Commenting on the critics with Simon Columb… Stuart Heritage writes about Paranormal Activity 4 in The Guardian… with a very pessimistic attitude: “The problem is, the wheels might fall off at any minute. The Paranormal Activity formula is now so slick that the films pretty much write themselves. There is a family. They set up […]
Films To Watch Before You Die #44 – Chinatown (1974)
D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… Chinatown, 1974. Directed by Roman Polanski. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. Chinatown is Roman Polanski’s classic neo-noir film set in Los Angeles during the California Water Wars of 1937. The multi-layered story full of twists and […]
Image Conscious: A conversation with visual effects supervisor John Bruno
Trevor Hogg chats with Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor John Bruno… “I met Ivan Reitman who said he could get money to do this movie Heavy Metal [1981],” recalls veteran American Visual Effects Supervisor John Bruno. “We setup a facility with Gerry Potterton in Montreal; there was a tax structure. I did Taarna. Gerry showed […]
Coming soon… Holy Franchise, Batman!
Regular readers of this site may be aware that last year I sold my first book, a non-fiction title charting the entire screen history of Bob Kane’s Dark Knight Detective. Entitled Holy Franchise, Batman! and based upon this three-part article from way back in 2010, the book was picked up by Robert Hale Publishing in […]
Films To Watch Before You Die #43 – TRON: Legacy (2010)
D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… TRON: Legacy, 2010. Directed by Joseph Kosinski. Starring Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner. Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982 classic Tron. This time around Kevin Flynn (Bridges) has long since disappeared, […]
Star Trek 2 moves up to full impulse power
As we approach the start of principal photography, the cast for J.J. Abrams as yet Untitled Star Trek Sequel has been filling out rapidly in the past few days, led by the announcement that British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has secured the role of the primary antagonist – a part that had previously been linked to […]
Films To Watch Before You Die #42 – Apocalypse Now (1979)
D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… Apocalypse Now, 1979. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest and Harrison Ford. Apocalypse Now is Francis Ford Coppola’s epic tale of the Vietnamese War. The […]
DVD Review – Daytime Drinking (2008)
Daytime Drinking, 2008. Directed by Noh Young-Seok. Starring Song Sam-Dong and Yuk Sang-Yeop. SYNOPSIS: A heart-broken guy sets off on an alcohol-fuelled journey of discovery. Daytime Drinking is a surreal Korean comedy following Jin, an average Joe who has just been dumped by his girlfriend. The film begins with Jin and his friends gathered around […]
DVD Review – Moss (2010)
Moss (a.k.a. Iggi), 2010. Directed by Kang Woo-Suk. Starring Park Hae-il, Jeong Jae-young and Yu Jun-Sang. SYNOPSIS: A man returns to his hometown after the mysterious death of his father and stumbles into a dark web of secrets and betrayals. No one likes disappointing a friend. I’m sure “stop letting friends down” or “make more […]
DVD Review – The Violent Zone (2002)
The Violent Zone, 2002. Directed by Victor Nunez. Starring Timothy Olyphant, Josh Brolin, Sarah Winter, William Forsythe and Josh Lucas. SYNOPSIS: A sheriff forms an unlikely alliance with an ex-con to bring down a local gang. Before Josh Brolin made No Country for Old Men, American Gangster, and W. and before Timothy Olyphant made Die […]