"The Neon Demon"

On Vulture Hound, I take a look at The Neon Demon and determine whether or not Nicolas Winding Refn's distinct style has anything useful to say about the fashion industry he satirizes:

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/11/looks-can-kill-the-neon-demon-dvd-review/

Trolls, and the problem with "irreverent" kids' movies

On the Agony Booth, the trailer for Dreamworks' latest release "Trolls" has me discussing modern children's animation, the Disney/Dreamworks rivalry and the resulting manufactured irreverence that permeates even good films.

http://www.agonybooth.com/trolls-and-the-problem-with-irreverent-kids-movies-50040

Off-topic: On the 2016 US presidential election

This is the last thing I will ever write about this detested election until the final results are known. Let me preface it by making one thing crystal clear: I do not like Hillary Clinton. I do not trust Hillary Clinton. I never will. No politician, political candidate or leader should ever be trusted – at least never fully. I know some friends who intend to vote Donald Trump in part because of their personal dislike for Clinton, and I get it. She has used a private email server to discuss classified information in a way that dodges the Freedom Of Information Act, co-founded a foundation of questionable ethics and has been credibly accused of covering up her husband’s sex crimes and even attempting to intimidate his victims. All these criticisms are absolutely valid and I can fault no-one for rejecting her as a living representative of a corrupt, uncaring system.

Here’s the thing, though: Donald Trump, no matter how “bold” and “politically incorrect” he may seem, no matter how much one may believe his martyrized posturing, is also part of that same system. Not as a politician but as a silver spoon-fed member of the media elite. This is, after all, a billionaire who, just ten years ago, was praising his opponent as a “great senator” and invited her to his third wedding. It is no surprise that his manufactured image as an anti-establishment rebel has been so successful, given that his primary business for the last twenty years has been marketing himself as a brand. Who else could so expertly monopolize media ratings with calculated stunts and outbursts only to then cry bias and not be immediately exposed as the con artist he is? Who else could posit himself as a defender of Christian values all while extolling principles of greed, narcissism and sadism that run contrary to the most basic tenets of Christianity?

There is no sin, crime or misdeed Clinton has committed that Trump has not committed tenfold. Her foundation has helped the interests of powerful friends; Trump’s has repeatedly redirected other charities’ money to buy lavish monuments to himself. Clinton covered up and enabled sexual assaults; Trump actually committed sexual assaults – multiple times. Few people seem to be paying attention, but he is currently the target of a lawsuit from a woman claiming to have been raped by him and others at the age of 13. After Thomas Jefferson, Grover Cleveland, John F, Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, have we not had enough sexual predators for presidents?

This is a man who has been enthusiastically endorsed by neo-Nazis, white nationalists and even the Ku Klux Klan themselves as some kind of long-awaited messiah. A man whose phony university has bamboozled many people out of their money. A man who threatened to use libel laws to stifle press criticism, proposed to ban an entire religious group from emigrating to the USA and openly encouraged his supporters to attack protesters and intimidate voters. A man whose crude, barely-articulate rhetoric embodies white supremacist patriarchy to an almost parodic degree. Are we really so far gone as to entrust such a thin-skinned bigoted bully with the greatest power any mortal may wield on this planet?

I’m not blind to the reality of our situation: The Middle East is in tatters, police violence goes unpunished, many Americans are a paycheck away from poverty and we are currently complicit in bombings in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Libya and Afghanistan that have killed many innocents and done little to effectively combat the global jihadist insurgency. But mass deportations, torture, an emboldened militia movement and a clampdown on American Muslims will only divide and hurt us more, bringing us ever closer to fascism or chaos.

Win or lose, we are now caught between a global Islamist movement and a large-scale reactionary revolution. I do not want my children or grand-children to live in either world promised by these false prophets. That is why I chose the devil I know, not out of trust but out of necessity, with the determination to contribute to a better alternative in the meantime.

To all my friends and readers, regardless of political affiliation or lack thereof, I wish peace and happiness.

In Memoriam - Andrzej Wajda

On Vulture Hound, I salute the late Polish master filmmaker Andrzej Wajda and his career-long observations of his country and continent's politics.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/10/in-memoriam-andrzej-wajda/

5 steps to make the "Lion King" remake work

On the Agony Booth, I outline 5 steps that Jon Favreau could take to make the upcoming Lion King remake stand on its own four paws.

http://www.agonybooth.com/5-steps-to-make-the-lion-king-remake-work-49203

"The Magnificent Seven" (2016)

On Vulture Hound, I review Antoine Fuqua's action-packed remake of John Sturges' 1960 classic and evaluate how it fares as a modern western.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/10/the-marginally-average-seven-the-magnificent-seven-film-review/

Why do we like watching our actors suffer?

On Vulture Hound, I analyze critics and audiences' tendency to reward performances that elicit strong emotions within them and wonder why that manifests itself so often in performances of pain.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/09/why-do-we-like-watching-our-actors-suffer/

"The Green Inferno" (2015): Eli Roth's politically incorrect cannibal holocaust

Back to "my-fave-is-problematic" territory again! On the Agony Booth, I discuss the way Eli Roth's Othering of Indigenous tribes in The Green Inferno paradoxically humanizes them and serves a slightly more complex political message than one expects.

http://www.agonybooth.com/the-green-inferno-2015-48640

Jon Polito (A Tribute)

On Vulture Hound, I remember the prolific character actor Jon Polito and the indelible mark he left on viewers.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/09/innately-familiar-instantly-likeable-jon-polito-a-tribute/

"Lights Out"

On the Agony Booth, I review David F. Sandberg's feature-length adaptation of his own viral horror hit, Lights Out, and find that it sadly lacks the simple strength of the original.

http://www.agonybooth.com/lights-out-2016-48468

In praise of voice acting

On Vulture Hound, I pay tribute to an art that is still underappreciated by both critics, viewers and studios: Voice acting.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/08/in-praise-of-voice-acting/

Michael Cimino (A Tribute)

On Vulture Hound, I commemorate the passing of New Hollywood's mad king of baroque Michael Cimino and draw parallels between his career and the themes developed by his films.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/07/michael-cimino-a-tribute/

5 British TV shows that should be films and 5 that shouldn't

In this two-part article for Vulture Hound, I list 5 British TV shows that could benefit from a big-screen adaptation and 5 that should stay on the silver screen.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/06/5-british-tv-shows-that-should-be-films-and-5-that-shouldnt-part-1/

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/06/5-british-tv-shows-that-should-be-films-and-5-that-shouldnt-part-2/

"Everybody Wants Some!!"

On the Agony Booth, I praise Richard Linklater's empathetic look at post-adolescent male bonding in Everybody Wants Some!!

http://www.agonybooth.com/everybody-wants-some-2016-29004

"Miles Ahead"

On Vulture Hound, I review Don Cheadle's intelligent directorial debut Miles Ahead and praise it for its critical subversion of musical biopic conventions.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/05/ahead-of-the-curve-miles-ahead-film-review/

Why we will always love survival movies

In the Agony Booth, I discuss the recent trend of survival movies and explain the reasons for its success.

http://www.agonybooth.com/why-we-will-always-love-survival-movies-28545

"High-Rise"

On the Agony Booth, I review Ben Wheatley's ambitious adaptation of J. G. Ballard's prophetic dystopian novel High-Rise.

http://www.agonybooth.com/high-rise-2015-28445

"Eye In The Sky"

At Vulture Hound, I review Gavin Hood's Eye In The Sky, an inventive meditation on the ethical and geopolitical minefield that is modern drone warfare.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/04/death-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-eye-in-the-sky-film-review/

"Speedy"

In my first article for Vulture Hound, I review Harold Lloyd's farewell to the silent era Speedy, a film that acknowledges technological progress even as it mourns the elegant beauty of the past.

http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/04/slave-to-the-rhythm-speedy-dvd-review/

"Dressed To Kill" (1980) and separating the art from transphobia

An article I am quite proud of. In this October special from 2015, I discuss Brian De Palma's Hitchcock-inspired thriller Dressed To Kill and why its transphobia - unpalatable though it may be from a political standpoint - is at the heart of its fascinating character.

http://www.agonybooth.com/dressed-to-kill-1980-27078

What's really wrong with YA dystopias

Although the YA dystopia now seems thankfully extinct, it was still quite popular at the time of this article's writing. In it, I dissect the genre's tendency to repackage shallow teenage rebellion as faux-political subversion.

http://www.agonybooth.com/whats-really-wrong-with-ya-dystopias-26759

"The Delta Force" (1986) and the 1980s Reaganian action film

On the Agony Booth, I highlighted the 1986 Chuck Norris classic as an illustrative example of what French bad movie website Nanarland.com dubbed the "Reaganian action film".

http://www.agonybooth.com/the-delta-force-1986-26407

Kill James Bond

In my first article for the Agony Booth, I celebrated the release of SPECTRE by imagining an intriguing way for the Daniel Craig era to end. Should Craig return as Bond one last time, it may yet come true.

http://www.agonybooth.com/kill-james-bond-26222

10 outstanding French films you've probably never heard of

In this over two year-old article posted at WhatCulture.com which constitutes my only contribution to this online magazine, I list ten gems of French cinema most non-French viewers may not be familiar with.

http://whatculture.com/film/10-outstanding-french-films-youve-probably-never-heard