Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
After almost 20 years one of the world’s favourite movie heroes returned to the screen. This time he has to face his deadliest enemy yet - the critics...
It's been a long period of returning franchises. Hollywood seems intent on feasting upon itself lately - an act of self-gorging which makes perfect sense given the way the business works. While the act of resurrecting a franchise is less shameful than Hollywood's recent addiction to remaking everything it can, it is potentially an even more hazardous affair. Everyone expects remakes of horror classics like The Fog and The Hitcher to be worthless so there's no love lost, but embark on a new chapter in a much-loved screen franchise and you'd better do it right.
The once mighty Alien and Predator franchises are reduced to direct-to-video status with this largely worthless exercise in making money from nothing
It is with some alarm that I realise how long ago it was that I first got hooked on the Alien franchise. Back then, of course, it was just the one film. A film that I was too young to see (I eventually caught up with it on its television premiere), but one which caught my imagination and had cinemagoers in a frenzy of horror and excitement.
H.R.Giger's unique design for the alien creature has made it the ultimate movie monster in many peoples' minds. A creature that not only terrifies on the screen, but is unsettling to even look at. This is part of the reason why the Alien franchise has lasted so long. The other part is the incredible foundation that Ridley Scott and James Cameron built - two strikingly different films, each equally influential and career-making.
Mar 4th 2008 12:27 // Reviews // No comments
Dan Simmons explores the scarier side of history in his pseudo-factual chiller The Terror
Dan Simmon's latest novel was recommended to me by a friend. He piqued my interested by making it sound a bit like The Thing, but with an historical setting. In the end it took me several months to actually track down a copy at my local library, but the book proved worthy of the added anticipation.
I've not read any of Simmons' previous works, so I had little in the way of expectations - other than the vague idea that, with its Thing-like subject matter, it might be an enjoyable, but pulpy horror yarn. As it turns out The Terror is an absorbing historical thriller with a supernatural subplot expertly weaved throughout.
Dec 28th 2007 12:13 // Reviews // No comments
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
It's taken me almost exactly two years to get around to seeing the Hollywood adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. As with many, many films it quickly progressed upon its release date (April 20, 2005) from a deeply anticipated potential classic to just another film.
I sometimes wonder if it'd be better if they just never actually released films - at least that way I'd be more likely to remain excited about them. It would probably save a huge amount of money too with minimal print and advertising costs. I'm not sure how the theatrical chains would manage to sell any popcorn, but to be honest I don't really give a stuff about that.
Apr 25th 2007 23:53 // Reviews // No comments
As I get (slightly) older (each day) I'm realising that I have a weakness for many of the films that I remember from my early childhood.
Most people of my generation should at least be able to relate to this in terms of Star Wars (cue debate over merits of original trilogy vs. inferior prequel trilogy, etc, etc). This is due largely to the nostalgia factor: for many of us this was one of the first really big films we'd seen. Consequently the film is held in remarkably high regard. I guess what we remember is the experience of the film, more than the film itself. To that end objectivity is pretty meaningless: Star Wars may not be the greatest film you'll ever see, but for people of a certain age it will always be one of the greatest film experiences we've ever had (and how disturbing is it that we can now comfortably start referring to 'original' Star Wars fans as being of a certain age).
Jan 31st 2007 16:16 // Reviews // No comments
I seem to start every review lately with the refrain "It's been a while since I've written a review..." (or words to that effect) and this one will be no different. Therefore...
It's been a while since I wrote a review... this is partly down to lack of time, and partly down to lack of filmic input. We did, however, watch A Cock And Bull Story the other night and, while it was no earth-shattering masterpiece, it was interesting enough to warrant cobbling a few words together.
The film, at least in part, is an adaptation of the novel Tristram Shandy. I've never read the novel but apparently it's famously unfilmable and I imagine if I had read it I'd appreciate more of the humour. I'm basing that on the assumption that the screenwriter, in tackling a famously unfilmable novel, knew what he was doing. It turns out, however, that the writer (pseudonymous) and director (Michael Winterbottom) had something of a feud over the script so it's possible that one or more of them were on the wrong track. Whatever happened behind the scenes, the final product is enjoyable if a little muddled.
Downfall is a film I've been meaning to see for some time - and for a change I did actually get around to seeing it following repeated recommendations (thanks due to Ben at the Mondo Movie podcast and Joe Barlow of the Cinemaslave podcast among others).
By all accounts this was a contentious movie in Germany. Not unlike the recent release of United 93 (the first cinema film to deal with 9/11) Downfall was apparently the first film in which Hitler was portrayed by a German actor. Previous films have either used archive footage (which to my mind risks further mythologizing the man - more on this later) or have had him portrayed by the likes of Anthony Hopkins or Alec Guinness (which seems similarly inappropriate: by only getting great or acclaimed actors to portray Hitler he's once again mythologized).
Jul 4th 2006 20:20 // Reviews // No comments
Before I get into this let me warn you that Lost is best enjoyed unspoiled. While I'll do my best to avoid giving anything away, if you do want to tuck into season two of Lost completely untainted by foreknowledge, then look away now.
On the other hand, Lost is all about the journey and knowing what happens is only half the story - finding out why and how it happens is where the fun lies. I had the misfortune (courtesy of Dreamwatch magazine - an otherwise fine read) to learn about two major events which occurred during season two. However, things are rarely what they appear to be in Lost, and sure enough the circumstances of these two events proved to be somewhat more interesting than the events themselves.
Still, read on at your own risk.
Jun 13th 2006 12:45 // Reviews // No comments
New reviews have been few and far between on HoC lately (read: nonexistent). This is partly because we've not seen that many new films, but mostly because lately we've been watching lots and lots of TV (CSI, Bones, Lost, Doctor Who, Smallville, etc) and if I was to review every episode of every show I watch none of you would ever forgive me.
Nevertheless, there are a few films we've seen that I want to comment on. First on my list is Ginger Snaps Back, the third entry in the Ginger Snaps franchise (for more information on which read my review of Ginger Snaps Unleashed).
May 26th 2006 15:43 // Reviews // No comments
Creep is probably one of the grossest films I've seen in a while, and one of the very few that had me questioning whether I actually wanted to keep my eyes fixed in the general direction of my TV or not.
Among the reasons for this is the attempt to make Craig, the 'villain' of the piece, marginally sympathetic, even pitiful. His carefully crafted appearance is designed to make the viewer recognise that this is someone who, at least in the literal definition of the term, is human as opposed to a member of the superhuman canon comprising Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and the like. This instantly makes him far more grotesque and disturbing than any of those superstar stalk'n'slashers. It also makes him rather more threatening - this is someone you genuinely think could come after you one day (however far at the back of your mind that thought might lurk).
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Justin Cawthorne is licensed under a
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