tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110123422012-01-17T16:07:05.190-08:00Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-79747809743928958092012-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:002012-01-17T15:50:40.928-08:00

I saw 158 films in 2011 -- fewer than I did in 2010, but enough to keep me busy.Let me know what you thought of the movies below (I've just copied and pasted what I tweeted at the time). Is there anything good that I have missed?Please be warned that some of these movies aren't to everyone's tastes. For every born-again Malick fan this summer, there was someone else walking out during The Tree of

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-45318834712361512472011-07-19T11:29:00.000-07:002011-07-19T15:41:29.696-07:00

Terence Malick has put some beautiful things on the big screen in his time. I can think of no other filmmaker who makes the natural world around him seem so rich, so beautiful, so full of life. I gather his secret is that his movies are only partly in his head when he starts making them. The things that bring his films to life are the things that happen around him when he’s there, in the moment,

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-58837337401128908832011-01-13T09:30:00.000-08:002011-01-13T09:42:08.173-08:00

I saw 175 films this year. Some of them were great; others were less great. I hope these four lists help someone out there to choose what to watch (and what not to watch) in 2011.Please let me know what you thought of these movies. And if you saw anything good this year, give me a heads-up. I'm always looking for stuff to add to my rental list.NB: I apologise for my sloppy blogging. Instead of

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-30906317997975234872009-12-30T16:05:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:25:54.210-08:00

So here it is. After I compiled a list of my top 100 movies from the last 10 years, I found that numbers 50 through 100 weren’t actually that amazing. But while the 00s hasn’t been the greatest ever decade for film, it hasn’t been the worst either – not by a long shot.Let me know what you think of my list, and let me know if I’ve missed out on anything special. Thanks!1) The Three Burials of

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-73967870370253883232007-04-15T07:29:00.000-07:002009-12-30T16:14:25.162-08:00

I don’t like to review individual films on Celluloid Jungle, but I really have to vent my frustration about one film in particular: The Shawshank Redemption (1994). It lacks imagination. many of its characters are two-dimensional and its story is predictable.It has some good dramatic moments, but instead of contributing to the protagonists' journey in a congruous way they're mostly there to pass

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-6357396068582707632007-02-24T07:59:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:15:35.864-08:00

I just cancelled my subscription to Empire magazine. Here is the email that I sent them:Hi EmpireI have been an Empire reader since 1995 and subscriber since 1997. But today I cancelled my direct debit.My reasons:You blur the lines between reviews and paid-for advertorials. It's difficult to know what sentiments are your own and what sentiments are included because they complement your

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1164132177318385692006-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:17:23.009-08:00

Before Casino Royale, I was of the opinion that the Bond franchise had run its course and was just retreading a very tired formula. Die Another Day was just a greatest hits compilation, a film so intent on celebrating itself that it forgot about story and character. It had all of the gadgets, catchphrases and gimmicks that we have come to associate with Bond and none of the personality upon which

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1158519744729204572006-09-17T11:40:00.000-07:002009-12-30T16:16:09.649-08:00

The DVDs in my collection, and I suspect most people’s, fall into three main categories: 1) classics, 2) rewatchables and 3) classic rewatchables.ClassicsA film in category 1 isn’t really worth buying unless you’ve never seen it and it’s on sale for the cost of a rental disc. Citizen Kane and Raging Bull are awe-inspiring, but although you admire the way they are put together and you enjoy the

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1149105919888016012006-05-31T12:38:00.000-07:002009-12-30T16:16:24.879-08:00

I recently watched two films that are exceptional in that they are far better appreciated for their exquisite cinematography than for their slow-paced stories.I had waited a long time for the chance to see each of the films. The wait for Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger (1975) was partly imposed on me by the film’s star, my personal hero Jack Nicholson, who selfishly sat on the Italian

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1142762334557273882006-03-19T01:22:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:16:39.201-08:00

If they can get permission, US cinemas will start jamming cellphone reception during screenings. Read the full story here.The implications for impudent teenagers? At present they don't go to the cinema because there's a film they want to see; they go to the cinema because have nothing else to do. They get bored quickly and they have no manners, so they call or text their friends after five

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1141599668097539702006-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:16:53.701-08:00

My latest piece of film yak is written specifically for people who work in technology marketing, so few Celluloid Jungle visitors are likely to find it of interest. I'm really sorry about the hiatus - I'll try to write something with a broader appeal sometime soon.If, by happenstance, you work in B2B tech marketing, and Hollywood's portrayal of public relations consultants is exactly what you

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1130792072346264062005-10-31T12:51:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:17:10.643-08:00

We are treated to a lot of quirky cinema these days. There are directors who go out of their way to be peculiar, unpredictable, unconventional… And with good reason too, probably. "What," they probably ask themselves, "is the point in being a filmmaker if I do not bring something new to the world of cinema?" All the stories have been told before, so the only scope for originality lies in the way

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1113155956293729582005-04-10T10:51:00.000-07:002009-12-30T16:17:34.477-08:00

A perennial of film journalism here in Britain is the special feature evaluating the success of home-grown talent in the movies. At least once a year, every British film magazine and broadsheet culture supplement has a ‘special’ issue wherein they list the biggest British stars and/or discuss the most successful British films, perhaps with a Ewan McGregor interview somewhere and a few ‘hot new

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1112299661998222742005-03-31T11:58:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:17:50.057-08:00

The other day I saw my very first Charlie Chaplin film. In my ignorance, I had never imagined that his films would appeal to anyone from my generation, or indeed the one that preceded it, so I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth, humour and intelligence that appeared before me on the screen. I tend to avoid slapstick because most things that a human can do can be tuned to perfection or wildly

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1110633437239418112005-03-12T04:48:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:18:01.457-08:00

Jack Nicholson is my favourite actor. He might not be the best actor on the planet (De Niro, perhaps?), but he is colourful, he has integrity, and he is far more versatile than most people give him credit for. (Most people just see the eyebrows and the grin, and never explore his more interesting films.)Out of sheer fanaticism, I have sat through 35 of Jack's films. Of the 22 that I haven't seen,

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1109707842644760122005-03-01T12:08:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:18:16.779-08:00

While I am not surprised that Million Dollar Baby (2004) took Best Directing and Best Picture at the Oscars this year, I can’t conceal my disappointment at Sideways (2004) having to settle for Best Adapted Screenplay, or indeed at Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) having to settle for Best Original Screenplay.To me, there is no logic behind the Academy’s voting. A screenplay is a

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11012342.post-1109116232949647092005-02-22T15:42:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:18:30.604-08:00

Welcome to Celluloid Jungle.This blog is here for me to air and share my thoughts on film. I tend to watch all sorts of films. Even when I find a genre I dislike, I explore it until I learn to appreciate it. Some films, of course, are unlovable, but sometimes it’s necessary to watch them to remind oneself of how good other films are by comparison.What films do I watch most? The number of times I’

Robert Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373947182646291489noreply@blogger.com0