arts | the m0vie blog

The Sequel Myth and the Death of Originality in Hollywood…

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Darren

It seems that every other day somebody is taking the opportunity be bemoan Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy. The decision not to press ahead with Del Toro’s version of The Mountains of Madness sparked a similar debate a little while ago, and the success of films like The Fast & The Furious Five seem to be raising the topic once again as we enter summer. It’s become something of a mantra for film fans, quietly chanted and repeated, something that we can use to continually bash the studios over the heads with. And, truth be told, I’m tired of it.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, arts, Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son, blade runner, fast & furious, Fast Five, film, harry potter, hollywood, Movie, Movies, Plan 9 from Outer Space, raiders of the lost ark, review, sequel, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II, Vin Diesel | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Duellists

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Darren

The Duellists is the first film from director Ridley Scott. While it certainly isn’t his best remembered or the most highly rated, it is a cracking piece of historical cinema that manages to do a lot with very little. It’s a simple little concept, set against an epic backdrop, elevated by two leads, a wonderful sense of historical fidelity, and a young director with a long career ahead of him.

Ridley Scott's first stab at directing...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Duel, dueling, europe, films, france, harvey keitel, historical drama, history, Keith Carradine, Louis Theroux, Movie, napoleon, non-review review, Pete Postlethwaite, review, ridley scott, The Duellists | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Wild at Heart

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Darren

I’ve always had a soft spot for David Lynch, if only because – much like David Cronenberg – you always got the sense that his artistic vision was pretty unfettered by concerns about broad appeal or studio policy or anything like that. There’s a wonderful sense of freedom, in how he works. There’s a great quote from the guys at Pixar that they don’t make movies for kids, they make movies for themselves – if other people happen to enjoy it, well… that’s great too. That sums up a lot of what I respect about Lynch. Wild at Heart isn’t perhaps one of those moments where Lynch’s interests manage to overlap with truly great cinema (as they do, I would argue, for Mullholland Drive, Blue Velvet and The Straight Story), but it isn’t so completely scattershot as to be impenetrable, either.

Dancing in the... highways?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Angelo Badalamenti, arts, david cronenberg, david lynch, elvis, elvis presley, film, Harry Dean Stanton, Movie, murder, music, nicolas cage, non-review review, review, Sound Files, Straight Story, wild at heart, willem dafoe | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Fahrenheit 451

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Darren

It always struck me as strange that there should be such a fuss about adapting Fahrenheit 451. After all, a book about how great books are, and how they are inherently superior to anything that any other media can offer (film and television included) seems a strange choice of subject matter for a big-budget science fiction film. Still, Francois Truffaut’s 1966 adaptation isn’t all bad… just a little strange.

Book 'em, boys...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Andy Warhol, arts, book, Book burning, Citizen Kane, Cyril Cusack, Fahrenheit 451, film, Guy Montag, Montag, Movies, non-review review, Oskar Werner, review | Leave a comment »

Thor by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Darren

With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review.

J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor is a somewhat controversial one. In fact, this rather wonderful omnibus collection comes with little by way of textual extras. There is no introduction from a recognisable figure, nor any scripts included, nor any commentary or interviews. One can almost sense the discomfort in the air. The saga of Straczynski’s run on Thor is a long and complicated one, but it ended with the author departing both the publisher and the comic a lot earlier than anticipated. To this day, both sides have differing accounts of what occurred, and both insist that they are in the right. That’s a lot of subtext behind one lovely hardcover volume, but it’s something that was always in my mind – particularly as I approached the somewhat “crowded” conclusion. Still, it’s a great epic story, albeit one with a slightly disappointing ending.

Hammering home...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, chris hemsworth, Civil War, donald blake, J. Michael Straczynski, jack kirby, kenneth branagh, List of Germanic deities and heroes, mark millar, marvel civil war, marvel comics, marvel omnibus, olivier coipel, stan lee, straczynski, straczynski thor, thor, thor by j. michael straczynski omnibus, thor omnibus, walt simonson | 6 Comments »

One Hundred Mornings Opening at the IFI This Friday…

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Darren

One Hundred Mornings, the post-apocalyptic movie from director Conor Horgan is opening at the Irish Film Institute this Friday, 6th May. For those interested in Irish cinema, the IFI will be hosting a free workshop and discussion with the award-winning writer director on Saturday 7th May. More details here. Meanwhile, the trailer is below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Celtic, Cinema of Ireland, ethnicity, International Fund for Ireland, irish, Irish Film Institute, Movies, one hundred mornings | Leave a comment »

Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition – Volume IV (Review)

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Darren

In an effort to prove that comic books aren’t just about men in spandex hitting each other really hard, this month I’m reviewing all of Brian K. Vaughan’s superb Ex Machina. And in June, I’ll be reviewing his Y: The Last Man.

What’s weird about the fourth ane penultimate volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris’ superb superhero political science fiction mish-mash comic book is simple how much fun it is. I’m not suggesting for a moment that the first three volumes were anything less than superb, but there’s a sense of playfulness in this volume which just makes it seem like the creators are have the time of their lives. I was worried after the last volume that the underlying “conspiracy” story would overwhelm the saga as it reached completion, but it’s still just as fascinating and unpredictable as it was back when it began.

Justice for all?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, arts, Barack Obama, brian k. vaughan, comic book, Comics, ex cathedra, ex machina, Exmachina, grant morrison, graphic novel, Great Machine, mayor hundred, review, ruthless, tony harris, trouble, wildstorm, world's finest, y: the last man | Leave a comment »

Scary Monsters and Super Freaks…

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Darren

D’you know what would have been scarier than nothing?

What?

Anything!

– Bart and Lisa discuss Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, The Simpsons

The week before last, in reviewing Insidious, I made the observation that director James Wan made the mistake of “showing too much” in his horror film, and that movie itself suffered because it didn’t show any restraint in how it handled its creatures and monsters. The always wonderful Justin, in fairness, called me on my assertion correctly – who ever stated it was a rule that horror films can show too much? Surely it’s possible to show as much of something as you might want, provided you have enough talent and skill to do it well? Surely showing too much only becomes a problem when you aren’t skilled enough to deliver something genuinely terrifying?

Or is it something more primal? Is what you don’t see scarier?

Do I have a point?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Child Catcher, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, david cronenberg, film, horrifying, horror, Horror film, James Wan, monsters, Movie, Movies, nightmares, saw, scary, scary movies, shining | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: 1984

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Darren

1984 is a solid adaptation of a classic novel, featuring a fantastic leading performance from John Hurt as Winston Smith. The movie (released to coincide with the year) suffered a bit at the time (and in retrospect) from not being the best adaptation of Orwell’s ground-breaking novel to make it the big screen in 1984-5 – being somewhat upstaged by Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil. While obviously not a direct adaptation of the novel (in fact, Gilliam has admitted he hadn’t even read the book at the time of release), the latter film explores the same core themes and ideas. However, virtually any film would pale in comparison when measured against a movie like Brazil (which ranks in my top ten films ever), and 1984 really deserves to be seen on its own merits.

Welcome to an edition of Big Brother where every room is a "Diary Room"...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1984, arts, Big Brother, film, George Orwell, history, john hurt, Michael Radford, Movie, nineteen eight four, Nineteen Eighty-Four, non-review review, review, Richard Burton, Spanish Civil War, terry gilliam, thought crime, Three Year Plan, Twentieth Century, Winston Smith | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Toy Story 2

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

For my money, Wall-E is perhaps the strongest Pixar film from an artistic point of view. The Incredibles is perhaps the most consistently entertaining. Finding Nemo is the most emotional. Truth be told, I could probably find a way to rank almost every Pixar film so that it was my favourite in some way or another, because they’re all pretty much that good (although I’ll concede that Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life and Cars were merely “good” or “very good”). So, having completely picked apart any lavish praise I could shower on the film, I have a very special fondness for Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy.