24
Jun
03
Jun
25
Apr
REVIEW – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’
Sensational popcorn cinema. You will leave the cinema richly satisfied, even if it isn't quite the film you're expecting....
09
Mar
REVIEW – ‘Kong: Skull Island’
This is popcorn cinema, at its absolute finest....
05
Mar
REVIEW – ‘Logan’
In today's franchise-obsessed film market, it's rare to see anyone walking away from a box-office cash cow, especially in the comicbook genre. But 17 years (and nine films) after he first extended the adamantium claws, and helped re-define the superhero genre, Hugh Jackman says farewell to Wolverine, aka the character who made him a household name. Thankfully, he saved the best for last, with the brilliant pseudo-western, Logan. Set in the dystopian future of 2029, mutant-kind is all but a distant memory, with no mutant births in 25 years. The...
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Reviews
27
Feb
The good, the bad, and the down-right ugly of the 89th Academy Awards
Good lord. Where to even begin? In the 20-odd years I've been watching (and obsessing over) the Academy Awards, I can truly say we have never witnessed a moment quite like what we saw tonight. The shock of what transpired has still not worn off, and it probably won't for some time. But we'll get to that later. For now, let's look at the other Oscars moments that unfortunately no one will really be talking about for the next few days. THE GOOD Moonlight winning Best Picture, minus the stuff-up....
26
Feb
Final predictions for the 89th Academy Awards
Well, the time has come. Oscar night is upon us. Many will call this one of the more boring Oscar seasons in recent history, and they have a point. When you have one frontrunner for Best Picture (and the majority of the other categories) all season, it's hardly exciting to watch and discuss. Maybe it's simply because the last few years have been such a rollercoaster, particularly the madness of last year's Spotlight/The Revenant/The Big Short showdown. But, as you'll see from my predictions below, it's hardly all locked...
25
Feb
The ‘La La Land’ backlash – a comment on the absurdity of being the frontrunner
Make no mistake about it. Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture is ultimately a game of skill. Yes, the picture still has to be "good", but that's only half the battle. At some point, you have to become the frontrunner. The likely winner. The unstoppable force. The one piece of cinema Academy voters want to vote for. The winning team everyone is desperate to back. It's when to become the frontrunner that's the tricky part....
26
Jan
Oscar nominations – the good, the bad, and the ugly
Well, folks. Things went mostly to plan. When you pick 99 of the 123 nominees (I struck out in the Short film categories, so shoot me), you realise it was one of those predictable years. That's not to say there weren't a few shocks, surprises and snubs. Thankfully, there's far more to be happy about this year than previous years. So, let's get to it. The good There will be those that groaned when La La Land tied with Titanic and All About Eve in earning a record 14 nominations, but you know I...
24
Jan
Final Oscar nominations predictions for 2017
Well it's that time of year again. On the eve of the Academy's big Oscar nominations announcement, I'm laying down my final predictions. There's a lot up in the air here, so take them with a grain of salt. Sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I'm way off. Films have been flying up and down on the buzz-meter the last few weeks. Hidden Figures and Lion are coming on very strong at the end, so it's possible they could both do better than I'm speculating. Silence is the...