Philhelm Scream

Source J.K. Rowling makes her debut as a film screenwriter in this year’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.   Directed by David Yates (who also worked on the final four of the original Harry Potter franchise), Eddie Redmayne plays magizoologist Newt Scamander as he and a bag full of magical creatures touch down in New York City in 1926.   Newt comes across a muggle, Jacob (Dan Fogler), and former Auror, Tina (Katherine Waterson) as his bag of tricks spills loose and reigns havoc on the people of the city. Source Like many, I remember buying JK Rowling’s two short one of books for comic relief in 2001.  A Harry Potter nut, I really enjoyed the extra insight in to that world.  As much of a fan as I am of the books, I never really fell in love with the films.  The series found its way a bit come the much darker Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), but I always struggled to accept even the smallest changes from the books I had grown up with, and Daniel Ra...

Source You may have watched it hundreds of times before.  You may know every line by heart.  But that’s pretty much the point.  It’s a familiar hug when you need it most, and a lift when you’re feeling low.  Following some sad news recently, my family’s first thoughts were to spend time together, go out for a meal and a catch up, and then to put on a film.  Although I’m not sure Premium Rush (2012) quite fit the bill in the end, below are my 8 favourites that do every time. Crazy Stupid Love (2011) Source The film we should have put on that evening, and the one that I have on now, is Crazy Stupid Love.   Having really enjoyed Blue Valentine (2010) and Drive (2011), I was really looking forward to the release of Ryan Gosling’s latest at the time.   Emma Stone was great in Easy A (2010), I had loved Steve Carell in 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin (I was yet to discover the superb US version of The Office), and Julianne Moore is Julianne Moor...

Source A while back for my previous job I had to drive from the office near Manchester, down to London, and then back again after a couple of days.  Rather than sitting through the same songs on my iPod during the journey, I thought I would search for a decent podcast to listen to.  The previous time I had made a similar journey I had listened to an audiobook of Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and although it was a great listen I was up for something for cinema themed this time round.  Having searched through iTunes, I came across 'The Secret History of Hollywood.'  The 'Universe of Horrors' episode in particular caught my eye, and although the 7 hour run time would put many off, it was exactly what I was after. @philpotts89 Thank you! — Hollywood Histories (@moviehistories) September 4, 2016 As I mentioned in an earlier blog post , the podcast's examination of the role of the monster movie in the rise of Universal studios r...

Source Horror is a cheap and easy cash cow to tap in to.  Although the sequel has been much better received, the original Ouija (2014) was panned by critics and audiences alike .  So why did one of the worst films of 2014 get a sequel green lighted?  Because it cost just $5 million to make and cashed in over $100 million in the box office.  Recent horror films in particular have come under heavy criticism for an over-reliance of jump scares rather than good story telling.  I love a good formulaic slasher just as much as the next guy, but horrors with a building sense of dread and unease can be a lot more rewarding and memorable.  As with many modern films, there is also an over saturation of remakes and sequels to already established franchises, or copycat films.  It's a tricky genre to do anything original with.  When the zombie teen romance sub-genre feels tired out already, you know you're in trouble.  When The Girl With All The ...

Source Tom Cruise and director Edward Zwick reunite after their successful 2003 collaboration, The Last Samurai, in the second of the Jack Reacher movie interpretations: Never Go Back.  If anyone actually got over the choice of Cruise to play Lee Child's title character of his long running novel series, they were left with a movie that had a lot going for it.  Unfortunately, it's follow up may have killed the franchise in it's tracks... [insert 'Never Go Back' pun].   Tom Cruise plays Jack Reacher, an ex army major who "they ran out of medals to give" but eventually decided to leave and live his life roaming the streets.  Never Go Back tells the story of his budding friendship with a current army major (Cobie Smulders), and his decision to go on the run with her when she is wrongly framed for espionage.   Source The books are a bit throw-away, but really good fun, and I enjoyed the two I've read.  Reacher's part investigator, part hard m...

Source When you’re buying presents for me, DVDs are probably a no go. There’s a good chance I will have it already, and if I don’t then I’m not sure the shelves currently bulging at the seams with DVDs would appreciate the latest boxset quite as much as me. For my birthday then, Charlotte carried on the movie theme by heading straight for Last Exit to Nowhere . Run by film enthusiasts, the apparel company revel in designing clothes littered in cleverly subtle movie references. Whether it’s a t-shirt with the Blade Runner noddle bar logo on, or a Bedford Falls (It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946) sweatshirt, the website is a paradise for film nerds. Below are the beginnings of my collection. Mighty Mick’s Boxing Hoodie Clichéd as it is, running of the Philadelphia steps and jumping around is right up there on my bucket list. For the time being, the closest I can come is wearing this really comfy hoodie with the Micky’s Gym logo on the front. Super subtle reference that will past man...

Source From movie reviews to film analysis, there is a huge library of content available on YouTube that I try to keep my eye on.  Here's a few of my faves. Chris Stuckmann The other week I went through a few books I had read recently , and Chris Stuckmann's list of must watch films from the 2000s and 2010s was on that.  As good an intro to modern films as that book is, Stuckmann's strength is definitely in front of the camera.  There are hundreds of people doing the same thing he does, but nobody quite as well in my opinion.  His passion and enthusiasm for films really comes across in every video, and it's clear he is genuinely worked up about good and bad films.  I found his page a while back when I came across his 'Hilariocity' reviews of particularly terrible films and found myself quickly falling down the rabbit hole of his review back catalogue.  His analysis is really accessible, and skits pretty funny too.  I often find some of th...