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CINEMAS
What's on |
Virgin Net Cinema
www.virgin.net/cinema
Virgin's cinema
section
has everything you want in an online listings site. Dates, times and
venues are easy to find and there's plenty of potted reviews and witty
articles to
keep you amused should you have time to browse. |
ABC Cinemas
www.abc-cinemas.co.uk
It's as easy as
ABC
to find out what's on at your local cinema with this site, which is
also
very easy on the eye thanks to clever use of Flash technology. It also
features precis' and trailers of all the big releases. |
Cinemas in the
U.K
www.aber.ac.uk/-jwp/cinemas
A directory of cinemas throughout the UK listed
alkphabetically
by town. The authors have done their homework not only do you get the
address
and phone number for each entry, but also how many screens and seats,
includes
links to the big cinema chains. |
National Film Theatre
www.nft.co.uk
This site is
needlessly
heavy on text, but is a mine of information all the same for the
capital's film goers. It will tell you what's showing at the NFT over
the next few weeks, so you don't miss out on any arty or classic gems,
while it also contains listings for the impressive IMAX cinema. |
Odeon Cinemas
www.odeon.co.uk
Here, you can not
only
find out what's showing at your nearest Odeon, but also book your
tickets online. Add reviews of the latest releases and well-stocked
video and DVD
store and you have a very well-implemented site. |
Scoot Cinema Guide
www.cinema.scoot.co.uk
The most
accessible,
accurate and easy-to-use film finder on the Web. Scoot even provides
directions to the cinema, along with information on the facilities
provided and potted reviews of the films on offer. |
UCI Cinemas
www.uci-cinemas.co.uk
The owners of
many
of the plush mulitplexes springing up on the edge of towns all over the
country,
UCI has put together this very impressive site. |
Yell Film Finder
www.yell.co.uk/yell/ff
Finding your
nearest
cinema with this site is a little laborious, but the information on
films
and times is comprehensive and bang up to date. There's also access to
useful additional information, such as local restaurants and the
nearest pub. |
|
Cinemas
Background Information |
International Movie Database
www.imdb.com
with over 170,000 films listed, the
International
Movie Database is the Granddaddy of all movie sites on the web. Not
only
that, but it's one of the best online resources of any kind. A huge
database
of just about every movie ever made, you'll find information on
everything
from the cast and crew to continuity errors. |
Brit Movie
www.britmovie.co.uk
Even though
people
are continually berating the state of the British film industry, we
have
made some fine movies over the years, as this site proves. A huge
collection
of the best British movies ever made, the list spans from early
masterpieces
like The 39 Steps to the Ealing comedies and from Sixties classics like
Alfie
to modern success stories like the Full Monty. Each is accompanied by
details of the cast and crew and a short synopsis. Then there are
articles on actors, actresses and genres. |
British Board of Film Classification
www.bbfc.co.uk
This is the
organisation
that decides what you watch and who can legally watch it. It explains
the decision-making process in some detail, along with the rationale
behind the
various classifications. Recent adjudications of the Board are also
reproduced
online, while the most interesting part of the site is that devoted to
controversial decisions of the past. Student Union favourites like
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
and A Clockwork Orange are dissected, along with the reasons why they
were withdrawn. |
Exposure
www.exposure.co.uk
This useful
resource
is aimed at young film makers who want to emulate the phenomenal
success
of The Blair Witch Project. The centrepiece is the witty and worthwhile
'Complete Eejits Guide to Film making'. Covering everything from
writing your screenplay to getting your film shown, this site should
give you some inspiration when
your creative juices are running dry. There's also a handy contacts
list
and details of screenplay competitions. |
Film 100
www.film100.com
This is a well
considered
list of the 100 most influential figures in cinema history, in the
author's opinion, of course. From Walt Disney to the Lumiere brothers,
the innovative split-screen format will allow you to browse through the
entries with ease. Each is accompanied by a witty and well-written
biography, while the whole site is well designed and organised. |
Carry Online
www.carryonline.com
The Carry On
films
are undoubtedly an institution and this huge site will take you back in
time
to the days when Barbara Windsor wasn't a pub landlord and Kenneth
Williams
was still with us. The atmosphere of ribald innuendo is perfectly
judged
and the level of detail incredible. You'll find accounts of all the
films,
from Carry on Sergeant in 1958 to the ill-judged Carry on Columbus in
1992, and detailed biographies of all the actors. |
Jurassic Punk
www.jurassicpunk.com
This site might
not
be much to look at initially, but there's a whole host of film clips
and trailers beneath the dowdy exterior. If you're one of those who
can't wait to see the
big new releases, then you'll find a wide selection of trailers for
each
new blockbuster. There's fresh content added every day - from a variety
of
sources - and not many of the latest releases escape the Punk's grasp. |
The Movie Cliches List
www.moviecliches.com
Hollywood
blockbusters
might be an easy target, but don't let that stop you enjoying this huge
list of all the ridiculous excesses that separate Hollywood from the
real world.Gems like, 'A hero will show no pain even during the most
terrific beating, yet
he will wince if a women attempts to clean a facial wound', and many
more
besides will have you laughing out loud. Helpfully divided into
sections, these observations are all funny because they're true. |
Film Four
www.filmfour.com
As well as
promoting
the Film Four cable channel, and providing easy-to-follow online
listings
to help you plan your viewing, this site contains plenty of interesting
content. Even if you don't subscribe to Film Four, you'll enjoy the
streaming-video interviews with big-name directors and special
spotlights on independent film
festivals around the world. There are also comprehensive and
well-researched retrospectives of major films, stars and directors. And
you can see what the
film-making arm that funded Four Weddings and a Funeral is up to. |
Dark Horizons
www.darkhorizons.com
An excellent site
for
cinephiles that is bursting with the latest news, images, clips and
reviews
of all the current and upcoming blockbuster films.
Each film is
given
extensive treatment, with details of the plot, cast, crew and rumours
from
the set. There's also an excellent news section that will keep you up
to
date with everything going on in Hollywood - including the early word
on
the big releases, whispers of new projects and so on. Then there's a
huge archive of everything on the site over the last three years. |
Empire
www.empireonline.co.uk
A slick, well
stocked
site that is easily a match for its popular print cousin. The very
latest movie news and reviews are regularly updated so if you really
want to know what is going on from a UK perspective, this should be one
of your first stops. What really marks it out as a quality site, apart
from the stylish design, are he insightful features and the quality of
the chat on the well-used message
board. |
Oscars
www.oscar.com
If once a year
isn't
enough for you, you can relive the tears and triumph of the Oscars all
year round at this well put together official site. Featuring a
comprehensive spread of subjects, you can read about everything from
Oscar fashion to the history of the awards. There's also a wide
selection of streaming video clips so you
can enjoy once again the tension of the announcements or the tears of
Gwyneth
Paltrow. |
Film Scouts
www.filmscouts.com
This stylish site
could
provide a pointer to the future of movies on the Internet. It features
short films by independent film-makers, many of which are actually very
good. And if you've got a reasonably fast connection, the quality isn't
bad either.
Film buffs will
also
enjoy the in-depth documentaries. When we visited, there was a
fascinating insight into the weird world of David Lynch on offer. |
Greatest Films
www.greatestfilms.org
As this site
explains,
choosing the greatest films of all time is always going to be a tricky
business and much of it is down to personal taste. So, Greatest Films
has garnered opinion from a variety of expert sources and left it to
you to make your own
mind up. This is one of those sites that seems nothing special at first
glance,
but contains such a wealth of interesting information that you can
spend
ages surfing around. |
Script-o-rama
www.script-o-rama
A great site that
will
appeal to anyone who lives and breathes the cinema. It's a mammoth
resource that contains the original scripts for just about every major
feature film ever made.Relive your favourite moments from Star Wars or
Casablanca or marvel at the changes made during filming. There's also a
selection of as yet unfilmed
screenplays by up-and-coming writers and a large variety of television
scripts. |
Site Officiel du Festival de Cannes
www.festival-cannes.fr
Cannes has long
been
a glamorous affair and the lavish website, with its clean black and
gold typesetting, almost matches it sequin-for-sequin. Available in
both French and English, it not only covers this year's events - making
good use of audio-visual trickery
- but has a first rate database of past Cannes folk and films to rival
the
IMDB. The real winner though, is the archive section - which gives a
vibrant
sense of this annual gathering in the name of cinema |
|
Film
Reviews |
At a Glance Film Reviews
www.rinkworks.com/movies
An extremely
useful
and comprehensive resource put together by a pair of movie buffs named
Sam
and Dean. Somehow they've managed to find the time to review and rate
hundreds
of films, covering all genres and eras as they go. The reviews are all
short
and to the point so can be consulted quickly and easily. Having two
reviews of each film also means that you can formulate your opinion
more easily than
simply being told whether a film is good or bad. |
Atom Films
www.atomfilms.com
Wonderful site
where
you can see and download the latest short films. Everything from the
new Aardman Animations ( who made Wallace and Gromit) creation to the
latest Oscar winning
short.... but watch out for Joe Cartoon's foul mouthed gerbil in the
microwave.
They email regular updates. |
Blunt Review
www.bluntreview.com
Blunt by name,
blunt
by nature is the maxim of this site, on which all of the new releases
are reviewed by one Emily Blunt. In fact, her opinions are actually
much fairer
and more reasoned than she gives herself credit for. Not only that but
they're nicely laid out, not too long and clearly well-informed. Ms
Blunt also has
a nice line in sarcasm and a rather unusual rating system. |
Bollywood
www.bollywood.org.uk/
News,music, new releases and profiles from
the
exotic world of Indian films |
Filmweek
www.filmweek.co.uk
It may not have
as
many entries or look as stylish as other review sites but Filmweek's
writers certainly know their movies. Well-considered reviews are added
as new movies
are released and these are then archived for later viewing. Most
importantly, Filmweek is British, so you'll only hear about films that
have actually been
released on this side of the pond. |
Hollywood
www.hollywood.com
Coming directly
from
the heart of the movie industry, Hollywood is a hotbed of reviews,
trailers, previews and exclusive pictures. The design is a little
chaotic but there's
so much to see that it hardly matters. Because it's a US site most of
the
films featured won't be out over here for some months but at least
you'll know which blockbusters are on their way. |
Film 99
www.bbc.co.uk/film99
Coming directly
from
the heart of the movie industry, Hollywood is a hotbed of reviews,
trailers, previews and exclusive pictures. The design is a little
chaotic but there's
so much to see that it hardly matters. Because it's a US site most of
the
films featured won't be out over here for some months but at least
you'll know which blockbusters are on their way. |
Aint it Cool News
www.aint-it-cool-news.com
Harry Knowles has
long
been a thorn in the side of the big Hollywood studios. Armed with a
long list of contacts in the industry, his aim is to bring you the
latest movie news and reviews before anyone else. The layout is
somewhat chaotic but that just
adds to the sense that this is news and gossip hot off the presses. The
enthusiastic
team take great delight in pricking the fragile egos of the great and
the
good and why not? |
Movie Review Query Engine
www.mrqe.com
A supremely
useful
site that will search a hand-picked selection of reputable sites, to
bring
back as many reviews as it can find. In particular, this will also be a
useful resource for those interested in foreign language films, which
are often hard
to track down elsewhere. And even if you're not looking for a
particular flick,
movie buffs can while away many a happy hour leafing through the most
popular
and most recent reviews. |
Movie Bloopers
www.moviebloopers.com
Now you seeit,
now
you don't. Silly little mistakes that film makers shouldn't have made
are
pointed out frame by frame in this site. |
Oh the Humanity
www.ohthehumanity.com
Not content with
the
narrow subject areas covered by the Tokyo Stomp site, the very
professional looking Oh the Humanity takes things several steps further
in the quest to
find the worst film in history.
From laughable
special
effects to nonsensical plots, we've all seen films that are truly
terrible. This site allows you to share the horror and recoil in fear
at the sheer number of bad movies out there. |
Inside Out
www.insideout.co.uk
Recently we seem
to
have been blessed by more and more UK-based movie review sites, going
some
way to correcting the extreme US bias that exists. This is one of the
best, combining intelligent, knowledgeable reviews with extensive
coverage of film festivals in the UK.
The London and
Edinburgh
Film Festivals are covered in exhaustive detail by a roving reporter,
who picks out the highlights and lowlights of each. We also liked the
clear, unfussy design, which reflected the nature of the reviews. |
Film Unlimited
www.filmunlimited.com
The Guardian's
online
offerings are so unfailingly excellent that it comes as no surprise to
find
that Film Unlimited contains some of the best film criticism on the Web.
Each Friday, its
team
of critics set about the latest batch of new releases - and for a
supposed
bunch of liberals they can be quite vicious! Nevertheless, it's clear
that
those who produce the site have a great love for the cinema, while
those
who design it ensure that their work is showcased to best effect. |
Film.com
www.film.com
A very
professional
US-based site that has been around for a long time. It may not have the
wit
and irreverence of some of the newer kids on the block, but it more
than makes up for that with its authoritative, comprehensive review
section. There's also a healthy dose of trailers to watch and a number
of quizzes and polls to participate in. The excellent 'Greatest Films
You Never Saw' section should
also give you a few ideas for your next trip to the video shop. |
Popcorn
www.popcorn.co.uk
The problem with
most
decent movie sites is that they're heavily American in focus, which
means
that they concentrate on films that aren't even out here yet.
Fortunately, Popcorn goes some way towards restoring the balance and is
particularly strong on securing exclusive interviews with major British
talent like Hugh Grant and Ewan Macgregor. The reviews aren't as
authoritative as they might be but
the movie news is bang up to date. |
Kamera
www.kamera.co.uk
If you're often
to
be seen perusing the listings outside your local arthouse cinema with a
copy
of Sight & Sound tucked under your arm, then this is the site for
you. While it does review the big films too, often offering a new slant
on them, Kamera concentrates more on leftfield, less mainstream
offerings.
As well as the
excellent
reviews, clearly written by true movie buffs, there's a smattering of
excellent articles, interviews and essays, all of which should appeal
to anyone who knows their Annie Hall from their Annie. |
Movie a Minute
rinkworks.com/movieaminute
Do you often find
yourself at a loose end when the conversation turns to classic films?
Then take a
look at this amusing site, which features hundreds of movies, all
reduced to two or three line précis.
Most of them are
hilarious, as classic films - from It's a Wonderful Life to Return of
the Jedi are put
to the sword with glee. |
Oscars.com
www.oscar.com
Applause!
Applause
The official all singing, all dancing site that contains everrything
you
need to know about the Academy Award Ceremonies dating back to when all
movies
were only made in black and white. Good reports on the nominees for the
2000 ceremony - tearful acceptance speeches and all. |
Stomp Tokyo
www.stomptokyo.com
This review site
is
a little different to say the least, concentrating not on the latest
blockbusters but on those movies usually found gathering dust on the
back shelf of the video shop.
Godzilla,
B-movies,
kung-fu and films that are just so bad they're good come together in a
melting pot of truly awful movie-making. Movies are rated in lava
lamps, bad films are good, good films are bad and all the while you're
left wondering whether the authors are being serious or not. |
Total Film
www.totalfilm.co.uk
Rather than just
transplanting its entire operation to the Web, snappy film magazine
Total Film has used its site to provide a dual service to its readers.
On the one hand,
it
reacts quickly to any new premiere and has a snapshot review up on its
site. On the other, it archives particularly interesting features and
interviews from the magazine.
The design is
deliberately sparse to make navigation quick and easy, too. |
6degrees
www.6degrees.co.uk
6degrees is the
UK
independant film magasine- featuring film, video, book,DVD and
soundtrack
reviews, plus monthly articles on filmakers, stars, industry
professionals
and film organisations. 6degrees also offers free small-ads pages,
weekly
email news letters, festival and cinema guides, trailers, competitions,
film society information, education guides, video interviews and much
more besides. |
|
| DVD's
&
Videos |
BlackStar
www.blackstar.co.uk
The simple design
of
this site means it's fast to load and easy to work your way around.
You're tempted in on the front page with special offers and free
postage costs on
DVDs and videos. You can browse by film genre or search for specific
titles. There's a plot summary for most of the films and suggestions of
other films you might like to see in the same genre. The site is not
short on bargains either - some popular videos were available for a
mere £3.99. |
DVD Box Office
www.dvdboxoffice.com
This site offers
free
shipping worldwide, which makes a pleasant surprise. Of course because
Boxoffice is based in the States you can get hold of films before
they're available in the UK and they're much cheaper than over here.
New Arrivals take centre stage on the opening page of the site and
you're looking at prices between $25 and $30 for the latest movies. |
DVD Express
www.dvdexpress.com
If you are
serious
about DVD, then the only way to go is to import titles from America.
The
problem is choosing a suitably reliable site. DVD Express is one such
site. Offering thousands of titles, as well as music CD's and movie
merchandise,
this is a great site. The design allows you to search for a title based
on
a key word, or delve through the structure in place. |
DVDplus
www.dvdplus.co.uk
This site looks
very
stylish and proved to be easy to navigate. You can search for videos or
DVDs
by title, actor or director or you can browse by genre. Each DVD comes
with a plot summary, reviews and a star rating. If you're stuck for
gift ideas then why not visit the Inspire Me section where you'll find
a list of 10 classic
films that anyone would appreciate. |
Filmstore
www.filmstore.co.uk
This site is a
subsidiary
of the Odeon cinema group and it sells the top DVDs and videos. Each
movie comes with a plot summary and you can search for specific actors
or directors. There's a special section called TV Heaven for cult soaps
and TV shows on
video which contains classics such as Brideshead Revisited. |
Filmworld
www.filmworld.co.uk
You'll find a good selection of videos and CDs on
sale
at Filmworld. The movies are accompanied by detailed background
information.
Movie buffs will appreciate the many and varied ways you can search the
Filmworld
database - by film title, director, actor, distributor or by a specific
year.
You could even use the online Film Atlas to choose films made in
specific
countries. And just to get you in the mood, you can even check out a
few
film trailers online. |
Video Paradise
www.videoparadise.com
Video Paradise is
yet
another WH Smith spin off. You'll find plenty of special offers on the
site, with most of the videos being backed up by comprehensive movie
reviews along with customer comments. If you're not sure what you fancy
watching then check
out the video charts for inspiration. Videos are sent out within 48
hours
and delivery is charged at £2.95. |
Entertainment Express
www.entexpress.com
Not only does
Entertainment Express sell videos but it also turns its hands to CDs
and software. You'll always find some attractive special offers at the
site with many videos going
for as little as £3.99. If you're looking for inspiration you can
browse
by genre or find a specific title by typing in a movie title or an
actor's
name. The prices are good and include delivery costs. |
|
| Fan Mags |
Clint Eastwood: The World Wide Web Page!
www.clinteastwood.net
An outstanding,
stylish
and utterly satisfying tribute to the iconic actor-director. The site
manages to cover most aspects of his public life, building around an
intelligent biography
with an excellent filmography, trivia, and video downloads from choice
moments
from Clint's films (including 14 minutes of footage from The Good, The
Bad
And The Ugly). Most importantly, there are a few quirky gems; the best
is
a set of audio downloads from mid-60s bestseller Clint Eastwood Sings
Cowboy
Favourites. Fantastic. |
Degrees of Kevin Bacon
It has recently
been
estimated that no site on the Internet is more than 13 clicks away from
another. But the discovery that it really is a small world was first
enforced by a
mere film trivia game - and floppy-haired Tremors star Kevin Bacon.
Basically - as this site demonstrates - the idea is that Bacon is the
hub of the entertainments
world. Any actor/actress can be traced to him through the movies on
which
they have worked, in six steps or less. The details and variations on
the
game are described in full here.
www.fas.harvard.edu/~salm/student/sdokb |
Kubrick Multimedia Film Guide
www.indelibleinc.com/kubrick
The late director
was
not terribly well served by the Web before his death and even after,
there's
not much to be found in one place. This tactful, largely monochrome
site
spares the comments on Kubrick's life and films, letting an abundant
supply
of images and aural extracts from the works do the talking instead.
While material for the early days is slightly lacking, most of the
later movies are covered well (including a section on AI, the film that
never was). Further
links are heaped on, if you want further reading. |
The OneRing.net
www.theonering.net
Remember the
Internet
furore over the recent Star Wars movie in the months before its
release?
Well, the whole thing's about to happen again, as Peter Jackson's Lord
Of
The Rings adaptation begins filming, for release in 2001. Tolkien's
seminal trilogy has a huge fanbase and The OneRing.net is one of the
best of half-a-dozen sites tracking the films in production and posting
rumours, confirmed castings and script details as they come in. |
|
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