Thunderball was a huge commercial success, but suffered from its formulaic plot. Fearing that the rot was starting to set in, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman sought to make On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the 5th franchise film, but weather conditions meant production was shifted to You Only Live Twice instead. Released … Continue reading
By 1965, Bond was unstoppable. Goldfinger had made EON a lot of money and solidified the Bond formula; at this point, the series was well established as a franchise, and audiences wanted more. What they got was Thunderball. On paper, Thunderball could have been perfect. Ian Fleming wrote the book with the movie in mind, … Continue reading
And here we reach the complete nadir of the franchise. Yes, there’s been bad Bonds before – Diamonds are Forever, A View to a Kill, Octopussy – but none that have been quite as insulting as Die Another Day. Most of the bad Bonds have at least one redeeming feature – a great location, a … Continue reading
Though not really related to Christmas at all, there’s something very festive about the Harry Potter movies, which explains why ITV are showing every single one this December. Maybe it’s something to do with the series’ sense of childlike wonder and magic, its lazy Sunday afternoon vibe, or even, like Bond, its quintessential Britishness – there’s … Continue reading
Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook is a tiny but perfectly formed Australian horror movie which has impressed critics across the globe. Seemingly coming from nowhere and landing rave reviews, The Babadook has proved there’s still a market for intelligent, well designed horror; it not only highlights how terrible recent horrors like Annabelle and Ouija have been, … Continue reading
David Fincher’s first movie – Alien 3 – was a ropey mess, and one subsequently disowned by the director. But despite the studio-meddled final result, the film showed a great amount of promise – there was a bleak, uncompromising quality to Alien 3 – here was a movie which killed off beloved main characters with … Continue reading
David Cronenberg is often seen as the Canadian David Lynch; both directors rose to prominence in the early 80s, exploring modern culture through a satirical and very individual lens, each working with a distinct visual style, both heavy on atmosphere with flashes of brutal violence and horror. Stylistically, the two don’t have that much in … Continue reading
Alien 3, though now undergoing something of a critical reappraisal, was not a popular movie when released, and was panned by audiences and critics. Despite its problems and public opinion, Alien 3 did provide closure for the franchise; Ripley – the centre of the series – was dead, and in both thematic and narrative terms, there … Continue reading
Critical opinion regarding the first two Alien movies is fairly unilateral; the first is considered a masterpiece of science-fiction horror, the second is seen by many as one of cinema’s strongest sequels. When it comes to Alien 3 however, opinions get a little more divisive. The film, directed by then unknown filmmaker David Fincher, came … Continue reading
Alien was a critical and commercial success, but 20th Century Fox had little interest in a sequel until James Cameron came along. Cameron had a love for Ridley Scott’s original movie and a vision for the expanding the Alien universe, and after wetting Fox’s appetite with a powerhouse script – not to mention proving his … Continue reading
