Film Commentary Archive
Moved by Movies
Ali Kayn says:There are some movies that express a deeply felt belief, recover a long lost memory, dredge up past tears, or shock us into suddden empathy. Movies that move us.
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The Language of Cinema, or "****! This is ****!"
Danny Heap says: I want to start this Reel Life by publicly thanking Matt Stone and Trey Parker. They saved me. Backstory time. I'm in my early thirties and have a great love of film and television, but in recent years I found that I was getting more and more annoyed with the language being used in movies. It seemed that just about every film had swearing built into it. It was becoming tiresome. (Click here to read more)
Projected Characters
Luke Buckmaster goes behind the screen: You're comfortably sitting in the cinema, holding an extra large box of popcorn and a drink is resting between your legs. The girl of your dreams is sitting next to you, and the action flick you are seeing has been praised by all your friends. Your seat is a triumph to sit in, and the air around you smells a ravishing scent of stale lollies and half-eaten choc tops. There's just one problem - when the hell is the movie going to start? Click here for more
Spoiler Alert
Danny Heap says: I am really getting sick of the way advertising movies is handled. We've replaced the manic hyperbole of fifties and sixties cinema with a newer, more devious, 'get them in at any cost, even if you have to wreck the movie' attitude. It doesn't seem to matter to these companies if the adverts for their product give a totally false impression of the film or, even worse, show you the ending. Click here to read more
Must-Read Movie Books
Terry Frost says: Harlan Ellison once said (paraphrased) that people aren't entitled to their opinion; they're entitled to their informed opinion.
Movies are like that. Ask a friend if they liked a given film - say for argument's sake Men in Black - then if he or she gives it a good rap, ask them why it was good. Three out of five times, you'll get them in to the kind of mental short-circuit that says "I just did". click to read more
Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: May-1998