Tag Archives: Movies
Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
This might be staying the obvious, but the problem with setting the bar ever higher is that each time it’s a harder task to clear it. Marvel might well have now reached that stage. The studio has become synonymous with … Continue reading
Review: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
If you enjoyed FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, chances are you’ll love this film too. It’s a spoof vampire sitcom much in the vein of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s previous comic stylings, but the performances, the gags and the treatment … Continue reading
The Grey and the Greyer: Heroes and Villains on Netflix’s Daredevil
I know in the past I’ve defended Mark Steven Johnson’s much-derided Ben Affleck-led DAREDEVIL, but even I’ll admit it looks pretty ropey compared to Marvel’s latest forrey onto the small screen. It will surprise nobody to learn that Marvel/Netflix’s Daredevil … Continue reading
Review: Get on Up (2014)
You could do a whole separate film about Mr Brown’s myriad personal issues. You could probably do a whole film based just on the impact of Brown’s music during the Vietnam War (covered in a single scene here) but as … Continue reading
Review: Nightcrawler (2014)
NIGHTCRAWLER skewers the news industry mercilessly, perhaps the most brutal deconstruction of the business since Sidney Lumet’s superlative NETWORK. It’s hard-hitting and often shocking, but it also works as an example of the very murkiest of black comedies. Louis Bloom … Continue reading
Review: The Babadook (2014)
It’s true what you’ve heard, THE BABADOOK is very good. But is it really all that scary? I’m not so sure. Set in suburban Australia, The Babadook follows working mother Amelia (Essie Davis) who is left caring for her child … Continue reading
“Stories of Imagination Tend to Upset Those Without One” (RIP Sir Terry Pratchett)
AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The End. The above was posted last Thursday on Terry Pratchett’s Twitter … Continue reading
Running (and Dancing) with Scissors
The following contains spoilers for the film and stage versions of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. A couple of Saturdays ago I indulged in a night of culture when I finally got to see Matthew Bourne’s impeccable dance adaptation of Edward Scissorhands. I … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 
All Hail Caesar and His Empire!
Something is changing at a grass-roots level, even if the Hollywood establishment don’t quite seem ready to accept it. On Sunday night at the 2015 Jameson Empire Awards, the film awards voted for entirely by the public, Andy Serkis was … Continue reading →