Buster Keaton enjoyed a wave of popularity rivalled only by Charlie Chaplin. His later works aren’t as fondly remembered as the likes of Modern Times or The Great Dictator, but College is a short and sweet example of just how great a performer and director Keaton was, and why he managed to compete with the […]
Ewan Gleadow
Go West (1925) Keaton at his most charming getting the jump on the Western (Review)
After the somewhat serious tones found in Our Hospitality, I was ready for Buster Keaton’s work to blow me away entirely with a film that focused more on its comedy than it did on budding romances and family grievances. A Western comedy from one of the great minds of the silent era, […]
I Monster (1971) A horror monster masterclass from Christopher Lee (Review)
After seeing them feature in a plentiful amount of Hammer Horror films, I feel like I’m coming to terms with the charms of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Their ability to turn seemingly standard, flatlining stories of beasts and monsters into something acerbic and tense is a testament to their abilities […]
Our Hospitality (1923) An early Buster Keaton classic that excels as a narrative and a silent comedy (Review)
The silent era of comedy is one of the few genres that holds up rather well on the whole. Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton are the big names everyone associates this period with, and rightly so. The trio provided us with some of the most memorable and engaging […]
The Fifth Element (1997) – The most enjoyable Sci-Fi of the 1990s (Review)
Perhaps the biggest strength director Luc Besson has in his arsenal is his ability to construct an immediately endearing fantasy world. He does so with The Fifth Element, a sci-fi drama with sprinklings of comedy and whimsical light-heartedness, wrapped around a host of action set pieces, effective set and costume design, […]
Force 10 From Navarone (1978) Star-Studded and Surprisingly Good Sequel to WWII Classic (Review)
Was there anyone out there clamouring for a sequel to the David Niven and Gregory Peck led The Guns of Navarone? I ask this mainly because its sequel, Force 10 From Navarone, released almost twenty years after the original, and featured no cast members of the original. The Guns of Navarone hits the spot when it […]
The Vanishing (1988): Performance-driven 1980’s Psychodrama hits hard (Review)
Not only a stark reminder of why I don’t like going on holiday, but The Vanishing also provides a tightly wound adaptation of a book I haven’t read. My aversion to reading Tim Krabbé’s apparently excellent The Golden Egg and holiday making aside, The Vanishing is arguably the most popular directed piece from one George Sluizer, who you […]
The Specialists (1969) Eccentric French Spaghetti Western Grime (Review)
As I continue to grapple with the tried and tested tropes of the spaghetti western, I find myself more drawn to certain aspects. Shootouts that have a tinge of tension to them, but at the same time manage to incorporate darker, underlying motifs. For a Few Dollars More fits the bill […]
Rio Grande: John Ford’s Comfortable West (Review)
Rounding off any trilogy is no easy feat for any director, producer or star. Although John Ford’s inadvertent and seemingly accidental triumph through his Cavalry trilogy isn’t connected through the storylines, the characters and expected interactions of the genre are built up in equally vivid and cold ways in previous […]
Nights of Cabiria: Tragedy shall never defeat Hope (Review)
Tragedy as a theme is often contained in subtle nods or hidden messages throughout much of cinema. For a film to interact with such a negative narrative concept for its entire running time is to take on a sincerely upsetting story. Fellini does so with Nights of Cabiria, his 1957 classic. […]