Posted on June 2, 2011 by Darren
How To Train Your Dragon is, at its core, the story of a boy and his dog. Except his dog happens to be a dragon. It is a well-cast, well-made and well-written little film that actually manages to have a lot more emotional depth than the majority of Dreamworks films, even if it doesn’t quite approach the wonderful sophistication that Pixar manage to produce about once a year. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s fun – a wonderfully crafted piece of family entertainment.
An all-time high for Dreamworks?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, art, cgi, david tennant, Dragon, dragons, dreamworks, film, films, gerard butler, How to Train Your Dragon, Jay Baruchel, Movies, non-review review, review, toothless, Viking, Vikings | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 2, 2011 by Darren
It happens every so often, to the extent that I’m actually quite used to it. I’ll be either listening to Michael Jackson on my headphones, or mention in passing a bit of trivia, or name the musician as one of the most impressive of all time. And, undoubtedly, there will always be someone who will retort with, “Yeah, but he was a pedophile.” And that will be that – pretty much everything that Jackson has accomplished will be a moot point. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing one way or a nother, I just feel a little bit curious as to where the line between what happened in real life can prevent or undermine an artist’s work.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: controversies, controversy, ewan mcgregor, Gary Glitter, Hangover Part II, heath ledger, john landis, Mel Gibson, meta, Michael Jackson, Movies, reality, roman polanski | 6 Comments »
Posted on May 30, 2011 by Darren
I’m about half-a-year behind on this, I must confess. Back in January, the wonderful Katie over at Stories That Really Mattered asked a bunch of bloggers to come out in favour of one of the two major comic book companies, with an open invitation for other members of the community to participate. I’d like to pretend that I took so long to consider my own response because I’m cool (and cool people arrive late to the hottest parties), but the truth is I’ve just been a bit run off my feet these past few months. I was never cool, but I’ve learned to accept that.
However, in this season of blockbuster comic book movies, I thought it might be interesting to reflect on whether I am a bigger fan of Marvel, or DC. Given how close both are to my heart, expect a fair bit of waffle. Okay, a bit morewaffle than usual.
Let's not cloud the issue...
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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: comic, comic book movies, comic books, dc comics, fantastic four, Gail Simone, justice league, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, Movies, Paul Cornell, robert downey jr, spider man, superhero movies, wonder woman | 11 Comments »
Posted on May 27, 2011 by Darren
You know, I wonder from time-to-time how close I am to the experience of a regular movie-goer. Sure, I blog and I write, but I don’t get scoops and I don’t do exclusives. I essentially keep myself as up-to-date on the latest Hollywood happenings as any avid film fan. So, I wonder how close the avid film fan is to the typical movie-goer. I mean, how many people who wouldn’t consider themselves “movie nerds” or “film geeks” check out film sites regularly? How many of those actually seek out (or randomly stumble across) spoilers for films that are still in pre-production? What is the average film fan’s experience with movie news? How do they decide what to see?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, audiences, Cultures and Groups, film, films, hollywood, Movie, Movie theater, movie-goers, Movies, review, They (2002 film) | 11 Comments »
Posted on May 26, 2011 by Darren
Robert Downey Jr. apparently once described the film as “possibly the worst action movie of all time.” That’s quite a statement. Too be honest, it’s just a little bit sensationalist from the actor, but it still doesn’t mean that U.S. Marshals is a good film, even on its own merits. When it stands in the shadow of the movie it was intended to follow, the superb Harrison Ford adaptation of The Fugitive, it seems even weaker.
They had some neck making this film...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, Fugitive, harrison ford, jay & silent bob strike back, Movies, non-review review, review, Richard Kimble, robert downey, robert downey jr, spin-off, Stuart Baird, the fugitive, tommy lee jones, U.S. Marshals, Wesley Snipes | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 24, 2011 by Darren
“It happened again,” Phil whines over the phone to his buddy’s wife during the opening sequence of The Hangover, Part II. Of course it did, that’s the entire point of the sequel. The movie unashamed offers fans pretty much what they might expect from the sequel to a relatively high concept comedy: “more of the same.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing – moments of the film had me rolling around from side to side to side, attempting to figure out if it was hilarious or just plain wrong – but it does mean the film lacks a lot of the originality and sense of freshness that made the first one such a beloved comedy classic.
Bangkok Dangerous?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adam west, alan, Bangkok, bradley cooper, Ed Helms, films, Hangover, Justin Bartha, Movies, non-review review, review, Thailand, the hangover 2, the hangover part 2, Zach Galifianakis | 10 Comments »
Posted on May 24, 2011 by Darren
I’m going to be a bit of killer jo here and admit that I didn’t really “get” Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, so it’s no surprise that the latest movie from the creative team leaves me cold. That sort of overly understated sense of humour feels a bit old at this stage, as if we’ve seen it once too often. There’s a sense that the movie somehow recognises this, and decided to augment those awkward silences with incredibly gross and juvenile humour.
Grabbing the stag by the horns...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, fantasy, fantasy novels, fiction, films, Gentlemen Broncos, humour, jemaine clement, macgruber, Movies, Nacho Libre, non-review review, review, sam rockwell, science fiction | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 23, 2011 by Darren
Well, blockbuster season is really kicking into swing at the moment. Next week will see the release of X-Men: First Class, which will be the second major superhero movie of the summer, following Branagh’s superb Thor. There are two more due to touch down before the end of the blockbuster season, Green Lantern and Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s fascinating how large the superhero genre has grown in recent years, to the point where one might legitimately argue that it has subgenres. Part of me wonders if this particular blockbuster fad is approaching its climax – if the superhero movie might out-stay its welcome, and go the way of the Western.
Is the superhero genre's blackest night ahead?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Batman in film, captain america: the first avenger, Christopher Nolan, Dolph Lundgren, films, genre, green lantern, Movies, richard donner, sam raimi, superhero, superheroes, western, X-Men (film) | 12 Comments »
Posted on May 23, 2011 by Darren
It’s strange. I always feel a flutter of uncertainty when I prepare to tackle a film I hold in particularly high esteem on this blog. Perhaps it’s the fact that I worry I might not be entirely objective, or perhaps it’s the fear that I’ll embarrass myself with a particular film, or perhaps it’s just the worry that I really don’t have anything worth committing to the internet. Pulp Fiction is a film that has been loved and hated, picked apart and put back together, critiqued and venerated, and I’m really not sure that I have any particularly insightful observations to make about Quentin Tarantino’s palme d’or winning film.
I'll be brief...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: david mamet, dialogue, Film noir, films, joss whedon, los angeles, McDonalds, Movies, non-review review, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, review, tom stoppard, vince vega | 11 Comments »
Posted on May 18, 2011 by Darren
The Offence was reportedly one of the pictures that MGM agreed to fund for Sean Connery in order to get the veteran actor to sign on to reprise the role of James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. While the film is too slow, methodical and restrained to really qualify as an undisputed classic, I do sleep just a little bit better for knowing that something good came from Connery signing on to play Bond once more. (Although, to be fair, he also donated his salary to charity, so that speaks to his character as well.)
Gripping drama...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: al pacino, arts, drama, film, films, james bond, Movies, non-review review, play, review, sean connery, Sidney Lumet, The Offence, Trevor Howard | Leave a comment »
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