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Non-Review Review: interMission

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Darren

interMission is a fantastic piece of Irish cinema, a broadly accessible exploration of intersecting and overlapping life in Dublin with a witty script lending the film some distinctly Irish flavour. The structure owes a little bit of a debt to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction or even Altman’s Short Cuts, capturing a variety of perspectives on life from a reasonably-sized ensemble who only occasionally overlap with one another. It’s a funny, clever, well-acted and well-directed slice of life.

Drive of your life…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bus, business, Cillian Murphy, colm meaney, Copper, dublin, film, Hawkin, irish, Jerry Lynch, John Crowley, Kelly Macdonald, Knacker, mark o'rowe, Michael McElhatton, Movie, non-review review, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, review, sales, Shirley Henderson, short cuts, Transportation and Logistics, United States | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Epic

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Darren

Epic looks stunning. While it doesn’t necessarily push the envelope in terms of 3D rendering or animation, it’s often quite beautiful to watch. Even in 3D, the vibrant greens radiate off the screen, with the characters having a pleasant elasticity to them. The action sequences are well-staged and the choreography is generally impressive. However, despite this, Epic winds up feeling rather shallow. Perhaps it’s a result of the decision to develop the world as a priority, rather than the characters inhabiting it.

The story is more a collection of familiar tropes and set-pieces than a compelling narrative, and none of the lead characters are ever developed beyond basic archetypes. There’s the plucky heroine, the roguish hero, the gruff mentor, the free-spirited wise oracle, the drôle accented bad guy, the comic relief and even the kooky dad. None feel of any real substance, which is a problem when you’re executing a plot as straight-forward as this.

It’s a slug’s life…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Amanda Seyfried, Android, animation, Archer & Armstrong, arts, Beyoncé Knowles, business, Chris O'Dowd, colin farrell, design, epic, film, Flight envelope, games, Josh Hutcherson, kung-fu panda, Las Vegas Nevada, Movie, non-review review, pixar, Queen Tara, review, The Girl Of My Best Friend, United States, video games | 10 Comments »

House of Cards (US, 2013): Chapter 5 (Review)

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Darren

Friends make the worst enemies

– Frank Underwood

There is a sense now that House of Cards has figured out what it wants to be and how it wants to go about being that sort of thing. After the first three episodes were surprisingly non-committal, the fourth and fifth episodes make it clear that Frank has a plan for revenge against those who betrayed him, one that stretches a bit further than scuttling Michael Kern’s chance to be Secretary of State. There’s a wonderfully understated moment in the middle of this fifth episode where it looks like Frank has finally figured everything out, the pieces have aligned in such a way that he is positioned to speed up what is likely to be a pretty far-reaching payback scheme.

A name you can trust…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, business, Chapter 7 Title 11 United States Code, Claire, david fincher, Francis Urquhart, Frank, Frank Underwood, House of Card, House of Cards, kevin spacey, netflix, Peter Russo, Robin Wright, twitter, Underwood, United States, Zoe | Leave a comment »

House of Cards (US, 2013): Chapter 1 (Review)

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Darren

House of Cards is a classic piece of BBC television, the story of a Chief Whip in the House of Parliament who is so slighted by the incoming Prime Minister’s refusal to promote him that he decides to bring the whole Conservative Party crashing down around him. If you’re at all interested in political drama, British wit or even great television, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Still, I suppose that an American adaptation was inevitable. And, to be fair, you couldn’t have asked for greater talent. Kevin Spacey stars as Francis Underwood, the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives. David Fincher is producing and directing the two first episodes. It’s written by Beau Willimon, who wrote both The Ides of March and the stage play Farragut North, upon which it was based. That’s a very talented bunch of people.

And yet, one episode in, it feels a little uneven. It’s not so much the sense that the new House of Cards seems to have a bit of bother figuring out what made the original so great, nor is it the fact that changes have to be made in translating the story from London to Washington. It’s more a sense that show is really trying to figure out what it wants to be.

Let’s be Frank…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, business, Congress, david fincher, Francis Urquhart, Frank Underwood, House of Cards, kevin spacey, Satan, Underwood, United States, United States Congress, Washington | Leave a comment »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 16 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Darren

We’re more than half-way through Will Eisner’s tenure on The Spirit, and I find myself struggling, just a bit, to come up with something novel to say about it. After all, I’ve gone on and on (and on and on) about how Eisner has handled the weekly strip for the bones of about 10,000 words at this point. As much as I like to examine each six-month period on its own terms and merits, there comes a point where I have to concede that this is just one giant project, and a lot of what I can say about it I have already said. Sure, there are some new themes and ideas, and Eisner always enjoys putting a new slant on old concepts, but I can’t help but feel that this extended bunch of reviews and retrospectives will wind up tripping over each other. (I say that as if they haven’t already.)

With that in mind, just because I might have a bit less to say about The Spirit Archives, Vol. 16 doesn’t mean that it isn’t a great collection of stories. We are, after all, in the middle of the most celebrated part of Eisner’s run. This collection is pretty consistently smart, funny and moving. Just because this reviewer is struggling not to cover old ground doesn’t mean that Eisner is any less of a master.

A web of deceit…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Amsterdam, art, business, Derek Dooley, Eisner, fatalism, fiction, frank miller, james bond, Kentucky, Merry Andrew, Mikkeli, Octopus, Online Writing, Pecha Kucha, Recreation, Spirit, Spirits, The Spirit Archives: Volume 12, The Spirit: Femmes Fatale, Vanderbilt Commodores, Will Eisner, world war ii | Leave a comment »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 11 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Darren

I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty for glossing over the World War II era of The Spirit. The era tends to get ignored because Will Eisner effectively handed over control of the strip to a variety of writers and artists while serving in the Armed Forces. The talent involved professionals like Jack Cole and Lou Fine, so it’s hardly as if it was neglected. Still, without Eisner’s passion driving the strip, it seemed to lose its way slightly. The aesthetic shifted even further the longer Eisner was away. Fans skipping from the first collection of post-Eisner work (The Spirit Archives, Vol. 5) to the work included here will see a radical change in style. While there was still a strong influence from Eisner, the comic simply didn’t look right. However, the differences extended deeper as well. On some primal level, The Spirit of the World War II era didn’t really feel right either.

Hounded by the Spirit of Will Eisner…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Art forgery, arts, books, business, Comet, Crime fiction, Dinner Theatre, Eisner, games, Jack Cole, literature, Lou Fine, Michael T. Gilbert, Murder Mystery, Performing Arts, Spirit, The Best of the Spirit, Theatre, Tom Spurgeon, United States, Will Eisner, world war ii | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Warriors (1979)

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Darren

The Warriors remains something of a curiosity. Its cult stature has only grown in the three decades since its original release, and the sense of young urban disenfranchisement that director Walter Hill tapped into remains as potent as it ever it was. That said, the film remains a bit of puzzle, and it is never quite sure what to make of its protagonists. Does the movie want us to root for the wayward Warriors as they navigate the urban jungle in a quest to get back to Coney Island, or does it instead remain passively amoral amid all the violence and nihilism? It’s hard to really say, but it remains a potent piece of cinema.

“Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals…”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Agriculture and Forestry, American Civil Liberties Union, Artificial turf, astroturf, Bronx, business, Clothing, Coney Island, film, Gang, Grass, Horticulture, luther, Movie, new york, New York City, New York City Police Department, non-review review, review, School, Shopping, Sol Yurick, Sonny Fai, Sports, Uniforms, Union Square, Walter Hill, Warrior, Warriors | 9 Comments »

Doctor Who: The Power of Three (Review)

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Darren

The Power of Three is Chris Chibnell’s best Doctor Who script to date. While a little heavy-handed in the way it deals with the relationship between the Doctor and Amy and Rory, it’s still a nice change of pace. It’s a thoughtful episode exploring the Doctor’s relationship with time. (And that shared by his companions.) While the alien invasion seems a little tacked on, to the point where it only seems to serve the final pun, The Power of Three is still a solid penultimate outing for this trio of adventurers.

Thinking outside the box…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alan Sugar, amy, amy pond, Apprentice, business, doctor, doctor who, Moffat, Piers Morgan, Power of Three, rory, rory williams, russell t. davies, steven moffat, Sugar, twitter | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Savages

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Darren

I am torn. Savages feels as if Oliver Stone somehow found a way to stream his thoughts on celluloid for the world to devour at their leisure. It’s bright, vibrant, random, illogical, contrary, obtuse, surreal and visceral – often all at the same time. It’s far too uneven to earn an unqualified recommendation, as it’s a disorienting mess of a film at the best of times. However, it’s also consistently interesting, a strangely compelling. Savagesmight be too all over the map to ever be consistently great (or even good), but it is never boring.

That’s a savage mask!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Benicio del Toro, Blake Lively, business, Demián Bichir, film, john travolta, Materials and Supplies, Movie, non-review review, oliver stone, review, salma hayek, Savage, Stone, Taylor Kitsch, tom hardy | Leave a comment »

Secret Warriors Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Darren

There are plans within plans… wheels within wheels. The old order is waking from a deep sleep any my masters… they hunger for knowledge of this new world.

– Leviathan Disciple

Secret Warriors is an interesting ride. It’s a rather bold narrative, crafted with a great deal of skill by author Jonathan Hickman, exploring an interesting underbelly of the Marvel Universe, while providing a pretty compelling exploration of Marvel’s super-spy Nick Fury. It reads like a densely-packed pulpy espionage thriller, with Hickman cleverly layering the story and gradually peeling back the skin to reveal wheels within wheels. While the climax of the story isn’t as strong as it should be, Secret Warriors still makes for an interesting read, a relatively long-running series that was carefully planned out from the beginning and executed with considerable style.

Secret Agent Man!

Note: There will be spoilers in this here review. Don’t worry, I’ll flag them before we reach them, but given the twisty nature of the narrative, I thought I’d let you know up-front.

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, Baron Strucker, business, captain america, chris claremont, Daisy Johnson, dark reign, ed brubaker, Eric Koenig, Fury, Gabriel, grant morrison, green goblin, Hickman, Howling Commandos, iron man, Jonathan Hickman, Kraken, mark millar, marvel comics, MarvelUniverse, nick fury, S.H.I.E.L.D, Secret Warriors, Strucker, uncanny x-men, United Nations, world war ii | 2 Comments »