Tag Archives: James Cameron

The Godfather Trilogy

Adapting Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel, Francis Ford Coppola drew up several themes lying dormant within its pages and augmented them in a uniquely cinematic fashion to create a masterful saga.

361. Ex Machina

What if science-fiction were not a literary genre but a political and ideological theory. If so, Alex Garland uses Ex Machina to show us how he sees the world.

353. Gravity

For a film that requires so many special effects in order to create the feeling of weightlessness, how did Alfonso Cuarón still keep Gravity so grounded?

344. The Double Life of Veronique

Krzysztof Kieślowski avoids all the clichés of doppelgängers, doubles and lookalikes to deliver a meditation on freedom.

252. Freeze-Frame

Once considered avant-garde, freeze-frame is now common place in every genre. Here are some of landmark and innovative uses of the technique.

238. Great Shots – Part Three

What makes for a great shot? Beauty? The lens? Lighting? Combine them and you have more than just an image.

224. Citizen Kane

Orson Welles’ debut feature is now a quarter of a century old. Have we been taking its greatness for granted or is it time for reappraisal?

223. Pan’s Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro says he is “in love with monsters.” In Pan’s Labyrinth, set in the Spanish Civil War, he uses them to navigate history and the world.

207. Jerry Maguire

“Show me the money.” “Shut up, you had me at hello.” For such a quotable film, Jerry Maguire’s most important line is “Fewer clients. Less money.”

193. Aliens

James Cameron took a risk in tackling a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. But his follow-up added other elements to the sci-fi/horror: action, adventure and all out war.

152. Mad Max: Fury Road

Most action films are fuelled by testosterone. But Fury Road has so much estrogen coursing in its engines, let’s call it Mad Maxine.

The Application of Colour in Production Design

This extended video-essay examines the application of colour in production design from A Voyage to the Moon and Ben-Hur through to Avatar and Gravity.

131. Titanic

Nature sank the luxury liner, but as his $200m production spiralled out of control it was James Cameron who proved himself to be unsinkable.

123. The Terminator

Because The Terminator is not about a cyborg but a resilient woman, James Cameron’s landmark film presented him as a unique feminist.

108. The Usual Suspects

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist. Is this the greatest heist movie ever made?

79. Remakes or Mis-takes?

When is a remake not a remake? When is a re-imagining not a reboot? And most pertinent, when are any of them ever any good?

75. The Military-Entertainment Complex

How much does the Pentagon help Hollywood? Is Hollywood just the Pentagon’s mouthpiece?

73. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

The very definition of ‘landmark film’, without it would there be no Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story or even Avatar.

43. The Bourne Trilogy

The Bourne Trilogy was a shot in the arm to the action genre and each new installment raised the expectation as to what an action picture can do and say.

5. Terrorism in Film

As far back as World War II, Hollywood cinema has assisted in promoting American foreign policy. How has it responded to the 9/11 atrocities?


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