No good sci-fi movie is complete without an awe-inspiring musical score to elevate the on-screen visuals; here are fourteen of the best… A great music score can take the visual landscape of a film and add a whole other dimension to help transport the viewer. For genre movies, an effective score is essential in embellishing […]
How To Be Unique In Cinema
Tom Jolliffe delves into what makes a film truly unique… If you’ve watched Captain America, or Spider-Man, or another masked hero, you’ve pretty much seen a variation on the same film. Genres themselves have clearly identifiable tropes and an action film for example, will often adhere to specific action genre calling cards. That doesn’t necessarily […]
The Essential Man vs. AI Movies
AI technology is developing to astonishing levels and if you’ve seen any of these sci-fi films, you know it’s all going to go wrong… Technology is great. Whoever invented the waffle iron is a genius. Video games keep us amused, even though I think that games peaked at 16-bit. When it comes to everyday functions, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 Art of Ambiguity in Cinema
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 […]
