Tom Jolliffe looks back at two films with the same title, Running Scared (1986 and 2006)… 2021 brings with it several significant anniversaries. Interestingly though it brings significant anniversaries to two somewhat underappreciated films that share the same title. First of all we have Running Scared, the Peter Hyams helmed action comedy from 1986. That […]
The Cop on the Edge
Tom Jolliffe on the well-worn but effective cop on the edge trope… Cinema can often be pretty simple. Good guys are often morally upstanding. Bad guys often irredeemably corrupt. Your good guy might be a cop, your bad guy a crook. The hero might have a foible or two, but is generally psychologically on an […]
From Duel to Joy Ride: The DNA of John Hyams’ Alone
Tom Jolliffe takes a look at John Hyams’ latest film Alone, and delves into its DNA… In 2012, director John Hyams delivered a hell of a surprise package. It was his second film in a franchise that he took into wild (and occasionally divisive) avenues. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning was near visionary in scraping […]
Essential Time Travel Movies Part II
Tom Jolliffe offers up a second round of essential time travel movies… Having already established that cinema has a longstanding fascination with time travel with my previous ten essentials, it’s high time to add another ten to the mix. As a starting point for so many films it goes without saying that there have been […]
Audience Manipulation Through Character Perspective
Tom Jolliffe on playing with character perspective to take the audience exactly where you want them… In the history of cinema, many writers and directors have sought to transfix an audience and take them to very deliberate places. Sometimes these tales fire straight like an arrow, leading us on a linear and clear path, with […]
The Problems Facing the Face/Off Sequel
Tom Jolliffe on the problems facing a Face/Off sequel almost a quarter of a century on from the original… Even in an ever changing film climate, with theatrical distribution facing unprecedented difficulties when coming out the other side of the global pandemic, the predilection for remakes/reboots/sequels continues. If it worked once it could work again. […]
Back to 2011: Ten Essential Movies from Ten Years Ago
Tom Jolliffe looks back 10 years to 2011, offering up ten essential films from the year… I’m almost dumbstruck by the fact that we’re now 10 years from 2011. To me, 2011 is the future. I’m still stuck somewhere in 2004. How in the hell are there 21 year olds born this century now? Still, […]
Ten Essential Time Travel Movies
Tom Jolliffe looks at ten essential time travel movies… There have been many ideas that have persistently fascinated cinema goers. It might be revenge, creatures, outer space or indeed time travel. The idea of travelling forward or backward through time, whether it becomes physically realised or not has been a perpetual source of inspiration for […]
Greenland: How to breath life into a tired genre and defy expectations
Tom Jolliffe looks at one of the surprise critical successes of the year, Greenland… Remember when there seemed to be a new disaster film out every 6 months? Some world ending disaster, either natural or extra-terrestrial, would put the fate of mankind in the balance. The CGI tools at the disposal of filmmakers also meant […]
The Joy of a Loving 4K Restoration
Tom Jolliffe on the joy of a loving 4K restoration… In cinema, there’s a progressive fascination with new fangled technology. With every passing year, new tech and new kit is released leaving those with a technological fascination slobbering in anticipation. If you’re a filmmaker with any passing eye upon breaking Netflix you know that the […]
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