Adapting the young adult, sci-fi/ fantasy, adventure novel to the screen is a tricky feat. If done right, as in the Harry Potter films, they can provide wonderful cinema. Too often, though, film-makers trying to adapt popular teen novels to the big screen fumble the task badly, exhibit A: The Mortal Instruments. It would be reasonable to expect that a
Read moreAlong with David Fincher, Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Memento, Inception) has been the most exciting Hollywood filmmaker of the last decade. James Cameron may have made a bundle with Avatar but Fincher and Nolan have given us something darker, more cerebral and ultimately more satisfying. Consequently, Chris Nolan’s latest film, space epic Interstellar, has been the subject of
Read moreOn the surface Dallas Buyers Club seems like a suspiciously familiar Oscar-friendly story as it depicts a flawed man’s redemption through a battle with terminal disease. This film strikes powerful emotional chords, though, with its unflinching depiction of AIDS patient Ron Woodruff’s (Matthew McConaughey) confrontation not only with the disease but also his and society’s prejudices. Set in 1985, the
Read moreBUILT FOR SPEED, PLAYLIST, 15th MARCH 2013 1. FRANZ FERDINAND – Cheating on you. 2. LIVING EYES – Oh Yeah (Aus). 3. ADAM ECKERSLEY BAND – Should have known better. (Aus) 4. INSTITUTE POLAIRE – We can’t wait no more. (Aus) 5. HUSKER DU – Don’t want to know if you’re lonely. 6. NEIL YOUNG – The needle and the
Read moreThe Paperboy is a slightly loopy, gleefully trashy and occasionally entertaining adaptation of Peter Dexter’s steamy story of murder and sexual taboos in the Florida swamps. The star-packed film, which is set in 1969, sees journalist Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) returning to his former home town of Somerton Florida to investigate the questionable murder conviction of slimy, white trash creep
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