Angela Carter… So much to answer for. I first read The Bloody Chamber in 1987 as a young teen, exactly the right time to discover her voluptuous, gory, evocative prose. Her descriptions of sex, death, circuses, films, literature and the theatre were vivid and lucid, patently original. Without het, I question if Guillermo del Toro,Continue reading “The Company of Wolves (1984)”
Tag Archives: Film
Film Review: Moonage Daydream
There is a shot of David Bowie travelling on an escalator in Japan which seems to sum up the otherworldly aesthetic of this unique film – he seems to float like an angel. Eschewing the usual cliches of talking heads, song clips and cultural commentary, Brett Morgen’s vibrant visual patchwork is more like a PopContinue reading “Film Review: Moonage Daydream”
Just Step Sideways: Dogging Tales
Like a fever dream taken directly from the pages of Viz comic but created by Chris Morris, Dogging Tales from 2013, remains one of the most unforgettable TV documentaries of the last twenty years. Screened as part of Channel 4’s True Stories strand, and in actual fact directed by Leo Maguire, it was more JeremyContinue reading “Just Step Sideways: Dogging Tales”
Edinburgh Festival Review: Agaxart- Future Temple
This beautiful short film follows Butoh performer Emiko Agatsuma as she crawls like a little sprite of the afterlife clad in a white bodystocking and white wig, through bustling streets, eventually entangling in a billowing pile of plastic. At once a dance and ritual, Agatsuma is a capricious figure, with human and animalistic characteristics. SheContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Review: Agaxart- Future Temple”
DVD Review: The Sparks Brothers
Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers is more than a traditional rock doc. A visually glorious pop art paean to the shapeshifting nature of pop music, Ron and Russell Mael, aka Sparks, represent longevity, invention and playful erudition. From their LA childhood on the beach, absorbing their artist father’s paintings, and being driven by their motherContinue reading “DVD Review: The Sparks Brothers”
TRAINSPOTTING AND GLASGOW
We all know Irvine Welsh’s classic novel, play and film Trainspotting was set in Leith in Edinburgh, but for Danny Boyle’s film adaptation of the mid- nineties, a couple of pivotal scenes were shot in the Maryhill area of Glasgow. One infamous shot of the pub where wee ned psychopath Begbie (Robert Carlyle) casually tossesContinue reading “TRAINSPOTTING AND GLASGOW”
Overlooked Classics: Wisconsin Death Trip
James Marsh’s masterful Wisconsin Death Trip is not like most documentaries. Based on the 1973 book of monochrome photographs by Michael Lesy, it focuses on a decade of bizarre events in and around Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the late 19th century. There’s suicide ; teenage elopement, religious lunacy, errant eccentric opera singers, window smashing,Continue reading “Overlooked Classics: Wisconsin Death Trip”
Pink Flamingos at 50
Nothing- now or ever- arguably, will be as outrageous as John Waters’ Pink Flamingos. Celebrating its half century, this film from Waters and his team of miscreants, AKA the Dreamlanders, tackles every taboo you care to mention. Ostensibly a mockumentary gone rogue, the deranged masterpiece still holds up with its questionable mores centring around theContinue reading “Pink Flamingos at 50”
Overlooked Classics: Behind The Candelabra
Wladziu Valentino Liberace, known as Lee to friends , was simply one name only- Liberace: the consumate showman, charming comic, and world- renowned pianist, dripping in furs and diamonds. He was also a narcissist. Steven Soderbergh directs Michael Douglas in the lead role, with Matt Damon (“MATT… DAAAMON!”) supporting as Scotty Thorson. It’s a brilliantContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Behind The Candelabra”
Overlooked Classics: Le Boucher (1970)
Written and directed by French thriller auteur Claude Chabrol, Le Boucher is in many ways, something of a curio. Is it accurate to define it as a thriller when the murderer is no mystery to the viewer? After all, the film’s main focus is that of the two leads who dominate most of the screenContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Le Boucher (1970)”
Hit The North 