My Favourite Film Scenes Volume 2: 12) Brother vs Brother (Warrior) Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton) are estranged brothers who unknowingly enter the same high-stakes MMA tournament with their final clash leaving the audience conflicted in their expectations and aspirations. When Brendan dislocates Tommy’s shoulder he refuses to surrender, forcing Brendan to further […]
Favourite TV Scenes
My Favourite TV Scenes: 5) “Hello friend.” (Mr Robot: Season 1, Episode 1) The opening scene of any series is a notoriously difficult task as writers grapple with introducing characters, plot and hooking the audience into the show. Sam Esmail’s Mr Robot perfectly combines all three in an opening sequence that is grippingly unpredictable. Elliot’s […]
Review: FIFA 18 exceeds expectation
W hat is there to say that has not already been said about EA Sports’ FIFA series? Whilst the franchises’ annual releases are often dismissed as roster updates it has remained a commercial juggernaut that many gamers have a love-hate relationship with. This is the game of my childhood (and likely my adulthood as […]
Iconic Film Scenes: Volume 1
Movies, actors, directors, quotes – cinema provokes non-stop conversations amongst its fanatics in all of these areas. So often neglected though, are the scenes that makes movies what they are; those individual moments of art that fill a viewer with laughter, tears or exhilaration. As such I have compiled this list of my favourite movie […]
Review: Kingsman 2: A Franchise Still Standing
Matthew Vaughn is one of the most confident and defined English filmmakers of the modern era. After his directorial debut Layer Cake (the film that led to Daniel Craig becoming James Bond) earnt him a BAFTA nomination he has consistently made movies which combine great action sequences with close-to-the-line humour. So often he has provided […]
False and Spurious: NIGHTCRAWLER
The 87th Academy Awards were perhaps the most competitive in recent years with The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Birdman, American Sniper, Foxcatcher, Selma, Interstellar, Whiplash, Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel all vying for success. Whilst the depth of competition offers an explanation for the greatest Oscar snub in my lifetime, it certainly […]
The American Empire: Why Britain Isn’t Watching One of TV’s Best Shows
Empire’s first season was a phenomenon. Viewership grew dramatically week after week, peaking at an astonishing 17.62 million viewers (23.12 post-DVR) for the season finale. It became a ‘water-cooler’ show, reinvigorating the national discussion on race, homosexuality and mental illness. Its stars became overnight celebrities – with Taraji P. Henson winning a Golden Globe – […]
House of Cards Season 5 Review: One Nation, Underwood
Deep into the twelfth episode of this epic season, Frank Underwood has the viewer in the palm of his hand. Enchanted and repelled, we are on the edge of our seats, clinging to his every word as he muses on the nature of power, ideology and entertainment. The personal touch Underwood affords his audience causes […]
Legends, not myths: Sir Len Hutton
The Second World War stole the lives of many great men and less importantly, robbed numerous potential sporting legends of the best years of their career. As a man who volunteered for the army in 1939, Len Hutton could easily have fallen into either category. The Yorkshire opener spent the time between his twenty-third and […]
Legends not Myths: Don Fabio
The England manager’s job is a poisoned chalice. A first job in international football is never going to be easy but the added pressure of constant media scrutiny, moving to a new country and taking over a transitional side in turmoil following their failure to qualify for Euro 2008 made Fabio Capello’s job a near […]