On Screen Archive
8th April 2011
I Hate: Shrek
I hate Shrek. No, really, I hate it. And not in an ‘I hate carrots’ kind of way, but in a full blown, screaming-as-you-pull-your-suitcases-out-the-door, ‘I hate you and your mother and that tattoo of your ex’s face that you have on the inside of your thigh’ way.
8th April 2011
Interview: Mark Kermode
If the day ever comes when hundreds of zombies come crashing through your window, well, then, at least that means there’s an afterlife.’
8th April 2011
Event Review: Cornerhouse’s 25th Birthday
It was Cornerhouse’s 25th birthday on 25th September, and to celebrate they held an ‘80s party called ‘It was acceptable in the ‘80s’ (why does everybody keep saying that? What was acceptable in the ‘80s? Invading the Faulklands?). It started off with a choice of classic ‘80s films, and everyone went to see The Goonies except me, a move I quickly regretted. Insignificance seemed more attractive at the time, and was also a movie I hadn’t seen approximately a billion times. It’s about a man who is clearly supposed to be Einstein and a woman who is clearly supposed to be Marilyn Monroe who nearly have sex but don’t. Weird. After the film there was a quiz about the ‘80s and I literally didn’t know a single answer, but everyone was given a donut for taking part. Guiltiest donut I’ve ever eaten. The donut of shame.
The party then moved upstairs and it was all free drinks and dancing Ghostbusters. Actually, after the two free drinks it reverted back to mad Cornerhouse prices, so getting battered wasn’t really on the agenda. It would’ve been a little weird anyway to be honest; the crowd at this party were overwhelmingly those who idolised Bill Murray when they were seven, but who are now kind of balding and forlornly picking at their glittery suits over a mug of red wine. The party was a bit lamely decked out and no massive effort had gone into the decoration of the place. There was also the quite fundamental problem that there was no good music in the ‘80s. True story.
Verdict: Members of the Breakfast Club might have enjoyed this but as a member of the Pokemon club this didn’t offer a great deal. Noughties Ferris Bueller would’ve truanted the fuck out of this.
6th April 2011
Review: Sucker Punch
“Snyder’s signature grimy, gothic aesthetic is ever present, as the girls bend time and space to encounter demon samurai, Steampunk-zombie-soldiers, Orcs, dragons, and futuristic alien-robots.”
6th April 2011
Narnia – Close the wardrobe.
So, the Narnia saga is set to continue with no particular order, and no-one particularly caring. With the announcement of The Magician’s Nephew, Adam Deane ponders the brief life and extended death of the franchise.
6th April 2011
Event Review: RAG does the Time Warp
“Almost everyone (including the men) were wearing corsets or fishnets of some description.”
6th April 2011
Event Review: Finding Nemo
“They encounter a series of haphazard characters, some friendlier than others, but each with a set of psychological issues that remind the audience of the real plight of our protagonists.”
6th April 2011
Event Review: La Haine
“While the film is capable of touching moments and can be very comic at times, what really makes it special is the sense of threat that is carried throughout.”
6th April 2011
Film History: New Wave
When we think of Paris now, we think of thin women, baguettes and the Eiffel Tower. Rewind several decades to the 1940s and we begin to see it wasn’t all that. From 1946 to 1958, the Fourth Republic of France was in its post-war operation (the Nazis had left and American films were once again allowed to be shown).
6th April 2011
Film Review: Submarine
Told from the fourth-wall-breaking-inner-voice of a 15 year old boy whose optimism and enthusiasm toward our simple world is contagious, Submarine will have you laughing from the opening.
Get involved with On Screen
6th April 2011
Interview: Richard Ayoade
“I’m not mad on confident people. I can’t imagine myself ever making the Bon Jovi story.”
6th April 2011
Review: A Turtle’s Tale (Sammy’s Adventure)
“in this film you won’t find a cross-dressing Ken doll, or wise-cracking, leery sidekick”
6th April 2011
Viva! Review: The Life of Fish
This film wants to be as deep as each and every character we encounter
6th April 2011
Viva! Review: Pecados de mi Padre
Using a mix of archive news footage, home movies and Sebastian’s own narration, the film was meant to be a humble and personal portrayal of Columbia’s political history.
2nd December 2010
Happy Birthday: Bill Murray (21/09/2010)
It is said that Bill Murray likes to sneak up behind strangers in New York, whisper, “Guess who?” and, when they turn around, tell them: “I’m Bill Murray. No one will ever believe you.” This would not be funny in a club, in Sainsbury’s or on campus, nor is it a good way to meet strangers.
2nd December 2010
DVD Review: Streetdance 3D
Cheesier than cheddar, the old ballet-meets-hip hop story is given a new edge on the sparkling London backdrop. Granted, it’s not quite as glamorous as the Step-Up franchise, but a subtle British influence, (from Union Jack t-shirts to the music featured), adds a certain charm.
2nd December 2010
Review: Winter’s Bone
It reminded me of Brick in that she spends most of the film finding things out. Just going door to door, piecing stuff together. The gruff, mumbling neighbours she demands information from have an untrustworthy air about them, but despite feeling like a borderline horror, it’s more of a slow-moving dramatic detective movie. There isn’t really anything like it.
2nd December 2010
Top 5: Weepies
1) City of Angels – Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with Meg Ryan. It actually sounds a bit comical. Trust me, it isn’t. The bicycle scene, combined with Sara McLachlan’s ‘In the Arms an Angel’ is the most depressing thing that you’ll ever see. Or hear.2) Beauty and the Beast – A tale as old as time, a song as old a rhyme – it gets me every time.
2nd December 2010
Preview: Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name reads like a film, so it seems completely logical to copy and paste the story onto the big screen. Time Magazine might have gone a bit off the rails calling it ‘the best book of the decade’, but it’s definitely film worthy.
2nd December 2010
I Hate: Peter Jackson’s King Kong
The original 1930s King Kong is an hour and a half, and even that feels like it’s dragging in some places. It’s a very thin concept; a giant monkey on an island. You certainly wouldn’t have thought that it needs to be three hours. Apparently Peter ‘I’m not going to edit any of my films’ Jackson thought otherwise.