Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | the m0vie blog

The Joy of Movie Fest…

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Darren

So, the inaugural Movie Fest is over. It was an amazing (and successful) attempt to bring pop film to Dublin, organised by Vince Donnelly and the team at movies.ie. Vince should really and honestly be proud of what he accomplished, because spending the weekend at the festival was the most enjoyable weekends I’ve had in quite some time. There’s something about that sort of communal celebration of cinema that makes these sorts of festivals and conventions so popular, the idea of drawing together movie fans of all ages and backgrounds to share in a unique experience. As a huge film nerd, I do have to concede a giddy thrill at the idea that this is “hardcore.”

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, Cowboys & Aliens, Fright Night, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, marc webb, movie fest, movies.ie, spider man, total recall, zombieland | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Cowboys & Aliens

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Darren

This movie was seen as part of Movie Fest, the rather wonderful film festival organised by Vincent and everybody else over at movies.ie. It was well worth attending, and I’m already looking forward to next year. Good job all.

It’s a testament to Jon Favreau’s skills as a filmmaker that Cowboys & Aliens ends up as a watchable, if entirely forgettable, addition to an ever-growing summer schedule. The movie is plagued by fairly fundamental problems, from a miscast lead to a failure to follow through on an interesting premise, right down to being one of the more blandly predictable blockbusters in quite some time. Favreau plays the best hand he can with the cards he has been dealt, offering a passable imitation of Steven Spielberg, but the problem is that none of it adds up to a win.

Not quite a blast...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: American Old West, Bourne Identity, Cowboys & Aliens, daniel craig, film, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, harrison ford, jon favreau, Movie, non-review review, Paul Dano, review, steven spielberg, Western (genre) | 6 Comments »

Post-Modern Prometheus: Ridley Scott’s Alien “Prequel” and Shared Universes…

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Darren

So, what exactly is Ridley Scott’s upcoming Prometheus? The director was all set to make an Alien prequel a few months ago, but all the rumours coming out of the production seem to be throwing me for a loop – I’m not quite sure what to make of them. To quote Scott himself:

While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.

We’ll spot “strands of Alien’s DNA”, but it’s a “new, grand mythology”? I’m not quite sure what to expect of it. And that, to be honest, excites me quite a bit.

Great Scott!

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alien, DNA, Ellen Ripley, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, HR Giger, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Prometheus, ridley scott, shared universe, Space Jockey | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Darren

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a decently-made little thriller. It’s interesting that David Fincher has been selected to helm the inevitable English-language remake of the film, as it feels like a spiritual companion to se7en. While that Fincher thriller concerned itself with a broken world populated with seven flavours of deadly sin, this Swedish film is only really interested in one. It’s a brutal commentary on what it suggests is a harsh and repressively misogynistic society, one that victimises and commoditises women. However, it veers a little bit too far into sensationalist territory – fixated on the idea that men in positions of authority are inevitably sexual sadists – and its contents make for excedingly grim viewing.