Special Forces (France: Forces spéciales), 2011. Directed by Stéphane Rybojad. Starring Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou and Benoît Magimel. SYNOPSIS: A female journalist finds herself held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The release of this film is somewhat timely, or untimely depending on your viewpoint, following the death in Syria of noted journalist Marie Colvin. […]

Given the success of his low-budget debut, the found footage super powers flick Chronicle, it was inevitable that young director Josh Trank would find himself linked to a number of potential superhero movie adaptations. First up came word that Fox were keen to hand Trank the reins to their Fantastic Four reboot, which was also […]

Trevor Hogg chats with Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Eric Barba… “It goes back to my love for the automobile and wanting to be a car designer,” explains Digital Domain Visual Effects Supervisor Eric Barba as to why he attended the Art Center College of Design situated in Pasadena, California. “One of the things that […]

Gary Collinson chats with Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, director of the upcoming documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines… “I was reading a New York Times article that introduced Gail Simone as Wonder Woman’s first female writer EVER. Despite the fact that she was this incredible feminist symbol, she was stuck, like a lot of […]

Dracula: Prince of Darkness, 1966. Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Charles Tingwell, Philip Latham and Thorley Walters. SYNOPSIS: Four unsuspecting visitors are lured to Castle Dracula, paving the way for the resurrection of the fearsome Prince of Darkness. Vampires don’t chat. They’re vicious, hungry predators […]

Columbus Circle, 2012. Directed by George Gallo. Starring Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Jason Lee, Giovanni Ribisi, Kevin Pollack and Beau Bridges. SYNOPSIS: After living a secluded life for almost two decades, an agrophobic heiress is forced to confront her fears when a tenant in her apartment building is murdered. All too often in Hollywood, there’s […]

Safe House, 2012. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Sam Shephard, Brendan Gleeson and Robert Patrick. SYNOPSIS: A rookie CIA agent is forced to go on the run with a high value prisoner when a Cape Town safe house comes under attack. Let’s face it – action movies are not […]

Commenting on the critics with Simon Columb… Vanessa Thorpe, for The Guardian, writes today (Sunday, March 4th) about a change to what cinemas show: “Tomorrow, the Royal Opera House will release its new feature film, Madam Butterfly 3D, and the team behind the production argue it is not just a cheaper option for opera fans, […]

The acclaimed illustrator and Academy Award-winning conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie passed away on Saturday at his home in Berkeley, California, aged 82. A name that will be instantly familiar to Star Wars fans, McQuarrie was one of the most influential figures in science fiction and fantasy art and his visionary illustrations were key to defining […]