Posted on April 19, 2010 by Darren
Let me tell you something: My father was a very big man. And all his life he wore a black mustache. When it was no longer black, he used a small brush, such as ladies use for their eyes. Mascara.
– Robert
The Comfort of Strangers is… a strange film. I can appreciate what it’s doing (or rather what it is trying to do), but it never quite comes together. Perhaps it’s because the movie seems structured as too much of a thought exercise rather than a finished dramatic production. There’s food for thought here, but there’s really not too much else.
Never wander off with strangers... ESPECIALLY if they're Christopher Walken...
Note: I will be discussing the film’s ending, which is kinda important. But don’t worry, I’ll flag it beforehand. Plus, this film is nearly twenty years old, so I figure it’s fair game.
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: christopher walken, comfort of strangers, films, harold pinter, helen mirren, ian mcewan, Movies, natasha richardson, non-review review, paul schrader, review, rupert everett, the comfort of strangers, venice | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 18, 2010 by Darren
Castor over at Anomolous Materials tagged me for the latest internet blogging meme. Basically it asks me to share ten bit of movie trivia about me and then to pass it on. I can’t promise this will be interesting, but here we go…
Darren thinking up movie trivia. Simpson-ness may have been exaggerated.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blogs, film, list, Movies, ten movie facts, trivia | 12 Comments »
Posted on April 17, 2010 by Darren
Cool. When I put together this bad boy last week, not everyone was quite on board, so I went back over it this weekend to add in those I missed. I think I got everyone (as of 6pm on Saturday), but please let me know if I didn’t by leaving a comment. Anyway, here’s the revised list, for those OCD people like myself who want an easy place to follow who took what. Enjoy!
Some more trivia (I like trivia!):
- Lotsa people cheating and bringing whole trilogies. Mostly The Lord of the Rings, although all three individual movies have been brought separately as well.
- Some more people bringing television shows, with The Wire, Arrested Development and The X-Files along for the ride.
- The original Star Wars trilogy has been rounded out.
- X-Men II is the only non-Batman superhero film on the list.
- The Dark Knight is still the most ‘desert-island-able’ film in blogdom.
- Red over at Anomolous Materials wanted to bring The Hobbit on preorder (I assume both movies), but I didn’t count it (in my defence, he’s taking all three Lord of the Rings).
Click the above for a larger image. Thanks again to Andy for all his hard work.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: desert island, desert island discs, desert island dvds, films, lists, Movies | 6 Comments »
Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren
News surfaced earlier in the week that reported Sony are reportedly less than pleased with how The Green Hornet is turning out. What are they unhappy about? Oh yes, the fact that the movie from Seth Rogan and Michael Gondry about a man who fights crime in an emerald business suit with a domino mask and a Japanese man-servant might not be delivered with the poe-faced gravitas that the very concept deserves. Apparently, it’s campy.
Wait, what?
Darker and edgier, what?
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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: batman, comic books, darker, darker and edgier, edgier, films, green hornet, michael gondry, Movies, mvoies, seth rogan, the green hornet | 14 Comments »
Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren
Alternative histories have long been a staple of science fiction. The basic idea is simple enough: take a key moment in history and play it out just a little bit differently (or a lot differently). The Man in the High Castle, the story of how America lost the Second World War, may be the most famous example, but there’s literally a whole subgenre of literary science-fiction based around the idea of playing things out in a way different from how they did. However, this fascination with alternative history never really spilled over into cinema. However, there are slowly emerging signs that audiences may be gradually adjusting to the genre and the potential it offers.
Twenty more years!
Note: This is not to be confused with the historical school of alternative histories, which are all based on perfectly reasonable assumptions, like if a courier who really existed was late or if a wound to a historical figure had been fatal. It seems in mainstream sci-fi these are more likely to involve pepperpot-shaped aliens or glowing blue supermen. So, some historians out there may object to the term – maybe I should use ‘speculative history’ instead. But it’s all semantics.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alternate histories, alternate history, alternative histories, books, Movies, possible history, science fiction, speculative history, Television, the man in the high castle, watchmen, what could have been | 6 Comments »
Posted on April 15, 2010 by Darren
Whiteout is a “just okay” thriller, perfectly average in most areas (but hopelessly deficient in others). Setting a murder-mystery-thriller in the cold icy tundra and in the middle of a storm immediately brings to mind any number of cinematic fore-bearers, virtually all of which are superior to this little film. Perhaps the greatest crime that Whiteout is guilty of, aside from following the usual tropes and conventions too slavishly, is that it just doesn’t do anything with its setting, which seems to want to be distinctive.
Snow wear to go...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: antartic, film, kate beckinsale, Movies, non-review review, reviews, tom skerrit, whiteout | 4 Comments »
Posted on April 12, 2010 by Darren
It’s certainly an interesting concept: it’s the story of a love out of sync – of two individuals who live their lives at different speeds. Claire falls in love with a strange man she met in a meadow when she was growing up – only he hasn’t aged a day. That’s because he’s a time traveler. So, as you can imagine, that throws up more than the usual boundries to romance. In fairness, the movie seems aware of the myriad of possibilities suggested by its premise, but the truth is that it does little more than exploit them for melodrama. Cheap, heavy-handed melodrama.
Stuck in a movie I can't get out of...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: eric bana, films, Movies, non-review review, rachel mcadams, review, The Time Traveler's Wife, time traveler's wife | 4 Comments »
Posted on April 11, 2010 by Darren
The ever wonderful Andy over at Fandango Groovers has put together a rather excellent little project among film bloggers where we’re all essentially playing ‘desert island discs’. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, it sees the person in question stranded on a desert island somewhere with only a handful of items – in this case films. Each person will then choose their own eight films that will presumably see them through the rest of their lives in something resembling tranquility. Of course, the kicker is if we arrive on the island and there’s no DVD player.
The Losties were less than pleased when Darren phoned ahead with his movie choices...
Note: I’ve also compiled a list of movies and bloggers, so you can see if anyone else shared your picks.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: best movies, brazil, castaway, desert island, desert island discs, fandango groovers, films, gattaca, heat, lists, Movies, the big lebowski, The Dark Knight, the godfather, the good the bad & the ugly, the truman show, top tne | 31 Comments »
Posted on April 8, 2010 by Darren
We’re coming into summer blockbuster season. Hell, one might suggest that Kick-Ass has heralded the start of it. If it hasn’t, Clash of the Titans has. That’s if you don’t believe Alice in Wonderland kicked it all into high gear. Anyway, you know what that means – spectacle, lots of it. Some of it incredible, some of it… not so much. The masses flock to the cinema to while away the long summer evenings and movie theatres are filled with the laughter of children (which can be quite irritating to the patrons). It also means that, like the spring lambs, the beautiful cycle of the life and death of film criticism must begin anew. Critics will begin to lament their increasing irrelevance as poor movies make huge sums of money, journalists will light a funeral pyre and some filmmakers like Kevin Smith will gladly join the mob chanting ‘critics are dead’. This fine annual tradition will ebb and flow like the box office fortunes of many an undeserving behemoth. And at the end of it, the critics will still be here.
Why so grim?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ao scott, at the movies, bloggers, blogging, critics, film criticism, film reviews, kevin smith, Movies, new media, reviews, roger ebert, the future of film criticism | 8 Comments »
Posted on April 7, 2010 by Darren
It appears that releasing news that Joss Whedon was in contention for the gig as director of The Avengers on April 1st was just horrible timing – it looks like this particular story might not be a festive-themed joke and might just be something thiat may be actually happening. However, since Marvel’s somewhat shrewd business strategy seems to consist of mentioning a name and dodging the internet backdraft long enough to determine how fans will react, we thought that a Joss Whedon helmed Avengers film might merit some discussion.
Will Joss Whedon assemble the Avengers?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, joss whedon, louis leterrier, marvel, Movies, superheroes, the avengers | 8 Comments »
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