Author Archives: admin

Do film critics matter any more?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – When everyone is a critic, who needs critics? It’s a question asked more and more in the movie industry as the ranks of mainstream critics dwindle and the tide of those with something to say online … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, Media, News | Tagged Anna Smith, Charles Gant, Charles McDonald, David Gritten, Henry Fitzherbert, Jason Solomons, Sean Evans, Zak Brilliant | Comments Off

FILM REVIEW: Vincent Perez’s ‘Alone in Berlin’

Posted on June 30, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – For those who have not read Hans Fallada’s terrifying novel “Alone in Berlin”, Vincent Perez’s film version is probably a mildly absorbing drama about two people bucking the odds. For those who have read it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Music, Reviews | Tagged Alexandre Desplat, Alone in Berlin, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Bruhl, Emma Thompson, Hans Fallada, Vincent Perez | Comments Off

Twenty of the best films of the century so far

Posted on June 19, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The New York Times critics have named their choices of the best movies of the 21st century so far. They include titles such as “I’m Not There”, “L’Enfant” and “The 40-Year Old Virgin” but … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film | Tagged '12', 'All Is Lost', 'Carlos', 'Children of Men', 'Happy-Go-Lucky', 'I Served the King of England', 'Julieta', 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 'The Band's Visit', 'The Educators', 'The Master', 'The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes', 'Tulpan', 'Under the Skin', 20 best films of 2017, Apocalypto, New York Times 25 best films of 2017, Synecdoche N.Y., Taiyang zhaocheng shengqi, The Constant Gardener, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Sun Also Rises | 1 Comment

A subjective list of movie scores that I like very much

Posted on June 5, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “A good music score,” two-time Academy Award winner Randy Newman told me, “cannot turn a bad movie into a good movie but it can raise its IQ by a couple of notches.” My friends at … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, Music | Tagged Film scores, soundtracks, World Soundtrack Awards | Comments Off

Memories of KFMF’s brilliant 2017 birthday party

Posted on May 28, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Most big film shindigs including Festival de Cannes and events from Berlin to Venice are like being in a bubble. When you’re there, nothing else matters. As soon as it’s over, you forget about it. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Krakow Film Music Festival, Music | Tagged Agata Grabowiecka, Andrea Marlowe, Christine Russell, Doreen Ringer-Ross, Eleni Mitsiaki, Gary Marlowe, Gorka Oteisa, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Jean-Michel Bernard, Joanna Broniec, Jon Broxton, KFMF, Krakow Film Music Festival, Martin Tillman, Michael Todd, Peter Ebbinghaus, Ray Costa, Restauracja Destino, Richard Bellis, Robert Piaskowski, Robert Townson, Sara Andon, Shaun LeMone, Trevor Morris, Valerie Dobbelaere, Zoe Morris | Comments Off

On the James Bond set with Roger Moore

Posted on May 27, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Roger Moore, who died on May 23 aged 89, told me that really he was a frustrated bank robber. “It’s only fear that’s stopped me from robbing banks, and that’s why I’m a movie actor. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane | Tagged 'A View to a Kill', 'Octopus', 'The Spy Who Loved Me', 007, Andrew V. McLaglen, David Nivem, Gregory Peck, James Bond, John Glen, Lewis Gilbert, Pinewood Studios, Roger Moore, Sean Connery | Comments Off

‘Being a nice guy is acting’ and more great Roger Moore quotes

Posted on May 24, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Roger Moore, who died Tuesday aged 89, spoke to me at Pinewood Studios on Dec. 10 1984 on the set of his last James Bond picture, “A View to a Kill”. Here are some highlights … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane | Tagged 'A View to a Kill', Christopher Walken, James Bond, Pinewood Studios, Roger Moore | 1 Comment

KFMF: Adventure and tears as orchestra plays ‘Titanic Live’

Posted on May 23, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett KRAKOW – The Krakow Film Music Festival raised James Cameron’s “Titanic” to new heights as it screened to a live performance of James Horner’s Oscar-winning score to mark the film’s 20th anniversary. The festival had planned to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Krakow Film Music Festival, Music, Reviews | Tagged 'Titanic Live', 'Titanic', Boys Choir of the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, Edyta Górniak, Eric Rigler, James Horner, Karolina Gorgol-Zaborniak, KFMF, Krakow Film Music Festival, Ludwig Wicki, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Tauron Arena, Will Jennings | Comments Off

TV’s ‘Perry Mason’, Raymond Burr was someone to count on

Posted on May 21, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Anyone who recalls “Perry Mason” or “Ironside” will recall Raymond Burr, who was born 100 years ago today. He was one of the biggest stars on television from the Fifties through to the Nineties … … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Memory Lane | Tagged 'Ironside', 'Perry Mason', Raymond Burr | Comments Off

KFMF: Great composers light the beacon for 10th anniversary