Back when Some Films and Stuff had regular posts – many years ago now – I’d started working through the Bond franchise with a series of in-depth reviews and retrospectives. These days, a lot of my views on the franchise have completely changed – some softened, some stronger – and I look back on those … Continue reading
Whilst mainstream horror seems to be getting progressively worse, the indie scene is going from strength to strength, with creative and exciting new directors turning their hands to genre flicks and making some modern classics. Recently, The Babadook, It Follows, The Innkeepers, Goodnight Mommy, and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, have all proved … Continue reading
It’s easy to list what’s wrong with the prequel trilogy – poor characters and non-existent character development, nonsensical and boring political plots, over use of CGI and green-screen – but harder to pinpoint why they went wrong. Looking back on the whole saga, it seems the original movies were probably more of a collective effort … Continue reading
Casino Royale pulled the Bond template apart to start fresh, giving us a raw and unpolished Bond in a world without gadgets and eccentric villains. The suggestion then was that this was the new Bond, the serious, semi-realistic and edgy Bond; the Bond for the 2000s. Then we got Skyfall, which ended on very familiar … Continue reading
Following on from LGTB Representation in Cinema, it seemed fitting to examine one of the highlights of the so-called gay genre – fashion designer Tom Ford’s 2009 drama, A Single Man. The film, based on Christopher Isherwood’s dreamy and beautiful novel of the same name, follows English professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) on what potentially, could be … Continue reading
There was a knowing quality to Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park. The title and logo are shared between the park and the film. The park’s merchandise can be bought in real-life. When Dr Grant and Dr Sattler see the brachiosaurus for the first time, their sense of awe relates to that of the audience, seeing the … Continue reading
Horror seems to be going through something of a renaissance this century. After the slasher-heavy cheapness of the 80s, the irony of the 90s, and the influx of remakes and misguided torture porn movies of the early 2000s, it seems that the horror movie is finally back on form. A quick search of modern classics … Continue reading
It actually happened then. For those who don’t know, a couple of months ago District 9 director Neill Blomkamp leaked a series of concept art pieces he’d developed for a future Alien movie. The images, showing an older Ripley and Hicks, an alien Queen, and some impressive world design, were not affiliated with 20th Century … Continue reading
Ti West has emerged as one of the most interesting horror directors working today, though his films remain polarising for fans of the genre. West has developed a particular, steady style which takes the slowburn narrative to its extremes, and some find this approach dull. It could be argued that his movies contain a whole … Continue reading
It’s January, and that means one thing in movie world – Oscar nomination day. Always an exciting day in the industry, its the time when journalists around the glove list their predictions before questioning the incoming nominations. There are always certain dead-sets – this year, probably The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gone Girl, Birdman – and sometimes, … Continue reading
