It is a quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon. You’ve got the house to yourself for the first time in ages. You don't have the energy for mayhem and chaos. You’re just going to stay in and watch a movie. But what movie? What are you in the mood for? And is your mood likely to change? … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 1 – Firefox (1982 Clint Eastwood)
Many of my favorite horror or supernatural movies have been inspired by Stephen King, so I thought it was fitting to take a look at the role and influence that the 'King of Horror' has had on cinema. King has published a plethora of novels and short stories in the horror, fantasy, supernatural, science fiction … Continue reading A short look into Stephen King’s influence on cinema
The Children Act (2018, FilmNation Entertainment and BBC Films) Directed by Richard Eyre. Featuring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Fionn Whitehead and Ben Chaplin. Based on a novel by Ian McEwan. This English-set drama follows the traumatic life choices surrounding religious objections to blood transfusions by Jehovah Witnesses. Seventeen year-old Adam (Whitehead) is dying and only … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Children Act and Vice
Prologue – A Man With No Name This is the story of a story. Not the whole story of course just the highlights. The greatest stories are timeless. They crop up again and again. Christopher Booker, in his 2004 book, described seven basic plots. Leo Tolstoy thought that there were only two: a man goes … Continue reading Akira Kurosawa meets The Man With No Name
Foreword by Robin Stevens 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 … Continue reading Akira Kurosawa – A Master of Film Part 3: Dersu Uzala and the Russian Wilderness
Lean on Pete (2017, A24, Curzon Artifical Eye, BFI and Film4) Directed by Andrew Haigh, based on a novel by Willy Vlautin, featuring Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, Travis Fimmel, Steve Zahn and Steve Buscemi Andrew Haigh has beautifully adapted Willy Vlautin’s brilliant and understated novel for the screen. Having read the book when it was … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Lean on Pete and Disobedience
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
This is the second in a series of posts on the filmmaking of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980): one of the greatest directors of all time. These posts are authored by Robin Stevens, JJ McDermott and Alan Matthews, and the idea is for each part to take a selection of Hitchcock’s films and analyze them in detail. … Continue reading Exploring Hitchcock Part 2: The Early Masterpieces and his (not so) Grand Finale (by JJ McDermott)
This is the first in a series of posts on the filmmaking of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), one of the greatest directors of all time. These posts will be authored by Robin Stevens, JJ McDermott and Alan Matthews, and the idea is for each part to take a selection of Hitchcock’s films and analyze them in … Continue reading Exploring Hitchcock Part 1: A Deeper Look at Rebecca, Rear Window and The Birds (by Robin Stevens)
