The 21st century has been defined by the second golden age of television. Film in the 21st century has been defined by the superhero genre, and films that seem to be unable to compete with TV shows; even the greatest film of the 21st century according to BBC’s poll, Mulholland Drive, started out as a pilot for a TV show…. Read more »
Since the invention of electronic instruments in the 1960s, a giant multiplicity of genres had evolved. With the huge possibilities regarding the synthesis of futuristic sounds, it doesn’t surprise that electronic instruments established themselves as essential part of movie scoring. The following list will name the 10 best all-electronic scores of all time. It only contains scores with a complete… Read more »
Spike Lee not only encapsulates the Black American experience but uses the medium of film to call out the hypocrisies within United States society and the racial, political, and sexual tensions just simmering beneath the surface. He’s fierce, unapologetic, and touches raw nerves in his work about the problematic social arrangement between the races and classes in America through the… Read more »
Plot twists are lots of fun, because movies are nothing if not predictable. If you see a giant vat of boiling wax big enough to fit a person, somebody is going to fall in. If the guy and girl hate each other at the beginning, they’re sure to fall in love. If a character says something bad about his boss,… Read more »
Since the very first episode, Simpsons Roasting on a Open Fire, screened on the 17th December 1989, The Simpsons has become one of the most iconic television families ever conceived. For nearly 30 years, the show, created by animator Matt Groening, has given the world over 28 seasons and 618 episodes of a show that has become a pop culture… Read more »
Beauty, it has been said so many times before, is in the eye of the beholder. This has never been more true than when it comes to the subjective tastes of cinephiles. The following list of Ten Beautiful Films is an attempt to bring together a group of movies from various ages, tastes and cultures that, in one way or… Read more »
Another year, another Spider-Man. The past 15 years have given us three different visions of the web-slinging hero and 6 movies of varying quality. While some have captured the spirit of what makes a great superhero movie, others have fallen remarkably flat. 6. Spider-Man 3 No one has ever walked out of a superhero movie and said “It was… Read more »
Basic Hollywood films tend to not leave anything left to chance. Settling scores and tying up any loose ends to not leave anyone confused or alienated. In the 2007 film “I am Legend” the studio, following audience test feedback, felt the ending was too challenging and made the team change it to the “heroic sacrifice” cliche. The original/alternate ending to… Read more »
It’s not all superhero movies and animated films this year, and not every movie released has to have a kid-friendly rating. In 2016, horror proved to be one of the most resilient genres with The Conjuring 2 and Don’t Breathe making millions while tentpole movies like Independence Day: Resurgence went down in flames at the box office. In the first… Read more »
Cult film is alive and well in the new century, which has so far seen a wealth of memorable midnight movies, eccentric oddities, sleeper stoner comedies, and other “out there” genre films. Part of the attraction with movies designated with cult status is that they are so very different and much more provocative than mainstream populist fare. The cult film… Read more »
Edgar Wright is one of the best directors working today. He is the Millenial answer to Quentin Tarantino, a pop culture saturated savant that is able to craft wholly unique narratives out of 100’s of other building blocks. Edgar is so unique and fresh a voice that we had to import him over from the UK. And the fact that… Read more »
Academic and film historian Leo Braudy once wrote, “Genre films essentially ask the audience, “Do you still want to believe this?” Popularity is the audience answering, “Yes.” Change in genre occurs when the audience says, “That’s too infantile a form of what we believe. Show us something more complicated”. This quote can accurately be attributed to the many different popular… Read more »
Born on August 6, 1970, Indian-American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan was born in India before his family moved to Pennsylvania, where he’s spent most of his life and makes most of his films. Influenced by the likes of Steven Spielberg, a young Shyamalan apparently made 45 home movies after his father gave him a Super 8 camera. Expected by his… Read more »
Ah, remakes. It’s a common mistake that remakes are something of a modern thing in Hollywood, but the truth is that they’ve been around for a very long time. Crazy as it may seem, some cinematic classics are actually remakes. Scarface, Ocean’s Eleven and The Departed, for example, are all remakes. So, what did those remakes get right that most… Read more »
Movie critics love to talk about big disappointments, and it makes perfect sense. If you’re waiting months for a movie to come out only to be let down, you’re gonna wanna hop on the keyboard and talk about it. Pleasant surprises aren’t talked about nearly as much. More often than not, these movies get a brief comment about how they’re… Read more »
Superman is the gold standard of superheroes. There’s no getting around. Personal bias you may have aside, he’s the A #1. He’s been the biggest for the longest time too, essentially the first superhero ever. So while cinema may not have been up to the technological difficulties of many comic book stories, it was no real surprise that Superman was… Read more »
