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’ as a side dish and ‘The Great Escape’ if you’re British.

But if you’re looking for something a little different this year, try one of the films from this list:

Tokyo Godfathers

Considering that barely 2 percent of Japan’s population are Christians, it’s surprising that the holiday is celebrated at all. That there is a Japanese film, set in Japan that heavily features Christmas is probably even more suprising. Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers actually seems to have been inspired by a minor John Ford western, 3 Godfathers, wherein three cowhands return an orphaned baby to civilization.

Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you that have read my blog often will have seen the collection of movie reviews that I have recently been posting, with the most recent movies all been viewed at my local Apollo cinema in Rhyl.

The Future Is Here!

The future of Rhyl’s entertainment is certainly getting a good kick-start with the Apollo cinema giving the town a much-needed breath of life. With the use of modern technology going in leaps and bounds, bringing 3D, live shows, sports events and much more.

But it doesn’t stop there the Apollo cinema is growing with a reputation for bringing top quality entertainment to the public and with more plans in the pipeline to expand on the entertainment for people living in the surrounding area to enjoy.  Bring it on I say

So recently I had the privilege of having a talk with Craig Miller and Alison Hogarth about the cinema and it’s future. The future is really looking good for the Apollo Cinema and Craig mentioned to me many plans in the pipeline which do sound extremely interesting, with the cinema expanding further and hopefully utilizing the Children’s Village which sits next to it. I’m really looking forward to seeing how all this pans out.

Suffice to say there are some great plans coming in the near future and the Apollo cinema is certainly something that Rhyl has needed for a while, a good kick up the backside.

Read the rest of this entry »

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 and a third unaltered version) were given to the participants. The results showed that people who had had the story spoilt for them rated the stories higher.

So not only are spoilers apparently not harmful, they’re actually better for your enjoyment? This is precisely the opposite of what most people feel about hearing plot details before they’re revealed to them. Drop a spoiler in polite conversation and you expect to see someone boil with rage and hit you square in the chin. They’ll at least put two hands over their ears and drown out your spiteful words with an enthusiastic chorus of ‘La-La-La-La’s. So, is there something to this, or are these researchers simply too used to spoiling their conclusions because they’re forced to write abstracts ?

Why Spoilers May Not Ruin Experiences

A close friend of mine is immune to spoilers. Quite how she manages this is beyond me: personally, knowing exactly where a plot is heading ruins the fun. Reading a list of spoilers in preparation for this article would have been like having my parents tell me the contents of each and every present under the tree, if I hadn’t already heard most of them elsewhere. That in itself is significant: spoilers do have a certain pull to them. But so do black holes. And when I’ve read about a twist, my interest in a plot becomes inevitably stretched.

Read the rest of this entry »

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 the Time Travel theme:

Padding Out The Show

Some of our favourite time travelling epics actually use time-travel as a device simply to generate content. This is especially true of those franchises that just run and run. Doctor Who springs instantly to mind: at the beginning, its use of historical and science fiction settings was only really an excuse to show educational programming with a dramatic skew. As the audience showed themselves receptive to the Science-Fiction theme, the ability to pick absolutely any time period kept Doctor Who fresh. Sick of visiting Romans? Visit the Egyptians. Sick of the Daleks? Create a new villain, add a hundred years or a billion miles and visit whatever creature you fancy creating.

Read the rest of this entry »

On December 14th, nominations were announced for the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The category for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama is deep, led by Colin Firth’s sublime performance in “The King’s Speech”. Though not necessarily snubbed, conspicuously absent was Leonardo DiCaprio for his portrayal of professional infiltrator of dreams, Dominick Cobb, in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller “Inception”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yet again it’s time for this weeks Saturday Six and this week topic was chosen by myself and there is only one question with six answers. With the upcoming movie “Thor” coming to our cinema screens soon, it inspired me to give you this weeks Saturday Six based on Comic Books made into films, so this week question is..

1. Name 6 of your favourite comic book to movie adaptations and why you like them?
   

There we go, one question with six answers for you to have fun with…

Ok, that’s it, thanks for taking part and I’m looking forward to everyone’s answers. Don’t forget to hit the “Tweet” button to ReTweet this weeks Saturday Six.

Anyone using Twitter can be part of the process by tweeting me a topic, I will then pick one randomly and the chosen topic will be used and the tweeter will have a DoFollow link to their website or blog as a thank you.

If you would like to nominate a topic then simply tweet me @BlazingMinds with your nominated topic and the hash tag #Sat6

Related articles

• Thor Trailer Officially Released! (screenrant.com)
• First Shadowy Teaser Poster for Marvel’s ‘Thor’ is Revealed! (firstshowing.net)

I thought we’d have a bit of a change for this weeks Saturday Six, so I thought we could have a “double” question, just for a change So this weeks topic was chosen by myself and there is only one question with six twelve answers..

1. Name 6 of your favourite Movie Soundtracks and also a favourite track from each one?
   

There we go, one question with six twelve answers for you to have fun with…

Ok, that’s it, thanks for taking part and I’m looking forward to everyone’s answers. Don’t forget to hit the “Tweet” button to ReTweet this weeks Saturday Six.

Anyone using Twitter can be part of the process by tweeting me a topic, I will then pick one randomly and the chosen topic will be used and the tweeter will have a DoFollow link to their website or blog as a thank you.

If you would like to nominate a topic then simply tweet me @BlazingMinds with your nominated topic and the hash tag #Sat6