June in Review

Hey, I thought in might be handy if I did a little post at the very end of every month that sort of picked out (from my own point of view) the highlights, so someone trawling through the archives has a handy little guide right at the top (but if you want to jump in wholesale, go right ahead).

Non-Review Review: Valkyrie

We caught Valkyrie at the weekend. It’s a movie that Dad had been quite looking forward to and I’d heard good things from friends and family. I’m a big fan of Bryan Singer and was more than a bit excited to see him reteam with Christopher McQuarry. the pair had given us one of the best neo-noir films ever in The Usual Suspects, but how do they deliver on historical epics?

Who Critiques the Critics?

The ability of Transformers 2 to succeed so massively even with the godawful reviews that it is receiving has prompted yet another introspective look at the role that critics do, should and must play in the movie business. It’s a bout the right time of year – last year David Edelstein’s bitchy tirade against a [...]

Why Didn’t People Watch the Watchmen?

So, the details on the Watchmen DVD and Blu Ray are officially out. Warner Brothers is going to make us double-dip for an Ultimate Edition near Christmas, but Snyder is assuring us that it will likely be just a vanilla release – so we best get buying now! (As if Warner Brothers won’t be releasing a hideously overpriced box set.) Anyway, the real news for me was that Watchmen: The Director’s Cut is getting a limited theatrical run in the United States and the United Kingdom. I’ve emailed Cineworld to see if there will be a screening in Dublin, but I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, as Watchmen returns to the cinema, I thought I’d take the time to ponder what went ‘wrong’ during the film’s initial release?

Academy to Cut Honorary Awards from Telecast…

I’m going to give the expansion of the Best Picture category the benefit of the doubt and I don’t really care about the Original Song rules, to be completely honest, but I am a little ticked off at the announcement that the Honorary Oscars are being shunted back stage. Talk about completely missing the point – the Academy doesn’t seem to get that most viewers aren’t clamoring for that extra High School Musical song so badly that they’re shunt off someone who has made such a massive contribution to popular culture as to warrant the Honorary Award. I just don’t get this decision.

Non-Review Review: Straight Face Comics

This is is a relatively new web-based comic series that’s been running since about April this year. I had the chance to peruse their archives and I’m quite impressed to be honest. There are three strips a week, so that’s a lot of work and a lot of gags to produce on a weekly basis – I don’t know how these guys do it. The artwork is very well put together (I took the liberty of borrowing some screenshots – click them to be taken to the relevant strip on their pages) and shows a… unique sense of humour.

Non-Review Review: Mongol

I caught this foreign gem playing on Sky Premier today. I’d actually heard quite a bit about it while it was playing at the IFI last year, but most of it was mixed enough that I put off catching it in the cinema. The movie – following the rise of Genghis Khan – is a historical epic of the kind that Hollywood doesn’t really make any more – and I mean that as both a compliment and a criticism. It isn’t as utterly brilliant as those who praise it claim, nor is it as bad as its detractors would have you believe.

Christian Bale & Johnny Depp’s Set Diaries from Public Enemies!

I’m not a big fan of posting stuff I find on-line at the blog (I’ll generally link to the article and offer my own reaction to it), but this was too fun to pass up:

Television Without Pity has this lovely photo journal contrasting Christain Bale and Johnny Depp’s approach to making Public Enemies. Click the link or the picture. It is one of the funniest film-related articles I’ve read in quite some time.

Non-Review Review: Galaxy Quest

Caught this playing this afternoon on Sky HD, so I figured it was worth a look in High Def. I’ll be honest, I was very impressed. It’s a humourous light-hearted look at the Star Trek phenomenon, which manages to avoid feeling vindictive or mean. It’s anchored in a fantastic cast and with top notch special effects, there’s really no reason why anyone with any interest in the fringe of popular culture shouldn’t check it out.

The Zombie Revolution Will Not be Televised…

I watched Quarantine with my aunt, uncle and brother last night. It was fairly okay – it did pretty much exactly what it promised on the tin, nothing more nothing less – but it was undermined by a fine third that revealed to us (and the characters) the reason for said outbreak. The reason wasn’t particularly smart or original – it was really exactly what you’d expect, which isn’t what you’re looking for in the final twenty minutes of a horror film. It got me thinking, are these horror films scarier the less we know about the beasts lurking in the darkness?