Opinion – Page 2

Spoiled For Choice: The Quest For Clicks

April 27, 2018April 27, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

One of the big problems in modern cinema isn’t so much the behaviour of patrons, the overpriced candy bar selection or inadequate screening technology, although those things are an issue many cinema chains need to deal with. No, perhaps the biggest problem with film culture – especially online – is the constant fight by studios and marketing against spoilers. Case in point: the release this week of Marvel’s latest superhero blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, came with a plea from the studio for reviewers and initial audiences not to reveal the…

I Can’t Do That Dave: Celebrating Kubrick’s 2001 – 50 Years Young

April 7, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

It’s almost a cliche in film circles to consider Stanley Kubrick’s space-set sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey a masterpiece. The word is bandied about a lot these days, even moreso with product and content that’s almost the antithesis of the word, and yet for 50 years the film has captured the imagination and confounded the unprepared in equal measure, resulting in more debate, dissection and critique than almost any other film I’m aware of.

Critical Thinking: The Business Of Film Review

March 28, 2018April 21, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

I am not, nor will I ever likely be, a professional film critic. I doubt you’ll see my name on the aggregation sites or listed in catchy grabs on film posters, and frankly that’s probably as okay with me as it might be for you. For a tick over a decade, however, I’ve been writing film reviews in a semi-serious manner on this blog here, which has morphed and changed throughout the period to become my escape from daily routine into an outlet for my thoughts on the films I…

New Genesis – Apokolips-tic Change

March 17, 2018March 17, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

When 2017’s second DC film release, Justice League, flopped hard (by blockbuster standards, that is) in cinemas, met with scathing criticism and an inbuilt laugh-track surrounding Henry Cavill’s digitally removed moustache, the embers of hope for the floundering DCEU lit by Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman appeared extinguished. Competing studio Marvel, meanwhile, obliterated almost every record known to man with the February release of Black Panther, arguably its most successful film to-date (until next month’s Avengers: Infinity War slaughters all before it) and reaffirming it as the template by which all…

Artistic License: The Race For Best Picture is Stronger Than Ever

February 20, 2018August 17, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

Now that we’ve finally reviewed all the Best Picture nominated films for the 90th Academy Awards, the time has come to appraise them all and try and come up with the one we think will take home the glory on March 4th. We’ve already applied our thoughts to the nominees in an earlier post, which you can read here, but in digging into the Oscars with focus on Best Picture specifically, there’s a strong argument to suggest that the 2017 alumni is the strongest list in a very long time.

The Rise of Streaming & The Online Revolution

February 7, 2018February 18, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

In the 8 years since I published my treatise on BluRay and the High Definition Revolution, the home entertainment landscape has shifted dramatically. Last weekend, a bombshell event occurred that I doubt most people would have even been aware of were they not in America, watching the Superbowl, or a film fan. Netflix, internet streaming service giant and all-round upstart in the home entertainment market dropped a trailer for their upcoming film The Cloverfield Paradox midway through the game, which wasn’t a significant event in an of itself – the Superbowl…

For The Shot: What Price Art?

February 4, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

This past weekend was a particularly horrific one for Hollywood’s image as an artist’s playground. Off the back of the #MeToo movement involving countless female actresses and participants in Hollywood’s uprising against not only sexual inequality but sexual aggression by men in positions of power, Kill Bill star Uma Thurman let loose in a scorched earth interview with the New York Times and recounted numerous times she was harassed and abused by producer Harvey Weinstein, and forced to endure physical and mental torture at the hands of superstar director Quentin…

Road To The Oscars – Who We Think Will Win

February 2, 2018March 15, 2018 Rodney Twelftree

The films of 2017’s Academy Award nominee list is strong this year – comparative to other years, there’s more than two films in the Best Picture race that would be worthy of a win, while in almost every acting category there is almost no splitting the actresses and actors in their respective fields. Surprisingly, a number of films snagged technical award nominations without getting any of the major gongs, and once again the fact that Pixar looks set to dominate the Best Animated Feature category, when it could easily have…

Blown Globes: The Hollywood Foreign Press Is Sliding Into Irrelevance

December 12, 2017 Rodney Twelftree

This morning (Australian time) the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their list of nominees for the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The full list can be perused here. No sooner had the list landed than Film Twitter lit up with several glaring observations that put a stain on the legitimacy of the Globes as a high profile and quality awards show similar to the Oscars. They’re the kind of thing that make one scratch one’s head and wonder exactly who is responsible for these nominations, and how they’re earned.

The Big Reveal: Do Modern Film Trailers Show Too Much?

December 10, 2017 Rodney Twelftree

Studios spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year letting us know about their upcoming film projects. Every year they try to lure us into the darkened cineplexes to watch their latest stuff, with everything from major tentpole blockbusters to low-budget indie dramas finding themselves the subject of the one thing nobody can resist watching: the film trailer. Sure, posters and cast interviews and weird websites can offer interest and intrigue as to the quality of a film, but by far the most finely tuned and well honed artform in…

Category: Opinion