Fallen Icons - Christian Slater

Here is a brief Biography of the Icon…

Born in New York back in 1969, Christian Slater had a great head start as an actor thanks to his showbiz family; his mother Mary Jo was a casting agent and his father Michael Hawkins was an established actor. It was not long before he made his debut in a tv soap aged just seven years old and he was soon sent to a performing arts school where he honed his talents as a stage actor.

Deciding to drop out of school as a teen to pursue his acting career, Slater definitely made the right move and it wasn't long before his Hollywood dreams began to come true as he worked his way through a number of films and eventually landed the part of a crazed psycopath in Heathers, which gained him a lot of female attention and cemented his position as an actor to watch out for. Following on from this Christian Slater became a hugely popular actor in the early 90's with his fantastic performances in critical and commercial successes such as Interview with a Vampire and True Romance gaining him even more fans and propelling him towards stardom. It appeared that the sky was the limit for the bright young actor as he reached his mid-twenties, what could possibly go wrong from here?

What went wrong?

It was the success of Slater's career that led to his downward spiral, the excesses of his growing fame caused a number of run-ins with the law and whilst his acting career continued to thrive up until the mid nineties the film offers eventually began to dry up. His first serious encounter with the police took place in 1989 when he drunkenly tried to outrun them in his car, hit a lamp-post and ended up kicking an officer. Nice work Slater.

Future events in the mid nineties led him to spending time in jail with his offences including boarding a plane with a gun in his luggage, attacking his girlfriend whilst under the influence of cocaine and biting a police officer on his stomach! This crazy behaviour coupled with his poor career decisions led to him taking on a number of unforgettable roles, with few of his post 1994 films being worth your time. Whilst he has eventually managed to move away from the bad-boy image that took over in his twenties, Slater has struggled to emulate his earlier successes.

Where is he now?
Continue reading at Front Room Cinema

Film Review - Take Shelter

There seems to be a new apocalyptic film out every other week lately and whilst most lack originality, every once in while a film comes along with a fresh perspective on the genre, Take Shelter is one such film, but does it deliver?

Focussing on the build up to a possible global disaster, Take Shelter looks at the life of Curtis, a family man who experiences visceral dreams and nightmares that appear to predict a forthcoming catastrophe. Throughout the film we are unsure if these visions really are prophetic or if Curtis is suffering from the same illness that affected his mother when she was his age, and it is the answer to this mystery that drives the narrative forward as Curtis delves deeper into his past whilst the visions that plague him become more profound.

Michael Shannon is perfectly cast as Curtis, he has been blessed with a face that always looks confused and this is a fitting characteristic considering his character's uncertain state of mind. Although it is a great performance, I can't help feeling that the Oscar buzz surrounding his role is any more than hot air, Shannon's explosive outburst halfway through the film is phenomenal but he spends most of the movie staring into the sky, completely mystified by the onset of gloomy weather.

The sunshine in Curtis' life is his deaf daughter Hannah, who he will do anything to protect and is one of the key reasons behind his decision to build the titular shelter that will keep his family safe if his predictions of a catastrophe ring true. Jessica Chastain is excellent as the glue that keeps the family together when her husband begins to show signs of instability, despite her doubts as to his seemingly crazy obsession with creating a shelter in their own back garden.

Continue reading at Front Room Cinema

Five Films that Define Me

When faced with the most difficult question you could possibly ask a film fan ‘What’s your favourite film?’ I tend to stutter and mumble for a while before coming to the conclusion that there is no way I could choose just one film that pinpoints my obsession with cinema. Choosing five films to define myself by is no mean feat either, but I have given it a go, and here are my choices:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

I remember picking this up on DVD some years ago in HMV; a wise old man resembling Obi-Wan Kenobi was browsing through the films next to me when he stopped and uttered those magical words; no, not ’Use the force Luke’ but ‘That’s the best film ever made’. I had never met him but for some reason I had no doubt that he was speaking the truth (this was probably a Jedi mind trick) and promptly brought the film with no idea that it would soon become one of my all-time favourites. Grounded by Nicholson and Fletcher's Oscar winning performances, this captivating drama set in the confines of a mental institution is a deeply poignant story that should be compulsory viewing for every film fan. The humour throughout is note perfect, and Forman does an excellent job of combining the elements of comedy with more emotionally charged scenes in order to reel the audience in before tugging at their heartstrings. I have lost count of the times I have watched this film, and wish I could go back to the man who intervened in HMV, shake his hand, and take him for a pint.

A Clockwork Orange

I would happily include almost all of Kubrick’s films in this list given the space, but seeing as I am limited to five; it had to be A Clockwork Orange. Based on Anthony Burgess’ controversial novel, the story follows Alex, a manipulative teen gang leader who has an unhealthy obsession with Classical music and ultra-violence, much to the horror of the adults in his life. Withdrawn from distribution by Kubrick himself due to acts of copycat violence attributed to the film, A Clockwork Orange’s notoriety precedes it, and even today, fourty years after its initial release, the film retains its shock value. I was the tender age of fourteen when I first watched A Clockwork Orange at a friend’s house and ever since I have had an unhealthy obsession for controversial films that push the boundaries of cinema - if they've been banned, then even better.

Continue Reading at Front Room Cinema

Film Review - The Awakening

Ghost stories that rely on subtle scares and unsettling atmospheres are usually far more effective than films which rely on gore and elaborate death scenes to frighten the viewer, and it was with this in mind that I had been anticipating Nick Murphy’s feature length debut, The Awakening, a traditional ghost story that takes place in 1920s England.

 Rebecca Hall plays Florence Cathart, a scientist who specialises in uncovering fraud mediums who prey on people that are desperate to reconnect with their deceased loved ones using spiritual methods. After an enthralling séance scene sets the mood, Florence is called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young boy who vanished under mysterious circumstances at an isolated boarding school. On her arrival she is introduced to a number of suspicious characters who inevitably turn out to have troubled pasts that hide dark secrets, and Florence eventually begins to wonder if ghosts really do exist.

 Continue Reading at Front Room Cinema