Almost two decades before the titanic Robot vs Monster fights of Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro was making waves as the enfant terrible of the Spanish-speaking horror world. Considered by many to be the last true auteur (the right honourable Tarantino aside), del Toro cut his teeth with a combination of dark whimsy and explosive…
Category: Films
Pop Culture Purgatory: 5 TV and Movie Franchises Stuck in Development Hell
A rundown of the 5 biggest crimes in pop-culture history.
The truly horrific subplot hiding in Beauty and the Beast
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, it’s time to admit it; Disney is for kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love Disney. The films are fun, colourful and even though they slip just enough Blue humour under the radar to keep even the most joyless adults happy, morality tales and talking fish just aren’t for us anymore. Disney…
The insane hidden timeline that changes everything about the Terminator
In 1984, a leather-clad Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked Hollywood’s door in and started blasting, playing the baddest cybernetic killing machine ever seen on screen and forever changing the cinematic landscape. The Terminator was the first film to effectively bridge the gap between sci-fi and action that divided audiences since movies began. Action movies were no longer…
The horrifying implications of life inside a Groundhog Day
Does anyone still remember Groundhog Day? In case you don’t, it’s an absolutely classic piece of cinema created in a golden age where everyone respected Bill Murray and Harold Ramis was both alive and culturally relevant. Although movies like Freaky Friday and Big had already established clear ground rules for body switching, Groundhog Day was…
Why The Hunger Games Is A Rip-Off Of Battle Royale
The release of The Hunger Games books in 2008 almost immediately spawned a controversy; that Suzanne Collins had stolen the entire concept for her stories from the 1999 book and later film, Battle Royale. Articles sprang up about the issue on websites like Cracked and Buzzfeed to name a few, and some labelled Collins’ trilogy…
The Real Terrifying Story Behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Few films exist that are as universally beloved as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory. The songs are fun, the sets are colourful and the food looked so damned delicious that we wanted to be the ones trapped in a single, middle-aged man’s sinister factory. But I had several questions and, in the process of…
Why True Romance is the most underrated Quentin Tarantino film
Quentin Tarantino is, rightfully, one of the most loved and respected writer/directors of the last couple of decades. Most of his films, such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Kill Bill, have been declared essential viewing within film fan circles. Although his work is often highly controversial and divisive, with accusations of everything from gratuitous…
5 great ways Feminism is sneaking into horror movies
Why is horror like pornography? Because women do it better. Hollywood hasn’t realised this yet, so horror is still a massive boy’s club. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of talent out there at the moment; James Wan and Mike Flanagan are redefining the genre (think Oculus, not Ouija), and The Visit was almost…
Why Beatrix Kiddo Is One Of The Best Action Movie Protagonists
Beatrix Kiddo is the protagonist-of-many-names from the two Kill Bill films by Tarantino, and she’s probably one of the greatest, yet most under-appreciated characters the action genre of movies has ever brought us. It’s no secret that women aren’t exactly common in action movies, particularly as protagonists, so Beatrix is a breath of fresh air…
Why Jared Leto will (probably) disappoint as the Joker
Suicide Squad drops this August and, after Dawn of Justice, DC are going to need a BIG result to keep the ball rolling. They need to offer us a big, meaty, critical-and-commercial success of a movie. But we won’t get one. It’ll do well financially, of course. I’m going to see it, you’re going to see…
Why THAT X-Men poster is important
Earlier this month, 20th Century Fox announced that they were removing an image from their marketing campaign. This image, to be precise: Now this decision was made because Fox received several complaints and also (arguably) for the sake of good taste. But no matter how well-meaning the act, Fox’s removal of the image immediately split…
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