Year: 1996 Director: Joel Coen Stars: Frances McDormand (Marge Gunderson), Steve Buscemi (Carl Showalter), William H Macy (Jerry Lundegaard), Harve Presnell (Wade Gustafson), Peter Stormare (Gaear Grimsrud), John Carroll Lynch (Norm Gunderson), Steve Park (Mike Yanagita) Genre: Crime Thriller / Comedy "They got this guy, in Germany. Fritz Something-or-other. Or is it? Maybe it's Werner. … Continue reading Why I Love… #39: Fargo
Year: 1952 Directors: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly Stars: Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden), Donald O'Connor (Cosmo Brown), Jean Hagan (Lina Lamont), Millard Mitchell (R.F. Simpson) Genre: Musical One of the most popular and quite simply entertaining movies of all time. Set in the 20s as sound was about to change cinema … Continue reading Why I Love… #38: Singin’ In The Rain
For all this talk of unfilmable books, people will persist in having a go. If there really is such a thing, it might be William Burroughs' Naked Lunch, a book which, even with a respectable-if-problematic film adaptation thanks to David Cronenberg, still lives entirely on the page. Since Hollywood can and will scavenge from any corner … Continue reading Review: Life Of Pi
I grew up in a quaint coastal town in England. The sort of place that gets referred to as picturesque. Nice to visit, interminable to live in. In this town was a National Trust shop, which sold the usual suspects for a place of its kind. Wooden crafts, tea towels with maps on. And t-shirts … Continue reading Review: Sightseers
When it was announced that Peter Jackson's troubled realisation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit was going to be two movies, I sighed a little. This was a comparatively slim children's fantasy story, and whilst I enjoyed his The Lord of the Rings films immensely, the (excuse me) bagginess of Return of the King was still very fresh in the … Continue reading Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
Year: 2003 Director: Tommy Wiseau Stars: Tommy Wiseau (Johnny), Juliette Danielle (Lisa), Philip Haldiman (Denny), Greg Sestero (Mark), Carolyn Minnott (Claudette) Genre: Melodrama / Comedy / Disaster Movie A camera pans slowly along the Golden Gate Bridge from one end to the other. The kind of establishing shot you might see in any number of … Continue reading Why I Love… #37: The Room
Paedophilia! Now that I've got your attention, it's time to talk about Thomas Vinterberg's celebrated and sobering seasonal drama. Seasonal, yes, but far from festive. Here's a film unlikely to trouble the yuletide TV listings in the years to come. It's A Wonderful Life's reputation is secure. And whilst it's far less likely to warm the … Continue reading Review: The Hunt
The top ten ShameThe MasterHoly MotorsGoodbye First LoveMartha Marcy May MarleneExcisionThe Tree Of LifeKiller JoeStarletYoung Adult Film Of The YearShame The first film I saw at the cinema in 2012, and, as the year closes, still the one that left the greatest impression. Michael Fassbender’s controlled performance as Brandon sears the screen, ably complimented by … Continue reading The Best of 2012
