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New Escapist Video! On How James Cameron is Corny as F&!k…

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Darren

We’re thrilled to be launching a fortnightly video companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch every second Monday, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel. And the video will typically be separate from the written content. 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 Avatar: The Way of Water continuing to dominate the global box office, it seemed as good a time as any to look at the life and career of director James Cameron. In particular, what is it that drives Cameron? What’s the glue that holds this director’s filmography together? It’s a fascinating deep dive on one of the most successful filmmakers of all-time.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: aliens, avatar, avatar: the way of water, Cameron, james cameron, masculinity, the way of water, titanic | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the Failed 3D Revolution…

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, which is being rightly praised for its use of 3D, it seemed like a good opportunity to discuss the failed 3D revolution sparked (in part) by the original Avatar.

The standard narrative is that 3D was never going to work as a format, and that its death was inevitable. However, there were quite a few successful and well-received 3D movies released around the time of the original Avatar: Coraline, Gravity, The Adventures of Tintin, Hugo, The Life of Pi, The Great Gatsby, Holes. These were all movies with directors willing to play with the format in fun and creative ways, that leaned into the technical possibilities. The problem that arose was similar to a wider problem in the industry at that time, the rejection of filmmaking at that scale as a craft that relied on strong creative vision.

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

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, avatar: the way of water, cgi, coraline, Gravity, hollywood, Hugo, in the frame, the adventures of tintin, the escapist, the great gatsby, the life of pi | 1 Comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Avatar: The Way of Water” is an Archetypal James Cameron Movie…

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the looming release of Avatar: The Way of Water, it seemed like a good time to take a look at Cameron’s aquatic, which might be his most personal and intimate movie ever.

Cameron’s filmography is interesting and varied, working in a number of genres and registers across his career. However, he has a set of familiar preoccupations: water, industrialisation, militarism, environmentalist, parenthood, feminism and so on. However, it’s fascinating that one of the most consistent threads across Cameron’s filmography is an evolving idea of family. Cameron’s epics are often stories of families pulling themselves together in the face of crisis. The Way of Water is no different.

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

Filed under: Television | Tagged: aliens, aquatic, avatar, avatar: the way of water, family, fatherhood, filmography, found family, james cameron, Movies, the terminator, themes, True Lies | Leave a comment »

New Irish Independent Column! On James Cameron’s Big Bet on “Avatar: The Way of the Water”…

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Irish Independent this evening. With the looming release of Avatar: The Way of Water, it seemed worth taking a look at James Cameron’s approach to the sequel.

Over the past few years, it has become quite common for critics to argue that Avatar has no cultural footprint, that nobody can remember the names of its leads or it villains. This is interesting, because it offers a very modern conception of a “cultural footprint”, one that makes sense after decades of comic book movies have imprinted characters like Thanos and Doctor Strange on the public consciousness. Cameron isn’t releasing a blockbuster to compete with these films. Instead, he’s hoping that his sequel can make money by appealing to an older ideal of the cinematic experience.

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

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, avatar: the way of water, irish independent, james cameron, the independent | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On Modern Hollywood’s Daliance with Decadence…

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. The year’s awards season has a whiff of decadence about it. Movies seem to be getting longer. Directors are making autobiographical movies about their own childhoods. There’s a fascination with tearing down old Hollywood myths.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the re-emergence of water tank movies, of expensive blockbusters set in and around water. After all, water is expensive and dangerous. More than that, there’s no real evidence that audiences are particularly enthused or excited by water, it’s simply something that costs a lot of money to do. Throughout Hollywood’s history, whenever the blockbuster industry drives itself into a heated frenzy, movies embrace the water. James Cameron has always been riding te crest of that particular wave.

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

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, avatar: the way of water, black panther: wakande forever, escapist, in the frame, james cameron, speed 2: cruise control, splash, the abyss, titanic, water | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the “Avatar” as a PG-13 “Aliens”…

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist this evening. With the re-release of Avatar in China this weekend, it seemed like an opportunity to take a look at Jameson Cameron’s blockbuster.

Avatar is often discussed in terms of its relationship to nineties films like Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas and even Fern Gully. However, Avatar is also notable in its similarities to James Cameron’s first proper blockbuster. Avatar often feels like a reworking of Aliens, albeit one aimed at a much broader audience. This is interesting, positioning Avatar as part of a wave of similarly four-quadrant-pleasing reboots and remakes of classic R-rated eighties properties.

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

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: aliens, avatar, blockbuster, China, james cameron, memory | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Avatar’s” Lack of a Cultural Footprint Might Be Its Best Feature…

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Darren

I published an In the Frame piece at Escapist Magazine earlier this week, given the release of new concept art for the Avatar sequels.

Much as been made of the extent to which Avatar left no tangible pop cultural footprint, despite its massive financial success. It’s a fascinating conundrum, and almost impossible to imagine in this age of fractured fandoms and hot takes. Indeed, that lack of a strong cultural footprint might even be the best thing about it. For better or worse, Avatar was a film that millions and millions of people saw and enjoyed, before getting on with their lives. And in an era where films increasingly feel like religious events, there’s something vaguely comforting in that.

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

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: avatar, fandom, film, Fox, james cameron, Movie, pop culture | Leave a comment »

James Horner

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Darren

It is no exaggeration to say that James Horner was one of the greatest film composers of all time.

Such measures are seldom objective, but Horner was the rare composer who could match critical and commercial success across a wide range of genre and material. Understandably, coverage around his death has focused on the biggest hits in his extensive filmography. He won two Oscars out of ten nominations. He occupied two of the five nomination slots in 1996 for his soundtracks to Apollo 13 and Braveheart. It is quite something to compete against yourself for an Oscar.

Titanic tends to headline such discussions of Horner’s work, as one might expect given that it was “the biggest selling primarily orchestral film score in history.” More than that, Horner wrote The Heart Will Go On, the love theme that sold more than 15 million copies to become one of the biggest selling singles of all time and the biggest selling single of 1998. The Heart Will Go On is credited with revitalising the “spin-off hit” in the late nineties, prompting lots of movie-launched love ballads like Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing or There You’ll Be.

Horner enjoyed no shortage of commercial success. He provided the soundtracks to two movies that could claim to be the biggest movies of all time upon their release. Titanic was the first such example, becoming the most successful movie of all time upon its release in 1998. Horner also provided the soundtrack to Avatar, the movie that would claim the title in 2009. However, the most impressive aspect of Horner’s extensive filmography is the sheer scope of his work.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, James Horner, star trek, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, titanic | 6 Comments »

Millennium – The Mikado (Review)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Darren

This May and June, we’re taking a trip back in time to review the fifth season of The X-Files and the second season of Millennium.

Glen Morgan and James Wong famously pulled Millennium away from its “serial killer of the week” format in its second season. While the label might be a little harsh (and perhaps a little exaggerated), it did hint at a recurring formula in the first season. Frank Black would be called in to catch a serial killer with a unique and distinctive modus operandi. The first season was littered with episodes built around that core format, wildly varying in quality. For every Blood Relatives or Paper Dove, there was a Loin Like a Hunting Flame or Kingdom Come.

The second season largely moved away from all that. Although Morgan and Wong occasionally made nods towards the classic format in episodes like Beware of the Dog, 19:19 or Goodbye Charlie, the second season of the show was a lot less formulaic and familiar. This is was a show that could transition from The Hand of St. Sebastian to Jose Chung’s “Doomsday Defense” to Midnight of the Century to Goodbye Charlie to Luminary. It seemed quite reasonable to suggest that the second season of Millennium was not as firmly attached to the concept of serial killers as the first season had been.

This is Avatar calling…

This makes The Mikado a rather unique instalment, arriving a little past half-way through the season. Written by Michael R. Perry, The Mikado is very much an archetypal serial killer story. There is a case from Frank Black’s past, lots of victims, some occult imagery, and even a ticking plot. In fact, The Mikado is probably the only episode of the second season that would arguably fit more comfortably in either the first or third seasons of the show. All you’d have to do is write out the character of Roedecker.

However, there is something decidedly big and bold about The Mikado. It is perhaps the most archetypal (and maybe the most successful) straight-down-the-middle “serial killer of the week” story that Millennium ever produced. After all, if you are only going to do produce one truly traditional “serial killer of the week” story in a season, you may as well go big. And you can’t go much bigger than the Zodiac.

It’s all about the execution…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Millennium | Tagged: avatar, celebrity, ghosts, haunted, horror, information, internet, killer, killers, michael perry, michael r. perry, millennium, roedecker, san francisco, serial killer, serial killer as celebrity, serial killer of the week, the mikado, zodiac, zodiac killer | 4 Comments »

The X-Files (Topps) #22 – The Kanashibari (Review)

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Darren

This February and March, we’re taking a trip back in time to review the fourth season of The X-Files and the first season of Millennium.

The Kanashibari confirms what readers should expect from Topps’ licensed comics based on The X-Files. It is another atmospheric and episodic horror story, tightly plotted and written, with a grim sense of moral certainty underpinning it. The Kanashibari feels like something of a throwback, a modern-day take on those classic E.C. Comics horror stories – morality tales where the vengeance is exacted against those who have committed an injustice.

It is a throwback in other ways as well. The Kanashibari and Donor are both old-fashioned “supernatural revenge stories”, the kind of stories that would sit comfortably in the first season of The X-Files. Episodes like Shadows, Lazarus, Young at Heart, Born Again and Roland were all stories about characters seemingly returning from beyond the grave to wreak a terrible revenge against those had wronged them.