Outdoor Cinema This Summer
Posted on Monday June 29, 2009, 11:17 by Helen O'Hara
I was woken at 4am by pigeons cooing amorously on my windowsill, and then assaulted by waves of oven heat on the Tube this morning. The chocolate teacakes left thoughtlessly on the table in Cafe Empire on Friday have dissolved into small puddles of brown and white goo (cf. pigeons above) and there's a 90% chance I'll turn lobster pink if I so much as cross the road to buy lunch*. It can all mean only one thing: summer is here, and it's time to book in my outdoor film viewing for this year. I'm a bit devotee of outdoor screenings. The trick is to bring lots of blankets, rugs, possibly cushions, nibbles etc - and then throw some more blankets, rugs and cushions in the bag just when you think you've got enough. Basically, bring as many as you can carry. If you're sitting in Somerset House's stony courtyard, you're going to want as much padding between you and the ground as possible, particularly if you're watching a double-bill and the second film's starting around 11pm. You're also going to start to f Continue reading... Comment Now (6 comments)
Michael Jackson At The Movies
Posted on Friday June 26, 2009, 09:43 by Helen O'Hara
So the news today of Michael Jackson's passing has left me with rather mixed emotions. On the one hand, it's clear that the King of Pop was weird, to say the least, and damaged from a childhood spent under the full glare of the spotlight. On the other hand, it's undeniable that he was a huge musical talent, and I've been rather enjoying listening to his hits without a break all morning so far. But this is a film site, so let's assess his contribution to film history. First of all, there were his starring roles. I remember being very excited about going to see Moonwalker as a kid, what with the trailers showcasing all the swooshy effects and the music and the fact that Michael Jackson was making a film and there was a bit with a giant robot spaceship! One of my best friends was a massive fan, so I'd already been lectured thoroughly about MJ's career and had it explained that this would be the greatest film ever. I went to see it, if memory serves, with high hopes and quite Continue reading... Comment Now (10 comments)
Screen To Stage: Sister Act
Posted on Thursday June 4, 2009, 11:12 by Helen O'Hara
Religious leaders could learn a lot from Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy at the London Palladium. The last act sees a chorus of nuns dressed in robes entirely covered in silver sequins dancing around the stage Saturday Night Fever-style, before forming a chorus line (!) for some high-kicks. Spotlights drench them, a giant silver plated statue of the Virgin Mary rotates behind them and disco lights flash through the stained glass windows that line the stage. The effect is literally dazzling - Empire's theatregoing companion had to avert her eyes - and demonstrates one thing conclusively: if religion were actually like this, no one would miss church on Sunday*. But how good, we hear you cry, was the musical itself? Was it as divine as advertised? Well, it's at least saintly. The show takes its inspiration from the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film of the same name (Goldberg is a producer of the musical) and follows a nightclub chanteuse forced to hide out from her gangster boyf Continue reading... Comment Now (3 comments)
The Complete List Of Tired Movie Cliches
Posted on Monday May 25, 2009, 10:27 by Helen O'Hara
So just last night I was watching a film that contained a whole heap of film cliches and screenwriting tropes, and I thought of an exercise to keep your brain ticking over after the Bank Holiday - because the UK economy can't afford you to remain in a hazily pleasant post-Monday-off state. I thought we could all get together and try to compile a complete list of movie cliches that we're sick to death of. Yes, all of them. Yes, from all the different genres. Then maybe someone in Hollywood will print the list out, put it on their wall and stop putting them in all their movies. Hey, it's worth a try. Here are a few suggestions of the most egregious examples to get you going. 1. No one ever locks their car. This is especially true in action movies but kinda tired all over. In the modern world, you leave your car and you lock it. It's not even something you think about. If you are currently actively engaged in chasing a suspect, I'll concede that you might sk Continue reading... Comment Now (253 comments)
Who Is Neil Gaiman And Why Should I Care?
Posted on Thursday May 7, 2009, 12:39 by Helen O'Hara
This weekend sees the release of Coraline, the ace new film from Henry Selick that's based on the book by Neil Gaiman. It's a sort of kid's horror movie, but one that's beautiful and brave and utterly fab. But then I've already raved about that enough in the review. The point of this blog is to explain, just a little, why we here at Empire, and indeed geeks / goths everywhere, tend to worship this Neil Gaiman dude, and why it's a good thing that his phantasmagorical works are becoming more and more popular with filmmakers. A bit of background: Gaiman's a comic-book author, novelist, screenwriter and former journalist. I first came across him in the novel Good Omens, co-written with everyone's favourite bearded fantasist Terry Pratchett. It's a extremely comic, totally barmy twist on The Omen, with a full chorus of aliens, Tibetans, sea monsters, angels, devils, Englishmen andTV evangelists. The result is a Continue reading... Comment Now (38 comments)
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