“They’re Amish!” (Witness, Peter Weir, US, 1985, 112 minutes) A young boy, having witnessed a grisly murder in a train station bathroom, must help police to find the killer; his widowed mother, lonely and grieving, catches the eye of the cop assigned to the case and a brief emotional affair ensues. So far, so standard-romantic-thriller. [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Attack of the RP Accents (Village of the Damned, Wolf Rilla, UK, 1960, 77 minutes) When John Carpenter released his version of Village of the Damned in 1995, he located the action in a Californian coastal town – diverting hugely from the quiet English shire town of Wyndham’s original 1957 novel, The Midwich Cuckoos. It’s [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Party Hard (24 Hour Party People, Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2002, 117 mins) When a film opens with Steve Coogan hand gliding in the Pennines, it has your attention. With Ride of the Valkyries thundering in the background, he shifts rapidly between the thrill of flying and the terror of plummeting towards a barbed wire fence, eventually [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
‘Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.’ (The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner, USA, 1987) Recently I sat down with my boyfriend and forced him to watch The Princess Bride on his big, shiny, widescreen TV of the future. Previously I had only ever watched this, the film [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
‘Little hand says it’s time to rock and roll…’ (Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow, USA, 1991, 120 minutes) There’s nothing quite like Point Break’s opening; cascading rain, the heavy wash of the ocean, a wet-suited surfer riding the waves. Ultimately though, it’s Keanu Reeves in a tight t-shirt, gripping a gun while chewing mightily on a [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
“I’ve been pondering if…” (If…, Lindsay Anderson, UK, 1968, 111mins) There is currently talk everywhere of those ‘misguided youths’ who disorient and frighten their elder generations in their constant, often aggressive forging of their generation’s own, new identity – moving away from previous traditions and the ‘recognised’ social norms. But this isn’t a new phenomenon. [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
