Animal Crackers, 1930. Directed by Victor Heerman. Starring Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Lillian Roth and Margaret Dumont. SYNOPSIS: The Marx Brothers try to recover a stolen painting during a madcap house party. Animal Crackers is mad. It’s stark raving, piano-lid slamming, trousers-stuffed-with-cutlery mad. How is it that an 80 year old […]

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of legendary Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg in the fourth of a five part feature… read parts one, two and three. Collaborating with co-director Douglas Day Stewart (Listen to Me), filmmaker Steven Spielberg produced a ninety-minute video release called The Visionary (1990). The Western centres around a psychiatrist who skeptically recruits […]

Tom Jolliffe discusses the ins and outs, ups and downs, past, present and future of Ivan Drago… One of the Reagan era children, from the taut, muscular womb of 80’s action cinema, Dolph Lundgren never quite hit the big league. In the shadow of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis were Van Damme, Seagal, and Norris. Then […]

The Runaways, 2010. Directed by Floria Sigismondi. Starring Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon, Riley Keough, Stella Maeve and Scout Taylor-Compton. SYNOPSIS: A coming-of-age biopic about 70s teenage band The Runaways. Fronted by the then-15 year old-‘jailbait’ blonde Cherie Curie, with backing vocals and electric guitar provided by Joan Jett (who went on to sell […]

Renowned French filmmaker Claude Chabrol has passed away today aged 80. Beginning his career as a film critic alongside contemporaries Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut with the influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, Chabrol helped to usher in the French New Wave with his self-financed debut feature Le beau Serge […]

Largo Winch, 2008. Directed by Jérôme Salle. Starring Tomer Sisley, Mélanie Thierry, Kristin Scott Thomas, Miki Manojlovic and Steven Waddington. SYNOPSIS: When a wealthy business tycoon is found dead his adopted son and heir suspects foul play and sets out to protect his father’s estate and avenge his death. Prior to viewing this film I’d […]

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of legendary Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg in the third of a five part feature… read parts one and two. In the screenplay Night Skies drafted by American filmmaker John Sayles (Passion Fish), a violent space creature has the ability to kill with a touch of its boney finger. One of […]

Buried, 2010. Directed by Rodrigo Cortés. Starring Ryan Reynolds. SYNOPSIS: Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), an American contractor working in Iraq, wakes to find himself buried alive inside a wooden coffin, somewhere in the desert. With only a mobile phone and a lighter, he must work out why he has been buried and more importantly, how […]

What Have You Done to Solange? a.k.a Who’s Next? (Italian: Cosa avete fatto a Solange?), 1971. Directed by Massimo Dallamano. Starring Fabio Testi, Cristina Galbó, Karin Baal, and Joachim Fuchsberger. SYNOPSIS: A teacher who is having an affair with one of his students takes her out on a boat when they witness a knife killing […]

Gary Collinson presents Five Essential British Film Directors… With his latest film Inception grossing over $271m to date in North America, director Christopher Nolan has officially overtaken fellow countryman Ridley Scott to become the most financially successful British filmmaker of all time. This is a marvellous achievement when you consider the fact he’s made just […]