the m0vie blog

384. Spaceballs (#—)

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Darren

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

This week, a special commentary on Mel Brook’s Spaceballs.

A long time ago in a franchise not so far away, the evil Spaceballs travel from planet to planet, harvesting their atmospheres to sustain their own lifestyle. They kidnap Princess Vespa from the Planet Druidia, prompting her father to hire the devilish rogue Lone Star to rescue her. So begins an epic adventure about the power of Schwarz.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: bill pullman, comedy, donal sweeney, imdb, John Candy, live commentary, Mel Brooks, mockery, podcast, rick moranis, satire, spaceballs, spoof, star wars, The 250 | Leave a comment »

383. Million Dollar Baby (#179)

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Ronan Doyle and Aoife Martin, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.

Frankie Dunn was once the best cut man in the business, but has retired to spend his autumn years managing a failing boxing gym and trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Katy. However, he crosses paths with a young and promising boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald. Frankie is initially insistent that he doesn’t train female fighters, but soon discovers that Maggie has a unique aptitude for the sport. Frankie grapples with the possibility that Maggie might just have what it takes to go all the way.

At time of recording, it was ranked 179th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: american dream, aoife martin, Boxing, Clint Eastwood, daughter, fatherhood, hilary swank, Million Dollar Baby, Morgan Freeman, Oscars, paternity, podcast, ronan doyle, spoilers, The 250 | Leave a comment »

382. Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch) (#241)

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Áine O’Connor, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros.

Three sets of lives become intertwined following a car crash in Mexico City, across the various strata of the city: young men trying to survive, middle and upper class strivers trying to start a new life, and drifter with a mysterious past. Characters are forced to make tough decisions in the heat of the moment, confronting their own worst impulses and struggling to find their way out of the wreckage.

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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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: 25, aine o'connor, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Amores Perros, film, Gael García Bernal, mexican cinema, Mexico, Movie, podcast, The 250 | Leave a comment »

380. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (#178)

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Darren

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

This week, David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.

As the evil Lord Voldemort lays seige to the wizarding world, only one person stands between the dark lord and complete victory: Harry Potter. However, returning to his old school ground, the boy who lived discovers the forces of evil massing for one final confrontation with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

At time of recording, it was ranked 178th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, harry potter and the deathly hallows: part ii, J.K. Rowling, podcast, scott mendelson, The 250, transphobia, transphobic | Leave a comment »

379. Oldeuboi (Oldboy) (#74)

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Grace Duffy and Andy McCarroll, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy.

One night in 1988, Oh Dae-su is snatched off the street. He is taken to a mysterious hotel room, where he is locked away without any human contact. Then, fifteen years later, he is just as suddenly released. Forced to adjust to life outside his prison, Oh Dae-su sets out to discover why he was imprisoned for fifteen years. And, perhaps just as importantly, why he was suddenly released.

At time of recording, it was ranked 74th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: andy mccarroll, asia extreme, DVD, grace duffy, imdb, Korea, Oldboy, par chan-wook, podcast, postmodernism, quentin tarantino, South Korea, tartan, The 250, violence | Leave a comment »

378. Gojira Mainasu Wan (Godzilla Minus One) (#—)

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Jess Dunne and Richard Drumm, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One.

Unable to follow through on his assignment, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima returns to the base on Odo island. However, his trip is interrupted by a strange and mysterious beast that the islanders call “Gojira.” Kōichi survives the experience and returns to postwar Tokyo, to find a city and nation in ruins. However, it quickly becomes clear that Godzilla is not finished with Kōichi – or Japan – yet.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: blockbusters, Godzilla, godzilla minus one, imdb, japan, japanese nationalism, jess dunne, podcast, richard drumm, The 250, This Just In | Leave a comment »

377. I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (#—)

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Billie Jean Doheny and Emma Kiely, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Sylvian White’s I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.

On July 4th weekend, a teenage prank goes horribly wrong, resulting in a horrific death. The survivors agree to take the secret to their graves, but the arrival the following year of a mysterious hook-wielding figure in a trenchcoat suggests that they may not have to wait too long.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: billie jean doheny, brutality, emma kiely, horror, i know what you did last summer, i'll always know what you did last summer, nightmare, podcast, slasher, sony, sylvain white, The 250, violence | Leave a comment »

376. Wall-E – Ani-May 2024 (#59)

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Graham Day and Deirdre Molumby, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E.

In the distant future, Earth has been abandoned. Towers of garbage loom over a toxic landscape consumed by dust storms. The planet is dead, except for Wall-E, a small service robot assigned the task of cleaning Earth in the hope that the planet might be ready to welcome a returning humanity. Alone and forgotten, Wall-E makes a life for itself among the ruins.

At time of recording, it was ranked 59th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Andrew Stanton, animated, cinematography, criterion, disney, environmentalism, imdb, pixar, podcast, robots, Roger Deakins, science fiction, silent movie, sound, The 250, wall-e | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord (Review)

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Darren

“Why have I never done that before?”

The Devil’s Chord is, to put it frankly, a mess.

It is an episode that is trying to do so many things. It is an attempt at a celebrity historical featuring the Beatles. It is a journey into the history of Doctor Who. It is an attempt to build up lore to play into the larger arc of the season around it. It is an attempt to argue for the very idea of art as something with intrinsic value at a time when writer Russell T. Davies is openly lamenting the erosion of the BBC. It is an effort to introduce a new memorable villain, played by a notable guest star. It is an attempt of that classic trope, the musical episode.

There is a sense that all of this is too much. The Devil’s Chord is bursting with ideas. Like Wild Blue Yonder, it feels like an episode written by a showrunner who has had more than a decade to kick around new ideas for Doctor Who and is bristling to get them into the show. While Wild Blue Yonder was able to make those ideas cohere into a single narrative, The Devil’s Chord fractures and breaks under the sompeting impulses driving it.

Unfortunately, The Devil’s Chord strikes a bum note.

This Venom sequel is not what I expected.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: abbey road, doctor who, music, musical, russell t. davies, The Beatles, the devil's chord, the giggle, the maestro, the toymaker | 4 Comments »

Doctor Who: Space Babies (Review)

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Darren

“There’s no such thing as monsters. Just creatures you haven’t met yet.”

Space Babies is an interesting season premiere, in large part because it feels like a test case for Russell T. Davies’ return to Doctor Who.

Of course, the three sixtieth anniversary specials were in effect a miniature season. The Star Beast was structured like a classic Davies premiere and The Giggle delivered a lot of the spectacle that one might expect from a Davies era finale. Still, Space Babies represents the start of Davies’ first full season as returning showrunner. It is also the first episode to premiere on Disney+. As such, it is a mission statement. Space Babies is an interesting demonstration of how Davies has changed and how he remains consistent.

Space Babies is recognisable as a Davies era premiere, evoking stories like Rose, New Earth, Smith and Jones and Partners in Crime. It is a decidedly low-stakes adventure featuring a couple of appealingly goofy elements and a fairly generic plot, which allows Davies to foreground character and theme while also outlining his vision of the show in a way that is designed to be welcoming to new viewers. It’s a solid example of what Doctor Who is, particularly under Davies. Davies has been away from Doctor Who for nearly fifteen years, but some things remain consistent.

At the same time, it’s also very obviously written with the understanding that Davies is pitching the show to a slightly different audience than he used to. This changes are subtle, but they are instructive. While the plot and rhythms of Space Babies suggest that Davies himself hasn’t changed, there are shifts that demonstrate an understanding of how the show itself has changed.