Tom Jolliffe looks at the effective use of contrarian music in films which show violence…There’s something about a great film soundtrack whether it’s the score or songs (or both). You can have a melancholic drama which will usually be laced with melancholic music. You can have the rousing action adventure with the John Williams barnstorming […]
10 Great Long Takes
Tom Jolliffe looks at some of the best long takes in cinema history…The beauty of cinema, is the sheer litany of techniques available for film-makers to convey their story. It’s a collaborative effort between actors, directors, cinematographers, editors and everyone in between. The power of editing lies in the ability to manipulate the audiences emotional […]
The Moments Which Made You Love Cinema
Tom Jolliffe on those moments which made you love cinema…It’s different for everyone and maybe for some it never happens. Not everyone (shock horror!) is into film. For those film buffs, nerds, geeks, or even merely casual enjoyers of cinematic delights, there are always defining moments. Maybe it’s a moment within a film. Maybe it’s […]
From Hard Boiled to Soft Boiled: Why John Woo’s masterpiece will never be matched again
Tom Jolliffe revisits John Woo’s action masterpiece Hard Boiled… John Woo had already made quite a name for himself in China, thanks to hit action classics such as A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. In 1992 he released the film which would see him transition from Hong Kong director, to Hollywood. The film was Hard […]
Extreme Gun-Fu Action Movie Gems You Cannot Miss!
Marvelous Videos with a selection of essential gun-fu movies…Gun-fu. It’s a strange word, a western portmanteau that seeks to combine firearms with Eastern martial arts. But how can this be? How can you realistically have people shoot guns at close range without it seeming gimmicky or outright silly?Well, the great thing about movies is that […]
Flickering Myth Film Class: How To Edit Action
Tom Jolliffe begins a series of film classes. This week, featuring a guide on how to edit action scenes…In a new recurrent series, Film Class, I will take you through a guide on various topics relating to all manner of differing film aspects. From everything in front, or behind the camera, during shoot or in […]
Ben Wheatley and Tom Hiddleston may reunite for Hard Boiled comic book adaptation
Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros. is looking to reunite High-Rise director Ben Wheatley and star Tom Hiddleston on an adaptation of Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s Dark Horse comic book series Hard Boiled. The three-issue miniseries was published between 1990 and 1992 and follows Carl Seltz, an insurance investigator who discovers he is acually a […]
The Problem With East Asian Action Cinema Today
Tom Jolliffe takes a look at recent trends in East Asian Action Cinema… I’ve seen a lot of action films in my time. From all over the world. From the biggest blockbusters, to the straight to VHS specials that used to regularly populate your nearest video store. Whether it was the latest mega budget Schwarzenegger […]
