4 hours ago‘Tár’ or — I Missed the Best Joke in the Entire Film?!“Todd Field is a bloody idiot,” I grumbled to myself as I frantically dashed to the bathroom for a pee halfway during the writer/director’s work about an abusive conductor. “I mean, why does every filmmaker always have to habitually reach for the Adagietto from Mahler’s 5th for their movies? It’s…Tar3 min readTar3 min read
Jan 25‘Babylon’ or — How I Could’ve Saved This Bloody Mess with One Simple Idea?Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’ (2022) is very much like another movie about the early days of Hollywood, namely Peter Bogdanovich’s ‘Nickelodeon’ (1976)… if Peter Bogdanovich had been a deranged chimpanzee hurling his faeces around! You know, it’s highly ironic that in the process of making a love-letter to filmmaking that Chazzy…Babylon5 min readBabylon5 min read
Jan 24‘Royal Warriors’ or — 101 Things to Do With an Uzi?Director David Chung’s ‘Royal Warriors’ (1986) is a sort of spiritual sequel to the girls-with-guns action flick ‘Yes, Madam’ (1985) and even though this follow-up doesn’t contain a fight sequence as glorious as the previous film’s climactic showdown (but, then again, what film does?!) …Royal Warriors3 min readRoyal Warriors3 min read
Jan 22‘Waterloo’ or — The Greatest Flawed Epic Ever Made?‘Waterloo’ (1970) tells the story of one ego-maniac’s vision to conquer all Europe and so he marshals together a collection of vast forces to achieve his monumental goal. Of course I’m talking about Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis who brought together talent, actors and crew from the Soviet Union, Italy…Waterloo3 min readWaterloo3 min read
Jan 13‘BBC Scotland’s Music Problem’ or — A Potential Cultural Dead Zone?There’s an area off the Gulf of Mexico where the oxygen levels of the ocean are so low that no marine life can survive in the waters. This is known as ‘hypoxia’ and results in an aquatic ‘dead zone’. I was reminded of this because with the recent news of…Bbc Scotland4 min readBbc Scotland4 min read
Jan 2‘Yes, Madam’ or — Nothing That Special… Until Suddenly it Is?!Despite the tantalising prospect of seeing Michelle Yeoh and the amazing Cynthia Rothrock co-lead an action movie together I was somewhat wary settling down to watch Corey Yuen’s ‘Yes, Madam’ (1985) because of prior knowledge regarding an executive decision made by the producers that could’ve potentially destroyed the entire movie…Cynthia Rothrock3 min readCynthia Rothrock3 min read
Dec 18, 2022‘Avatar: the Way of Water’ or — Not Quite as Dreadful as ‘Battlefield Earth’, But…?There was one constant and overriding thought that was going through my head yesterday whilst watching James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (2022) and that was — “Good god, Kevin Costner’s ‘Waterworld’ (1995) is so much better than this!” ‘A:TWOW’ is a fifteen Saturday morning cartoon script executed on…Avatar The Way Of Water3 min readAvatar The Way Of Water3 min read
Dec 15, 2022‘The Ghost Breakers’ or — Under the Influence of Spirits?‘The Ghost Breakers’ (1940) gets off to a cracking start: thunder booms and lighting flashes over a New York skyline of towering skyscrapers during a power cut. Paulette Goddard gazes out over the darkened city from her window. There’s talk of murder, a place called Black Island and ghosts. Goddard…The Ghost Breakers4 min readThe Ghost Breakers4 min read
Dec 15, 2022‘The Cat and the Canary’ or — A Cowardly Delight?There’s a wonderful moment in ‘The Cat and the Canary’ (1939) when Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard cower in a dark room from an unseen assailant with only a pistol for protection. Hope, whilst frantically fumbling with the revolver, nervously cracks a gag that lands flat on its face. “Here,”…The Cat And The Canary3 min readThe Cat And The Canary3 min read
Dec 12, 2022‘The Devil-Ship Pirates’ or — Sharp’s Appeal?One of my most pleasurable pleasures of the last couple of years has been getting into the films of Don Sharp, an Australian director best known for his work with Hammer, directing the excellent boat chase for ‘Puppet on a Chain’ (1971), the first two Christopher Lee ‘Fu Manchu’ movies…The Devil Ship Pirates3 min readThe Devil Ship Pirates3 min read
