Not much to write Holmes about

[Eugene Yiga: @eugeneyiga] When I started my quest to read the 100 greatest books of all time, I never knew it would make me a more discerning movie-goer. Well, it has. Reading the book before I see the film is the reason why I was so impressed by what I felt was a faithful adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It's also why I was quite disappointed by The Count of Monte Cristo, a movie I once loved to death until I read the masterpiece by Alexandre Dumas and realised how much Hollywood hacked it up. 13 Jan 2012 11:10

Beware The Ides Of March

[Eugene Yiga] Strange things happen when a group of Hollywood hotshots star in a film; either you get something like Contagion, a movie so brilliant that even a bowl of peanuts sent shivers down your spine, or you get something like New Year's Eve, a movie so bad that it makes you wonder how so many agents could be so blind. 9 Jan 2012 10:40

Punk In Africa to be screened at The Labia

The documentary film Punk In Africa, which is the untold story of the multiracial punk movement within recent political and social upheavals in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe will be screened at The Labia Cinema on Orange, Cape Town on 17 January and the Bioscope, Joburg from 20 to 27 January, 2012. 9 Jan 2012 10:29

The scoop on Tintin

[Eugene Yiga] Watching ET changed my life. I was so inspired by the way that movie made me laugh and cry that I actually decided to become a director so that I could inspire other people too. Needless to say, Steven Spielberg has been my hero ever since. The man has such an amazing ability to take you on an adventure, so when I realised that he was directing the new Tintin movie, I couldn't wait to see what adventure he'd take us on this time. 4 Jan 2012 11:43

Bust nets R1,9m in fake goods

Fake DVDs, CDs, counterfeit clothing and credit-card-cloning machines have been confiscated by police in major busts in Gauteng where goods valued at R1,9m were seized according to Business Live. 29 Dec 2011 11:48

Joy to the world in Arthur Christmas

[Eugene Yiga] Do you believe in Santa? If you're reading this, the answer is (probably) no. Besides, if he lives at the North Pole, how come you can't see his house on Google Earth? And how exactly does he deliver toys to millions of kids around the world without travelling so fast that he bursts into flames? Well, it turns out that there's an answer. 22 Dec 2011 09:46

Mission accomplished

[Kervyn Cloete] There is a theory to be found on the internet that states that in some weird reverse-Samson effect, the length of Tom Cruise's hair in a Mission Impossible movie is inversely proportional to how good said movie actually is. 19 Dec 2011 13:50

The shoe doesn't fit in Puss in Boots

[Eugene Yiga] Sequels are tough. Either the movies keep getting better (like Toy Story) or they keep getting worse (like Shrek). Puss in Boots seems to be DreamWorks Studios' attempt to kick some life into a dying franchise with a movie that's part prequel and part spin-off. Unfortunately, as was the case with Pirates of the Caribbean, building an entire story around a side character can only get you so far. 19 Dec 2011 11:04

Porn TV unlikely in South Africa

Plans to launch three pornographic television channels in South Africa are likely to be scuppered by the Film and Publication Board according to a report in The Mercury. 14 Dec 2011 09:45

Join the joyride in Drive

[Eugene Yiga] Ryan Gosling is fast becoming one of my favourite actors. Who can forget his performance as a drug addict teacher in Half Nelson or as a delusional guy in love with a life-size doll in Lars and the Real Girl? And then there was his amazing work opposite Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine. Well, we can now add Drive to the list of his accomplishments. 12 Dec 2011 10:54

Robo cop-out in Real Steel

[Eugene Yiga] It's 2020 and a lot has changed. Apparently, all we ever wanted from boxing was to watch two guys beat each other up. And as mixed martial arts and other brutalities in a cage can only go so far, we've switched over to the next best thing: robot boxing. 6 Dec 2011 13:11

Taking a chance in Moneyball

[Eugene Yiga] You've got to feel for Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). The man loves baseball. And as general manager of the Oakland Athletics, he clearly knows a thing or two about the sport. But then his team loses a crucial game and three of his top players are poached by richer teams. How is he meant to compete in the Major League if his limited budget can't give him what he wants? 2 Dec 2011 14:21

Music film festival on screen at the Labia

The Sound on Screen music-themed film festival is to be screened at the Labia Theatre, Cape Town, between 2 and 10 December, 2011. It will include documentaries, biopics and concert films covering a range of artists and genres, from abroad and locally. 29 Nov 2011 11:51

Boys Behaving Badly "In A Better World"

[Eugene Yiga] "I want to be burned when I die, don't you?" Cremation isn't something you'd expect a typical 10-year-old boy to be talking about. Then again, Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen) isn't a typical 10-year-old boy. After losing his mother to cancer, he's sent to live with his grandmother in Denmark. His father (Ulrich Thomsen) is too busy to raise a son alone, with all his trips to London for work. 29 Nov 2011 11:29