Tag: Cinema

Tomorrow night is Terminator 2 night

Tomorrow night I finally get to see one of my favourite, if not my actual favourite, film of all time – Terminator 2: Judgement Day. My only initial concern / worry is that it’s being released in 3D. I don’t like to be a hater for the sake of hating, but I’m always sceptical about … Continue reading “Tomorrow night is Terminator 2 night”

Tomorrow night I finally get to see one of my favourite, if not my actual favourite, film of all time – Terminator 2: Judgement Day. My only initial concern / worry is that it’s being released in 3D.

I don’t like to be a hater for the sake of hating, but I’m always sceptical about films shown in 3D. Maybe I’ve just had bad experiences but the only film I remember being impressed by was Tron: Legacy. Avatar was an enjoyable film but the 3D gave me a headache. Maybe I was just ill anyway.

So I’m really looking forward to seeing T2 on the big screen – 3D or however – after having had it as the most memorable film of my growing up. I remember it coming out in 1991 – I was 8 – and my parents dropping me off at my Nan’s while they went to watch it on release. It feels like life has come full circle somewhat, now that I get to watch it up there.

I’ll write up my complete thoughts on the experience once I’ve seen it. I may even go for a double bill with War for the Planet of the Apes afterwords.

Ear, ear – Changes in acceptable cinema violence

Back in 1992 Quentin Tarantino released his directorial debut : Reservoir Dogs. Although this is considered a modern classic of cinema, and rightly so, many people lost their shit when this film came out.

The most notable reason for the hostility towards the film was the infamous ear-cutting scene performed by Michael Madsen’s Mr Blonde on Kirk Baltz’s Marvin Nash – even though the act itself is performed off-screen.

Last night I went to see a recent film release: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (don’t judge me), which itself had a scene with somebody getting their ear cut off. The cutter even talks into the severed ear just as Mr Blonde does. King Arthur, however, is rated as 12A and I bet it wont be denied a video release for three years.

What does this say about modern cinema, or about us as people?

Now I’m not somebody who has any complaint about cinema violence – I bloody love it. It’s fun to watch and unless you have trouble differentiated fantasy from reality, or have an already-existing mental condition, is not going to make you want to replicate violence in the film. If you do find yourself wanting to act out certain scenes, please seek medical advice (I mean this sincerely; I’m not trying to be funny).

I’m not a student of Psychology or Film, but I did find it interesting – when watching that film last night – just how the levels of acceptable graphic content have changed in twenty five years. I think we have generally become a lot more decensortized to graphic content in films – I would make the assumption that it’s due to the inherently graphic nature of the world around us. Also the abundance of visceral imagery shared on social media as shocking events and atrocities occur across the globe.

Let’s face it – the modern world is a great deal more horrifying than any film that could be released (All the ones I have seen at least).

It’ll be interesting, perhaps even scary, to see where those levels are in another twenty five years.

No hay Scofield. There is no Scofield.

Mulholland Drive is a dream i often like to get lost in. It is one of my top five films and is a film where i am happy to be led into the darkness of David Lynch’s genius. A friend of mine and me were lucky enough to get tickets to the first showing of … Continue reading “No hay Scofield. There is no Scofield.”

Mulholland Drive is a dream i often like to get lost in. It is one of my top five films and is a film where i am happy to be led into the darkness of David Lynch’s genius.

A friend of mine and me were lucky enough to get tickets to the first showing of the newly-restored version of this film as part of Birmingham’s flatpack festival.

It was everything i imagined and hoped it would be. Key scenes were even more powerful on the big screen; Rebecca Del Rio’s a cappella version of Crying; the leading up the secret path; Betty’s audition with Woody Catz.

Not only was it immersive behind the screen, but so too was the crowd that i found myself fortunate to sit with. This was the first time in all my cinema-going history where i have taken part in a full-on applauding for the film in both it’s starting and finishing.

The trip back home proved annoying as my main route was closed and had to follow diversions for an extra half an hour. My arriving home at half twelve in the morning didn’t mark the end of my day however. You see, it was also the day of the Prison Break season 5 premiere and I wasn’t gonna miss this one for the world.

I enjoyed the new episode. Of course it didn’t have the wow factor that the revealing of the tattoos did at the end of season one’s premiere, but i guess it’s hard to recapture that. I wasn’t disappointed though. I enjoyed seeing the old characters back and look forward to seeing where their paths take them.