Benedict Cumberbatch | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Darren

Back in its heyday, Hammer Horror had a reputation as an assembly-line studio, churning out cheesy exploitation horror after cheesy exploitation horror with an efficiency that would make battery farmers jealous. I won’t pretend that the reputation is entirely undeserved, although I do have a certain fondness for the delightful schlock the studio would produce. Still, I think that this reputation tends to overshadow the occasional gem that the studio would produce, something that managed to transcend the cost-effective scenery and cookie-cutter approach to film-making. While it probably isn’t the definitive adaptation of the tale, Hammer’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is still an absolute delight for gothic horror aficionados.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it…

Note: This review contains spoilers. I consider a classic novel and fifty-year-old film to be fair game.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: André Morell, Arthur Conan Doyle, Baskerville, Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Watson, film, Hammer Film Productions, Henry, Holmes, Hound of Baskerville, Irene Adler, Moor, Movie, non-review, Peter Cushing, review, Sherlock, sherlock holmes, watson | 2 Comments »

Generation Next: The Changing of the Cinematic Guard…

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Darren

There are times when I feel quite young. I was born on the same day that The Joshua Tree was released. My dad took me to the cinematic re-release of Star Wars. I was mainly introduced to the great directors through video and DVD. Hollywood as it exists today is not markedly different from the Hollywood that I grew up with. However, as I sat in the cinema last week, it occurred to me: perhaps I have sat through my first real changing of the cinematic guard, so to speak. It’s an occurance so subtle and gradual that I never really noticed it, and yet it must, by necessity, be part of Hollywood’s seasonal cycle.

Putting the older generation out to feed?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: adam sandler, al pacino, Benedict Cumberbatch, brad pitt, bruce willis, dennis hopper, george clooney, Gerard McSorley, hollywood, Juliette Lewis, Kevin Costner, michelle forbes, Niels Arestrup, robert deniro | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: War Horse

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Darren

War Horse is a fairly solid prestige picture. Spielberg is on fine form, reminding viewers of just how he became an audience favourite. He displays a warm confidence with the material, as if getting comfortable once again with this sort of crowd-pleasing fare. The film has some fairly significant flaws, stemming mostly from a disjointed and disorganised screenplay, but it’s the director’s charm that manages to carry the film through. Ironically, for a film focusing on an equine, it feels like one of the most warmly human films that Spielberg has produced in quite a while.

No horse play!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Albert, Benedict Cumberbatch, film, horse, horses, Joey, Movies, non-review review, oscar bait, Oscars, review, Saving Private Ryan, spielberg, steven spielberg, tom hiddleston, war horse, World War, World War I | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Darren

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a movie that can be measured against the very best of John la Carré adaptations, and among the very best that the espionage subgenre has to offer. I make that assertion based upon a single viewing, convinced that revisiting the movie will be something of a wonderful experience, an attempt to decode and sift through the film seeking what Control cynically describes as “treasure.” Tomas Alfredson, who established himself with Let the Right One In makes one hell of an English-language debut, providing a film that embodies the culture as much as the language, an elegant and stately affair, never feeling forced or rushed or dumbed down. I think that, with its intriguing structure and manner of suggesting ideas (rather than stating plot points), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy might represent that mythical ideal: the perfect film for grown-ups.