DVD/Blu-Ray Review
DVD Review: The Escape
Gemma Arterton’s first appearance on the big screen was hardly the most auspicious beginning. Then again, St Trinian’s is hardly a film which will go down in history as anything other than being better than its sequel. However, slowly but surely the Kent native has managed to find roles which have allowed her to showcase …
Blu-Ray Review: Alpha
As the saying goes, a dog is man’s best friend, but it wasn’t always that way. Whilst Kevin Kostner may have been dancing with Wolves in the 19th century, human beings have been hunted by wild dogs and wolves for millennia. At some point man and beast became friends. Or at the very least, they …
DVD Review: Searching
Whilst the rise of social media and mobile communications has had a huge impact on our daily lives, it has caused a whole host of problems for film-makers. Especially when they’re trying to make a contemporary crime thriller or horror. So much thought has to go into each scene. It’s hard to pull of a …
Blu-ray Review: The Rider
Whilst the Wild West might be a place lost in the dim and distant past, the notion of the cowboy still lingers in the American psyche. Whilst ‘Indians’ are no longer red and very much Native American, the relationship between a man and his horse still holds strong. There are still those who eke-out a …
Blu-Ray Review: The Cooler
Whilst leads perennially hog the limelight, it’s supporting actors who are often likely to steal the show. Hollywood is hardly meritocratic. The ‘A’ List has as much to do with looks as it does talent or ability. Today, with the resurgence of TV and the advent of streaming, bit players like Walton Goggins, Michael Stuhlbarg, …
Blu-Ray Review: Nigthshooters
Making a film can be dangerous undertaking. Sets are fraught with peril. One wrong move can literally bring everything crashing down around you. Then there are the pyrotechnics, fight scenes, car chases etc etc. The list goes on and on. It’s a health and safety nightmare. However, despite the best laid it’s impossible to account …
Blu-ray Review: When A Stranger Calls / When A Stranger Calls Back
As demonstrated so successfully in the Scream franchise, one of the most popular motifs in modern genre cinema is that of the mystery caller. Especially when your protagonist is a babysitter. Inspired by an urban legend which was doing the rounds during the ‘60s, Fred Walton made a short film, The Sitter, in 1977. A …
Blu-Ray Review: Matangi/Maya/M.I.A
Over the course of the last decade, the portrayal of refugees in the UK media has been simplistic, to say the least. The entire debate has been focused on those making dangerous journeys across half the world to seek haven from wars, violence and poverty. They tend to be lazily lumped together, with little or …
Blu-Ray Review: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
The end of World War II marked the start of a boom time for the United States of America. In the period leading up to the 1960s the country saw a phenomenal amount of economic growth. Whilst the standard of living rocketed, a culture of conservatism and traditional values still prevailed. It was a decade …
Blu-Ray Review: The Serpent’s Egg
Although his star has been on the wane over the past couple of decades, Ingmar Bergman is without doubt one of the most important film-makers who has ever lived. The late Swede’s fall from grace is probably due more to incessant relationships with his actresses than any diminishing of his films. That said, it’s true …