Alphaville (1965)

My enduring memory of Alphaville (1965) was the shot near the end of a Parisian freeway at night, the collection of lights in the darkness, a simple and low budget way of implying a future space. To travel to another galaxy as mundane as driving down a highway, yet still otherworldly in the grainy black […]

The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

Movies about virtual reality and the internet envision worlds within worlds – levels, Jerry, levels. So it is with movies about VR: The Matrix is at the top level, being a critical and commercial success that still stands the test of time. Then you have the next level, films like Dark City, which weren’t box […]

Johnny Mnenomic (1995)

I distinctly remember seeing Johnny Mnemonic (1995) at the cinema when I was a teenager and afterwards trying to convince myself it was good. That it was worth the pocket money I spent on the ticket. Like most people, I was hoping for a great Keanu action movie like Speed. It wasn’t that; it was […]

Narrow Margin (1990)

Gene Hackman’s presence as a thinking man action star occupied video store shelf space in the 1980s with stuff like The Package, Bat 21 and Company Business. Pre-Tom Clancy, Cold War era, Dad movies utilising Hackman’s trademark quality; an affable chuckle that could snap into authoritarian rage. For the film noir remake, Narrow Margin (1990), […]

Turbulence (1997)

When Turbulence (1997) was advertised on release, I dismissed it as trash, particularly another pre-9/11 airplane action-disaster movie in the wake of Die Hard 2, Passenger 57, Executive Decision, Con Air, etc. Though the movie trailer does feature my favourite 1990s trailer cliche, which is using the bridge of White Zombie’s ‘More Human Than Human’ […]