Tom Jolliffe looks at the weird wonders of cinema… There are pretty standard films when it comes to cinema. It could be straight horror (masked killer stalks teens) or Die Hard formula (terrorists take over something, everyman hero stops them). Sometimes a film lowdown tells you everything you need to know about what you’re about […]
What We’d Like to See in John Wick: Chapter 4
Tom Jolliffe looks ahead to the possibility of John Wick: Chapter 4 and some things that would be great to see in the next one (John Wick 3 spoilers follow)… With John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum giving Avengers: Endgame a good old fashioned German (actually Belgian) Shepherd nut savaging at the box office this weekend […]
Why John Wick and Ethan Hunt rule the action genre
Tom Jolliffe looks at the John Wick and Mission: Impossible franchises, the current best in action cinema… Some Spoilers follow: So Mr. Wick has just come out for his third adventure. Some suggestion beforehand had hinted it could potentially be his last. Three can often be a good number to close with. Of course that […]
The Art of the Visually Striking Film
Tom Jolliffe looks at the art of making visually beautiful films… Cinema is a visual medium. A way to tell stories through a combination of visuals and sound, through script and direction, and the manipulation of the editing. Some films are emotionally crushing, involving, gripping. Some are audio-visual sensory overloads. Directors can opt for a […]
After the Endgame: Can Marvel Studios Do It Again?
Tom Jolliffe looks back at the MCU’s success to this point, and wonders whether they can repeat the formula again… So the dust has settled. A whole slow building 11 year phase of Marvel films (it’s had splits in among those, but everything stems all the way back to Tony Stark’s first outing). Attempting to […]
Brilliantly Intense: Why Stephen Graham is one of Britain’s finest
Tom Jolliffe on why Stephen Graham is one of the most electrifying actors of his generation… I recall, (probably in the same film as a lot of people), the first time I became aware of Stephen Graham. It was as Tommy in Snatch, Guy Ritchie’s cockney gangster epic mk2. Tommy was sort of slow, a […]
The B to Z of Movies: Mockbusters and the Digital Age Mavericks
2019: Welcome to Blade Runner Year
Tom Jolliffe looks back at Blade Runner as we enter the year it was set… Remember when 2014 was coming to an end? There was a clamour of snorting giggles as people bemoaned the impending 2015’s lack of self drying clothes, flying cars, hydropizza and hover-boards. Granted, Back to the Future Part II did get […]
The B to Z of Movies: The Independent Mavericks, and a Lasting Legacy
Continuing in our look at the B to Z of movies, Tom Jolliffe looks at the rogue film-makers who operated away from the studio systems, from the 50’s through to the prolific video era… What do Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and host […]
Bond v Bourne v Hunt: Who is the Ultimate 21st Century Action Hero?
Tom Jolliffe looks at the three major action heroes of the 21st century… As we sit and bask in the aftermath of the most recent Mission: Impossible instalment, it seems as good a time as any to take a look at three of the most prolific government Assassins of the last couple of decades. Mr […]