films | the m0vie blog

Win! Tickets to the Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of Snatch in Galway…

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Darren

Would you ‘adam and eve it’, the Jameson Cult Film Club is coming to Galway, and we’ve teamed up with Jameson to offer tickets to one lucky geezer and three of his mates to the ultimate screening experience of Snatch in a secret location in Galway on August 23rd.

The Jameson Cult Film Club is all about watching your favourite cult films at spectacular screenings staged to transport the audience right into the world of the movie. These free events are not just your typical screening, it’s an experiential viewing experience with clever use of props, staging and live action to ensure the audience in the venue are transported right into the world of the movie! Characters from the movie, live theatre and special effects timed perfectly with on-screen action help to create an electric atmosphere and leave movie fans wanting more.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, competition, films, galway, jameson cult film club, jameson cult film galway, Movies, silence of the lambs, Snatch, snatch galway, win | Leave a comment »

The Best of the “Best of” Lists: The Troubling “Top Ten” Triffle…

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Darren

So, Sight & Sound has conducted their “top fifty films of all time” poll, held once a decade since 1952. With two polls, one for directors and one for critics, it’s certainly an interesting way to measure the pulse of the cinematic establishment. This year, for example, Citizen Kane was vanquished from the top spot, replace by the critics with Vertigo and by the directors with Tokyo Story. The publication of such a list is always a great spark for cinematic debate and discussion – with some commentators describing the lists as conservative or humourless and some directors using it as an opportunity to publish their own lists. Personally, I always find such list-making fun, if ultimately a little pointless.

Raising Kane…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: best, best films, bfi, films, Movies, reviews, sight & sound, sight and sound, top 10, top 10 films, top 50 filmes ever, top 50 films, top 50 movies ever, top ten, top ten films | 4 Comments »

The Politics of Nolan’s Batman Films…

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Dark Knight Rises, July is “Batman month” here at the m0vie blog. Check back daily for comics, movies and television reviews and discussion of the Caped Crusader.

I think it’s fair to say that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is quite an accomplishment. I think there’s a valid argument to be made that the series can be successfully measured against other classic film trilogies like the original Star Wars trilogy or even the more recent Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, I think it’s also notable just how much political discourse and discussion the trilogy has generated, particularly for its political content. It’s quite impressive that Nolan’s three films about a masked pulp hero have provoked such debate, and I’d certainly argue that The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are easily two of the most politically complex and fascinating blockbusters in quite some time.

A caped social crusader?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, bane, batman, caped crusader, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], films, george w. bush, joker, Movies, politics, review, star wars | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Blues Brothers

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Darren

I had the pleasure of catching a Jameson Cult Film Club screening of The Blues Brothers earlier this evening. And it was awesome. Really, really great night. Might have been the best yet. I’ll have more details on it later in the week, but now seems like a good time to revisit the classic.

It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

– Elwood and Jake

It might seem a bit redundant to say it, but The Blues Brothers has soul. Not just the funky music, though it has plenty of that. Nor an evangelical message, although the two brothers are, as they claim, “on a mission from God.” No, The Blues Brothers has a core of pure exuberance, a sense of joy that is all too rare – it doesn’t seem like writers Dan Ackroyd and John Landis threw ideas at the wall to see what stuck, so much as they demolished the wall and threw it at another wall. The Blues Brothers is, by turns, absurd, wry, grounded, sarcastic, charming, heartwarming and sardonic, with those elements frequently overlapping to an almost insane degree. In many ways, like John Belushi’s scheming, manipulative and aggressive Jake Elwood, it’s far more charming than it really should be. But we love it for it.

It’s a dirty business…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Blues Brother, Chicago, Dan Aykroyd, Elwood, films, Illinois, Jake, John Belushi, John Candy, john landis, Movies, non-review review, Rawhide, Ray Charles, review, Steven Williams | 4 Comments »

Does Cabin in the Woods Out- “Hunger Games” The Hunger Games?

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Darren

Sometimes I form weird movie connections in my head – tying two particular films together even if there’s very little common ground on which to link them. For example, I sat through quite a bit of Shame thinking of Collateral, a film linked tangentially thematically, as both offered rather scathing portraits of anomie against the backdrop of a major American city. On the other hand, I also formed a rather strong connection between the superb Cabin in the Woods and the mega blockbusting phenomenon The Hunger Games. As I watched Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s powerful exploration of the horror genre, I couldn’t help but feel that this was exactly what The Hunger Games wanted to be, even if the film adaptation couldn’t quite manage it.

The show must go on!

Note: This article contains some background information on Cabin in Woods. Nothing too big, but I would honestly recommend that you see the film as blind as possible. It is, by some considerable margin, one of the best films of 2012, and entirely deserving of both your time and your money. This article will still be here when you get back.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Anna Hutchison, arts, battle royale, bbc, Cabin in the Woods, chris hemsworth, debate, Drew Goddard, films, Horror fiction, Hunger Games, joss whedon, meta-fiction, Movies, reviews, social commentary, Suzanne Collins, United States, Woods, Year of the Sex Olympics | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Rite

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Darren

The Rite has an interesting premise and a somewhat novel approach to its material within the first half. On the other hand, it seems to squander that potential with a disappointingly conventional second half, one falls prey to the clichés and conventions of exorcism movies that we’ve already seen replicated elsewhere countless times before. It starts out as an interesting exploration of religious faith, but it ends up feeling like a waste of some good ideas.

Don't cross him...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alice braga, anthony hopkins, Apple, catholic church, Colin O'Donoghue, Cooking, Demonic possession, Devil Inside, exorcism, Exorcist, films, First World, Fruit and Vegetable, home, Mental disorder, Michael, Mikael Håfström, Movies, non-review review, Pea soup, review, Rite, Rite Aid, rome, Soups and Stews | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Scream 4 (Scre4m)

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Darren

Alright, Kirby, then it’s time for your last chance. Name the remake of the groundbreaking horror movie in which the vill…

Halloween, uh, Texas Chainsaw, Dawn of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror, uh, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When A Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax, The Fog, Piranha. It’s one of those, right? Right?

(beat)

I got it right. I was &@#!ing right.

– Ghostface and Kirby redefine the frame of reference

In many ways, Scream 4 feels like a fitting end to the Scream franchise. In fact, it feels like it has come something of a full circle from the first film, which was envisaged as something of an obituary for the dying slasher genre. In the years since, prompted in a large part by the success of the original Scream, the genre has been resurrected. Watching the grind of horror films released, it seems that Hollywood has been churning out nothing but empty roman-numeral-denoted sequels and hallow remakes, with very little thought or creativity. Scream 4 feels a like a reflection on the “success” that the first film wrought, and actually feelings like a fitting closing act.

It's going viral...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: criticism, deconstruction, Emma Roberts, feminism, feminism in movies, films, gender roles, Ghostface, horror, irony, Jill Roberts, John Carpenter, Kevin Williamson, metafiction, Movie, non-review review, review, Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Sidney Prescott, slashers, wes craven | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Contraband

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Darren

Contraband is a thoroughly enjoyable little thriller, albeit one with several significant flaws. Indeed, “thorough” seems to be quite the word to apply to this smuggling caper, as director Baltasar Kormákur and writer Aaron Guzikowski seem intent to wring every possible thrill from the basic plot. While it can lead to some seemingly disjointed tangents, it ensures that there is always something happening, even if it feels like the movie never really develops its core ideas. Still, it’s a solid thriller with a wonderful cast and an interesting enough central premise.

It'll counterfeit right in...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Guzikowski, Baltasar Kormákur, Ben Foster, Brother-in-law, Caleb Landry Jones, Chris, Contraband, Diego Luna, films, Giovanni Ribisi, Heist film, j.k. simmons, kate beckinsale, Lukas Haas, mark wahlberg, Movies, non-review review, review, Reykjavík-Rotterdam, Smuggling | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: We Bought a Zoo

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Darren

The biggest problem facing We Bought a Zoo is that it can’t ever decide how serious a family drama it wants to be. It follows a family recovering from the loss of their mother by purchasing a zoo and attempting to renovate it, and it never finds a healthy balance between the shamelessly upbeat montage-set-to-classic-pop “live your crazy dreams!” feel-good fun and the heavier subject of a family finding piece. The result is a movie that often feels a little toosweet and a little too earnest at the same time, and never manages to mix the two tones with a great deal of success.

Not quite out of the park...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Cameron Crowe, Crowe, drama, Elle Fanning, family, film, films, Jónsi, Jerry Maguire, matt damon, Movies, non-review review, review, scarlett johansson, Thomas Haden Church, We Bought a Zoo, Zoology | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Good Doctor

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

Much like its protagonist, there’s something not quite right about The Good Doctor. It’s undoubtedly fascinating, as a young doctor makes a series of questionable moral decisions that lead to a variety of uncomfortable situations, but there’s no real internal life to the movie. You can see what is happening, and you realise the consequences, but the script and Orlando Bloom’s headlining performance never allow you to immerse yourself in the title character. You know what Dr. Martin Ploeck is doing, and perhaps you can intuit a reason, but he never seems tangible. That is perhaps the most significant flaw with the movie. Then, of course, there’s also the third act.