The 60th BFI London Film Festival will go down as a vintage year. The programme, consisting of over 200 features and shorts from all across the world, was an embarrassment of cinematic riches. Looking through the schedule and selecting what to see was something of a challenge (a great one, mind you). Films which Illusion […]
Author: Martyn Conterio
Martyn 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."
Nicolas Winding Refn is a sensationalist film artist, one of the best and most exciting directors on the scene. He seeks to cause controversy and get people talking about his work. Because otherwise, what’s the point? Like fellow countryman Lars von Trier, Refn’s a bit of a joker and always good for a quote. He […]
It’s time for my roundup of 2016’s best films so far… Writing this list was pretty tough. If I include films seen at Cannes and Berlin, it’s been a very strong year for cinema and there’s still another six months to go before I make the definitive “Best of” countdown, in December. Think of this, […]
The incomparable “Festival de Cannes” is done for another year. And what a year it’s been. The Official Selection was extraordinary, with legendary filmmakers and their latest works turning up on the Croisette. The jury was headed by “Mad Max” helmer, Dr. George Miller. The mild-mannered Aussie director and his selected jurors (including Mads Mikkelsen, […]
“You like to watch … don’t you?” Sharon Stone’s iconic line in 1993’s erotic thriller “Sliver” addresses the viewer as much as it does a character in the movie. Voyeurism in cinema is a theme long exploited by directors and writers. Films often like to address voyeuristic tendencies, whether through plot or aesthetics, but movies […]
Cult movies go against the grain in a host of different ways. What makes them “cult” can be down to different and varied sets of criteria. One key aspect is devout fans. Plenty of films fail on release and find an audience much later on down the road. As US writer Armond White once sagely […]
Quentin Tarantino is the director who shook up 1990s American cinema, defined an era and re-established the notion of “cool movies.” A former video store clerk, he lived, breathed and dreamed movies. The guy is a walking talking encyclopaedia of cinema history. Tarantino loves talking about films as much as he loves making them. After […]
The 66th Berlin International Film Festival recently premiered the latest works in world cinema. With a whopping 310,000 tickets sold, Berlinale is one of the biggest public-focused film festivals in the world. The programme was incredibly varied and while Berlinale does not match the grandiosity and blockbuster bling status of Cannes, its commitment to embracing […]
New year, new horrors. Of course, I’m talking about what to expect from the raft of horror movie titles heading our way in 2016! The best place to see the latest in horror cinema is usually the specialised festivals or Video on Demand outlets. Distribution and exhibition are changing in today’s climate, but festivals such […]
The new year always brings with it a fresh excitement. Film fans look to the months ahead and take note of what’s on the horizon and what’s heading their way in the near future. 2016 sees the return of plenty of big hitters and brand directors. Martin Scorsese, Pedro AlmodĂłvar, Tim Burton, the Coen brothers, […]
