Movie | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Oblivion

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Darren

Director Joseph Kosinski wears his science-fiction interests on his sleeve. Tron: Legacy was obviously an update of an eighties science-fiction cult classic, and Oblivion feels like another form of pulpy homage. At its best, Oblivion feels like a spiritual successor to those wonderful cult science-fiction movies of the seventies and eighties, by way of classic version of The Outer Limits. Oblivion isn’t the strongest piece of science-fiction I’ve seen this year, nor the most ambitious, nor the most intelligent.

The movie is full of twists and turns, but few that any genre aficionado will fail to see coming. Instead, the movie largely works because it feels like an affectionate homage to those old-school post-apocalyptic pulpy sci-fi adventures. It’s cinematic nostalgia, but it’s lovingly crafted and skilfully rendered. Kosinski might not be the best storyteller working in the business, but he has a wonderful eye and keen sense of how to construct a beautiful scene.

On top (what remains of) the world…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Andrea Riseborough, Cruise, film, imax, Joseph Kosinski, Kosinski, Movie, non-review review, Oblivion, Olga Kurylenko, outer limits, review, science fiction, tom cruise, tron, tron: legacy | 4 Comments »

Stan Lee’s Iron Man – The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Darren

To get ready for Iron Man 3, we’ll be taking a look at some Iron Man and Avengers stories, both modern and classic. We hope to do two or three a week throughout the month, so check back regularly for the latest update.

Working in collaboration with a stable of fantastic artists, Stan Lee created so many iconic characters and franchises at Marvel Comics that you could easily believe that everything he touched turned to gold. His work on The Fantastic Four, Thor and The Avengers with Jack Kirby so perfectly captured the sci-fi spirit of the sixties, and his creation of The Amazing Spider-Man with Steve Ditko redefined comic books, so it’s hard not to imagine that everything Lee set his mind to worked out perfectly.

Of course, inevitably, there were books that didn’t quite work right out of the gate. While his first reboot of Captain America was so awkward that he had to retroactively re-write the stories to feature a crazed Captain America impersonator, a lot of these titles were given the time and space necessary to try to figure out how to make them work. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Lee was quite sentimental towards some of his creations, with the awkward development history of The Incredible Hulk suggesting that Lee was going to try to figure out any way to make that character gel.

The Invincible Iron Man was never quite that troublesome, but he also never entirely clicked under Lee’s pen. While none of the character’s re-tools and re-workings are as severe as the kind of things that Marvel tried to do with the Hulk, there’s a very clear sense – reading this mammoth collection of Tales of Suspense short stories – that Lee wasn’t entirely sure about how to write Iron Man.

I am Iron Man!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: captain america, crimson dynamo, egypt, Gargantus, genghis khan, Gwyneth Paltrow, iron man, iron man 2, mandarin, marvel comics, Movie, Red Barbarian, robert downey, Rock Hudson, stan lee, Tales of Suspense, thor, tony stark | 5 Comments »

Roger Ebert

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Darren

I’ve been away for a while, with personal stuff, so this is quite late. Which is probably for the best, as I don’t think I can really say too much about Ebert that hasn’t already been said by so many more eloquent individuals all around the internet.

Roger Ebert meant a lot to me. It’s no real exaggeration to suggest that he was the first real American film critic that I noticed. Obviously, I grew up with British and Irish film critics on television and radio. I was fond of (and am still fond of) Barry Norman, Jonathan Ross, Mark Kermode and Dave Fanning among others. However, Ebert was the first American film critic who really resonated with me.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: barry norman, Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, Cinema of the United States, dave fanning, ebert, film, film criticism, Gene Siskel, Internet Movie Database, jonathan ross, mark kermode, Movie, Movies, roger ebert, Saving Private Ryan, United States | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Omega Man

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Darren

The Omega Man remains, perhaps, the most high-profile adaptation of Richard Matheson’s genre-busting vampire sci-fi survivalist novel, I Am Legend. Of course, the film has little resemblance to Matheson’s truly iconic piece of literature, save for the basic premise. Charleton Heston is Robert Neville, the last man alive in a world of monsters. While I Am Legend is a bold and thought-provoking exploration of the implications of that idea, The Omega Man seems to have no loftier goal than simply telling an entertaining apocalyptic yarn. There’s nothing wrong with that, but – much like Robert Neville himself – The Omega Man is haunted by the ghost of what could have been.

Goodbye to all of that…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anthony Zerbe, art, arts, Audio, austin powers, bbc, Boris Sagal, Charlton Heston, Consumer Electronics, doctor, film, Heston, I Am Legend (film), Jon Pertwee, los angeles, Movie, music, Neville, non-review review, Omega Man, Omega Seamaster, review, richard matheson, Robert Neville, Rosalind Cash, Shopping, Third Doctor, Woodstock | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Trance

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Darren

Trance is a dirty, messy little film. I’m not talking in terms of gore or graphic violence – although there is a surprising amount on display here. Instead, Trance feels like Danny Boyle is trying to get back in touch with his roots, the sort of stylishly shot, haphazardly structured and uncomfortably candid films from his earlier career. Boyle has, after all, gone from an underground auteur to a part of the cinematic establishment.

After all, we’re no longer talking about the director you constructed such grubby little pleasures as Shallow Grave or Trainspotting. Danny Boyle has an Oscar on his mantelpiece for Slumdog Millionaire, and a two nominations for 127 Hours. This is a man who organised and oversaw the London Olympics last year. You don’t get more legitimate or mainstream than that. Trance reads like an attempt by Boyle to prove that he hasn’t ventured too far away from his cinematic origins, and can still turn out a grubby little niche thriller starring a cast of sociopaths just waiting for an excuse to turn on one another.

Trance lacks the broad appeal of Slumdog Millionaire or even 127 Hours, but I’d be lying if I said I could resist its trashy pulpy charms. There’s a thrill here in watching the cinematic sleight of hand, observing as a veteran master of illusion proves he still can handle the old standards. It isn’t anything new or revolutionary, and there’s the constant threat that it might unravel at any given moment, but the thrill of Trance is watching Boyle trying to hold it all together. He doesn’t quite make it look effortless, but he gets there in the end.

It’s a frame!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 127 hours, Academy Award, Anthony Dod Mantle, Boyle, danny boyle, Derren Brown, film, Hypnotherapy, james mcavoy, Jenga, Jon Harris, Movie, non-review review, rosario dawson, Shallow Grave, slumdog millionaire, Trance, Vincent Cassel | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Thing (2011)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Darren

The reflexive reaction to a film like the 2011 version of The Thing is one of scepticism. There’s something very strange about seeing a movie that had been relatively unloved on initial release garnering the remake/prequel treatment, an attempt to cash in on its cult success by turning it into a franchise. And, to be fair, a lot of that cynicism is justified by The Thing. There are times when it seems like – despite the obvious affection for the original horror master piece held by the writers and the director – that nobody really has any idea why John Carpenter’s The Thing has become such an iconic piece of cinematic horror.

There are some nice touches here, and it seems like director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is genuine in his love of the classic body horror. Unfortunately, it feels like the finished product is more the result of mechanical number-crunching than honest enthusiasm.

All fired up…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Carpenter, cgi, Computer-generated imagery, Deadline, film, horror, Horror film, Joel Edgerton, John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Movie, Movies, non-review review, Norwegian, prequel, review, Thing, Ulrich Thomsen | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: A Late Quartet

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Watching A Late Quartet, you can almost read the text the text of the “for your consideration” letters, advertisements and press releases. This is, after all, the story of a classical music quartet dealing with the fallout when their cellist discovers that he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The cellist’s announcement that he will be departing the group causes each of the other three members to question their role in the ensemble, and even where their lives have brought them. It is, very much, an invitation for melodrama, and the script takes up that invitation with considerable enthusiasm. However, despite (or perhaps because of) the script’s decision to embrace that melodrama, A Late Quartet serves as a fascinating showcase for a rather wonderful ensemble.

Music, sweet music…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Catherine Keener, Cello, christopher walken, classical music, Daniel, film, Imogen Poots, Late Quartet, Mark Ivanir, Movie, non-review review, Parkinson, Parkinson's disease, Peter, philip seymour hoffman, Press release, review, Robert, Wallace Shawn | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Tower Heist

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Darren

Hollywood has always had a strange way of reacting to current trends and realities as they exist outside the multiplex. Films tend to take a while to react to shifting cultural phenomena. That said, changes in response to particular incidents can be relatively swift. Gangster Squad was famously re-shot following the Aurora shootings and released less than a year later. Although still in the early stages of its production, Zero Dark Thirty was heavily re-worked after Osama Bin Ladin had been shot and killed. However, it’s the broader changes that Hollywood takes longer to acknowledge.

The Dark Knight was praised by The Washington Times as “the first great post-Sept. 11 film”, but this was in 2008 – almost seven years after the attacks. The 9/11 zeitgeist still lingers over American film and television. However, it’s telling that – only recently – have we seen reactions to the financial crisis creep into contemporary blockbuster cinema, as the studios try to acknowledge the shifting economic reality.

Tower Heist is very clearly an attempt to capitalise on some of the anger and the hurt generated by the failure of banks and official bodies to protect the average citizen from the financial collapse. It’s confused, muddled and a little disjointed, even if the intentions seem noble. It still feels a little disappointing that it took almost half a decade to produce this rather bland reaction.

A crash course in economics…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Aurora, ben stiller, Casey Affleck, eddie murphy, film, GaboureySidibe, Gangster Squad, hollywood, Jewellery, Julianne Hough, michael pena, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, Ryan Seacrest, Tower Heist, Washington Times, Zero Dark Thirty | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Struck by Lightning

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

The best thing that Struck by Lightning has going for it is Chris Colfer. As a young writer, Colfer’s script is bristling with all manner of acerbic remarks, bitter humour and overdrawn melodrama. The basic ingredients for any half-decent teenage film, to be frank. However, the worst thing that Struck by Lightning has going for it is also Chris Colfer. A better writer than an actor, Colfer finds himself struggling to convince us that his protagonist is worth our time, and finds himself unable to soften the rough edges of his leading character. The result is a film that is quite sharp and well-observed, but which never quite tempers itself properly.

Get the lead out…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Allison Janney, art, Carson, Carson Phillips, Chris Colfer, Colfer, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Lightning, Movie, New Yorker, non-review review, review, Ryan Gosling, Struck By Lightning, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Raven

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Darren

The Raven is one of those concepts that might have been interesting to follow from the pitch phase. It seems almost impossible that anybody thought the movie, in the condition that it was released, was a good idea – so I’m curious at how various people were convinced to sign on and to help shepherd it to the screen. Of course, my inner cynic suggests that money was a prime motivating factor, but it’s very hard to imagine anybody being convinced that “Edgar Allan Poe lives through se7en in 1849 Baltimore” would prove the basis of a massive cash windfall.

There must have been something of interest here, something worthy of attention at some point in the process, rather than just the half-hearted attempt to knock-off one of those nineties serial killer knock-offs with a slight change of scenery.