non-review review | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Darren

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (try saying that ten times fast) is one of those quirky cult movies that has built up a rather large following in the twenty-five-odd years since its initial release. Not withstanding the wonderfully quirky title, the intentionally campy production design, and perfectly awesome cast, it’s easy to see why the movie may have found the niche which cherishes it so much. Unfortunately, it’s also possible to see to see why the movie never found its footing with a larger audience.

Not so fast, Buckaroo...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, buckaroo banzai, Christopher Lloyd, cult film, Doc Savage, Ellen Barkin, film, john lithgow, Movie, non-review review, orson welles, review, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, white house | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: US Marshals

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 »

Non-Review Review: The Hangover, Part II

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 »

Non-Review Review: Gentlemen Broncos

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 »

Non-Review Review: Pulp Fiction

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 »

Non-Review Review: Scream III

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Darren

Today, we’re reviewing the entire Scream trilogy. Sadly, I’ll have to wait to get a look at the latest instalment, but reviews of the first three will be going on-line throughout the day.

There are a lot of problems with Scream 3. It’s overlong, it’s more soap opera than horror, more camp parody than post modern deconstruction. It’s clear from the outset that very few of the people involved in the film had any interest in making it. However, its single most damning problem is that it has become exactly the type of bland and indistinct slasher movie that the first two films picked apart so skilfully.

Taking a stab at the trilogy...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: a nightmare on elm street, columbine, joss whedon, Kevin Williamson, List of Scream characters, Neve Campbell, non-review review, review, Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Slasher film, wes craven | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Scream

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Darren

Today, we’re reviewing the entire Scream trilogy. Sadly, I’ll have to wait to get a look at the latest instalment, but reviews of the first three will be going on-line throughout the day.

It’s hard to really look back at Scream in context these days. It was released in the mid-nineties, a period where the slasher movie had all but died off, after series after series produced weaker and weaker instalments. Audiences had been sort of numbed to the impact of the slasher film as a genre, expecting the bland stock scares, the stereotypical mumbo-jumbo, the teen angst, the sexual politics and even the unstoppable killer. It’s not too much of a stretch to believe that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson intended the movie as something of an epilogue for the genre, a not-too-fond farewell to the type of films that had been churned out since the seventies, with never a hint of growth and development.

A dead line?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: do you like scary movies?, Drew Barrymore, Ghostface, Horror film, horror movies, Kevin Williamson, michael myers, non-review review, review, Scream, Slasher film, slasher movies, wes craven | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Offence

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 »

Non-Review Review: The Queen

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Darren

The middle part of Peter Morgan’s “Blair” trilogy, sitting between The Deal and The Special Relationship, the movie is perhaps better known for its portrayal of the eponymous monarchy than of the controversial British Prime Minister. It’s also a rather wonderful exploration of the British monarchy, and how it struggles to remain in touch with the people that it (nominally, at least) rules, and yet remains heavily insulated from. Taking the death of Princess Diana, perhaps the most trying period in the reign of the current queen, as a jumping-off point, the film wonders what the public expects from their royal family, and how the public and private lives of those born into the family must be balanced.

A skilful portrait...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: britain, British Empire, British people, Deal, Death of Diana Princess of Wales, Diana Princess of Wales, helen mirren, House of Windsor, michael sheen, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, non-review review, peter morgan, princess di, princess diana, review, Special Relationship, stephen frears, the queen, the queen (film), tony blair | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Water for Elephants

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Darren

Water for Elephants is undoubtedly a well made film from a technical point of view. It stylishly evokes a collective memory of Depression-era America with a skilled romanticism, all beautifully staged and designed, scored with music clearly intended to tug at the heart-strings. However, despite the technical proficiency with which the film is crafted, it ends up feeling ultimately quite lifeless, and a little stale – like a mediocre circus, the movie is stylish and momentarily distracting, but it never manages to grasp its audience, or to engage.