Anghus Houvouras asks whether movies are getting needlessly longer… “No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.” – Roger Ebert A very apt statement, and yet I feel like modern filmmakers are challenging this concept.  I’ve been in a number of conversations this year over the sheer length of so […]

The Flickering Myth team predict the winners of the British Academy Film Awards…. It’s that magical time of year again where loads of famous people gather around to perpetuate how great they are. They don’t call ’em celebrate-ories for nothing. This Sunday plays host the the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, or, […]

Cleanskin, 2012. Directed by Hadi Hajaig. Starring Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, James Fox, Tuppence Middleton, Shivani Ghai and Michelle Ryan. SYNOPSIS: A secret service agent deep undercover in London’s criminal underbelly is tasked with eliminating a terrorist cell. After the 9/11 attacks, the movie industry took a different stance in portraying its terrorists […]

God Bless America, 2011. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Starring Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith and Melinda Page Hamilton. SYNOPSIS: Terminally ill Frank has reached the end of his tether. His neighbours are inconsiderate, the television is full of programs that glorify stupidity and ridicule the weak, and life barely seems worth living. […]

The Amazing Spider-Man, 2012. Directed by Marc Webb. Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen and Sally Field. SYNOPSIS: Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider, which gives him a few of its attributes. So… how’s this one different from the last three? It’s more “amazing”. You can tell […]

Pixar’s Brave is showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012, which is being covered by Samantha Morrison… Brave, 2012. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman. Featuring the voice talents of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd and Craig Ferguson. SYNOPSIS: Merida, a medieval Scottish princess, hates not […]

Phantasm IV: Oblivion, 1998. Directed by Don Coscarelli. Starring Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, and Angus Scrimm. SYNOPSIS: The mystery behind the mortician reaches its conclusion. After the way Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994) ended, it’s hardly surprising that the franchise spawned a fourth movie. I’ve had a good time with […]

The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus is showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012, which is being covered by Samantha Morrison… The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus, 2012. Written and Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe. SYNOPSIS: A documentary on Paul, the octopus who correctly predicted eight consecutive matches […]

Rentaneko is showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012, which is being covered by Samantha Morrison… Rentaneko, 2012. Written and Directed by Naoko Ogigami. Starring Mikako Ichikawa, Reiko Kusamura and Ken Mitsuishi. SYNOPSIS: Set in Japan, a woman rents out cats to lonely people. It’s a fairly bizarre premise, something that I don’t think […]

The King of Devil’s Island (Kongen av Bastøy), 2010. Directed by Marius Holst. Starring Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner and Trond Nilssen. SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, a brutal correctional facility has the tides turned against it when a new inmate arrives and defies their methods. I’m not one for watching foreign subtitled […]