This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day here in the UK. Depending on your point of view it’s either the ideal opportunity to thank our Dads for everything that they have done for us over the year or a Hallmark Holiday….
A Good Day To Die Hard
17 February 2013 by Leave a Comment
I imagine that in any number of Top Tens I could do Die Hard would feature prominently. Top Ten Action Films – check. Christmas Films – yup. Films set in tower blocks, Bruce Willis films, films with leading men wearing vests. I will make up spurious Top Tens just to find new ways to extoll the virtues of Die Hard. I really do love the original film…
Houdini’s Magic Ticket
25 November 2011 by Leave a Comment
Once upon a time – about 6 weeks ago actually – Dan at Top Ten Movies had a great idea for a blogathon. He invited movie bloggers to think about what they would do with a magic ticket that could transport them into different films. There’s been some great replies and I’ve been meaning to add my own thoughts since the blogathon was announced…
Top Ten: Movie Explosions
4 November 2011 by Leave a Comment
One of the best things about Guy Fawkes Night is the plethora of firework displays that take place. I love fireworks, I genuinely oooh and aaah when a rocket goes up and explodes in a flash of bright colours. As you can probably guess I’m also a big fan of loud and bright explosions in movies. I know they aren’t subtle or intelligent but they are great fun….
Armageddon
20 September 2011 by Leave a Comment
We all know about the joys of comfort eating. Feeling a little bit poorly or low and digging into a dirty big slice of cake to make it all better. We’ve all done it and all secretly enjoy it. I’m sure it works with movies and books too. Yesterday morning I twisted my back slightly…
Expanding Expendables
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
The cast list for The Expendables 2 is continuing to grow. The sequel to last year’s action adventure starts filming next month and a loose-lipped executive has let it slip that Chuck Norris and John Travolta have joined the action hero-heavy cast which includes Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Jean-Claude van Damme. Cue a whole new round of Chuck Norris facts – for example did you know that when Chuck Norris crosses the road, cars look both ways….?
Die Hard 5 – Really?
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
Rumours about a fifth installment in the Die Hard franchise have been whizzing around for a while. This week it seems that Max Payne director John Moore is the latest favourite to helm the new chapter which is apparently taking place in Russia. Another rumour from Total Film is that Adam Buxton who directed Attack the Block is also in the frame.
I love Die Hard – it’s one of my favourite films of all time, but this just sounds a little Mission to Moscow for my liking. Maybe it’s time for Bruce to retire gracefully as everyone’s number one NYPD detective?
The Top 10 Summer Blockbusters
29 July 2011 by 11 Comments
Summer blockbusters
IIt’s summer and we all know what that means – long sunny days, plenty of fresh air and good clean outdoor pursuits. Oh yes, and hours of fun inside an air-conditioned cinema with popcorn, hot dogs and a rattling good summer blockbuster.
There are two main seasons for film releases. In order to qualify for Oscar consideration films must have a theatrical run in Los Angeles County between 1st January and 31st December. This generally means that studios release their worthy, serious films in November and December to keep them fresh in the minds of the Academy voters. If you take a look at the winter releases you can pretty much tell which movies will be the stars of the awards season in the spring but summer is the time for the big-budget, big-star name, big entertainment blockbusters to be released. Also known as the films that we actually pay to go and see….
I have some rules for what can be regarded as a true summer blockbuster. They’re pretty arbitrary, not everyone is going to agree….
It has to be an action film, no romances in my lists
It has to be a film I could watch over and over again – it can’t be a blockbuster if one viewing is enough
It’s not an animation (no matter how good it is)
The time of year matters – Die Hard is a brilliant, brilliant film but it’s set at Christmas, not summer
There has to be personality in there, no pointless sequels churned out just for filthy lucre.