Tag Archives: Movies
Rush: Two Perspectives
This review of RUSH (2013) was written by Sam Sewell-Peterson and special guest writer Stefan Mackley. Stefan’s personal blog is Motorsportmadness. The Film Buff’s Take I’m not a sporty person, and am not particularly familiar with Formula 1, past or present. … Continue reading
Review: Festen (1998)
This review was originally written for Subtitled Online August 2010. FESTEN was the first film released following the Dogme 95 “Vow of Chastity”. The rules included technical restrictions (cameras to be low quality and handheld, no sound or music to … Continue reading
Remake Victim: Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven is an underrated filmmaker in Hollywood. Many think of him as simply a purveyor of trash, and it is true that he’s the man responsible for SHOWGIRLS and BASIC INSTINCT. But the Dutchman is also behind three of the smartest, most important American science-fiction … Continue reading
Blood in the Snow: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In
This article was originally written for Subtitled Online September 2011. The remake vs. original debate is one of the oldest and most frequently occurring in the film industry. Whenever original ideas run dry, Hollywood often turns to the untapped well … Continue reading
Jurassic Park 3D: Spared No Expense
I’ve loved JURASSIC PARK since I first saw it in the cinema as a small child. It’s a magical experience for me, and shows the real majesty of special effects work (both animatronic and CGI) when they’re done well. I … Continue reading
The Best Film I’ve Seen This Year: The Way Way Back
You don’t often see comedies like THE WAY WAY BACK today, and that makes me sad. I’m tired with overblown, excessive, abrasive humour on film. The Way Way Back, co-written and directed by Jim Rash and Nat Faxon is pretty much the polar opposite of … Continue reading
Review: Cargo (2009)
This review was originally written for Subtitled Online August 2010. Switzerland’s first attempt at sci-fi, and writer-directors Ivan Engler/Ralph Etter’s feature film debut, CARGO harks back to numerous icons of science fiction cinema – from THE THING to THE MATRIX, and, most prominently, Ridley … Continue reading
Film Confessional #2: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
I have a confession to make…I like SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE. It’s nowhere near on par with the first two Christopher Reeve movies, but it’s considerably better than SUPERMAN III, and is unfairly seen as the absolute dud … Continue reading
Anti-Pixar Animation
This article was originally written for Subtitled Online September 2012. There are some great alternatives to both the style and content of the products of dominant American animation powerhouse studios like Disney and Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Blue Sky Studios. Animation as … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 
Hammond’s Dream Goes Global
We now know that Colin Trevorrow’s fourth JURASSIC PARK film, to be released in the 2015 “summer of death” with be called the suitably imposing JURASSIC WORLD. It’s a major event when any information is released about a film stuck … Continue reading →