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My 12 for ’12: Room 237 & The Death of the Author

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Darren

I’m counting down my top twelve films of the year between now and January, starting at #12 and heading to #1. I expect the list to be a little bit predictable, a little bit surprising, a little bit of everything. All films released in the UK and Ireland in 2012 qualify. Sound off below, and let me know if I’m on the money, or if I’m completely off the radar. And let me know your own picks or recommendations.

This is #10…

Room 237 is a fascinating look at Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. It has been described as “the best DVD extra ever made”, and it definitely succeeds as a lighthearted (but incisive) exploration at one of the best horror films ever produced. While it works on that level, Room 237 works even better as a demonstration of what Roland Barthes termed The Death of the Author, the awkward relationship that exists between a piece of art, its creator and the audience watching it.

On a larger scale, Room 237 is the story of how a film can be appropriated by people, and how sometimes the real cinematic magic unfolds in the gap between the screen and the audience watching it.

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Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: Creepshow, Daily Express, Death of the Author, games, Gareth L Powell, Ireland, kubrick, London, los angeles, Minneapolis, Quinch, Rodney Ascher, Roland Barthes, shining, stanley kubrick, stephen king, vhs | 2 Comments »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 17 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Darren

The Spirit Archives, Volume 17 contains perhaps the best-loved Spirit story of all time. Indeed, you could make a compelling argument that The Story of Gerhard Schnobble represents perhaps the best seven pages that Will Eisner ever produced, beautifully encapsulating all the magic of the creator’s work, tempered with the same awareness of the harsh realities of life. This collection continues to offer The Spirit at the peak of its run, and The Story of Gerhard Schnobble simply sees all these elements that have been working so consistently for so long coalescing into something that is practically transcendental.

Beginning with a bang…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Ambrose Bierce, arts, Damned Thing, Dolan, Ebony, Edgar Allan Poe, Eisner, Good Will Hunting, House of Usher, London, new york, Princess & The Frog, Spirit, The Spirit Archives: Volume 12, United States, Will Eisner, world war ii | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Jack Reacher

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Darren

Much like its eponymous leading man, Jack Reacher is efficient. That’s probably the best thing that can be said about this adaptation of Lee Child’s One Shot. Coming in at two hours, the movie manages to keep everything relatively under control. Any fuzzy logic is masked by the smart decision to keep things moving at a quick enough pace, distracting from the fact we’ve seen it all before, or that the characters seem especially paper-thin. At times, Jack Reacher suffers from being a little too shallow, a little too safe, a little too predictable. While Christopher McQuarrie can be an excellent writer, he seems to be only developing as a director. He handles movement reasonably well, but the direction amps up the melodrama to almost unbearable levels at certain points in the film.

It’s not terrible, and it’s certainly not an out-and-out failure, but I’d struggle to argue that it’s a successful franchise launch. For most of its runtime, Jack Reacher succeeds at merely being inoffensive and trying not to weigh too heavily on our patience. It’s not the most convincing of victories, but it could have been a lot worse.

Gearing up for a franchise…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: christopher mcquarrie, film, Fuzzy logic, jack bauer, Jack Reacher, kiefer sutherland, Lee Child, London, Movie, non-review review, One Shot, Reacher, review, robert duvall, Rosamund Pike, tom cruise, United States, Werner Herzog | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Red Riding – The Year of Our Lord 1983

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Darren

To the North, where we do what we want!

– Bill Molloy

It must be very tough to round off a trilogy of films, but Red Riding seems to possess more than its fair share of challenges. On top of the expansive cast and somewhat convoluted plot, this trilogy of adaptations for Channel 4 actually omits an entire story from the source material. David Peace wrote Red Riding as a four-book series, and yet there was only enough in the budget for a three-film adaptation. On top of that, the inevitable realities of pragmatic adaptation means that various characters have to be omitted and reworked and reconfigured so that the series of films makes sense on its own terms.

Red Riding: 1983 isn’t quite a flawless resolution to the trilogy, but it does enough things with enough skill that feels satisfying. A few contrivances feel a little awkward or cheesy, and some of the plot points feel a little too obvious and easy, but the cast and the characters are strong enough to carry this ambitious series past the finish line.

Good Jobson…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anand Tucker, appeal, arts, batman begins, Big Bad Wolf, Clare, Craven, Crewe, david morrissey, David Peace, film, Leonard Cole, Little Red Riding Hood, London, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Morrissey, Movie, non-review review, Peter Hunter, Red Riding, review, Royal Courts of Justice, Solicitor | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Darren

The Deep Blue Sea has two reasonably solid leading performances and some nice enough direction, but it suffers because it can’t convince us to are about any of its central characters. We don’t have to like any of the three characters involved in the central love-affair, but there does have to be some hook that grabs us and convinces us to emotionally engage and invest in this post-War exploration of several broken characters. That connection simply isn’t there, and the rest of the movie collapses as a direct result of that absence.

Yeah, she wants to dance with somebody…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Battle of Britain, britain, Britishness, Deep Blue Sea, Esther, film, Flight lieutenant, Freddie, Hester, London, Movie, non-review review, rachel weisz, review, romeo + juliet, Royal Air Force, Samuel Barber, Supermarine Spitfire, tom hiddleston, world war ii | Leave a comment »

The Judas Kiss at the Gaiety Theatre (Review)

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Darren

Rupert Everett is amazing as Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss, with the veteran actor’s enthusiasm for all things Wildean seeping into the very fabric of David Hare’s examination of the Irish writer’s tragedy (or folly, depending on how sympathetic you are). Ably supported by fantastic ensemble, lavish set design and solid direction, The Judas Kiss is a rare theatrical pleasure. David Hare’s script manages to entertain and engage without ever seeming to pander, or without ever seeming too forced or obvious, and Everett provides a stunning portrait of a man struggling with his own ideas of fate and determinism.

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: Cal MacAninch, David Hare, Freddie Fox, Judas Kiss, London, oscar wilde, rupert everett, wilde | Leave a comment »

Tomb of Dracula Omnibus, Vol. III (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Darren

Darkness spreads across the land like a bone-chilling evening mist. It swirls, boils and froths.

Then, at the moment when midnight madness is at its greatest, the darkness takes form and substance and becomes a thing of hell-born horror.

This is… THE TOMB OF DRACULA.

Pray you can avoid its deadly embrace…

Sometimes classic movie monsters just look better in black and white, eh? Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan told pretty much a complete Tomb of Dracula epic in the seventy issues of the main title produced in the previous two omnibus collections. This third gigantic tome collects a lot of what might be considered “a Tomb of Dracula miscellany”, collecting various odds and ends from Marvel’s Draculacomics during the seventies to sort of expand and enhance the story told in the main title. It isn’t as consistent as that seventy-issue run, with a variety of weaving story threads, one-shots, text stories and a variety of artistic and authorial talent, but it’s still an interesting look at Marvel’s horror comics during the seventies.

Feed your Dracula addiction!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: adam sandler, arts, black swan, Bram Stoker, Colan, Colin Callender, dracula, Exorcist, gene colan, green lantern, hbo, horror, Hotel Transylvania, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, London, Marv Wolfman, marvel comics, NBC, Romania, Selena Gomez, Tomb of Dracula, Vlad, wolfman | 1 Comment »

A View to a Bond Baddie: Dr. Julius No

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate James Bond’s 50th birthday on screen, we’re going to take a look at the character and his films. We’ve already reviewed all the classic movies, so we’ll be looking at his iconic baddies, and even at the character himself.

In many ways, Dr. No feels like a rather strange first instalment for a franchise that has managed to persist from half a century. Many of the trademarks we associate with the series are absent. There’s no pre-credits sequence. No powerful theme song involving the title of the film. Even the music playing over that iconic gun barrel shot sounds weird. There are no gadgets and gizmos, save for a Geiger Counter. The movie’s iconic Bond girl, Honey Rider, only shows up past the mid-point of the film.

As such, it’s amazing that the Bond villain emerged almost fully formed, with Dr. No providing perhaps the archetypal James Bond baddie.

He didn’t spend 6 years in evil physics school to be called “Mister”…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alan moore, bond, British Agent, Dr. No, evil, games, james bond, Kingsley Amis, league of extraordinary gentlemen, London, Spy Who Loved Me, you only live twice | 1 Comment »

Film Adaptation of the Play “Kursk” Streaming at the Space From Tomorrow…

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Darren

Every once in a while, somebody passes on a bit of information to the site that I think is worth sharing, just because it’s kinda a little bit cool and a little bit fascinating. In May, the British Arts Council and the BBC launched The Space, an on-line hub for the arts – available to stream on-line for free. It’s an absolutely fantastic way of sharing the arts with people who honestly wouldn’t get a chance to see them otherwise. (Especially at the moment, when the economy is the way that it is.) Starting tomorrow, The Space will be streaming a film adaptation of a play Kursk, based around the infamous Russian submarine disaster.

Image: Kursk Photographer: Keither Pattison

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: Anthony, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Cleopatra, Evening Standard Award, Krymsk, Kursk, London, may, Russia, Russian language, space, Sydney Opera House, United States, Vladimir Putin, William Shakespeare, Young Vic | Leave a comment »

Win! Storage 24 Goodies!

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Darren

Storage 24, the latest British horror film, is opening this Friday the 29th June. Directed by Johannes Roberts and starring Noel Clarke (Kidulthood, Adulthood and Doctor Who) along with Colin O’Donoghue (The Rite), the film takes place a twenty-four-hour storage facility that receives an unexpected guest. To celebrate the release of the film, the fine folks over at Universal Pictures Ireland have given us five prize packs to give away. Each one includes: