the m0vie blog

Policing Product Placement…

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Darren

Product placement. Sponsorship. Payola. Image branding. Advertising. Astroturfing. The use of media – old and new – to sell products to people – whether they know you’re selling it to them or not. It has always been a bit of a thorny issue – with laws popping up against the legendary, but ultimately unproven, “subliminal advertising” – the flashing of words and images between the stills of a movie so fast that the audience couldn’t actually see them (though some would claim that these images made a subconscious impression, it has been difficult to consistently reproduce – but it was still banned). The last few decades in particular have seen a flurry of rules and regulations attempting to regulate what you can sell to who and how. But is advertising that easy to regulate?

"The Mac - for the insufferable genius in all of us..."

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Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: advertising ftc, advertising subliminal, astroturf, astroturfing, bloggers, blogging, federal trade commission, journalism, new media, old media, payola, placement, print media, product placement, regulations, subliminal advertising, subliminal messaging | Leave a comment »

Who Lies About Seeing Dirty Dancing?

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Darren

This was an interesting piece of news last week – a large number of us lie about the films we’ve seen, as demonstrated by a survey in the UK. Basically, a large number of us pretend to have seen movies which we haven’t in order to avoid appearing ‘uncultured’. There was a fair bit of focus on the fact that the most lied about film is The Godfather, but it seems to have gone unnoticed that the second most lied about film is Dirty Dancing. Even keeping Patrick Swayze’s recent death in mind (which probably happened after the survey was complete), why would you lie about Dirty Dancing? It takes a stuck-up film snob to judge you for not watching The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption, two indisputable classics, but who in their right mind would complain that you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Dirty Dancing?

The time of your life, indeed...

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: dirty dancing, film, lying, Movies, the godfather, the shawshank redemption | 1 Comment »

Is Anton Chigurh an Angel?

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Darren

Yes, you read the title right. Is Anton Chigurh, the sociopathic hitman from No Country For Old Men who kills his victims an instrument used to cull cattle, an instrument of divine will? I stumbled across an interesting argument on-line which proposed that McCarthy (who is – apparently – staunchly conservative) wrote the character as an angel who was sent down to purge all those connected in anyway with the money from the drug trade – bringing on the old-school biblical wrath which you don’t see too often these days. Talk about executing your purpose with zeal.

Everytime Chigurh kills somebody, an angel gets its wings. It's pretty crowded up there, too.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: anton chigurh, bible, chigurh, christianity, cormac mccarthy, drugs, god, interpretations, javier bardem, Movies, no country for old men, subtext, themes, wraith, yahweh | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Silence of the Lambs

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Darren

A modern classic. The finest portrayal of one the greatest villains ever created. Only the third film to win all of the “big five” Oscars. The first horror film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The movie which kickstarted Hollywood’s grim fascination with gory and sexually frustrated serial killers and those who hunt them. The movie which energised an ageing veteran’s career and confirmed one of Hollywood’s youngest female actors as one of its greatest stars. One of the most often referenced and quoted movies ever made.

It’s pretty good.

I bet his favourite book is To Serve Man...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: anthony hopkins, best picture, best picture oscar, buffalo bill, film, hannibal, hannibal lecter, hannibal the cannibal, jodie foster, jonathon demme, Movie, non-review review, review, serial killer, silence of the lambs, the silence of the lambs | 4 Comments »

The “True Story” Behind A Nightmare of Elm Street…

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Darren

Halloween is coming up soon and we plan to celebrate it in style here at the m0vie blog. We’ll be looking at all manner of scary archetypes and horror conventions as that day approaches. Evidently, I’m already in the right frame of mind. I just found out that the original A Nightmare on Elm Street is based (very loosely, I must admit) on a true story. I’m not kidding, it’s actually quite freaky.

One, two... Freddy's coming for you...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: a nightmare on elm street, film, freddy krueger, hmong, Movies, mysterious deaths, nightmare on elm street, sudden unexplained death syndrome, true story, wes craven | 43 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Pineapple Express

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Darren

Ah, the almost forgotten stoner movie subgenre. Well, except for Harold and Kumar Get the Munchies and its sequel. Okay, well, you get the idea. Pineapple Express isn’t the best movie to emerge from the Judd Atapow machine, nor is it the worst. Despite a lengthy introduction and setup, it did manage to illicit a few giggles and to amuse for the bones of two hours (which may have been just a little too long).

Their bark is worse than their bite...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: comedy, danny mcbride, david gordon green, ineapple express, James Franco, judd atapow, marajuana, non-review review, review, seth rogan, stoner comedy | Leave a comment »

Is It Ever Appropriate to Slam a Movie Because of a Star’s Appearance?

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Darren

Hmmm… Okay, maybe this isn’t entirely a fair example, but the thought occurred to me while reading the Guardian’s review of Couples’ Retreat and the reviewer spent his first paragraph critising Vince Vaugn’s weight. I wish I were kidding, but here’s the quote:

Favreau was always on the chunky side, to be fair, and he’s been doing fine behind the camera with the Iron Man movies, but back in Swingers, Vaughn had the requisite skinniness to persuade us he really was a half-starved young Hollywood actor. Now he has boy boobs, love handles and back fat. And all this (a lot of this) in a movie that requires him to wear a swimsuit most of the time.

The review then goes on to make a somewhat valid criticism of his current career choices (while kicking Jennifer Aniston, which is just mean – if a little bit justified), but speaks little about the offending movie in general. I know that it isn’t really fair to complain about a review criticising a guy’s appearance – I acknowledge that woman are probably more affected by our image-conscious society – but is it ever really fair to slam a movie based upon the lead actor’s appearance?

Phat or fat?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: actors, appearance, celebrities, commentary, Couples' Retreat, film movies, image, jon favreau, the guardian, vince vaugn, weight | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: No Country For Old Men

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Darren

It’s a funny world. But it has always been a funny world and it’s arrogant to presume that the world waited until we got here to go and get itself in a mess. Sure, some of us carry the fire off into that night, but it’s a very cold and very dark night and all we have is faith that there is an even greater fire out there waiting for us. No Country For Old Men is a stunning film – an odd fusion of the Coen Brothers with Cormac McCarthy which manages to say a hell-of-a-lot without weighing itself down with too much exposition or dialogue. It’s a great film which realy stands out even amongst the Coens’ already-impressive filmography.

Yes, it's a silencer. On a shotgun.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adaptation, anton chigurh, best picture, best picture oscar, book, coen brothers, cormac mccarthy, drama, film, javier bardem, josh brolin, Movie, Movies, no country for old men, non-review review, review, the coen brothers, thriller, tommy lee jones, western, woody harrelson | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Love Happens

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Darren

The screening of Up was sold out. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

"You know what the difference between you and me is? I'm not wearing any socks."

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: aaron eckhart, bereavement, films, huckster, jennifer aniston, love happens, martin sheen, Movie, non-review review, review, romantic comedy | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Watchmen (Theatrical Cut)

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Darren

Probably the best we could have hoped for. Which is a guarded compliment at best. The movie has several gaping flaws, both as an adaptation of Alan Moore’s seminal work and also as a film in its own right. And yet it contains more interesting ideas than most prestige dramas, and at least two standout performances. The film is widely inconsistent, sometimes feeling too long in its gratuitous acton or sex scenes, but too short on the actual big ideas that make it thought-provoking. Ultimately, what ties the film down is also what props it up, in a manner: the fact that it is based on one of the most important books of the last quarter century.