ORWAV Oscars 2019 – The Results Tom Bond February 24, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off Not to brag, but we had a pretty great set of nominations for the ORWAV Oscars this year, with the Academy's top picks enhanced by the kind of family favourites and comedy performances that rarely get as much...
Dark, Moody, and Remote: The World of Scandinavian Thrillers Alice Rooney February 20, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off “Lie still. I’ve never done this before… and there will be blood." Lisbeth Salander, a stylish and intelligent enigma, is a character that embodies Scandinavian thrillers. Niels Arden Oplev’s The Girl...
ORWAV Oscars 2019: The Nominations Tom Bond February 19, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off It's a good time to be a film fan, and unusually, it's a pretty good time to be an awards fan too. Aside from the chaos unfolding within Academy HQ as they change the format of the broadcast (then change it...
In the White City: Remembering Bruno Ganz Patrick Nabarro February 18, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off The common access points to Bruno Ganz for many Anglo-American commentators seem to be his iconic performances in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire (1987) and Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall (2014). While those are...
Cutting the Oscars Was a Stupid Solution to a Serious Problem Calum Baker February 17, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion You're already up to date, I'm sure. Mostly because, even if you weren't up to date, everything's gone back to normal anyway so it doesn't matter. Recap: After warning last year that the 91st Academy...
A Most Excellent Adventure: 30 Years of Bill and Ted Katy Moon February 15, 2019 Features, Love Letter San Dimas, 1988. Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winters) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) don’t know it yet, but they’re destined for greatness. Their band Wyld Stallyns may be awful now, but by...
Cut! Why the Academy Awards Broadcast Needed Editing Stephen O'Nion February 14, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion Tinseltown and its suburbs, Film Twitter, are in uproar this week. The awarding of Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing and Best Live Action Short are all to be done during...
Why The Dark Tower Deserves a Second Chance Joni Blyth February 13, 2019 Features, Nostalgia, Second Chance After an eight-year gap, Joe Cornish finally returns to the silver screen with his sophomore feature, The Kid Who Would Be King. What better time than this to look back at his debut feature, Attack the...
Breaking the Biopic Formula Carmen Paddock February 6, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion This week sees the UK release of On the Basis of Sex, a biopic covering the education and early court cases of esteemed US Supreme Court Justice and living legend Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It joins a long line of...
The Changing Face of AI in Anime and its Western Remakes Liz Gorny February 5, 2019 Analysis, Close-Up, Features "I am who?” Tima, the child robot of Rintaro's Metropolis (2001), asks just before she plunges from the edge of a high-rise tower and Metropolis collapses around her. She is parroting the first words ever...
Short of the Month: Bogeyman Patrick Nabarro February 4, 2019 Features, Independent, Short of the Week https://vimeo.com/243452948 Often short films can feel gimmicky – little more than directorial calling-cards centred around singular visual conceits. Polish-Australian filmmaker Bianca Lucas, whose Before...
Scene Stealers: Linda Cardellini in A Simple Favor Rory Steabler February 1, 2019 Analysis, Features, Scene Stealers Peter Farrelly's Green Book may be a politically regressive movie directed by a onetime sex pest, but at least it also wastes three very talented actors. Viggo Mortensen has been a household name since his...
Bryan Singer, the Oscars, and Separating the Art From the Artist – Debate Tom Bond January 31, 2019 Analysis, Debate, Features Bohemian Rhapsody was recently nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, and while many have queried that on grounds of merit, a more urgent worry is the presence of director Bryan Singer. He was...
The Most Dangerous Games: Cinema’s Best Puzzles Sophie Maxwell January 29, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 For some, the thought of being trapped in a small room with a limited time to solve puzzles and escape is sheer nightmare fuel. Maybe your boss thinks such activities are the perfect team-building exercises....
How to Train Your Dragon’s Refreshing Approach To Disability Phil W. Bayles January 28, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off The How to Train Your Dragon movies are far and away the best work DreamWorks Animation have ever produced. For one thing, they’re simply gorgeous to look at, bursting with vibrantly designed creatures and...
