Joining Conan the Barbarian and Footloose as the latest B-grade eighties pop cultural touchstones to be remade, the new Fright Night, much like the old, tells the story of a suburban teenager who is flummoxed to learn that his new next-door neighbour is actually a vampire. Scripted by Buffy alum Marti Noxon and directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl), the film is packed with obvious [...]

Lately it seems as though Mel Gibson, the actor, has been replaced by Mel Gibson, the publicly drunken and anti-Semitic nutjob. One would suspect that’s why Jodie Foster’s The Beaver has been collect dust on the shelf for the last year, waiting until all the hullaballoo has died down and audiences start to rediscover Mel Gibson, the actor, once more.

The irony here, however, is that it’s because of Gibson’s personal [...]

Where did you go Mel Gibson? You were so crazy cool in the Lethal Weapon films. You had your hard-boiled characters of vengeful action in Payback and Ransom. You delivered memorable moments of heroic leadership in epics Braveheart and The Patriot. Where are you now? With your hand up a beaver puppet begging for a second chance, that’s where.

Despite everything, is there a chance – even just a [...]

There’s something to be said about the fact that Terminator Salvation is directed by a man called McG. Call me prejudice, but when the name of a film’s director sounds like a new burger offering from McDonalds, it’s hard not to go in expecting ‘junk food’ cinema. You know the type; a big-budget-in-your-face-action-packed blockbuster with added cheese. Sure enough, Terminator Salvation is a big-budget-in-your-face-action-packed blockbuster with so much cheese you might as well bring along some crackers. But as with all junk food, no matter how much you know it’s bad for you, you can’t help but enjoy it anyway.