The first film I saw in the cinema was Honey I Shrunk the Kids, a Disney film penned (weirdly) by body horror masters Brian Yuzna (Society) and Stuart Gordon (Re-animator), and released in the summer of 1989. I was four, so the memory is a bit patchy but I do recall being very complimentary of … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1980s
The following twenty films from the 1960s are included in the top 100 on the Sight and Sound critics' list of the Greatest Films of All Time: Black Girl (1965, Ousmane Sembène) (=95) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, Sergio Leone) (=95) The Leopard (1963, Luchino Visconti) (=90) Pierrot le fou (1965, Jean-Luc … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1960s
Anna Christie, an adaptation of a Eugene O’Neill play, was the first big Hollywood release of the 1930s. It starred the Swedish icon Greta Garbo in her first talking role, and it delivered her famous line at the beginning of the film: ‘Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby!’ … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1930s
With a mocking smile, he placed one hand upon my shoulder and, holding me tight, bared my throat with the other, saying as he did so: 'First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions...' And oh, my God, my God, pity me! He placed his reeking lips upon my throat! Mina Harker narrates in Bram … Continue reading Horror in Store, Part 1: Dracula’s Influence
The Dig (2021, Netflix) Featuring Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Ben Chaplin and Johnny Flynn. Screenplay by Moira Buffini. Based on ‘The Dig’ by John Preston. Directed by Simon Stone. There is a certain formula to British historical dramas that make me a bit queasy. It may be the stuffiness of the characters, the … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Dig and Ammonite
Good documentaries are hard to come by but they are there if you look for them! Netflix have several mainstream and topical documentary series in their catalogue, and many from this year have been worth the remote control button press. The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls is a riveting sports documentary. … Continue reading Film in 2020: Five Must-See Documentaries
The film year during Covid began with a gawk-inducing attempt by Wonder Woman Gal Gadot to bring sunshine into people’s lives affected by lockdown by assembling a star-studded line-up to collectively sing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, and it ended with Tom Cruise giving a foul-mouthed tirade to a few people who stood too close to each … Continue reading Film in 2020: Best and Worst in a Year of Few
There are so many incredible examples of cinematography from around the world. So much so that it can be very difficult to settle on a particular moment or place in cinema history for an appropriate inclusion to this great series that Robin has devised. But I thought it relevant to go back to when cinematography … Continue reading Cinematography of the World, Part 2: Jack Cardiff in 1940s Britain
Middling films of the year There were three particular movies from three acclaimed and barrier-breaking directors that I believe could have done more than they did this year. Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma was beautiful, affecting and imbued with symbolism, but it lacked the magic of some of his earlier stuff. The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos was … Continue reading Review of the Year 2019 in Film
Time for a driving movie. From low budget to big budget via Tina Turner, there is the glory that is the Mad Max films. But not today. Let us assume that for a moment the cartoon crassness of The Fast and the Furious franchise is not welcome. You could refer back to a whole blog … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 5 – Hell Drivers (1957 Cy Endfield)
Momentary Cinema 