Fox | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Alien

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Darren

I had the pleasure of attending of the Jameson Cult Film Club’s screening of Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien. It was a great evening for all concerned, and it was great to see a classic film like that projected on a huge screen, blasted out of a superb sound system. The screening seemed to coincide with the build-up to the release of next year’s Prometheus, a sci-fi thriller from Ridley Scott with “strands of Alien DNA”, but Scott’s film is one of those rare pieces of cinema that continues to give, even thirty years after the original release. It’s rare to point to a film that seems to offer new nuance and depth on each viewing, especially within the horror genre. Alien is a movie that’s absolutely fascinating in its complexity.

A bad egg…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1979, alien, alien (1979), Alien (film), Dan O'Bannon, Duellists, feminism, film, Fox, HR Giger, james cameron, Movie, non-review review, Prometheus, review, ridley scott, Scott, sexual violence, sexuality, Stan Winston, The Duellists, xenomorph | 4 Comments »

Requiem for The Wolverine: Why Darren Aaronofsky was the Perfect Choice to Direct The Wolverine…

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Darren

I was actually really anticipating what Darren Aronofsky could bring to The Wolverine, the sequel to the rather lackluster X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So I was actually genuinely disappointed when it was announced – rumoured to be for the inevitable creative reasons – that Aronofsky would not be directing the film after all. While it’s great that this affords Aronofsky complete creative freedom on the next film he works on, and while I certainly don’t want a film that has been subject to Fox’s executive meddling, I can’t help but regret what might have been.

Blades of glory?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: brett ratner, bryan singer, chris claremont, Christopher Nolan, Clint Eastwood, Darren Aronofsky, films, Fox, hugh jackman, Movies, sequels, The Wolverine, x-men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine | 6 Comments »

Now That’s First Class: X-Men – First Class & Superhero Nostalgia

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Darren

I have to admit that X-Men: First Class is a movie that I find myself in a wild state of flux over. At times, I’m delighted by the sensational casting, the fantastic director and the wonderful artistic design that we’re seeing. However, I am equally curious as to what the point of a prequel is, or why Bryan Singer jumped ship so quickly. At times, it’s one of my most anticipated movies of the coming year, while at others it’s just another film awaiting release. Somewhat lost amid the announcement that Bane and Catwoman would be the villains of The Dark Knight Rises, Fox released a slew of information about their newest X-Men film last week. looking at eth photos, I can’t help wondering whether the superhero movie genre is on the cusp of the nostalgia-fest which has swept their comic book counterparts in recent years.

He always had a magnetic personality...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bryan singer, Comics, comics books, Cuban Missile Crisis, elektra, emma frost, fantasy, first class, Fox, Gwen Stacy, james mcavoy, January Jones, mark webb, marvel, Mary Jane Watson, matthew vaughn, nostalgia, realism, retro, sam raimi, sony, spider man, superhero movies, superheroes, x-men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class | 5 Comments »

Banksy’s Simpsons Couch Gag…

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Darren

I know the conventional wisdom is that The Simpsons aren’t as funny as they once were, but this opening couch gag is pretty… out there. I know the show has gotten progressively darker over the last decade or so (and competing with Family Guy hasn’t helped), but this intro really manages to cross the line twice. It’s fairly dark (particularly since the show does outsource its animation), but it becomes gradually darkly humourous towards the end of it. It’s the “biting the hand that feeds” aspect which appeals to me – I can’t believe Fox let them do this. Maybe the old dog has some life in it yet.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: Banksy, family guy, Fox, Fox Broadcasting Company, Recreation, simpsons, Television, The Simpsons opening sequence | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Futurama – Bender’s Big Score

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Darren

If only all cancelled shows had the same good fortune as Futurama. After being taken off the air, the show was shopped around a bit, before coming back as a series of four two-hour movies (which could, conveniently for the network, could be split into sixteen episodes – four episodes per movie). The first of the movie’s – Bender’s Big Score – seems an interesting choice to open the specials. Rather than being framed as a re-introduction to the series, designed to attract new fans and effectively act as a second pilot for the show, instead it’s clearly intended as something of a valentine to existing fans.

It's good to be back...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bender's big score, films, Fox, futurama, futurama: bender's big score, Movies, Television | 4 Comments »

Magneto’s Magnetism…

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Darren

Another day, another superhero movie. Still, the long-rumoured X-Men Origins: Magneto is a project which has aroused quite a bit of my interest, if only because it has the potential to be unlike any other film in that genre. And if – as it appears – the superhero film is here to stay, we should at least welcome those that are willing to deviate from the norm, even a little bit and even if they don’t work out. Still, I wholeheartedly accept that it could end up being as pointless and soulless as Wolverine was, so I won’t be priming my hopes too much.

"YOU SHALL NOT RECAST!"

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: Anti-hero, Anti-Villain, David Goyer, Deadpool, films, Fox, franchises, ian mckellen, magneto, marvel, Movies, Mutants, nazis, Sir Ian McKellen, wolverine, x-men, X-Men Origins, X-Men Origins: Gambit, X-Men Origins: Magneto, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, x-men spin-off, x-men spin-offs, X-Men: First Class | Leave a comment »

Natural Born Predators…

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Darren

I have to admit, I’m a little excited about Predators. It seems that I’m really more excited about next year’s cinematic treats – Green Lantern, Predators, Inception, even Iron Man 2 – than I am about what lies ahead for this year, well outside this month’s releases. Avatar is going to be groundbreakingly jaw dropping, but it’s not really interesting to think about it. It’s boringly amazing, if that is possible. Predators, on the other hand, is great fun to speculate about. Sure, it’s a rake of horror monsters from the past few decades being revitalised – like Freddie Kruger who has a three-picture deal and the Weinstein Company returning to its roots with a remake of An American Werewolf in London – but Predators is the only one of the remakes of more modern schlock that seems to have a chance of not sucking. I love Jackie Earle Haley, but even I can tell that a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot is a bad idea. I’m sure he could prove me wrong on that count, but I’m not expecting to him to. And I think that quirky genre-bending flicks are hard to emulate the second-time around, so I’m nervouse about remaking Landis’ low budget classic. So, Predators is the most hopeful of the bunch.