). Setting a murder-mystery-thriller in the cold icy tundra and in the middle of a storm immediately brings to mind any number of cinematic fore-bearers, virtually all of which are superior to this little film. Perhaps the greatest crime that Whiteout is guilty of, aside from following the usual tropes and conventions too slavishly, is that it just doesn’t do anything with its setting, which seems to want to be distinctive.