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238. To Be Or Not To Be – w/ The Movie Palace (#199)

Posted on June 12, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, with special guest Carl Sweeney, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, a crossover with The Movie Palace, Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be Or Not To Be.

War rages across Europe. Hitler is on the march. In Poland, a troupe of actors find themselves cast as the most unlikely heroes in a daring mission to prevent vital intelligence from making its way to the Nazi authorities. Saving the day will require courage, guile and the ability to hit their marks.

At time of recording, it was ranked 199th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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New Escapist Column! On “Sweet Tooth” as a Fairy Tale About Fatherhood…

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. Sweet Tooth premiered on Netflix last week, and it seemed like a good idea to take a look at the streaming series.

Sweet Tooth is a post-apocalyptic fairy tale, the story of a little boy who wanders off into the wilderness to have an adventure. However, it’s also a fairy tale that understands the purpose of such stories, how these fantastical narratives allow audiences to deal with complex fears and anxieties. However, what makes Sweet Tooth so interesting is that it reflects paternal anxieties as much as childish ones. It is a story about the fears of a parent watching their child try to navigate a chaotic and hostile world, knowing that there is only so much that they can do to keep them safe. It’s a beautiful, moving approach.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

 

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New Escapist Video! “A Marvelous Escape” – Loki – “Glorious Purpose”…

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Darren

With a slew of Marvel Studios productions coming to Disney+ over the next six months, The Escapist has launched a weekly show discussing these series

This week, with Loki launching on Disney+, I join KC Nwosu and Amy Campbell to talk about the first episode of the new streaming series.

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New Escapist Video! On the Enduring Appeal of the MCU’s Loki…

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Darren

So, as I have mentioned before, I am launching a new video series as a companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch with every second Monday’s article, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel the following week. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film content – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

This week, with Loki launching on Disney+, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s God of Mischief. The character has an enduring and popular appeal, but what is it that makes Loki such a breakout character?

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New Escapist Column! Reviewing “Loki”…

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist yesterday. I took a look at the opening two episodes of Loki.

Loki arrives as the third and final of the first wave of live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe shows on Disney+. The opening episode suggests that it is burdened with “glorious purpose”, featuring one of the cinematic universe’s breakout characters while also introducing the Time Variance Authority to the cinematic continuity. The result is an interesting mix, something with a great deal of potential that also feels curiously cautious and overly familiar in places. Still, there’s a lot to like in the show.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

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New Escapist Column! On How Loki Twists the Campbellian Archetype…

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With Loki arriving on Disney+ on Wednesday, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s God of Mischief and what makes Loki such a compelling character.

There are lots of reasons why Loki has succeeded where other Marvel Studios villains have failed. Part of this is undoubtedly the casting of Tom Hiddleston. However, part of it is also down to the way in which Loki offers an interesting twist on the classic Campbellian archetype. Arguably more than any other character in the MCU, including his own brother, Loki is defined by has complicated and contradictory relationship with his father.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

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New Podcast! The Escapist Movie Podcast – “Does Army of the Dead Bite Off More Than It Can Chew?”

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Darren

The Escapist have launched a movie podcast, and I was thrilled to join Jack Packard and Lee Murkey for the eighteenth episode of the year, to discuss Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and the perennial debate over movie lengths.

You can listen to back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

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New Escapist Video! “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – Review in 3 Minutes”

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Darren

I’m thrilled to be launching 3-Minute Reviews on The Escapist. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be joining a set of contributors in adding these reviews to the channel. For the moment, I’m honoured to contribute a three-minute film review of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which released in cinemas and on HBO Max this weekend.

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237. Du rififi chez les hommes (Rififi) (#241)

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and with special guest Luke Dunne, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This week, Jules Dessin’s Du rififi chez les hommes.

Master thief Tony has just been released from prison. He returns home to discover that his young apprentice Jo has hatched a plan for a daring jewelry heist. Against his better judgement, Tony finds himself drawn into a scheme that will have far-reaching implications for all of those involved.

At time of recording, it was ranked 241st on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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New Escapist Column! On “Cruella” and Overly Determined Origin Stories…

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Cruella in theatres and on Disney+, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the trend towards overly deterministic origin stories.

The origin story has arguably always been around, even if the term itself only really entered the mainstream through comic books and then making the leap into film criticism with comic book movies. Nevertheless, the recent trend of overly-determined origin stories betrays something frustrating about the state of our collective imagination. One of the most disappointing aspects of Cruella is the way that the film takes a simple but weird figure and paints an origin that is completely and predictably by the numbers.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

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