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Articles by Mark Anthony Ayling
The Men (Home Entertainment Review)
Marlon Brando, following a successful Broadway run starring in A Streetcar Named Desire, for Elia Kazan, made his big screen debut in The Men, which was released in 1950 and directed by Fred Zinnemann. For the most part, The Men takes place on the ward of a veteran’s hospital.
The Gentle Gunman (Blu Ray Review)
The Gentle Gunman is a monochrome IRA thriller set in the early 40’s during World War II, directed by Ealing Studios stalwart Basil Dearden, written by Roger MacDougall, which was adapted from his stage play of the same name. Dirk Bogarde plays Matt, a youthful IRA soldier dedicated to the cause.
Gone But Not Forgotten… Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail This Christmas, Mark Anthony Ayling remembers holiday blockbuster flop Santa Claus: The Movie from 1985, the year he really came to town… Following the box-office failure of Supergirl in 1984, film producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind turned their attentions to Christmas and what must have seemed a sure-fire winner in Santa Claus: The Movie.
"Heaven Sent And Hell On Wheels" – The Wraith (Blu-Ray review)
In 1986, Mike Marvin, best known for helming skiing documentaries in the 1970’s and writing sex-comedy ski-movie Hot Dog… The Movie released in 1984, would deliver low-budget indie effort The Wraith into cinemas. The Wraith would prove a departure for the filmmaker in that it was a high-concept, science-fiction B movie about a murdered teen who returns from the dead to exact a very specific type of revenge on the gang of murderous street-racers responsible for his demise.
The War Within - The Thin Red Line (Blu-Ray Review)
In the 1970's, Terrence Malick directed two of the era's most celebrated auteur films in serial killer road movie Badlands and period piece Days of Heaven. The films, renowned for their elegiac qualities, astonishing magic hour photography, judicious use of voiceover and poetic sensibilities were two of the decade's finest, showcasing the promise of a young filmmaker with a unique voice in American cinema. Following Days of Heaven, however, Malick did not make another film for twenty years.
"And that is why you must stay here… with me": A.I. Artificial Intelligence at 20
Despite being known as a true Hollywood auteur with hallmarks and recurrent themes, Steven Spielberg has only ever written three films. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Tobe Hooper directed Poltergeist and 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Famously Spielberg inherited the project from friend and mentor Stanley Kubrick before his death. Kubrick lamented that the film was more to Spielberg’s sensibilities than his own.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes anniversary piece
It’s easy now to take for granted the revolution of performance capture technology. It was once upon a time called motion capture, and the change in word might be small but it means a lot in terms of recognising the craft of acting. Performance capture is no different than wearing make-up, it just so happens that the make-up is digital. And no one has been more at the forefront of this revolution than Andy Serkis.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals Coming to PlayStation Consoles at Launch
After being announced at a previous Nintendo Nindies presentation, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals has now been confirmed to release on PS4 and PS5 at the game’s launch in 2022. The sequel to the supernatural mystery-thriller hit Oxenfree is set five years later and stars new protagonist Riley Poverly. A new Playstation Blog, written by the game’s co-writer Adam Hines, reveals further details about Riley and what to expect with the story.
Ariana Grande to Headline Fortnite’s Rift Tour
It’s 2021, which of course means you can watch one of the world’s biggest popstars perform on a virtual stage inside a video game. Epic Games has confirmed that Ariana Grande will be headlining Fortnite‘s Rift Tour – a five-show series of concerts taking place between August 6 and August 8.
"The original idol" – The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Sundance London 2021 Review)
Does beauty come with a price? For Björn Anderson, the cost of beauty was a life plagued by tragedy. For years, the iconic Italian director Luchino Visconti scoured the world for pure and undeniable beauty, hoping to make real the enchanting beauty of Tadzio, the young boy from Thomas Mann’s infamous novella Death In Venice. Mann’s story follows Aschenbach, a man stunted by ennui who finds himself liberated from his languor when he comes across a young boy holidaying with his Mother in Venice.
"This is how we are now" – Together Together (Sundance London 2021 Review)
Leoni Horton looks at Nikole Beckwith’s Sundance hit ‘Together Together.’ Women are expected to be mindful, no matter how much interest they express in ever wanting to actually have children, of nature’s unforgiving and ever-ticking clock. In films like Baby Mama and Juno, we see the panic and sense of failure felt by women of a certain age, who cannot achieve pregnancy independently, as they turn to surrogates to begin the families they yearn for.
Saoirse Ronan and Sam Rockwell Named Among Cast for Upcoming Murder Mystery "See How They Run"
Searchlight Pictures announced today the full cast and crew for the recently completed feature production See How They Run, directed by BAFTA award-winning director Tom George (This Country) from producers Damian Jones and Gina Carter, based on an original screenplay by Mark Chappell.
Cotton Reboot! (Nintendo Switch Review)
In 1991, Success Corporation released Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams into arcades. The game was an early example of the cute ‘em up sub-genre and became a hit with Japanese gamers. Subsequently it translated onto a series of consoles, most notably the X68000 and the PlayStation, and spawned a number of sequels. Fast track to 2019 where we now have an updated version of the game in the West, courtesy of developers Rocket Engine and publisher Beep.
Konami Rebrands PES as Free-to-Play title eFootball
Konami has officially rebranded their Pro Evolution Soccer series as eFootball – a free-to-play, digital only title coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC this Autumn. iOS and Android versions will come this Winter, alongside full cross-platform matchmaking across all available platforms. This drastic overhaul has called for numerous changes, including rebuilding the entire game in Unreal Engine.
The Italian Government is launching its first Video Game
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italian MFA) has announced the launch of Italy: Land of Wonders, a video game that is aimed at bringing the cultural heritage and wonders of Italy to a worldwide audience in general, and to young people in particular. Graphically appealing and targeted to both children and adults, Italy: Land of Wonders portrays the beauty and tradition of the country through an interactive and fun experience.
"I’m Your Man" To Release in Cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema This August
Curzon are delighted to announce Maria Schrader’s Berlin award-winning film I’m Your Man; starring award-winning actress Maren Eggert (Die Frau Am Ende Der Strasse; I Was at Home, But) alongside Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast; Downton Abbey). The film premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, where the German feature saw Maren Eggert win the Silver Bear Award for her leading performance.
"It’s Time For You To Learn The Truth" – The Birthday Cake (Film Review)
Every now and then a film comes along that, on paper, has everything going for it. Every now and then a film comes along with a cast that is so explosively talented and dynamic, it must surely be a winner. Every now and then a film comes along you desperately want to enjoy, but ends up being a convoluted and mind-numbingly dull mess. Step forward, The Birthday Cake.
Jackass 4 Title Revealed and First-Look Images Released
The highly anticipated upcoming Jackass film will officially be called Jackass Forever and a few new images have been revealed, giving us our first look at the film before a trailer releases next week. Celebrating the joy of being back together with your best friends and a perfectly executed shot to the dingdong, the original jackass crew return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd, and often dangerous displays of comedy with a little help from some exciting new cast.
Within the Blade (Nintendo Switch Review)
Previously available on Steam and now releasing digitally on consoles, Within the Blade is a 2D stealth/action platformer developed by Ametist Studio – fun, exciting and an incessantly bloody affair packed with cool weaponry and high-octane action. The game will appeal to fans of the original Ninja Gaiden series, released during the latter half of the eighties, which went on to popular acclaim on both 8 and 16-bit consoles. Basically, the game’s plot is as follows.
The Starless Sea
BookBrowse: Erin Morgenstern's eagerly anticipated second novel is a beguiling modern-day fantasy set in an enchanted subterranean story world brimming with magical symbolism and arcane mythologies. Erin Morgenstern's 2011 debut, The Night Circus, a period romance set at the commencement of the 20th century that recounts the tale of a circus and its enchanted inhabitants, was a publishing sensation.
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