Film & TV
-
I’m here about some monkeys
21 February, 2010: A recent viewing of Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, a film I’ve seen several times since its release in 1995, left me wondering if, despite some appealing cyclical time-travel logic, it doesn’t deliver quite enough of a mindfuck.
Comments Off
-
The Road
24 January, 2010: I'm not opposed in principle to the post-apocalyptic in entertainment, but I'm not one that can just appreciate the devastation for its own artistic merit; I need a human element as well otherwise it feels as if the apocalypse is being fetishised, as in a Roland Emmerich film; all special effects and showboating and rubbing one's thighs as we see famous monuments pulverised.
-
My best and worst films of 2009
21 December, 2009: Most organisations and blogging outlets appear to be compiling bumper fun lists detailing the best films, games, songs, photos, deaths etc. from the entire decade. This strikes me as a bit of an unlikely goal; I struggle to narrow these things down to the best whatever of the last five minutes myself. Nevertheless, here's my attempt at listing my best and worst films of 2009, in no particular order of preference and with little attempt to round to the nearest ten.
-
Yesterday Was a Lie trailer
12 December, 2009: I’m a sucker for blondes, noir and Chase Masterson so this really does hit most of my buttons.
-
Ink trailer
22 November, 2009: Hard to describe. Something about dreams and nightmares. Low-budget indie. Looks good. Just watch the trailer.
-
A Nightmare on Elm Street teaser trailer
28 September, 2009: Jackie Earle Haley picks up the Krueger mantle as the Elm Street franchise gets rebooted.
-
Review of Inglourious Basterds
13 September, 2009: It's hard to imagine how my expectations could have been any lower going in to Inglourious Basterds. Savaged by the critics and created by the man whose last film, Death Proof, bored me so much I resorted to fast-forwarding through entire scenes for fear of falling asleep, I only ended up seeing Basterds as I was on holiday and needed something to fill an evening with.
-
Review of District 9
5 September, 2009: Neill Blomkamp's debut feature of an alien slum in the city of Johannesburg is an impressive action film, though lacking in substance and any real depth despite the rich sense of history and place it has to draw on.
-
Ridley Scott and James Cameron return to science fiction
23 August, 2009: Ridley Scott has announced that he's returning to the Alien universe that he created to direct a prequel to Alien, and footage from James Cameron's Avatar has finally been seen by the public. Should we care?
-
Avatar teaser trailer
22 August, 2009: I’m sure it will look incredible, but so far the impression I’m getting is all style, no substance; this teaser looks like a collection of Final Fantasy cutscenes.
-
The Wolf Man trailer
20 August, 2009: Vampires seemed to be the cool new monsters these days so it’s nice to see werewolves getting in on the action. Benicio Del Toro stars and Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jumanji and, er, Jurassic Park 3) directs.
-
Trailer for Olatunde Osunsanmi’s The Fourth Kind
15 August, 2009: Ordinarily I wouldn’t go near something like this but the use of purported archive footage makes me a bit more interested.
-
Jared Hess’ Gentlemen Broncos trailer
15 August, 2009: I wasn’t a fan at all of Napoleon Dynamite but the fact that this stars Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Sam Rockwell makes me optimistic.
-
Trailer for Scott Stewart’s Legion
15 August, 2009: No idea. Something about angels destroying the world? Not sure how the evil mutant granny fits into things, but I’m a sucker for a foul-mouthed old lady in any film.
-
Trailer for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
8 August, 2009: Heath Ledger’s final film, with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law standing in as ‘aspects’ of Ledger’s character’s personality. Looks very Gilliamesque, with shades of Münchhausen.
-
Trailer for Jonathan Liesbesman’s The Killing Room
3 August, 2009: Looks interesting, straight to DVD though I’m not sure if that’s really the stigma it once was. Looks almost Cube-like, I think. Make of that what you will.
-
Trailer for Oliver Parker’s Dorian Gray
3 August, 2009: Hopefully a more faithful interpretation of the character than his last cinematic outing, which I believe was in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen…
-
Trailer for Spartacus: Blood and Sand
1 August, 2009: Looks like a cross between 300 and Gladiator but with more sex, violence and Lucy Lawless. Sam Raimi is one of the producers so could be good.
-
Trailer for Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox
31 July, 2009: Wes Anderson makes a stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's book of the same name.
