arts | the m0vie blog

X-Men: Messiah War (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Darren

This is the eleventh in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s shared universe (particularly their “Avengers” franchise) over the past five or so years, as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity.

Messiah Complex is billed as the “second instalment” of the X-Men “Messiah Trilogy”, following on from Messiah Complex and leading into Second Coming. The arc essentially follows Hope, the first mutant baby born in the wake of the infamous House of M crossover and the quest by various factions to exploit her – will she be a salvation of Marvel’s erstwhile bunch of mutants, or their ultimate damnation? Messiah War essential combines the two on-going X-Men books launched in the wake of Messiah Complex, with Cable following Hope and the time-travelling X-Man as they flee those who wish the child harm and X-Force following Wolverine’s bunch of “black-ops” “darker and edgier” X-Men strike force. Of course, the only way it could get more nineties was if you threw in Deadpool, Apocalypse and Stryfe… oh, wait. They did.

Has the bar been raised?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: apocalypse, arts, bishop, cable, Christopher Yost, Comics, Craig Kyle, crossovers, Duane Swiercynski, hope, marvel, marvel comics, Mutants, nineties, Rob Liefeld, stan lee, stryfe, the times and life of lucas bishop, x-force, x-force/cable: messiah war, x-men, X-Men: Messiah Complex, x-men: messiah war, x-overs | Leave a comment »

Peter Milligan & Michael Allred’s Run on X-Force – Famous, Mutant & Mortal (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Darren

For the past few months, I’ve been taking a look at Marvel’s sometimes convoluted crossover chronology as a sort of lead-in to The Avengers, arriving in cinemas in 2012. Later on today, I’ll be reviewing Messiah War, a crossover between two of the series relaunched in the wake of Messiah Complex so I thought I might take a look back at some of the series leading into it beforehand. However, the two series – Cable and X-Force both have roots in the “darker and edgier” period of X-Men history known as the nineties. Driven by Rob Liefeld, the two series became by-words for ridiculous violence, convoluted storytelling, shallow characters and lots of guns. Lots of guns.

That is not the version of X-Force I’m going to look at today.

British writer Peter Milligan apparently laughed pretty hard when he was asked to write X-Force. However, the early part of the naughties was a different time at Marvel. Perhaps the financial collapse of the company in the nineties had made the company bolder, more willing to take creative chances. Perhaps they figured that, with Grant Morrison working on New X-Men, there wasn’t anything that much more radical that Peter Milligan could do. Either way, the author was granted incredible creative control and the chance to do something truly different. He took advantage of it, and produced one of the most fascinating comic books of the past decade.

At least he’s honest about it…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, Comics, doop, Gin Genie, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, marvel, marvel comics, Mike Allred, new x-men, Peter Milligan, Rob Liefeld, x-force, x-men, x-statix | 4 Comments »

We Made a F%$&ing Movie! MacGruber and Unsympathetic Comedic Leads…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Darren

The film is a slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy. I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore. He’s a single dad, bringing up his daughter with the help of his mom. He takes his job seriously. He may be chubby, but he’s brave and optimistic.

– Roger Ebert on Paul Blart: Mall Cop

I watched MacGruber over the weekend. It was okay – it wasn’t fantastic, and it wasn’t one of the best examples of anything, but if you wanted a shedload of juvenile humour, well… it was right up your street. However, watching the film did get me thinking about just how much of a jerk the title character was. How much of a horrible person can a comedy protagonist be? When did it become the norm for these sorts of characters to be presented with completely irredeemable traits?

Sometimes it's an up-hill struggle to empathise with a protagonist...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 40 Year Old Virgin, adam sandler, arts, audience connection, audience empathy, audience sympathy, Baldrick, Billy Madison, comedy, happy gilmore, jim carrey, Liar Liar, macgruber, Movie, roger ebert, Rowan Atkinson, Saturday Night Live, unsympathetic comedy protagonist, unsympathetic protagonist | 2 Comments »

Ludovico Einaudi at the National Concert Hall

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Darren

I had the great pleasure of catching Ludovico Einaudi, the contemporary composer, at the National Concert Hall last night. Being honest, I hadn’t heard the name until the better half suggested that the show might be worth a look. Interestingly enough, doing a bit of research, I discovered I’d actually heard a decent selection of his music without ever being aware that is was him – I suppose that’s one of the great things about composing the sort of wonderful ambient music, there’s always a film or television soundtrack in need of a bit of atmosphere.

Classic(al)...

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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: ambient music, arts, caprica, Ludovico Einaudi, Movies, music, National Concert Hall, soundtrack, Stargate Universe, StargateUniverse, Syfy | Leave a comment »

Jumping the Sharks at the Smock Alley Theatre

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Darren

Jumping The Shark is the moment when an established show changes in a significant manner in an attempt to stay fresh. Ironically, that moment makes the viewers realise that the show has finally run out of ideas. It has reached its peak, it will never be the same again, and from now on it’s all downhill.

– tvtropes.org

Jumping the Sharks is a small, quirky play. Essentially a one-man one-act play following the triumph and decline of a Hollywood big shot as he waits in what must be limbo while outlining the seven core stories, it banks a lot on the central performance of Don Wycherley. Wycherley, an actor you might recognise from Perrier’s Bounty or Sweeney Todd, gives the play his all as former television executive and now dearly departed Nick Cross, managing to seem a convincing and charming conversationalist on a sparse stage. His delivery is truly impressive, inviting the audience to overlook some of the sleight of hand the play uses, and helping the hour breeze by.

Swimming with sharks...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, arts, blood in the alley, don wycherley, dublin, dublin theatre, Fonzie, Happy Days, Jump the Shark, jumping the sharks, nick cross, popular culture, smock alley, smock alley theatre, Theatre | Leave a comment »

The Why of Sci-Fi…

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Darren

“Science-fiction” is one of those genres which finds itself consistently boxed in by film fans. Mentioning that hyphenated word calls to mind images of “warp speed”, space ships, transporters, aliens, time travel and all manner of weird genre devices. It’s part of the reason why so many film viewers attempt to stay away from the genre – I have encountered more than a few people will dismiss a science-fiction film or television show off-hand because it must be camp or ridiculous. I remain convinced that this is the reason that Battlestar Galactica never got the attention it deserved (with advertisements on my local channels playing down the fact that it happens “in space”). However, what is science-fiction when you boil it all down?

Are viewers spaced out by sci-fi?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2001: A Space Odyssey, arts, cormac mccarthy, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, science fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Science fiction film, Seven Samurai | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Darren

I never grew up with G.I. Joe. For me it was Batman: The Animated Series or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To me, this franchise was just a bunch of generic toy soldiers – in fact, I didn’t even know that they had separate names or defining characteristics. So I come to this movie without a sense of nostalgia or a familiarity with the core product. So, Stephen Sommers’ adaptation of the popular multi-media franchise to the big screen is my first major exposure to the product, and it left me feeling like I’d spent two hours watching a guy playing with toys, rather than making a movie. One of the characters even has a “kung-fu grip”.

It's a black-and-white world...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, christopher eccleston, Destro, Empire State Building, film, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kevin J. O'Connor, Movie, non-review review, Norton Internet Security, review, Sienna Miller, stephen sommers, team america: world police, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, United States | 3 Comments »

The Walking Dead, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Darren

Welcome to the m0vie blog’s zombie week! It’s a week of zombie-related movie discussions and reviews as we come up to Halloween, to celebrate the launch of Frank Darbont’s The Walking Dead on AMC on Halloween night. So be sure to check back all week, as we’ll be running posts on the living dead.

I want to like Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. I really do. I love zombies. I love it when writers use horror to explore socially relevent issues. I totally dig the black-and-white style which is clearly intended to evoke the vibe of George Romero horror films. I love that it’s a mainstream comic book property that has broken into popular culture despite not featuring muscle-bound guys and gals with impossible physiques in ridiculous spandex – proof to the masses that comic books can be about more than superheroes. However, as much as I may want to embrace and love The Walking Dead, I just can’t bring myself to.

Grimes and punishment...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: AMC, arts, charlie adlard, comic book, comic books, Comics, end of the world, feminism, frank darabont, gender, george romero, image comics, michonne, robert kirkman, sexism, sexist, stereotypes, Walking Dead, zombie apocalypse, zombies | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Edward Scissorhands

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Darren

Perhaps no film better exemplifies the key themes of Tim Burton as well as Edward Scissorhands. It recalls the broad strokes of the Frankenstein story – in particular the iconic Boris Karloff Frankenstein movie from the thirties – telling the story a hideous scientific experiment which seeks acceptance in the outside world (and is turned upon by the villagers after a tragic misunderstanding). While Frankenstein’s monster responded with anger and murderous rage, Edward seems unable to full fathom what is occurring. The movie offered the first collaboration between Burton and Depp, a delightful pairing which we’d see on the big screen many times in the years that followed – there’s a reason the two have continued to work together for so long: they just work really well together.

Blades of glory...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan arkin, Anthony Michael Hall, arts, batman returns, Edward Scissorhands, film, gothic, johnny depp, Little Red Riding Hood, Movie, non-review review, review, tim burton, Vincent Price, winona ryder | Leave a comment »

When Average Just Isn’t Good Enough: Do Better Directors Have Further to Fall?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Darren

I watched Cop Out at the weekend, and I have to admit it was just about okay. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t consistently funny. It had moments of wit, but they were separated by pointless and boring scenes. It had a talented cast, but didn’t do anything with them. I wouldn’t describe it as a bad film, but I wouldn’t advise you to rent it (or otherwise seek it out). However, there was a stronger and more bitter taste in the air. There was something especially disappointing about the film, because of its director. Cop Out was a Kevin Smith film, and it actually felt a bit worse than it arguably should have because I knew the director was capable of so much more. Am I the only one who tends to be more disappointed by an average film from a talented filmmaker than perhaps even a bad film from an untalented director?