Film Review – The Pilot: A Battle for Survival
One of the most romantic, and indeed dangerous, jobs during World War II was that of a pilot. Fifty-one percent of Britain’s Bomber Command crew died during the conflict and while most lost their lives in combat many also perished in accidents and on training exercises. It wasn’t a career for the faint of heart …
Film Review: The Burning Sea
There’s nothing like a good, or even bad for that matter, disaster movie. They’re the very definition of cinematic escapism. The bigger and dafter the better. The they don’t usually stand up to scrutiny is neither here nor there. Hollywood is keen to oblige, but Harald Rosenløw-Eeg has other ideas. He’s now written three really …
Film Review: Hard Hit
If you think about it, it’s far too easy for someone to make a bomb. Anyone can theoretically do it at home with ingredients widely available on the high street. There’s probably even a Youtube video for it! It’s a device which can work so well in film, especially when it’s used in conjunction with …
Blu-Ray Review: Love Affair
Leo McCarey is one of those filmmakers whose name has almost been forgotten by time, even though some of his work has not. Although he only made twenty-five feature films over a period of five decades, he was involved in hundreds more. Writing, directing and producing. He’s probably best-known today for Duck Soup, making a …
Film Review: Old Henry
While the dangers of the ‘Wild West’ frontier have been conjured up so many times by numerous filmmakers, it is perhaps the more introspective narratives which have the most resonance. Movies which, instead of telling a story about someone in their prime, focus on more contemplative and reflective characters during their autumn years. The likes …
Blu-Ray Review: Written on the Wind
They certainly don’t make them like Rock Hudson anymore. He was amongst the biggest heartthrobs of the Golden Age of Hollywood and became one of the most iconic stars of his generation. The man christened Roy Harold Scherer Jr. made a splash in Magnificent Obsession but it was alongside Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean in …
Blu-Ray Review: The Indian Tomb
We live in a world which is now almost devoid of mystery, and it’s not a better place for it. Gone are the days when people who were fascinated by the exotic and the mythical had to feed their obsessions vicariously, through reports from adventurers such as Marco Polo. There was a time when Europeans …
Film Review: Here Before
Many of Britain’s most celebrated actors attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Their rollcall of alumni is too extensive to list, but the likes of Richard Attenborough, Kenneth Branagh, Vivien Leigh, Cynthia Erivo and Ralph Fiennes have been through their doors. Another notable graduate is Andrea Riseborough, who is fast becoming …
Film Review: The Real Charlie Chaplin
The silent era produced a number of famous faces and Hollywood stars, but the big three of comedy were Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. Indeed, it’s the latter’s ‘Tramp’ which remains the most iconic visage from that period in today’s popular culture. With the likes of Modern Times, The Kid, City Lights and …
Film Review: A Banquet
When discussing horror cinema, thoughts naturally turn to vampires, werewolves, witches and other supernatural creatures, which have dominated popular culture. These are the monsters of our childhood and the popular face of the genre. That or humans who embody, whether by nature, nurture or by dint of possession, something inherently evil. However, as most of …