Josie, 2017. Directed by Eric England. Starring Sophie Turner, Dylan McDermott, Kurt Fuller, Jack Kilmer and Robin Bartlett. SYNOPSIS: Hank, a solitary man living a dull existence in the sleepy, Southern town raises eyebrows when he develops a questionable relationship with Josie, a recently transplanted high school student. Occasionally a film opens in a way that […]
A Beginner’s Guide To John Carpenter
Tom Jolliffe continues his series of beginner’s guides to legendary directors with a look at the work of John Carpenter… What with the recent Halloween reboot in the cinemas, a 40 year anniversary for his original classic, and a series of gorgeous new 4K transfer releases for some of his other cult classics, now would […]
Filmmaking With No Money and Big Ideas
Tom Jolliffe offers an insight into no budget film-making, and why you should aim as high as those means can reach… I won’t claim to be Steven Spielberg (or even Steven Spielbergo) but aspiring film-makers can learn a lot from not just the industry masters of past and present, but from each other. I’ve spoken […]
A Peep Into Peeping Tom: Is it time for a modern reboot?
Tom Jolliffe looks back at the seminal classic, Peeping Tom and whether the film could be successfully remade… Having recently re-watched the seminal psychological horror/thriller, Peeping Tom, there are several things that stand out. In terms of the setting, mise-en-scene, social attitudes and the on screen technology (And cameras the titular peeper uses), it’s most […]
A Beginner’s Guide to Ingmar Bergman
Tom Jolliffe offers a beginner’s guide to the work of Ingmar Bergman… To know Ingmar Bergman’s work is to understand a director who has impacted cinema as greatly as anyone. A true master by any measure of directorial influence, he’s a man whose work is iconic, even to the unbeknown who’ve never seen his films. […]
Sugar Coating Hollywood-Style
Tom Jolliffe on when real life stories are sugar coated in film… A good biopic can be fascinating. There are characters, through TV and print media, biographies, documentaries and more, that we learn the most fascinating things about. Documentaries of course have the goal of showing us (when done right) both sides of a personality, […]
Are the days of the big name headliners disappearing?
Tom Jolliffe looks at whether the days of the superstar headliner are disappearing with audiences more drawn to franchises or film concepts than the stars attached… You could say it started in Hollywood’s classic era. The movie star. The big name. They were in some ways manufactured, or at least their image was. Rock Hudson […]
The Alternative Halloween – A Terrifying 80’s Kids Movie Double Bill
Tom Jolliffe looks back at two terrifying kids films from the 80’s… Before terms such as snowflake and millennial were brought into common use, and before the world descended into a constant keyboard manned war over matters of offence, the world was a simpler time. PC and Health and Safety gone mad wasn’t a thing. […]
A Beginner’s Guide to Brian De Palma
Tom Jolliffe begins a series of features focused on iconic directors. Those whose work has influenced many younger directors who have followed them. First up is Brian De Palma… The 70’s saw a group of exceptional directors coming to the forefront of cinema. It’s an era where I could all too easily cover Martin Scorsese, […]
When Guy Ritchie Ruled the UK
Tom Jolliffe takes a look back at Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels at 20 years old, and Snatch, which recently turned 18… This year marks 20 years since the release of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Likewise, we’ve just passed the 18 year mark since the release of Snatch. Lock, Stock was the […]