by Cookie N Screen

Brendan Gleeson is an icon. Truly one of the most delectable and intelligent actors out there, his works across the years are testament to his, above all else, moving talents. He can weave naturalistic humour into humanistic drama and round his characters off with compassion or intensity dependent on what side of the villain line they fall. Not only has he been the face of beloved franchise characters such as Mad Eye Moody but he has been a regular in thoughtful dramas and black comedies such as the genius In Bruges. Especially drama coming from the emerald isles. Now with his latest film, The Grand Seduction, hitting cinemas today, let's have a look at one of his defining (or divining) roles in John Michael McDonaghs Calvary.

by Vanessa Hague 

Transcendence is a tricky one. Tricky because it's one of those films that toted itself as a big release but kind of failed to deliver what we've come to expect of Blockbusters nowadays. Transcendence is slower in pace, there isn't a constant stream of action or shooting and it really drives home some rather large social commentary and explores some interesting themes. I saw this in the cinema when it had it's theatrical release and I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't know what to expect.

by Liam McMillen

One location films have been successful through the years. From films such as Phonebooth, Red Eye and Flightplan have proven that with a tight enough script, you can create a tense and entertaining film set in a single location. It does all come down to the script, though. WIthout a good script, you could end up with Snakes on a Plane...Eek! With this, comes Steven Knight's new film, Locke. A film where the whole story takes places inside the confines of a car, and with Tom Hardy as the only actor on screen. But just how well does it work?

by Robbie Jones

Comic book movies are more popular now than they have ever been. Thanks to the wonderfully crafted Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are all anyone can talk about. Example: Have you shut up about Guardians of the Galaxy yet? Of course you haven’t. Why would you? It was the best thing ever. But there are some comic books which, aren’t exactly underappreciated, but don’t get discussed to the same length despite being just as good or even better than most of what comes out today.

by Graham Osborne

Local Hero is a fantastic movie. Made in 1983, by Bill Forsyth, it is a wonderful, lighthearted comedy about a small Scottish village and the big oil company that wants to buy it.

by Alli Kett 

Straight up, I’m putting it out there;  The Cabin in the Woods (2012) is one of those films that you have to see to get.  Revealing too much will wreck your viewing of the film.  The basic plot is that five teenagers take a break to a cabin in the woods owned by a distant relative. On the way to the cabin in the woods, they stop to get gas and are confronted by an old man, clearly a redneck hillbilly, the likes of which we’ve seen in a gazillion films. He warns of the coming dangers and ends by insulting the group.  Then, as the group leave the gas station, said redneck-hillbilly makes a telephone call to office employees, Sitterson and Hadley, a most excellent pairing of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford.  This is not our first clue that something is off, but the comedic promise of this film really lifts off from here. As Sitterson and Hadley laugh at the redneck-hillbilly’s passion, the audience is sitting there, wondering what in the Alliance is going on.

by Liam McMillen 

Lately, Luc Besson has gone a bit Robert De Niro on us. Instead of delivering cult classics like The Fifth Element and Nikita, he's churning out tripe like The Family and the Taken franchise. His latest film, Lucy, is said to be a mixture of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Léon and Inception.

Of course, that was said by the man himself, but there's no place in Hollywood for modesty, is there? In celebration of the release of Lucy, I look at Besson's best film, Léon.

by Cookie N Screen 

When it came to British horror, Hammer Studios had the monopoly. Not only did they produce genuinely terrifying movies that still haunt today, they were able to expand into television and give frights to Saturday nights. By the end of the seventies, however, Hammer were slowly winding down. With a resurgence of horror flicks sweeping the nation and scaring the tits off anyone who watched them, the studios just couldn’t compare to the likes of The Omen or The Exorcist. When Hammer fell off the map, it was a sad day for horror. Luckily, they were able to put now CEO Simon Oakes in charge, and since then Hammer has been back on the horror mark producing some frights again.

by Melissa Haggar 

Oh, Marvel Films. 

Certainly, we have seen some great additions to the Marvel cinematic universe recently, what with the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy recently. It almost seems like Marvel can do no wrong. Once again, this is the case for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

Whilst the first Captain America film (The First Avenger) was an ‘ok’ addition that set up the character of Captain America/Steve Rogers, the sequel was infinitely more daring, thrilling and dramatic. With the release of the DVD out today, we aim to give you plenty of reasons why you should be hitting play on this enthralling, action-packed film. 

Hit Play on all the films you should watch
Hit Stop an all the ones you shouldn't 
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