Film
Iron Man 2
June 14th, 2010Alec Hawley, Film Editor
So, Iron Man is back, bigger, bolder and brasher than before, and what is quickly becoming apparent is not that the franchise is producing great films (they are essentially excuses for a firework show), but that it has produced a truly great character in Tony Stark/Iron Man, or at least the superhero/alter ego combination as played by Robert Downey Jr. [Full Article]
Let's Meet at the Odeon
June 14th, 2010Patrick Cowling
We must have made an odd sight standing in a crowd around the corner of the old Odeon cinema at the top of Oxford Road, popcorn in hand, watching a projection of old film footage on the wall of the building. People of all ages had come out to support the old Paramount Picture Palace, which is in danger of being demolished to make way for a new 14-floor tower block. [Full Article]
Johnny Mad Dog
May 10th, 2010Bill Knowles
On a shattered staircase, in the shell of an empty house, Johnny Mad Dog and Laokole meet. They look into each other’s eyes, and from then on Johnny begins to change. In Hollywood, it could be the beginning of a bittersweet romance, in France or Britain, the refrain to a careful, quiet drama. It is not either, though. This is Jean-Stephane Sauvaire’s unnamed African state, in the throes of a civil war, and Johnny is a soldier. He is a murderer. He is a child. [Full Article]
Top 5 Film Drinking Games
March 7th, 2010We students love an occasional alcoholic beverage, and most of us like the occasional film. So why not put the two together? – If that’s not science, then I don’t know what is. Be warned, these are not easy; if playing number one, it’s probably best to get yourself on [Full Article]
The Crazies
March 7th, 2010Tom New
It seems that the world of supernatural beasties is very much ‘in’ at the moment; between the cinema, television and gaming, there are more vampires, werewolves and zombies than you can shake a big (preferably stake shaped or spiked) stick at. So, if you are feeling a slight sense of vampire overexposure but still crave a bit of undead action in your life, fear not; The Crazies is here for you. [Full Article]
Losing the Plot
March 7th, 2010Stephen Jones
Whatever happened to good old fashioned, edge-of-your-seat, what-happens-next-ism? Everyone likes a good story, but that doesn’t seem to be the priority any more. Apparently strong narratives play fiftieth fiddle to a whole host of other things, and those things are overwhelmingly emotional journeys and stuff blowing up. [Full Article]
A Single Man
March 1st, 2010Abigail Davies
There are few films that have the ability to fully engage the audience within the opening ten seconds. [Full Article]
Case 39 Screening
February 23rd, 2010Alec Hawley, Film Editor
Student Direct has teamed up with first4movies.com to offer readers a chance to see new pyschological horror Case 39 before its March 5th release date and for free. [Full Article]
Top 5 Assassin Films
February 22nd, 2010Beth Cook
Who in their right mind doesn’t want to be an assassin? Uber-cool outfits, adrenaline-fuelled gunfire and car chases a-plenty, these five films ignited a longing for black spandex and raised a collective sigh from men all around the world. [Full Article]
Everybody's Fine
February 22nd, 2010Bill Knowles
Whoever designed the poster for Everybody’s Fine is a moron. Really, they may as well have just stuck a massive airbrushed photo of Robert De Niro under a black and white banner that says ‘this film is bad’ [Full Article]
A Fine Job
February 22nd, 2010Bill Knowles
Kids from Bristol don’t make movies. They don’t get Golden Globe nominations, and they certainly don’t tell Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore and Sam Rockwell what to do. [Full Article]
A Touch of Class - Downfall
February 22nd, 2010Jo Gewirtz
Downfall tells the story of Adolf Hitler during the final days in his bunker as the reign of Nazi Germany comes to a dramatic end. [Full Article]
Diary of a Disgraced Soldier
February 22nd, 2010Patrick Cowling
I like to think of myself as a liberal minded sort of person, so when I went to see a film focused on the video of British soldiers beating a group of Iraqi protesters, I naturally grimaced and hardened my mind for two hours of self-justification by a warped military psycho. [Full Article]
Afterschool
February 22nd, 2010Stephen Jones
Harbouring a strong but standard British hatred for anybody above me in the class system, my usual knee-jerk-acid-spitting reaction came in full force when I read that this film is centred on the supposed troubles of a young teen at a private school. No, it’s not Harry Potter, It’s Afterschool, and even I was surprised by its ability to make the viewer sympathise and engage with the main character. [Full Article]
The Skeleton Crew
February 15th, 2010Bill Knowles
At the centre of the table, flanked by the bright young things of the film, Peter Jackson and Susan Sarandon seem like the grown-ups in this game: almost oblivious to the seated journalists, while the kids on either side – Saoirse Ronan (Suzie Salmon), Rose McIver (Lindsey Salmon) and Reese Richie (Ray Singh) – eye the room with interest. It has been a long project for all of them, Jackson tells us. “I don’t think we thought it would be as difficult as it was when we started,” he says. “I think it’s the hardest thing we’ve done.” [Full Article]
Battle for Terra
February 15th, 2010Stephen Jones
Modern marketing techniques are highly sophisticated. No-one wastes their time with mass audiences any more, they find your specific interest and they nail you. As if it wasn’t intrusive enough. However, I can’t for the life of me work out who Battle for Terra is aimed at. [Full Article]
Tony Manero DVD Review
February 15th, 2010Tom New
Set in Chile in the late ’70s, at the height of Augusto Pinochet’s totalitarian regime, the film follows Raul, whose only dream is to dance like John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever, Tony Manero. [Full Article]
A Touch of Class - A Bittersweet Life
February 15th, 2010Tom New
A Bittersweet Life knows what it is, and does what any action film should do – entertain, and in massive great bucket loads. [Full Article]
Top 5: The Very Best of Disney
February 15th, 2010Jo Gewirtz
Why is it that, once at uni, many of us find we spent precisely half of all free time re-watching the Disney movies that defined our childhoods? Well, I’m not Sigmund Freud, but I think the easy explanation is this: THEY ARE AWESOME. [Full Article]
The Lovely Bones
February 15th, 2010Bill Knowles
The outcome of Peter Jackon's change in tone, in deciding to remake Alice Sebold’s careful, clever bestseller, The Lovely Bones, was always going to be interesting. [Full Article]
Top 5 Films of 2009
February 7th, 2010Stephen Jones
It suddenly dawned on me during the holidays, somewhere between watching every Star Wars film in a day and stuffing my face with After Eights that 2009 has been an absolutely fantastic year for film [Full Article]
A Touch of Class - Encounters at the End of the World
February 7th, 2010Alec Hawley, Film Editor
Antarctica is one of the few blind spots in our passing global knowledge. It is this unique possibility that Werner Herzog’s voyage of polar discovery explores [Full Article]
REVIEW- Precious
February 5th, 2010Catherine Mansfield
If you’re feeling down at the start of term, this could be the perfect film to put things into perspective [Full Article]
REVIEW- Youth in Revolt
February 5th, 2010Danijela Topalovic
Youth in Revolt opens with nerdy teenager Nick Twisp wanking off in his bedroom- in spectacularly clichéd terms he proclaims his fixation with sex and the desperate need for a girlfriend who could lend a helping hand [Full Article]
