Features
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Special Feature: 3D evolution – from cash cow to high brow
After the overwhelming success of Avatar (2009) and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), 3D cinema appears to be defying mixed critical reception with cold, hard profits. But is 2011 the year that this new technological revolution balances economic success with artistic credibility?For all of its many faults, James Cameron’s self proclaimed “game-changer” Avatar was an…
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Barbican Film: ‘À Propos de Nice’, ‘Rien Que Les Heures’, ‘Paris Qui Dort’
There are as many ways to describe a city as there are people living in it. The Barbican’s ‘City Symphony’ season, part of its Silent Film and Live Music strand, gives us glimpses of urban life in the 1920s – filtered through the imagination of some of the era’s most experimental film-makers. The series opened with…
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National Theatre: Danny Boyle’s ‘Frankenstein’
In 2009 the National Theatre launched NT Live, a project to broadcast their plays live to cinemas in the UK and around the world via satellite. The initiative has been a huge success, and next to reach cinemas is Academy Award winner Danny Boyle’s much-lauded production of Frankenstein, which is playing at the National Theatre…
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Jameson Cult Film Club: ‘Monsters’
Despite what some well-known contrarians may have you believe, 2010 was undoubtedly a very strong year for cinema. At the box office, intelligent cinema with mass appeal flourished, with big hitters such as Toy Story 3, Inception and The Social Network balancing extremely positive critical reception with all important profitability.It was also a fine year for British…
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Alibi Film Club: ‘Total Recall’
The route from movie hero to Governor of California appears to be a seamless one. If you’ve the character and moral integrity of Detective John Kimble (Kindergarten Cop [1990]) and the paternalistic qualities of Howard Langston (Jingle All the Way [1996]), then the path from movie stardom to high profile politician seems almost inevitable.If all of those…
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Oscars 2011: 83rd Academy Awards winners
As predicted, The King’s Speech was the big success story of this year’s “new look” Academy Awards ceremony, walking away with the Oscars for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Actor’. Whilst not quite the whitewash the some had expected, the film’s haul of 4 of its 12 nominations was enough to put it joint…
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Oscars 2011: 83rd Academy Awards predictions
It’s time! The 83rd American Academy Awards kick off on Monday morning at 0100 GMT, so to celebrate the return of the world’s most significant film award ceremony we’ve compiled our Oscar predictions across each of the 24 categories. Bafta favourite the King’s Speech (2010) is widely expected to dominate proceedings with 12 nominations but…
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Special Feature: On style, taste and formalism
The director of a film is usually the person who is identified as the author (or auteur), because they decide primarily how the film should look. After all, film is a visual medium; the look of it is paramount. While some directors favour particularly noticeable techniques (the heightening artificiality of Todd Haynes, or the lengthy…
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Ghost hunting with Paranormal Activity 2
On a cold, dark London evening, I had the chance to experience Tod Williams’ Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) – released on DVD this coming Monday (28 February) – in the scariest environment imaginable: the downstairs of a South London pub. This special screening of the film was preceded by a spooky stroll around London’s shadow-filled streets.…
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Special Feature: ‘Eclectic Electric All-Nighter’
The Electric Cinema – the oldest cinema in London – will be celebrating its 100th birthday this Saturday (26th February) with the ‘Eclectic Electric All-Nighter’. The venue will be screening a selection of films from the Cinema Club’s 1970s programmes, and is set to be guest curated by Peter Howden.Screenings begin at 11pm with Michael Powell’s recently…
