by Cookie N Screen

Museums are great, aren't they? I mean who doesn't enjoy taking a stroll around these quiet places all the whole soaking in their exhibits and artistry. As for me, I struggle the same way I agonise over books - I have a very short attention span. Actually, I am attentive but it's on many different things that I can't spare more than a few moments on each thing. Like a hungry Pac-man, I zoom through museums whilst trying to absorb as much information as possible. Cinema is easier for me as I am forced to sit down and concentrate on what's being thrown at me. But a film about a museum? More so than this, a film about a Great Museum?

Could that be any good?

 by Cookie N Screen

Film noir is one of the greatest genres if done well. The smokey detective stories that are stylish, flirtatious and cynical, with a puff of criminality in the shape of curves and femme fatales. Though they have been adapted in modern culture with films such as Brick or Memento, the term is often related to the black and white films of the 1940s and 1950s. There is a whole heap of films that work around film noir: The Maltese Falcon, Sunset Boulevard and Strangers on a Train to name but a few. But one of the most alluring pieces of films noir is Robert Siodmak’s The Killers. 

by Cookie N Screen

I like to think that there are two ways to enter a horror film. You either, for some reason, want to be scared completely out of your wits (and tits); or you want to have fun. After all, we’ve gone so passed desensitisation that it has flipped around and a truly amazing horror is one that can enthrall us with amazing comedy. You have to go into creating your horror film with these thoughts. You are going to blow people's sense of safety and security away from them and leave them putting the lights on whilst they sleep; Or you are going to pick some actress, get them to scream and flail around with hilarity. Guess which section See No Evil 2 falls in?  

by Cookie N Screen

Ben Affleck has had more shit in recent years than you can fling a Batarang at. And it only doubled when he was cast as the winged hero last year in DC’s upcoming Superman vs Batman: Dawn of Justice. Of course, some of these damning remarks are often brought up with the following uttered hushed disaster; Gigli. So moving past that, you have to cough up some honesty when it involves Affleck because, frankly, he has excelled much more than most give him credit for. Good Will Hunting, Daredevil (Directors Cut, people,) and many more showcase his talents as a solid thespian, writer and director. More recently, his acting is astute and incredible in the recent Gone Girl it's clear Affleck is triumphing again. But if you were to ask me what springs to mind when I think of Affleck is Kevin Smith’s on point religious comedy Dogma. 

by Cookie N Screen 

If you ask me, and I realise you weren’t, David Cronenberg is the best director of all time. Don’t deny me this. He can not only subvert your nightmares into living creatures cavorting on the screen, but he can pin point the exact unnerving nature of humanities psyche. Coming both thematic horrors as well as monstrous one, Cronenberg has proved repeatedly that he can truly master freights in every format. Today marks the release of the highly anticipated Maps to the Stars, which sees a dark satirical look at Hollywood and sees Cronenberg focus on the emotional aspect of humanity rather than his elaborate creatures. With that in mind, let’s have a look back at one of his best works; A History of Violence. 

by Cookie N Screen 

You know me, I am not usually one to compare the film version of a book to its original source. In fact, I vehemently hate people who do so because, for the most part, they do so in some sort of pretention that does who love film are less. On the other hand, I completely understand that immersing yourself in the world of a book, getting excited over an adaptation only for the tone, characters and storyline to be completely off is the worst feeling. That loss of fictional identity when someone (or, in most cases, a studio) decides to completely eradicate all that the books had done is one I know all too well. Especially when it comes too Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

by Cookie N Screen

There is nothing more delightful to the ears than hearing “from the writer of Drive” combined with “and the author of The Talented Mr Ripley.” That is stamping gold stars all over your work before you’ve even begun. If you are doing a sixties drenched thriller in the golden shores of the Mediterranean it must be a winning combination. Imagine the sultry seducing plot, tantalising teasing humanity that spirals out of control thanks to an unforgiveable crime. The twists and turns, you simply cannot proceed your latest film with this crime drama holy duo of crime drama without incurring high expectations.

Luckily, The Two Faces of January delivers on its promises in this highly tense drama. 

by Cookie N Screen

There is already a lot of contention surrounding Marc Webb’s possibly unwarranted re-boot of the much beloved Spider-Man series. Popping an "Amazing" in front of it and allowing Andrew Garfield to tackling the webbed hero put fans of Sam Raimi’s seminal Toby Macguire fronted trilogy in a sticky situation. After all, Raimi and Macguire successfully battled through villains and monsters, producing two stirring movies that captured the essence of Spider-Man in all its cheese. And then there was Spider-Man 3 (or as we like to call it, the sequel that should not be named). So when Sony proposed the remake, juxtaposed against an entire backdrop of incredible super-hero based movies, it was either condemn it or support it. The Amazing Spider-Man, released back in 2012, was actually a brilliant transformation for Spidey. It’s a shame, however, that the sequel failed to continue that excellence. 

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 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.