The Evil Dead, 1981. Directed by Sam Raimi. Starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich and Theresa Tilly. SYNOPSIS: Five students journey to an isolated cabin where they find The Book of the Dead and unwittingly release an evil force from within the woods. The first outing in the deliciously campy Evil Dead […]
Movie Review – The Expendables (2010)
The Expendables, 2010. Directed by Sylvester Stallone. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Terry Crews, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels, Charisma Carpenter and Arnold Schwarzenegger. SYNOPSIS: The ultimate mercenary crew embark on the ultimate mission. I love action films. It’s a grand statement […]
Thoughts on… Cyrus (2010)
Cyrus, 2010. Directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass. Starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener. SYNOPSIS: A likeable loser gets more than he bargained for when he meets the woman of his dreams and discovers the other man in her life – her 21-year-old son. I was never able to […]
Movie Review – Tamara Drewe (2010)
Tamara Drewe, 2010. Directed by Stephen Frears. Starring Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Roger Allam, Luke Evans and Tamsin Greig. SYNOPSIS: A glamorous newspaper journalist returns to the scene of her adolescence as her family home is put up for sale, only to cause a stir among the locals. Consensus = broad unanimity; general or widespread […]
Classic Cinema: Animal Crackers (1930)
Animal Crackers, 1930. Directed by Victor Heerman. Starring Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Lillian Roth and Margaret Dumont. SYNOPSIS: The Marx Brothers try to recover a stolen painting during a madcap house party. Animal Crackers is mad. It’s stark raving, piano-lid slamming, trousers-stuffed-with-cutlery mad. How is it that an 80 year old […]
Encountering Spielberg: A Steven Spielberg Profile (Part 4)
Trevor Hogg profiles the career of legendary Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg in the fourth of a five part feature… read parts one, two and three. Collaborating with co-director Douglas Day Stewart (Listen to Me), filmmaker Steven Spielberg produced a ninety-minute video release called The Visionary (1990). The Western centres around a psychiatrist who skeptically recruits […]
Dolph Lundgren is out for Round 2!
Tom Jolliffe discusses the ins and outs, ups and downs, past, present and future of Ivan Drago… One of the Reagan era children, from the taut, muscular womb of 80’s action cinema, Dolph Lundgren never quite hit the big league. In the shadow of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis were Van Damme, Seagal, and Norris. Then […]
Thoughts on… The Runaways (2010)
The Runaways, 2010. Directed by Floria Sigismondi. Starring Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon, Riley Keough, Stella Maeve and Scout Taylor-Compton. SYNOPSIS: A coming-of-age biopic about 70s teenage band The Runaways. Fronted by the then-15 year old-‘jailbait’ blonde Cherie Curie, with backing vocals and electric guitar provided by Joan Jett (who went on to sell […]
R.I.P. Claude Chabrol (1930-2010)
Renowned French filmmaker Claude Chabrol has passed away today aged 80. Beginning his career as a film critic alongside contemporaries Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut with the influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, Chabrol helped to usher in the French New Wave with his self-financed debut feature Le beau Serge […]
World Cinema: Largo Winch (2008)
Largo Winch, 2008. Directed by Jérôme Salle. Starring Tomer Sisley, Mélanie Thierry, Kristin Scott Thomas, Miki Manojlovic and Steven Waddington. SYNOPSIS: When a wealthy business tycoon is found dead his adopted son and heir suspects foul play and sets out to protect his father’s estate and avenge his death. Prior to viewing this film I’d […]
