We’re now at the stage in the cinema calendar where the Oscar nominations have been announced and the films designed to bait the audience are being gushed over. Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks in a Cold War thriller. Tick. Cate Blanchett in a 1950s lesbian love story. Tick…
Boyhood
2 July 2015 by 2 Comments
When I first heard about Richard Linklater’s film Boyhood, the story of a family told over a span of 12 years and filmed over that same timeframe, I was thoroughly excited. It was such a bold idea and had the potential to be a generation defining narrative…
Top Ten: 1997 Films
24 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
A couple of years ago I listed my Top Ten films from 2001, a post that was inspired by a Facebook discussion. As I’ve not been making it to the cinema as often as I’d life recently, I’ve decided to repeat the exercise for a few different years – it might even come to be a series as I approach my 40th birthday…
August: Osage County
18 March 2015 by Leave a Comment
There’s a very specific kind of acting that I can’t stand. It’s over the top, it’s shouty, it’s showy, it’s very much aimed at getting awards. I refer to it as ACTING with all capital letters, when you speak about it you slip into a loud, plummy accent. ACTING darling, ACTING…
12 Years A Slave
20 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
I’ve not been terribly good at getting to the cinema recently, but the Oscar nominations last week have focussed my mind. I didn’t want 2014 to be yet another year where I hadn’t seen the winner of the Best Picture Academy Award in advance of the ceremony. Given that until today I had only seen two of the nine nominees…
Top Ten: Oscar 2014 Snubs
16 January 2014 by 5 Comments
The Oscar nominations were announced earlier and everyone has an opinion on them. Including, as it turns out, me. I haven’t seen all of the films nominated and with so many strong performances and the high level of technical craft on show I wouldn’t dream of second-guessing The Academy. Having said that…
Brave
29 April 2013 by Leave a Comment
One of the talking points of this year’s Oscars was whether or not the correct film won the Best Animated Feature category. Almost inevitably the Academy Award went to Pixar for their latest film – Brave. Fans of Aardman Animation’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists were outraged…
In Defence of Seth MacFarlane – Kind Of…
26 February 2013 by Leave a Comment
There are many thankless tasks in this world but as Seth MacFarlane is probably now realising, being the host of the Academy Awards is possibly the most public way to make yourself a worldwide figure of hatred literally overnight. His reviews are not great and some of the Twitter vitriol has been appalling…
Oscars 2013 Live Blog
24 February 2013 by 4 Comments
Live blog of the 2013 Oscars – join in with discussion of the winners and losers in the biggest night of the film year.
Oscars 2013 Predictions
24 February 2013 by Leave a Comment
It’s Oscars Day and I’m excited. I love the Oscars, I love the good and the bad outfits. I love the gushing speeches and the losers proving why they lost by not being able to act happy for the winners. On the other hand I can’t stand the moaning minnies who complain that it’s all back-slapping and aren’t there more important things in the world to be concerned about…