Gary Oldman as Jackie Flannery in State Of Grace (Phil Joanou, 1990, USA): Long considered one of the most talented actors in cinema, it’s very strange that his outstanding acting as the younger brother of Ed Harris’ local crime boss in this underrated film doesn’t get talked about nearly enough when discussing Oldman’s body of …
Remakes, “re-adaptations”, and “re-imaginings” have been a frequent occurrence in cinema throughout much of its history, alongside the franchise “reboot” concept that has become particularly commonplace in the last decade. 2011, however, saw a rather curious trend of remakes of films and TV shows, either formerly original concepts or previous adaptations themselves, where the original’s …
Throughout the first half of February, the Sound On Sight staff will take a look at the Academy Awards. Rather than write about any of the Academy’s many Best Picture mistakes, or any decisions that I wasn’t alive for and was thus ignorant of the huge amount of extenuating context surrounding any such decision, I’ll …
Acting and directing categories during awards seasons are always the hardest to determine. Who to choose and what for film is a constant battle, not to mention who deserves to be nominated. Between the veteran nominees (Clooney, Streep, Scorcese) to newbies in the awards season (Fassbender, Refn and Oldman (!)), let’s see who deserves a …
The BAFTAs is one of those award ceremonies you can count on the go against the norm. Always the one to celebrate more independent films and the actors, actresses and directors snubbed by the Academy Awards have a chance of a nomination. In light of the forthcoming awards ceremony on Sunday 12 February, here are …
With more movies in limited and general release than ever before, 2011 was a ridiculously crowded year for both casual and discerning moviegoers alike. One by-product of the glut is a refreshing lack of consensus; so many films have been championed in so many corners – while those same films get trashed in others – …
Most moviegoers can agree on one thing: there were way too many movies this year. If you’re (un)fortunate enough to live in New York, you had the opportunity to see around 600 new features come and go; the rest of us didn’t get that many fewer. That means that anyone who’s been put in …
Most moviegoers can agree on one thing: there were way too many movies this year. If you’re (un)fortunate enough to live in New York, you had the opportunity to see around 600 new features come and go; the rest of us didn’t get that many fewer. That means that anyone who’s been put in a …
Not too long ago we featured the winners from the British Independent Film Awards. Well today the London Critics Circle Film Award nominations were announced and two of our favourite films of the year (Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) lead the pack with six nominations each. It was a great year for British cinema, …
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Written by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan Directed by Tomas Alfredson UK / France / Germany, 2011 When the BBC screened the hugely admired adaptation of John le Carré’s Cold War novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy back in 1979, recent revelations were rocking the British establishment. Anthony Blunt, the Surveyor of …
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Written by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan Directed by Tomas Alfredson UK / France / Germany, 2011 When the BBC screened the hugely admired adaptation of John le Carré’s Cold War novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy back in 1979, recent revelations were rocking the British establishment. Anthony Blunt, the Surveyor of the …
The broken lift leading to the press centre was an initial augury that something was amiss. Moving for the first time from the comfy environs of the National Film Theatre to the cavernous interiors of London Docklands O2 centre, Empire magazines weekend celebration of all things movie initially got off to a rocky start. My …