If it weren’t for soapland’s usual season of doom and gloom, you’d be able to look at BBC Drama “Public Enemies” as the official end of the festivities. With the presents opened, the crackers pulled, and the tree taken to the dump, British people can get back to the business … Continue reading
A straightforward list of favourite Christmas movies would be rather redundant. Excepting some difference either side of the Atlantic, the traditional Christmas movies are a predictable lot: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ or ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in the main, a sprinkling of ‘Home Alone’, ‘Die Hard’ or ‘Muppet’s Christmas Carol’ … Continue reading
It seems to me that we’re well past the point where anyone is willing to defend 3D cinema with any real passion. You either choose to quietly like cinema’s latest supposed technological leap, or you choose to hate it vocally. Considering that I’m here talking about it all, you can … Continue reading
Because researchers are committed to spoiling any and all manifestations of fun, new research has come to light suggesting that knowing how a story ends may not actually damage our enjoyment of it. One of three versions of several short stories, (two with a paragraph that revealed essential plot details … Continue reading
Ever been inspired to go places because of something you’ve seen in a movie? Perhaps not, but it does happen: take World War II period piece Australia, which was backed by a $1 million campaign by the Tourism board of Western Australia. Or on a smaller scale, consider the sustainability … Continue reading
What is it with films and televisions shows travelling backwards and forwards in time? No matter how vaguely science fiction or fantasy-themed our favourite shows, they often have time travelling themes lying below the surface (for better or worse). Here are just some of the not especially great reasons for … Continue reading
The critical tide has finally turned against Pixar: Cars 2 is doing fine at the box office, but almost the entire world of film journalism is telling you that you’d be crazy to watch it. So is this it, the moment in which one of cinema’s most consistently celebrated and … Continue reading
The entertainment wires have recently been buzzing with impressions of Daniel Radcliffe’s attempts to reinvent himself on Broadway in the 50th anniversary revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. And whilst reception of Radcliffe’s first musical role has been mixed to positive, he’s no stranger to reinvention … Continue reading
When Nathan Fillon recently said that with $300 million in Canadian lottery money he’d happily purchase the rights to Joss Whedon’s early noughties Sci-Fi epic Firefly, the fanbase leapt into action, organising a campaign to get him the rights. It was an offhand comment and one that demanded an immediate … Continue reading
To the international outsider, the practice of adapting successful foreign television shows for the American market seems to create either lumbering monstrosities that butcher the original work, or unforgettable successes that run well beyond the lifetime of the source work. The vastly different concepts of ‘success’ create the impression that … Continue reading
As the latest round of Simpsons guest stars are wheeled out, it’s easy to dismiss the whole thing as a lot of old barrel scraping. But guest stars make the Simpsons, and have done since its inception. It’s just that in recent years, the show’s pandering to current trends and … Continue reading
