Nik Monroe's Blog

I know I’ve put this up before but J J Abrams TED talk...

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:56:45 +0100

I know I’ve put this up before but J J Abrams TED talk really is fascinating.

Ten minutes of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. Everybody...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:14:01 +0100

Ten minutes of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack.

Everybody dance!

This film has done no wrong in my book, my excitement if through the roof. IMAX day 1, I think so!

Thanks to the Playstation Blog for my new desktop...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:33:51 +0100

Thanks to the Playstation Blog for my new desktop wallpaper!

Found over at their Flickr.

Sucker Punch trailer Zack Snyder really know how to cut a...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:00:12 +0100

Sucker Punch trailer

Zack Snyder really know how to cut a trailer together. This film needs to get released ASAP!

Now Watching: My Name is Bruce (2007)

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:17:45 +0100

Now Watching: My Name is Bruce (2007)

An excerpt Hans Zimmer performing the Inception score live at...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:04:40 +0100

An excerpt Hans Zimmer performing the Inception score live at the premier. If you still haven’t seen the film go and see it.

Then go and buy the soundtrack, it’s incredible.

I finally got around to picking up Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:47:37 +0100

I finally got around to picking up Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on DVD like I’ve been meaning to for a while, it’s just one of those shows I get the urge to watch every now and again. It amazes me that this show was cancelled, it’s better written and more poignant than nearly every television program on air today.

Now Watching: Nine (2009)

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:23:07 +0100

Now Watching: Nine (2009)

Scott Pilgrim “Fight” trailer remix.

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:56:53 +0100

Scott Pilgrim “Fight” trailer remix.

Some quick rambling thoughts on Inception Let me say this first,...

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:40:00 +0100

Some quick rambling thoughts on Inception

Let me say this first, in my honest opinion Christopher Nolans latest film Inception is his masterpiece and it feels like all of his films have been building up until this point. Combining a dense, well scripted narrative like Memento with the big budget, fantastically choreographed action scenes of The Dark Knight, Inception really is a tour de force from start to finish.

Make no mistake this is a big budget summer blockbuster but it has the one thing that’s been so desperately missing from most this years big budget outings, a brain. The narrative is thick and dense and be prepared for nearly an hour of exposition before the film really gets into the swing of things. Try not to be put off by the idea of ‘dreams within dreams’, there wasn’t one point of this of this movie where I felt confused as to what was going on it really is that fantastically put together, Nolan has been writing this script for a decade and it shows.

The film looks beautiful, like all of Nolans’ films and you’ll struggle to see where the sets end and the cgi begins. When the film does use special effects you’ll find they’re used so well you struggle to believe what you’re actually seeing on screen because it looks so real, Ariadne and Cobbs stroll through Paris is a particular highlight as is Arthurs explanation of a ‘paradox’.

All of the cast deserve recognition, I don’t think theirs a bad performance in the film. Tom Hardy steals every scene he’s in and has surely cemented his status as one of the best character actors working in Hollywood today. Ellen Page does a great job of stepping up into the big leagues as well especially as her character essentially serves as the audiences proxy, asking the questions we feel need to be answered. Ken Wantanbe, Cillian Murphy and Dileep Rao all perform fantastically in much larger roles than I had anticipated and whilst Leo Di Caprio is Dom Cobb and I thought he performed fantastically he’s essentially playing a saner version of his character from Shutter Island. It’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt that really shines in this film, playing Doms straight talking right hand man Arthur, Gordon-Levitt gets nearly as much screen time as DiCaprio himself. His character is the focus of some of the films bigger set pieces and Gordon-Levitt handles them perfectly, this will be the film that takes him from being an indie darling to a Hollywood A lister.

I find it fascinating that Nolan choose two of the industries best up and coming character actors (Gordon-Levitt and Hardy) and made them the action men of the film. In Levitts case at least I think adds more and more weight to the rumors that he’ll be appearing in the next Batman movie which I would love to see!

So there you go, do yourself a favor and check the film out as soon as you can, don’t wait for this one to come out on DVD it really has to be experienced on the big screen.

The latest Scott Pilgrim remixed trailer. I’m giddy with...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:04:49 +0100

The latest Scott Pilgrim remixed trailer.

I’m giddy with excitement…

thedailywhat: Early Bird Special: The Old Spice Guy bids the...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:38:15 +0100

thedailywhat:

Early Bird Special: The Old Spice Guy bids the Internet a fond farewell by being ridiculously handsome one last time.

[oldspice.]

Day 30 of 30 Days of Movies Your favorite ever movie I...

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:49:00 +0100

Day 30 of 30 Days of Movies

Your favorite ever movie

I can’t do it, you can’t make me do it, there’s no way I can name just one movie to be my favorite of all time, in fact I don’t think any cinéphile could if you really pushed them. I’m bending the rules one last time, the above gallery is a selection of my favorite films, this list isn’t definitive though I’d be here all day if I had to list all of my favorite movies.

It’s been awesome doing this list and reading others, I’ve realized I’ve got a lot of films that I still need to see and a bunch more films that I need to rewatch.

Now Watching: The Limits of Control (2009)

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:41:24 +0100

Now Watching: The Limits of Control (2009)

Hyde Park, London 10/07/2010

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:41:00 +0100

Hyde Park, London 10/07/2010

Day 29 of 30 Days of Movies A movie from your childhood I felt...

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:41:33 +0100

Day 29 of 30 Days of Movies

A movie from your childhood

I felt really old when Chris put Toy Story down as a movie from his childhood, my movie from my childhood is one a little bit older than that. E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial is the earliest film I can remember watching, mostly because my parents remind me fairly regularly that I spent the latter part of the film of in tears.

Now when I watch it, I don’t sit their in tears I sit there admiring the child-like wonder of it all and remembering that Spielberg truly is a master of his craft.

Day 28 of 30 Days of Movies Favorite film by your favorite...

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:17:29 +0100

Day 28 of 30 Days of Movies

Favorite film by your favorite director

Rian Johnsons directorial debut Brick blew my mind the first time I saw it and it still continues to blow my mind today, it’s one of the few films that I can watch on a regular basis and marvel at its artistic craftsmanship. The film features fantastic performances from everyone but it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt who really gets to shine, completely shaking off any memory you had of him from 3rd Rock from the Sun and becoming the brilliant actor we all know today.

Brick is one of the few films I’ll defend to the death because it’s one of the few films I can’t work out why people don’t like.

Day 27 of 30 Days of Movies A movie you wished you’d seen...

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:50:00 +0100

Day 27 of 30 Days of Movies

A movie you wished you’d seen at the cinema

I really wished this one wasn’t such an easy pick but unfortunately it was. When I was younger my parents took me to the cinema and asked me what I wanted watch, being a young naive gamer I asked my parents to take me to see Super Mario Bros. The other choice I had and the one I should have made was Jurassic Park.

Seriously what hell was I thinking! I would have loved to have seen this on the big screen for the first time, the dinosaurs, the pacing and the music are all phenomenal and to have seen them for the first time on VHS was doing this film a disservice. If I ever get the chance to see this on the big screen I’ll jump at it.

Day 26 of 30 Days of Movies A movie you love that everyone else...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:47:05 +0100

Day 26 of 30 Days of Movies

A movie you love that everyone else hates

There has never been a film that all of my friends have hated and I’ve loved until Cloverfield, sometimes I feel like I’m the only person that likes it. How can you not like this film? The phenomenal trailer, the minimal marketing and the exceptional viral marketing scheme that took place online. Not to mention the fact that you didn’t know exactly what ‘Clover’ was going to look until you actually sat down in the theater.

Sure this film has it’s plot holes (how did the tape last for so long, not to mention lasting a huge explosion) but Abrams reinvented the monster movie in a way nobody has equaled since.

I want this framed and on my wall. It shall be purchased, along...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:10:20 +0100

I want this framed and on my wall.

It shall be purchased, along with the first one.