Notebook Reviews: U-571
Jonathan Mostow – 2000. Breakdown director Jonathan Mostow delivers and a tense and thrilling submarine thriller in U-571. The cast in this WWII adventure is excellent – Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton [...]
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Casting Quentin Tarantino’s PULP FICTION
The impact that Quentin Tarantino had on cinema in the 1990s can not be understated. Budgeted at $1.2 million, 1992’s Reservoir Dogs was a small movie that grossed less than $3 million worldwide. However, as time went by Tarantino’s [...]
Behind The Scenes: Anna Paquin, Jane Campion & Sam Neill On The Set Of THE PIANO
Writer/director Jane Campion’s 1993 film, The Piano is seen a a modern classic, however I would argue that the drama is not quite a masterpiece. That’s not to say that it’s a bad film – far from it – it’s a well [...]
Notebook Reviews: PULP FICTION
Quentin Tarantino – 1994. Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction changed the face of cinema when it was released in 1994. A modern noir, the film packed a visceral punch with its snappy dialogue and rich characterisation. Movies had never felt [...]
Notebook Reviews: RISING SUN
Philip Kaufman – 1993 Philip Kaufman’s Rising Sun is the other Michael Crichton adaptation from 1993. It’s a good thriller, but it seems like everyone involved is taking this Crichton potboiler just a little too seriously, As [...]
Notebook Reviews: FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
Robert Rodriguez – 1996 From Dusk Till Dawn is a witty, gory and morally ambiguous horror-thriller. It’s great fun. There’s a chance that the whole thing wouldn’t work if it wasn’t anchored by George Clooney, who brings [...]
Behind The Scenes: Michael Mann, William Peterson & Dennis Farina On The Set Of MANHUNTER
Michael Mann’s Manhunter introduced the world to Hannibal Lecter (spelled Lektor in the film). Mann’s 1986 film offered-up a visually bright, but emotionally dark film that might appear to be a thriller, but it has its roots firmly in the [...]
The Horror! The Horror! Marlon Brando & Francis Ford Coppola On The Set Of APOCALYPSE NOW
Shot on location in the Philippines, the production for 1979’s Apocalypse Now was a torturous experience for all involved. From Harvey Keitel’s firing, to Martin Sheen‘s heart-attack and Brando arriving onset over-weight and [...]
Paul Schrader, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto & Richard Pryor On The Set Of BLUE COLLAR
Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader made his directorial debut with 1978’s Blue Collar. The film is muscular drama with a multitude of different layers: friendship, politics, wealth, power, corruption. Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and [...]
Blu-ray Review: Francis Ford Coppola’s Masterpiece APOCALYPSE NOW Final Cut
Francis Ford Coppola‘s Apocalypse Now isn’t just a movie – it’s a cinematic legend, a cautionary tale of how a director’s passion and drive was almost their undoing. The making of the film is now tied to its cinematic [...]
Return To Innocence: The New Trailer For THE IRISHMAN
Look, we all know that Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is going to be good. Great even. But we’re all curious about the de-ageing technology which is going to make it’s stars (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci) [...]
Trailer For Martin Scorsese’s Much Anticipated THE IRISHMAN
The gangster movie dream team of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel join forces for Martin Scorsese‘s long-awaited The Irishman. Netflix has dropped over $150 million on this decades-spanning crime film and the majority of [...]
Blu-ray & DVD Review Round-Up: THE SHAPE OF WATER, LADY BIRD, THE PIANO & More
This time around: The Shape Of Water fails to make a splash, Saoirse Ronan shines in Lady Bird, Eric Clapton: A Life In 12 Bars hits the right notes, Evan Rachel Wood gets creepy in Allure, The Piano turns 25 and Jim Carrey does Scandi Noir in Dark [...]
Blu-Ray & DVD Review Round-Up: THE POST, THE COMMUTER, BATMAN NINJA & More
This time around: Tom Hanks And Meryl Streep try to take down Nixon in The Post; Liam Neeson should have taken the bus in The Commuter; the Dark Knight goes to Japan in Batman Ninja; Michael Caine takes you through My Generation; venture back to [...]
Blu-Ray & DVD Review Round-Up: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, PADDINGTON 2 & MORE
This time around: Love is in the air for Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name; Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar gets buttoned-up; Hugh Grant commits crimes against acting Paddington 2; Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman get [...]
DVD Review: FAIRY TALE: A TRUE STORY Is A Fairly Good Telling Of A True Fairy Story
Produced by Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions, Fairy Tale: A True Story is a fictitious take on the true life tale that saw Elsie Wright and Frances Griffith take photographs of what they claimed to be fairies in their garden. The story (known as the [...]
Interview: Model/Actress/Producer Katie Chonacas
Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans starring Nicolas Cage and Val Kilmer opens next month and I got the chance to speak to actress/model/producer Katie Chonacas about the film and her career. During the course of the [...]
Review: Wes Anderson’s Whimsical MOONRISE KINGDOM
Wes Anderson movies are an acquired taste. The director’s visual style is a bit too quirky for the mainstream, and sometimes the art house crowd find it too laboured. I like his work, although I wasn’t a great admirer of The Darjeeling [...]