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Non-Review Review: Wild at Heart

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Darren

I’ve always had a soft spot for David Lynch, if only because – much like David Cronenberg – you always got the sense that his artistic vision was pretty unfettered by concerns about broad appeal or studio policy or anything like that. There’s a wonderful sense of freedom, in how he works. There’s a great quote from the guys at Pixar that they don’t make movies for kids, they make movies for themselves – if other people happen to enjoy it, well… that’s great too. That sums up a lot of what I respect about Lynch. Wild at Heart isn’t perhaps one of those moments where Lynch’s interests manage to overlap with truly great cinema (as they do, I would argue, for Mullholland Drive, Blue Velvet and The Straight Story), but it isn’t so completely scattershot as to be impenetrable, either.

Dancing in the... highways?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Angelo Badalamenti, arts, david cronenberg, david lynch, elvis, elvis presley, film, Harry Dean Stanton, Movie, murder, music, nicolas cage, non-review review, review, Sound Files, Straight Story, wild at heart, willem dafoe | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Fahrenheit 451

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Darren

It always struck me as strange that there should be such a fuss about adapting Fahrenheit 451. After all, a book about how great books are, and how they are inherently superior to anything that any other media can offer (film and television included) seems a strange choice of subject matter for a big-budget science fiction film. Still, Francois Truffaut’s 1966 adaptation isn’t all bad… just a little strange.

Book 'em, boys...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Andy Warhol, arts, book, Book burning, Citizen Kane, Cyril Cusack, Fahrenheit 451, film, Guy Montag, Montag, Movies, non-review review, Oskar Werner, review | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Hanna

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Darren

A special thanks to the guys over at movies.ie for sneaking us into an advanced preview screening.

If ever there was an odd choice for an early summer release, I think Hanna is it. Directed by Joe Wright (the guy who brought you Atonement) and starring an Oscar bait cast including Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett (with solid support from Jason Flemyng and Olivia Williams), Hanna is the story of a teenage assassin set loose upon the world after a life spent in the wilderness. If that cocktail doesn’t sound crazy enough, Wright sets the movie as a fairy tale.

What’s genuinely astounding is how frequently these elements compliment each other, even if there are a few moments where they seem at odds.

Joe Wright takes a shot at directing an action film...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: assassin, cate blanchett, Chemical Brothers, eric bana, film, Hanna, Jason Flemyng, Joe Wright, Movie, non-review review, Olivia Williams, review, saoirse ronan | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Firm

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Darren

The Firm would be an entertaining little thriller, if it ran maybe half-an-hour shorter. John Grisham’s legal thrillers were pretty much the gold standard for lawyer-related movies during the nineties, with any number of movies adapted freely from his books (notably in the format of “The [insert noun here]” like “The Firm”, “The Client“, “The Rainmaker“and so on). It’s a shame, because I believe that The Firm might have, with a little judicious editing, had the capacity to be the best Gresham adaptation out there. Instead, it’s too bloated to really make an impact.

It's no coincidence that "lawyer" and "liar" sound so similar...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: David Strathairn, film, Firm, Gary Busey, gene hackman, Hal Holbrook, holly hunter, John Gresham, john grisham, Keanu Reeves, Lincoln Memorial, Movie, non-review review, review, the firm, tom cruise | Leave a comment »

Scary Monsters and Super Freaks…

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Darren

D’you know what would have been scarier than nothing?

What?

Anything!

– Bart and Lisa discuss Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, The Simpsons

The week before last, in reviewing Insidious, I made the observation that director James Wan made the mistake of “showing too much” in his horror film, and that movie itself suffered because it didn’t show any restraint in how it handled its creatures and monsters. The always wonderful Justin, in fairness, called me on my assertion correctly – who ever stated it was a rule that horror films can show too much? Surely it’s possible to show as much of something as you might want, provided you have enough talent and skill to do it well? Surely showing too much only becomes a problem when you aren’t skilled enough to deliver something genuinely terrifying?

Or is it something more primal? Is what you don’t see scarier?

Do I have a point?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Child Catcher, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, david cronenberg, film, horrifying, horror, Horror film, James Wan, monsters, Movie, Movies, nightmares, saw, scary, scary movies, shining | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: 1984

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Darren

1984 is a solid adaptation of a classic novel, featuring a fantastic leading performance from John Hurt as Winston Smith. The movie (released to coincide with the year) suffered a bit at the time (and in retrospect) from not being the best adaptation of Orwell’s ground-breaking novel to make it the big screen in 1984-5 – being somewhat upstaged by Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil. While obviously not a direct adaptation of the novel (in fact, Gilliam has admitted he hadn’t even read the book at the time of release), the latter film explores the same core themes and ideas. However, virtually any film would pale in comparison when measured against a movie like Brazil (which ranks in my top ten films ever), and 1984 really deserves to be seen on its own merits.

Welcome to an edition of Big Brother where every room is a "Diary Room"...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1984, arts, Big Brother, film, George Orwell, history, john hurt, Michael Radford, Movie, nineteen eight four, Nineteen Eighty-Four, non-review review, review, Richard Burton, Spanish Civil War, terry gilliam, thought crime, Three Year Plan, Twentieth Century, Winston Smith | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Network

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Darren

Network is a compelling condemnation of news television. The black comedy from Sydney Lumet is one of those great movies which actually feels more relevant now (thirty years after it was first released) than it did when it first appeared on the big screen. In particular, while some plot developments are clearly satire, it seems that quite a few moments in the movie seem a lot less ridiculous or fantastical in this day and age than they would have when originally written. It’s a rare movie that can do something like that, and the fact that it’s a lot easier to imagine some of the movie’s jokes coming to pass in this day and age only makes it all the more potent.

Beales appeal...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Archie Bunker, charlie sheen, film, Howard Beale, media, Movies, multimedia, ned beatty, Network, non-review review, Peter Finch, review, Sidney Lumet, Television | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Insidious

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Darren

I’m of two minds about Insidious, the latest entry in the “haunted house” horror subgenre. On one hand, I definitely respect its attempts to return to the roots of these types of films without dwelling on gore for the sake of gore. On the other, it doesn’t seem like the film is entirely certain what to show you when it can’t fill the screen with fountains of blood and guts erupting. Film is obviously a visual medium, but horror is very much an exception to the old maxim “show, don’t tell.” The problem is that Insidious shows too much.

A (para)normal family?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, films, Haunted house, Horror film, Insidious, James Wan, Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, Movies, MTV, non-review review, paranormal activity, review, Rose Byrne, sam raimi, saw | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Legion

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Darren

Imagine The Terminator if you were substitute “heaven” for “the future” and you’d have a good idea of what this movie is about, right down to a mother offering a philosophical closing narration (okay, that’s Terminator II, but still…). Oh, and maybe drop the quality expectations a bit.

Okay, quite a bit.

Don't cross him...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Archangel Michael, Charles S. Dutton, film, Gabriel, god, Kevin Durand, legion, legion (film), Michael (archangel), Movie, non-review review, paul bettany, review, Satan | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Return of the Living Dead

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Darren

Return of the Living Dead is a fairly strange beast. Something of a black comedy spin-off from George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the film is a ridiculously campy exploration of trashy low-rent horror… and yet somehow has been picked up and embraced by popular culture. After all, this is the movie that introduced the idea that zombies weren’t just satiated by consuming large quantities of meat (most often from humans) – this was the film which introduced the idea of zombies stumbling forward, repeatedly droning “braaaaains!” It’s a concept which has been so throughly incorporated into pop culture’s definition of zombie (although it’s rarely the case, we still expect it and recognise it), so it seems strange that it came from a spoof.