Scene360Martyn is a freelance film writer. He has had work published by Little White Lies, The Guardian, Total Film, Sight & Sound, British Film Institute among others. He is the author of a monograph on Mario Bava's classic horror film "Black Sunday" and a forthcoming book on "Mad Max."
The 68th Berlin Film Festival will not go down as a vintage year, with outgoing fest director Dieter Kosslick coming in for more flak, regarding his selection of choices for the main competition. Of course, every festival has more than its fair share of average and bad movies, but festivals—especially ones with major reputations such […]
What a year it’s been for cinema. There have been so many good movies, compiling this list was a real challenge. There could easily have been 20 contenders for the top spots, but choices must be made and, ultimately, it comes down which films I loved the most. Honourable mentions must go to: “Moonlight,” “Hounds […]
Ridley Scott is among the most acclaimed filmmakers of all time, but his landmark work in sci-fi cinema, especially the “Alien” series, is arguable his greatest contribution to movies. Released in 1979, “Alien” is one of those genre-crossing works which changed both sci-fi and fright flicks forever. A haunted house horror film set in outer […]
In its 61st year, the BFI London Film Festival saw another bumper crop of world cinema titles on offer. Featuring over 246 features, 128 shorts and special guest talks from David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro and Cate Blanchett, the 2017 edition of the LFF was jam-packed with titles from Berlin, Cannes, Toronto and Venice. That’s […]
It’s June! Which means it’s time for our annual mid-year check-up on what films have impressed us the most. There’s a long way to go yet, but so far 2017 has seen another bumper crop of movies. Indie movies continue to impress, with a range of excellent titles bypassing traditional releases altogether and heading straight […]
Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2017, the “Festival de Cannes” is the biggest and best movie event on the calendar. It’s an apex movie festival—it has no competitors. Nothing beats Cannes. A tantalizing lineup promised a lot and there was a consistent quality across the board in an official selection featuring heavy-hitters such as Michael […]
As in life, every year represents a clean slate, a new starting point for movies to excite or disappoint. That’s how things roll. 2017 has already proven the point. On the one hand, we’ve had Martin Scorsese’s majestic “Silence.” On the other, Justin Kurzel’s rubbish “Assassin’s Creed.” As we look forward into the remaining 10 […]
New year, new horrors. 2016 proved a strong showing for the world’s most popular genre, but what of 2017? From indie productions to blockbusters, the strength of horror cinema and its constant reinvention means they’ll be plenty of gems among the dross. The summer brings Universal’s attempt at breathing new life into their iconic monsters […]
There has been much online chatter in recent months, that 2016 hasn’t been so good for the movies. Blockbuster season was categorically an abject parade of expensive crap, with “Suicide Squad” being a far worse picture than the berated “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but one over-hyped season is not representative of the whole […]
Horror is one of the most—if not the most—popular movie genre the medium has ever known. Iconic villains such as Freddy Krueger, Leatherface or Jason Voorhees murdering their way through a high body count of luckless victims has ensured the genre has stayed largely in the mainstream, but the history of horror cinema is full […]
