spielberg | the m0vie blog

New Podcast! Enterprising Individuals – “Star Trek Into Darkness, Part 1”

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Darren

I am always thrilled to get a chance to talk about Star Trek with other fans, so I was thrilled at the invitation to join the wonderful Aaron Coker on Enterprising Individuals to talk about Star Trek Into Darkness. We split the discussion into two parts, and this is the first.

It seems safe to describe Star Trek Into Darkness as perhaps the most polarising and divisive of the Star Trek movies. However, it’s also the most interesting. It represents the culmination of efforts to turn Star Trek into a populist and accessible blockbuster franchise, but it also remains true to the spirit of the franchise. Star Trek Into Darkness is undeniably a blockbuster of the late Obama era, one preoccupied with the legacy of the War on Terror and fascinated by the loss of utopian innocence that seemed promised with the election of Obama. It’s also just a thrilling action spectacle with a broad appeal.

You can listen to the episode here, back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

Filed under: Movies, Podcasts!, Star Trek | Tagged: aaron coker, Benedict Cumberbatch, chris pine, jj abrams, khan, Lucas, spielberg, star trek, Star Trek Into Darkness | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Darren

Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom is an intriguing and compelling mess of a film. It is shrewd and clever, if never entirely human.

Director J.A. Bayona might be the first director since Spielberg to put his own unique slant on the Jurassic Park franchise, to move with just enough confidence and faith in his own stylistic sensibilities to escape the shadow of the legendary director who turned a pulpy novel into a beloved family classic. Bayona does that by allowing his own stylistic sensibilities to shine through, to embrace his own interest and to engage with the material on his own terms.

Dino escape.

Fallen Kindom walks a fine line. It is very much a creature grown in a laboratory to satisfy the demands of the larger franchise. There are elements here that exist purely because they are expected, because they are signifiers of what a “Jurassic Park movie” should look like, including both returning characters and new characters fashioned after familiar archetypes. At the same time, there is a coy and wry self-awareness to Fallen Kingdom that was sorely lacking from Jurassic World, a cynicism about its own nature that integrates rather neatly into its larger worldview.

Although it may be damning with faint praise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is easily the best Jurassic Park movie since Jurassic Park: The Lost World, the film in the franchise with which it shares most of its DNA.

Things are heating up.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: awe, colin trevorrow, fallen kingdom, horror, j.a. bayona, jordan peterson, jurassic park, jurassic world, monsters, non-review review, nostalgia, review, spielberg, wonder | 10 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of Jaws! With Richard Dreyfuss in Attendance! Tuesday 18th February!

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Darren

The James Cult Film Club have sent on the following press release about the upcoming screening of Jaws as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival that is kicking off next Thursday, the 13th February. The screening will take place on Tuesday the 18th, and will feature a question-and-answers session with actor Richard Dreyfuss, who collaborated with Spielberg on Jaws, but also on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The Jameson Cult Film Club has a special historical attachment to the festival. The first Irish screening was The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey in attendance four years ago. The Cult Film Club do screenings all through the year, bringing classic movies to live in a whole new way for audiences. They really are a highlight of the schedule, and tickets are always given away free via their website. You can sign up now, although I’m not sure if the ticket application is open yet.

It’s an experience that I wholeheartedly recommend, as they are always well put together evenings celebrating classic cinema. If you are looking for recommendations for the film festival, check out our own picks of the festival here. Otherwise, I’ve included the press release below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: cult cinema, cult film, dublin, jameson cult film club, jameson cult film festival, jaws, jdiff, Richard Dreyfuss, spielberg | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Lincoln

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Darren

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln might just be the most fascinating exploration of the overlap between legal, moral and democratic power ever produced. Abraham Lincoln’s name might brand the film, and Daniel Day-Lewis’ sensational performance might hold it together, but there’s a very clear sense in watching Lincoln that the film is more preoccupied with lofty philosophical questions about the role of a ruler in a democracy. The Civil War and the 13th Amendment provide a backdrop, but Lincoln seems more concerned with how those elected must wield the mandate given from the people. Must they always represent the views of the people who elected them, or is their job to lead?

Note: Not a Vampire Hunter…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Abraham Lincoln, Academy Award, Confederate States of America, Daniel Day-Lewis, film, history, Lincoln, margaret thatcher, Mary Todd Lincoln, Movie, non-review review, r eview, spielberg, steven spielberg, Tony Kushner, United States | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Jaws

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Darren

Jaws is a pretty impressive film. Not only did the film serve to launch Steven Spielberg’s career and subgenre of monster creature features, it also effectively kick-started the summer blockbuster. However, watching it again all these years later, it’s amazing how well Jaws holds up – far better than the vast majority of films that it ultimately inspired. There’s a lot of reasons that Jaws works, and a lot of them come down to Spielberg working as director, but also in the scripting and the acting. It’s rare for a movie to produce one character that we truly care about. Jaws manages to produce four compelling leading characters – the three men who ultimately end up on the boat, and the shark itself.

Finally copping on…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: AT&T, Brody, christmas, education, england, faq, film, Hooper, jaws, Keira Knightley, Majordomo, Movie, non-review review, Peter Benchley, PlayStation Vita, Rand Paul, review, Shark, spielberg, steven spielberg | 4 Comments »

Watch! Spielberg’s Lincoln Trailer…

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Darren

The first full trailer for Spielberg’s Lincoln has appeared on line. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to this one. I actually liked his two films from last year much mroe than most – while neither came that close to making the end-of-year best-of list, I thought they were solid pieces of film-making for what they were. I’m hoping for a bit more from Lincoln, and I guess time will tell, but Daniel Day Lewis looks an inspired choice.

Let me know what you think.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Daniel Day-Lewis, Filmmaking, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lincoln, spielberg, steven spielberg, tommy lee jones, trailer | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: War Horse

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Darren

War Horse is a fairly solid prestige picture. Spielberg is on fine form, reminding viewers of just how he became an audience favourite. He displays a warm confidence with the material, as if getting comfortable once again with this sort of crowd-pleasing fare. The film has some fairly significant flaws, stemming mostly from a disjointed and disorganised screenplay, but it’s the director’s charm that manages to carry the film through. Ironically, for a film focusing on an equine, it feels like one of the most warmly human films that Spielberg has produced in quite a while.

No horse play!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Albert, Benedict Cumberbatch, film, horse, horses, Joey, Movies, non-review review, oscar bait, Oscars, review, Saving Private Ryan, spielberg, steven spielberg, tom hiddleston, war horse, World War, World War I | 5 Comments »

My Best of 2011: Super 8 & Understanding as a Child…

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Darren

It’s that time of the year. To celebrate 2011, and the countdown to 2012, I’m going to count down my own twelve favourite films of the year, one a day until New Year’s Eve. I’m also going to talk a bit about how or why I chose them, and perhaps what makes this list “my” best of 2011, rather than any list claiming to be objective.

Super 8 is number ten. Check out my original review here.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

– Corinthians 13:11

It seems easy to lambast modern mainstream cinema as devoid of originality or of new ideas. It seems that every other film is a sequel or a prequel or a remake of another film, with Hollywood seemingly eager to cannibalise itself. I’ll concede that there are more franchises than before, but I also think that indie and original cinema is thriving in its own environment. I’d make the case that there’s room for all sorts of film, and that originality and quality don’t necessarily equate. Still, I doubt that will appease too many of the people who are sick of “the same old nonsense”, and I imagine that those people will cynically pick apart Super 8 as exactly the sort of copycat movie that demonstrates everything that’s wrong with modern cinema.

Naturally, I take a different approach, even if I can concede it’s hardly the most original of films. Then again, I’d make the case that this is precisely the appeal.

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Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: Abrams, best films of 2011, best of 2011, cinema, films, J. J. Abrams, Joe Lamb, jurassic park, Movies, my best of 2011, my favourite films of 2011, spielberg, steven spielberg, super 8, Super 8 mm film | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Catch Me If You Can

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Darren

Catch Me If You Can is an enjoyable little film which feels like Spielberg indulging in some sixties nostalgia, while allowing Leonardo DiCaprio to scratch yet another name off his “greatest living directors” bingo card. It’s always impressive when a movie running for two-and-a-half hours just breezes by – some might suggest that such a film is “light”, and it’s a hard position to disagree with, but I think it marks a nice change of pace from the darker movies Spielberg was directing during the first decade of the new millennium. It’s not a classic, but it’s an enjoyable piece of cinema, crafted by talented people, that moves almost as fast as its lead character.

They should cheque better next time...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, arts, christopher walken, Clint Eastwood, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, DiCaprio, film, Fleming, frank sinatra, J Edgar, John Williams, Leonardo diCaprio, martin sheen, Movie, non-review review: catch me if you can, review, spielberg, steven spielberg, tom hanks | 12 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The War of the Worlds

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Darren

Stephen Spielberg helmed something of a loose science-fiction trilogy in the early years of this century. A.I. and Minority Report are still relatively contentious (perhaps the former more than the latter) when it comes to discussing the place of his modern output in the context of his wider filmography. However, it’s the third film of the three which I’ve always been most fascinated with, despite the fact it has been mostly forgotten on his somewhat impressive list of accomplishments. Never afraid to stick up for a film that most people seem to have just shrugged their shoulders about, I’m going to stand up for the not-quite-so-little-but-not-so-big-you’d-notice-him guy. I think that War of the Worlds is the best film Spielberg has directed in the last decade.