About Sam S-P
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
The selection of the Academy Awards is an unfair, flawed system. Everyone knows that. Not long to go now before this year’s awards, so here’s my pick of the biggest mistakes the Academy made over the last decade, and the … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Feature
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Tagged 12 Years a Slave, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin, American Hustle, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin, Black Swan, Brave, City of God, Colin Firth, Coraline, Drive, Fernando Meirelles, Film, Forest Whitaker, Gary Oldman, Gravity, Half Nelson, Heath Ledger, Inception, Infernal Affairs, Jean Dujardin, Laika, Little Miss Sunshine, Martin Scorsese, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Movies, Once, Oscars, Paranorman, Pixar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Ryan Gosling, Steven Spielberg, The Artist, The Dark Knight, The Departed, The Fighter, The Hunt, The King's Speech, The Last King of Scotland, The Return of the King, The Social Network, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson, Up, War Horse
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12 YEARS A SLAVE is a beautifully crafted film about an abhorrent subject. It’s quite an endurance test all-in-all, and I’m not sure whether I’ll ever be able to put myself through it again; not because of the quality of the film, … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged 12 Years a Slave, Benedict Cumberbatch, Biopic, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Film, Gravity, Hans Zimmer, Historical Drama, Inception, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, Movies, Oscars, Steve McQueen, Terrence Malick
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The first major blow to the film industry in 2014 has been dealt. Philip Seymour Hoffman has died aged 46. Hoffman was a prolific and incredibly versatile actor, and he did of course have an undeniable raw talent. As comfortable adding … Continue reading →
Posted in Film
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Tagged Adam Elliot, Almost Famous, Capote, Film, Jack Goes Boating, Mary and Max, Mission: Impossible III, Movies, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Big Lebowski, The Master
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After months of speculation, and pretty much nothing 100% confirmed about DC/Warner Bros’ mind-blowingly ambitious comic book extravaganza (that still may or may not be called BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN) we now know who’ll be playing Lex Luthor. That man is Jesse … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Comment
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Tagged Batman vs. Superman, Ben Affleck, Brandon Routh, Christopher Reeve, DC, Gene Hackman, Henry Cavill, Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg, Kevin Spacey, Michael Rosenbaum, Movies, Now You See Me, Smallville, Superhero, Superman Returns. Film, The Social Network, Warner Brothers, Zombieland
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WARM BODIES is the sweetest zombie movie ever made. Not the funniest (that’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD), not the most visually striking (28 DAYS LATER) or the most affecting (COLIN), but certainly the sweetest. When I say sweet, I don’t … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged 28 Days Later, Colin, Film, Horror, Isaac Marion, Jonathan Levine, Movies, Nicholas Hoult, Richard Curtis, Rom-com, Shaun of the Dead, Teresa Palmer, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Warm Bodies, Zombie
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Another really busy week of movie news that I thought I’d comment briefly on. Annoyingly, AMERICAN HUSTLE is still being showered with critical praise (just give Jennifer Lawrence an award and leave it at that!). More inspiringly, GRAVITY is keeping pace with … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Comment
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Tagged 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Ant-Man, Batman vs. Superman, Ben Affleck, David O Russell, DC, Disney, Edgar Wright, Fast & Furious 7, Film, Gravity, Henry Cavill, J. J. Abrams, Judi Dench, Jurassic World, Man of Steel, Marvel, Michael Douglas, Movies, Paul Rudd, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Star Wars Episode VII, Terminator Genesis, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Warner Brothers, Zack Snyder
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AMERICAN HUSTLE has glimmers of brilliance, but as a whole it’s an underwhelming experience, and director David O Russell’s least complete feeling film to date. The story takes place in the late 1970s, and is loosely based on the real … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Comedy, David O Russell, Drama, Film, Live and Let Die, Movies, Ocean's Eleven, Silver Linings Playbook
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It’s been a pretty big week for the world of film. From further vague STAR WARS rumours (both for EPISODE VII and the long-mooted spin-offs) to a more concrete indication of Quentin Tarantino’s next film being another Western. SHERLOCK wrapped … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Comment
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Tagged 12 Years a Slave, Alfonso Cuarón, American Hustle, Amy Adams, BBFC, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brϋhl, Film, Golden Globes, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jennifer Lawrence, Lawless, Michael Douglas, Movies, Nymphomaniac, Oscars, Quentin Tarantino, Rush, Sherlock, Shia LaBeouf, Star Wars Episode VII, The Hunt, The Woman in Black, Transformers
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It’s rare thing that a film so completely divides critics in the USA from the rest of the world. Star Armie Hammer claimed that “If you go back and read the negative reviews, most of them aren’t about the content … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Armie Hammer, Chinatown, Comedy, Disney, Film, Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp, Little Big Man, Movies, New Hollywood, Planet Terror, The Lone Ranger, Western, William Tell Overture
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This article was originally published on Subtitled Online November 2012. A favourite of Park Chan-wook, having appeared in four of his films, and of Bong Joon-ho, having starred in two of his films – with one more (Bong’s English-language debut) … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Feature, Subtitled Online
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Tagged Bong Joon-ho, Charlie Chaplin, Chris Evans, Film, John Hurt, JSA: Joint Security Area, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Jee-woon, Ko Ah-sung, Lee Byung-hun, Memories of Murder, Movies, Park Chan-wook, Sergio Leone, Snowpiercer, Song Kang-ho, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, The Good the Bad the Weird, The Host, Thirst, Tilda Swinton, World Cinema
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Luthorland
After months of speculation, and pretty much nothing 100% confirmed about DC/Warner Bros’ mind-blowingly ambitious comic book extravaganza (that still may or may not be called BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN) we now know who’ll be playing Lex Luthor. That man is Jesse … Continue reading →