PODCAST: Oliver Stone’s JFK – 25th Anniversary [Electric Shadows]

Six months in the making, Episode 25 of The Electric Shadows Podcast is a special looking at Oliver Stone’s 1991 classic, JFK.

Over an epic running time almost matching the duration of the film itself, myself, Rob Daniel, and special guest Ian Bird dissect the merits and legacy of Stone’s controversial movie.…

REVIEW: It Comes At Night goes nowhere in particular

Why lay the table for a feast if you’re not going to serve a meal that can complete with the place setting?

It’s this shortcoming that ultimately prevents It Comes At Night from becoming more than just another addition to the, in recent years, surprisingly well-worn genre of post-apocalyptic drama-horror.…

Edgar Wright Presents Car Car Land @ The BFI

What is it about the image of a lone professional sat behind the wheel of a car that’s so damn cool?

Laconic, self-sufficient, in control. The timeless masculine elegance of a classic American muscle car certainly doesn’t hurt none.

Of course, they’re not always alone.…

REVIEW: Baby Driver is a stylish but forgettable remix of the classic getaway movie

Meet Baby (Ansel Elgort).

He’s not quite your average wheelman.

He looks like the lovechild of Ferris Bueller and a young, slightly goofier Harrison Ford (right down to the Han Solo waistcoat), and always has a pair of sunglasses at the ready.…

PODCAST: POTC 5 Vs. The Mummy Vs. Wonder Woman Vs. Transformers 5 [Electric Shadows]

A cinematic showdown for the ages – or at least until the next batch of blockbusters arrives in cinemas.

In Ep 24, Rob Daniel & myself take a flying visit to the Caribbean for brief opinions on Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (or Dead Men Tell No Tales dependent on which part of the world you’re being forced to watch the film).…

Transformers: The Last Knight owes fealty to every major blockbuster in recent history

CONTAINS SPOILERS

A barbarian horde swarms across a green-gray hillscape, their cries rending the air.

The earth is torn beneath their feet and the hooves of horses.

Sword meets sword; shield, shield.

Balls of fire envelop the unfortunate and unwary.

A small band in steel breastplates prepare to renew the charge against overwhelming odds.…

REVIEW: The Mummy shows a cinematic universe unravelling before it’s even begun

How do you get a mummy film wrong?

By making it part of a calculated attempt to get a franchise off the ground What Universal could have learned, however, from any of the mad scientists in their catalogue, is the danger of hubris when it comes to this not-so-new world of God’s and monsters.…

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge – a franchise barely staying afloat

For a big summer blockbuster, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge is surprisingly nimble vessel.

Even given its comparatively svelte run-time, whether the film is a voyage worth the taking is another question altogether.

Directed by Norwegian duo Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the film is more akin to the original installment than its first two sequels – lumbering galleons weighed down with double-crosses – or the leaky lifeboat that was Stranger Tides, the film speeds through its first act like it’s afraid of taking on water.…

WORLD CINEMA GRAB-BAG: Graduation, Frantz, El Pastor, and After The Storm

Graduation
A rundown estate; shabby, grey blue tower blocks; a cement roadways; a patch of grass; off-screen someone digs.

We never discover who is digging or why, nor who’s responsible for the rock that flies through a living room window that same grey morning.…

Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air for the DC Extended Universe

Well, that wasn’t so difficult – was it?

After a series of critical misfires, it seems Warner Bros. have finally figured out what was missing from their movie-making formula: fun.

Apart from her brief but winning appearance in Batman V Superman, this marks the long-overdue cinematic debut of perhaps the most iconic female superhero (who’s not somebody’s cousin that is). …