by Cookie N Screen

Growing up in my household, there was only one comedic troop that we practically worshipped. And that was Monty Python. I remember my first meeting with the hilarity was when I accidentally walked in on my parents watching it after camping outside and became entranced ever since Terry Jones waved his bearded penis as the dumb religious man angry at Brian for breaking his vow. After that, it was all a snowball of films, sketches and hilarious songs filed with satirical humour, intelligent slapstick and great surreal moments. It even included departing into the solo efforts of the team which included the likes of 12 Monkeys, The Wind and The Willows and the excellent A Fish Called Wanda. But leaping off from that last one, the team of Monty Python-ers John Cleese and Michael Plain with A Fish Called Wanda cast Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis return for the ferocious Fierce Creatures. A family favourite that has been re- released on Blu-Ray today.

by Leah Stone

Remakes can be quite controversial. Why? Because if people consider the original or the most popular version to be utterly brilliant that they don’t see the need for another version to be created. Is the film not perfect enough as it is? And what if the new film ruins the reputation of the old one?

by Cookie N Screen

Have you ever eaten your own words?

After all, that’s one of the things you have to accept in this era of trailers and news. We are asked to make rash decisions on one or two pieces of put together footage and sometimes, our opinion comes out wrong. A film that looks brilliant could leave you hollow and broken inside (cough, Spring Breakers, cough) whilst a downright awful film could lift your spirits by being well executed and greatly done. With Judas Ghost, after one trailer I thought I had it pegged and after a lot of criticism, I did the harshest thing - I narrowed my mind as I went into the film.

Fortunately, I was heavily mistaken and Simon Pearce directs a triumph for independent low budget horrors. 

by Cookie N Screen

Concluding a trilogy is a very tricky thing indeed. That aura of finality clings to each roar of dialogue and every slice of action. The filmmakers have a duty of care to their audience - make sure all loose ends are tied up while delivering a well-executed final blow that wraps up years of agonising waits, shock twists and undeniable grandeur.

So when the third film in a series, a series that never should have been stretched into three parts in the first place, and the concluding romp is more of a lacklustre affair, it feels like a bum note to end on. Not just for the initial trilogy it is part of but for the wider series that depends on this finale to smoothly transition into the next, giving a wider sense of completion. Sadly, The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies is a film that leaves Middle Earth with less of a bang and more of a fizzle. 

by Cookie N Screen

Mockumentaries are one of the weirdest genre of movie. After all, you have to hit the right tone in order for it to sell properly. All the while, you have to make it look like an authentic documentary and spoof those elements accurately. So it is a tentative process that only few have mastered including the phenomenal This is Spinal Tap and the British wedding romp Confetti. Yet levitating up to the legendary ranks, so legendary that I can just see the Quote Alongs in the future with people dressed up as the characters, is What We Do In The Shadows. Ok, so, I may be saying that because I immediately went and brought myself a cravat after my first of many screenings. But What We Do In The Shadows has already created a cult of fans who haven’t stopped saying the lines since its release. 

by Cookie N Screen

Family fun now comes in threes. Or fives by today’s Hollywood standards. Frankly, if you have succeeded in thrilling the children once then you are guaranteed to spout out loads of different movies with the same characters because nothing thrills the pint-sized kiddiewinks more than repetition. It’s all smart concoction that peddles out these films in order for you to shell over more dosh to keep your children snot-nosed and happy. Only, there are sometimes family movie trilogies that have forethought and planning so by the time the third movie roles around, you feel as though an entire story has been completed and characters have journeyed well.

This is kind of the feeling Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb has. 

by Cookie N Screen

Happy Days and all that goodness, a brand new Marvel television series is back into our midst and we are so excited to see Stardust’s Charlie Cox don the suit of Matt Murdock - a blind superhero who dresses up in spandex and romps around New York solving crimes. Nevertheless, the series has already been met with some contention seeing as the only incarnation on the big screen was Ben Affleck’s romp in latex. Whilst it makes for an impressive stepping stone on the road to becoming Batman, the film was met with critical and commercial failure. Now Netflix is attempting to bring the hero back so it’s adequate time to look back at the film.