http://filmjournal.net/theark Because the world needed yet another film blog Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:46:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en After two artistically and financially successful films, where next for 20th Century Fox's sci-fi horror franchise? Why, another sequel of course - but could they make it three out of three? Defying the usual pattern of cranking out sequels as soon as possible to milk the cash cow, there was ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/10/05/alien-3-1992/ Continuing my series of Alien movie reviews, we come to the second entry, James Cameron's 1986 sequel, Aliens. This was actually the first Alien movie I ever watched, and fortunately it was the 1992 Special Edition director's cut (rented out from the local video shop - remember them?). I therefore ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/09/19/aliens-1986/ At long lost I have got around to writing a review of probably my favourite film - Ridley Scott's Alien. Long time readers will be well aware of the enormous affection and esteem in which I hold this sci-fi horror masterpiece, and I know I'm not alone. Far from ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/08/31/alien-1979/ Being a movie fan occasionally has its rewards. Let's not forget for a second that watching films, at the cinema at least, is becoming quite an expensive interest. The cost of tickets and refreshments is soaring (along with everything else, sadly), to the point that adult tickets now generally cost ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/07/31/the-young-and-the-brave/ Hello. My name is ... (name removed to protect the individual) and I am a recovering direct-to-video sequel addict. I have been watching mediocre, boring, or just plain awful DTV spin-offs for nearly ten years. I didn't used to be like this. Once upon a time I would go to the ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/06/07/confessions-of-a-dtv-sequel-addict/ Those lovely people at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse came up trumps again this past weekend by running a one-off showing of the now-infamous Tarantino-Rodriguez double-header from last year, Grindhouse. The film, a loving tribute to the cheap exploitation trash that was churned out in the 60s, 70s and 80s to ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/05/12/groovin-in-the-grindhouse/ One of the best things about being a film fan (or indeed a fan of books, music or most other things) is that every once in a while, you stumble across something by accident that slaps a great big smile on your face and reminds you just why you are ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/03/23/the-joy-of-new-discoveries-or-why-creepshow-kicked-my-ass/ This week I found myself in the unusual position of being a competition winner. Well, that's not quite true; last year I did win a Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer t-shirt and set of stickers as runner-up in a London Eye competition, but that's not really on the same scale. ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/02/24/universal-pictures-invites-you-to-the-royal-film-premiere-of/ A small note in memory of the Alien film series, which finally passed away this January after a prolonged struggle for life. It led a long and eventful existence, after a violent and bloody birth in 1979; the classic original movie remains a masterpiece of the science fiction and horror genres. ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/02/04/rip-alien-franchise-in-memoriam/ Having caught the rather good Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, at the cinema last weekend, it reminded me very much of another film that probed the fallacies of American interventionist foreign policy, but set in a different period: Philip Noyce's The Quiet American. Taken together, they are ... http://filmjournal.net/theark/2008/01/19/a-us-foreign-policy-double-bill-ooh-the-excitement/