Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Tom Jolliffe

Why Margot Robbie is better than Pirates of the Caribbean

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Tom Jolliffe looks at Margot Robbie’s decision to set sail with a Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff and why it could lead her down a disappointing path… In the wake of a pandemic shut down throughout the world, the film industry took a major hit. Big theatrical releases pushed back, and film productions delayed. Even […]

In Over Your Head, Coen Style

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Tom Jolliffe looks at some of the Coen Brothers finest films, often seeing protagonists in a situation that gets increasingly out of their control… The plan seems simple. The quest, on paper, should be easy. Nothing could go wrong. In film terms, a lack of complication is a drama killer of course. In film terms, […]

More Than Batnipples: The Cinematic Legacy of Joel Schumacher

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Tom Jolliffe looks at the career of the late Joel Schumacher, whose great work has been disappointingly overshadowed by Batman… For many film fans, Joel Schumacher has had an impact. For better or worse, his work in the world of Gotham has become iconic for reasons of irony or antipathy. The trouble is, we now […]

Can John Travolta pull a Nicolas Cage?

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Tom Jolliffe takes a look at John Travolta, whose recent filmography has largely mirrored the same level as Nicolas Cage, bar the instant cult high points… John Travolta become an instant icon over 40 years ago, starring in the smash hit films Saturday Night Fever and Grease. They’re iconic films, with even more iconic songs. […]

Ian Holm: A Master of the Craft

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Tom Jolliffe looks back at the work of Ian Holm, who sadly passed away this week… There are some actors who elevate everything they do. Even if they become a specialist in supporting roles, popping up in roles, which in lesser hands would be forgotten quickly. Not so with Holm. In a career which began […]

Nightmarish Cinema: When Filmmakers Tap Into Our Nightmares

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Tom Jolliffe on turning nightmares into cinema, and the most nightmarish film ever made… Nightmares are a powerful thing. Whether it’s teeth falling out, falling, drowning or being chased by a persistent foe, there are some specific nightmares common among many of us. Most of us have probably had that dream of trying to run […]

Silent Trigger: Straight-to-Video Arthouse Action

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Tom Jolliffe looks at an interesting entry into mid-90’s, straight to video action as Dolph Lundgren plays a haunted assassin in Silent Trigger… By the time action titan, Dolph Lundgren had reached the middle of the 90’s, he’d become pretty much established as a video specialist. Though he’d make an appearance in the Keanu Reeves […]

Handmade Films: A Legacy of British Cult Cinema

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Tom Jolliffe takes a look back at George Harrison’s production company, Handmade Films… Often dubbed the quiet one of the Beatles, George Harrison is well known for the huge cultural impact he had on music in his time with the fab four. As far as musical phenomenons go, there’s a select pantheon for the most […]

Excellent Adventures with Bill & Ted

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With the third set to arrive this year, Tom Jolliffe looks back at the first two Bill & Ted films… I remember when Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure came out and took the world by storm. I first saw it on video and in the early 90’s it would be a film I’d watching at […]