Category: Based on a book or true story
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Non-Christmas Christmas Movies – First View Review of First Blood
Whenever you hear of a film with Rambo in the title, you’ll no doubt think of wall to wall violence, tidal waves of blood, and a soundtrack consisting mainly of gunshots, screams, and explosions. You may also think of bulging biceps as Rambo hauls back on the string of a bow so he can pick…
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Christmas Classic First View Review – A Christmas Carol (1938)
Over the years I’ve seen a fair few versions of A Christmas Carol, or Scrooge as it’s sometimes called, but this 1938 version is a new one on me! There’s no point going too deeply into the story because, as both Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and Simply Red said, “If you don’t know…
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Christmas First View Review – An American Christmas Carol (1979)
Here we have an attempt to prove the ubiquity and relevance of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by taking it from Victorian-era London and plonking it down in Depression-era Concord, New Hampshire. I don’t if there’s any significance in the location but the time has obviously been chosen as one of widespread poverty, debt, and hardship.…
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Vintage Christmas Film Short – Scrooge: Marley’s Ghost (1901)
Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start… Before I get going, here’s a thought for a series of articles. How about first-time viewings of wildly popular films that I haven’t seen? I say this because I’ve never actually seen The Sound Of Music, Saturday Night Fever, or Citizen Kane. Anyway,…
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Christmas Classic Rewatch Review – Scrooge (1951)
Elsewhere I wrote about how and why A Christmas Carol was written and how it’s been adapted many times on screens both large and small. It’s the most often adapted of all of Dickens’ works, with over thirty film outings. Oliver Twist comes second with a mere eighteen. It’s been faithfully followed from the original,…
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Documentary Review – The Beatles: Get Back
The Beatles: Get Back is, quite simply, the edited highlights of The Beatles rehearsing for a new project centred on their latest album. After a disastrous tour of the Far East in 1966 and the infamous “we’re bigger than Jesus” kerfuffle they decided to give up touring and performing live. This leads to them developing…
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Indie Movie Review – Krays: Code Of Silence
Krays: Code Of Silence is another look at the story of the, rightly, notorious Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie. That might sound a bit like a “ho hum, here we go again” introduction but, trust me, it’s not meant like that. Some stories bear repeating, Robin Hood is an obvious one, and I’ve written previously…
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Movie Review – Dune From A Dune Virgin
To hear all the kerfuffle going on you’d assume that what was coming was something akin to a new branch of the Star Wars mythology, an interim MCU phase, or a new found Tolkien saga. Instead, what we have is a film of an, allegedly, unfilmable novel… actually, series of novels if the franchise takes…
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Movie Review – House of Gucci
Ridley Scott is at it again. House of Gucci was an amazing glimpse into a decadent lifestyle that most of us will never know. It isn’t just the story of their lives: there are so many more layers to this movie, spanning from actual events to glamour and shamefulness. Lady Gaga as Patrizia Gucci was…
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Movie Review – Spencer
I must start this review by saying I am not an expert on the Royal Family. I’ve kept up with some of the highlights but history-wise, not so much. However, I can remember exactly where I was when I heard about Princess Diana’s death and I watched the wedding as a child. With that being…