In times past, religion was considered the opiate of the masses. Now, though, television seems to have taken its place. All throughout the land grown men fall asleep to its warm, comforting glow and children everywhere suckle on its electronic teat. The idiot box has taken over our lives.Poltergeist begins with the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ ringing comfortingly from a suburban television set as a...

Read More...

Every Bond has his predilections. Connery, for instance, seemed to favour fine wines and slapping women about, while Roger Moore loved bad puns, raised eyebrows and lots and lots of snatch. Then you have Brosnan who enjoyed fiddling with the knot in his tie and mowing hundreds of people down with machine guns (as for Lazenby's speciality, well, he liked playing dress up)....

Read More...

There are many things that are wrong about Die Another Day, but the main problem has to be that Gustav Graves, the main villain, is a knob. Seriously, how does such a bad performance make its way to the screen? I guess the only explanation is that the filmmakers liked it, which is a scary thought to say the least.Late in the film,...

Read More...

I guess one of the main debating points when it comes to American Psycho is whether the murders are reality or fantasy. Before I read the book, I was firmly of the opinion that everything was in Bateman's head. But after reading the novel and watching the film again, I've swung the other way. Everything is very real. After all, the whole point...

Read More...

There’s an unrelenting quality about Get Carter that is perfectly captured in the opening titles. In this sequence we see Jack Carter travelling on a train from London to Newcastle. From a distance we see him eat dinner and then in a toilet we see him take nose drops. It’s like he’s preparing for a business trip. But instead he’s making the long...

Read More...

I’m not one of these annoying dickheads that claims that their childhood has been raped when a favourite film has been remade by the greedy Hollywood cash machine. I don’t cry myself to sleep at the thought of Marky Mark battling apes or Vince Vaughn dressing up as a lady. But the remake of Get Carter is just bizarre. It’s like everyone involved...

Read More...

There’s no doubt that a dead singer will do wonders for a band’s reputation. Just take Joy Division. Yes, they produced some excellent music, but quite a bit of it was incredibly mediocre. But because their lead singer killed himself they’ve obtained a glamour and an allure that they never would have possessed had they continued to make music under that banner.And part...

Read More...

The most famous scene in Chinatown is the one where Jake Gittes gets his nose sliced. The punishment is poetic justice for a nosey private detective and one that serves as a stark warning for the character to keep his nose out of other people's business. But of course Jake does nothing of the kind. His investigation becomes more determined. However, what he...

Read More...