review | the m0vie blog

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (Review)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way. In honour of the Scottish scribe, I thought I’d review the latest chapter in his on-going Batman epic.

It’s a testament to writer Grant Morrison how much I enjoyed his weird and fantastical six-chapter “Batman lost in time” adventure epic. Between this and his superb run on Batman & Robin, Morrison might have redeemed himself for the mess that was Batman R.I.P. That said, the collection isn’t for everyone, but it marks a rich exploration of the evolution of the Batman archetype through his various iterations – a meta-textual look at the elements which make Batman who he is, and why those elements are important to him. It also, of course, features Batman in a sword fight with Cthulhu.

You know you’re reading Grant Morrison’s Batman when something like this happens…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, batman r.i.p., batman rip, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, comic book, comic books, Comics, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], dark night dark rider, darkseid, dc comics, final crisis, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, graphic novel, masquerade, return of bruce wayne, review, shadow of stone, superman, until the end of time | 7 Comments »

Superman: Secret Origin (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way.

I have to admit that I quite enjoyed Geoff Johns’ run on Action Comics. Johns has been one of the most influential writers working at DC over the past couple of years, so it felt right to see him tackling Superman, after years of working on titles like The Flash and Green Lantern. It was an extra special treat because he brought Richard Donner with him for the introductory arc, which restored a sense of continuity between the comic book superhero and his cinematic iteration. You ask anybody to picture Superman, and I promise you that they will imagine Christopher Reeve with his cape flapping in the wind – it feels like the definitive version of the character. And I felt that Johns really tapped into that aspect of the icon. So, I have to admit that I was pretty excited when it was announced that Geoff Johns would be returning to tell the character’s origin story, his Secret Origin, if you will.

That's one super life he's lived...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, Christopher Nolan, christopher reeve, clark kent, Comics, David Goyer, dc comics, deluxe edition, gary frank, geoff johns, graphic novel, green lantern: secret origin, review, richard donner, secret origin, superman, superman: secret origin, wonder woman | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Preludio

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Preludio was an interesting second feature for Mexican director Eduardo Lucatero. After his debut with Corazón Marchito in 2007 – a relatively large-scale production for Mexican cinema – it seems strange for the director to move back to a film so minimalist. Preludio is a movie with one scene, two leads, five other actors (and not all of them are speaking roles), one set and one take. It sound like it has the making of an art house disaster, and yet the director manages to make it work.

Smoking buddies...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Ana Serradilla, arts, Eduardo Lucatero, film, Film-out, jameson dublin international film festival, kevin smith, Mexico, Movie, non-review review, Prelude (music), Preludio (movie), review | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Á Bout Portant (Point Blank)

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Point Blank is another one of those movies which snuck up on me a little during the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. I wasn’t expected to do anything more than kill a couple of hours with a French film, but was surprised at how energetic and engaging this little action movie is. In fact, it calls to mind some of Luc Besson’s earlier work, which is always a good sign.

A shot of adrenaline...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: á bout portant, film, films, french cinema, Hans Zimmer, jameson dublin international film festival, Klaus Badelt, luc besson, Movie, Movies, non-review review, paris, point blank, review, Samuel | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Incendies

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Incendies looks absolutely beautiful. The cinematography on show is absolutely stunning. It’s a powerful exploration of the religious divide in Lebanon, and it packs quite a lot of punch. However, as a film, it never really works. It’s structure seems almost illogical, with information often being repeated or rendered redundant, and it works on a series of awkwardly-contrived coincidences which strain the viewer’s credibility (which is especially glaring when the film plays off real-life atrocities). It seems far too assured of its own merits, and could have done with some serious revision before release.

Scorched earth...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Denis Villeneuve, Dennis Velleneuve, film, hollywood, Incendies, lebanon, Lubna Azabal, Lubna Azabel, Maxim Gaudette, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, non-review review, review, Wajdi Mouawad | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger is – we’re told at the start by the (now seemingly customary) narrator – “a tale told by an idiot, filled with sound and fury, signifying nothing.” It doesn’t use the exact quote from Macbeth, but it references it pretty explicitly. However, this seems less like the genuine intention of Woody Allen and more like an excuse scribbled on the introduction to a term paper he couldn’t be bothered finishing, as if to declare to the world, “It’s okay if nothing is ever really resolved or developed and random stuff seems to occur for no reason – that’s the stylistic approach I’m adopting!” I don’t doubt that the movie’s inconclusive nature is undoubtedly intentional, but it’s inconsistency is still infuriating – perhaps more for the sections of the movie that do engage rather than those that meander. It’s not necessary a bad film – Allen is still a great storyteller, even when he doesn’t seem especially bothered – but it’s just not up there with Vicki Cristina Barcelona or even Match Point.

Growing old disgracefully...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: anna friel, anthony hopkins, comedy, film, fortune teller, Gemma Jones, josh brolin, Movie, Naomi Watts, non-review review, philip glenister, prophecy, review, Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

One of the joys of a film festival like the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is that you get to see films that take you by surprise. Sometimes they are small foreign dramas which will never get a major release here, and thus haven’t been discussed to death on-line or in-print, but occasionally it’s a movie premiere of a big upcoming release which will impress. The Adjustment Bureau is hitting screens around the world next Friday, but film fanatics in Dublin were treated to a sneak peek (the movie’s second public screening and the first in Europe). As a movie that I honestly wasn’t expecting too much of, based on the trailers in front of every major release since last August that seemingly couldn’t decide on the genre of the film, what did I make of it?

A bathroom break...

I loved it.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adjustment Bureau, blade runner, David Norris, dublin, Emily Blunt, films, George Nolfi, jameson dublin international film festival, matt damon, Movies, non-review review, Philip K. Dick, premieres, review, Terence Stamp, total recall | 17 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Burke & Hare

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Darren

I quite like black comedy. There’s definitely a place for the more bitter strain of humour on the big screen, and there’s no denying that the British do black comedy wonderfully – it’s like a national trait of some kind. However, there’s something even deeper and more unpleasant than the black comedy at the heart of Burke & Hare. As I watched it, I couldn’t quite get the fact that it was based on two very real serial killers who (to this very day) have made a lasting impact on Scotland’s political and social history. There’s something very trite about turning their story into a black romantic comedy with a soundtrack from The Proclaimers.

They haven't a leg to stand on...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: andy serkis, black comedy, burke & hare, burke and hare, Burke and Hare murders, crime, film, john landis, Movie, murder, non-review review, review, serial killer, Simon Pegg, The Doctor and the Devils, timothy dalton | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Unknown

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Unknown is not, despite what it may want you to believe, anything to do with Taken. I have a sense that audiences catching the film without that pre-existing expectation might enjoy it more than others, but I can’t help but feel the movie suffers by comparison to the earlier film in the “Liam Neeson as badass action hero” subgenre.

Taken for a ride?

Note: By its very nature, this review will involve the very slightest of spoilers. I will literally be discussing the first twenty or so minutes of the film, and I doubt it’s any more than you could discern from the trailers, but I figure it’s worth flagging with the spoiler-conscious out there.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, Berlin, Diane Kruger, facebook, films, identity theft, james woods, jameson dublin international film festival, Jaume Collet-Serra, liam neeson, liamneeson, Movies, non-review review, paris, review, Seine, taken, taken (film), thriller, Unknown, unknown (film) | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Wake Wood

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Even though I never lived through their “golden age” of schlock horror films, I still feel a sympathetic affinity for Hammer’s House of Horror. Watching movies late into the night with my gran and grandfather was one of those treats my younger self enjoyed on returning from abroad for Summer or Christmas holidays. As such, it’s nice to see Hammer producing movies again. Let Me In was a fairly major success for the company, remarking the already-classic vampire film Let the Right One In, but it didn’t feel as deeply rooted in Hammer’s horror traditions as the Irish horror the Wake Wood does. For better or worse, the Wake Wood is pure Hammer Horror.