Oh what a night! Not only did the final of Eurovision 2014 kick off with dancing ninjas – well not strictly speaking but they looked the part – it had fireworks that ringed the enormous ship-shaped stage, and what looked suspiciously like a fashion parade of the representatives of Continue Reading
Movie review: Godzilla
When one of the characters in a movie blithely states near the start of a blockbuster monster movie, “It’s not the end of the world”, as Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen) does when locked in an embrace with husband, and hero of the 2014 iteration of Godzilla, Ford (Samuel Taylor-Johnson), Continue Reading
Prelude to war: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (new trailer)
SNAPSHOT A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will Continue Reading
The short and the short of it #2: 5 more amazing mini-films
There is, you may be surprised to learn, no firm definition on what a short film actually is. While there is a consensus that it is not as long as a feature film, something I would have thought would have been patently obvious if you have watched any of Continue Reading
We’re still here: Thrilling new trailer for HBO’s upcoming drama The Leftovers
SNAPSHOT What if your life was upended in an instant? What if your spouse or your child disappeared right in front of your eyes? Was it the Rapture or something even more difficult to explain? How would you rebuild your life in the wake of such a devastating event? Continue Reading
Done and dusted: Eurovision 2014 Semi-Final #2 review
Bring on the kitsch! Bring on the kitsch! Semi final 2, was in contrast to the relative blandness of semi final 1 – which nonetheless featured some impressive songs and performances – a veritable richness of traditional Eurovision kitschy extravagance. And I absolutely loved Georgia (a parachute-wearing drummer? Yes Continue Reading
Just imagine: What if Dumb and Dumber was a larger-than-life drama?
Dumb and Dumber is one of my favourite movies of all time. That admission might surprise people given my usual predilection for indie fare with the occasional blockbuster thrown in for good popcorn-munching measure, but it’s true, and one I have been happy to make more than once (see Continue Reading
Movie review: Chef
There is an indescribable joyfulness that permeates most frames of Chef, Jon Favreau’s new film, that takes themes we have seen a million times before in movies and gives them a zestful exuberance that cannot be denied. In raw form you would be inclined to think you have seen Continue Reading
Done and dusted: Eurovision 2014 Semi-Final #1 review
My lord, Copenhagen, is that a gigantic boat-shaped stage you have in your B&W Hallerne arena – it was a shipbuilding area so the shape of the stage was a beautifully styled nod to the building’s past life – or are you just happy to see all the wind Continue Reading
Weekend Pop Art: Community flaunts its pop culture soul to get #sixseasonsandamovie
If it’s May, then we must be in that unenviable period where the fate of Community, the Little Sitcom That Could (and Wants to do More) hangs in the balance, the guillotine of cancellation held aloft by NBC’s executioner, who may spare it and give it the almost-fabled #sixseasonsandamovie, Continue Reading