Can you remember the first film you saw on colour TV? I can remember mine because, by pure luck, it was a spectacular timeless classic that had me glued to the screen – The Thief of Bagdad. It was a rainy August Bank Holiday in 1975. As a family, we were late adopters: for whatever … Continue reading
Category Archives: Film
The Flock: award-winning horror is also a Midlands ‘Western’
A new British horror movie, which has already scooped a string of awards for its script, has now launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the production budget. The Flock has won four awards for its script, most recently the 2019 Special Jury Prize at the Barcelona International Film Festival. Continue reading
West Country horror ‘Sacrilege’ premieres in London
The latest release from West Country-based horror production company Bad Blood Films will premiere in London next week. Sacrilege will screen at the Empire Cineworld, Leicester Square on Thursday 5th March (2020). The film follows four lifelong friends as they head to a remote lodge for a weekend of fun. What begins as an idyllic … Continue reading
Horror, comedy, sci-fi and more – Dawn is as busy as ever
Dawn Noel was the first performer I profiled in this blog – and three-and-half years on, it’s great to see she’s as busy as ever. We have kept in touch since that blog post in March 2016, and the Los Angeles-based actress, producer (and more) recently updated me on her latest projects. Continue reading
Hammer time: a chronology of horror
Adrian Charlton Hammer Film Productions created a wide variety of films, but the company will always be associated with its classic horrors of the 1950s-70s, which revived the great cinematic terrors in vivid colour. They were atmospheric, exciting, and (for their time) scary. But historical accuracy probably wasn’t high on the list of priorities. … Continue reading
Fighting racial tensions – in a single take
Racial tensions of the past and present are thrown into the spotlight in Red White and Black, the new single by Californian singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop and the stunning video that accompanies it. Directed by Elia Petridis, the video – better described as a short film – is an epic fight scene, shot in a single … Continue reading
Feature films, shorts and more – a busy year for Mhairi
One of the busiest actors around, Mhairi Calvey has an exceptionally busy year ahead, even by her standards. Last year, Mhairi spoke to me about her 25-year career, which began with a role in the Oscar-winning Braveheart. This year, she has four feature films due for release! Continue reading
The Tattooist – it’s short, but not short of horrors
Michael Wong, the Malaysian film-maker whose debut short The Story of 90 Coins picked up a host of awards (and was reviewed on this blog!), has released his second film – and it marks quite a change of direction. While 90 Coins was an engaging romance which ran to nine minutes, The Tattooist is a … Continue reading
Fergus Riordan: bridging the artistic gaps from behind the lens
Fergus Riordan was a childhood movie star, but now he is more at home behind the camera. The Madrid-based artist, born to British parents, appeared in I Want to be a Soldier (2010), Fragiles (2005), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), and most recently Don’t Grow Up (2015). Now his creativity is taking him in … Continue reading
Rediscovering Sparrows Can’t Sing and its cast of future stars
It’s interesting to watch an old film and spot a future star in a small role. I noticed some of Hollywood’s biggest names when I rewatched Annie Hall, and recently I enjoyed a whole cast of soon-to-be-big actors in the British comedy-drama Sparrows Can’t Sing. This is a fascinating film in many ways. I hadn’t … Continue reading