Darkman 2 : The Return of Durant (1994)
Having thoroughly enjoyed the first Darkman (HERE) I made the lowly investment of picking up the Darkman Trilogy. Not expecting a masterpiece I was pleasantly surprised by the first sequel, despite it focussing on one of the least memorable and likeable villains for a film of this type. Made four years after the Liam Neeson starring … Read more
Ten Years On… The Phantom Menace (1999)
With the tenth anniversary falling yesterday I figured that George Lucas’ return to the Star Wars saga deserved a repeat viewing. As I made this decision at 11.30 in the evening I didnt make it the whole way through the film, but the hour or so that I did watch was an entertaining enough experience. … Read more
The Fireman’s Ball (1968)
Screened as part of the Apostrophe Sioxante Huit Project, Milos Forman’s groundbreaking early career highlight, The Firemen’s Ball tells the story of the eponymous annual event in the firefighters calendar. Based on real events witnessed by Forman, the film is presumed to be a political allegory, yet Forman attests these charges. As a result the … Read more
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
A brief piece on John Carpenter’s seminal work, in advance of an in depth look at the film as part of The Cineastes project in a few months time. Kurt Russell teamed up with Carpenter for the fourth (?) time on Big Trouble in Little China, on what is their most playful collaboration. The film … Read more
Wise Blood (1979)
From John Huston, or Jhon Huston as the credits would placate, Wise Blood marks my first foray into later-period Huston. Southern gothic is the order of the day, with this darkly satirical look at the ‘business’ of religion. Hazel Motes (Brad Dourif), a young man fresh out of the military forms the “Church Without Christ”, … Read more
The Running Man (1987)
The Running Man was one of those films that drew my attention as a kid. The highly stylised set design of the gameshow and its associated characters was the sort of thing that really appealed to my young eyes, as did the gratuitous violence. Alas it hasn’t aged well at all, and is an … Read more
Johnny Guitar (1954)
Nicholas Ray’s cult western tells the story of Johnny ‘Guitar’ Logan and his reacquainting with a former love, the tempestuous and ambitious bar owner Vienna. A fairly standard tale of conflict over land rights and the like ensues, with the state of Johnny and Vienna’s relationship mirroring the events of the conflict. The film looks stunning, … Read more
The Immediate Path Ahead
Next week is shaping up to be the strongest week ever at Hope Lies at 24 Frames Per Second, with looks at John Huston’s Wise Blood, Bruno Dumont’s L’Humanite and John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing (a film I have yet to see!) amongst others. The Apostrophe Sioxante Huit project will be hitting its stride with Milos … Read more
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
What follows is the first in a series of essays produced in conjunction with The Cineastes. “Money is everything. Without it life is hard, and hope dies.” A series of morality tales expertly wound together into an accessible and interesting fully formed story, Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari examines the nature of greed and unreasonable … Read more
Coraline (2009)
Just a brief piece on Henry Selick’s latest effort, Coraline. While not the biggest fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I do believe that it holds a special, bordeline unique spot in modern cinema history. The way in which it has matured in the minds of cinemagoers, achieving annual re-release status and slipping its way … Read more
