Cinefex 40th Anniversary Issue

I grew up reading Cinefex, the journal of cinematic illusions. As a teenager, I made regular pilgrimages to London with my movie-mad mates where I scoured the shelves of Forbidden Planet – then just a grungy little comic shop off Tottenham Court Road – in the hope of stumbling on a new issue of this … Continue reading Cinefex 40th Anniversary Issue

Cinefex 145 Now Available

There's something hot on my coffee table. It's issue 145 of Cinefex, and it's hot because (a) it's just been published; (b) it has the Millennium Falcon on the cover (signalling the presence of a drop-everything-and-read-it-now article by my colleague Joe Fordham about Star Wars: The Force Awakens); (c) it contains my first article for the … Continue reading Cinefex 145 Now Available

Black Angel

Cast your mind back to 1980. The Empire Strikes Back has just been released. I'm a gawky, geeky teenager who spends his time writing stories, drawing spaceships and making disturbing Super-8 films. I'm also rabid with anticipation for the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker. So imagine my dismay when, after queueing outside Bournemouth's Gaumont Cinema … Continue reading Black Angel

Revisiting Cinefex (16): Rick Baker

You might think that's a real ape on the front cover of Cinefex #16. In fact, it's Kala, one of the remarkable ape characters created by Rick Baker for Hugh Hudson's 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. On the back cover is a searing close-up of the pneumatically operated 'Change-O Head #2' from John … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (16): Rick Baker

Moebius and McQuarrie

You can tell the books I love the most because they're falling apart. This week, I've taken a moment to browse once more through two of the tattiest volumes I own: The Book of Alien and The Art of The Empire Strikes Back. My reason for doing so is a sad one, because this week … Continue reading Moebius and McQuarrie

John Carter came first

Have you seen the new trailer for Disney's forthcoming John Carter of Mars movie? Doesn't it look great? Rousing and spectacular and beautiful. I can't wait to see it. Unfortunately, the trailer also makes John Carter look suspiciously like a cross between Star Wars and Avatar, and I suspect a lot of people are going to be … Continue reading John Carter came first