For Love of The Movies

In 1974, Walter Matthau (Grumpy Old Men) and Robert Shaw (JAWS) were the leads in the film adaptation of John Godey’s novel, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. It was a fantastic film. The leads were nothing short of brilliant and today it still stands alone as a classic 70’s action film. Film buffs will immediately notice the influence the film had on Quentin Tarantino’s, Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Yes, almost 20 years before, the criminals in Pelham One Two Three were using colours as names… Blue, Green, Grey and Brown… as did ’The Dogs’ – Mr. White, Mr. Brown, Mr. Pink, etc.

The basic story of the film was about a group of criminals hijacking a busy subway train (continue reading…)

I recall a few months ago, reading an article in Empire (in my opinion the finest film magazine on the planet) about the ‘Citizen Kane’ of superhero movies, which was well under-way through production with Warner Brothers, under the guidance of Zack Snyder (he of ‘300′ directorial fame). I remember thinking that it was quite a statement - comparing it to the grand-daddy of cinema - Citizen Kane - which for those of you who don’t know, is considered by many as ‘the best movie ever made’. It’s on every Top 10 Movie list ever conceived, and is usually in the Top 3. Orson Welles’ 1941 film truly has stood the test of time and whilst horribly dated 68 years later… it is still a very special piece of history.  Hearing Charles Foster Kane (Welles) gasp the word ‘Rosebud’ as he dies in the film, still has an impact on me. Upon reading the article and seeing images of ’cheesy’ crime fighting out-fits, coupled with never having read ‘The Watchmen’ comics, I brushed it off and made no effort to see it. That was a mistake.

It’s no Citizen Kane. Let me get that out of the way right now. It would (continue reading…)

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Day to day, life goes on – regardless. For many of us, it’s a similar (if not the same) monotonous routine that involves the alarm clock going off at the same time. You drag yourself out of bed and head for the shower. Then, brush your teeth, douse yourself in aftershave and deodorant and comb your hair. Then you grab lunch, kiss the wife and head off to the daily grind. It’s a relentless 9 hour work day, until the afternoon, when we get to sit in the traffic for 45 minutes on route to the gym, or straight home. Sit down to do admin, pay the bills, eat dinner, watch TV, scratch the dog and head to bed. Only to do the same damn thing the next day… for 5 days a week… every week… every month… every year for about 40 to 50 years of you life. Holy shit! So what’s it all about. Believe me, the person who can honestly give you that answer – is the one who doesn’t need to ask another question. The meaning of life? No clue. But where am I going with this? I’ll tell you.

Twice in the last few months, I have sat glued (continue reading…)

I don’t care what anybody else says, but Mickey Rourke is a Hollywood legend. It’s as simple as that. The man has been churning out awesome performance, after awesome performance (regardless of whether he has had a leading role or a cameo) for 30 years. His first role in a movie happened to be in Steven Spielberg’s, 1941, back in 1979… but you’re forgiven if you didn’t know that, because it’s a ’blink-and-you’ll-miss-me” part. The first film I actually remember him in was ‘Diner’ from Barry Levinson, about a group of younger guys finding their way into adult life. It also starred Steve ‘Mahoney’ Guttenberg (Police Academy), Kevin Bacon (the most under-rated actor of all-time) and Paul Reiser (Mad About You). It was a great film.

I then followed him through Rumble Fish with (continue reading…)

I must confess to having a huge love/hate relationship with Mrs. Voorhees, her son Jason and this specific day. From the time I was introduced to this film (and it’s seemingly countless sequels), by a childhood friend named Ashleigh Greene, I have always marvelled at the way Hollywood can conjure up these frightening and unstoppable movie maniacs. I love horror movies, I absolutely love them. There is something special about having the shit scared out of you for 90 minutes and then being able to switch off the TV and meander back into reality. It was something special that I wish I could have learned at a younger age. The hate part of this relationship, is the fact that I couldn’t switch my mind off and had vision of these crazy bastards diving through my bedroom window, or come crashing through my ceiling at 2am. Countless mornings through my child-hood, I found myself waking suddenly with a thump… as I raised my head at rapid speed and had it meet with the bottom of my parents bed! I only wish I had CCTV camera footage of my leopard crawling tactics (pillow in teeth and blanket wrapped over shoulder) as I made my way undetected out of my bedroom and under my folks bed. Of course, the logic behind this had been naive, as the first place Jason would have looked… was under a bed! 

For me there have only ever (continue reading…)

Every so often a film comes along which I find very hard to classify. Comedies are funny. Thrillers keep you on the edge of your seat. Explosions, car chases and gun fights mean action. And, when I’m forced to watch a film during day light hours and still look over the couch every 5 minutes – I’m watching a horror film. Then there is this unclassifiable lot. A film that is so special that it doesn’t fit into a genre. And 9 times out of 10, I find the film a borderline masterpiece. It’s a film that I can 100% relate to. A film that builds characters to a point that you feel like you are standing next to them in the film. Characters you care about and want to know more about. A human piece. A film you don’t want to end.

Beautiful Girls was made (continue reading…)