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2011 - Frankenstein is a stage adaptation by Nick Dear of the novel of the same name.
1970 A sequel unafraid to do what no other has done. Ever.
2016 Taika Watiti - Haiku Driven heart and glorious NZ mayhem.
Bryan Fuller's brilliant 3 season adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon and surrounding mythos is a visual feast of horror, sensuality and emotional longing. A landmark in groundbreaking storytelling that takes television beyond event and into 'going where no one has gone before'.
2016 closes with ROGUE ONE, the film I never knew I had been waiting for since seeing STAR WARS back in 1977 (before it was called Episode IV, A New Hope). This beautifully crafted and complete journey transports the viewer into the war torn world of rag tag rebels fighting impossible odds against a monolithic empire, enhancing the myth with more relevance now than ever. Felicity Jones leads the ensemble cast with compassion and strength.
DIE HARD - 1988 It ain't Christmas without viewing this festive action spectacular featuring the always excellent late Alan Rickman. Smart, charismatic and utterly engaging, Rickman's Gruber remains the villain against which all others are judged.
LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) - Richard Curtis, writer from Black Adder and Mr. Bean, an yes, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, gives a Christmas buffet of love stories, happy, sad, funny and kind. But the story of Jamie (Colin Firth) and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) is my favourite. Love Actually makes it in the annual Christmas movie viewing list alongside Die Hard, Gremlins, Midnight Clear and Christmas Carol.
CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951) Alastair Sim's portrayal of Dickens' Scrooge still shines above all others. This black and white classic is very much the terrifying story of guilt and redemption its meant to be. Scrooge's encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Future haunted my childhood with its faceless uncompromising silence.
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987): The communion between a young Christian Bale and the airplane that represents hope. Often overlooked and worth seeking out, Spielberg's EotS follows a child's view of war and internment, despair and resilience with visceral compassion.
MINORITY REPORT (2002) Spielberg's paranoid sci-fi murder mystery focuses on the decision to kill rather than the act. Interestingly, Colin Farrell's Danny Witwer has the near exact same fate as Kevin Spacey's Jack Vincennes in 1997's L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, directed by the late Curtis Hanson.
"STAR TREK II - THE WRATH OF KHAN" 1982. One of the greatest death scenes ever. "I have been and always shall be... your friend. Live long. And Prosper."
GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - Wes Anderson 2014. Some days we're waiting for Jopling to crush our fingers, other days we're just thinking, Willem Dafoe can play just about anything and should be namesake of our cat - Willo' Dafoe. But maybe that's just me.
