I’m something of a sci-fi fan. Okay, a lot of a sci-fi fan. It’s annoyed me then that, since The Lord of The Rings quite rightly stamped all over the box office, fantasy films seem to have pushed sci-fi into the background. What was the last truly great sci-fi movie you can remember? Minority Report? Serenity? Star Trek? Three films in the last decade. (continue reading…)

Westerns. The very term is divisive, suggesting as it does a flag-waving, Yankee Doodle Dandy genre, built around the central tenets of America’s right-wing heartlands. As such, it’s no wonder that so many disregard and ignore Westerns as largely offering nothing beyond bland heroics and anti-liberal polemics. (continue reading…)

As you’ll no doubt be aware by now, next March will see us queueing up outside our nearest multiplex to feast our peepers upon Tim Burton’s interpretation of Alice In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s brilliant and, at times, terrifying tale of a young girl trapped in a darkly surreal fantasy world. Frankly, I’m amazed it’s taken this long for Burton to have the classic story thrown his way, it appears to be a perfect fit for his twisted, archly gothic yet candy-coloured style. (continue reading…)

Before we continue, let’s be clear - I’m a big fan of the first Transformers movie. It’s a big, daft, thoroughly enjoyable action movie that nicely balances some very likeable performances with giant space-robots knocking lumps out of each other. It’s good, brainless fun, which is what we all need sometimes. Especially if, like me, you’re also a big fan of the original cartoon series and comics. (continue reading…)