Blu-ray: The Ninth Configuration (1980) As a fan of film, on occasion a review copy Blu-ray will plop on my mat, and on opening it I will sigh and think ‘Oh fuck, here we go’. It’s not a resigned sigh or even a horrified exhale, but rather a ‘how can I possibly write a critical piece about […]
Blu-ray: The Life of Rock with Brian Pern (2014-) I will always be eternally grateful to Brian Pern for discovering Kate Bush. Written by BAFTA nominated and Emmy Award winning director/writer Rhys Thomas and The Fast Show’s Simon Day, ‘The Life of Rock with Brian Pern’ follows the ‘story’ of the eponymous singer/songwriter/Rock God, his band THOTCH and associated muscians, […]
Blu-ray: Three Days of the Condor (1975) The 1970’s, home of the conspiracy thriller (want a list? Here’s a few to jog your memory; The Parallax View, Chinatown, Capricorn One, Klute, The Conversation and Three Days of the Condor, whose reputation precedes it as one of the essential paranoia films of 1970’s. Robert Redford plays […]
Blu-ray: Eureka (1983) Performance, Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Don’t Look Now and Masters of Cinema’s new release of ‘Eureka‘ are all films by Nicolas Roeg. I would expect any film fan to have heard of the first 4 and probably hold those films in very high regard. I’ve read about Eureka but […]
Young Rebels (1992) Young Rebels conjures up some postmodern film, perhaps an early Martin Scorsese starring a young Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro about life being tough on the streets of New York. But no, it’s better than that. This is one of Amir Shervan’s ‘lost’ classics. Over at the 80’s Picture House they specialise […]
Blu-ray: Rocco and His Brothers (1960) After the death of her husband, mother Rosaria takes her four sons Rocco Parondi (Alain Delon), Simone, Ciro, and Luca to join her eldest son Vincenzo in Milan. Presented in five distinct sections, the film weaves the story of the five brothers Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro and Luca Parondi […]
Someone very close to me swears that playing video games saved their life. Weird? Not really. Imagine being so isolated by depression that the only thread you have to life itself is through a game. But that thread, invisible, delicate, is the only thing that keeps you wanting to function, because you want to see […]
DVD: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) What happens to the people in Shakespeare’s plays, when they are not actually on the stage? Well in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead you get a peep behind the curtains. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Shakespeare’s Hamlet are former school friends of the Danish Prince, and Hamlet’s stepdad and uncle, King […]
Dual Format: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) An all-female band try to make it in Hollywood with the aid of a new manager, Ronnie ‘Z Man’ Barzell (John Lazar). It’s rare I find it difficult to write about a film, but I must admit this one has me flumped. It’s all I can do […]
Cinema: The Revenant (2015) I remember watching the much lauded Birdman when it came out and thought ‘this is a bit annoying’; the soundtrack, the frenetic pace and visuals, the close-up camera work. The acting was good, the story a bit ‘meh’ and I was unimpressed. Having seen Inarritu’s other films (Babel, Biutiful) no one could […]
