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 […]
Streaming: Operator (2015) Funded by Kickstarter, Operator was inspired by a genuine 999 call. Director/writer Caroline Bartleet heard and recognised the dramatic possibilities of giving us a brief glimpse into just one fire service phone call. Short films have to be quick and punchy and it’s rare to find a 5 minute film telling a […]
DVD/Blu-ray: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Eddie Coyle is looking at a stretch in prison and doesn’t want to leave his wife and kids reliant on welfare. He works for Jimmy Scalisi, supplying him with guns for a couple of bank jobs, but a cop named Foley is on to Eddie and he’s trying […]
Cinema: The Hateful Eight (2015) Bounty Hunter John Ruth (AKA: ‘The Hangman’ and played by Kurt Russell) heads for Red Rock with his prisoner Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) through a snow clad and frozen Wyoming. On the way they come across another bounty Hunter; Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson), and the new sheriff […]
DVD: And Then There Were None (2015) To celebrate Agatha Christie’s 125th anniversary the BBC produced a new version of her novel for Christmas. The story is set in 1939, literally just before the outbreak of WW2. A group of ten strangers are invited under different pretences to an isolated Island for a weekend away. […]
Blu-ray: A New Leaf (1971) Henry Graham (Walter Matthau) a spoiled, brattish, self absorbed American ‘aristocrat’ decides on finding out that he has lost all his money, that he must marry a rich woman and kill her to inherit her assets. I must admit to having never heard of Elaine May, despite her directing Ishtar, […]
DVD: Detectorists (2014) Andy and Lance are two hapless mates who share an obsession for metal detecting. Anyone reading that would instantly think Huh? Doesn’t sound that great to me, even the fact that the amazing Toby Jones plays Lance wouldn’t make it sound any more enthralling. Written by, and starring Mackenzie Crook this ‘comedy’ […]
