A Love Letter To… Hairspray
A cast that boasts the likes of John Travolta, Michelle Pfiefer, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah is what movie dreams are made of – and John Water’s 2007 reboot of Hairspray doesn’t disappoint. A...
Why Heathers Is A Cynical Masterpiece
Let’s get something out of the way: high school is hell, and if you enjoyed it then you probably made it miserable for those who didn’t. Adult appreciation of the high school film is more complex than mere...
Unravelling The Genius Of Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven
To younger audiences, Todd Haynes is probably better known for his Bob Dylan experimental tribute, I’m Not There (2007) and exquisite romantic melodrama, Carol (2015). In the early years of the new...
A Love Letter To…Anton Yelchin
In 2016, aged just 27, Anton Yelchin was at the top of his game. Deftly navigating between multimillion dollar blockbusters and smaller independent fare, Yelchin was building an enviable career working with...
A Love Letter To…Attack The Block
A concrete estate in London, a gang of teenagers roaming the streets, and…aliens from outer space? Yes, it’s the surprising sci-fi comedy Attack The Block, in which a group of inner city kids must defend...
Don’t Call it a Comeback: Ryan Coogler’s Creed
The release of Black Panther this week need not only be marked on the calendars of Marvel super-fans. It’s good news for fans of director Ryan Coogler’s previous output, and not just because he’s brought...
Why Sideways is Still Alexander Payne’s Finest Vintage
Alexander Payne, the great satirist of Middle American mores, returns this weekend with his latest ditty of wry social commentary, Downsizing. Often when a filmmaker establishes such a distinctive formula as...
The Prestige Is More Than Just Two Great Twists
The title of The Greatest Showman, out this week, refers to the 19th-century circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum, though it could just as well refer to the movie’s star. Hugh Jackman has proved again and again...
Game On: A Love Letter To Jumanji
“A game for those who seek to find/A way to leave their world behind” If you grew up in the ‘90s, chances are you went to see – and fell in love with – Jumanji. A Robin Williams-headlined family...
A Love Letter to Rian Johnson’s Looper
The Last Jedi is going to make Rian Johnson a star. Since Summer 2014, the film world has waited in heady anticipation for not only the true follow-up to legendary sequel Empire Strikes Back, but also this...
‘There Is No Try’: Was Empire Strikes Back Lightning in a Bottle?
Every sequel ever made is royally screwed. Those poor filmmakers can go back to their hit movies with the purest intentions and the best bundle of influences, but how many second instalments can really hold a...
Short Term 12: The Film That Just Keeps Giving
In 2008 Destin Daniel Cretton made a short film called Short Term 12. Five years later he developed it into a feature of the same name, which despite being relatively unknown has garnered a huge amount of...
The Simpsons Movie – The Last Link to the Show’s Golden Age
Randomly select any episode from Seasons 3 through 8 of The Simpsons and you’ll most likely be greeted with one of the best episodes of TV comedy you could ever hope to see. Randomly select any episode from...
MiB at 20: What Made it So Good?
Have a quick think about your memories of the first Men in Black film. What immediately comes to mind is likely to include sharp suits, sunglasses, big-ass silver guns (and a certain tiny one), odd-couple...
Hercules: The Original Disney Superhero
It’s no exaggeration to say that the superhero movie is one of the most popular (and profitable) forms of entertainment today. Leading the charge – both in quantity and quality – is Marvel Studios....