And so an end of the first year in the life of Momentary Cinema has been reached. It has been a pleasant and enjoyable experience working on this film blog and I am gratified that it has reached many people across the world - comments about the blog and its contents from people I know … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s First Year: A Re-Glance
This is the third and last 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 … Continue reading Exploring Hitchcock Part 3: Don’t read this! – Vertigo and Psycho
The Emerald Isle has offered a lot to the world (submarines, Samuel Beckett, decent stout, Clonakilty black pudding etc.) but if you were to look at Hollywood films over the years, it would seem that all we have been good for are things like potatoes, leprechauns, excessive drinking and terrorists. Begorrah and bejaysus, a soft … Continue reading Hollywood Fieldtrips to Ireland: The Good, the Bad and the Uafásach*
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
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see! And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him John 6. 7-8 (New Testament) Recent events in the US have put the … Continue reading Nazism and the impact of World War II as depicted on Film
Maudie (2016) Directed by Aisling Walsh, starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke Maudie is a small-budget Irish/Canadian film based on the life of Nova Scotia painter Maud Lewis (played by Sally Hawkins), and her long but volatile relationship with the illiterate, ill-at-ease and often belligerent Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). The film begins with Maud as … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Maudie and It
There are certain rules known only to a select few by which it is possible to predict the quality of movies. The origin of these rules is often obscure and difficult to explain. One, which has entered common thought, is Rule 21: "The 'Director’s Cut' is always the best version of the movie, except when … Continue reading Rule 21: The ‘Director’s Cut’ is Always the Best Version of the Movie, Except When it isn’t
‘…a rather lackluster way to end the trilogy…’ This is the third installment of Coogan and Brydon’s sojourn of comic impersonations, while sampling culinary delights and generally driving about. The first was set in Northern England, the second along the coast of Italy and now the third in Spain. This is the least interesting of … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Trip to Spain (2017 Michael Winterbottom)
'…sits nicely in the cyberpunk genre…’ Ghost in the Shell is a well-established franchise in comics, movies and TV. Just not as live action. The animated movie Ghost in the Shell (1995), based on the 1989 manga series, has been so influential in science fiction cinema that it has become an almost impossible task to … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Ghost in the Shell (2017 Rupert Sanders)
The fear, the tension, the anticipation surrounding the proposed release of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in December of this year is palpable. You can taste it in the air. Speculation about the plot, the quality of the production and the new direction of the canon take up more bytes on the internet … Continue reading Hope for the Future – Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi Preview
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