Once Upon a Time in Anatolia will split audiences into two bitterly opposed camps. Some will see it as a riveting meditation on human existence, others will feel that at 2 1/2 hours and as slow as a Boycott innings, it’s the biggest snore-fest of all time. The film’s title suggests an organised crime epic along the lines of Once
Read moreOutrageous big hair, spandex and leopard skin pants invade the screen in Rock of Ages, the cinema adaptation of the hit stage musical. Like the stage show, the film tries to capture the energy of the late the 80’s pop metal scene with a story of starry-eyed rockers on LA’s Sunset Strip. Rock musicals are always a dubious prospect. Rock
Read moreThe 80’s are back in all their big haired glory (or is that horror) as we look at the cinema adaptation of hit stage musical Rock of Ages. We’ll play some 80’s classics as well as many more recent tracks. There’s also plenty of fine art house fair around at the moment and this week we review one of the
Read moreWith its mix of Hitchcockian tension, stunning art direction and sinister Freudian imagery, Ridley Scott’s 1979 science fiction thriller Alien is (imho) one of cinema’s finest achievements. So, in anticipation of Prometheus, a (kind of) prequel to Alien, I was drooling much like the film’s monster. Unfortunately, a messy, unengaging and ultimately confusing script from John Spaihts and Damon Lindelof
Read moreGet the Gringo is meant to be Mel Gibson’s post-rant comeback film (the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver was made pre-rant) but this very violent moderately entertaining prison drama is not going to see him welcomed back with open arms by the cinema going public. Get the Gringo is odd by most standards but familiar territory for Gibson. As in 1999’s
Read moreIn Bel Ami, Twilight star Robert Pattinson plays a poverty-stricken young man who attempts to climb the social ladder and secure wealth and political power by shagging his way through 1890’s Parisienne high society. As a toy boy for wealthy women who include Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas, Pattinson begins to worm his way into the ranks
Read more