By Marty Mulrooney
At the beginning of this week I went to see Crank 2 with a good friend of mine. Afterwards, I decided a film review was completely pointless. This is for several different reasons, as I will now try to explain:
Category Archives: Film
FEATURE ARTICLE – Scarface and Popular Culture
By Marty Mulrooney
Scarface, Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime saga, is still a huge part of popular culture within society in the present day. Upon its release, it was simultaneously applauded and condemned by critics and audiences, causing controversy due to its content and nature. However, by its very nature, controversy often helps a film rather than hinders it; the notoriety of the violence, profanity and drug taking that would now seem commonplace in an R rated film, certainly helped seal it within pop culture in many ways.
The pairing of an accomplished director, with a screenplay penned by another famous director, Oliver Stone, should have indicated a runaway success. Again however, the nature of the film both hurt its success, and ensured it would endure to entertain audiences today, over 20 years later.
FILM ARCHIVE – Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007)
By Marty Mulrooney
Twenty-five years in its arrival and as many feet high, it stared at me through the darkness, a large, unblinking eye. Reflected in its depths was a whole cityscape; a futuristic Los Angeles, terrifying in its bleakness, plumes of fire rising from stacks up towards the heavens.
So there I was, with the biggest grin on my face, watching this eye. I wasn’t afraid; I had seen it before. But never so clear, or so…BIG. Admittedly, to catch the film Blade Runner during its first big screen run in 1982, I would have to build a time machine: I hadn’t been born yet. Seeing it here now, looking brand new, felt like a revelation.
Filed under Film
FEATURE ARTICLE – Michael Mann: Auteur
By Marty Mulrooney
The director that I have chosen as the basis of my auteur thesis in this article is American director Michael Mann, who is also a screenwriter and producer. He made several made-for-television films, before his debut film Thief in 1981. This launched a film career spanning over 20 years to the present day, with his last film being Miami Vice, released in 2006. Miami Vice is itself a re-invention of a cult television show of the same name that Mann produced from 1984 to 1990, amounting to 110 shows altogether.
The topic of the auteur is now much more dominant than it has ever been, with the word sometimes being overused. But does it apply to Michael Mann? Continue reading
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