DVD/Blu-Ray Review
Blu-Ray Review: Blood Simple
Joel and Ethan Coen are two of the most unique film-makers working in American cinema today. They burst onto the scene with Fargo and The Big Lebowski and have never looked back. They’ve subsequently had hits with O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, Hail, Caesar and Inside Llewyn Davis. However, whilst …
Blu-Ray Review: Fragment of Fear
During the 1960s, David Hemmings was one of the most well-known faces of British acting. After his big break in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup, he became a pin-up and was regularly to be seen in the gossip columns of newspapers and magazines. Capitalising on this success, he starred in Barbarella, Camelot and The Charge of the …
Blu-Ray Review: Zoology
Individualism isn’t a characteristic necessarily valued in many societies. Indeed, people who are considered different are often viewed as strange, outsiders, weirdos, perverts or troublemakers. The rise of nationalism around the world has led to a rise in conformity. This is especially the case in Russia. With Vladimir Putin (in all but name) controlling most …
Blu-Ray Review: Hammer Horror Collection One
For two decades, beginning in the mid-1950s, ‘Hammer Horror’ was the epitome of genre cinema in the UK. With a cast of familiar faces (including Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee) Hammer Film Productions churned out an almost constant stream of terror, blood and monsters. There most popular titles revolved around Dracula, Frankenstein and …
Blu-Ray Review – Channel Zero: Candle Cove
As regular as clockwork, every few years there’s an outcry about the negative effect television and/or films is having on children. If it’s not that, then it’s video games. It seems that just about any problem in modern society which afflicts the young can be blamed on one medium or another. It never every seems …
Blu-Ray Review: The Villainess
The lone female assassin motif has produced some memorable cinematic performances. Whether it’s Uma Thurman in Kill Bill 1&2, Anne Parillaud as Nikita or Meiko Kaji in Lady Snowblood, there’s a powerful celluloid attraction to the pull of deadly sensuality. Indeed, this has been particularly the case in Asia, where Shu Qi in The Assassin, …
Celluloid Screams Review: Tag
There are few, if any, Asian film directors with a vision as distinctive and unique as Sion Sono. Unfortunately, this leads to a varying quality of output. For every Love Exposure, Cold Fish, Suicide Club or Noriko’s Dinner Table there’s a Tokyo Tribe, Shinjuku Swan or Bad Film. His latest film to hit the UK …
Blu-Ray Review: Churchill
Wars are not simply won by soldiers. Indeed, most are lost by bad leaders. The position of leadership comes with many roles and responsibilities. There are those who lead from the front and there are those who orchestrate things from behind the scenes. Arguably the greatest and most important leader in (certainly modern) British history …
Blu-Ray Review: Le Plaisir
Some celluloid experiences are just pure pleasure. Aptly named, Le Plaisir is one such film. Based on a triptych of tales by Guy de Maupassant, Max Ophuls brings the bewildering decadence of late 19th century France to life on the screen. His camera roams around luxurious ballrooms, high class brothels and artist studios, dazzling and …
Blu-Ray Review – George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn
The sad passing of George A. Romero this year took away one of the true legends of genre cinema. With his zombie trilogy of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, he completely changed the landscape of horror film making. Indeed, he single-handedly re-animated the sub-genre of zombies. …