Prejudice always obscures the truth. The original teleplay for 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose (from which the stage production and the 1957 film, which is the subject of this piece, was made) was written over 60 years ago. And in that time, ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist is now on Netflix. About time. The 2003 anime is one of my favourite series. The lack of availability has been a source of frustration as it is unreasonably hard to find a legal copy of the DVD-boxset ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Resident Evil (2002)
Sometimes I’m rather impressed with my abilities to live under a rock. Somehow, for fifteen years I had managed to completely avoid ever finding anything out about the insanely successful Resident Evil franchise. Then again, now that I’ve seen it, I can’t ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Blade Runner
With a new latter-day sequel trudging across cinema screens, we are provided with a great opportunity to review the iconic cyberpunk noir masterpiece Blade Runner. Established now with a pristine reputation, the film was initially released to critical derision and ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Gladiator (2000)
I’m not sure how I managed to avoid watching this film for so long. It isn’t as though it is an under the radar classic. For years, friends have been lecturing me about watching it, which prompts me (contrary bastard ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Tank Girl
Tank Girl was barely a blip on the radar when it was released in 1995. It flopped both with critics and audiences, only recouping in US$6 million of its $25 million production budget. Critics tended to agree on its faults: ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Solaris (1972)
Few phrases intimidate both casual and auteur film-goers as the words ‘Russian cinema’. Renowned for its epic scope, long running times, and dense philosophical content, the classic films of Russia boast some unapologetically difficult viewing experiences. There are of course ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
I am woefully underexposed to the cult collection of Hammer Horror films. While at university, I saw my first Hammer film – a restored cinematic re-release of Dracula (1958). Suddenly I understood why these films are so beloved – over ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: Akira
Any list of most influential and greatest anime will inevitably feature one name above all others. Some have favourites that supersede it (indeed, I myself do) but no other film can claim as singular an impact on bringing Japanese animation ...
Read More »Nostalgic Impulse: WarGames (1983)
When approaching a cult film for the first time, I tend to expect one of two things: it will either be a gem that will make it into my frequent watching rotation or it will be utter shit. Some films ...
Read More »