It’s near impossible to watch a Terence Malick film and not get swept away in the man’s fascination with nature. His films, lyrical and delicate, are imbued with childlike wonder, as likely to focus on a flock of birds overhead as the details of the plot machinations motivating his characters. He can evoke nature’s beauty…
What, exactly, is there to recommend My Bloody Valentine? Perhaps it would’ve been worthwhile seeing it in actual 3D, in the cinema. The film has certainly made plentiful concessions to the gimmick – eyeballs popping out of people’s skulls and so forth – which might have been exciting back in the ‘80s. To achieve this…
Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is a tricky character to write for. He’s entertaining, charming and quick-witted but he’s also – it must be said – a total jerk. To stay on his side for the length of a feature film, he needs to have real challenges to face – with the proviso that, ultimately,…
(Double Feature is a series of “double length” (400-word) posts where I’ll compare two related pop culture artifacts) The best scary movies impress themselves upon you. They resurface as you walk down a darkened corridor to your bedroom in the deep of the night, or as your house creaks and shudders in a strong breeze.…
The thrill of justified nostalgia from seeing Jurassic Park in the cinema again drove me to hunt down the sequel, half-remembered as an enjoyable romp that didn’t live up to its predecessor. The Lost World has its merits – it’s a silly action film that’s genuinely fun for much of its running time – but,…
Most psychological thrillers take great pleasure in pulling the rug from under the audience’s feet in the last act, toying with expectations. The it’s-all-a-dream, no-wait-it-isn’t “twists” that conclude both Audition and Trance are testament to a genre that’s all about the mindfuck. Jacob’s Ladder never pretends there’s a rug in the first place. Early scenes…
Scanners is the first film I’ve seen from David Cronenberg’s impressive filmography that I’d describe as disappointing. It has a promising introduction; an atmosphere of cold disquiet pervading claustrophobic sets suffused with violent crimson. Early scenes are enigmatic and fascinating: a homeless man, strapped to a bed, writhes helplessly as silent spectators slowly march into…
Is Funny Games a good film? I’m not sure. It is, undeniably, interesting, and that’s almost as important as “good.” Director Michael Haneke set out to challenge audience reactions to stylised violence and suggest the viewer’s complicity. The film is a provocation, an unsubtle attack on its own audience. I don’t know that Haneke is…
One of my earliest memories at the movies is sitting in a darkened cinema as Jurassic Park begins… the rustle of leaves in the dark, me clutching my seat in fear as that first, perfect velociraptor shriek echoes through the theatre. I’d like to say that Jurassic Park inspired my enduring love of film –…
Kids is one of those films more interested in realism than creating a traditional three-act narrative. Its running time is spent following a crew of ratty teenagers who spend their time doing drugs, having sex or trying to do either. The film exudes a grotty verisimilitude; the dialogue may be rambling and inarticulate, but true…
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