Films That Matter
The Takeoff of a Renewed Genre
If you’re looking for one of the most wildly intense nights of chaos set on film, then Airport (1970), co-written and directed by George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street) is in the running for that honour. Often deemed a disaster movie with plenty of drama, moments of action, tinges of comedy (see above), as well as some obvious thrills, it’s a mixed bag of sorts, as it’s got an impressively massive cast, clever use of split screen to keep the narrative moving along (it might remind some of the popular 2000s tv show 24), and throw a wild number of ideas at the screen to create one frantic evening effect, yet its languid pacing holds some of these elements back from being a more memorable disaster thriller. In fact, star Burt Lancaster even called it “a piece of junk”.
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Take A Shot
VictoriaJuly 3, 2016I have always been fascinated by directors who utilize long takes in their films. By concocting a lengthy shot, filmmakers expect the most from their actors as well as the cameramen, and in so doing, make the audience feel as if they are walking the same path that the characters are journeying. Numerous directors have been successful at elongating the editing pace in which we are accustomed to, a few that immediately come to mind are Brian De Palma, Alfonso Cuarón and Martin Scorsese.
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Playing Doubles
EnemyJune 21, 2016I have always been fascinated by the concept of the double, also known as the doppelganger in both film and literature. There is something about the device, that is often used in gothic tales, that makes for a wonderfully suspenseful thriller. Perhaps it is my early fascination with the works of Edgar Allen Poe that have influenced my interest in the subject matter, or perhaps it is the fact that I have been told by others that I have multiple doppelgangers, in any case, a film that uses this classic idea is the 2013 motion picture Enemy.
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Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
The GiftJune 17, 2016There is nothing like receiving a present, especially when it is unexpected. It is exciting to open a perfectly wrapped box to find something that has been purchased specifically for you hiding inside. Yet, this simple concept takes a much more ominous and sinister turn in the 2015 mystery thriller, The Gift.
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Three’s Company
10 Cloverfield LaneMarch 18, 201610 Cloverfield Lane is an unusual quasi-sequel to the 2008 handheld found-footage Godzilla-like monster movie Cloverfield. I watched the original in theatres back when I was at University, and it struck me as a rather exciting, large scaled horror movie. The gargantuan scope of that picture is interestingly scaled back to the complete opposite in this loose spin-off.
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Star Pick with Marcus Ovnell
A Road Less TravelledArlington RoadFebruary 14, 2016As you probably read previously, Marcus Ovnell, the writer/director of the outstanding Swedish dramatic thriller The Break-In, explained that his favourite film of all-time was the 1990's classic Shawshank Redemption. Though he said that this was his clear favourite, he also highlighted a lesser known movie as one that I (and others) should watch – the 1999 thriller Arlington Road.
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A Thrilling ‘Sub’ject
Black SeaFebruary 9, 2016A recent movie that has sadly gone completely under the radar is the 2014 submarine heist thriller Black Sea.
