Tom Jolliffe looks at the finest in ambiguous cinema, and asks ‘how do you pull it off?’… Often in the law books of screenwriting there’s a section which might tell the studious aspiring writer that a film must have clarity. Plot threads must lead to resolution. Each act and your central character arcs should be […]
15 Great Cinematic Journeys
Tom Jolliffe offers up 15 great cinematic journeys… When it comes to cinema, the very best films will grab the audience and keep us gripped throughout the runtime. Every character goes on a particular journey that can be literal and/or metaphorical. Those literal epic journeys which might see hobbits on a quest to take a […]
The Top 10 Rejected Film Scores
Hasitha Fernando on the top ten rejected film scores… Hans Zimmer once famously quipped that, ‘You haven’t made it as a film composer until you’ve had a film score rejected.’ Hollywood plays nasty like that. So much so that having a film score kicked to the curb, at least once in your career, has become […]
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 […]
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 […]
Cinema’s Groundbreakers – Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
Tom Jolliffe looks back at the groundbreaking sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey… There have been some key films in sci-fi cinema throughout the years. Certain films have been genre defining, or redefining. It began with Fritz Lang’s visionary masterpiece Metropolis (also a groundbreaking film), which astonished with its visual imagination and dystopian story-line. The […]
A Lasting Final Shot
Tom Jolliffe looks at the power a film’s final shot can have… There are many aspects that will make a piece of cinema stay long in your mind. You give yourself over to a film sometimes. It sweeps you away. Moments leave particularly strong and inedible impressions. One thing that many films will strive for […]
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon sci-fi movie parody posters released
With its release less than three weeks away, StrudioCanal has released four parody posters for the Aardman’s new animated sci-fi comedy adventure A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon which pay homage to Gravity, Signs, Under the Skin and 2001: A Space Odyssey; take a look here… When the intergalactic visitor – an impish and adorable […]
Funko’s New York Comic Con exclusive movie-themed collectibles revealed
Funko’s New York Comic-Con 2019 exclusive movie themed collectibles have been unveiled and includes Pop! vinyl figures for Bluntman and Chronic from Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse, Marty McFly from Back to the Future, Killer Klown from the 1988 cult classic Killer Klowns from Outerspace, Feyd Rautha from Dune, Dr. Frank Poole from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: […]
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 […]