films | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Centurion

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Darren

I have to admit, I’m a bit disappointed with Neil Marshall. I’ll concede that I genuinely enjoyed Dog Soldiers and The Descent, while acknowledging their flaws. His movies have a tendency to start in the absurd and just keep amping things up until they get unbelievably ridiculous. Even the over-the-top and quite-crap-actually Doomsday still had a lot of energy to carry it through as it gleefully veered through camp straight out into uncharted realms of gratuitous nonsense. On the other hand, Marshall’s latest, Centurion, seems relatively tame. It’s fairly mediocre throughout, which perhaps seems less entertaining because it never has the energy to go too far. And that’s a bit of shame.

The last Fassbender?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, Dog Soldiers, Dominic West, films, historical, Imogen Poots, Legio IX Hispana, Marshalls, Michael Fassbender, Movies, Neil Marshall, ninth legion, non-review review, Pict, picts, review, Roman Empire, Scotland, scottish | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Little Fockers

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Darren

I genuinely really enjoyed Meet the Parents. It’s a nice little movie that the family will occasionally get caught up in again if it just so happens to be on telly, a nice way to spend an hour or two that nobody can really object to. The sequel, Meet the Fockers, lost a lot of the appeal – but we still found it relatively unobjectionable. So, the third and final (hopefully) instalment of the franchise, Little Fockers, arrives and isn’t really that bad. It’s just not really any good, either.

Greg still don't know Jack...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: dustin hoffman, films, harvey keitel, Jay Roach, Jessica Alba, laura dern, Little Fockers, Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents, Movies, non-review review, review | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Tourist

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Darren

In theory, The Tourist should be great fun. After all, the last time we had a high-octane romantic adventure thriller, we ended up with the genuinely entertaining Knight and Day. And, if anything, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie should represent a large step-up from Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t quite deliver. Mistaking twists for plot and assuming that strong leads can make up for underwritten roles, the film flails around rather randomly, alternating between a genuinely exciting little European thriller and fairly paint-by-numbers twist-a-minute adventure, it never manages to set a particular tone, and leaves its two actors struggling to stay afloat amid the rather wonderful Venetian scenery.

Tour of duty?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: angelina jolie, Banged Up Abroad, cameron diaz, films, johnny depp, Movie, Movies, non-review review, paul bettany, review, steven berkoff, tom cruise, Tourist, True Lies, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Fletch

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Darren

Fletch has endured as something of a cult hit, offering Chevy Chase perhaps the defining role of his career and striking a chord with modern comedy talents like Bill Lawrence and Kevin Smith interested in bringing the character to modern audiences. I have to admit, after seeing the original film featuring Chevy Chase as the fast-witted quick-talking investigative journalist, that I can certainly see what the appeal of Irwin M. Fletcher.

He's got a nose for this sort of thing...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bill Lawrence, Chevy Chase, Film noir, films, Fletch, Gregory Mcdonald, Investigative journalism, kevin smith, los angeles, Movies, non-review review, Raymond Chandler, review, Truman Harry S, Warner Bros | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Darren

Jay and Silent Bob is a movie that runs hot and cold from scene to scene. More a collection of random jokes set against an ever-shifting premise than a fleshed-out over-arching story, the film frequently fluctuates between brilliantly and subversively hilarious, and just a little bit awkward. While the randomness of Kevin Smith’s original Clerks was a large part of the appeal, the mish-mash approach doesn’t work so well this time around. Part of it is, perhaps, that this movie does clearly have a plot (a roadtrip to Hollywood), but I think it might also be a question of the characters involved.

While Jay and Silent Bob work well in supporting roles, it seems perhaps a bit much to ask them to carry their own movie. It’s a criticism Smith seems to accept, even including it in the movie itself. “Bluntman and Chronic and their stupid alter egos Jay and Silent Bob only work in small doses, if at all,” an anonymous on-line “militant movie buff” writes about a fictious movie to star characters modelled on the pair. “They don’t deserve their own movie.”

Well, at least he’s self-aware.

The latest in the Jay and Silent Bob cycle?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben affleck, Bluntman & Chronic, Bluntman and Chronic, cameos, chasing amy, clerks, films, George Carlin, hollywood, jay, Jay & Silent Bob, jay & silent bob strike back, jay and silent bob strike back, kevin smith, matt damon, Movie, Movies, non-review review, pop culture, review, silent bob, view askew, view askew universe | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Whip It

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Darren

Whip It is sort of an inverse version of the Billy Elliot story. In that film, a young boy horrifies his family by wanting to practice ballet. In this film, a young woman shocks her mother by becoming a roller derby celebrity. Featuring the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, Whip It is a fairly formulaic and straightforward little coming-of-age and self-discovery movie with a quirky angle and a plucky protagonist, but it’s also rather well handled and quite charming.

Whipping the team into shape...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Billy Elliot, coming of age, Daniel Stern, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, films, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Movies, non-review review, Owen Wilson, review, rollerskates, rollerskating, Whip It | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Toy Story 2

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

For my money, Wall-E is perhaps the strongest Pixar film from an artistic point of view. The Incredibles is perhaps the most consistently entertaining. Finding Nemo is the most emotional. Truth be told, I could probably find a way to rank almost every Pixar film so that it was my favourite in some way or another, because they’re all pretty much that good (although I’ll concede that Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life and Cars were merely “good” or “very good”). So, having completely picked apart any lavish praise I could shower on the film, I have a very special fondness for Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy.

Just say Jesse...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Action figure, andy, arts, buzz lightyear, Collecting, films, jurassic park, List of Toy Story characters, Movies, non-review review, pixar, Recreation, review, Sheriff Woody, Shopping, star wars, Toy, toy story, toy story 2, toys, twitter | 9 Comments »

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: Your Highness

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Darren

Your Highness is crass, stupid, vulgar and fun. However, it’s endearingly aware of the fact. I found myself warming to the film quite a bit as I sat down to watch it, somewhat comfortable in the knowledge that Danny McBride’s latest will undoubtedly end up playing on the DVD players of countless college students into the wee hours of the morning for some years to come. It isn’t going to be a film for everyone, but I do think it will find an audience. It’s not perfect or classic, but then none of the films that it is attempting to emulate are. It does succeed in offering a constant and endearing stream of low-brow jokes for its runtime.

The best of the quest?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: danny mcbride, david gordon green, Fantasy film, films, James Franco, Jim Henson, Justin Theroux, Movies, non-review review, Other Guys, review, Your Highness | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Rollerball

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Darren

MGM has been running a rather wonderful sci-fi season this past week, screening classics like Robocop along with smaller cult films, like Rollerball. One of the great things about having channels like this that it gives you a chance to sit down and watch what you wouldn’t normally – there’s something specially about stumbling across a gem on television that you might otherwise have missed. In fairness, Rollerball isn’t quite that gem, but it’s an entertaining high concept science-fiction ideas and some great direction, even if it does seem a little bit heavy-handed and cheesy from time to time.