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JOY (2015)
If there were a recipe that could be applied to David O. Russell’s output of the last few years, it would go something like this: take a group of loosely connected characters, each with their own hang-ups, histories and quirks, and spearhead the group with one or two characters that are both quirkier and more…
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AMERICAN HORROR STORY: HOTEL – ‘Battle Royale’
I don’t have nearly as many observations as questions about “Battle Royale,” the penultimate episode of American Horror Story: Hotel. The series typically ties up whatever plot strands its showrunners deem worthy of tying up in the penultimate hour, leaving the finale as a denouement, which was quite effective in its first two years. While subsequent seasons…
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THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015)
While The Hateful Eight has proven to be a divisive movie, even many of its critics have praised Quentin Tarantino for working to keep film alive with the movie’s 70mm release (the widest of its kind, in the U.S, since 1992’s Far and Away). Seen in a proper movie palace, complete with overture and intermission,…
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PARTISAN (2015)
Whether it’s the intense psychological drama of films like Sean Durkin’s underrated chiller Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), or the hilarious satire of irresistible Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, cultish secluded communities under the spell of charismatic, despotic, and most likely polygamist patriarchs, have become a popular setting for exploring the human condition. Australian filmmaker…
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Interview: James Dormer, co-creator of ITV’s BEOWULF
James Dormer is a British screenwriter, who has worked on TV shows like Sky1’s Sinbad, the BBC’s Musketeers and Spooks, ITV’s The Fixer, and as co-executive producer on the Cinemax/Sky action thriller Strike Back. He also wrote the 2014 Nicholas Cage movie Outcast. Now, he’s the head writer and executive producer behind ITV’s new fantasy…
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The 10 Greatest Studio Ghibli Films
It’s no overstatement to say that there’s always something to be impressed by in every Studio Ghibli film. Whether it’s the superb artistry of the animation, the delicacy and meaning of the storytelling, or the tremendous power of the ideas within the story, there’s something ineffable about these works that makes them so captivating. Japan’s…
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2016: Winter Film Preview
I’ve already previewed 8 television shows to look forward to in early-2016, but now it’s the turn of the movies. Below are 10 films that are premiering in the UK over the next three months, featuring frontiersmen, superheroes, giant pandas, monsters, boxers, models, and zombies! Let us know what you’re most excited about in the…
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SHERLOCK – ‘The Abominable Bride’
A considerable number of theories were spun about how Sherlock writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss would transplant their very postmodern take on Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) to the Victorian era. If you were au fait with the show then it was fairly easy to predict that any story set…
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IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (2015)
While it’s not completely dreadful, Ron Howard’s period actioner In the Heart of the Sea is a tepid attempt to bring excitement and conflict to the classic tale of Moby Dick, by telling the true story that inspired the book. The film is weakened by a lack of structure to its screenplay, an excessive insistence…
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2016: Television Preview
A new year brings fresh entertainment from the world of television. To help you get over the loss of 2015 to the mists of time, below you can find a few teases of the best new things premiering between January and March; sleuths, superheroes, FBI agents, record producers, and the devil himself… SHERLOCK • BBC1,…
