David Cronenberg poses some interesting questions on the nature of evil in his latest thriller. Eastern Promises is a brooding, atmospheric snapshot of a murky London underworld. Apart from focusing on a crime subculture hitherto untreated by films, it presents a mesmerising study of what happens when the world we know brushes up against what lies beneath. Read the rest of this entry »

“Why would you pay good money to go to a cinema and see what you can get for free at home?” Well, lets face it - there haven’t been many Hollywood comedies released in recent years that would measure up to a single episode of The Simpsons in terms of laughs. So why not do a film version? Read the rest of this entry »

How can I convey in a few pithy paragraphs the wonder, the fascination, the emotional turmoil, the sheer artistry to be found within the covers of this truly amazing novel? Perdido Street Station is a masterpiece – pure and simple. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, there’s certainly a lot of blood involved. In fact, in the swordfight scenes that are strewn haphazardly through this trash heap of a film, all it takes is the slightest contact between sword and body armour for a veritable fountain of the red stuff to burst in a torrent from the unfortunate protagonist. Not that there’s anything wrong with a C-grade vampire/fantasy flick going a bit overboard with the gore. What’s less forgivable is the execrable acting and a truly atrocious script. Read the rest of this entry »

Brian de Palma has obviously poured his heart and soul into his film of James Ellroy’s famous novel, The Black Dahlia. Unfortunately, beyond the superficial style and artistry, it fails in almost every other respect. Read the rest of this entry »

Philip K Dick was a man with many personal demons, and he wasn’t averse to exploring them in his work. The Game-Players of Titan is a study in paranoia, and it reads somewhat like a nightmare put to page. Read the rest of this entry »

The appeal of the fantasy and sci fi film genres must seem so easy to understand for the clueless Hollywood execs who churn out so many examples of each these days. Whip up some spectacular CGI effects, throw in a monster or two and loads of breakneck action and insert star here. Amongst all that mediocrity, then, it’s surprising to see an effort that displays such thoughtful craft in its writing and execution. Read the rest of this entry »