Joseph Gordon-Levitt | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Looper

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Darren

This movie was seen as part of Movie Fest, which was as much of a joy this year as it was last year. If not moreso.

Looper is a wonderful high-concept science-fiction film that makes a shrewd decision to avoid dwelling on temporal mechanics. A “time travel” movie, Looper is far more preoccupied with fascinating metaphysical questions about cycles of violence and cause-and-effect than it is with temporal paradoxes or the butterfly effect. In fact, I’d go so far as to suggest that it’s actually a lot easier to follow than director Rian Johnson’s earlier collaboration with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brick. It’s fast, it’s smart, and it’s very well put together. It’s a meticulously constructed and breathlessly engaging thriller, and one that never under-estimates its audience.

Little room for Levitt-y…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, bruce willis, Emily Blunt, film, Joe, Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper, Movie, non-review review, review, Rian Johnson, Science fiction film, time travel, Time travel in fiction | Leave a comment »

The Longest Wait: The Difference Between European and American Release Dates…

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Darren

I have to confess, part of me is a little disappointed that we are slowly phasing out of blockbuster season and into the traditional Oscar season. Not because I prefer the films in one to the other, of course, but because it means that apparently my entire continent is going to drop off the radar for a few months. As the major studios in the United States scramble to get their best Oscar shots released in Los Angeles (and, often, the rest of the country) by the end of the year, it seems that they forget about the rest of the world. While the release of the summer blockbusters have gotten just a bit more synchronised, there’s still a sense that the release of the prestige pieces over here remains an afterthought.

Let’s deal with this fur once and fur all…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, arts, Bourne Legacy, California, christmas, Counties, DarkKnight Rises, django unchained, Filmmaking, Joaquin Phoenix, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, los angeles, Major film studio, Movies, New Year, Oscar season, philip seymour hoffman, quentin tarantino, Travel and Tourism, United States | 11 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Darren

Note: Here’s a spoiler-filled, more detailed version of my review of The Dark Knight Rises. If you want a spoiler-light look at the film, click here.

It’s here. Christopher Nolan has defied the law of superhero trilogies, which seemed so natural that it was akin to gravity. The Dark Knight Rises might not be the perfect piece of cinema, but it does perfectly wrap up Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, with enough grace, wit and intelligence to avoid the problems that faced other superhero threequels. While it falls a little short of The Dark Knight, mainly because of what it lacks rather than what it fails at, The Dark Knight Rises manages to make some telling observations about its central character, while proving an epic for our time.

The Dark Knight was the best mainstream film to explore the War on Terror, and The Dark Knight Rises might be the best movie about the social implications of the current economic strife – the philosophy of the “1%.” Finding a way to handle both the political allegory and the central character’s myth in under three hours is no small accomplishment, and Christopher Nolan once again demonstrates why he’s one of the best directors working today. Nobody blends blockbuster scale and aesthetic with sophistication and suspense nearly as well as Nolan.

The Dark Knight Returns?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Charles Dickens, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], DarkKnight Rises, film, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, Movie, nolan, non-review review, review | 32 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Darren

If you’ve already seen the film, there’s a more in-depth, spoiler-filled version available here.

The Dark Knight Returns?

Note: There will be some spoilers in this review. I won’t summarise the plot, but I will discuss some plot points. I won’t spoil any twists, but I may quote some dialogue. Don’t worry, I’ll warn you when I’m digging into the story itself below.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Charles Dickens, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], film, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, Movie, nolan, non-review review, review | 34 Comments »

Do We See Too Much of Film Before It’s Released These Days?

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Darren

It’s a week before The Dark Knight Rises is released, but I haven’t watched any new footage since the last time I posted a trailer for the film. And boy, has that been more difficult than I make it sound. It seems like every other day there’s a new TV spot or a clip being released. Last December, like The Dark Knight before it, the prologue to the film aired in certain Imax cinemas. Warner Brothers even taking the somewhat unexpected step of releasing the production notes to the public. While Warners and Nolan have actually managed to do a great job keeping the movie under wraps, this level of awareness is hardly uncommon these days. Do we get to see too much of a movie before it’s released these days?

Is too much information the Bane of modern movie-goers?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, bane, batman, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, imax, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, joss whedon, nolan, Rian Johnson, sam raimi, spider man, Television advertisement, Warner Bros | 8 Comments »

A Knight by Any Other Name: Why We Don’t Need Nolan to Use Characters from the Comic Books…

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Darren

Read our in-depth review of the film here.

There was a bit of a ripple on-line last week when it was announced that Marion Cotillard was playing a Wayne Enterprise employee by the name of Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon Levitt was playing a cop named John Blake in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. Both actors had been suggested for various and established characters (Cotillard seems a perfect fit for Talia Al Ghul, while Levitt was linked to characters as diverse as Alberto Falcone and the Black Mask). Still, it’s surprising how shocked everybody seemed that neither high-profile actor would playing a character established in the Bat mythos. Does it really matter that much?

I can’t Talia if it’s really an original character…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Alberto Falcone, Batman in film, continuity, dc comics, dc universe, Harvey Bullock, Henri Ducard, john blake, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, miranda tate, original characters, Silver St. Cloud, Talia Al Ghul, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises | 6 Comments »

Joseph Gordon Levitt as Johnny Blake in The Dark Knight Rises…

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Darren

There seems to a strange bit of symmetry here. The same night that I went to see Thor, starring a hero with a fictional identity of “Donald Blake” (which… sorta… makes a cameo appearance), Joseph Gordon Levitt’s role in The Dark Knight Rises is announced as the long-established Batman supporting character John Blake.

Wait, what?

Even I don’t recognise that character. Thankfully, Bleeding Cool have done some digging and they’ve come back with the secret origin of Johnny Blake. He shares a history with the Joker. Follow the link above for the complete story.

More (genuine) thoughts about this casting announcement probably next week (including the “Marion Cotillard really, really isn’t Talia… we swear!” bit), but enjoy this in the meanwhile!

Also, no confirmation that Zack Snyder’s Superman will see Lex Luthor take forty cakes (that’s as many as four tens!), because that would be terrible.

Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: batman, Batman in film, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, john blake, Johnny Blake, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Brick

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “alterna-noir” – just looking at slightly unusual choices.

You’ve helped this office out before.

No, I gave you Jerr to see him eaten, not to see you fed.

Fine. And very well put.

Accelerated English, Mrs. Kasprzyk.

Tough teacher?

Tough but fair.

– Brendan and Assistant Vice-Principal Trueman

Brick works by taking all the facets of the film noir we love, and transposing it against a high school background. Like cheese and onion, it’s a combination that really shouldn’t work so well, but makes for one tasty snack.

Phone a friend?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Brendan, Critical Essays, film, Film noir, films, For the Love of Film Noir, For the Love of Film Noir blogathon, For the Love of Film Noir: The Film Preservation Blogathon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, Rian Johnson, Richard Roundtree | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Darren

I never grew up with G.I. Joe. For me it was Batman: The Animated Series or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To me, this franchise was just a bunch of generic toy soldiers – in fact, I didn’t even know that they had separate names or defining characteristics. So I come to this movie without a sense of nostalgia or a familiarity with the core product. So, Stephen Sommers’ adaptation of the popular multi-media franchise to the big screen is my first major exposure to the product, and it left me feeling like I’d spent two hours watching a guy playing with toys, rather than making a movie. One of the characters even has a “kung-fu grip”.

It's a black-and-white world...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, christopher eccleston, Destro, Empire State Building, film, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kevin J. O'Connor, Movie, non-review review, Norton Internet Security, review, Sienna Miller, stephen sommers, team america: world police, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, United States | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Inception

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Darren

Does the dreamer dream the dream, or the dream dream the dreamer? Nolan’s Inception somehow finds a way to cram a year’s worth of philosophical questions and big ideas into a two-and-a-half-hour epic which seems fleeting even with that runtime. Indeed there’s so much on offer at this cinematic banquet that I feel I need a second helping to fully savour the flavour. I can see Inception being divisive film – between those who feel it somehow is somewhat conceited and not as clever as it would have you think (many of whom, for example, may focus on the movie’s ending – some may even have honestly claimed to call it) and those who favour a movie which intelligently poses all manner of questions for it’s audience, believing answers – like dreams – are subjective and personal, and to offer or share them is a recipe for disaster. I am firmly in the latter camp.