A Short History of the Period Drama, Part Three: Tear Up the Script (or, the present day) David Brake June 15, 2014 Analysis, Close-Up, Features Long before the superhero movie took the words "gritty reboot" and revolutionised a genre, period drama was working quietly away in the background doing exactly the same thing. As the '90s gave way to a...
Ten Degrees of Trivia: Maleficent Tom Bond June 11, 2014 Features, Nostalgia, Ten Degrees of Trivia Love trivia? Love six degrees of Kevin Bacon? Then you’ve come to the right place. Ten Degrees of Trivia combines the two to take you on a journey through the world of loosely connected facts, beginning and...
Second Chance: Superman Returns Daniel Orton June 10, 2014 Features, Nostalgia, Second Chance About halfway through Superman Returns, the Man of Steel says to Lois Lane: “You wrote that the world doesn’t need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one.” It’s pretty deep, and taps...
CEL Mates: A Town Called Panic Conor Morgan June 9, 2014 CEL Mates, Features, Independent Created by animators Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, A Town Called Panic is a 2009 Belgian stop-motion film that, whilst only 75 minutes long, is totally bonkers for every single one of them. The first...
A Short History of the Period Drama, Part Two: Merchant Ivory (or, the ’80s and ’90s) David Brake June 8, 2014 Analysis, Close-Up, Features 1 Comment Ask someone what they think of when you mention 1990s period drama and they might just say "Merchant Ivory" - even if they don't know what that means. Launched in 1961, the production powerhouse has become...
A Beginner’s Guide To… Woody Allen Lina Jurdeczka June 7, 2014 A Beginner's Guide To..., Analysis, Features 1 Comment In a career spanning almost 50 years, Woody Allen’s style has become synonymous with and perhaps helped define the cultural stereotype of the self-deprecating, anxious intellectual in New York City. Full of...
A Love Letter To… Independence Day David Brake June 6, 2014 Features, Love Letter, Nostalgia 1 Comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoLywiaM6PA The above is one of the most inspirational and motivational speeches ever recorded on film. It's from President Whitmore, speaking on the eve of humanity's final...
The Citizen Kane of Awful: Star Wars – Attack of the Clones Tom Bond June 4, 2014 Features, Nostalgia, The Citizen Kane of Awful Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson Director: George Lucas Writers: George Lucas, Jonathan Hales Estimated Budget: $115 million U.S....
Stories from the Set: Some Like It Hot Chris Davies June 3, 2014 Behind The Curtain, Features, Stories from the Set 1 Comment Renowned costume designer Orry-Kelly knelt at Marilyn Monroe’s feet. His notepad filled up with measurements as he stretched and wrapped his tape around her body. He paused at her posterior. “Tony has a...
Second Chance: Iron Man 2 David Brake June 2, 2014 Features, Nostalgia, Second Chance 1 Comment It is a truth universally acknowledged that the only sequel to match its predecessor is The Godfather: Part II. Yet despite (or perhaps because) of this, expectations for follow-ups continue to remain sky...
A Short History of the Period Drama, Part One: Faith to the Text (or, the 1940s) David Brake June 1, 2014 Analysis, Close-Up, Features Period piece. Costume drama. Historical epic. Any way you slice it, it's been around about as long as cinema itself. Of course, in those days what we now consider quintessential period drama was practically...
Top 10 Superhero Films of All Time Tom Bond May 31, 2014 Analysis, Features, Top 10 5 Comments As the superhero franchise machine rumbles on, it seems like an appropriate time to look back at the history of the genre. I’ve explored its past, present and future and now I’m here to put my neck on the...
Behind The Rules Of Dogme 95 Cameron Ward May 29, 2014 Analysis, Close-Up, Features - "Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY" - Dogme 95 (sometimes known as Dogma or Dogma 95) was an avant-garde movement in film production started by Danish-born directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg in...
CEL Mates: Mary and Max Conor Morgan May 28, 2014 CEL Mates, Features, Independent 1 Comment “Mary Dinkle’s eyes were the colour of muddy puddles. Her birthmark, the colour of poo.” These are the opening lines of Mary and Max, read in the lovely warm voice of Australian national treasure...
Are DreamWorks Secretly The New Kings Of Animation? Calum Baker May 27, 2014 Analysis, Features, Opinion 2 Comments Let's face it: DreamWorks Animation has never been a marquee-topper in the same vein as Walt Disney, Pixar, or even overseas houses Studio Ghibli and Aardman. They've never broken a billion. They rarely win...
