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Awards Season Forecast…

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Darren

It’s summer time! That means blockbusters, comic book movies! It’s comic con time! That means more blockbuster and more comic book movie gossip! It seems that everything from the Tron viral campaign to the impending release of the Alice in Wonderland teaser is generating a lot of buzz. And quite right, too. We do live in the era of the geek. However, once we get into autumn proper, there are more prestigious films approaching. Looks like the studios are sticking to the tried-and-true “cram as many Oscar contenders as you can into the least amount of time” method, and there’s a huge schlock of films coming out. Here are just some of the main ones I’m looking forward to during awards season.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2010 academy awards, 2010 oscar nominees, academy awards, amelia, avatar, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis, ewan mcgregor, film, hilary swank, invictus, james cameron, Leonardo diCaprio, martin scorcese, matt damon, moon, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Nine, oscar nominees, Oscars, peter jackson, pierce brosnan, precious, rob marshall, scorcese, Shutter Island, star trek, stephen soderberg, the ghost, the hurt locker, the informant, the lovely bones, the road, up | Leave a comment »

Avatar – Hollywood Continues to Break New Ground with Blockbusters

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Darren

We’re still months away from a release date for Avatar – though there are rumours of a trailer coming soon in front of Transformers 2 (the most interesting talk I’ve heard about that particular film) – but things are still very quiet. All we know about the plot is that it is a Pocahontas-style narrative, with one of a bunch of exploitive explorers “going native”. We know that t will be in 3D – apparently mindblowing 3D. We know that one of the reasons that the movie has waited 14 years to get made it because Cameron was waiting for the technology to do it justice. And we know that – according to early word of mouth from insiders – he has succeeded. I have to say, I am quite eagerly anticipating this film. However, I find Hollywood’s new-found love of innovations within major blockbusters fascinating, given the traditional cautious conservatism of the studios.

Wow, Cameron really has a thing for giant walking hulks of metal, doesn't he?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, blockbusters, box office, Christopher Nolan, hollywood, imax, james cameron, star trek, The Dark Knight | Leave a comment »

3D or not 3D?

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Darren

As 3D enters its second golden age (yes, I’m using a little hyperbole, but let’s run with it), it’s generating a lot of discussion. Just how gimmicky is it? Is doomed to forever by a “nine day fad”, as blithely summed up by Alfred Hitchcock himself? Worse, does 3D fade colours and detract from the actual viewing experience, as Roger Ebert protests? I figured I’d give my two cents on the third dimension.

Retro chic

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, 3d films, alfred hitchcock, avatar, cinemas, coraline, gimmicks, james cameron, Movies, pixar, up | Leave a comment »

Fly Me to the Moon…

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Darren

I’m back…

Science-fiction film Moon, starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey is opening in the States next week. It actually looks quite good – with reviews seemingly spanning the divide from “it’s solidly entertaining with a great performance” to “it’s classic science-fiction”. It looks likely to be one of those films I will really try to get to see over the Summer (when it eventually opens here in Ireland), and the trailer is well worth a look. Still, this got me thinking about how the fictional fascination with life on other worlds has been embraced by the genre, and whether that has really changed in recent years.