Posted on May 20, 2010 by Darren
I am a child of the eighties. It’s a bit of an irony that I am too young to actually recall any of the decade, but still feel more than a pang of nostalgia about it. Evidently I’m not the only one. Perhaps it’s in recognition of the turn of a new decade or the rise of a younger generation, but even a cursory glance at the big budget blockbusters coming our way this summer reveal that the times, they are a-changing. No longer is our fascination with quirky seventies sex comedies or gritty urban cop dramas of that decade: this year, we’re going back to the eighties.
The Expendables is a blast from the past...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: action movies, blockbusters, films, hot tub time machine, macgruber, macgyver, Movies, nostalgia, predator, predators, prince of persia, remakes, retro, sylvester stallone, the a-team, the eighties, the expendables, the past | 7 Comments »
Posted on May 19, 2010 by Darren
I just belatedly saw the Inception trailer last week. My first reaction is just… well, I can’t quite do it justice in printed form, so I guess “wow” will have to do. It’s my single most anticipated movie of the year, but I haven’t really written about it. I haven’t written about it because it’s all been (and will likely continue being) played close to Christopher Nolan’s chest. We only just recently got a plot synopsis, for a movie now two months away. And, you know what? I love it.
I'll be sitting these spoilers out...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, blogging, Christopher Nolan, cinema, Inception, Movies, spoiler, spoilers | 9 Comments »
Posted on May 18, 2010 by Darren
I’ve been thinking (dangerous, I know). Specifically about Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. I’m going to be honest with you, I was more than a little surprised at the way the film was put together. The film is, to borrow from the parlance of the times, an “origin” story. It’s about Robin, but before he was Robin. There is a single robbery over the entire course of the film, and it doesn’t really amount to much – it’s hardly the stuff of infamy. Instead, Robin is off doing battle with the French in a very manly, water-logged fashion. I tried to judge the film on its own merits (and I think my review is fair), but I’ve found myself thinking over the same question a lot since I saw it: Aren’t a lot of people going to be disappointed that there’s essentially little-to-none of the conventional tropes of a Robin Hood movie present?
Bringing the Hurt...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: audience expectations, audiences, expectations, films, imagery, Movies, ridley scoot, robin hood, russell crowe, tropes | 7 Comments »
Posted on May 17, 2010 by Darren
Jon Favreau has effectively confirmed that “the Mandarin” will be the villain for Iron Man 3. Of course, the fact that this particular opponent has been the character’s arch nemesis means that we would have expected him on celluloid long before this – most superhero movies take great joy in using the archnemesis for the original film, after all (Batman Begins managed to just about do without the Joker, but arguably only because he’d already done Batman). Part of the reason it may have taken so long to transition this particular character to the big screen may have something to do with his origins: essentially the character is a yellow peril villain (as the name implies), who was arguably long out of date when he was introduced, let alone now. Favreau has, diplomatically, acknowledged that the character is going to take great care to get ready for a film role, and it got us thinking: how do we deal with long term and iconic characters who may reflect concepts that we aren’t particularly comfortable with right now?
Yep, this doesn't conjure up any unfortunate implications at all...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: fu manchu, iron man, iron man 2, iron man 3, john favreau, jon favreau, mandarin, Movies, racial stereotypes, racist, stereotypes, the mandarin, yellow peril | 10 Comments »
Posted on May 13, 2010 by Darren
Occasionally something small and quirky comes to my attention which I can’t help but post here. In this case, it’s a unique (and clever) way of advertising Iron Man 2. Sure, it would be better if they spelt Terrence correctly, but who am I to judge?
I found this over on Rope of Silicon.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, iron man 2, meme, Movies, terrance howard, terrence howard | 25 Comments »
Posted on May 13, 2010 by Darren
The second of the blockbusters arrives, celebrating the true arrival of summer. Chosen to open Cannes and featuring a return of the powerhouse pairing of maestro Ridley Scott and love-‘im-or-hate-‘im matinee icon Russell Crowe in a historic setting brimming with action potential and historic appeal, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot of pressure on the iconic outlaw, Robin Hood. So does he carry it off as confidently as he carries off that bow-and-arrow?
Boy in da Hood...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: blockbuster, cate blanchet, cate blanchett, film, gladiator, historical, Movies, non-review review, review, ridley scott, robin hood, russell crowe | 15 Comments »
Posted on May 11, 2010 by Darren
A little while ago, I mumbled something about how ‘failure’ didn’t really mean much, despite how often the term was thrown around in discussions about films like Watchmen and Kick-Ass. They generally made their money back, received cult attention and didn’t enter the history books as massive wastes of time or energy – which I figured was kinda fair given that neither example was a box office bomb in the style of, say, Motherhood, Uma Thurman’s last film (opening weekend of £88 at the UK box office – I’m not kidding and I didn’t omit an ‘m’). Still, it looks like success isn’t a particularly better deal, given what is circulating on the web regarding Iron Man 2 and its opening weekend – just shy of $130m, I believe. When is success not success?
There may be blood in the water... but Ivan isn't the only shark circling...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2D, 3d, box office, box office records, cinema, failure, films, iron man, iron man 2, Movies, records, success, thor | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 8, 2010 by Darren
This is one of my entries on the latest cross-blogging event, tracking down some of the most overrated movies of all time. It’s being run by Mike over at You Talking to Me. I can’t spoil the list by giving you any of the other titles, but I did take a quick look at Spider-Man‘s legacy earlier in the week.
I love Toy Story. I love Toy Story II even more. I am anticipating Toy Story III with baited breath. I adore Pixar. The only two films they’ve produced that fall short of excellence (in my opinion) are Cars and A Bug’s Life and both are still above average as films go. So it may seem odd to critique the legacy of perhaps the first great computer animated film – but this is a strange world we live in. Think about it, though. Pixar have essentially killed conventional animated films – at least in this part of the world.
Computer-generated animation spreads its wings...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: animation, cgi, computer animation, conventional animation, disney, dreamworks, films, Movies, pixar, toy story, toy story 2, toy story 3 | 8 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2010 by Darren
I’m sucker for things that go bump in the night. It’s a personal thing. Some people are inherently weirded out by the very idea of zombies or insects or serial killers, but it’s ghosts (or demons or “spiritual presences” or whatever euphemism you wish to use) in their purest forms which terrify me. It’s a matter of personal horror preference – I can (admittedly reluctantly) take copious amounts of gore and graphic violence and, while I may flinch, I’ll shrug it off. It may get me while I’m watching it and I may even look away like a big baby, but it doesn’t really bother me. Give me something just a bit more abstract and I’ll spend the night shivering. So Paranormal Activity was right up my street, then?
A new house can be hell on a relationship...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: films, horror, Movies, non-review review, paranormal activity, review | 9 Comments »
Posted on May 5, 2010 by Darren
It’s hard to believe in retrospect, but the movie that kick started the whole superhero movie subgenre is nothing but a gigantic, big budget B-movie. And, trust me, that’s a compliment.
I guess this is a web review (geddit?)...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, green goblin, jk simmons, marvel, Movies, non-review review, review, sam raimi, spider man, willem dafoe | 6 Comments »
the m0vie blog 