Manchester Film Festival – Day 2 – ‘Shorts 1’

I love short shorts, we love short shorts. What’s Manchester Film Festival?! I hear a lone voice in my head cry. Well it’s this. So Saturday morning comes, there are works on the tram line, because of course, but the inconvenience is admittedly minimal. Those pesky steps up to The Mews negotiated, again the actualContinue reading “Manchester Film Festival – Day 2 – ‘Shorts 1’”

Preview: Head HOME for film this spring…

So we’re all about 50 stone heavier having thrown ourselves while-heartedly into the apparent food festival that is Easter. A blur of hot cross buns, simnel cake and chocolate, we’re tired and all need something a little more…stationary. A little less feeding frenzy, a little more ‘feet up (oi metaphorically, not on the seats), lightsContinue reading “Preview: Head HOME for film this spring…”

Mcr film company, Serious Feather, teases debut feature

I was going to put the title of the film in the title of this blog post. But this would have led to the piece being a little top heavy and in danger of being all title and no content. Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist is quite frankly an excellent nameContinue reading “Mcr film company, Serious Feather, teases debut feature”

FilmFear festival returns to Manchester – tickets now on sale

It’s back. FilmFear returns to HOME this Hallowe’en and this year, slightly beyond, with an extended programme of chills, thrills and downright blood spills. Running from Wednesday 28 October to Thursday 5 November, Film4 and HOME have co-curated a line-up (coined Scream Now, Think Later) of modern genre classics that sink their teeth into politics,Continue reading “FilmFear festival returns to Manchester – tickets now on sale”

Film Review: Tenet

This was my first visit to the cinema in months and since lockdown. As it was a sole visit in a reviewing capacity, it mattered not that I was socially distanced. Other measures taken were a groovy one way system and hand sanitiser stations. Elbows flailing to their hearts content, I settled down (extra pointsContinue reading “Film Review: Tenet”

A welcome HOME on 4 September?

There’s light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel, my friends. We all know the worries and concerns for the theatre, and indeed arts and entertainment industry as a collective. But as 4 July becomes some sort of D-day, a heralding of freedom, venues who have been left out of the loopContinue reading “A welcome HOME on 4 September?”

Film Preview: Military Wives

I will be honest, and I don’t mean this to be offensive to any film that is based on a true story about real people, with real life events and feelings, but I generally, and admittedly cynically, run a mile from anything that has a whiff of ‘feel-good’. But I’ll happily (yes i can doContinue reading “Film Preview: Military Wives”

Film Review: Greed

As a child i was terrified of the poem, The Lion and Albert, by Marriott Edgar. Set at a ‘famous seaside place called Blackpool’, it was all literally a bit close to home for me (growing up in a small village about 3 miles out….) It still haunts me. Anyway, I’ll just leave that hereContinue reading “Film Review: Greed”

News: HOME brings in 2020 with a retrospective of award-winning Mancunian screenwriter, Robert Bolt

I’m currently trying my hand at screenwriting (under the excellent tutorage of Scriptwriting North), love a regular visit to HOME and dip my toe in the world of film both here and over at What the Projectionist Saw So battling my way through a frankly annoying barrage of emails in my inbox about Black Friday,Continue reading “News: HOME brings in 2020 with a retrospective of award-winning Mancunian screenwriter, Robert Bolt”

Pavement – Manchester film about homelessness launches crowdfunder

It’s a topic that is never far from our minds (or sight) in Manchester: homelessness. Indeed it was only Sunday that I attended the play ‘Frozen Peas in an Old Tin Can’, about three rough sleepers – Review: Frozen Peas in an Old Tin Can (Greater Manchester Fringe) – raising both money and awareness of the issue.Continue reading “Pavement – Manchester film about homelessness launches crowdfunder”

Review: Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

My mum told me this story of being at the cricket at Old Trafford. Frank Sidebottom had made a glorious appearance (actual Frank – there were many pretenders to the papier-mâché head aesthetic with ‘hilarious’ consequences…) In fact in Being Frank… John Thomson tells us of Chris Sievey getting out a scrap book he keptContinue reading “Review: Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story”

Head HOME for Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and so on and so forth. In fact, let us not mess around. Let’s just go straight to Chris Rea. Ish. Because this year, Mancs, Honorary Mancs, Visitors to Manc… I’m going HOME this Christmas… Why, you ask? Well I can’t wait to see those faces. Whose, youContinue reading “Head HOME for Christmas”

‘Mandy’ at HOME Mcr

Earlier in the week I told you about the brilliant FilmFear season at HOME Mcr until 31 October 2018. Review on Mandy now in on sister blog What the Projectionist Saw and all I will say is two words: Nicolas Cage…. https://whattheprojectionistsaw.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/mandy-how-happy-you-made-me/ Next showing at HOME on Monday 5 November and Friday 9 November.

Madama Butterfly 🦋 Fatal Passions and Attraction

I last wrote about this topic (in more detail)in my dissertation in the year cough cough etc. You understand my entire dissertation wasn’t based on Michael Douglas but a small portion of it. I don’t have a degree in Michael Douglas. I focussed on the femme fatale on film and how feminist theory has beenContinue reading “Madama Butterfly 🦋 Fatal Passions and Attraction”

All aboard for Brief Encounter – destination West End, first stop Salford…

I’ve been commuting since I was 12 years old, getting the bus to school, 2.9miles away (that 0.1 is very important given that it disqualified me from the free bus pass that the elusive and illustrious 3 mile commute brought you). Buses gave way to trains once starting uni and then work, and I seriouslyContinue reading “All aboard for Brief Encounter – destination West End, first stop Salford…”