About Sam S-P
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
There are three film franchises that have impacted me above all others. First, there came STAR WARS, which kept me happy throughout my first decade (on VHS – sadly I’m too young to have seen the original trilogy on the … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Feature, Film Review
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Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Fantasy, Film, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Howard Shore, Ian Holm, Ian McKellan, Liv Tyler, Movies, Narnia, Peter Jackson, Sean Astin, Snow White and the Huntsman, Star Wars, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen, Weta Workshop
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For many, SPOTLIGHT was the surprise winner at last year’s Oscars. The true events the film is based on might be ripe for dramatic adaptation, but with its low-key performance and style, and actors that did not subject themselves to … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Brian d'Arcy James, Drama, Film, Josh Singer, Mark Ruffalo, Movies, Oscars, Rachel McAdams, Room, Spotlight, The Big Short, The Revenant, Tom McCarthy
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Six years ago it seemed like Tim Burton had found the perfect material to marry with his distinctive visuals and irreverent take on the world: Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. The resulting film, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, may have been colourful but … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Fantasy, Film, Helena Bonham Carter, HG Wells, James Bobin, Johnny Depp, Lewis Carroll, Mia Wasikowska, Movies, Sacha Baron Cohen, Terry Pratchett, The Time Machine, TIme Burton
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If there’s a film I never expected THE LEGEND OF TARZAN to remind me of, it was THE LONE RANGER. Both films are beautiful looking genre pieces with entertaining set pieces and shudder-inducing cultural insensitivity. Johnny Depp should never have … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Alexander Skarsgard, Christoph Waltz, David Yates, Djimon Honsou, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantasy, Film, Guy Ritchie, Johnny Depp, Margot Robbie, Movies, Samuel L. Jackson, Sherlock Holmes, The Legend of Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, The Lord of the Rings
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ARRIVAL is nothing like the way it was marketed (though you can’t blame the marketing guys for trying to get people through the door by making it out to be a disaster movie). Denis Villeneuve’s latest is a razor-sharp conceptual … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged A Nightmare on Elm Street, Academy Awards, Amy Adams, Arrival, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Heisserer, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jeremy Renner, Oscars, Sci-fi, The Thing, Up
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I was just the right age for HARRY POTTER. The books were coming out in the years when I was really into my reading and I’ve grown up simultaneously with the cast of the films. Even with the involvement of … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, David Yates, Eddie Redmayne, Family Film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantasy, Film, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Katherine Waterston, Movies
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Warner Brothers have not had a good year at the movies. Between steadily disintegrating franchises like their relentlessly grim take on DC superheroes, villains and anti-heroes and complete non-starters like LEGEND OF TARZAN, it’s been ludicrously expensive with nowhere near … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Feature
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Tagged Batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Film, Harry Potter, Jared Harris, JK Rowling, Johnny Depp, Justice League, Kong: Skull Island, Marvel, Movies, Suicide Squad, The Legend of Tarzan, Warner Brothers, Wonder Woman
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I stand by my original review of X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, but now I’ve watched it again I have a few more thoughts. I don’t have any real issues with the film’s opening. The original Four Horsemen aren’t given much opportunity to … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Chariots of the Gods?, Film, Hugh Jackman, James Marsden, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Movies, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Superhero Movie, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Ty Sheridan, X-Men, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: First Class
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I’m not the biggest STAR TREK fan in the universe. I was always more into that other franchise from a galaxy far away. That said, I enjoyed most of the movies and saw a handful of episodes, but even I … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Adam Nimoy, Documentary, Film, For the Love of Spock, Geoge Takei, Ken Burns, Leonard Nimoy, Lon Chaney, Movies, Star Trek, William Shatner
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SSP Thinks Film 