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‘James Bond’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ villain, Sir Christopher Lee, dead at 93

Another acting legend has passed on. Sir Christopher Lee, known recently for his roles in Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, passed away on Sunday at the age of 93. He had gone into the hospital for some respiratory problems. Lee had a long career that included playing Dracula, Frankenstein, Count Dooku in Star Wars, Saruman in Lord …

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‘Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’: Where Bruce Wayne meets Peter Jackson

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a strange beast. Gameplay-wise, it takes its inspiration from a number of sources. Its combat system, for instance, is lifted straight out of Rocksteady’s Arkham series, complete with combo meter, takedowns and counters, whilst its open world, stealth and traversal are clear nods to Assassin’s Creed. Film-wise, however, it’s definitely taking its cues from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, at least on the surface. Because whilst there is enough in the game to tie it to its silver screen counterpart, it’s really just fan service – and it’s all the better for it.

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‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ a mild improvement on its predecessor

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro Directed by Peter Jackson New Zealand, United Kingdom, and USA, 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is, no doubt, an improvement over The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, though perhaps because it is the second of three …

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A Prequel, an Adaptation or Both? – ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo Del Toro Directed by: Peter Jackson New Zealand, UK, US, 2012 There is an argument to be made that Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the best series of films of the naught decade, if not of …

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2012 and the Box Office: It Was A Very Good Year

I hate being wrong. Really hate it. The only thing I hate more than being wrong is publicly admitting I’m wrong. And, man, when it comes to how 2012 played out at the movies matched up against what I’d predicted in my end-of-2011 box office wrap-up, I couldn’t have been more wrong. “Want a prediction …

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Unobtanium – The Battle for Dune

March, 2011: After their rights to the source material elapse after a failed four year venture, Paramount officially drop their in-development film Dune, ending a frustrating and ultimately fruitless effort that served better as a topic of heated discussion than an actually feasible movie. Such an announcement had been on the cards, and the prospect …

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Great Years in Film: 2001

It was the year that many critics dubbed the worst in recent memory. With a toxic summer movie season that gave us disappointing dreck like Pearl Harbor and The Mummy Returns, and a dismal couple of autumn weeks where theatres were inundated with a staggering level of mediocrity (forgettable titles like Bandits, K-Pax, and Thirteen …

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The 100 Best Films of the Decade: 2000 – 2009 (part 7)

49- District 9 (2009) Directed by Neill Blomkamp Genre: Sci-fi District 9 is an allegory for our time, bursting with contemporary themes such as oppression, greed, power and propaganda and while the metaphor itself is pretty clear, Blomkamp goes for the visceral quality of the images and situations proving that sci-fi thrillers don’t have to …

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