The spectacle of the human figure on film is hardly a new thing. One of Thomas Edison’s first images back in the late nineteenth century detailed the flexing muscles of French bodybuilder Eugine Sandal. The bare torso of Steeve Reeves dominates the poster of Pirates of Malaysia, as does that of Reg Park in Hercules the Avenger. Commando acts as an extended advertisement for Arnie’s bulky physique, beginning not with a calm wide shot of green vistas but an extreme synecdochic close up of the actor’s ripped bicep. The camera is the perfect vessel to exhibit the human body in all its physicality.
Continue reading “Physical Bodies, Physical Violence: The ‘Ripped’ Figure in Love Lies Bleeding, Road House and Monkey Man”Cineworld Danny Boyle Season: Sunshine, Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting
Not exactly sure what the motivation was behind putting on this season (I guess the 4K restoration of Trainspotting has recently been released?), but Cineworld have chosen some good ones from Boyle’s filmography. Let’s give ‘em a mini review.
Continue reading “Cineworld Danny Boyle Season: Sunshine, Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting”Review: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga
I wanted to cosplay as Furiosa when Fury Road came out almost a decade ago, but the mechanical arm props were selling online for about £600, so no dice. I’d still like to do it at some point, though.
Continue reading “Review: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga”Review: If
No, not the one about a genocidal clown who enjoys a good balloon with a side of child murder (It). Also not that one where a group of kids find that odd fantasy creature and go on an adventure (Five Children and It). And it’s definitely not If…, as in the late 60s film starring Malcolm McDowell, whose performance as a rebellious public-school student convinced Stanley Kubrick to cast the actor in A Clockwork Orange. No, I’m talking about If, the 2024 film directed by and starring John Krasinski, where a young girl struggles with grief and starts to see imaginary friends whose humans have grown up and forgotten about them. Yes, THAT film. Funny how a punctuation mark or a minor letter change can cause confusion about what film you’re talking about, eh?
Continue reading “Review: If”Review: Civil War
It’s difficult to separate some actors from their signature roles. Yes, Nick Offerman has knocked the ball out of the park in The Last of Us and numerous other TV shows, but it’s hard to picture him as anyone else apart from the laconic Ron Swanson. When Offerman’s acting as the maniacal POTUS in Civil War, it’s difficult not to imagine him dictating the Pyramid of Greatness to a class of school children. Likewise, it’s challenging to picture Jesse Plemons as anyone other than resident psychopath Todd from Breaking Bad (not to worry with this one, though, as he plays a similarly unhinged douchebag in this rodeo too). It’s not too much of the problem, though, as neither actor gets a huge amount of screen time in Alex Garland’s latest feature.
Continue reading “Review: Civil War”