A new Star Wars trilogy is announced. The internet melts. As the dust settles and our collective nerd minds re-gather after exploding all over our computer monitors, I think it’s worth the time to look into what, I believe, is a great moment for all Star Wars fans. Think about it, we get all the greatness of Star Wars without the limited talents of Mr Lucas. Of course, this is… Read More »
LFF – The Final Word: Charlie Paul
For the last fifteen years artist turned filmmaker Charlie Paul has been working on his documentary For No Good Reason. It’s focus has been Charlie’s artistic influence Ralph Steadman, whose art work accompanied Hunter S. Thompson’s writings. For No Good Reason was screened in LFF’s ‘Documentary Competition’. How was making a documentary on Ralph Steadman, an artist who has influenced your own work, both changed your perspective of him, and… Read More »
Review: Call Me Kuchu
Debates and arguments have always surrounded the homosexual community and no matter where you come from, you will always have religious and non-religious haters. We only recognise these arguments coming from places in America or Europe, it’s hard to imagine a third world country like Uganda worrying about these sorts of issues when it faces far harder times with poverty, war, and crime. However, with a religious country – still… Read More »
UK Box Office: 26/10 – 28/10/2012
1. Skyfall (587 sites) W/E: £20,180,369 NEW 2. Madagascar 3 (541) W/E: £2,803,873 Total: £10,546,233 3. Taken 2 (443) W/E: £1,004,463 Total £20,821,143 4. Paranormal Activity 4 (414) W/E: £792,342 Total: £4,328,481 5. Hotel Transylvania (473) W/E: £782,340 Total: £4,647,278 6. Sinister (309) W/E: £310,408 Total: £5,858,139 7. Frankenweenie (407) W/E: £274,780 Total: £1,437,309 8. Looper (278) W/E: £221,768 Total: £9,706,737 9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (44) W/E: £117,971… Read More »
And Introducing… 2. Janet Gaynor
Welcome to the second in a series of beginner’s guides to some of my favourite people in movies. Last week’s was all about legendary director John Ford. This week, I’m talking about Janet Gaynor. Who? The diminutive, subtle, uber-expressive leading lady who walked off with the very first Best Actress Oscar, for Sunrise and a couple of Frank Borzage movies: 7th Heaven and Street Angel. She won it for three… Read More »
DVD Review: King of Devil’s Island
Out to buy now on DVD, Blu-ray and VoD, Marius Holst’s steely and shocking Norwegian period drama, King of Devil’s Island, manages gets its nails beneath your skin but unfortunately doesn’t have the grasp to keep hold. Set at the beginning of the 20th Century, 17-year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad) is sent to the boy’s school on the island of Bastoy. In freezing winter conditions, he, and the rest of the… Read More »
LFF – The Final Word: Adam Leon
For the fourth part of our LFF – The Final Word feature, we turn our focus to debut feature screenwriter and director Adam Leon, who kindly took the time to talk to me about his film, Gimme the Loot. I read a quote that interpreted Gimme the Loot as an optimistic rather than a cynical tale. Was this a deliberate choice on your part? I think it was right for… Read More »
Disaster on the Screen: Battlefield Earth
A film can flop for a variety of reasons. Terrible marketing. Negative reviews. Bad word of mouth. Or simply because it’s a pile of the proverbial poo. Over the course of this series, I’ll look at films with good-to-mega budgets that failed to get the box office buzzing and ultimately ended up becoming notorious for all the wrong reasons. First up is sci-fi disaster Battlefield Earth from 2000. Starring John Travolta and… Read More »
LFF – The Final Word: Philip Martin
Director Philip Martin spoke to me about his documentary Japan in a Day, co-directed with Japanese filmmaker Gaku Narita, that is a snapshot of a country one year to the day of the Tsunami. Japan in a Day was screened in LFF’s ‘Journey’ category. As I sit down to interview Philip, he turns the focus onto me. “Have you seen any good films? Have you seen anything that you like?”… Read More »
35mm Heroes Podcast Ep#139: Skyfall Review
Less than a week since they last recorded, the 35mm Heroes show dedication to the cause and record early on a Saturday morning. Join Jordan, Ian and Noel as they let you know what’s been keeping them entertained, which includes The Tall Man, Burnt Offerings, The Girl and Killer Joe. The Trailer Talk is for the newly released red band teaser for Evil Dead. And all this before they head… Read More »
