Features
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Baftas 2018: Our predictions
With the UK’s most prestigious film and television awards taking place later today (18 February), it’s time to enter into a round of foolproof – or is that foolhardy? – predictions on who will win at the 71st British Academy Film Awards. To add an extra level of frisson, the Baftas are historically seen as…
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How would modern technology have ruined classic movies?
Since Auguste and Louis Lumière first started dabbling in the moving image at the turn of the twentieth century, the merciless advance of technology has always moved in tandem with cinema. From synchronised sound and music to CGI, allowing us not only to hear the figures we see on screen but also to bring prehistoric…
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Close shaves on the big screen
Movies are absolutely rife with symbolism, and certain items hold a weighty meaning, such as the razor, which can be suggestive of anything from passion to despair. As such, shaving scenes have been employed in many a movie as a way to convey emotions and developing feelings between characters. While some are deeply emotional, others…
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Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water top with 13 nominations
This year’s Academy Awards nominations were revealed earlier this afternoon. Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water picked up the most nominations on 13, closely followed by Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, on…
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The most anticipated blockbusters of 2018
With 2017 now behind us – and with it a fairly disappointing year for what we would call ‘blockbuster cinema’ both critically and at the US box office, it’s time to look ahead to some of the tentpole titles of the coming twelve months. With not one but two Marvel outings and yet another Star…
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Ocean’s 8: a crime of the times
There have been some great casino-based films over the years and they’re not just enjoyed by gamblers either. What’s very notable about these sorts of films is that they’re always gripping, especially with them usually leading the viewer on a rollercoaster ride of great highs, as well as dramatic lows. So which new casino films…
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Our 20 most anticipated films of 2018
With our best of 2017 rundown now in the bag, here’s a look at a selection of films we’re most looking forward to in the next twelve months – should they emerge from the edit in time – including the return of esteemed independent directors Leos Carax, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Debra Granik and many, many…
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“Let the past die”: the politics of legacy in The Last Jedi
Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead Star Wars has always been about cycles – fathers and sons, apprentices and masters, redemption and renewal. When Obi-Wan Kenobi confronts Darth Vader in A New Hope, Vader tells him that “the circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I…
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Molly’s Game and the evolution of poker on screen
While poker may have started out as a rough and ready card game played on the frontier of the American West – or on Mississippi paddle steamers out of New Orleans depending on which historical account you read – the game has now transformed into a glamorous, high stakes global force. And from James Bond…
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Joe Pesci’s greatest roles
Home Alone star Joe Pesci is one of the most distinctive screen presences in the industry. Over the course of a long career he has become the go-to guy when a hyperactive Italian-American character is required. In an acting career stretching all the way back to the 1960s, Pesci has made some memorable appearances in some of…