hollywood | the m0vie blog

419. Sinners (#—)

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guest Lee Murkey, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This week, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.

Twin brothers Smoke and Stack return to the Mississippi Delta from Chicago, bringing with them money and booze. The duo plan to open a juke joint for the local community, and set about preparing for the launch. Little do the pair realise that something sinister is stalking through the night, lurching towards their speakeasy, drawn by the siren call of the blues.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: america, Andrew Quinn, black identity, capitalism, complicity, cultural significance, Filmmaking, hollywood, iconic director, IMAX technology, imdb, indie filmmaker, lee murkey, Lee Murky, Ludwig Göransson, money, race, ryan coogler, Sinners, storytelling, The 250, vampires | Leave a comment »

404. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (#—)

Posted on December 21, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guests Luke Dunne and Alex Towers, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This week, George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

A republic in decline finds itself slipping into fascism in the midst of a public dispute over trade tariffs. When Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are dispatched to resolve the Trade Federation blockade of the peaceful world of Naboo, they begin an epic adventure that will bring them to the sands of Tatooine, where Qui-Gon encounters a strange young boy that he is convinced as the power to bring balance to the force: Anakin Skywalker.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best or worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: ahmed best, alex towers, Darth Maul, democracy, fandom, fascism, film, franchise, george lucas, hollywood, imdb, jake lloyd, luke dunne, podcast, prequel, star wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, star wars: the phantom menace, stufio, the phantom menace, tyranny | Leave a comment »

397. Alien³ – All-ien 2024 (#—)

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Jess Dunne, this week with special guest Alex Towers, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, David Fincher’s Alien³.

A freak accident on her lifepod sends xenomorph survivor Ellen Ripley off-course. Plunging to the surface of a long-abandoned prison planet inhabited by the inmates so institutionalised that they refused to leave, Ripley finds herself haunted by the possibility that the monster that has taken so much from her is still with her, and that she is trapped inside of a prison of the creature’s making.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: alex towers, alien, alien 3, Alien³, all-ien, autuerism, david fincher, Fox, franchise, hollywood, imdb, jess dunne, Movie, podcast, The 250 | Leave a comment »

359. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (#—)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guests Luke Dunne and Richard Drumm, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, somehow Palpatine returned.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbuster, brands, disney, fan service, film, franchise films, franchises, hollywood, imdb, intellectual property, jj abrams, luke dunne, podcast, reviews, richard drumm, star wars, The 250 | Leave a comment »

357. Halloween (2007) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Doctor Bernice Murphy, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Rob Zombie’s Halloween.

One October, the small town of Haddenfield is shocked by the brutal murder of young Judith Myers. The culprit? Her younger brother Michael. Committed to a psychiatric institution under the care of Doctor Samuel Loomis, Michael escapes fifteen years later to continue his reign of terror. This time, he has got young babysitter Laurie Strode in his sights.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: bernice murphy, brutality, dimension films, doctor bernice murphy, donald trump, gore, halloween, hollywood, horror, joey keogh, John Carpenter, laurie strode, Malcolm McDowell, michael myers, new wave, nostalgia, podcast, remakes, rob zombie, scout taylor compton, slasher, violence | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On Understanding Michael Bay’s “Transformers” Films…

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist yesterday evening. With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at Michael Bay’s Transformers films.

Bay’s Transformers films are not good. It’s important to stress that. However, they are a fascinating piece of blockbuster cinema, the work of a genuine action auteur who bends an intellectual property so completely and so thoroughly to his artistic sensibility. It’s something that could only have happened at a particular moment in Hollywood, in the transition from director-driven blockbusters to brand-driven mega-franchises, and exists as a historical quirk on the bubble between those two trends.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: auteur, Filmmaking, franchise, hollywood, intellectual property, mark wahlberg, michael bay, toys, transformers, violence | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Myths and Lies of “Barry”…

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Darren

We’re launching a new column at The Escapist, called Out of Focus. It will publish every Wednesday, and the plan is to use it to look at some film and television that would maybe fall outside the remit of In the Frame, more marginal titles or objects of cult interest. With the end of Barry this week, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look the show’s final season.

Barry is a show about Hollywood, but it is also a show about America. It is a show about mythmaking and self-delusion, about the stories that people tell themselves to feel better and about the stories that are told about people to make everybody else feel better. It’s a black comedy about a hitman who becomes an actor, but over the course of its four seasons it evolved into something decidedly more complex and compelling. Like Succession, it is a show that speaks perfectly to the current moment, holding a mirror to a nation in crisis.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: america, american history, Barry, Bill Hader, delusions, fantasies, hbo, hollywood, lies, myths, out of focus, prestige television, Season finale, wow | Leave a comment »

336. Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (-#37)

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guests Joey Keogh and Billie Jean Doheny, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This week, Timo Vuorensola’s Jeepers Creepers: Reborn.

Twenty-three years after its last feeding frenzy, the mysterious “Creeper” has emerged from its rest, and it hungers. Finding itself drawn to a horror convention in Louisiana, the Creeper plans to unleash a nightmare all of its own upon the unsuspecting cosplayers.

At time of recording, it was ranked 37th on the list of the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The Bottom 100, This Just In | Tagged: #metoo, billie jean doheny, hollywood, horror, ip, jeepers creeper, jeepers creepers: reborn, joey keogh, me too, nathan winters, podcast, reboot, sequel, sexual assault, slasher, The 250, The Bottom 100, the creeper, Timo Vuorensola, victor salva | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the “John Wick” Movies as a Love Letter to Stuntwork…

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the upcoming release of John Wick: Chapter 4, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at the action franchise.

In modern Hollywood, the John Wick movies stand out from a lot of their competitors by embracing a very practical and material philosophy, leaning heavily on in-camera effects for maximum impact. However, the films are more than just a showcase for stuntwork as one of the industry’s most undervalued artforms. They are also an argument for stunt work as an artform unto itself, particularly in the way that they emphasis the importance of action as a means of storytelling and the way in which they frequently place their stunts in the context of more broadly-accepted forms of artistic expression.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, ballerina, ballet, buster keaton, charlie chaplin, history, hollywood, in the frame, john wick, Keanu Reeves, Performers, silent cinema, stunts, stuntwork, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Creed III” Brings Anime to Hollywood…

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release and success of Creed III, it seemed like a good opportunity to look at what makes the film stand apart from what came before.

Actor and director Michael B. Jordan has been quite frank about the influence of anime on his approach to Creed III, and that influence shines through. However, it’s also part of a larger trend in modern Hollywood. The industry spent decades trying to directly adapt anime properties for American audiences, with minimal success. However, recent years have seen the emergence of a generation of artists who grew up with the form as a standard part of their media diet, and it’s bleeding through into works like NOPE, The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It’s a fascinating trend.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.