Film School Friday Lesson #21 - How To Have An Awesome Birthday

Last week, Film School Friday taught loyal readers how to bring the dead back to life. How did that go for you? Did the newly resurrected thank you for disturbing their slumber? Were they grateful for being hurled back into a world of pain, misery and Adam Sandler films? I highly doubt it. And did we even stop to consider what condition these walking corpses would even be in? How are they going to enjoy the cinema if their eyeballs keep falling out? How are they going to eat popcorn with a hole in their stomach? Life is short but sweet and perhaps it should stay that way.

Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways To Die In The West - 1st Trailer (Red-Band)

The first trailer for Seth MacFarlane's new live action comedy has just hit the internet only hours after the character posters debuted online. Our first glimpse of A Million Ways To Die In The West pushes the red-band warning to the max with sex, swearing and as the film's name would imply, a whole lot of dying. I'm not exaggerating here; MacFarlane's take on the Wild West seems to feature more deaths than 6 Feet Under, but don't worry Ted fans. In the trailer at least, the gore is balanced out with a constant string of gags to keep audiences laughing.

I Love The 90s: Robin Williams

Last weekend, I went round my sister's house and found my niece was watching Jumanji. A wave of nostalgia swept over me, and I was transported back to my youth. Robin Williams helped to define my childhood growing up the 90s. Yes, I know he may have been around since the 70s, and is still making films to this day, but despite those films being terrible, Robin Williams used to be a Cinema God! Coming out with classic after classic, year after year, he was hands down the biggest star of the decade. Join me as I take a trip down memory lane to revisit some of my favourite films of his.

Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean (2012): Mini Movie Review

A lot of things can get in the way of finding time to review films, including work, family and even moving to South Korea, but some movies still deserve a mention, so that’s where my Mini Movie Reviews come in. Each is less than 100 words long or your money back. That’s a promise people! Today it’s Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean. 

Film School Friday Lesson #20 - How To Bring The Dead Back To Life

Last time, Film School Friday taught loyal readers how to make a terrible superhero film. Essentially, just cast Ben Affleck in your movie. Job done. Why did I waste so much time writing that article? Anyway, now that you've made your money from the opening weekend, the reviews for your superhero film are out and audiences have cottoned on to how terrible your movie actually is. How do you please all the anorak wearing comic book lovers out there baying for your blood? I I were you, I'd kill off your main characters  so haters can rejoice and then bring them back to life  a few years later, classic comic book style. That way, you can start the whole vicious cycle all over again.

However, aside from being bitten by a zombie and getting your face ripped off, how do you actually resurrect people from the dead? Gandalf changed colour from grey to white and Jesus was kind of a big deal but that doesn't help us mere mortals, so power up the cloning machine, brush up on your rituals and jump on your broom as we read on for today's lesson.

Oscar 2014: The Mistakes

In late December, the Academy of Motion Arts and Science mail its ballots to all its 6,000 members. They then watch a hell of a lot of films and vote for the best in each branch; actors for actors, screenwriters for screenwriters, they are all eligible to select Best Picture. You would think that with nearly 6,000 members voting in their field of expertise, they wouldn't make mistakes right? Well, you're wrong, wrong! Every year, no matter what, the Academy always makes mistakes. Some are quite big, like leaving Ben Affleck out of the Best Director category last year, and some are smaller, like WALL.E not getting a Best Picture nod a few years back. This year is no exception.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey (2011): Mini Movie Review

A lot of things can get in the way of finding time to review films, including work, family and KFC, but some movies still deserve a mention, so that’s where my Mini Movie Reviews come in. Each is less than 100 words long or your money back. That’s a promise people! Today it’s Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey.