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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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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