FIlm Review
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 …
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 …
Film Review: Catch the Fair One
Sports films would be pretty limited if they were solely about the competition itself. Sure, some just focus on the subject’s attempts to achieve their goal, but the best ones go deeper. Concentrate more on a personal struggle, whether that’s internal or with an outside influence. In Catch the Fair One, a former boxing champion …
Film Review: All the Moons
At some stage, which is probably the fault of Bram Stroker and Lord Byron in equal measure, vampires became sexy. Many cultures, in almost every part of the globe, have legends or folktales of blood-sucking creatures. These monsters certainly weren’t tall handsome Counts with hypnotic eyes. The Gothic period helped fuel a narrative of immortality …
Film Review: The Automat
The concept of automats might seem alien to generations born in towns and cities now full of cafes and restaurants, but those of a certain age will remember a time before gastropubs, KFC and McDonalds. There’s something very Tomorrow’s World about the concept of a restaurant where you selected your food and drink from vending …
Film Review: Air Doll
I think it’s fair to say that men are quite often driven more by the thing between their legs than their actual brains. There has been enough evidence of this, over the years, to fill every book ever written. It hasn’t passed filmmakers by either. Movies such as Mannequin and Lars and the Real Girl …
Film Review: In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand
Fandom and celebrity obsession in the 1990s looked very different to it does today. There was no social media or online presence. No instant way to discover facts about a star, so ardent fans needed to get their information from print media, radio or TV. That build-up a certain kind of mythos around stars and …
Film Review – Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street
Whilst it might not have had the same cultural impact in the UK as in the US, Sesame Street is one of those rare TV programmes which is universally remembered with fondness. Loved by young and old alike, not only did it provide (almost transfixing) entertainment for young minds, it also did a great job …