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The 95th Academy Awards - A return to normality

My views and thoughts on the 95th Academy Awards

After 2 years of pandemic disruption and violent anarchy, the Academy Awards was desperately in need of a good old fashioned, dull evening. It was time to get back to basics, it was time to get everyone sat in rows facing the stage, it was time for a single host to lead from the front with witty, put down fuelled monologue that never got too close to offending anyone. It was time to get ALL…

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A night of chaos and bewilderment at The 94th Academy Awards.

A look back at perhaps the most bizarre evening in Oscar history

I have watched the Academy Awards every year since the mid-90s, but I have never seen anything quite like the shitstorm that was served up 10 hours ago. This was TV at its most out of control, yet most watchable. I have no doubts there will be executives somewhere claiming it to have been a success, but for us the fans, oh God no. The controversy and general uneasiness started before anyone…

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The rewatch - my ultimate movie comfort zone

The rewatch – my ultimate movie comfort zone

Back in February 2021, I wrote a blog about how I planned to keep on top of all my streaming services and re-watches that I had to include, you can read about this plan here. I think I stuck to that plan for about a month and I lost where I was up to and it all became too much effort. Film watching should be fun and exciting, not regimented. However one thing hasn’t changed as we continue on the…

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The 93rd Academy Awards, a night like no other.

The 93rd Academy Awards, a night like no other.

10th February 2020, approximately 4am UK time and history is made as Parasite becomes the first film not in the English language to win the prestigious Best Picture Academy Award. A night of celebration that now seems a lifetime ago. It is fair to say that the last 14 months or so have been strange, every day life has changed in ways none of us would have foreseen when Parasite won. During the…

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I want to watch ALL the films

I want to watch ALL the films

Yes that’s right, every last one of them. One of the least expected symptoms of lockdown that I have experienced is what I refer to as “Watchlist anxiety”. With so many streaming services just a touch of a button away and the lack of anything else to do, other than having an arm wrestle with some guy called Barry over a toilet roll in Tesco, I started to build up some watchlists. Before I knew…

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2021, the year to try to enjoy films again

2021, the year to try to enjoy films again

This is a blog that I have pondered putting together for some months now and a new year led me to think that now may well be the right time. I spend, probably too much, time on Social Media because I adore watching films and I like talking about them. My hope was that I would find many like minded people, on Twitter in particular. Twitter is a place where I have very few followers who know me…

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The magical Cinema

The rain was coming down heavier now, big old fat rain, the rain that only comes in the summer. The bus had gotten stuck in traffic, the film started in less than 10 minutes, with any luck I would only miss the adverts and trailers. The Bolton Cannon Cinema was showing Star Wars, the original cut as well, for the first time in over 30 years and it was for one night only. I half expected the queue…

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Who is the main villain in Jaws

Who is the main villain in Jaws

Jaws is often tricky for me to write about, because it is quite difficult to find an angle or idea on it that hasn’t been covered several times before. I could write a review of the film, but I’ve done that before and besides everyone who has a passing interest in the film will have read plenty of reviews and seen the film several times. Therefore I thought I would write a few thoughts on who I…

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Does Spielberg ever wear sweatpants? A look at hero worship.

Does Spielberg ever wear sweatpants? A look at hero worship.

Following on from my recent series of Spielberg Top 10 blogs, I have decided to write some pieces on perceptions and pre-conceived ideas that the general public has on people in the spotlight, from hero worship to hatred. Is it rational to not watch a film just because Jack Black is in it, or do you wear your rose tinted glasses when ever news breaks of a new Julia Roberts film? Does it go…

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The overseer: Spielberg's Top 10 Production credits

The overseer: Spielberg’s Top 10 Production credits

Hi folks and welcome to my latest top 10. I’m going a little bit left field and looking at the Top 10 films where Spielberg hasn’t directed but has been credited as Producer or Executive Producer. One of the attractions of Spielberg to me growing up, was even if he wasn’t in the directors chair he seemed to be involved in the majority of films that I enjoyed growing up.

With over 170…

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The cheers: Spielberg's Top 10 crowd pleasing moments

The cheers: Spielberg’s Top 10 crowd pleasing moments

Following on from my recent blog about the most nerve shredding moments in Spielberg’s back catalogue which you can read here, I thought I would take a look at the moments that most fans of Spielberg look for in his films, moments where elation and rejoicing lead to punch the air instances, that allow the audience to give little cheers or even rapturous rounds of applause, even when you are…

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The nail shredders: Spielberg's Top 10 most nerve jangling moments.

The nail shredders: Spielberg’s Top 10 most nerve jangling moments.

Among all the wonder and magic, there is of course a serious side to Spielberg’s work. The man can build tension, like LEGO build bricks. Here in my latest Spielberg Top 10 I take a look at 10 of the most tense moments in his films. This was a tough one and I’m sure people will point out personal favourites that didn’t make my final cut, for example there is no room for the excrutiating ascent up…

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What's for Dinner? Spielberg's Top 10 Dining table scenes.

What’s for Dinner? Spielberg’s Top 10 Dining table scenes.

The latest in my Spielberg top 10s is a closer look at the times that Spielberg has utilised the most practical of all props, the humble dining table. Sometimes these can be small, intimate scenes such as the mimicry between a father and son at the breakfast table or much grander settings, such as the “feast of beasts” at Pankot Palace. Spielberg uses this familiar setting to bring comedy,…

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The Spielberg Top 10: Best Opening Scenes.

The Spielberg Top 10: Best Opening Scenes.

To grab an audience you have to start well, all the great films pull the audience in, you could argue that you need to grab them in the first 5 minutes or people may lose interest. Like writing, if I waffle on too long you won’t read the rest so without further blathering, here is my personal TOP 10 opening scenes in Steven Spielberg directed movies.

10. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of…

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The case of two dusty roads

A look at Spielberg's first 2 Cinematic releases

In preparation for the (at time of writing) December 2020 release of Steven Spielberg’s 33rd feature as Director, West Side Story, I have decided to attempt to put some more Spielberg blogs together. I have previously written about how Spielberg’s films, themes and styles changed thorough each of the last 5 decades, you can read some of those here if you wish.

Interestingly enough, I thought…

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The tragedy of Rebso and the wait for a Jedi

The tragedy of Rebso and the wait for a Jedi

Several months ago I wrote a blog about my earliest experiences of Cinema and the way it changed my life forever, feel free to read it here. That was a tale about the wonders of seeing a film called Star Wars and its sequel the Empire Strikes Back in this cavernous dark room on a screen the size of a football pitch. It had changed my life and given me the love of cinema that has never left me 37…

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What a MARVELlous series of films

What a MARVELlous series of films Some very quick thoughts on the Marvel Universe - NO SPOILERS

It was about this time last year that I took my son James to the Cinema to watch Avengers Infinity War. We had been to see the majority of Marvel films up until that point and had always enjoyed them, without personally ever being blown away by them. Infinity War changed that and I finally got it.

I have never read a Marvel comic and was quite cynical in the early years about the film series,…