Tom Jolliffe offers up an essential John Woo selection… John Woo has been a little quiet of late, but the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker is set to make his Hollywood return this year with his “comeback” movie Silent Night, which has just received its first trailer this week. To the uninitiated, John Woo was once […]
Nicolas Cage shares first Face/Off 2 plot details
Back in 2019 it was announced that Paramount Pictures was looking to reboot the 1997 action-thriller Face/Off, before The Guest and Godzilla vs. Kong helmer Adam Wingard was brought on board in 2021 to tackle what was confirmed to be a direct sequel to the original John Woo film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. […]
When a Soundtrack Becomes Beautifully Contrary to Violence on Screen
Tom Jolliffe looks at the effective use of contrarian music in films which show violence… There’s something about a great film soundtrack whether it’s the score or songs (or both). You can have a melancholic drama which will usually be laced with melancholic music. You can have the rousing action adventure with the John Williams […]
The Problems Facing the Face/Off Sequel
Tom Jolliffe on the problems facing a Face/Off sequel almost a quarter of a century on from the original… Even in an ever changing film climate, with theatrical distribution facing unprecedented difficulties when coming out the other side of the global pandemic, the predilection for remakes/reboots/sequels continues. If it worked once it could work again. […]
Broken Arrow at 25
Tom Jolliffe takes a look back at John Woo’s somewhat forgotten sophomore Hollywood effort, Broken Arrow, which turns 25… Remember Broken Arrow? Memory a bit hazy? Well John Woo’s second Hollywood film, a box office hit at the time, turns 25. In 1996 we were seeing a decided shift away from the kind of heroics […]
Face/Off sequel coming from Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard
Deadline reports that the 1997 cult classic Face/Off will get a modern update, which the director says is not a remake but rather a direct sequel to the John Travolta and Nicolas Cage action thriller. Paramount has tapped Adam Wingard, the man behind The Guest, You’re Next, and Godzilla vs. Kong, for this new project. […]
Paramount Pictures rebooting Face/Off
Paramount Pictures has tapped screenwriter Oren Uziel (The Cloverfield Paradox, Sonic the Hedgehog) to script a reboot of the 1997 John Woo action thriller Face/Off. The original film pitted John Travolta’s FBI agent Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage’s homicidal sociopath Castor Troy – with the actors switching up roles as their characters undergo surgery which […]
Why Cinema Needs Nicolas Cage Cranked Up to 11
Tom Jolliffe on why Nicolas Cage at his wildest is a gift to cinema… To say Nic Cage is a divisive character would be quite the understatement. Likewise, as an actor. You could say, with great understatement, that he’s an oddball. As an actor, you could also say he tends to be most known for […]
20 Years Back: Celebrating the Cinematic Delights of 1997
Tom Jolliffe celebrates the cinematic delights of 1997… 1997. It doesn’t feel that distant but we’re now talking 20 years. This was the year I left school. That officially makes me old as fuck I believe. Lady Di passed, Tony Blair became PM, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, Mike Tyson had a Holyfield Ear […]
Critical Thinking: What You Like vs. What Is ‘Good’
I’ve been writing about film for a long time. To quote Nicki Minaj; I’ve been hot since flip phones. In another couple of years I’ll be at the point where I can describe the span of time I’ve spent reviewing and writing about movies as ‘decades’. When you’ve been doing anything that long, you notice […]
