review | the m0vie blog

Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Review)

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Darren

In the lead-up to the release of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, I’m going to be taking a look at Hergé’s celebrated comic book character, from his humble beginnings through to the incomplete post-modern finale. I hope you enjoy the ride.

The Secret of the Unicorn is the basis of the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin, as directed by Steven Spielberg. It will form the basis for the film, along with The Crab With the Golden Claws and the second part of this adventure, Red Rackham’s Treasure. While Cigars of the Pharaoh fed into The Blue Lotus and Tintin in the Congo led into Tintin in America, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure represent the first real two-part story in Hergé’s series, and you can feel the writer appreciating the opportunity to spread his adventure over two volumes of the series.

Set sail for adventure!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, blue lotus, Captain Haddock, Crab With the Golden Claws, Hergé, red rackham, Red Rackham's Treasure, review, Secret of the Unicorn, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, tintin and the secret of the unicorn, tintin: secret of the unicorn | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Remains of the Day

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Darren

It’s a sad truth that Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins are rarely handed roles that allow them to demonstrate their true abilities. The Remains of the Day is an absolutely stunning period drama from Merchant Ivory (which sounds far more impressive than any functional “combination of last names” really should). It’s a rather beautiful look at the classically romantic British character, but also an absolutely scathing attack upon it. It’s a brilliant examination of the inherent tragedy of the stereotypical British detachment, the capacity to maintain emotional distance in order to endure whatever life has to offer. Mister Stevens is the quintessential English butler, but he’s also one of the most tragic central characters I think I’ve seen in quite some time.

All that Remains...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: anthony hopkins, Benn, christopher reeve, emma thompson, film, mister stevens, non-review review, Remains of the Day, review, richard donner, Steven, The Remains of the Day, Versailles Treaty, world war ii | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Cyrus

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Darren

Cyrus is a film that it’s hard to work up passion about in either direction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, to be entirely honest – I don’t actively dislike it or anything like that. It’s just an honest reflection on this attempt to merge the indie “mumblecore” sensibilities with more conventional mainstream movie-making. It’s funny in places, and features a great cast, but it ultimately feels far too self-assured, and more like it’s comfortable with its indie-movie clichés, rather than trying to tell its own story.

Family dysFUNction...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: comedy, cyrus, film, John, john c. reilly, jonah hill, Marisa Tomei, Molly, Movie, non-review review, review, Step Brothers (film) | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Three Musketeers (2011)

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Darren

“Guilty pleasure.” That’s a phrase that feels strangely appropriate when referring to Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers. It’s silly and daft, and has two fairly fundamental flaws, on top of the cheesiness that’s going to divide audiences straight down the middle. However, despite these fairly central and hard-to-avoid problems, it also features a knowing self-awareness, an appealingly straight-forward approach to the fact that is so very silly, a (mostly) great cast and some rather wonderful steam-punk production design. It’s not going to appeal to everybody, but I actually warmed quite a bit to it.

Four of a kind?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, adventure, Alexandre Dumas, camp, cheesy, christoph waltz, films, Logan Lerman, milla jovovich, Movies, non-review review, Orlando Bloom, Paul W.S. Anderson, Ray Stevenson, review, The Three Musketeers, Three Musketeers | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Snake Eyes

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Darren

Snake Eyes could have been a much better movie than it ultimately turned out be. Brian De Palma can be a frustratingly uneven filmmaker, but the basic premise of the movie isn’t sort of promise. A murder mystery and conspiracy thriller in a crowded auditorium, with the investigating officer a corrupt cop? That’s a fairly interesting hook right there, even before you add Nicolas Cage and Gary Sinise to the mix. Unfortunately, the movie never seems entirely sure what it wants to be, ultimately serving as a random mish-mash of different elements that never add up to a conclusive whole.

In the Nic of time...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Brian De Palma, Cage, Conspiracy fiction, De Palma, film, Gary Sinise, Movie, nicolas cage, non-review review, review, Snake Eyes | Leave a comment »

Best Indecision Ever! Movie Reviewers & Fear of Absolutes…

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Darren

I had the pleasure of catching Midnight in Paris at the weekend, and I liked it. I really liked it. I confessed in my review that I thought it was Woody Allen’s best film of the past decade, and – as I left the cinema – I found myself wondering if perhaps it was the best of Allen’s films that I’ve seen. I’ll freely concede that I have yet to work my way through the director’s extensive filmography, but I have been a lot of his more famous and celebrated films like Annie Hall or Manhattan. Still, I feel reluctant to say that, which is admittedly quite strange. I am a movie reviewer (or, if you’ll allow me a hint of pretension, a “critic”) why am I so scared of superlatives?

Simply the best?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Allen, Annie Hall, best, brazil, criticism, film, Manhattan, Midnight in Paris, paris, praise, review, reviews, Woody Allen | 4 Comments »

Tintin: Tintin in America (Review)

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Darren

Tintin in America was the earliest Adventures of Tintin book I read as a child, and I owned the entire collection from this point on (for obvious reasons, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo were not recommended childhood reading). That said, I’ve always regarded Tintin in America as one of the weaker entries in the series, perhaps because my childhood imagination yearned for something relatively more exotic than a trip to North America, or perhaps because the saturation of American pop culture made all the elements Hergé was spoofing seem like old hat. I’m not entirely sure, but I have to admit that the story hasn’t improved too much on re-reading.

America, %&#! Yeah!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, Al Capone, comic books, gangsters, Hergé, history, native americans, peter jackson, racism, review, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, tintin, tintin in america, Tintin in the Congo, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Inbetweeners

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Darren

In fairness to The Inbetweeners, it’s relatively smartly written, well-acted by the cast involved, and entertaining – if incredibly predictable. However, I can’t help but wonder if it feels already outdated – the concept of a bunch of young British males heading to an exotic Mediterranean island as a hedonistic paradise is the kind of thing that already felt old-fashioned when shows like Ibiza Uncovered were all the rage in the late nineties, and we’ve already seen any number of movies on the topic, with Kevin and Perry Go Largeeven adapted from another British television show. The Inbetweeners has enough charm to make it almost to the end, but it just feels much more generic than it really ought to.

Not so fab four...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Channel 4, film, films, Ibiza, Inbetweeners, Kevin & Perry Go Large, Mediterranean Sea, Movies, non-review review, review, The Inbetweeners | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Midnight in Paris

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Darren

A special thanks to the IFI for sneaking us into an advance screening. If you’re interested, they’re hosting a season of actors-turned-directors through October, with Woody Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo among those screening.

“You inhabit two worlds. So far, I see nothing strange.”

“Of course, you’re a Surrealist.”

– Man Ray takes Gil’s time-traveling confession quite well

Woody Allen has, to a greater or lesser extent, been heavily influenced by Europe in the past few years. Ignoring Whatever Works, he’s clearly been inspired by the great European cities. Vicky Christina Barcelona is perhaps the most obvious, if only because it was perhaps the most critically and commercially successful, but London has also produced works as diverse as Match Point and You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Still, if you’re going to work with the major European cities, it seems pointless to avoid Paris, the city of lights and lovers, home to generations of artists for decades upon decades, it has earned a reputation as one of the most powerful and inspiring locations on the face of the planet. Allen does his subject proud, producing what is certainly his best film since his trip to Barcelona, and one I’d rank considerably higher in my own estimation. It seems that even the cynical Woody Allen can become something of a romantic in Paris.

The importance of being Ernest...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Allen, Ernest Hemingway, film, Gil, Match Point, Midnight in Paris, Movies, non-review review, Owen Wilson, paris, review, Woody Allen | 13 Comments »

Non-Review Review: World’s Greatest Dad

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Darren

It’s hard to talk about World’s Greatest Dad without spoiling it, but I’m going to try. I’m going to try, because – despite the fact that every article discussing the film spoils a fairly key plot development – it’s a movie that’s best seen with relatively little idea of where the plot is going. Bobcat Goldthwait’s satire on fame, the price success and the public’s desire to rewrite an unsavoury history is dark, but never unnecessarily cruel, and feels strangely relevent without ever feeling too forced or unnatural. It’s acerbic and well-observed, without ever being tasteless or needlessly offensive – which is a rather wonderful target for a comedy like this to hit. The fact that Goldthwait has given Williams one of his better roles in recent years is also quite an accomplishment.