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362. Halloween Kills – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest William Bibbiani, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills.

Michael Myers has returned to Haddenfield, and the town is not prepared. As Laurie Strode is rushed to hospital, fire fighters scramble to extinguish the flames consuming her house. However, something more primal is unleashed. As the serial killer murders his way through the suburbs, Haddenfield descends into an all-consuming madness that might prove just as dangerous as any masked killer.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, brutality, crisis, horror, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, laurie strode, masculinity, mob, nihilism, podcast, slasher, streaming, The 250, violence, western, william bibbiani | Leave a comment »

361. Halloween (2018) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guests Charlene Lydon and Bren Murphy, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, David Gordon Green’s Halloween.

It has been forty years since the night that Michael Myers came home. The killer is in custody and Haddenfield has seemingly recovered from that horrific crime. However, not everybody has been able to move on from those events. Laurie Strode is still haunted by the horrific attacks, convinced the serial killer is lurking in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, bren murphy, charlene lydon, danny mcbride, david gordon green, fascism, final girl, halloween, halloween (2018), horror, horror genre, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, John Carpenter, legacyquel, liminal spaces, michael myers, nick castle, slasher, trump, violence | Leave a comment »

358. Halloween II (2009) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Doctor Bernice Murphy, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II.

A year after Michael Myers’ brutal rampage through Haddenfield, the survivors are still trying to put the pieces back together. Laurie Strode is haunted by nightmares of the attack, while Doctor Samuel Loomis’ book tour brings him back to town just as a lone figure stalks through the darkness. Michael Myers has returned to Haddenfield, and is tearing at wounds that have not had a chance to heal.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: audience, brutality, dimension, genre, grace duffy, halloween, halloween ii, horror, imdb, jason coyle, joey keogh, michael myers, podcast, rob zombie, slasher, the weinsteins, trauma, violence | Leave a comment »

357. Halloween (2007) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Darren

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Rob Zombie’s Halloween.

One October, the small town of Haddenfield is shocked by the brutal murder of young Judith Myers. The culprit? Her younger brother Michael. Committed to a psychiatric institution under the care of Doctor Samuel Loomis, Michael escapes fifteen years later to continue his reign of terror. This time, he has got young babysitter Laurie Strode in his sights.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: bernice murphy, brutality, dimension films, doctor bernice murphy, donald trump, gore, halloween, hollywood, horror, joey keogh, John Carpenter, laurie strode, Malcolm McDowell, michael myers, new wave, nostalgia, podcast, remakes, rob zombie, scout taylor compton, slasher, violence | Leave a comment »

351. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Peter Keenan, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Dwight H. Little’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

It has been ten years since Michael Myers’ rampage through Haddenfield. For that decade, the killer has lain dormant. However, during a routine transfer, the innocuous mention of Myers’ last surviving blood relative stirs the slasher from his slumber. Myers makes his way towards Haddenfield, and towards his innocent young niece: Jamie Lloyd.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, culture, dwight h. little, evangelicals, franchise, halloween, halloween 4, halloween 4: the return of michael myers, halloween iv, horror, joey keogh, michael myers, moustapha akkad, peter keenan, politics, religious right, sequels, slasher, stabbing, stranger danger, violence | 1 Comment »

New Escapist Column! On Understanding Michael Bay’s “Transformers” Films…

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist yesterday evening. With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at Michael Bay’s Transformers films.

Bay’s Transformers films are not good. It’s important to stress that. However, they are a fascinating piece of blockbuster cinema, the work of a genuine action auteur who bends an intellectual property so completely and so thoroughly to his artistic sensibility. It’s something that could only have happened at a particular moment in Hollywood, in the transition from director-driven blockbusters to brand-driven mega-franchises, and exists as a historical quirk on the bubble between those two trends.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: auteur, Filmmaking, franchise, hollywood, intellectual property, mark wahlberg, michael bay, toys, transformers, violence | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Use of Violence in “The Last of Us”…

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist earlier this week. With The Last of Us wrapping up its first season, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at the show, and in particular the way that the show tells its story.

The Last of Us is, in many ways, a study of violence. It’s a study of brutality and horror. What makes The Last of Us so interesting is the way that it chooses to portray such violence and brutality. Indeed, the show is remarkably restrained in its depiction of graphic on-screen violence. Instead, the show’s cinematic language focuses on the idea that violence ultimately wounds both perpetrator and victim. In many cases, it’s the people left behind who have to carry that with them.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: hbo, in the frame, joel, perpetrator, storytelling, the escapist, the last of us, victim, violence | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “The Last of Us” As A Study of Evolving Masculinity…

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Darren

I am doing weekly reviews of The Last of Us at The Escapist. They’ll be dropping every Sunday evening while the show is on, looking at the video game adaptation as the show progresses. This week, the show’s sixth episode.

The sixth episode of The Last of Us, Kin, is steeped in the iconography of the western: there’s a frontier town, two indigenous characters, and even a horse on the railroad tracks. However, there’s also a sense that Joel and Ellie have reached the end of their push westward, their journey from Boston to Jackson. In that sense then, the show explores the legacy of the western in American consciousness, particularly the genre’s archetypal portrayal of masculinity. What does it mean or Joel to be a man or a father? How does that reconcile with the image he has cast for himself as a cynical and weary outlaw? Can he move past that?

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: america, coming of age, ellie, fatherhood, joel, masculinity, the escapist, the last of us, violence, western | Leave a comment »

319. Whiplash (#42)

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guest Richard Drumm, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, Damian Chazelle’s Whiplash.

Andrew Neiman is a young music student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. A jazz drummer, Andrew dreams of great things, of becoming a legend like Miles Davis or John Coltrane. However, he falls under the influence of band leader Terence Fletcher. Fletcher sees potential in Andrew, and draws the young musician into his orbit. The two find themselves trapped in a toxic push-and-pull relationship, with the stakes escalating quickly.

At time of recording, it was ranked 42nd on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: abuse, aggression, ambiguity, art, bullying, damien chazelle, films, imdb, jk simmons, masculinity, Miles Teller, Movies, podcast, richard drumm, The 250, training, violence, whiplash | Leave a comment »

317. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (#13)

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guests Grace Duffy and Charlene Lydon, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, to mark the 20th anniversary of its release, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

The Fellowship of the Ring has been shattered. Its membership has fragmented into three smaller groups. Each of these parties – and many more beside – will find themselves playing a major role in the War of the Ring. The battle for Middle Earth has truly begun, and flames threaten to consume the continent, and any innocent caught in their path.

At time of recording, it was ranked 13th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.