Things that go bump in the night.

Hello everyone and welcome back.

It's that scary time of year again, Halloween. A time for trick or treating and of course for watching your favourite scary movies. I gave this some thought and came up with the movies I would recommend for people to watch over the Halloween weekend. Films that were the forerunners of so many imitations that followed. So enjoy them from behind the sofa or on it, depending on your fright level.

Psycho (1960) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Starring Anthony Perkins as the psycho of the title Norman Bates, who has a mother fixation that includes keeping her corpse in a rocking chair and dressing in her clothes to kill women that are unfortunate to stay at the Bates Motel. Everybody is familiar with the shower scene in which Norman stabs Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, a scene that shows the brilliance of Hitchcock's direction as you never see the knife hitting Crane, but with superb editing, camera angles and sound effects the audience believe they are witnessing the full horror of the attack. That one scene took an extraordinary one week to shoot but the end result is one of the most memorable in cinema history. While promoting the film Hitchcok caused controversy by demanding that audiences didn't turn up late for the film as they would miss the introduction of Leigh's character and therefore would feel cheated at the end.



The Exorcist (1973). Directed by William Friedkin.

The first time I experienced this film I was around 15 and I remember the controversy surrounding the casting of Linda Blair as she was only a young teenager at the time playing the role of Regan, a 12 year old girl possessed by a demon. Most of the anger from the media, church and public was aimed at Blair's mother for allowing her daughter to be put through the ordeal of the character. In fact the film wasn't released on video in Britain until 1999 and the first time it was shown on British TV was in 2001. So why all the controversy, well most of it stemmed from the scenes involving Blair's character, in particular with her violating herself with a crucifix and various other violent scenes while Regan was at the peak of her possession. Controversy aside, this was a film that started the trend of demon possession movies that still continue to this day. If this film was released now I'm not sure it would be so controversial, but back then boy was it. It earned a total of 10 Academy award nominations only winning 2, Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing.

Halloween (1978) Directed by John Carpenter.

The film that not only introduced Jamie Lee Curtis to millions of adoring young male fans but also kick started the slasher movie genre. Itself would spurn as many as seven sequels and a remake. But it was this film that remains the best of all.  Having escape from a mental hospital creepy Michael Myers stalks teenagers in a town called Haddonfield, especially promiscuous girls, in a blue jumpsuit and a white mask that would become so iconic and worn by many a trick or treater. For me the star of the movie has to be British actor Donald Pleasence who played Myers' doctor Samuel Loomis. Pleasence was actually third choice for the part as they originally wanted Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee, but both declined due to not being offered enough money. There is a connection to Psycho as Sam Loomis was the name of Janet Leigh's boyfriend in the film and Leigh is the real-life mother of Jamie Lee Curtis

The Evil Dead (1981) Written and directed by Sam Raimi.

We all know the films where a group of youngsters head off to a wooden cabin in the middle of some woods for the weekend, only to be terrorized and killed off one by one by dark forces. Well The Evil Dead was the original. Raimi and good friend Bruce Campbell found the funding for the film after Raimi had made a short called Within the Woods. The movie became a huge success in the video market and is now such a cult classic that Campbell regularly attends conventions at which people adore his characterization of hero Ash. Having a low budget to spend on the effects and monster make-up tends to make this film more enjoyable visually. It was the beginning of a trilogy that included Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, which went onto become one of the largest cult film trilogies in history and cemented Campbell into the horror hall of fame.

So there you have it my choices for Halloween viewing with the lights off, closets checked and no one under the bed.

Until next time.

Miles Dunton.

Lest we forget: WW 2 in the movies

Hi to everyone and welcome back.

Brad Pitt in Fury

With the release this week of Fury a World War II  action drama starring Brad Pitt as the leader of an American group of soldiers who take part in the D- Day invasion in control of a Sherman tank, named Fury. I thought I would take a look back at my favourite films that were set in the second world war. There is no mistaking in how my choice of films made sure that I and our generation would never forget what the soldiers and the people who lived and died through the war sacrificed for us.

Battle of Britain. (1969) This is the first of my choices as it was only the second film I remember seeing at the cinema, the first being Tommy Steele’s musical Half a Sixpence. As you can imagine the contrast in the two films was immense on a young boy’s mind. I was blown away by the aerial action and the spirit of the spitfire pilots as they protected Britain from the Luftwaffe.

Directed by Guy Hamilton, best known for directing James Bond films it also included an international cast with the likes of Michael Caine, Harry Andrews, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York and many more British, American and German stars of the sixties. One scene in particular has stayed with me, it’s the one where a German pilot was shot while in his cockpit and his goggles filled with blood I remember being freaked out by that. Together with an unforgettable soundtrack it was certainly boy’s own stuff.



The Bridge over the River Kwai. (1957)  Directed by the legendary David Lean and set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma during the middle part of the war. It was based on a book by Pierre Boulle, who also wrote the original Planet of the Apes book. The film followed British prisoners who were made to build a railway bridge over the river Kwai to aid the Japanese with the transport of arms and aid for their soldiers.

The film had a strong cast of actors including the greats of that age William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Alec Guinness. A true epic of cinema the film won a total of seven academy awards including best directer for Lean and best actor for Guinness. The film has a certain poignancy for me as my Uncle was a prisoner of war held by the Japanese.

Schindlers List. (1993) A very personal film from directer Steven Spielberg depicting the horror of the holocaust and the plight of the Jews at the hands of the Nazi's during the war. Memorably filmed in black and white with the only colour being a little girl’s red coat as she wandered around as the Nazi’s rounded up the Jews in her town.

 There were outstanding performances from the leads Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes in what must have been difficult roles to portray especially for Fiennes who played the despicable camp commander Amon Goeth, who was a truly atrocious human being. The movie went onto win a total of 7 Academy awards with Spielberg collecting best film and best directer. Although nominated Liam Neeson unfortunately did not receive the best actor award. The film is by far the most detailed of all films depicting the terrible fate of the Jews at the hands of the Nazi's and is a lesson to all of the cruelties of man to fellow men during a time of war.





Saving Private Ryan. (1998) Another WW 2 film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and  Matt Damon with a host of other stars appearing throughout the film including the likes of Ted Danson, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Paul Giamatti and Tom Sizemore. The film centered around Tom Hanks' character as he and a group of American GI's, who after the landing at Normandy in the 1944 allied invasion, are given a thankless task of searching for a Private named Ryan in order to save him from the fate of his three brothers, who had all been killed in action. The film's opening 20 minutes depicting the Omaha beach landing is probably the most exciting but also harrowing of any Steven Spielberg or for that matter any other war movie scene. It really did bring you a lot closer, sometimes to close to the reality of war.

With an ending that still pulls at the heart strings and makes you realise exactly what the veterans went through. Winner of 5 Academy awards including best directer for Spielberg.

And lastly on a lighter note a film not based in WW 2 but worth a mention all the same

Top Secret. (1984) The debut feature film of a certain Val Kilmer as the all action, dancing and even singing star of this hilarious musical and war film spoof directed by David and Jerry Zuker along with Jim Abrahams, who brought us the equally funny Airplane. The cast includes veteran actors not usually associated with comedy. These included Peter Cushing and Omar Sharif as you have never seen them before. The movie was a parody of Elvis Presley musicals and cold war spy films. There are so many scenes that are side splitting, more than I can mention here so if you haven’t seen it already please check it out. Look out for the Peter Cushing scene which it is actually played backwards.

So there we have it my choice of World War 2 movies and a bonus film. I hope you can watch them again soon.

Until next time enjoy the movies.

Miles Dunton.

It Takes Two To Tango.

Hi to all,

There is a saying that sometimes two heads are better than one. Throughout the history of Hollywood their has been a wealth of actors who made their fame and fortune appearing in movies alongside the same fellow actor, and also behind the camera there are directors who have constantly worked with the same performers. Duos that came together to create something special in the film world that wouldn't have had the same impact if they had worked alone. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have a Laurel but no Hardy or a Scorsese with no De Niro or even a Tom but no Jerry. This week I want to take a look at the partnerships that I believe have had an everlasting effect on the world of cinema.

Laurel & Hardy

Laurel & Hardy: English born Stan Laurel and American Oliver Hardy joined forces to become the first real comedy double act spanning more than two decades, starting in the 1920's until the mid 40's. After having successful solo careers, with Laurel appearing in over 50 silent films and Hardy in over 250, they joined forces for their first film The Lucky Dog made in 1921 and were together right up until 1945 with their last feature The Bullfighters. They did however make an Italian/French produced film in 1950 called Atoll K. During that time they made approximately 105 films which were a mixture of short and feature length films. They started with silent movies until 1929 when sound was introduced. Their comedy depended on the straight man Oliver Hardy playing against the fool character of Stan Laurel, and that recipe for success is probably still copied by comedians until this day. With their trademark bowler hats and Hardy's catchphrase "Another Fine Mess" and the fiddling with his tie along with Laurel's head scratching puts them simply as the best comedy duo in the history of cinema and still enjoyed by audiences to this day.

Bob Hope & Bing Crosby

Hope & Crosby:  Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are two of the biggest names in American films of the 20th century. However, their legacies go far beyond the big screen to include all aspects of entertainment that encompasses successful music and television careers. But luckily they came together to star along with Dorothy Lamour in a series of Road to ... comedy movies. The chemistry between Hope and Crosby was such a joy to watch that the films never get tiresome. They made a total of seven movies from 1940 to the last in 1962. These included Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). In 1977 they had planned to reunite for an 8th outing together but sadly Bing Crosby died of a heart attack that year. In an interesting side note Bob Hope was actually born in London but when he was 5 years old his family emigrated to America, he lived until the age of 100.

Bogie & Bacall

Bogart & Bacall: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall not only appeared in films together but were a real life Hollywood power couple in the 40's and 50's. Their sexual chemistry was undeniable in the films they starred in together. To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). With a combination of Bacall's sultry looks and Bogart's all male persona they made a perfect romantic couple on and off screen. Bogart was 25 years older than Bacall but their marriage lasted until his death in 1957. In their day they were the most talked about celebrity couple in Hollywood.

Burton & Taylor in Cleopatra

Burton & Taylor: Another couple that shared screen time and marriage, twice in fact, was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Burton probably the most famous Welsh actor and Taylor, who was born in England but became a Hollywood child star in the 40's. They first met during the filming of Cleopatra (1963) and during that decade went onto appear together in 6 more films.  The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965),  and The Taming of the Shrew (1967). By 1967, their films had earned $200 million at the box office. When Taylor and Burton told the studios that they wanted a hiatus for a few months it caused alarm bells to ring in Hollywood as nearly half of the American film industry's income came from movies starring one or both of them. Their next films included Doctor Faustus (1967), The Comedians (1967) and Boom! (1968). Their relationship was highly volatile and often played out in the worlds media but on screen they were a perfect match.

De Niro & Scorsese filming Taxi Driver

Scorsese & De Niro: Over the last 40 years the partnership of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro is second to none. It started with Mean Streets (1973) and included some of the director's and actor's best screen work. Every film is now considered a classic of modern day cinema: Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), and Casino (1995). It was Taxi Driver that catapulted De Niro into the public eye with his brilliant portrayal of the troubled Travis Bickle. This duo is a perfect example of two great talents coming together at the right time of their careers to bring out the best in each other. We sincerely hope that it's not too late for them to work together again soon.

George Lucas & Steven Spielberg

Spielberg & Lucas: Alright I know that they are not actors but without the teamwork of  George Lucas and Steven Spielberg we wouldn't have had probably one of the most iconic figures in film history, Indiana Jones. It began with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) written by Lucas and directed by Spielberg. When it was released the impact was huge. The world had a new hero to cheer on in the form of the fedora wearing, whip carrying hero, played by Harrison Ford. Three more films followed, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). But it was the first movie that will last long in the memory of a young film fan who was sat in the cinema spellbound by this action packed spectacle.

Pegg, Frost & Wright: I know it's not a couple but this threesome of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright has brought us such fun collaborations including Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The Worlds End (2013). Known as the cornetto trilogy the films show off the qualities of these three Brits who are the hottest talents around. All of them have gone on to have huge individual success but without each other where would they be? And to think It all started with a TV show in Britain called Spaced.

Of course there are many more outstanding partnerships but these are my favourites and the ones that have had an impact on my life through the movies.

Until next time thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Marvel vs DC: The Battle Begins.

Hi to everyone and welcome back.

The two heavyweights of comics, Marvel and DC, have been battling it out for decades to entice readers to their comics and most people have a preference, for example when I was younger it was always Marvel for me, especially Spider-man and Thor, who seemed more engrossing than Superman or Batman. But now there is a bigger battle raging in the movie world and it's only going to get bigger. This is great news for comic book film fans like myself as with every new film the bar is being raised to exciting levels.

Let's take a look at where we are now. Marvel have taken a lead on DC over the last few years with their plan of releasing films in a phase system. Phase 1 kicked off with Iron Man, (2008), which was a huge success financially and gave the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) the start they needed. Marvel followed that up with The Incredible Hulk (2008) which didn't prove as popular with the fans. However, Marvel marched on without blinking to release Iron Man 2 (2010) which once again hit the spot and made Robert Downey Jr. a true idol to all the Marvel fans. Next up was Thor (2011) directed by Kenneth Branagh and introducing an unknown actor Chris Hemsworth to play the god of thunder to great effect. Captain America: The first Avenger (2011) Starred Chris Evans who had already been involved with Marvel by playing Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four films. Phase 1 culminated in The Avengers (2012) which joined all the heroes together to fight the evil Loki, the main villain in Thor. The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, went on to become the third biggest hit in movie history at the box office.  So Marvel's plan worked perfectly and MCU was in the excellent hands of Kevin Feige the President of Marvel Studios and producer of the hit films that have now grossed $8.3 billion worldwide.

Phase 2, which began with Iron Man 3 (2013) then Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) has already assured Marvel of continuing success and that was guaranteed by this Summers blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, which was a huge gamble for Marvel as it featured characters that were only truly known by the readers of the comics, but it has so far grossed $652.7 million and this is before a DVD and Blu Ray release, so expect that figure to rise.

Phase 2 will end with another ensemble film in 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Phase 3 is already in preparation with Ant-Man (2015), which was going to be directed by Brit Edgar Wright, but due to differences he decided to drop out. Phase 3 will also include Captain America 3, Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy 2

So to say that the future of Marvel is bright is definitely and understatement.

Let's take a look at the progress of DC which has not enjoyed the same level as success as their rivals. The problem, I believe, is that DC didn't have the leadership or vision that Marvel had, and through a couple of under performing films Superman Returns (2006) and Green Lantern (2011) didn't look likely to compete at the box office with Marvel. But all that changed big style with the release of Zach Snyder's Man of Steel (2013) This dark and gritty retelling of the Superman origin seemed to strike a cord with the fans earning close to $700 million. Then came the huge news that the sequel would see the two of DC's main characters battling it out in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) with Ben Affleck cast as Batman. This announcement pushed the fans way over the edge with excitement. In the Dawn of Justice there will be more DC favourites including Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who will surely get their own origin films, this is all leading up to their own DC ensemble movie Justice League.

So there we have it the fight to control the Super Hero Universe is well and truly set up to be as good as the films themselves. Who will come out on top? Who will be left licking their wounds? We will have to wait and see, but it's proving to be exciting as each studio releases tit bits to tease the fans and make sure their in a frenzy by the time the movies come out. At the moment Marvel have the lead and they look likely to remain ahead but you never know what will happen. The next few years of movie releases will be crucial to the outcome.

As Stan Lee would say at the end of his comics ''Nuff said''

Miles Dunton.

Winter Movie Preview

Hi to all and welcome back.

This week I thought it would be a good idea to look forward to the movies that are coming to the big screen over the winter months. There are some releases that I am really excited about seeing and some that I 'm not sure that I will venture outside in the cold weather for.

Let's start with the big hitters that should be definitely worth seeing.

Interstellar: Why? Two reasons, the first being this is the first film from director Christopher Nolan since the completion of the Dark Knight trilogy, and secondly the lead actor is the one and only Matthew McConaughey, who is by far the biggest movie star around at the moment, especially after his excellent performance in Dallas Buyers Club. This sci-fi and human adventure has a supporting cast that Christopher Nolan relies on in most of his films including Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine. It seems from the initial trailers that this film will be better than alright, alright, alright!

Exodus: Gods and Kings: Retelling the Biblical story of Moses and his life beginning as an Egyptian general to becoming the salvation of the Jews leading them out of slavery. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Christian Bale means that this has the look of being as big as Scott's other historical epic Gladiator. I'm expecting a film to be heavy on action and effects, especially the parting of the Red Sea. I sincerely hope that Exodus will be as grand in scope as the classics Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments.

The Hobbit:The Battle of the Five Armies: This will be the final part of The Hobbit trilogy that has kept director Peter Jackson and the cast busy over the last few years. The title has been changed, but that should not take away anything from the spectacle that the genius of Jackson produces film in film out. If you haven't read the books and have no idea who wins the final battle I won't spoil it for you but I will tell you it will be epic, especially in 3-D. The only good news about the end of the trilogy will be that Jackson should now be free to concentrate on future projects Tintin, The Dam Busters and Temeraire.

Gone Girl: Since Seven I, like many others, have been excited by new releases from director David Fincher, and never felt let down. Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Social Network to give just a selection of his immense talent. Now that talent has teamed up Ben Affleck in this new drama that sees Affleck as the prime suspect in the possible murder of his wife. Don't be surprised if this is a front runner for the Oscars.

There are other films coming that I hope will be well received but I'm not holding out much hope for based on the trailers that have been put out there on-line. They are Kingsman: The Secret Service, Birdman, The Man From Uncle and Fury. I hope I'm proved wrong as all these films are being made by and with people I respect in movies.

Expect big things from Disney with the release of their latest computer animated movie Big Hero Six in November. Based on Marvel characters I can see that this has success written all over it, Frozen was their biggest hit so far and I can't see this film being as profitable but expect another Wall-E.

My prediction of box office flops will be Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Paddington and Dumb and Dumber To. They should be popular with the kids but that won't be enough to generate enough interest elsewhere.


But as usual don't take my word for it.

Until next time enjoy the movies.

Miles Dunton.