jim carrey | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: A Christmas Carol (2009)

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Darren

I’m yet to be sold on the Robert Zemeckis school of “motion capture.” Don’t worry, I don’t hold a prejudice. I’m just waiting to be convinced, and I worry that Zemeckis – for all his championing of the technology – might not be the one to do it. For, as impressive as the technical merits of his technique might be, I think that Zemeckis has yet to find a story that truly needs to be told in that format, or at least a story that resonates in that format. Much as Pixar have somewhat validated computer-generated animation (a school of filmmaking that met with a ridiculous amount of cynicism in its early years), I think the key to proving the worth of this sort of approach lies in finding a story that connects with audiences, while demonstrating the strengths of the tool being used to tell it.

While it’s an enjoyable enough holiday film, A Christmas Carol simply is not that film.

Totally Scrooged...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: a christmas carol, Bob Hoskins, Charles Dickens, christmas, Christmas Carol, colin firth, films, gary oldman, jim carrey, Movies, Muppet Christmas Carol, non-review review, pixar, review, robert zemeckis | 2 Comments »

The Film Fan’s Curse: What Might Have Been…

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Darren

The first photograph from the Farrelly Brothers’ The Three Stooges appeared on-line last week. It will star Will Sasso, Sean Hayes and Chris Diamantopoulos as the eponymous trio. Still, I can’t help wondering how many film fans looked at that picture and shared the exact same thought that popped into my head, mourning what might have been, rather than getting excited about what we had. Sure, most of the audience who see the film probably won’t know any better, but I can’t help be wonder what the original cast of the remake might have looked like.

Three of a kind of a letdown?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alternate possibilities, alternate realities, anthony hopkins, Chris Diamantopoulos, Dumb and Dumber, fantasy, Farrelly Brother, gene hackman, imagination, jim carrey, probability, Sean Hayes, sean penn, silence of the lambs, Three Stooges, Will Sasso | 6 Comments »

Stop Motion Capture: Time to Worry About Tintin?

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Darren

Mars Needs Moms bombed at the box office. Badly. Really badly. Ignoring the fact that Disney is in need of another hit, the failure of the Seth-Green-starring Robert-Zemeckis-produced motion-capture 3D CGI films raises serious questions about the future of that particular animation style. However, I wonder if it’s playing across the minds of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson as they add the finishing touches to their Tintin adaptation.

All at sea?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, actors, animation, avatar, cgi, Charles Dickens, films, jim carrey, motion capture, Movies, peter jackson, Polar Express, robert zemeckis, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, tintin, tom hanks | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Informant!

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Darren

The Informant! has some tricky subject matter to cover. Its subject, Mark Whitacre, remains a controversial figure in the history of corporate law enforcement up to (and probably well beyond) the present day. It’s a complex history, one which involves the most high-profile FBI investigation into price-fixing at major American companies, but which involves a very complicated central figure. I’m hesitant to go into too much detail as – although I’m not sure you can “spoil” a true story – I don’t want to ruin the experience of watching the film for anyone, but it’s a very fascinating example of corporate whistleblowing.

You'll be on the edge of your seat...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, jim carrey, Mark Whitacre, matt damon, michael crichton, Movies, non-review review, review, Scott Bakula, stephen russell, steve russell, Steven Soderbergh, the informant | 2 Comments »

We Made a F%$&ing Movie! MacGruber and Unsympathetic Comedic Leads…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Darren

The film is a slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy. I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore. He’s a single dad, bringing up his daughter with the help of his mom. He takes his job seriously. He may be chubby, but he’s brave and optimistic.

– Roger Ebert on Paul Blart: Mall Cop

I watched MacGruber over the weekend. It was okay – it wasn’t fantastic, and it wasn’t one of the best examples of anything, but if you wanted a shedload of juvenile humour, well… it was right up your street. However, watching the film did get me thinking about just how much of a jerk the title character was. How much of a horrible person can a comedy protagonist be? When did it become the norm for these sorts of characters to be presented with completely irredeemable traits?

Sometimes it's an up-hill struggle to empathise with a protagonist...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 40 Year Old Virgin, adam sandler, arts, audience connection, audience empathy, audience sympathy, Baldrick, Billy Madison, comedy, happy gilmore, jim carrey, Liar Liar, macgruber, Movie, roger ebert, Rowan Atkinson, Saturday Night Live, unsympathetic comedy protagonist, unsympathetic protagonist | 2 Comments »

Should There Be a Distinction Between The Best Picture and the Best Director Oscar?

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Darren

Ignoring the fact that, in practice, the Best Director Oscar simply exists to be a “runner-up” award in a really tight Best Picture race (like with Crash and Brokeback Mountain), with there being a huge overlap between the winners in both categories, I have been thinking a bit recently about whether there should be a more practical distinction between the two. Perhaps we should divorce the two awards, and decouple them in public consciousness. Of course, this is a purely academic argument (as the Academy voters will continue to associate them), but is the link between the two yet another indication of Hollywood’s director-centric culture?

Is it two for one?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, academy award for best director, Academy Award for Best Picture, academy awards, best film, best picture, Brokeback Mountain, Christopher Nolan, Hurt Locker, jim carrey, Movie, Oscars, ridley scott | 10 Comments »

In Defense of Jim Carrey’s Riddler…

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Darren

I had the misfortune of sitting through Batman Forever a few weeks ago. I also stumbled upon it at the weekend with the better half, who was curious to know what a “terrible” Batman film looked like. We got as far as the intimate “Bat-ass shot” before we simply gave up and tried to wipe our short-term memories. However, I found myself sticking up for a most unlikely part of the production: Jim Carrey as the Riddler.

Surprise! Something's that not that terrible about Batman Forever!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, Batman 3, batman forever, Christopher Nolan, frank gorshin, jim carrey, joel schumacher, the riddler, villains | 13 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman Forever

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Darren

Was that over the top? I can never tell!

– Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler

Yes, Edward, that was over the top.

“Yeah, Tommy, you got something juuuust here….”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman & robin, batman forever, burton, chris o'donnell, ed nygma, edward nygma, gothic, harvey dent, jim carrey, joel schumacher, neon, non-review review, review, robin, the riddler, tommy lee jones, two face, val kilmer, warners | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Yes Man

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Darren

Yes Man is a fairly standard romantic comedy with an inventive (but one-note) high concept. It does, however, have an ace in the hole: Jim Carrey.

Keep Pottering on...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bradley cooper, comedy, films, fionnula flannigan, jim carrey, luis guzman, Movies, no, non-review review, review, rhys darby, spencer garrett, terrence stamp, yes, yes man | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: I Love You, Phillip Morris

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Darren

I Love You, Phillip Morris has ‘niche’ just oozing from every pore. Although it’s obviously comedic, there’s more than a hint of Carrey’s dramatic aspirations in the air. Cynical film viewers will suggest that this movie, with two recognisable actors in a gay romance, has missed Oscar season by a few months. It’s based on a true story, which rarely bodes well for a comedy. It’s a movie that’s it’s very easy to by smug and cynical about. Which is a shame, because it’s really a very charming and effective romantic comedy drama.