As the book The Silence of the Lambs (1988) begins Jack Crawford is already hunting a serial killer nicknamed “Buffalo Bill”. He is short of personnel and resources and he is without his former protégé, Will Graham. He is also dealing with the increasing ill health of his wife as she struggles with cancer. If … Continue reading Hunting the Cannibal: The Heroes of Thomas Harris, Part 2 – Clarice Starling
Thomas Harris has created some chilling and hideously memorable characters. Of course, everyone remembers Hannibal Lecter (or ‘Lecktor’ in some versions of the character). This is not surprising. After all, everyone remembers Dracula and the Wolfman but few can enthusiastically list all the brave men and women who hunted the monsters. What are the serial … Continue reading Hunting the Cannibal: The Heroes of Thomas Harris, Part 1 – Will Graham
Akira Kurosawa (黒沢 明 1910 – 1998) was a master of film craft, and one of the greatest directors of all time. He grew up in Tokyo, watching silent films from around the world and going to see traditional and modern Japanese theatre. He became a painter, and in his 20s got into script writing, editing and … Continue reading Akira Kurosawa – A Master of Film Part 2: The Humanity of the Seven Samurai
Akira Kurosawa (黒沢 明 1910 – 1998) was a master of film craft, and one of the greatest directors of all time. He grew up in Tokyo watching silent films from around the world and going to see traditional and modern Japanese theatre. He became a painter, and in his 20s got into script writing, editing and … Continue reading Akira Kurosawa – A Master of Film Part 1: The Rashomon Effect
The Frenchman Henri Girard authored his debut novel Le salaire de la peur (literally translated as ‘The salary of fear’) under his pseudonym Georges Arnaud in 1950. The novel was a fiction inspired by his time spent in South America in the late 1940s and 1950s. Girard/Arnaud had an eventful life up until then having … Continue reading Adaptations Part 4: The Wages of Fear – Clouzot’s Explosive Drama and Friedkin’s Thrilling Sorcery
Vampire-themed horror movies can leave many with nightmares that last forever, but what's not to like about vampire horror? The seduction, the lust, the charm, the passion and of course, the violence and horror. The 1980s was crammed full of cult classic vampire movie feasts. The cheesiness, stereotypes and clichéd one-liners of these films make … Continue reading Vampire-fest: 80s Cult Horror at Its Best – The Lost Boys vs Fright Night
Solo: A Star Wars Story is a good film. It isn’t great. It won’t change your life. It won’t make you a better person. Or a deeper thinker. Or a more considerate lover. But it WILL pass a couple of hours of entertaining escapism – set in the Star Wars Universe but not relying on … Continue reading Solo: A Star Wars Story – Stuck-up, Half-witted and Scruffy-looking But Still A Pretty Good Movie
I put together this piece (about cities and how they are presented in film) from a number of notes and emails I wrote some years ago. Someone I know was giving a course in the Middle East on that very subject and they asked if I had any ideas, so I managed to collate a … Continue reading The Cinematic City: An Overview
I have always been the sort of person that tries to stay away from horror movies as I get scared easily, but there is something about the classic horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s that deliver a level of terror and suspense that makes you want to sneak a peek through your covered eyes … Continue reading Classic Horror Reviews: The Shining vs The Exorcist
Andrzej Wajda’s masterpiece Ashes and Diamonds is set in a small provincial Polish town during early May 1945. Specifically on the day that Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. Here, we find a snapshot of Polish exiles and Soviet army occupants confronting the dawn of a new Poland. The events of the film are … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 3: Ashes and Diamonds (1958 Andrzei Wajda)
Momentary Cinema 