It’s safe to say that I did not expect ParaNorman to be what it is. I expected it to be good, sure. Follow enough American critics and you tend to know that sort of thing well in advance. But the advertising led me to expect a film in the Pixar model, an enjoyable energetic romp with a beautiful emotional core. ParaNorman however is not that film. It has a certain… Read More »
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Re-Evaluating The Godfather
Last week, the decennial Sight & Sound poll was released to various levels of interest. For the most part, the headlines focussed on Citizen Kane not being n.o.1 for the first time in over fifty years. But personally, what interested me most was The Godfather failing to even make the critical top 10 (though remaining high-placed in the filmmakers’ rankings). This excites me. A crack has been created in a… Read More »
MITM – Wes Anderson and the emotional distance of Moonrise Kingdom
Welcome to Method in their Madness, a feature series looking at some of the stranger films and filmmakers with an aim to find reason within their weirdness. Be warned. This series is aimed at analysis, not review. Here be spoilers! PLus the odd pseudo-intellectual examination of thematic subtext. As the title of this article describes the discussion point for this first installment of MITM, I might as well just crack… Read More »
Weird Feature – No Hugs for Anyone
To like weird fiction, is to seek out and share new experiences. That’s not a matter of choice. The weird is ironically good at keeping to the shadows, lingering in a thousand secret R’ylehs while the limelight is hogged by more accessible fare. But, then again, that’s all part of the fun. With the pleasure of the experience itself, magnified by how easily you could have missed it, there is… Read More »
Weird Feature – The Strange Synthesis of Bubba Ho-Tep
This is my second feature article on the all-media movement known as The Weird. For over a century, artists of all stripes have left the beaten paths of genre convention and audience expectation to create fiction of a strange and wonderful kind. Meanwhile, over the last couple of years, my love for this fiction has grown out of all proportion. Rather than let it get too unmanageable, I have decided… Read More »
This Week I Have Been Mostly Watching….Chinatown
One day, as I was making my way to Hyde Park Corner to see the lunatics, I chanced upon a strange figure going the same way. So shocked by his poverty was I, that I struck up a conversation with him. I discovered this dishevelled creature had made his way to London from some unknown depth of England, to pursue his dream of becoming a film critic. Charmed by his… Read More »
Michael Fassbender in Context
It’s probably the world’s safest statement to say, at this point, that Michael Fassbender is a damn fine actor. He’s been popping up all over the place lately, and I for one have never failed to enjoy his performances. The man has a real talent. And I mean that, in the sense that he is extremely talented at one thing in particular. Now some of you out there might think… Read More »
The Future of Internet Sketch Comedy
There is a point in every creative medium where technical prowess develops into artistry. It comes when a creator has form and style and structure all figured out, and can start to focus on meaning. In my opinion, internet sketch comedy has reached that turning point. FilmCow, TomSka, BriTaNick, Cracked, SMBC Theatre, all have shown mastery of their chosen form. The question is: where to go next? In answering that… Read More »
Review: Carnage
Though ‘technically a Polanski’, Carnage is – for all the veteran director’s craftsmanship – basically a filmed stage play. But its no-frills approach, economic running time and charismatic star turns help keep this ice-cold cinematic chamber piece compulsively, gruesomely watchable. Two sets of parents meet up to discuss what is to be done after their children have fought in the local park. The altercation has left one of the children… Read More »
Haywire & Underworld: The 2 Sides of Action Filmmaking
In action filmmaking, less is more. Not in the usual sense, which is used to imply that being subtle is more effective than having a film scream “LOOK AT THIS!” into the collective face of its audience. Rather, I mean it in a more literal sense: not so much ‘less is more’ as ‘less is equal to more’. The aim of any action film is get the gut reaction, hitting… Read More »
