N ext year marks 30 years since John Woo's 1996 action spectacle, Broken Arrow. During the middle act of the film a nuclear explosion goes off deep in an underground mine, setting off a chain reaction of electrical-magnetic-pulse (EMP) disruption. The resulting shockwave tremors across the Utah desert, as the EMP makes a helicopter go down in epic destruction, and Major Deakins (played so over the top by John Travolta it just adds to the fun of the film) yells out " I said goddamn, what a rush! Woo !" Reading reviews of the film from the past, a time I didn't really invest too much of my time reading critic reviews in the local papers or magazines, it astounds me the slightly cold reception  Broken Arrow received. I mean, the film is just a classic 90s action rush! Having seen the film countless times it's one of my favourite action films, and for the 108 minute runtime it just flows perfectly for me - when you get it! You've got the good guy and the bad guy, ...

My article on Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) I n 1983 the conclusion to the Star Wars saga hit cinemas. Originally intended to be titled  Revenge of the Jedi  it was changed to be more appropriately titled  Return of the Jedi.  It was a year after E.T (1982) and science-fiction/fantasy was well and truly upon the kids and teenagers of the 1980s. In 1997, I was experiencing Return of the Jedi for the first time and seeing how the epic story concluded.  The title change was Lucas feeling it was inappropriate, as a Jedi shouldn't be following the path of revenge ( source ). The change directive came after promo material had already begun circulating. This would also become part of the belief from some that it was also to soften the film to being more child/family friendly a film, which was met (and still is) with criticism following the darker theme and delivery of The Empire Strikes Back. I can honestly say, I was aware of this even as a ch...

A fter seeing the cinematic sci-fi master piece Star Wars , I only had to wait 2 weeks to see the next instalment in the adventures of Luke Skywalker. The film was The Empire Strikes Back. Released in 1980 it is deemed the greatest of the Star Wars films and more so one of the best films of all time. And the best part for me was not only had I limited wait time versus those kids back in 1977 who had to hang in there for 3 years to see this film, but it was also the follow-up I didn't even know existed until I saw the poster after seeing Star Wars  with my mum. I walked out of Star Wars  feeling my world forever changed. Then I saw the posters on the exit ramp wall leaving the cinema grounds. In one of them it showcased a silhouette of a smaller man fighting a tall figure - who looked like Darth Vader. "Return of the Jedi" it read. Then my eyes narrowed in on the small font bordering the film title.  "Star Wars". On  the next poster it had Han Solo? Yes, Han Sol...

I t was autumn of 1997. Unknown to me this was 20 years after one of the most  spectacular achievements in modern cinematic history had been released, and taken the world by mind blowing visuals and sounds. Set in a galaxy far, far away, the film would becomes universally known as Star Wars . Some call it A New Hope , but let's keep it traditional - Star Wars . At this stage of my life movies were more a time filler, than the escapism and fascination it would become (and still is). The sports field was more my calling or playing with action figures in my room. Yes, I had seen my dinosaur obsession taken to new heights after seeing Jurassic Park in 1993, my intrigue with martial arts had begun with The Karate Kid (1984, which I first saw in 1994) and started digging into the world of comedy through Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis' Mr. Bean , and the overtop physical comedies of Ace Ventura (1994/5), the start of the animation CGI innovation through toys with a life of their...