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…]
Rob Yeomans
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…]
The Inbetweeners is one of the most successful British series of the last ten years. Its simple plot and characters that the vast majority of males of a certain age can identify strongly with was the recipe which brought the series massive popular and critical acclaim. After three series however the formula began to become a little stagnant. With this in mind, producers Bwark decided not to complete the story with a fourth series instead opting for the format of a feature film. [click to continue…]
JJ Abrams is a director who most certainly knows how to utilise the hype machine to its fullest to promote one of his movies and it has been no different in the lead up to the highly anticipated release of Super 8. The film tells the story of a group of young friends who witness a catastrophic train crash whilst making a zombie movie. During which something mysterious and quite possibly extra terrestrial escapes from the wreckage. The finished result is undoubtedly a slick, cool sci-fi action film, but is also by no means perfect. [click to continue…]
