Trevor Hogg profiles the career of director Michael Mann in the second of a two-part feature… read the first part of the article here. With the arrival of the 1990s, Michael Mann experienced a creative renaissance that would place him on the A-List of Hollywood directors. In 1990 he produced the Emmy winning docudrama Drug […]

Scum, 1979. Directed by Alan Clarke. Starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth and Phil Daniels. SYNOPSIS: When Carlin (Ray Winstone) is sent to a Borstal young offenders institute carrying a hard man reputation he is pushed to the limit by wild inmates and cruel officers to uphold it. In this brutal concrete jungle it’s […]

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of director Michael Mann in the first of a two-part feature… For a city that gave birth to the legend of Al Capone, it is not surprising to discover that Chicago is the hometown of a movie director who is known for his visceral depictions of criminals and law enforcement […]

Tressa Price selects her Five Essential British Romances of the Nineties and Noughties… 5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001 dir, Sharon Maguire) Total escapist romance. Just imagine being torn between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger with an impeccable British accent, has to choose between her disreputable, unreliable and sexy boss Daniel […]

In which Gerry Hayes wants to believe it can be better than this… The X Files: I Want To Believe, 2008. Directed by Chris Carter. Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. Starring David Duchovny, the lovely Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet, X to the Z. Full disclosure: In common with many men who […]

Genova, 2008. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Starring Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Willa Holland, and Perla Haney-Jardine. SYNOPSIS: A haunting, eerie journey to a place where souls stir and hearts go to mend themselves, Genova is the dark, brooding voyage of discovery for one family, torn apart by tragedy. Acclaimed British director Michael Winterbottom continues to […]

Santosh Sandhu discusses the French New Wave… French cinema in the post war years consisted mainly of genre movies with high production values. It was often studio bound and formulaic. The Gaullist regime came to power in the late 1950s and wanted to promote a home grown industry to compete against the dominance of Hollywood. […]

Get Carter, 1971. Directed by Mike Hodges. Starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, and Britt Ekland. SYNOPSIS: Jack Carter (Michael Caine), a classy but brutal criminal, travels to Newcastle from London in an attempt to find out the real cause behind the suspicious death of his brother. As the sinister facts behind his brother’s […]

Gary Collinson selects his Five Essential Films of Alfred Hitchcock… Without question, legendary director Alfred Hitchcock is among the very best filmmakers in history, and in my opinion the greatest British directing talent of all time. The Master of Suspense enjoyed a long and hugely influential career across six decades, beginning in the silent era […]

In which Gerry Hayes explains why Hostel is pointless twaddle… Hostel, 2006. Written and directed by Eli Roth.Starring a bunch of people you’ve probably never heard of.Presented by Quentin Tarantino? Hostel wins the award for Most Flagrant Use Of A Tenuous Relationship To A Famous Name To Foist Tripe On The Public. Tarantino was executive […]