Guy Richie’s 2009 reboot of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation heralded a long overdue return to form for the English director. But perhaps more importantly, the film was a huge commercial success; taking a massive $524,028,679 box office return from a budget of $90 million. With figures like these a sequel was inevitable; and true to Hollywoodform Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has followed hot on the heels of its predecessor. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law return in their roles of Holmes and Watson respectively and Jared Harris joins the cast as Holmes’ ultimate advisory Professor Moriarty. [click to continue…]
Martin Scorsese is one of the most well respected American filmmakers of his generation. His work has enthralled and inspired legions of film fans and filmmakers alike for over thirty years. In this long and decorated career however, Scorsese has never before filmed a 3D movie. So, in a way Hugo is something a landmark moment for his career. The main question is; could a filmmaker of Scorsese’s phenomenal talent utilise the technology in a way that breaks new cinematic ground or will he find himself falling into the same old visual and thematic traps as so many of those who have ventured into the third dimension before him. [click to continue…]
John Carpenter is widely considered to be a “Master of Horror”, which in many ways is accurate as the vast majority of his most critically and commercial films come from that particular genre. However, to write Carpenter off as some kind of one trick pony would be short sighted in the extreme. Carpenter’s genre movies are characterized by his mastery of the art of cinematography, and by the showcasing of engaging narratives that present the viewer with a profound commentary on the many social, racial, gender and sexual anxieties of our modern world. Sometimes misunderstood by critics, Carpenter has made some of the most intense and influential horror films ever made, most notably Halloween (1978), one of the most copied and influential horror films of all time. Carpenters classic spawned seven sequels, a remake and a sequel to the remake with another in the pipeline. Not to mention the slew of copycat slasher movies which dominated American horror in the early to mid 1980’s. [click to continue…]
Once again we find ourselves at that time of year where the films contending for honours at the Academy Awards begin to be released. One of the first to be released this year is Drive. The film revolves around the Driver, played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling, a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver who discovers a bounty has been placed on his head after a heist goes wrong. [click to continue…]
Once in a while a film comes around which boasts such an incredible cast that it becomes a must see film event. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is one such film. Boasting a remarkable cast including: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. In addition to this remarkable cast the film is helmed by Tomas Alfredson, the acclaimed director of Let the Right One In (2008). The film is a remake of the classic 1979 TV series starring Alec Guinness and based on John Le Carre’s 1974 novel. The film’s plot revolves around intelligence veteran George Smiley (Oldman) and his mission to find a Soviet agent buried at the very top of MI6. [click to continue…]
