“You’ve got a killer scene there man!”
Scenes that make the movies
Split Screen
When films talk to one another
Reloading the Canon
A weekly podcast I co-host.
Author Archives: Ross Birks
A Digital Masterwork: Michael Haneke’s Caché (2005)
Caché is one of those movies that winds you so tightly after one watch that a second viewing is sure to be less satisfying. I finally plucked up the courage to give it another spin and while the experience is a … Continue reading
Posted in Favourite Movies, Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged Caché, Daniel Auteuil, Hidden, Juliette Binoche, Michael Haneke
Leave a comment
Richard III (1995)
I don’t think I ever realised how much of a titan in theatre and Shakespearean drama Ian McKellen was until I watched this film and did a bit of background reading on it. McKellen wrote the initial script himself and … Continue reading
Lake Mungo (2008)
Lake Mungo is one of the most effective faux documentary horror films I’ve seen in a long time. I’m hesitant to call it found-footage because it isn’t really presented as that, but cellphone clips and home video footage do play a … Continue reading
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
My favourite Friday! Jason Lives is when shit finally gets going. The Voorhees/Tommy Jarvis feud continues in glorious fashion as Jason returns from the dead thanks to a well-timed bolt of lightning. Despite being made as the series was experiencing diminishing returns, Part VI looks … Continue reading
The Debussy Film (1965)
My second delve into Ken Russell’s BBC work. The Debussy Film is more formally adventurous than Elgar with its mixture of “film about Debussy” and “making of a film about Debussy”. If you’ve seen Michael Winterbottom’s A Cock and Bull Story (or Tristram Shandy in the US) you’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Ken Russell, Oliver Reed, The Debussy Film
Leave a comment
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
When I used to watch the Friday the 13th movies on endless loops as a teenager, A New Beginning was always my least favourite. It’s the entry I would rather just didn’t exist. How can you make a Friday the 13th movie without Jason? When I … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Leave a comment
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Abigail’s Party is really what gave Mike Leigh his name. For a long time, it was his defining work. It’s ironic then that the man himself actually hates this made-for-TV incarnation of his famous stage-play. Shot with multiple cameras on a … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Abigail's Party, Alison Steadman, mike leigh
Leave a comment
Mike Leigh’s Apocalypse: Naked (1993)
Naked was the first Mike Leigh movie I ever saw and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d never seen something so kitchen-sink be so stylised, heightened and doom-laden. David Thewlis’ performance is one of the greatest ever committed … Continue reading
Posted in Favourite Movies, Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged David Thewlis, Gina McKee, Katrin Cartlidge, Lesley Sharp, mike leigh, Naked, Peter Wight
Leave a comment
The Underdog: Deadpool (2016)
I resisted reviewing this the first time around because I had little to say other than “I had a damn good time”. Is this a guilty pleasure movie? Is it just an exercise in bad-taste gags and pointed digs at … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged Deadpool, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, ryan reynolds, Tim Miller, TJ Miller
Leave a comment
Road (1987)
Undoubtedly the talkiest Alan Clarke production I’ve encountered yet, Road is an adaptation of a successful stage-play by Jim Cartwright unfolding on a derelict street in Manchester during the 1980s. Clarke took the play out from the soundstage and into the real … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 