Posted on February 3, 2010 by Darren
People are probably still analysing and analysing the Oscar nominees announced yesterday. I’m still formulating my opinion on the bunch – generally it’s a safe selection, but a reasonable safe selection – I thought I’d take a look at the other great annual awards ceremony. No, not the Olympics. No, not the Golden Globes. No, not even the Winter Olympics. The Golden Raspberry Awards – or Razzies, as they are affectionately known – are announced at this time of year, typically stealing a tiny percentage of the Oscars’ thunder. This year they announced the day before and gave us an eclectic line-up. For those unfamiliar with the Razzies, the idea is celebrate the worst that exists in film. However, part of me wonders if the Razzies have escaped the scrutiny that has long been a part of analysing their bigger brother: are the Razzies out of touch with the common movie-goer?
They've even got a cool little statue thing going on!
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2010, all about steve, bad films, bad movies, G.I. Joe, gi joe, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, golden raspberries, Movies, old dogs, Oscars, razzies, the golden raspberries, the golden raspberry awards, the land of the lost, transformers 2, worst, worst movies | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 2, 2010 by Darren
The Oscar nominees have just been announced. In the next few hours, in-depth analysis from all manner of sources will take place and discussions will begin on whether the conversion of the Best Picture Oscar to a ten horse race has made the nomination phase anymore exciting. I don’t think it has – we’ve all been talking about the big five like it were any other year – Up In The Air, Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Precious – and that doesn’t really seem to have changed. However, there’s been a whole heap of discussion about the remaining places on the list. Though that doesn’t exactly ‘shake up the Oscar race’. Once we get a taste for how the Oscars choose the next five (and I suspect it will be on the same basis as the first five), picking ten will seem as simple as picking five did. But I digress. Nominees and preliminary analysis below. Note I’ll probably offer a more in-depth look at the race tomorrow.
It's that time of year again...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 82nd academy awards, avatar, best director, best picture, best picture oscar, best picture race, best screenplay, ceremony, films, Movies, oscar nominess 2010, oscare nominees, Oscars, oscars 2010, populist, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, the hurt locker, up in the air | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 2, 2010 by Darren
As anyone who reads this blog is probably aware, we’re still eagerly awaiting news of any sort of announcement about Batman 3, the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight that was rumoured to arrive this January. Be it that he was leaving or staying or what have you. Still, part of me wonders if there might be quite a significant amount of stuff in Iron Man 2 for those looking for a further exploration of the themes in the 2008 blockbuster. With recent discussions about the project and the first trailer, I can’t help but get the fantastic feeling that the second Iron Man movie may pick up and explore some of the wonderful threads which Nolan’s dark epic set up. That’s not to say that there isn’t reason to get excited for the film in it’s own right – Robert Downey Jnr! Sam Rockwell! Mickey Rourke! Jon Favreau! – but it’ll be interesting to see if the themes overlap or echo with the film’s 2008 summer rival as well.
Who says darker and edgier is the way forward?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, Batman 3, Christopher Nolan, films, iron man, iron man 2, jon favreau, Movies, robert downey jnr., sam rockwell, superhero, The Dark Knight, the dark knight sequel, tony stark | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 1, 2010 by Darren
This news story grabbed my attention last week. Apparently Tesco – yes, the provider of weekly shopping, credit cards, loans and cheap shots at homegrown retailers – will be entering the bright and glamourous world of show business. Will this be part of the finest or economy ranges?
I'm not even sure I'm kidding on this one...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, jackie collins, Movies, philip pullman, phillip pullman, tesco, tesco films, tesco finest | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 1, 2010 by Darren
Hmm… Last year I wasn’t so sure about 3D being the future of movie-making that everyone was lauding it it to be. And, being honest, part of me is still on the fence. The two biggests revolutions in the distribution of popular cinema have been the advent of sound and the introduction of consistent and effective colour. Home media is probably third, but that’s probably not what the major studios want to hear as they attempt to milk every possible cent out of the big screen in this era of pirated movies and downloads and such. Avatar pretty much knocked the digital 3D thing out of the park and demonstrated that the concept had a life beyond kids flicks like Coraline and Monsters vs. Aliens (the only time I mention those two together, I promise) and horror flicks like My Bloody Valentine and The Final Destination. James Cameron has taken what Alfred Hitchock memorably derided as a seven-day fad and made it matinee fare. And, of course, Hollywood has noticed. Clash of the Titans, one of the early summer blockbusters this year, is being reworked into 3D before release – probably as a direct result of Avatar’s success. Still, if 3D is to be as huge a game changer as colour or sound was, it needs to become the norm for films produced – it needs to become dominant. So when we are we going to see 3D prestige pieces?
The way things are meant to 3D?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, cinema, clash of the titans, colour films, film, film making, future, future of cinema, home entertainment, innovations, Movies | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 31, 2010 by Darren
What a month it’s been. This is our monthly post where we round up the best of your coverage/opinion/randomness for you to sample.
We’ve had the inevitable Oscar build-up (the announcements are on Tuesday!) leading us to wonder if Inglourious Basterds has a shot at a nomination or even a win and whether a nomination or win Avatar could honestly be considered a sign that AMPAS has moved back in step with the masses (and if you could make an impartial argument that it deserves the win).
Spider-Man is getting a reboot – and we’re not really too excited about the idea – and we took a look at the Vatican and its history with cinema, what with its recent reengagement with popular culture.
We got some kudos this month, being listed on Total Film’s Top 600 Movie Blogs (woot! cracked that ceiling!) and picking up a Kreativ Blog Award. Nominations for the Irish Blog Awards are now open if you feel like throwing our name in the ring for anything (best newcomer or pop culture, maybe?)
Filed under: Months in Review | Tagged: january in review, month in review | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 29, 2010 by Darren
I rarely take the opportunity to get in on some solid internet meme action right here, so please indulge me. With the sixth and final (‘thank god,’ says most of the audience) season of Lost hitting the airwaves on this side of the Atlantic soon, it seems some fan has thought of a nifty and interactive way of charting the various connections between the castaways, whose lives interact in ridiculously unlikely ways before they end up the island. Anyway, it’s an application where you highlight a main character’s name and it’ll connect them to others through numerous smaller secondary characters. Give it a go here, or click the image below.
Not to mention there’s a little Nathan Fillon love going on there, which I think we can all get behind.
Filed under: Television | Tagged: application, internet meme, lost, map, meme, nathan fillon, nerd, Television | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 29, 2010 by Darren
Every once in a while a creator lands a run on a mainstream comic which suits them to a ‘t’. There’s Alan Moore’s tenure on Swamp Thing and Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil, for example. Sure, both writers did great work with other characters on a stand-alone basis (notably Superman and Batman respectively), but these were generally individual arcs rather than directing three or four years of the characters’ stories. Having read New X-Men, I can confirm that Grant Morrison has found his own such series.
Is there beauty in the beast?
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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: assault on weapon plus, comic book, Comics, e is for extinction, frank quitely, grant morrison, here comes tomorrow, magneto, marvel omnibus, new x-men, new x-men omnibus, planet x, review, sublime, x-men, xorn | 4 Comments »
Posted on January 28, 2010 by Darren
The title is misleading. It isn’t actually complicated. I’d demand my money back for such a misleading title, but the movie staisfies my basic need for naked Alec Baldwin. Because everyone needs more naked Alec Baldwin. You just don’t know it yet. All joking aside, the movie works as what it is: another attempt by Meryl Streep to demonstrate that women over fifty can be just as emotionally immature and as haplessly self-centred as any romantic lead in her twenties or thirties. Who says Hollywood is ageist? Romantic comedy can be equally demeaning no matter what your age.
One of these just scored way out of their league...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: affair, alec baldwin, cheating, comedy, complicated, its complicated, meryl streep, Movie, nancy meyer, non-review review, review, romantic comedy, steve martin | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 28, 2010 by Darren
I’ll admit that I’ve never really understood why Hollywood is so preoccupied with showing the rest of the world how show business works. It was announced today that the book I’m Dying Up Here will be getting the film treatment. That particular bestseller offers a behind-the-scenes look at the early days of the New York stand-up comedy scene, culminating in the famous strike over pay. The characters on screen will be any number of world-famous comedians, from Tim Allen to Robin Williams. Part of me wonders if the recession is a suitable time for this sort of Hollywood introspection.
You may be dying up here, but the celebrity-based bio-pic is alive and well...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: biographies, biopics, celebrities, comedians, films, funny people, i'm dying up here, Movies, ray, recession, showbiz, strike | Leave a comment »
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