Posted on August 12, 2011 by Darren
The obvious point of comparison for Takers is The Town, Ben Affleck’s bank-robbing thriller that opened around the same time. However, I think it’s a misleading comparison, if only because Affleck’s film feels far more specific and nuanced in scope than this heist thriller. Instead, I think the best point of reference for this particular feature film is to consider is as “Heat for the MTV generation.” Of course, any film’s going to come out quite badly from that synopsis, but I do think it’s fair, as it speaks to both the strengths and (perhaps more importantly) the weaknesses of this particular film.
Are the crew being taken for a ride?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, bank robbery, ben affleck, fiction, film, Idris Elba, los angeles, Matt Dillon, Montage (filmmaking), Movie, Movies, non-review review, Online Writing, review, Rosemarie DeWitt, SAT, Takers, the wire, United States, Wire | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 12, 2011 by Darren
I want to like Ninja Assassin. I want a nice, pulpy, old-school hyper-violent throw-back like the title suggested. The two words thrown together don’t necessarily evoke the imagery of classic cinema, but they at least promise a reasonably diverting action thriller. However, it seems that nobody told the writer and director this. Despite it’s surprisingly direct title, the movie is just one big bloated mess, which seems to aspire to a complexity that nobody expects of it, and fails miserably. There seem to be occasional moments where the film grabs the potential of the concept, acknowledging a sort of Tarantino-light nostalgic approach to pop culture trash, but most of the film takes itself far too seriously, but without the skill necessary to succeed as the film it seems to want to be.
All fired up...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Europol, film, films, kung-fu, martial arts, Movie, Movies, Ninja, Ninja Assassin, non-review review, review, sin city, thriller | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 5, 2011 by Darren
There’s Something About Mary is easily one of my favourite comedies of all time. I don’t like to think I’m especially crass or low-brow, and I don’t have much love for the work of the Farrelly Brothers outside this film (though Dumb and Dumber was charming while Kingpinwasn’t all bad). However, there’s just something so wonderfully chaotic and random about the wit on display in the film, which manages to encompass old-fashioned physical slapstick, situation comedy, grossout humour, character-based laughs and all manner of subversive charm. All those elements and styles are at play in the film, under the watchful eye of the Farrelly Brothers conducting: they know it would be too easy to hit a bum note, but instead they manage to keep pretty much everything playing in symphony.
Had me hooked from the start...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben stiller, Casey Affleck, eddie murphy, Farrelly Brothers, film, Jonathan Richman, Matt Dillon, Movie, non-review review, review, Sarah Silverman, There's Something About Mary, Tower Heist | Leave a comment »
Posted on August 2, 2011 by Darren
Super 8 is a love letter to film. It’s an ode to the trashy, forgettable – yet still endearing – stuff, like a bunch kids screwing around with an obvious fixation on the work of George A. Romero. It’s also a sweet tribute to the film that emotionally connects with us, like the footage of a long lost relative projected against a wall, almost convincing us for a second that they’re still with us. JJ Abrams might consciously evoke early Spielberg with his style, but it’s only to celebrate the common ground they both share, the believe that film is truly powerful and emotion medium, one that strikes a chord on the most improbable of notes, teaching us life lessons and engaging us in nothing short of magic. The posters and trailers might convince you that Super 8 is a classic monster movie with seventies trappings – and it is – but it’s also that other difficult-to-get-quite-genre, the coming-of-age tale. Just one that features giant monsters.
Nice camera work...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Elle Fanning, film, george a. romero, J. J. Abrams, jj abrams, Joe Lamb, Michael Giacchino, Movie, non-review review, review, steven spielberg, super 8, Super 8 mm film | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 2, 2011 by Darren
I have a soft spot for Enemy of the State, I must confess. Perhaps it’s the opportunity to see Will Smith in a great leading role, perhaps it’s the fact that this is one of those movies that actually became far more relevant after its release, or perhaps it’s the superb ensemble assembled by Tony Scott. I don’t know, I think it’s a lot of those things together, but – along with Scott’s superb Crimson Tide – I think that Enemy of the State can easily be considered one of the best things that Jerry Bruckheimer ever put his name too.
Brill dishes the dirt...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Crimson Tide, enemy of the state, enemy of the state (film), film, Jake Busey, Jerry Bruckheimer, jon voight, Movie, non-review review, patriot act, political, politics, review, Scott Caan, tony scott, Wild Wild West, will smith | 9 Comments »
Posted on July 30, 2011 by Darren
Hey, I was invited to take part in the latest movie blogger meme by the wonderful Marc over at Go, See, Talk. The idea is to pretend you run a movie theatre and schedule a week of double-bills for that cinema. There are no other rules, save for the fact that you run a triple-feature on Sunday. So I peered into an alternate universe where I was allowed any sort of responsibility, and came back with a handy brochure for Cine-Moi, the exclusive high-end movie theatre experience that my alternate self has somehow bamboozled his way into running (not into the ground… so far). Let’s see what a typical movie schedule might look like.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2001: A Space Odyssey (film), arts, cinema, Clint Eastwood, david cronenberg, Double Feature Blog-A-Thon, Movie, Saturday morning cartoon, sergio leone, Theaters, Theatre | 25 Comments »
Posted on July 29, 2011 by Darren
Do you know what I hate? I hate it when people ask, completely seriously, “why don’t they make movies like [insert classic here]?” anymore, or whenever anybody goes on about the “mindless franchise trash”that Hollywood pumps into cinemas year-in and year-out. It tends to happen quite frequently, when you hear movie commentators or viewers discuss the latest crop of empty and disappointing summer blockbusters, with the default position seeming to be an attack on modern Hollywood as an institution, bemoaning the decline of movie-making standards and an unchallenged assertion that old movies are – undeniably – better. I’m not arguing that Hollywood can’t do better, but I find this fixation on things past to be quite disconcerting – and, I’d suggest, rather depressing. Why are we more focused on what Hollywood was rather than what it could be?
Frankly my dear, I think it's a depressing outlook...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: American Film Institute, arts, Batman in film, Christopher Nolan, film, hollywood, Movie, Movies, reviews, stanley kubrick, Top Lists, Wizard of Oz | 9 Comments »
Posted on July 28, 2011 by Darren
You know what? Even though history and experience has retroactively soured the movie, with M. Night Shyamalan’s career entering freefall and Mel Gibson’s personal problems clouding his career, I kinda like Signs. In fact, I’d go so far as to argue that the movie represents Shymalan’s last good film. That said, it’s a well-constructed and engaging little thriller that is, unfortunately, hugely flawed. Some of these flaws are so fundamental that they’re hard to ignore, but I think that this movie was the last time that Shyamalan demonstrated a real organic talent and skill for film making.
Shine a light on it...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: abigail breslin, Alien invasion, aliens, belief, film, Filmmaking, films, Joaquin Phoenix, M. Night Shyamalan, Mel Gibson, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, Rory Culkin, signs, Sixth Sense, spirituality, the war of the worlds, unbreakable, war of the worlds | 2 Comments »
Posted on July 26, 2011 by Darren
If ever there was a movie that demonstrated that you need more than a single great idea to make a good movie, I think No Strings Attached is really it. It basically takes the conventional romantic comedy and reverses the traditional gender roles that have ben reinforced for centuries. Instead of an emotionally-needy woman being paired with a commitment-phobe man, this time we see a free-and-easy lady hooking up with a guy who simply wants more. In fairness to it, it’s a nice way to distinguish the comedy conceptually from the standard rom-com template, but the problem is that it’s executed in the most mundane and half-interested fashion ever, substituting vulgar and crass jokes for actual humour and development.
Is she stringing him along?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adam, Ashton Kutcher, black swan, film, Friend With Benefits, Friends With Benefits, ivan reitman, Love And Other Drugs, mila kunis, Movie, Natalie Portman, No strings attached, non-review review, review, romance, Romantic comedy film | 2 Comments »
Posted on July 19, 2011 by Darren
“You can’t win a marathon without putting some bandaids on your nipples!” Dave Harkin, the “psycho” boss of Nick Hendricks, insists throughout the movie. It’s curious, because Horrible Bosses feels like a movie pacing itself for a marathon – and that’s not a bad thing at all. It’s consistently funny, with the humour spread evenly over most of the runtime. It’s hard to point to particularly brilliant sequences that had the audience in stitches, but instead the room was constantly giggling throughout. It’s a solidly entertaining comedy, which makes the most of a clever premise and superb cast, even if it does falter just a little bit as it reaches the finish line.
Spacey is boss...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Charlie Day, CharlieDay, colin farrell, film, Good Girl, Horrible Bosses, jason bateman, Jason Sudeikis, JasonSudeikis, jennifer aniston, kevin spacey, KevinSpacey, Movie, non-review review, review, Seth Gordon | 6 Comments »
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