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Category Archives: Film Reviews

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (A Review by Gavin Deas)

Today we welcome Gavin Deas the author of the stunning Empires: The First Battle back to the blog for a **SPOILER FILLED** review of The Force Awakens. You have been warned.  The two-headed monster that is Gavin Deas has been fighting again. This time, however, they’re not arguing over the colour of lasers, or who’d win a fight between a dragon and mech. No, this time it’s serious. This time they’ve both been to see Star Wars: the Force Awakens. First up, representing the Dark Side of the Farce, Gavin Smith: So my opinions on the Star Wars franchise are…

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Best Films of 2015

Gollancz Editorial Manager Charlie gives his rundown on the best films of last year, based on UK cinema release dates. Honourable Mentions: Big Hero 6, Sicario, Song of the Sea, Tangerine, Wild 20. Dope (dir. Rick Famuyiwa) Wonderfully energetic and freewheeling, with one of the few good uses of a voiceover in a non-Scorsese film, and it was nice to see Tony Revolori again after The Grand Budapest Hotel. 19. Clouds of Sils Maria (dir. Olivier Assayas) One of those fascinating character studies where the lines betwen fact and fiction are hazy throughout. Easily Kristen Stewart’s best role to date,…

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Blood Music

By Gareth Powell The other night, I watched Lucy, the 2014 film written and directed by Luc Besson. It starred Scarlett Johansson as the titular character: an American student coerced into becoming a drug mule, only to become something much stranger when her body starts absorbing the experimental substance carried in her stomach. In this way, the film bears a superficial similarity to the 2011 movie, Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper as a deadbeat writer whose life gets turned around when he ingests a tablet that unleashes his full inner potential. Both movies make use of the myth that human being…

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Max and Me: A Guest Post by Jon Wallace

We are delighted to welcome Jon Wallace back to the Gollancz Blog. Jon Wallace joins us to discuss Mad Max: Fury Road. Warning, spoilers are ahead. When my debut novel, Barricade, was published last year, a few people were kind enough to compare its exhaust-choked action with the ‘Mad Max’ films. Therefore this month, with the publication of book two in the trilogy, Steeple, the good people at Gollancz suggested I write something about Mad Max: Fury Road. I thought it might be fun to compare it to one of the older films. I dismissed two right away: the original…

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Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Avengers Age of Ultron Review

By Charlie It’s been a few weeks and I guess many people will have now seen it so here are some of my thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron. SPOILERS AHEAD (obviously) plus much waffling: – I’ve seen it twice now and overall I really like it. It’s definitely not as good as the original and that surprise factor is gone, but despite the flaws I had a blast watching it. Whatever one’s opinions on the film in general, I do think this was the best film they could have made, given the circumstances of being part of the MCU.…

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