Category: Articles

  • Exoticism and Tourism: Representations of Sexuality in Exils and Edge of Heaven

    Exoticism and Tourism: Representations of Sexuality in Exils and Edge of Heaven

    In “Discovering Form, Inferring Meaning: New Cinemas and the Film Festival Circuit”, Bill Nichols has argued that the viewing of festival films, specifically those of foreign countries, positions the spectator as a tourist. This got me thinking about how such “tourism” may also exist within migrant cinema. Films dealing with issues such as colonialism, exile…

  • Perceiving Film: The Cinematic Rorschach Test

    Perceiving Film: The Cinematic Rorschach Test

    We’ve been talking a lot about favourite films recently. Were I to make a list, John Sayles’ 1994 movie The Secret of Roan Inish would rank fairly high. But if you want to discuss and analyse that movie, you would find me useless. I’ve seen it once, and though “never” is a long time away,…

  • Poetry In Motion (Pictures): 19 Films that Feature Poetry

    Poetry In Motion (Pictures): 19 Films that Feature Poetry

    There’s a very easy way for screenwriters to make characters seem smart, and that’s to have them quote some verse, usually by a heavyweight poet (Shakespeare, Milton, Yeats or Eliot). Sometimes it’s just a way for the screenwriters to wear their educations on their sleeves.   Splendor in the Grass (1961) Splendor in the Grass,…

  • Top Ten Films: A Mission Impossible

    Top Ten Films: A Mission Impossible

    Many film blogs and websites are keen on ‘Top Lists’. They will ask readers to name their ten best, twenty best, even fifty best. This, of course, provokes a lot of debate and discussion, and hopefully increases traffic to their site. On rare occasions, these lists will reveal a Pandora’s Box of diversity. They will…

  • 20 Great Action Movie Heroes: Defending the Indefensible (Part Two)

    20 Great Action Movie Heroes: Defending the Indefensible (Part Two)

    Well here it is, part two of my list of the greatest actors and actresses ever to lend their talents to the action movie genre, following on from the list I wrote two weeks ago. Once again, I’ve attempted to provide an interesting and diverse cross-section of individuals. There are a range of actresses and…