Viewing the future through the lens of science fiction is often an either/or proposition. You are either regaled with an idealised utopia where want, need and hunger are banished, where humanity has found its zenith and fulfilment its apotheosis; or you are confronted in the most brutal and nihilistic Continue Reading
Movies
Animation Evolution: How CGI profoundly changed the way cartoons tell stories (video essay)
SNAPSHOT When CGI took over animation in the late 1990s, it didn’t just upgrade the visuals of the medium: it helped transform the way animated stories are told. In this video, I trace the progression of American animated films from conservative fairy tales to liberal allegories. (synopsis (c) Just Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: Thor Ragnarok’s colourful character posters
SNAPSHOT In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor will arrive in Asgard after hearing about trouble in his home world, and when he arrives he finds Loki’s style of ruling (while impersonating Odin) has led to some lapses in the rules and leads to the freeing of prisoner Hela. Thor Continue Reading
Coco: How did Pixar’s next masterpiece come to be? (featurette + clip)
SNAPSHOT Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: Eddie, a darkly clever tale of a zombie lab test subject
SNAPSHOT Deep underground, a second-rate scientist mans a discarded research facility struggling to cope with extreme boredom, a desperate voiceless companion and a mystery he’d really rather not have to solve… Directed by John Lynch, and written by Jon Williams-Nobbs & John Lynch, Eddie is a proof-of-concept short for Continue Reading
Retro movie review: Wayne’s World
Returning to one of the outstanding movies of your young adulthood is not without some risk. Is it as good as you remember? Have the glasses through you gaze upon it become so deeply and heavily rose-tinted that they filter out even the merest hint of middle-aged criticality? In Continue Reading
All you need is a carrot: What is the hidden meaning of Frozen?
Ha! Think you know what Frozen is all about? Think it’s all about family schisms, unwelcome gifts of the metaphysical kind, estrangement, family, love and redemption? Think again my friends because as Earthling Cinema from the Wisecrack channel on YouTube hilariously and yet with an admirably straight face reveals, Continue Reading
Read all about it! Pop culture newspaper headlines courtesy of Movie Heds
Pop quiz! What a quick, visual, easy to comprehend expositionary device used in movies, particularly the pre-digital ones? No, not voice-over narration! That is very rarely done well and kinda annoying to boot. I’m referring to the use of news paper front pages, which effectively convey a ton Continue Reading
“But it’s gooooood …” New Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer ramps up the galactic anticipation
SNAPSHOT Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga. “The Last Jedi” is written and directed by Rian Johnson and Continue Reading
Movie review: The Girl with All the Gifts
The zombie genre has exploded in recent years, fuelled by a morbid end of days fascination with the way the apparent vivacity and robustness of human civilisation could so easily be brought down to undead ruin by any number of small, unnoticed Achilles heels. That’s good news if you Continue Reading