ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #7 – Us Katy Moon December 30, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 The doppelgänger is an age-old figure of dread. A portent of doom or impending misfortune, they’re often hellbent on eliminating and supplanting the ‘original’. They represent the uniquely horrific...
ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #8 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Thom Denson December 29, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 Much has been made of Quentin Tarantino’s plans to retire after ten films. With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being his ninth, it seems there’s still plenty of life in him – yet it's difficult to...
ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #9 – Can You Ever Forgive Me? Carmen Paddock December 29, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 At the end of the decade, media seems to be moving further away from the noughties’ nihilism. Perhaps audiences need a break from the relentless inhumanity highlighted in 24/7 news cycles. Perhaps a...
ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #10 – Burning Jack Blackwell December 28, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 In 2019, we weren’t exactly hurting for ‘topical’ or ‘timely’ films. From January – with The Favourite’s vision of a Britain ruled by sad and grotesque schemers – to December – with...
ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #20 to #11 David Brake December 28, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 It's almost time to wrap up this year and this decade. A wondrous opportunity to reflect on what has passed. If you haven't already, I heartily recommend you check out our Top 100 Films of the 2010s – #100...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #20-1 Calum Baker December 18, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 In criticism, time-distance is everything: time to let a film sink in, time to give it more thought and more watches, and time to see what impact it has on the culture. Time also, often, for the artists...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #40-21 Calum Baker December 15, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 The ground is littered with fantastic and fascinating titles that just failed to make our top 100 films of the decade: Margaret, Blade Runner 2049, Foxtrot. Somehow Michael Pearce’s “moody”, empty Ramsay...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #60-41 Calum Baker December 14, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 Our countdown of the Top 100 Films of the Decade continues apace as we start reaching the titles with some very high aggregate scores. Debate continues to rage over the relative merits of (usually heavy)...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #80-61 Calum Baker December 13, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 At its very best, cinema not only influences its audience but changes the very medium around it; a great film builds itself as it plays, showing you how to view it and redefining itself in real time. And this...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #100-81 Calum Baker December 12, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 Another decade, another dollar – billions and billions of dollars, that is, spent on both making and watching films. Early 2010 saw Avatar clamber to the first-ever $2 billion gross, becoming the biggest...
The Directors That Defined the 2010s Carmen Paddock December 11, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion Much can be said about the cinema of the 2010s, from Oscars drama and the legacy of #MeToo to the dominance of Disney and emergence of streaming platforms in film distribution. The films driving and reacting...
Family Reunion: How Doctor Sleep Reconciles Both Versions of The Shining Phil W. Bayles November 14, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion The following contains spoilers for book and film versions of The Shining and Doctor Sleep. Turning a Stephen King novel into a movie is a tricky thing to pull off, even considering the great run of King...
What Should We Make of The Farewell’s Ending? Calum Baker October 3, 2019 Analysis, Close-Up, Features, One Off The Farewell, written and directed by Lulu Wang, is fast being slotted into one of film culture’s more interesting reductive categories: the heartfelt indie that makes everyone cry. The very premise primes...
Getting Too Old For This Shit? – The Rise of the Geri-Action Star Phil W. Bayles September 18, 2019 Analysis, Close-Up, Features 1 Comment Poor Roger Murtagh wouldn't last long in Hollywood today. Played by Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon movies, the cop was complaining about getting on in years at the tender age of 50 - which makes him a...
Top 10 Space Movies Jack Blackwell September 17, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 As the most inhospitable, difficult to reach, and mysterious place that humans have ever explored, the depths of space have long held a great fascination for filmmakers. Whether it’s in the fantasy context...