SNAPSHOT A curious cat uncovers a coven of creepy crawlies. Simon’s Cat FINALLY gets into the attic and gives Simon a spooky surprise! (synopsis via Laughing Squid) Gotta say I’m with Simon on the sheer evilness of spiders. Forget the zombies, ghosts and demented sprites – it’s spiders that Continue Reading
Movies
Movie review: Thor Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok is, quite simply put, a hoot. Yes, you heard me correctly, A … HOOT. If this quirky little word promising a thousand idiosyncratic absurdities doesn’t sound like the kind of word you would normally associate with an earnest, sprawling Marvel film where good stands gravely against evil Continue Reading
Control your fear: The intriguing mind games of Alien Invasion: S.U.M. 1
SNAPSHOT The film centers on S.U.M.1 (Iwan Rheon, Game of Thrones), a committed young soldier who has lived his whole life underground. He enters a dark and desolate forest, his mission: to keep at bay the Nonesuch, a breed of hostile alien creatures. As reports circulate of frequent, devastating Continue Reading
Movie review: Blade Runner 2049
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
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