How little tricks heighten the tension

The video above shows one of the most frightening scenes in Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining - although I think that accolade probably goes to the woman in the bath - to find out why it is so scary, read this fascinating post.

Well I'm happy ;-)

According to the Strange Culture blog, George Clooney has been picked to play The Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp as Tonto. Someone waft me with a damp newspaper please  . . .

Paul Newman RIP

Just heard Paul Newman died yesterday.

The term film star is thrown around a lot these days, but Newman was the real thing, not only a great actor, but a great screen presence. 

Michael Moore hoping for a Slacker Uprising

Michael Moore has annouced plans to release his latest film as a free download (but only to residents of Canada and the US). Slacker Uprising follows the director's tour through a number of US states during the 2004 election and is intended to act as a spur to persuade younger members of the American electorate to go out and vote. It will be interesting to see if it can have the desired effect on a generation who have been labelled apathetic about politics - although personally, I think the same can said about a lot of older people too, but that goes beyond the scope of this blog.

Wanted is not wanted

Following complaints from 18 people, the Advertising Standards Authority have banned the publicity posters for the film Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie.

I can appreciate they have a job to do, and, that they have to consider the feelings and reactions of the population as a whole, but surely this is a case of locking the stable door after the horse has not only bolted, but has headed for Dover, caught a ferry to Calais and set up home in the Dordogne. The film came out in June. It is now September.

Surely they jest

Apparently, fans are not keen on the idea of Simon Pegg appearing in the latest Star Trek film as the character of Scotty because of his background as a comedy actor. There's a certain irony in that because anyone who has ever heard a real Scottish person speak would say that James Doohan's accent was pure comedy.

Tackling zombies with a pair of Val's knickers

Call me picky, but when I see a glaring error in a film it rather spoils the whole thing for me, and this is the case with the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.

I admit I'm not a fan of zombie films at the best of times, but this one was going along nicely until, for some reason, the writers decided to leave poor, old Andy trapped in the gun shop. I say decided, because that whole sequence was completely unnecessary. As any child who has ever watched Blue Peter knows, Andy could easily have been rescued by the simple implementation of a bosun's chair which could have been constructed using material found around the shopping centre.There would then have been no need for anyone to leave the building. Admittedly, this would have made the film somewhat shorter and less exciting but infinitely more realistic - if you can use that word to describe a piece in which the dead come back to life and attack the living.

I wonder if that is why very few zombie films are made in the UK. Maybe, having spent our childhoods absorbing this kind of knowledge, we would find it only too easy to tackle hordes of brain eating corpses.

Oh, and if you happen to be a zombie, or know any who are feeling a bit lonely, try Zombie Harmony, the free online dating site for the shuffling dead.