TJ walks through a graveyard, visiting his wife who is buried there. By his side, his tiny mongrel pup, Marra, yaps about and waggles his tail. Like all dogs, he is just grateful to be outside and grateful to be alive. Marra suddenly runs, catching a scent and following his instincts. TJ pursues, calling his… Continue reading The Old Oak — is it right to ban the XL Bully?
“Tennis is a relationship”, says Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) in director Luca Guadagnino’s new film Challengers. However, this relationship is not simply between the game and the player. Rather the heart of tennis, and perhaps of all competition, is a three-way relationship between two contestants and a third person. Their presence, and observation, is what gives… Continue reading Challengers review — Luca Guadagnino’s tennis film reviewed by an expert in the psychology of competition
“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling” Christopher Nolan is probably the Best Director of all time. His capacity to synthesize and merge complex story narratives with breathtaking cinematic set pieces is unique and due even more spectacular to the fact he authors what we see, or usually what we try our… Continue reading Directed Focus — Christopher Nolan
2001: A Space Odyssey is a landmark film in the history of cinema. It is a work of extraordinary imagination that has transcended film history to become something of a cultural marker. And since 1968, it has penetrated the psyche of not only other filmmakers but society in general. It is not an exaggeration to… Continue reading 2001: A Space Odyssey still leaves an indelible mark on our culture 55 years on
“Drugs, crime, sex and absolute debauchery”, said the expectant moviegoer. “Screen 1”, replied the dazed usher — a brief interaction that may very well have occurred between 1981 and 1993 just around the corner from King’s Cross station. Why may this have occurred? Well because Scala cinema was the ultimate cinema of sin. Founded by… Continue reading Cinema of the debauched — Scala!!!
It is the centenary of the cinema premiere of the German horror film Nosferatu. Now recognised as a classic of the silent era and one of the first examples of cinematic horror, it used elements of gothic style to present a dark dream world. Ripe with undertones that link it not only to contemporary troubles,… Continue reading Nosferatu at 104 — how the seminal vampire film shaped the horror genre
The history of cinema as an art parallels its history as a technology. Ever wondered why the colour in The Wizard of Oz is so saturated? Well, it wasn’t the first Technicolor film, but it was the first to effectively advertise MGM’s new three-strip colour process to a global audience. Why advertise something at half-mast?… Continue reading Films made for Netflix look more like TV shows — here’s the technical reason why
It’s one of the most famous climactic scenes in film: a tense and shocking denouement that sees a series of brutal assassinations intercut with the central character calmly renouncing Satan as he becomes godfather to his nephew. Considered one of the great classics of American cinema, the triple Oscar-winning The Godfather turns 50 on 14… Continue reading The Godfather at 56 — celebrating the mob saga that raised the bar for gangster films
Fresh from All of Us Strangers (2023), Andrew Scott plays the title role in Netflix’s new series Ripley, a miniseries based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. News publisher Out claimed Scott’s Ripley for gayness. However, Scott’s own aspirations are more ambiguous, saying “he’s a queer character, in the sense that he’s… Continue reading Is Andrew Scott’s Ripley mesmerising or charmless — exactly as Patricia Highsmith wrote him?
The filmmakers behind Love Lies Bleeding (director Rose Glass and her co-writer Weronika Tofilska) are, as Glass describes “obviously … both film nerds”. The film has a broad archive of references ranging from the works of influential queer filmmaker John Waters to The Incredible Hulk (2008). A neo-noir, queer crime thriller, Love Lies Bleeding also… Continue reading Love Lies Bleeding review — this vengeful queer romance is a visceral cinematic experience
