According to IMDb, Franklyn was originally set to star Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany and John Hurt, along with still-starring Eva Green, until McGregor broke his leg in a motorcycling accident and schedules were disrupted. I think that the resulting film would have changed response to it from ‘Hmm, interesting’ to…
This won't be a review free from bias: I first bought Watchmen in trade paperback form 20 years ago and have read it on average once a year since then. It was the story that made me realise the power of comic books, made me become a fan of Alan…
I might be sharing too much here, but I've always loved the idea of 'psychic' powers – telepathy and telekinesis in particular – which is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men so much growing up. The ability to do things with the power of the…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a beautiful love story – the film will only work if you allow the charm of the story to work its magic upon you. Unlike Roger Ebert or Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, two respected film critics whose opinion I trust, I found…
I saw Slumdog Millionaire before it won all its BAFTAs last night but didn't get round to reviewing it, so this is probably the best time to share my thoughts. Slumdog Millionaire is NOT the 'feel-good film of the decade' – you should know that before seeing this film (even…
I don't like wrestling. Being British, I associate it with overweight old men in skimpy leotards shouting 'Easy! Easy!' on a Saturday afternoon. I don't doubt that the performers are extremely fit and they work extra hard; however, an entertainment where everything is planned in advance isn't a sport. I…
I have never read the books by Cornelia Funke but, being a fan of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books, the premise is too intriguing to ignore: 'silvertongues' have the power to bring things from books to life when they read aloud. That's a good concept. Having a gift certificate for…
Confession: I have never read Will Eisner’s The Spirit. I am aware of Eisner and The Spirit and the Eisner Awards and the influence of Eisner on comic book storytelling; it’s just that I haven’t read the original stories. Even the London library system doesn’t have any collections for me…
Kevin Smith deserves to have a mainstream hit but Zach And Miri Make A Porno isn't it – trying to mix his verbose vulgarity with the gross-out sensibility unfortunately doesn't work, creating a sporadically funny but uneven film that doesn't hang together. The film does what it says on the…
How do Marvel solve a problem like the Hulk? A fondly remembered television series, a film by a renowned arthouse director, and a character on t-shirts and lunchboxes and underpants. But is the character himself worth effort? The film critic Mark Kermode calls him a character who essentially doesn't work,…