FEATURE: My 2020 in Cinema

PSA: Unlike with this year’s roundup on the Movie Robcast, I’ve decided not to include any films that were eligible for the previous Oscars; even if they were only released in the UK in 2020.

That means no Parasite for Best Picture, or Céline Sciamma for Best Director (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), no Scarlett Johansson for Best Supporting Actress (Jojo Rabbit), or Roger Deakins for Best Cinematography (1917).

PODCAST: 2018 in Film [Electric Shadows]

As 2018 draws its last breaths, Robs Daniel and Wallis reveal their top 10 films of the year. There are some crossovers on the two lists, there are films one loves and the other can’t see the fuss.

Over the next hour they will discuss what impressed them most on the cinema landscape this year, plus those films that weren’t up to snuff.…

Where Next For Star Wars? [by Max Eshraghi]

By Max Eshraghi

 

With the under-performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams and the rest of the creative team at the Mouse House are re-calibrating. If rumours are to be believed, they are abandoning a number of the standalone anthology movies planned and focusing solely on the main series going forward.…

What Nightmares May Come – Thoughts on the Future of Horror

By Max Eshraghi

It has taken some time but the horror genre has achieved legitimacy. It is finally, in a word, prestigious.

What was once one of the most commonly derided and dismissed of genres has evolved. The ugly, putrid, caterpillar of horrors past has emerged from a chrysalis after 90-or-so years of metamorphosis and transformed into a multi-faceted butterfly: namely, a genre that can do it all.…

Our BAFTA 2018 predictions

By Max Eshraghi

The BAFTA film awards have always been the Oscar’s slightly more unassuming younger sibling.

While it mightn’t be quite as renowned or lavish, we Brits can conclusively make claim to having one thing over on our transatlantic cousins: BAFTA, unlike the so-called Academy Awards, frequently gets it “right”.…

My 15 Best Films of 2017 (& 5 of the Worst)

Well, it’s that time of the year again, namely the end; a time for rundowns and summations, a time for best ofs and worst ofs, when the generally indifferent just slips away.

2017 has, on the whole, been an exceptional year for film or at least the type of films I tend to enjoy; which is to say, ones about with sensitive characters experiencing lots of little feelings.…

Little Grey Celluloid: Some Thoughts on Poirot in Film (and TV)

So, Brexit…

When Agatha Christie conceived of perhaps her most iconic creation, her choice of nationality for him carried with it a certain European esprit de corps. It was 1916, though the first novel wasn’t published until 1920, and Belgium was then occupied by the forces of imperial Germany.…

London Film Festival 2017 – An Update

Okay, so, I’m just under a week into London Film Festival 2017 and, to be honest, I’m already knackered (boo hoo, woe is me, right?).

As it stands, I’ve seen thirteen films; which isn’t that many compared to previous years, but I’m struggling to find the head-space to write about any one of them.…

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.…

BFI & Radio Times Festival: a write-up

Is TV as we knew it dying?

What was once a communal experience – households across the nation gathered before the glow of the cathode ray tube – has now become a more private experience.

It seems not to matter how you consume the latest episode of must-watch telly, be it Broadchurch or Bake Off, alone or in company, live or via catch-up, so long as you’re able to take part in the water-cooler discussion come Monday.…