Tag Archives: Oscars
Review: The Revenant (2015)
I’m one of a rapidly shrinking camp that still thinks that BIRDMAN deserved to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards last year. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu is an iconoclast out to shake things up in Hollywood by being stylistically … Continue reading
Review: Big Hero 6 (2014)
The latest from Disney is a colourful and undemanding superhero romp. Much like the film’s main draw Baymax, BIG HERO 6 is bouncy, endearing and funny, but perhaps doesn’t offer much extra once its fairly limited aims have been satisfied. … Continue reading
Oscar Review: Boyhood (2014)
BOYHOOD is not a masterpiece. And yet it’s probably still worthy of an Oscar in 2014, a pretty patchy year in film overall. Judging by the pattern awards shows so far seem to be following it’s all-but a shoe-in for … Continue reading
Review: Life Itself (2014)
LIFE ITSELF is an incredible documentary made by a film lover, about a film lover, for film lovers. It’s about love, about passion more than anything else, and I like to think Roger Ebert would have approved of this take … Continue reading
“I believe we need heroes, I believe we need certain people who we can measure our own shortcomings by.” (RIP Richard Attenborough)
It’s been a tough month for my childhood. Two weeks ago we lost Robin Williams, and now we must also bid a fond farewell to Lord Richard Attenborough, actor-director extraordinaire, RADA and BAFTA head, and tireless and passionate supporter of … Continue reading
“You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to” (RIP Robin Williams)
As Jeff Bridges’ self-hating DJ Jack Lucas says of Robin Williams’ Parry in THE FISHER KING, “You’re a psychotic man…a very nice psychotic man”. With the most affection possible, that would accurately describe Robin Williams’ public persona – a mad … Continue reading
Review: Frozen (2013)
The first half of FROZEN is pretty near perfect. It’s dark, soulful and bold, some of the best work Disney has ever produced. The film becomes more conventional as it goes on, but you can quite easily forgive any film … Continue reading
Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET is a joyous, mostly unashamed feast of sin, and a pleasingly brazen, amusing and different Oscar-contender in comparison to all the more supposedly “fitting” contenders it’s up against this year. Based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir, … 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 →