Inspiration and motivation can be a precious substance in the art world, especially with commercial pressure stopping creatives from fully exploring the ideas they want. It has paradoxically been a point of inspiration itself. With some creating art about the pressures of not creating art. … Continue reading Xanadu (1980)
Adaptions are not that challenging when you think about them. You take the original, mix it up a bit, and just like magic, a new product for a new audience. Some might consider this unimaginative, but even the process of adapting could be mined for … Continue reading Bewitched (2005)
Britain during the 60s holds this almost mythical status in pop culture, a creative explosion of music, fashion, entertainment and ultimately expression. But this era of free love was not universally accepted, especially amongst the establishment, who, while they ultimately lost the culture war, put … Continue reading The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio) (2009)
Espionage and romance in fiction seem to go together swimmingly. In reality, this might be somewhat murkier, what with the inherent secrecy, but you do get cases. Tales that go unheard of for years only to be unearthed decades later, when the conflicts that fueled … Continue reading Red Joan (2018)
Romance in films, let alone fiction, is great. The constraints of reality do not have to bring the fantasy down. Just leaving you relationships that you want to see succeed, despite the circumstances. In 1983, one film took on the wildest imagination of a small … Continue reading A Night In Heaven (1983)
The Big Apple is home to a surplus of unique attraction and places. Those that stand out usually have a gimmick or unique selling point. One in particular gained fame and or infamy (depending on who you ask) for having their staff occasionally perform dances … Continue reading Coyote Ugly (2000)
It’s hard to make Romantic Comedies interesting, audiences have certain expectations how they should play out, as such it’s pretty easy to stick to a formula and harder than you think to mess it up. In 2008, A romantic comedy tested all those conventions to … Continue reading From Paris to Berlin Part 2: The Hottie and the Nottie (2008)
The Costa Nostra, as I discussed before, has struck a chord with the collective psyche of America. With cultural touchstones like The Sopranos, and Goodfellas showing the nation that there’s a compelling side to the mob. Most of the time it’s serious and morose, reflecting … Continue reading Gigli (2003)
It has been said (originally by Miguel de Cervantes) that all is fair in love and war. Although, it is possible to take both of those sentiments to their extremes. In 2012, a film both presupposed and showcased what would happen when two friends, armed … Continue reading This Means War (2012)
It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows, which is weird considering just how polarising different ideological beliefs can be. On the other hand, we have seen co-hosts with conflicting politics who became married. Maybe love can survive constant political debates, but what if these … Continue reading He Said, She Said (1991)
