18 years after REVOLUTIONS, we go back to where it all began. Back to THE MATRIX. But going back is not as simple as repeating. The pull and push of creativity and finance is less forgiving than ever. And for a filmmaker like Lana Wachowski… Read More
All posts filed under “Film”
BOY (2010): Through a child’s eyes
I have been putting off watching this film for quite some time. The response from those when I mention I haven’t seen it has been one of bewilderment. Repeated statements of it being Taika’s best film, of it surpassing similar films. The reason hasn’t been… Read More
SAW (2003) – Short Film of the Day
Would you like to play a game? It’s only taken me 15 years or so, but I have finally hacked my way through the SAW franchise. The reason? Morbid curiousity. So here is the ‘Short Film of the Day’, 2003’s SAW. Oh, and some thoughts… Read More
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020): Archetypes Not Stereotypes
Emerald Fennell won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for this, the screenplay itself was on the Black List a few years ago, and it struck me as odd as the script itself is one of the more conventional things about the film. **SPOILERS AHEAD**
Mulvey & The Contemporary Blockbuster
[This article is an edited version of an assignment originally written for my MSc.] Laura Mulvey’s 1975 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, took issue with the patriarchal society which was being represented in film at the time. She argues that the male gaze “projects… Read More
JAWS: Beyond The Sea
[This article is an edited version of an assignment originally written for my MSc.] Arguably the first summer blockbuster, Jaws is an Ahab-like tale of a journey to kill a shark which has been terrorising the waters of Amity Island. The film, which starred Roy… Read More
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (2010) – A Psychic Burn
[This article was originally written as an assignment for my degree.] Panos Cosmatos’ 2010 debut, Beyond The Black Rainbow is a strong statement of intent. The film crosses the genre line between science-fiction horror and psycho-thriller, whilst simultaneously identifying as a piece of film from… Read More
MANDY (2018): Revenge is a hallucination
[This article was originally written as an assignment for my degree.] Mandy is a film split in two.
A Cosmatos Odyssey – The work of Panos Cosmatos
[This article was originally written as an assignment for my degree.] There is a danger in calling him ‘the son of George P. Cosmatos’. Because even though he worked on Tombstone as the second unit director (the residuals of which he used to finance his… Read More
February 2020.
Been extraordinarily busy over the last month with Uni work. My Dissertation on Michael Bay has turned into torture, one word, one explosion, one fucked-frame at a time. On top of that is the usual deadlines and life crap thrown my way. As such, I… Read More