Hollywood legend Dennis Hopper has died at his home in California earlier today from complications of prostate cancer, aged 74. Hopper – who had battled the illness for almost a year and had recently received a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – enjoyed a career that spanned over half a century. He […]

Luke Owen with his thoughts on the low budget horror debut… Some people have accused me in the past of having double standards. I have criticised films such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for having a terrible story structure, dreadful dialogue and awful acting. Yet I can sit and watch Happy Birthday to Me, […]

Former child star Gary Coleman has passed away aged 42. The actor – best known as pint-sized Arnold Jackson in the classic TV comedy series Diff’rent Strokes (1978 – 1986) – suffered a brain haemorrhage after fall at his home on Wednesday and died earlier today after his life support machine was turned off. After […]

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of Japanese animated filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki in the first of a five part feature… “I was an overly self-conscious boy and I had a hard time holding my own in fights with others,” recalled renowned Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, “but my classmates eventually accepted me because I was good at […]

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, 2009. Directed by Werner Herzog. Starring Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer. SYNOPSIS: After suffering a spinal injury in the line of work, newly-promoted Lieutenant Terence McDonagh (Nicholas Cage) spirals into drug abuse and corruption. There’s a piece of modern movie-industry jargon that I cringe whenever […]

Robin Hood, 2010. Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Strong, William Hurt and Max von Sydow. SYNOPSIS: At the end of the 12th century, common archer Robin Hood makes his way back to England from fighting in King Richard’s crusades in France, only to become involved in another battle, […]

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Gary Collinson selects his five essential movie sequels that improve on the original… These days if a film isn’t a remake, then there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to be a sequel. In fact, it seems to have become […]

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of filmmaker Ridley Scott in the final installment of a five part feature… read parts one, two, three and four. Reuniting with Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), Ridley Scott produced A Good Year (2006). “I like to work with Russell,” said the British filmmaker, “we get on very well and […]

Four Lions, 2010. Directed by Chris Morris. Starring Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, Adeel Akhtar, Archer Ali and Preeya Kalidas. SYNOPSIS: After accidentally killing his own men at a training camp in Pakistan, Omar (Ahmed) returns to England to form a suicide terrorist cell with ideas of blowing up a major British target. Unfortunately […]

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, 2009. Directed by Jack Perez (as Ace Hannah). Starring Deborah Gibson, Lorenzo Lamas, Vic Chao, Sean Lawlor and Jay Beyers. SYNOPSIS: When two enormous prehistoric creatures contend for supremacy of the sea, the California coast becomes the setting for a showdown that’s been centuries in the making. When you give […]