A TONY SCOTT RETROSPECTIVE

Last Sunday, 19th August 2012, Director/Producer Tony Scott, younger brother to Sir Ridley Scott and the director of such classics as Top Gun, Crimson Tide and Beverly Hills Cop II, passed away after taking his own life. I've always liked his work, finding that even though his older brother has gained so much notoriety, and certainly…

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

2008 DIRECTOR: Mark Herman NOT A PART OF OUR COLLECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ WITH CAUTION AS MAJOR PLOT DEVEPMENTS WILL BE REVEALED! The title is intriguing. A clever nod as to what is to come. A child's eye view of one of history's most vile periods. 6,000,000 innocent people were murdered in one of the first real…

TOY STORY

1995 DIRECTOR: John Lassiter May Contain Spoilers! Pixar had never done anything like this. Tron back in 1982 had experimented but effectively failed in trying to create a CGI feature. But after a few shorts, Toy Story was ready to revolutionise the Animation industry and change the cinematic experience forever, ushering in the art form…

BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

1973 DIRECTOR: J. Lee Thompson May Contain Spoilers! The last of the original Planet Of The Apes film series, Battle For The Planet Of The Apes follows the noble empire building exploits of Ape leader Caesar, as he tries in vain to live along side what is left of human kind. Following the Ape's uprising at…

BLOOD DIAMOND

2006 DIRECTOR: Edward Zwick May Contain Spoilers! Ever since Glory in 1989, Edward Zwick has made his name directing big issue, historical dramas, granted that this, set in Sierra Leone in 1999, is hardly historical in strictest sense of the word. Blood Diamond follows Leonardo DiCaprio's, Zimbabwean diamond smuggler/mercenary as he pursues one of the…

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY

2004 DIRECTOR: Adam McKay May Contain Spoilers! Judd Apatow: A name which causes derision within any group who hear it. Love him or hate him, but his films are here to stay. I'm not really in the love him camp, but I have to admit, that his films are beginning to grow on me, though only…

THE WAY BACK

2010 DIRECTOR: Peter Weir May Contain Spoilers! "Inspired by real events" Translation: Rumour has it... To me, no film should open with the words "National Geographic Entertainment". But this one does and it is a bit of a clue as what going to follow for the next 2 hours and 10 minutes. The plot is…

DUEL

1971 DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg May Contain Spoilers! Steven Spielberg began somewhere. He actually began with this 1971 TV Movie, adoption by Richard Matheson from his own story, and following the bazaar events, one day in the desert near San Francisco. David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is on a simple business trip when he finds himself being relentlessly pursued by an…

MOON

2009 DIRECTOR: Duncan Jones May Contain Spoilers! Moon: A film which was clearly modelled on the 1970's sci-fi classics of the day, complete with lonely man dealing with an extended stay on an industrial outpost who eventually, after three years, coming face to face with himself. I won't go any further into the plot for fear of spoilers,…

TED

2012 DIRECTOR: Seth MacFarlane CINEMA REVIEW May Contain Spoilers! Will we be adding this to our collection? YES Back in 1999, off the back of The Simpsons and South Park, Family Guy hit our screens. I loved it, but it took its premature cancellation and subsequent re-commissioning after its successful DVD sales to make it the classic…