May 23, 2012
Men In Black 3
Rated PG
Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin
Flashback to 1997. For some of you this will be easier than for others. There was this movie called Men In Black. And it was huge. Will Smith had a hit single with the Men in Black rap song. Every optometrist was advertising Men In Black Ray-Bans. A cartoon series based on the movie. At least one out of three blokes rocking up to a fancy dress party that year wore a black suit and a pair of sunglasses (and yes, I was one of them). The original Men In Black really captured the public attention. And then 2002′s Men In Black II was released.
Cue the sound of chirping crickets.
Yeah, Men In Black II wasn’t exactly the best movie. So it’s not a surprise that it took another ten years to try again. To see if the Men in Black magic could be bottled once more and splattered across the cinema screen. I’m going to say it. I know it will be a controversial statement but I’ll say it anyway. I think Men In Black 3 is not only a great movie, but even better than the first Men in Black film.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 25, 2012
The Avengers (2012)
Rated M
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth
It all comes down to this. Marvel Comics’ movie plans have been building up to this moment since 2008′s Iron Man. Four years worth of intertwined super-hero movies, climaxing in The Avengers, a movie that on paper looks insane. A cast full of actors who have headed up their own movies, a plot that has been simmering over several movies, a director best known for his work in television, and the necessity for a big budget, special effects heavy plot that ups the ante of the previous movies by at least five fold. To make that work is just crazy talk. And yet, somehow they manage to pull it off. The Avengers is the super-hero movie people have been waiting for since the team made their first comic book appearance in 1963. This is super-hero action on a scale we rarely see on-screen – and I hope that this is only the beginning.
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8 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Joss Whedon, Movie Review, Philippians, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, The Avengers | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 24, 2012
Battleship (2012)
Rated M
Staring Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Liam Neeson
When your movie is based off a board game that pretty much involves guessing numbers, you don’t have a lot to work with. I wouldn’t be surprised if the brainstorming meeting for Battleship happened at 4am after three days with no sleep and everyone on a massive caffeine high. Because on paper, this movie looks ridiculous. The US navy versus a bunch of high tech aliens from the creators of Transformers. And we’re talking the toy creators here, not the movies (not that this would make things better). Taking my seat in the cinema to watch Battleship, my expectations were so low you’d need James Cameron in a submarine to find them.
But some how Battleship manages to pull it off. It’s not going to win a best picture Oscar or join the ranks of the all-time great action movies. However, if you’re willing to ignore logic and common sense and watch things blow up good, there’s a lot of fun to be had.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
March 14, 2012
The Rum Diary
Rated M
Starring Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart
A red plane flying careless and free in the bright blue sky. Not a single cloud in he sky. Below, a shimmering clean ocean on a beautiful day. Cut to Johnny Depp’s darkened hotel room. The room is a mess and so is Depp. His blood-shot eyes and dishevelled appearance give us some indication of the horrendous hangover he’s experiencing. This is the opening scene of The Rum Diary and it establishes the identity of this film pretty quickly. This movie shows us two very different sides to Puerto Rico in 1960. One side is beautiful and carefree and rich. The other is dirty and struggling a poor. How these two sides coexist shows us a perspective on Western culture that should make us uncomfortable and question how we perceive ourselves and the world.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
February 19, 2012
It’s no secret that I’m a big comic book fan. I’m also a fan of movies. So you’d think that if you combine those two things, it would automatically result in me shelling out the money for a movie ticket to any and all “based on a comic book” movie released. Well, no. I’m not going to see your movie just because you licensed a character from Marvel comics. You have to give me something worth seeing.
Which is why I’m torn about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
January 4, 2012
We Bought A Zoo
Rated PG
Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson
Directed by Cameron Crowe
You know the biggest crime this movie commits? There are meerkats in this movie for a grand total of 5 seconds. How dare they? If you’re going to put meerkats in a movie, you better put them in at least every second scene. I don’t care about the lions and tigers and bears (oh my)(yes, I couldn’t resist. Nothing to see here). If you’re going to tempt with meerkats, you better deliver.
And that’s my biggest problem with this movie. That’s the worst criticism I could think of for We Bought A Zoo. And that’s because I really enjoyed it.
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2 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: 1 Corinthians, Cameron Crowe, Death, Matt Damon, Meerkats, Movie Review, Patrick Fugit, Scarlett Johansson, We Bought A Zoo | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
January 3, 2012
Did you see any good movies in 2011? This past year must have been a good year for movies. How can I tell? Because at the end of 2010 I only managed to name my top 5 movies of the year. This was not a stylistic choice, but one of necessity. Because I couldn’t come up with ten. I saw a few more movies in 2011 compared to 2010 (19 compared to 15) but I must have seen more that I enjoyed because here’s my Top 10! Disclaimer: I obviously didn’t see everything. There are some movies out there that I have a feeling would have made this list, but I missed them. Let me know in the comments what you think should have made the list.
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15 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Attack The Block, Captain America, Film, First Class, Fright Night, Ghost Protocol, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Mission Impossible, Moneyball, Movie Review, Movies, Red State, Super 8, Thor, X-Men | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
November 9, 2011
Moneyball
Rated M
Starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
A movie about sport is always going to be a tough sell for me. While I love strapping on the boots and running onto the field, sitting down to watch a game of rugby really isn’t my thing. I’m not much of a spectator. A sport movie about Baseball, a sport I really only know about from watching American movies and TV? You’re really going to struggle to get my attention. On top of that, make the movie about Baseball statistics? I mean really? A movie about baseball and math and you expect me to want to sit down in a cinema for two hours and watch? The only way a movie like that could be watchable was if it had a great cast and an entertaining script.
Fortunately for Moneyball, it has all of the above and more.
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1 Comment | Movie Reviews | Tagged: 2 Thessalonians, Baseball, Brad Pitt, Gospel, Jonah Hill, Moneyball, Movie Review, Philip Seymour Hoffman | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
August 10, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Rated M
Starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones
If you were checking out the racks of magazines and comic books in December 1940, you might have caught a glimpse of a brand new comic book called Captain America Comics. On the cover was an image of a man dressed in an American flag themed costume punching Hitler in the face. Which was pretty forward thinking of the artist, considering the attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II was still a full year away. Here was the very image of American freedom and pride in action. Since then, Captain America has been front and center amongst the pantheon of Marvel superheroes. So it was inevitable that Captain America would get his turn to shine as part of the Marvel Comics onslaught of the silver screen.
So here’s Captain America: The First Avenger. A lot could go wrong here. This is a superhero adventure movie set during WWII that also has to act as the next chapter in the ongoing Marvel movie continuity already set up by Thor, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk. A lot could have gone wrong. But it doesn’t. What we have here is a film that manages to be a tight, heart-felt adventure that is one of the most consistently good superhero movies ever made.
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2 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: 1 Samuel, Captain America, Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Jesus, King David, Marvel Comics, Movie Review | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
July 27, 2011
The Conspirator
Rated M
Starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright
In 1865, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, was assassinated. Lincoln was sitting in a theatre watching a play when John Wilkes Booth snuck up behind the President and shot him in the head. It was a tragic moment for the people of the United States. A nation was in mourning and demanded justice. Booth was shot and killed in the ensuing manhunt. But Booth did not act alone. He was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the President. Eight people were brought to caught accused of conspiracy to murder. One of them was Mary Surratt, the owner of a boarding house. The Conspirator tells the story of Mary Surratt’s trial. While the people call for her execution, questions begin to arise. Is Surratt actually guilty? And is the court more interested in vengeance than justice? The Conspirator is not just a movie describing a historical event. Because these are issues that still have an impact today.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
June 1, 2011
X-Men: First Class
Rated M
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, January Jones
There’s something about the 1960s which just strikes me as being sexy and cool. I remember as a kid being exposed to a lot of Get Smart, Rat Pack movies, the old school Batman TV show and of course Sean Connery as James Bond. The music, clothes, style and attitude will always be associated with a certain kind of cool. The Beatles were rocking the chart, London was the fashion capital of the world and JFK was in the White House. And in America, a small comic book company called Marvel Comics was beginning to make it’s mark. They already had hits with characters such as the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor and Spider-Man. And then came the X-Men.
The X-Men was a book truly ahead of it’s time. The X-Men was about a group of outcasts who were hated and ostracized just because they were born different. They stood up to protect a world that hated and feared them. This is what made them special. This is what made them unique. And the new movie X-Men: First Class takes us back to the beginning of the X-Men. Super powered mutant vs super powered mutant with a 1960s backdrop.
And the results are groovy.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 25, 2011
Thor (Rated M)
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins
There are a stack of comic book movies coming out this year. In the next few months we’ve got Green Lantern, Captain America, X-Men: First Class to name a few. But the one comic book movie that I was quietly confident would be a satisfying watch was Thor. I’m not exactly sure why I felt that way. I rarely even look at the Thor comic book and I have no particular fondness for the works of Norse mythology. But from the start, my expectations were set pretty high. The reason? Kenneth Branagh. If any one could make this epic tale of a god who is exiled to earth work, it would be the man who makes movies based on Shakespeare plays interesting.
So were my expectations met or was this another comic book adaption failure?
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1 Comment | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Acts, Chris Hemsworth, Kenneth Branagh, Loki, Lystra, Marvel, Movie Review, Natalie Portman, The Avengers, Thor | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 12, 2011
Paul
Rated MA15+
Starring Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Seth Rogen
Growing up, I loved me some science fiction. In my early years I lived on a staple diet of Doctor Who re-runs and movies full of aliens. I owned a book shelf full of sci-fi novels. Each week I would scour the TV guide so I could program the VCR to catch all those late night science fiction goodness. I’d seen every sci-fi movie at the video shop multiple times. Some of my younger readers might be wondering what a video or VCR is. You make me feel old.
The movie Paul is aimed squarely at guys like me. When you take into account that the movies starts at San Diego Comic-Con, the Mecca for comic book and sci-fi geeks, it’s not half obvious who the target market is. The two leads, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, play British geeks visiting Comic-Con they both comment that even though they’re miles from home, they feel at home. And From this point I want to be right there with them. When they pick up an extra-terrestrial hitchhiker, road trip hijinks ensue.
I wanted to love this movie. I was prepared to embrace this and own it as a movie that represented me. However there were some significant factors holding me back.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
March 16, 2011
Battle: Los Angeles
Rated M
Starring Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez
Some movies you see because they have a message you should hear. They use characters and situations to shed some light on the human condition and challenge your perceptions. Other movies you watch because things blow up real good. Battle: Los Angeles is the second kind of movie.
An alien force has begun an assault on planet earth. Key cities around the globe are being bombarded with meteorites, which, once they make contact, reveal they contain hundreds of alien soldiers ready for a fight. We follow a squad of Marines as they are tasked to rescue some stranded civilians in the city of Los Angeles before the Air Force comes and bombs the city back to the stone age. There is doom and gloom while things go boom. And that’s about it really.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
February 11, 2011
Hereafter
Rated M
Starring Matt Damon
Directed by Clint Eastwood
What happens after you die? It’s a question that cuts to the heart of our existence. Is this life all there is or is there a life after this one? For those who have lost a loved one, this is more than casual speculation. This is need to know information. Where are they? Are they okay? Can I speak to them one more time?
Hereafter is a movie that deals with the question of life after death. Through the stories of three different people from different parts of the world, director Clint Eastwood challenges our ideas about the afterlife and why it scares us so much.
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Leave a Comment » | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Afterlife, Clint Eastwood, Ghosts, Heaven, Hereafter, Jesus, Life after death, Matt Damon, Movie Review, Romans | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
January 7, 2011
Sometime around July last year, I got an email from my editor at Fervr. He’d managed to get the site added to several press lists for movie distributors. What this meant was that Fervr was now invited to special advanced screenings of movies, weeks before they are shown to the public. And I got first dibs on all the invitations. Joy! Now while I couldn’t make it to every movie I was invited to (or in one case even find the cinema it was being screened in) I did see a fair few movies last year. And because of these invitations, I was able to see some movies that ordinarily I may not have gone to.
Here are my top 5 movies for 2010. I remind you that I didn’t see everything, so there are some absences from this list that might surprise you. For instance, I haven’t seen Toy Story 3 yet. I own it on DVD but haven’t sat down to watch it yet.
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3 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Easy A, Fervr, Me and Orson Welles, Movie Reviews, Movies, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Splice, The Social Network | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
October 27, 2010
The Social Network
Rated M
Written by Aaron Sorkin, Directed by David Fincher
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Hey! Let’s make a movie about a website!
Not the most promising concept. So when I first heard news about a movie being made about Facebook, I can’t say I was overly enthused. But five words changed my mind and had me eagerly expecting this movie: “Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher.” The guy who wrote The West Wing teaming up with the guy who made Fight Club? That’s a sure-fire way to get my attention.
And thank God that it was more than just attention grabbing. The film The Social Network could be in the running for best film of 2010. Yes, it is that good.
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5 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: 1 Corinthians, Aaron Sorkin, Andrew Garfield, David Fincher, Facebook, James, Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Movie Review, The Social Network | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 22, 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Rated M
Starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf
The original Wall Street is a classic movie. It’s the story of a Wall Street rookie, Bud Fox, who is tempted by guru of greed, Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas), to a life of hedonism and morally bankrupt decisions. As we see the effect that greed has on the young guy, we are also given a warning about the dangers of greed in 80s America. The personal story reflects and informs what is going on in the culture of the time. There’s not two separate plots going on here, just one plot with many layers.
A bit over 20 years later and the world has changed. For one thing, there was this thing called the Global Financial Crisis that shook the world. So here we have Oliver Stone, the director of the original Wall Street film coming back for a sequel. There’s a promise that we’ll find out what happened to Gordon Gecko and we’ll see how the greed of Wall Street power players caused the GFC. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Problem is, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps never delivers on its promises.
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Leave a Comment » | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Charlie Sheen, Greed, Michael Douglas, Movie Review, Shia LaBeouf, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 17, 2010
Easy A
Rated M
Starring Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes
There’s a format to making a teen comedy. Take a teenage social outcast, put obstacles in the way of their quest for popularity and/or the significant other of their dreams, add one or two quirky friends and season with a soundtrack full of Top 40 hits. Sure, not every teen comedy fits the formula. But most do. When a movie sticks too close to the formula, you’re left with something bland and almost unwatchable. The modern trend, pioneered by movies such as American Pie, tends towards gross out humour and over the top sexualisation to try and stand out from the crowd.
But what if you did something different? What if you took the formula and added self awareness, witty dialogue and heart? Easy A takes this route and the result is an enjoyable 90 minutes sitting in a cinema.
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2 Comments | Movie Reviews | Tagged: 2 Thessalonians, Amanda Bynes, Easy A, Emma Stone, Movie Review, Teen Movie, Truth | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 8, 2010
The Other Guys
Rated M
Starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg
There’s no easy way of saying this, so I’m just going to put it out there: the makers of The Other Guys don’t trust you. If you watch the trailers for this movie, you’d be given the impression that this is a buddy comedy about two inept cops (Will Ferell and Mark Wahlberg) who end up showing up the two alpha-male cops (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson). Which is what you get if you only watch the first ten minutes of the film. Instead, this is a film about white collar crime and corporate greed. And the film makers don’t trust you enough to see this film without hiding it behind a buddy cop formula and Will Ferrell’s usual schtick. At the end of the day, nobody wins.
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Leave a Comment » | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Cops, Deuteronomy, Justice, Mark Wahlberg, Movie Review, Pimp, The Other Guys, White Collar Crime, Will Ferrell | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
Men In Black 3
