Film Review: Cinderella
Once upon a time, around about the 1970s, there was a Ladybird book called Cinderella. This book was so beloved, not only because it recreated the story for a whole generation of children, but most notably because Cinderella attended the ball on three different evenings, wearing three different dresses, which was simply amazing. This book …
Not Forgotten: Elliott Smith – either/or
It was a movie that first brought my attention to Elliott Smith. On watching Good Will Hunting in 1998 I heard some remarkable songs on the soundtrack that I didn’t know. It was Miss Misery playing over the end credits that particularly caught my attention. I loved it so much that I stayed to the …
Film Review: Into The Woods
What do you get if you blend Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and The Beanstalk with Stephen Sondheim? Well, once upon a time… Into The Woods is a film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim and Jame Lapine musical, which jumbles several different fairy tales to create a dark and delightful story. The …
Film Review – Kingsman: The Secret Service
It’s funny when you see a film poster and you get heartsink. Colin Firth looking slightly Bond-esque framed by a woman’s open legs just doesn’t do it for me. Good job I didn’t let it put me off too much. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is an old fashioned spy from an underground network fronted by …
Film Review: Wild
Reese Witherspoon de-glamorized, a Nick Hornby screenplay and a 1000 mile walk in the wilderness? Sounds interesting…. Based on the true account of Cheryl Strayed’s trek through the American wilderness via the Pacific Crest Trail, Wild tells the story of a woman’s hike to find a better version of herself. After several years of trauma …
Film Review – Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Who doesn’t like a museum that comes to life at night? I know I do! If only they did… Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) and friends are back in the third installment of the Night at the Museum series, but all is not well in New York’s Museum of Natural History. The exhibits are noticing they …
Not Forgotten At Christmas: Elf
There are a handful of Christmas films I always aim to see every year. High up on my list of must-see festive movies is Elf, so when I got a chance to see it on the big screen this holiday season, I recruited a friend and packed the mince pies for the screening. Honestly, there …
Not Forgotten At Christmas: Die Hard *
*for the purpose of this review and in homage to my cinema companion, Bruce Willis will be referred to as Bruiser throughout. It was a stroke of genius that caused Cineworld Sheffield to put Die Hard in their schedule of classic movies on a cold, dark Monday night in December, a stroke of genius that …
Not Forgotten: Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society
When Robin Williams died in August this year there was a genuine public sense of sadness and disbelief that he had gone. The legacy of his film career displays the breadth of his genius as an actor, both in terms of his undoubted comic talent, but also in performances that could provoke such strong emotions …
Not Forgotten: Cameron Crowe – Almost Famous
First released in 2000, Almost Famous was the first of Cameron Crowe’s films that I saw at the cinema. Drawn in by the strange concept of a young teenager on the road with a rock band in the 60’s, it was certainly one I wanted to see. This started my love of Crowe’s movies, one …