‘Do we really need another one?’ – The Hollywood Franchise
Cover your eyes and plug your ears, a new Scary Movie is out in cinemas. The fifth instalment of this godforsaken franchise is now upon us, released like a plague of has-been D-list locusts. Here’s looking at you, Charlie Sheen. Following sequels like 2 Fast 2 Furious and Step Up 2 The Streets, it has [...]
Film | Evil Dead
4/5 stars Even for a remake of a beloved cult classic, Evil Dead has a pretty tough gig; it has to live up to both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s inimitable 1981 original and last year’s The Cabin In The Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s smart, sassy deconstruction of the horror genre which used [...]
Film | The Place Beyond the Pines
4/5 stars The wildly misleading trailer for The Place Beyond The Pines sells it as a Heat-style clash between Ryan Gosling’s bank robber and Bradley Cooper’s lawman. Derek Cianfrance’s film never takes that road, though. Instead, it is an ambitious portmanteau film told in three episodes, each shifting the narrative’s perspective onto a different [...]
Theatre | Preview of ‘Architects of the Invisible’
stage@leeds April 24-27 7.30pm “You bought your ticket. You chose your usual numbers. Date of birth. Your daughter’s birthday. Your wedding anniversary. You didn’t watch the live show. You haven’t for years. You didn’t even remember until the next day. When you checked you weren’t expecting anything. You weren’t disappointed. You weren’t impressed…” ‘Architects [...]
BIFF: Screentalk with Sir Tom Courtenay + One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
One of Yorkshire’s own sons with a professional career spanning fifty years, it’s no wonder that the Pictureville Cinema at Bradford Media Museum was sold out on the of his return to Bradford for the first time since filming Billy Liar in 1963. In the intimate surroundings, guests were treated to an insight into Sir [...]
BIFF: Much Ado About Nothing
4/5 stars Joss Whedon is better known lately for bringing superheroes to the big screen and reinventing the horror genre, but in his latest film, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon returns to his roots, and produces a stylish reimagining of a classic love story. Filmed in black and white and [...]
BIFF: Somebody Up There Likes Me
3/5 stars From the up-and-coming director Bob Byington comes a new film about life, love and friendship, starring some of American indie’s finest actors; Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Keith Poulson and Jess Weixler. A quirky story chronicling thirty-five years in the life of Max (Poulson) including a bizarre love triangle in which he and his [...]
BIFF Preview: Opportunities for Women in Film and Television Seminar
Bradford UNESCO City of Film presents a one day Insider Knowledge seminar aimed at identifying opportunities for women in film and television production, as part of the 19th Bradford International Film Festival. Speakers include those from the BBC, Screen Yorkshire and Creative England. Participants will receive first hand advice from some of the UK’s leading industry professionals, including Liz [...]
A Closer Look At… Jean Michel Basquiat
The artist Jean Michel Basquiat is not conventionally known, yet his work is instantly recognisable for its graffiti-style, bold lines and graphic figures, which convey a lively spirit and raw emotion. Basquiat was an intelligent and gifted child who fled his home in Brooklyn at the age of fifteen to dwell in the New York [...]