Philhelm Scream

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...