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
Good Time (2017, A24, Elara Pictures & Rhea Films) Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, featuring Robert Pattinson, Jennifer Jason Leigh Benny Safdie and Barkhad Abdi It is just too rare to find a film like Good Time these days. Independently stylish, original, creative story pitch, and taut, knife-edge action. There are no ground-breaking … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Good Time and Ideal Home
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
Red Sparrow (2018, 20th Century Fox and TSG Entertainment) Directed by Francis Lawrence, Featuring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker and Jeremy Irons) Red Sparrow is a Russian spy thriller that tells the story of manipulation, power, survival and betrayal. The main character Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a Russian ballerina who supports … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Red Sparrow and I, Tonya
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
Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016, Hypnotic Pictures & Picture Palace Pictures) Directed by Bill Morrison; Produced by Bill Morrison and Madeleine Molyneaux As an archaeologist and a film enthusiast, I have always wanted to explore this topic more – the genuine and artful presentation of the fruits of archaeological discovery on film. There is only … Continue reading The Two Reviews – Documentary Special: Dawson City: Frozen Time and The Newspaperman
Avengers: Infinity War (2018, Marvel Studios & Walt Disney Studios) Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, featuring Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch and Josh Brolin (and a heap of others). Avengers: Infinity War is a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero film, and a sequel to two previous Avengers films. This is a long … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Avengers: Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story
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
Momentary Cinema 