Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s The Interview finally snuck into UK cinemas last Friday, arriving to a fairly muted reception – it just scraped a place in the UK top ten in last weekend’s box […]
Oscar Round-Up: Best Original and Adapted Screenplay
The award for Best Screenplay is always the least discussed of the ‘big five’ (which includes best film, actress, actor and director), but a strong script is essential to a film’s success, providing the framework […]
The big snubs of the Oscars – Everything is not Awesome
Oh dear. What was wrong with the Academy this year? Sparking discussions about the presence of minorities and women not just in awards contention but across western cinema in general, it’s fair to say that […]
Kingsman: The Secret Service continues Matthew Vaughn’s winning streak
Matthew Vaughn has never directed a franchise. Of his films that have spawned sequels, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, he has been only a writer or producer, seemingly having no desire to do the same […]
Oscar Round-Up: Best Actor/ Actress
Once again a great year in film is reduced to a rather bland set of Oscar nominees, to the surprise of absolutely no one. All ten are white, all are European or American, and any […]
Big Hero 6 will make you laugh and warm your heart
Disney’s latest motion picture has no doubt been subject to much critical discussion after the success of its predecessor, Frozen. Whilst this film deters from the musical structure of classic Disney films released previously, Big […]
Into The Woods takes a darker tone when it brings together fairy tales
Into The Woods is Disney’s next attempt at a darker fairy tale after the disappointingly average Maleficent. Thankfully, the film is an adaptation of the brilliant Stephen Sondheim’s musical and although not perfect, Into The […]
Are the U.S. war propaganda accusations against American Sniper justified?
Our hero, Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) stands statuesque and heroic on a windswept battlefield. Shrouded by an American flag, he stares into the far distance determinedly. The poster for American Sniper certainly does nothing to […]
Eddie Redmayne gives a towering performance in The Theory of Everything
It’s fair to say that the Theory of Everything’s success or failure lies purely on the shoulders of Eddie Redmayne’s performance as world renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Fortunately, Redmayne more than lives up to […]
In Ex_Machina Alicia Vikander steals the show with unsettling artificiality
Alex Garland, frequent Danny Boyle collaborator and writer of The Beach and 28 Days Later, has started his own directing career on fine form with Ex-Machina. Although ostensibly a hard sci-fi exploration of the nature […]
Whiplash owes its success to J.K. Simmons’ performance
Originally conceived as a short film which premiered at 2013’s Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash is an exhilarating drama depicting 19-year-old Andrew Neimann’s passionate aspiration to become one of the world’s greatest drummers. After he is […]
Oscar Nominations Roundup: Best Supporting Actor & Actress
The most wonderful time of the year is upon us yet again: Oscar season. There’s some obvious resentment circling the Academy this year, as it fails to answer the hopes for a more diverse collection […]