Durham21 » Cinema

Dominic Wakeford takes on the Oscars! Best Picture and Best Director

Amy Annette (Editor) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:57:48 +0000

The Oscars is often viewed as an easy institution to criticise, seeming out of touch with current movie trends and often favouring cosy mediocrity over true artistry, and yet it still manages to cause the entertainment industry to go into effective meltdown for a couple of months at the start of each year.

Dominic Wakeford takes on the Oscars! (contd.) Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress

Amy Annette (Editor) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:54:34 +0000

The ceremony itself is on Sunday 27th February and is televised in the UK by Sky Movies (or for us students, on Sky Player on our laptops!). Presented by the somewhat unexpected choices of James Franco and Anne Hathaway, it promises to be one of the more interesting Oscar nights in recent years.

Dominic Wakeford celebrates Valentine’s Day with Derek Cianfrance’s ‘Blue Valentine’

Amy Annette (Editor) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:59:51 +0000

This week Dominic Wakeford saw Blue Valentine and found it a moving portrayal of a relationship's disintegration, that owed a lot to its indie cinema roots but fell short of the blockbuster hype surrounding it.

Dominic Wakeford: Black Swan

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:06:49 +0000

How does one set about making a film about the elitist world of New York ballet without it becoming a turgidly moralising drama about the price of success? Well, one solution would be to employ Darren Aronofsky, the director of Black Swan who has created a completely unhinged, delightfully deranged masterpiece about one girl’s desire to achieve perfection, no matter the consequences. Employing the same unique cinematic style introduced in π and honed in subsequent works such as The Fountain and The Wrestler, Aronofsky has firmly positioned himself as one of Hollywood’s most innovative directors and achieved a long-overdue Oscar nomination this week for the film. On a personal note, I believe the film to be an even greater work than Requiem for a Dream, something I had long considered one of my favourite movies.

Dominic Wakeford: The King’s Speech

Amy Annette (Editor) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:34:56 +0000

This week Dominic Wakeford watched the twelve time Oscar nominated 'The King's Speech' and found a subtly directed, moving film that deserves its Oscar hype. Films about the British Royal Family always seem to achieve a great deal of unexpected success in America, perhaps due to that country’s ongoing fascination with our sense of tradition and history. Recent examples of this phenomena include Stephen Frears’ The Queen, which though an undoubtedly fine film in itself hardly appears, at first glance, to possess the requisite heft and entertainment value needed these days for a British film to escape the confines of our local Odeon and travel across the pond.

Dominic Wakeford: Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows (Part I)

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:28:28 +0000

This weekend has seen the release of the most eagerly anticipated movie blockbuster of the year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I), the arrival of which comes not with a bang nor whimper, but rather a muffled shout – certainly the most impressive film of director David Yates’ tenure, but let down by the fact it is effectively a work-in-progress, with Potter film fans having to wait until July to find out how the story ends. Is this merely a cynical moneymaking exercise by Warner Bros, or rather an earnest attempt to give fans of J.K Rowling’s novels a wholly faithful screen adaptation of the final work in the saga? I’ll let you be the judge…

A BAFTA winning performance…

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:42:12 +0000

Emma Grimwood is pleasantly surprised by A Single Man, showing currently at the Gala cinema

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of ‘A Single Man’. My desire to see it was based wholly on the rather cracking trailer, a few mixed reviews, and the somewhat surprising news that Colin Firth had...

Guy Ritchie Takes On Sherlock Holmes

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:00:40 +0000

Stevie Martin doesn't understand why Guy Ritchie was asked to direct Sherlock Holmes but watches it regardless..

Alongside Avatar, Guy Ritchie’s reworking of the literary classic has been the other must-see blockbuster released over the Christmas period. Having grossed over $200 million worldwide so far, it may be lagging behind its gargantuan competitor, but nobody was expecting anyone...

Avatar

Amy Annette (Editor) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:15:22 +0000

Sam Eagers checks out James Cameron's latest..

Avatar arrived at the end of this year surrounded by a massive amount of hyperbole. Being the most expensive film of all time and hailed as James Cameron’s most gargantuan effort since Titanic twelve years ago, meant that the film has already taken over a billion dollars..

Not one for the Bale Enthusiasts..

Amy Annette (Editor) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:45:06 +0000

Sam Eagers really doesn't get the hype surrounding Christian Bale. At all.

I have found a substitute to the expression ‘watching paint dry’. ‘Watching Christian Bale act’ will become a byword for wasting your life. My disregard for him runs deeper than just being a truly awful actor. You see, Christian Bale...

Fame isn’t such a big deal, after all

Rosie Boscawen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:56:17 +0000

George Twigg investigates the latest contribution to the musical-on-film genre George Twigg investigates the latest contribution to the musical-on-film genre...

Public Enemies

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:41:21 +0000

The D21 film-orientated full scale article assault continues with Sam Eagers getting bored by Public Enemies...

A film with Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Christian Bale (Batman) about the life of one of the most notorious gangsters, the creation of the FBI and several action scenes involving machine guns, meant that I walked in with high expectations. However...

(500) Days of Summer

Amy Annette (Editor) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:03:14 +0000

Sam Eagers wishes the lead character would strap on a pair...

I have never been the greatest subscriber to rom-coms, hiding a secret hatred for Hugh ‘I’m going to do something new – a romantic comedy’ Grant. Hugh Grant is the sole reason why reviews call this film ‘original and refreshing’ – because they’ve all...

A modern sci-fi classic?

Rosie Boscawen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:26:32 +0000

George Twigg takes us to the all too real world of ‘District 9′ One of the main tenets of science fiction is that monolithic spaceships hovering ominously over major cities are rarely good news. Usually, the appearance of such a craft is followed by a brief period of acute tension, and then the destruction of a major landmark, à la ‘Independence Day’. The audience knows what to expect in these situations, and sure enough, ‘District 9′, the latest outlandish tale to hit the big screen, begins with a hulking vessel casting ...

Glorious

AuthorOne — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:40:04 +0000

George Twigg enjoys Tarantino's latest.. When Christopher Marlowe died, having been stabbed in the eye in a bar fight (a gruesome piece of theatre that Quentin Tarantino would no doubt approve of), he had written no more than a handful of plays, yet these few works now form the bedrock of a significant literary reputation. Similarly, Quentin Tarantino is one of the most well-known modern film directors, despite his unprolific nature. The reasons for his ascent to the summit of cinematic celebrity are two; firstly, Reservoir Dogs, which was an incredibly fresh and dynamic take on the tired heist genre, and secondly Pulp Fiction, which is widely recognised as a bona fide modern classic.

Coraline

AuthorOne — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:23:09 +0000

Jennifer Thompson enjoys Henry Selick's latest offering...

Indiana Jones and the Weight of Expectation

Durham21 Archives — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:00:00 +0000

William Li asks whether the next instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise can live up to its predecessors...

I am Iron Man

Durham21 Archives — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Stephen Hopkinson asks if Marvel Studios' first release is cinematic gold...

No Body Is Safe

Durham21 Archives — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Adam Blampied examines, with interest, the bloated corpse of Pathology...

I Am Legend

Durham21 Archives — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Zaki Moosa doesn't think Will Smith's zombie effort is that legendary...

Why so serious?

Durham21 Archives — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Thursten commemorates Heath Ledger, 1979-2008...

Did You Come Here For A Pie, Sir?

Durham21 Archives — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Chris Jefferies gets in touch with his bloodthirsty side with Sweeney Todd...

The Golden Compass

Durham21 Archives — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Zaki Moosa ventures into Philip Pullman's parallel universe...

The Bourne Ultimatum

Durham21 Archives — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Sean Barnes follows the third installment's tagline. Remember Everything. Forgive Nothing...

Transformers

Durham21 Archives — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Michael Bay is unable to transform Richard Benstead into anything other than a whinging cynic...

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Durham21 Archives — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Stefania Mulleri finds the latest foray into Pirate-ville an entertaining but rather disappointing affair...

300

Durham21 Archives — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:00:00 +0000

John Clegg remains unimpressed by Sparta's ability to kick ass, Ancient-style...

The Lives Of Others

Durham21 Archives — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Zaki Moosa takes a trip back to 1980s Berlin in the award-winning German film...

Notes on a Scandal

Durham21 Archives — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Kirsty Nunn gives full marks to the Blanchett/Dench masterpiece...

Blood Diamond

Durham21 Archives — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:00:00 +0000

Asantha Wijetunge examines the bloody sheen of DiCaprio's latest drama...