Posts by John
BFI 55th London Film Festival – Martha Marcy May Marlene’ one of the most assuredly original films of the year
Martha Marcy May Marlene Directed by Sean Durkin Written by Sean Durkin Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes Even from its title the film Martha Marcy May Marlene suggests a fracture of psyche, a yearning for identity … [Read the Rest]
BFI 55th London Film Festival Award Nominees
LONDON FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS The 55th BFI London Film Festival announced the shortlists and juries for the 2011 Festival Awards this week, heralding a star studded extravaganza that is due to take place at the prestigious LSO St Luke’s on 26th October. … [Read the Rest]
55th BFI London Film Festival: ‘Junkhearts’ paints by social-realist numbers
Junkhearts Directed by Tinge Krishnan Written by Simon Frank Starring; Eddie Marsan, Tom Sturridge, Romola Garri, Candese Reid Despite the London Film Festival’s global reach and cosmopolitan constitution, it also dedicates particular attention to indigenous product, providing a valuable outlet to low budget domestic … [Read the Rest]
55th BFI London Film Festival: Richard Linklater’s ‘Bernie’ is bright and breezy
Bernie Written by Richard Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth Directed by Richard Linklater 2011, USA In 1996, the sleepy East Texas town of Carthage awoke to find itself embroiled in controversy – the extremely popular and gregarious local civic leader Bernhardt … [Read the Rest]
Alfredson’s ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ uncompromising, intelligent, and beautifully acted
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Written by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan Directed by Tomas Alfredson UK / France / Germany, 2011 When the BBC screened the hugely admired adaptation of John le Carré’s Cold War novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy … [Read the Rest]
Perfect Sense
Perfect Sense Directed by David MacKenzie Starring Eva Green, Ewan McGregor Are we witnessing the birth of the Generation X/Y/Z (delete as appropriate) romantic film? One of the first things that struck me about Perfect Sense, the new romantic SF drama starring Ewan McGregor … [Read the Rest]
55th London Film Festival Programme
The programme for the 55th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today by Artistic Director Sandra Hebron, celebrates the imagination and excellence of international filmmaking from both established and emerging talent. Over 16 days the Festival … [Read the Rest]
Empire Presents Big Screen, Day 2: ‘Kill List,’ ‘Anonymous,’ ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,’ and more
One of the more interesting strands to Empire’s Big Screen programming for film fans who are a little longer in the tooth was the ‘classics’ strand, where movies that have proved enduringly popular with the magazines readership over the past … [Read the Rest]
Empire Presents Big Screen, Day 1: ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,’ ‘Immortals,’ and more
The broken lift leading to the press centre was an initial augury that something was amiss. Moving for the first time from the comfy environs of the National Film Theatre to the cavernous interiors of London Docklands O2 centre, Empire … [Read the Rest]
Empire’s Big Screen Weekend, London’s O2 Centre
Empire magazine, essential reading of the British cineaste and reputedly the world’s biggest movie periodical is branching out this summer with the launch of its BIG SCREEN extravaganza at the O2 conference and entertainment centre in London’s Docklands. Taking place from 12-14 August 2011, BIG SCREEN … [Read the Rest]
‘Captain America’ is better than expected but far from perfect (Review #2)
Captain America: The First Avenger Directed by Joe Johnston Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely 2011, USA Truth & Justice = The American Way? Is this concept an anachronism in the wake of the wars that our colonial cousins … [Read the Rest]
17th London Australian Film Festival – ‘Red Hill’
Red Hill Directed by Patrick Hughes Written by Patrick Hughes 2010, Australia Considering the similar historical trajectory to the United States I’ve always wondered why Australian film-makers didn’t produce more Westerns. The obvious answer of course is that as a … [Read the Rest]
17th London Australian Film Festival – ‘South Solitary’ & ‘The Tree’
For anyone expecting the indigenous cinema of Australia to still revolve around post apocalyptic resource battles between roving bands of homicidal punks or bawdy comedies concerning working class types being transported from the shimmering outback to a modern urban milieu … [Read the Rest]
17th London Australian Film Festival – Oranges and Sunshine
Oranges and Sunshine Directed by Jim Loach Screenplay by Rona Munro 2010, Australia ‘Issue’ films can be uniquely difficult propositions to successfully render in a cinematic form. In order to succeed the filmmakers must achieve a unique balancing act of delivering the … [Read the Rest]
17th London Australian Film Festival: ‘Animal Kingdom’
Animal Kingdom Directed by David Michôd Written by David Michôd 2010, Australia Causing quite a splash on last years festival circuit the debut feature of writer David Michôd is the ambitious Animal Kingdom, a sprawling journey through the grim underbelly of a Melbourne criminal fraternity. … [Read the Rest]
John McEntee has been addicted to movies ever since he saw the hallucinatory Stargate sequence that closed 2001: A Space Odyssey which made him burst into terrified tears. He was twenty-six at the time. Based in London John works in Local Government but makes the most of the celluloid capital of UK by attending as many BFI and art cinema related events as possible as well as enjoying the odd Hollywood blockbuster. From Antonioni to Bresson, from Malick to Mann, Kubrick to Kurosawa, Carpenter to Craven, John is addicted to the movies although he harbours a secret preference for film noir, the golden seventies of US cinema and anything remotely good in either the SF or Horror field. Especially if it makes him cry. 
