Christopher Connor

With the news that legendary British cinematographer Roger Deakins is to receive a Knighthood, it’s an apt time to assess some of the marvelous films he has shot
Beloved for his stunning and innovative style, Roger Deakins is perhaps best known for his 12 collaborations with the Coen brothers. His work, however, is prolific, having served as DoP with many others such as Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. Over the past three decades, Deakins has cemented himself as one of the ma...

Jean-Luc Godard’s legend is hard to ignore. Within the canon of great filmmakers of the 1960s and 70s, he is still far and away one of the most recognisable and iconic names, and is known for revolutionising the form alongside the likes of Jean-Pierre Melville, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda and Jacques Demy. Godard’s films Vivre Sa Vie, Bande à part, Le Mépris and Pierrot le Fou remain some of the defining films of the French New Wave and European Cinema as a whole. Godard has influenced countless American directors, ranging from Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese to m

The Royal Tenenbaums is a wonderful showcase for the creative minds of Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, building on the success of Rushmore to become one of the most iconic works in Anderson’s filmography. The cinematography we’ve come to know and love from Anderson’s films is more prominent than in previous releases and the wonderful ensemble cast compliment each other perfectly, with standout work from Gene Hackman and the Wilson brothers. While The Royal Tenenbaums may be closing in on its twenty year anniversary, it has lost none of its inventiveness or quirkiness and continues to be a deligh

Read Chris’ review of episodes one to four here.
The second half of season two of The Mandalorian has proved a consistent hit for both fans and critics as the series continues to blaze its own trail, while offering tantalising links to the franchise’s past. With a plethora of spin-off series in this timeline announced, we can expect some greater payoffs from these links, and look forward to delving deeper into elements that are only mentioned briefly here.
‘The Jedi’ offers a first glimpse at...

Stockport lads Blossoms work their magic in the virtual world
Blossoms have had quite the 2020 starting with number one record Foolish Loving Spaces earning them some of their best reviews to date and a series of lockdown recordings to lift fans spirits through the pandemic . They also put out a fine live record from their concert at the Plaza Theatre in Stockport in the early part of 2020. The group have put on a virtual concert at London’s iconic O2 Brixton Academy that acted as a fantastic...

The Assassin’s Creed series moved away from the European and the Middle Eastern setting which had served as the backbone of the original game to Revelations for the second main segment of the franchise beginning with Assassin’s Creed III. This game moved the series to North America, which would also make up the backbone of later titles including AC Black Flag and Rogue. AC III was the first entry in the series to divide players and critics with many feeling its story and gameplay failed to de...

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has been a constant on the gaming circuit for 13 years following the release of its debut title in 2007, its fortunes have somewhat fluctuated in the years since but it has developed a devoted legion of fans over the years. With a new Television adaptation lined up at Netflix and the 12th main game in the franchise Valhalla now available, it seems an appropriate time to dive into the saga’s timeline and history.
The first game in the series is the eponymous debu...

Rushmore (1998)
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriters: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson
Following on from the relative success of his debut Bottle Rocket, famed film auteur Wes Anderson developed a more distinctive style with his follow-up, 1998’s Rushmore. Rushmore stars Jason Schwartzman as fifteen year old Max Fischer in his film debut; a teenager who is focused more on his extra-curricular activities than his studie...

Bottle Rocket (1996)
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriters: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
Starring: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, James Caan, Lumi Cavazos
Wes Anderson’s films have become something of a cultural phenomenon over the past two decades, with his distinctively colourful palettes spawning a series of imitators (and Instagram fan pages) and his quirky, distinctive tone and blend of humour and drama winning fans across the globe. Heavily influenced by the French New Wave of t...

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Godard’s follow-up to Breathless bursts with colour and Karina.
Jean-Luc Godard celebrated his 90th birthday last week (3 December 2020) and his legacy in French and international cinema has been well documented. He burst onto the scene with the radical and cool Noir Breathless which shaped the way for other French filmmakers in what would become the Nouvelle Vague translating as the New Wave. Godard has gone on to inspire both his fellow countrymen like Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda a...

Alan Ball has had a varied career in film and television for the past three decades. He won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Sam Mendes’ American Beauty and has since conceived the hit television series, Six Feet Under and True Blood. Ball’s latest endeavour, on this occasion from the director’s chair is the Paul Bettany led 1970s set Uncle Frank. Uncle Frank is a sweet road-trip film dealing with the Bledsoe family coming to terms with the death of their patriarch and Frank’s desire...

The Mandalorian has become something of a sensation since it launched in the US in late 2019 and the UK in March of this year, so much so that the internet has seen enough Baby Yoda soup memes to last a lifetime. The reaction to this latest dive into the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas has won over a legion of fans and critics alike, something that the latter entries in the Sequel Trilogy struggled to achieve. The series largely succeeds by standing apart from its film predecessors...

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Synth music is perhaps now taken for granted, so ingrained is its presence in both contemporary pop music and film scores, spearheaded by the likes of Vangelis and John Carpenter and countless others since. French musician and producer Mark Collin makes his directorial debut with Le Choc Du Futur, taking us lovingly back to the synth’s birth and expansion in the mid to-late 1970s. He focuses on home recording pioneers in Paris, and the impact the new wave of synth–inspired sounds had on...