Feature Archives

Hiroyuki Sanada: an unsung action hero

by James Stampone | Nov 30, 2021 | Feature, News

A celebration of an actor and action star, Hiroyuki Sanada, who continues to thrive after decades in the business....

When Disney animators took umbrage with a title change

by Simon Brew | Nov 30, 2021 | Feature, News

Never get on the wrong side of a Disney animator - as management of the studio found in the 1980s, after the renaming of Basil Of Baker Street....

A spoiler-filled thought or two following Ghostbusters: Afterlife

by Simon Brew | Nov 29, 2021 | Feature, News

Ghostbusters: Afterlife has become a box office hit, and suggests Ghostbusters 5 is in the offing: a few spoiler-heavy thoughts on the film here....

The petrol station with an Alfred Hitchcock tribute

by Simon Brew | Nov 29, 2021 | Feature

Meet the petrol station with a Costa Coffee machine, a takeaway next door, and a special Alfred Hitchcock tribute....

From Twins to Jingle All The Way: when Arnold Schwarzenegger turned to comedy

by Simon Brew | Nov 26, 2021 | Feature, News

How Arnold Schwarzenegger's gamble on making Twins opened up a whole new path for him, taking in Kindergarten Cop, Junior and Jingle All The Way....

Film Quiz Friday: Sing-Along Songs

by Mark Harrison | Nov 26, 2021 | Feature, News

What’s this? Do you wanna build a snowman? Can you feel the love tonight? None of these questions appear in this week’s film quiz, but some other Dis...

British movie podcast of the week: Sequel Pitch

by Em McGowan | Nov 26, 2021 | Feature

Our film podcast recommendation this week is in the movie sequel business: and there's no shortage of pitches....

Enhanced mode: the challenge of giving games a next-gen upgrade

by Aaron Potter | Nov 25, 2021 | Feature, Gaming

With true PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series exclusives still few and far between, we speak to the studios updating their titles for the next-gen era

The Jim Carrey movie sequels that didn’t star Jim Carrey

by Mark Harrison | Nov 25, 2021 | Feature, News

Though his aversion to sequels has mellowed over the years, Jim Carrey declined to return for various sequels to some of his biggest box-office hits -...

How Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves earned Kevin Costner two special prizes

by Simon Brew | Nov 25, 2021 | Feature, News

On the back of Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves' success, special prizes were created to commemorate Kevin Costner's impact on the Nottinghamshire...

Designing Bloodhunt's battle royale city

by Konstantinos Dimopoulos | Nov 24, 2021 | Feature, Gaming

Sharkmob’s game director talks us through the design decisions that shaped Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt’s Prague

The quiet return of the spoof movie

by Simon Brew | Nov 24, 2021 | Feature, News

The Naked Gun director David Zucker is trying to bring the spoof movie back - and we've been taking a look at just where it went right and wrong....

Mental health & wellbeing matters: forced joviality

by Simon Brew | Nov 24, 2021 | Feature

It's the bit of the site where we chat about mental health and wellbeing, and in this case the peer pressure to get involved with Christmas...

The lost art of handheld demakes

by Alan Wen | Nov 23, 2021 | Feature, Gaming

As the lines blur between consoles and portable systems, we remember the conversions that pushed handheld hardware to its limits

Mike Leigh's Naked: revisiting his darkest film

by Rob Daniel | Nov 23, 2021 | Feature, News

Mike Leigh's Naked is the centrepiece of retrospectives of his work playing in the UK at the moment: we look back at arguably his most divisive film....

The controversial $6m movie premiere for 2001’s Pearl Harbor

by Simon Brew | Nov 22, 2021 | Feature, News

Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor had cost Disney around $140m to make - and it needed a premiere to match: it'd be fair to say it went for it a bit....

The woman who became the first head of a major Hollywood studio

by Simon Brew | Nov 22, 2021 | Feature, News

Dawn Steel rose to the top of a Hollywood studio, but heck, did she have some battles: we chart the life and times of a Hollywood one-off....

Celebrating the 1990s movie roles of Rene Russo

by Simon Brew | Nov 19, 2021 | Feature, News

Rene Russo made much out of not always that much across a range of blockbuster movies in the 1990s: here's a salute to her work....

Film Quiz Friday: Better Late Than Never?

by Mark Harrison | Nov 19, 2021 | Feature, News

Who you gonna call? In this week’s film quiz on belated sequels, please be prepared to wait 20 years or longer for a response....

British movie podcast of the week: I'll Have What She's Podcasting

by Em McGowan | Nov 19, 2021 | Feature

Our movie podcast recommendation of the week features a whole lot of facts, and a title lifted from When Harry Met Sally....

Doctor Who and the terror of the Weeping Angels

by Mark Harrison | Nov 18, 2021 | Feature, News

Don’t blink! Jodie Whittaker and friends tangle with the Weeping Angels in the new series of Doctor Who, but what makes Steven Moffat’s creations so...

Revisiting the 1970s films of Michael Caine: Pulp (1972)

by John Upton | Nov 16, 2021 | Feature, Misc, News

Our lookback at the 1970s work of Michael Caine arrives at his second collaboration with Get Carter director Mike Hodges: it's Pulp....

The much darker original ending to Sweet Home Alabama

by Simon Brew | Nov 16, 2021 | Feature

The Reese Witherspoon-headlined romcom Sweet Home Alabama nearly took a bit of a dark turn....

The Firm, In The Line Of Fire, The Fugitive

1993. and the three huge Hollywood thrillers that hit big within one month

by Simon Brew | Nov 15, 2021 | Feature, News

The Firm, In The Line Of Fire and The Fugitive all debuted within four weeks of each other - and Hollywood's not had such a run of blockbuster...

The most expensive silent movie stunt of all time

by James Palmer | Nov 15, 2021 | Feature

A look at the astonishing practical stunt that sits at the heart of the Buster Keaton classic, The General....

Film Quiz Friday: A Quiz Called Wanda

by Mark Harrison | Nov 12, 2021 | Feature, News

“What would an intellectual do?” Try this week’s film quiz, which includes teasers on movie rules, actor anagrams, and the movies of Jamie Lee Curti...