Oscars 2015: Red Carpet's Best Looks

When it comes to fashion, it was an evening of two halves last night, as celebrities subconciously split themselves into two groups; those who donned dramatic dark outfits that made an eye-catching impact, and those who went for softer neutral shades nodding their heads to old-hat 50's glamour. Deep reds, blues and striking monochrome were favourites amongst the stars last night, as were lemon, peach and cream tones.

Here's a look through of who impressed me the most with their carefully chosen clobber!

Oscars 2015 Winners - the short version

As the winners are crowned, All Things Screen offers up a no-fuss winners list...

Academy Awards - the announcements in a nutshell!

It was a film fan's most anticipated day today as the Academy Award nominations were announced by a gaggle of famous names including Chris Pine, J.J Abrams and Alfonso Cuarón.

Here's a brief low-down of who and what was nominated, for the awards you've actually heard of, for this year's Oscars. With the added bonus of me stating my personal favourites of the season and those who I think are favourites to win! (You heard it here first, folks).

New Year, New Awards!

Eddie Redmayne in The Theory Of Everything

There's a reason why I love the turn of the new year; the later months of 2014, mixed together with the first couple of 2015. Not just because Christmas has just been and we're still in that overly full, overly spoilt and over-joyed stupor. Nor is it because it's the start of a new chapter, thus presenting a fresh new start. No, it's because the movies that are released around that time are normally of high calibre, and that's because it's a time we movie-nerds like to call "award season". 

Guardians of the Galaxy review: I-I-I-I-I'm hooked on a franchise!

The unusual suspects 

The master moviemakers at Marvel must have been so determined not to let DC show them up with their upcoming Batman V Superman, that before the rival production company even had a chance to release their first superhero ensemble movie, Marvel released it's second. And what a corker of a second it is! 

Having been randomly abducted by galactic thieves and outlaws when he was just a boy, and forced to live a new life in space, now grown-man Peter Quill spends his days stealing and doing odd-jobs for people who want stuff done that isn't quite, let's say, legal within the galaxy.

After taking a job for a niche collector, Quill goes after an orb he knows absolutely nothing about, when he unwittingly runs into a few others who are also desperate to claim the object themselves. He soon realises he'll have to shrug off his lone wolf demeanour and work with his rival criminals in order to save the power of the orb from falling into the (even more wrong than his) hands.

Maleficent review: Hell hath no fury like a woman horned

I first heard rumours that Angelina Jolie was going to play Maleficent in a film by the same name a few years ago now and the long wait was agonising, being such a big fan of both hers and Disney alike. As roles started to be confirmed and images and shots started to surface, I was almost beside myself with excitement that one of the best Disney villains was going to be played by what seemed like the perfect person to play her.

With a similar idea to the "the villain's not really that bad" premise of Broadway musical, Wicked, Maleficent unveils the previously untold story of the dark fairy who seemingly put a curse on an innocent baby for no reason. Making you realise that her actions, despite coming from an evil place can be understood. And that, someone hurt her so deeply that she actually became this way rather than was born with such a wicked heart.

Godzilla review: 'Monsters' director's take is the best of a bad bunch

After a total of 28 movies all portraying a slightly altered version of "the King of the monsters", British director Gareth Edwards takes it back to the start with a Godzilla that is presented in a similar way to the Japanese original.

After a radiation leak at the nuclear plant he works for, tragically killed his wife, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) becomes hellbent on explaining the reasons behind the devastation that day. 15 years later and embroiling his now grown son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) into his investigations, father and son soon realise that it wasn't just a freak accident but rather the start of something much, much bigger...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier review - The good, the bird and the red-head

After watching the latest Captain America instalment, part of the juggernaut that is The Avengers, it seems relevant that Cap is (by a fair few years) the oldest of all the characters. This is a grown-up superhero movie; serious, war-esque and with absolutely no gimmicks. Now, that doesn't sound like a Marvel combination does it? But with these characters, it's evident there's no other way it could be done.

Non-Stop review: Same Neeson... just different action movie

Everything about this movie screams typical cheesy thriller. The short, relatively ambiguous title, an intensely squinting man pointing a gun on the poster and of course, Liam. But whilst it's set up is more than predictable, it's plot certainly isn't, in this "whodunnit" popcorn movie that will keep you guessing until the last 20 minutes (pun completely intended).

The Lego Movie review: Everything is awesome!

Nostalgic, funny with a little bit of heart, would be the perfect, albeit simple, way to sum up The Lego Movie. With truly amazing animation and top-notch voice acting, this film shouldn't be stereotyped as a film that only children will love - adults will certainly enjoy it too! For a toy that has been around for over 60 years, it inevitably had a vastly varying age group to try and impress, and it's safe to say The Lego Movie will disappoint only a [very picky] few.

"The Good Stuff" season is upon us!

Towards the end of the year, cinemas always see an influx of what I like to call "the good stuff movies". Ready for Oscar nominations in the turn of the new year, directors, actors, screenwriters and special effects teams bring out the big guns to impress, which means us audiences get some film gems towards the Christmas months!

I've already seen a few of these types of films emerging and it's only October! So I thought I'd break down a bunch of films that I already think will get some kind of Oscar tip next year...

Insidious: Chapter 2 review

Family demons

Horror. It's a genre that is probably the most complex in terms of being universally understood. More so than romances or comedies, it's particularly hard to create something that everyone will like because there are so many ways of making someone scared. Some people like gore, some people like jumps and some people just don't know what they want!

It's fair to say, screenwriter Leigh Whannell and director James Wan take horror seriously, which could be seen as an ironic statement as Insidious: Chapter 2 sometimes appears a little on the silly side, but that's exactly the point. They're evidently not afraid to make their horrors "complete-package movies", with hints of comedy, old-school style and most importantly, a story.  Nor do they think that a horror can't be a blockbuster hit. (Despite what the critics say, Chapter 2 smashed it's opening weekend by raking in $41 million) and their ambition shows.

It's been a spooky week!

So, this week just passed, I happened to have watched 3 horror films. My family are bonafide scary-movie junkies and we just decided to watch some films in the evenings, instead of our usual television soaps for a change!

Here's what we checked out...

Despicable Me 2 review: Guess who's back?

Simply put, if you liked the first Despicable Me, you’re going to love the second one! Practically all that audiences loved in the first instalment is present in the sequel; Gru’s cringe-worthy villainy, cute little Agnes and lots upon lots of minions.

Set some time on from the previous film, Gru is now completely content in the role of doting daddy rather than diabolic baddie, using his minions to produce jams rather than evil plans! But when the Anti-Villain League (AVL) approaches him, asking for his help catching a new bad-guy threatening the world, he is tempted into the world of gadgets and gizmos once again. 

The Great Gatsby review: Better late than never!

Intoxicating. If there’s one word to describe The Great Gatsby, it’s that one (and that’s not just a reference to the copious amounts of booze consumed in the 142-minute epic). Films that stay with you are rather rare to come across.

The ones where the credits roll and the audience is stunned into silence, not quite sure how to react to what they have just seen. It’s not necessarily through fear or shock; it could be a sense of uneasy, confusion or just plain wonder, and these are certainly feelings created by seeing Gatsby on the big screen.

More horrors! I'm not a genre blog...I promise.

I've been a bit poorly as of late, but I've luckily had the best "nurse" looking after me! So, over the past few days, as I haven't really been doing any work, I seem to have watched a few more horror films and as always I thought I would share my opinions of them on here.

I don't know why I seem to be in the mood for so many lately. I think I've got a little sick of the typical rom-coms so I'm trying to watch as many non-rom-com films as I can! Much more interesting! However none of the four I have watched lately have been particularly good...

What we are all excited for in the upcoming months of film!

I don't know if it is just my opinion and some may disagree, but this last part of the summer has consisted of what I like to call 'blah movies'. They're not necessarily bad, but they're certainly not brilliant and it's time filmmakers upped the ante a little!