Film Review: Saturday Night (2010)

One of the reasons why behind the scenes documentaries tend to be a bit bland is that they so often focus on works that take a long time to produce. If people are working on a movie or a TV show or an album that is going to take months to complete, then their answers about it will probably be a lot more controlled, deliberate and PR friendly. There are exceptions, such as Lost in La Mancha or I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, where the documentary makers happen to be in the right place to capture a moment of artistic implosion, but, generally speaking, the longer it takes to make something, the less likely it is that a documentary about it will be particularly candid.

Film Review: This Is The End (2013)

For a movie that features violent dismemberment, a prolonged discussion about proper masturbation etiquette and a version of the Devil who sports a massive penis, This Is The End is a weirdly moral film. Its story begins with all the good people on Earth being spirited away by the Rapture, then proceeds to show that its cast of privileged, self-involved movie stars (all of whom play versions of themselves) have been left stranded in a Los Angeles consumed by fire and overrun by demons because they're deeply flawed, awful people. It has a very Old Testament view of the world, one in which God most definitely exists, and he is very, very disappointed in you.

Film Review: Spring Breakers (2012)

One of the strengths of genre film making is that it provides ample opportunity for intelligent writers and directors to secret social, political and cultural commentary beneath the more visceral, lizard brain pleasures of horror, sex and violence. The appeal is easy to see: you can make an insightful, even subversive point without the audience feeling like they are being beaten over the head with an ideology, while still making a film which is actually fun to watch. It's a tricky bit of misdirection to master, but it's largely why the likes of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Society and Shock Corridor remain so fascinating decades after they were initially released.

Film Review: Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)

"I stumble into town, just like a sacred cow..."

While the ending is not always the most important part of a film, it is the one that most often shapes the audiences' overall impression of it. An unsatisfying or poorly handled ending can sour everything good that built up to it, whilst a great ending can help smooth over the rough edges of a flawed film. This holds especially true for Oz the Great and Powerful, Disney's new take on the work of L. Frank Baum directed by Sam Raimi, an inverse bell curve of a film which opens and closes strongly, but falls into a pretty bad trough while trying to connect those two peaks.

Oscar Predictions: The Major Awards

Welcome back to our annual Oscar Predictions special, a yearly exercise in beautiful futility. Having dealt with the Technical awards we will now talk about the ones that actually matter. (I'd just like to point out that, whilst I have been a bit disparaging towards the other awards, I do think that they are very important, but also realise that the Oscars that get peoples attention on posters and DVD covers are the ones I am about to discuss.)

Let's get to it.

Film Review: 127 Hours (2010)

In April 2003, Aron Ralston went hiking in Utah. Five days after entering the Blue John Canyon, he staggered out, having undergone extreme deprivation and self-sacrifice in order to survive. Whilst climbing, a boulder had become dislodged and trapped his arm. With little food and water, Ralston was ultimately forced to amputate his own arm to escape. 127 Hours, the latest film from Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) tells the story of Ralston's ordeal.