film | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Gladiator

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Darren

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

– Maximus sums up the plot in case you were sleeping for the first hour and a half

The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!

– Commodus also reiterates the plot in case you weren’t paying attention

I think a lot of the appeal of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator rested on the fact we hadn’t seen a film quite like this in over a generation. In the years since we’ve witnessed a rejuvenated genre, with historical epics becoming more and more common. It’s easy to forget the impact of the Ridley Scott’s swords-and-sandals epic in the wake of films like King Arthur, Robin Hood or even Kingdom of Heaven – let alone 300 or shows like Spartacus: Blood & Sand. And yet, even after all these big all-action historical endeavours, there’s still something special about Gladiator.

It's the eye of the tiger...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: best picture oscar, Commodus, djimon hounsou, epic, film, gladiator, Gladiators, Hans Zimmer, history, Joaquin Phoenix, Marcus Aurelius, maximus, Movie, non-review review, oliver reed, review, richard harris, ridley scott, russell crowe | 5 Comments »

Is Classism Alive And Well At The Box Office?

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Darren

Richard Nixon introduced the phrase “the silent majority” into the popular lexicon, referring to those people who weren’t out protesting or stirring up a storm, but quietly and strongly sanctioning his actions. Since then the term has become almost synonymous with “middle America” or the “the big red middle”, the clear indication that liberalism and activism were traditionally associated with the coasts of the country – specifically concentrated around Washington, New York and California. Whenever loud and vocal protests arise in these regions, expect the more conservative politicians to speak about the silent majority of decent middle-class folks in “flyover country” who don’t make big deals of things and vote with their feet. These are the people, these politicians will tell you, who save their public political expressions for the election day. And so, it would seem, this central part of the country has voted on The Social Network. And silence was certainly there in spades.

The Silent Majority turned down The Social Network's Friend Request...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: box office, cinema, CinemaScore, classism, coastal america, david fincher, entertainment, film, films, gi joe, middle america, Movies, politics, richard nixon, rotten tomatoes, Social Network, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Young Victoria

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Darren

There are a few period dramas about classical nobility released every year. Most of them, such as The Dutchess are fairly bland and lifeless affairs – indeed, it’s hard to create an energy or dynamism around a world most of us have never known which is built upon self-restraint and self-control. The tendency is towards po-faced self-importance and excessive melodrama. While I would be hard pressed to describe The Young Victoria as “exciting” or “thrilling”, it is one of the better period pieces I have seen to focus on the British Royal Family, perhaps because – despite the impressive scope of its subject matter (Queen Victoria was, as the end titlecard informs us, the longest-serving monarch of Great Britain) – it remains tightly focused. It’s a story of courtship and romance, loyalty and dependency. It’s a genuinely and honestly romantic film.

Royalty and politics make strange bedfellows...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: actor, British Royal Family, Emily Blunt, film, jean-marc vallée, jim broadbent, martin scorsese, Miranda Richardson, Movie, non-review review, paul bettany, prince albert, Queen Victoria, review, royalty, rupert friend, the young victoria, Victoria of the United Kingdom, Young Victoria | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Ghost

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Darren

The Guardian once made a point that what distinguishes British writers from their American counterparts is that they simply refuse to ascribe to simplicity would could be blamed on malice:

The conspiracy theory has become an off-the-peg solution for writing about politics in Britain – to the detriment of writing, politics and Britain. If The Wire had been made here, its hero McNulty would have discovered that Baltimore’s problems were not the result of a shortsighted political culture, or the weakness of human nature, but were the fault of one property developer in a polo-neck.

It’s an astute observation, rendering The Ghost a very British reflection on the most turbulent legacy of a recent Prime Minister.

How will Lang keep his spirits up?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adrian lang, conspiracy, conspiracy theory, ewan mcgregor, film, Ghost Writer, hokey, Movie, non-review review, pierce brosnan, politics, Prime Minister, review, Robert Harris, roman polanski, the ghost, the ghost writer, tony blair | 2 Comments »

Facebook Off: Tyler Durden’s Cameo in The Social Network

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Darren

Fans of David Fincher will be pleased to know that Tyler Durden, the character played by Brad Pitt in Fincher’s breakout hit Fight Club, has a (sort of) cameo in The Social Network, one of my most anticipated films of the coming weeks. Reportedly the film see Facebook founder Zuckerberg set up a fake account to cheat on his art history assignment. No points for guessing (from the title of this article), the name he uses:

In a brief scene where Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is using Facebook to cheat on an art exam, the student profile he searches for art explanations is Tyler Durden’s. Just keep your eyes peeled and look for his name on the top left of the computer screen during the scene. It is a quick one, so be ready.

I like little teasers like this. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled when watching the film.

Would you let Tyler Durden "poke" you?

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Art history, brad pitt, david fincher, facebook, fight club, film, jesse eisenberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Social Network, tyler durden | 1 Comment »

Oh My Zod: Nolan’s Superman Movie Gets Its Villain…

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Darren

It had been quite an exciting day for Superman fans. First, director Zack Snyder was confirmed as the man who will be helming the movie under the tutelage of Christopher Nolan. It was then suggested Brandon Routh would not be returning to the role. And then we got some supervillain confirmation. Thankfully it looks like the movie won’t be featuring Lex Luthor as its primary antagonist, but will feature General Zod.

I'm Zod-ding in approval...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Action Comics, brandon routh, Christopher Nolan, comic books, continuity, dark knight, david s. goyer, dc comics, film, general zod, lex luthor, man of steel, Movie, richard donner, superman, superman 3.0, superman reboot, superman villains, villains, zack snyder, zod | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Ocean’s Eleven

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Darren

Everybody likes to take it easy sometimes. Just because we generally work hard on offering some sort of deep insight on the way that people (or the world) work doesn’t mean that – every once in a while – you want to just kick back and take things easy. And so it is with Ocean’s Eleven, which is considered (along with its two sequels) among the lighter work in Steven Soderbergh’s ambitious filmography. If you ever wondered what the man responsible for ambitious (if not always effective) movies like Che and Traffic does to relax, I can’t help but imagine it might look a little bit like this. Ocean’s Eleven is a triumph of style over substance. There’s not a lot going on underneath the shiny surface (hell, for all I know it’s dead under there), but the exterior just oozes effortless cool.

A drop in the Ocean...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: andy garcia, arts, Bernie Mac, brad pitt, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, casinos, cool, danny ocean, don cheadle, elliot gould, film, julia roberts, los vegas, matt damon, Movie, non-review review, o11, ocean's 11, Ocean's Eleven, Rat Pack, review, Scott Caan, Steven Soderbergh, Traffic | 2 Comments »

Is a Film Ever “Done” These Days?

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Darren

I was reading last week about how George Lucas is planning yet another re-release of Star Wars in 2012. This time in glorious 3D. Glorious post-conversion 3D. Yes, that was sarcasm. It’s interesting that Lucas continues to push for editing and updating the saga, especially considering his earlier position on updating existing films (in this case arguing against converting black & white films to colour):

“I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them,” he said. He furthermore remarked: “In the future it will become easier for old negatives to become lost and be ‘replaced’ by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.”

And yet, he has repeatedly demonstrated over the past decade or so that he is devoted to rewriting his version of Star Wars, arguing that it is simply never complete – he’s moving it closer to complete with every update. In this era of directors’ cuts and special extended editions, is becoming commonplace to accept that the theatrical release of a film isn’t the “finished” or “completed” version.

The infamous "everyone rocks out" deleted scene...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blade runner, directors cut, DVD, extended editions, film, george lucas, Kingdom of Heaven, Movie, revisionism, ridley scott, science fiction, special editions, star wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, THX 1138 | 1 Comment »

Trail me Lies, Trail me Sweet Little Lies: Hollywood Trailers, Omission of Facts and Downright Lies

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Darren

Movie trailers are a fickle bunch. Some spoil movies by revealing crucial plot twists. But there’s arguably something far more sinister than an advertisement which innocently gives a plot twist or two away: the movie trailer which actively lies to the audience. It’s a very dodgy advertising strategy, but sadly one that movie studios seem to be quite comfortable resorting to.

Machete: A Romantic Comedy...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ads, advertisements, arts, cyrus, film, films, foreign films, greenberg, hollywood, indie, international, lies, marketing, Movie, movie trailers, Movies, musicals, studios, subtitles, sweeney todd, trailers, trailers always lie, world cinema | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Last Exorcism

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Darren

The fundamental problem with The Last Exorcism is that it tries to be too many things, while being unwilling to completely invest in any of them. Is it an exploration of the culture of “showy exorcisms” (where the preacher himself refers to it as “a sham”)? Is it a jerky, handheld homage to The Exorcism, filtered through Paranormal Activity? Is it an indictment of small insular communities and the sinister ideas which may underpin them, as in The Wicker Man? It seems to be all three at once, which is a problem, as the three don’t gel together too well in a two-hour film.