REVIEW: The Order (2001)
God help me, it is like I have opened Pandora’s box, and all of the Jean-Claude Van Damme action films have started pouring out into my life. I first encountered Van Damme’s work when attending junior high school. At a … Continue reading REVIEW: The Order (2001)
REVIEW: Apart from You (1933)
I have written in the past about how so many silent features have been lost from cinema’s early years, either being lost in accidental fires – nitrate film is ridiculously flammable, sometimes explosively so – or simply not perceived to … Continue reading REVIEW: Apart from You (1933)
TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.03
“The Friendly Type” I am sensing a wobble in “The Friendly Type”, the third episode of Marvel’s current streaming serial Moon Knight. The first two episodes did an excellent job of breaking out from Marvel’s standard formula with a story … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.03
REVIEW: Center Stage (2000)
In Nicholas Hytner’s drama Center Stage, an ensemble of young dancers join the prestigious American Ballet Academy in New York – but only a select few will progress beyond their first year. The academy itself is entirely fictional, but Hytner … Continue reading REVIEW: Center Stage (2000)
REVIEW: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
It has long become clear that Marvel Studios’ specific brand of shared universe feature films really work under their own rules. Fans of the comic book-inspired franchise may have bristled when Martin Scorsese famously noted ‘that’s not cinema’, but to … Continue reading REVIEW: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
REVIEW: The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper will forever be remembered for their 1933 monster classic King Kong, but it was not the only film they made together. In 1935 they co-directed the RKO Pictures Roman epic The Last Days of … Continue reading REVIEW: The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
REVIEW: Knock Off (1998)
Bear with me. Knock Off is an action vehicle for Jean-Claude Van Damme, released in 1998 when his Hollywood career had arguably peaked and his films were on a rapid one-way highway to the video store. It was not a success in … Continue reading REVIEW: Knock Off (1998)
TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.02
“Summon the Suit” The first episode of Moon Knight really felt like a major jump away from the comic book antics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a welcome jump at that. The second episode still remains entirely separate from … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.02
REVIEW: The Animatrix (2003)
When The Matrix became a global box office smash, and Warner Bros approached the Wachowskis about writing and directing a sequel, they didn’t just make the one film. Instead they engaged in perhaps the most ridiculously ambitious plan for a sequel ever. … Continue reading REVIEW: The Animatrix (2003)
REVIEW: Gamera vs Jiger (1970)
Daiei’s original Gamera franchise limped on into the 1970s, with a much-needed increase in the production budget but a general lack of enthusiasm that sours the experience. This sixth adventure for the giant space turtle and ‘friend to all children’ did not … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Jiger (1970)
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