Warning: Contains images that may be considered graphic and disturbing to some readers. VHS technology and the rise of the video store was manna from heaven, for the humble horror cinema enthusiast. The 1980s was a brilliant decade for the genre, too. Slasher movies, Italian cannibal and zombie films, splatter flicks and ghost stories upped […]
Author: Martyn Conterio
10 Beautiful Movies for Photography Fans
Cinematography has been called “painting with light” and directors of photography are a major component of the filmmaking process. Whether they are hired to light the sets or are deeply involved in compositions, framing, selecting film stocks and overseeing post-production processes, the DP collaborates with the director to bring forth onto the screen the images […]
10 Recent Movies That Define Cinematic Cool
What makes a movie cool ? Since the rise of youth culture in the 1950s, the expression and term has been a major cultural benchmark and way of defining the value of a product. But there are always ambiguities and problems. Does it skirt the same problems as, say, “What makes a good piece of […]
The 10 Greatest French Horror Films Ever Made
Note: Contains images that may be considered graphic and disturbing to some readers. Since the beginning of the 21st century, France has been the go-to country for the latest in horror. Pushing boundaries in ways never before seen on the big screen, critics dubbed what was happening as “New French Extremism.” While not exclusively a […]
10 Extraordinary Cult Films From The 1970s
It is a universally acknowledged truth that the 1970s was the greatest decade for the movies. Okay, it’s not a universally acknowledged truth, but it should be. It was a time when Hollywood made films for grownups, and not just twelve-year-old boys, and the concept of the “cult movie” was born. The term “cult movie” […]
10 Inspirational Movies Based on True Stories
A quote attributed to Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, goes like this: “Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union.” What a crock. Movies, arguably, are at their best as a popular medium, when telling compelling stories and offering empathetic characters. Cinema might often be seen as escapist, but movies can be powerful […]
10 Best Films of 2015… So Far
For the last three years or so, I’ve felt, as both a film critic and a fan, that cinema was experiencing something of a golden period. Since 2011, there has been a rich abundance of exciting blockbusters and thought-provoking arthouse pictures. And they just kept coming. I have to admit, though, that 2015 doesn’t feel […]
10 Skull Artworks Depicting Death and Memento Mori
Skulls remind us of what strangeness exists just beneath the armour of flesh. They are also pure emblems of death. In art “Memento mori” pieces symbolize our morality and death’s relationship to life. “Memento mori” translates from the Latin as “remember to die.” American illustrator, Charles Allan Gilbert (1883 – 1929), produced an acclaimed set […]
10 Social Good Projects That Are Changing the World (Via Horyou)
Horyou is a networking outlet spreading the message of social goodness across the Internet. During the 2015 Festival de Cannes, the organisation created the “Horyou Village” in the grounds of the Grand Hotel on the Croisette. Over the course of the film festival, which runs every May for 12 days, Horyou brought together a wealth […]
The Ten Best Movies From Cannes 2015
For two weeks every year in May, all eyes in the media world are firmly on a seaside town in the south of France. The Festival de Cannes is the largest showcase for new movies in the world, and its status as the best in its field is unparalleled by any other festival on the […]