Tag: Action

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Dir. Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones. EMI Films. 1975.

In the opening scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1], a grassy hill is shown with the sound of horse’s hooves—only for a skipping King Arthur, and coconut-clomping servant to appear, sans horse. This sets the scene for the finest ever cinematic use of imaginary horses.

28th January 2019
Oldboy. Dir. Park Chan-wook. Show East & Tartan Films. 2003.

Park Chan-wook’s 2003 film Oldboy is at its core a thriller, a revenge story of Oh Dae-su (played by Choi Min-sik) imprisoned in a room for 15 years without any knowledge of the reasons why, and who is then suddenly released back into the world and told by his captor to try to work out…

22nd January 2019
Of Mice And Men. Dir. Gary Sinise. MGM. 1992.

‘Of Mice and Men’ (1992) is a film adaptation of the novel by John Steinbeck, which is set in 1930s America during the Great Depression. The film follows the lives of George and Lennie, two ranch workers who struggle to fulfil their ideal of the American dream, which is to acquire their own land.

15th January 2019
D-War : Dragon Wars. Dir. Hyung-rae Shim. Freestyle Releasing, Showbox. 2007.

The movie, D-War : Dragon Wars, begins with introducing the Korean legend of the ascension of Imoogi, a gigantic pre-dragon stage serpent. Every 500 years, one good Imoogi was rewarded with a chance to become a dragon, and it had to receive the gift of the Yuh-yi-joo, a magical pearl from heaven, to become a dragon.…

15th January 2019
King Kong. Dir. Peter Jackson. Universal Pictures. 2005.

King Kong is the modern remake of the 1933 classic, which follows Carl Denham (Jack Black) in his attempts to film a movie by coercing his cast and crew into following him on his voyage. His voyage is an attempt to find the mysterious Skull Island where he hopes to film the ‘last blank space on…

15th January 2019
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Dir. Matt Reeves. 20th Century Fox. 2014.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Dir. Matt Reeves. 20thCentury Fox. 2014 ‘Now, they may have got their hands on some of our guns. But that does not make them men. They are animals!’ – Dreyfus Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is the second film in the 20thCentury Fox reboot of…

15th January 2019
Twelve Monkeys. Dir. Terry Gilliam. Universal Pictures . 1996.

Twelve Monkeys begins: human beings whoop and rattle in cages, buried deep underground. Wild animals roam free in the streets; in the churches, on top of this underground prison. But who dug the hole? The animals or the human… …beings? The deadly virus which forced the survivors to flee underground came from the animals. But the…

14th January 2019
The Cat Returns. Dir. Hiroyuki Morita. Toho. 2002.

The Cat Returns (2002) is a Japanese fantasy film animated by Studio Ghibli, which follows dissatisfied schoolgirl Haru Yoshioka, who after saving a cat from a road collision, discovers she has the ability to talk to cats. Upon saving the feline it is revealed that this individual is none other than Prince Lune, Heir to the…

14th January 2019
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Dir. David Yates. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2016.

Courage, nerve, chivalry, the makings of a true her- oh? This story is about a Hufflepuff? Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) is not from Gryffindor, he bears no lightning scar, and he is well beyond the teenage wizard angst of the Harry Potter series. Instead of a Chosen One, our hero is a… Magizoologist. We meet…

14th January 2019
Gone Girl. Dir. David Fincher. 20th Century Fox. 2014.

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne receives an unexpected phone call from his neighbour, who has spotted his indoor pet cat wandering outside the house. When Nick returns, not only does he discover that his cat has been misplaced, but his wife, Amy has disappeared too. Leaving a staged crime scene…

13th January 2019