I know they say, and honestly aren’t “they” busy issuing edicts left, right and centre, that you should never judge a book by it cover, or a sci-fi film by its poster. (OK, the second thing is totally something I made up – am I “they” then? Who can Continue Reading
Movies
Can you tell a compelling character story without an arc? Turns out you can
SNAPSHOT A common piece of writing advice is that your main character must have a character arc. Today, I take a look at a number of well-regarded films where the main characters never change, and why these stories are still compelling. (synopsis via Laughing Squid (c) Sage Hyden) As Continue Reading
Mass of movie trailers – Stan & Ollie, Captain Marvel, Prospect, Ralph Breaks the Internet
So many films, so little fun and yet these three films, all utterly different in their own ways, make you want to find all the time in the world to see them. And so, of course, I will. Granted I am trying to stick to just one movie a Continue Reading
Solo: A Star Wars Story – off to hyperspace (and digital + Blu-ray release) we go!
When it comes to Star Wars, and more specifically, Solo: A Star Wars Story, I am more than happy to nail my galactics colours to the mast. I loved this film; as in really, immensely, absolutely enjoyed it. Many didn’t, and I respect it even if I don’t understand Continue Reading
Movie review: Nonnas on the Run (Niente di Serio) #LIFF18
In an age when everyone is being encouraged to celebrate and own who they are without apology – unless you are a rightwing reactionary in which case stay just as you are, thank you; or better yet, don’t be that person at all in the first place – it Continue Reading
Everything is possible … even the impossible: Mary Poppins Returns (new trailer)
SNAPSHOT The cast of Mary Poppins Returns includes Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train, Into the Woods), Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Moana), Ben Whishaw (SPECTRE), Emily Mortimer (Hugo) and Julie Walters (Harry Potter films), with Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Meryl Streep (Florence Continue Reading
Movie review: Christopher Robin
“There’s more to life than balloons and honey, Pooh.” “Are you sure?” This small but important exchange between an exasperated adult Christopher Robin and a gloriously-innocent Winnie the Pooh captures the very heart and soul of Christopher Robin, directed by Marc Forster to a screenplay by Alex Ross Perry, Tom Continue Reading
Dear friends, you are now about to enter … a trippily colourful Willy Wonka chill-hop video
The 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is fabulously trippy, gloriously imaginative and gleefully & subversively over the top, channelling the manically clever of Roald Dahl, on whose book the classic is based, perfectly. Everything from the giddily colourful visuals to the brilliance of Gene Wilder’s superlative Continue Reading
Movie review: Juliet, Naked
The world, it can be safely said, is roughly divided into those people who take a flying leap off a metaphorical cliff, hoping for the best as they sail through the air, and those who tiptoe trepidatiously to the edge, peer over, say “Nope!” and edge away, never to Continue Reading
A Quiet Place — Telling a Story with Sound (video essay by Michael Tucker)
Snapshot Sound always plays a particularly important role in the horror genre, but A Quiet Place takes this a step further, making sound itself a key element of the story. For this video I had the opportunity to talk to the sound designers of the film, Erik Aadahl and Continue Reading