the m0vie blog

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.

“It’s Space, Babes.”

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Abortion, disney, doctor who, refugees, russell t. davies, season premiere, snot, space babies | 3 Comments »

375. Monsters, Inc. – Ani-May 2024 (#200)

Posted on May 4, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Graham Day, 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, Pete Docter’s Monsters, Inc.

In the city of Monstropolis, monsters harvest children’s screams as an energy source. In the midst of an energy crisis, James P. Sullivan is the best scarer in the business. However, when an innocent child named Boo crosses over into this world of monsters, Sulley finds his entire life – and everything that he believed – turned upside down.

At time of recording, it was ranked 200th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: billy crystal, boo, graham day, Mike, monsters, monsters inc., Pete Docter, pixar, podcast, sulley, The 250 | Leave a comment »

373. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (#225)

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Jonathan Victory and Billie Jean Doheny, 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, Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Will Turner is an orphan, discovered adrift at sea. Making a life as a lowly blacksmith’s apprentice, Will pines for the heart of Elizabeth Swann, the governor’s daughter. However, the tide brings strange visitors to their tranquil community. First, in the person of Jack Sparrow, failed and disorganised pirate. Then, in the crew of cursed pirate ship The Black Pearl. Will and Elizabeth are about to find themselves swept up in an epic adventure that will carry them across the seven seas and into the jaws of dangers unimaginable.

At time of recording, it was ranked 225th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: action, billie jean doheny, blockbuster, disney, epic, Geoffrey Rush, Gore Verbinski, imdb, johnny depp, jonathan victory, pirates, pirates of the caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, podcast, spectacle, The 250, wet movies | Leave a comment »

371. Poor Things (#246)

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Ciara Moloney, 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, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things.

Bella Baxter is a most remarkable young woman. Although she has the body of an adult woman, she also seems to possess the mind of a child rapidly developing and growing. Under the guidance of her adoptive father Godwin Baxter and his assistant Max McCandless, Bella tries to navigate the complex and contradictory Victorian soiety, learning much about humanity – and herself.

At time of recording, it was ranked 246th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.