About Future Movies

Jay Richardson is a Glasgow-based freelance journalist. His writing credits include the Guardian, Sunday Times, Herald and Scotsman.

Preferring films to elicit powerful emotions from him, Jay ranks Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai and La Regle du Jeu only slightly beneath The Naked Gun. Practically non-existent, his knowledge of classical and foreign cinema is being addressed continuously. Even so, he usually bluffs successfully about directors he confuses with footballers.

Jay has shunned writing poisonous diatribes for national newspapers and glamorous magazines to toil as this website's press officer.

Published work:

• Reviews by Jay Richardson
• Filmmaking by Jay Richardson
• Blog by Jay Richardson

I decided pretty early on that what I liked more than anything in the world was sitting in a dark room watching light and shadow play on a wall. An unashamed, unabashed, unrepentant movie geek, as a child I painted crosses on the walls of our house after seeing Dracula, convinced that our neighbours were vampires...Note to self: It's only a movie. Favourite films: Blade Runner, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Withnail and I, Master & Commander.

One day I'll be the new Philip Pullman.

Published work:

• Reviews by Michelle Thomas
• Filmmaking by Michelle Thomas
• Blog by Michelle Thomas

I have always devoured information about films, and you couldn't keep me away from going to the movies. For me, there are few things better than feasting on its delightfully endless stream of trivia and personal opinion when I'm not in the cinema. Having plied my trade on a local rag, I followed my heart with four years of film studies at university to fill my head full of cinema history. I now seek to air my views hoping that more great movies such as Seven Samurai, Psycho, Dead Man's Shoes and, er, Evil Dead II will continue to bestow themselves upon us.

Published work:

• Reviews by Mike Barnard
• Filmmaking by Mike Barnard
• Blog by Mike Barnard

I grew up raised on a pure diet of cheap sci-fi and bad comedies, which soon morphed into a foolish desire to see every movie in the world ever made. It also inspired me to write and direct my own epic movies Plantamania and Devonshire Crocodile which, alas, failed to spark a Nouvelle Vague style film revolution. Favourite films of the moment include Aliens, A Room For Romeo Brass, Dazed and Confused, Don't Look Now and Labyrinth.

Published work:

• Reviews by Matt McAllister
• Filmmaking by Matt McAllister
• Blog by Matt McAllister

Films, Movies, Cinema... Call it what you may - It had me from "Hello" My earliest memories were of watching vintage Indian films at home in the early 80’s. I soon traversed over to Hollywood blockbusters... Deliverance finally came in the form of the wonderful Cinema Paradiso. A movie that showed me how powerful this form of storytelling could be; taking me to a completely different place - much like Toto. I realise this analogy is a tad barf-inducing, I digress.. I love good movies, period. Amongst my favourites are Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, Three Kings, The Shawshank Redemption, Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti.

Published work:

• Reviews by Raam Tarat
• Filmmaking by Raam Tarat
• Blog by Raam Tarat

I’m a film features journalist and screenwriter who grew up on a cinematic diet of Indiana Jones and Star Wars, and also Irwin Allen TV shows from Lost In Space through to Land of the Giants. As a teen I flirted with various career plans, from archaeology through to deep-space exploration, but in the end cinema proved too great a pull. Writing’s my thing, and in a little over a year I’ve racked up credits with a number of print-journals and websites, as well as having a feature-screenplay optioned by an American producer. My long-term plan is to direct my own writing on a full time, I-have-the-Coen-Brothers-on-speed-dial basis.

My surprisingly static Top 5 are Jaws, Dr Strangelove, Heat, LA Confidential, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Published work:

• Reviews by Nick Goundry
• Filmmaking by Nick Goundry
• Blog by Nick Goundry

I originally hail from the Highlands but moved to Glasgow in 2000. I've been a freelance journalist for about a year now, mostly for websites, though I've done a little bit for radio as well. A few months ago a thief broke into my old flat and stole only my DVDs and my flatmate's gin, so I'm trying to slowly rebuild my collection. It's the sort of incident that makes you consider what films you actually need to have close to hand. So far I've opted for some Coen brothers, along with some Powell and Pressburger classics like Colonel Blimp and a Matter of Life and Death. Oh, and those Christopher Guest wonders Spinal Tap, Mighty Wind and Best in Show.

Published work:

• Reviews by Bruce Munro
• Filmmaking by Bruce Munro
• Blog by Bruce Munro

Adam Tanswell is a freelance journalist from the UK who now resides in Los Angeles. He has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, The Sunday Mail, Metro, Total Film and Hot Dog – although he started life as a writer working on youth titles such as Top Of The Pops and Smash Hits, via a stint in PR at the BBC in London.

The movies he’s spent a lot of his life watching include The Goonies, Stand By Me, Battle Royale, St Elmo’s Fire, Cinema Paradiso and Reality Bites, with a smattering of Tarantino, Richard Linklater and Hitchcock. Oh, and he loves a blockbuster.

Published work:

• Reviews by Adam Tanswell
• Filmmaking by Adam Tanswell
• Blog by Adam Tanswell

I'm new to Future Movies, but I've been loitering around various DVD sites writing reviews for about 3 years now. I prepared for this by studying maths at university in Glasgow, which led me to my daytime desk job that's as far from the world of film as you could imagine. But I'm passionate about movies of all shapes and sizes - genre doesn't matter as long as it's good. My five favourite films (most of the time) are: Raiders of the Lost Ark; The Godfather; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; The Shawshank Redemption and It's A Wonderful Life.

Published work:

• Reviews by Paul Greenwood
• Filmmaking by Paul Greenwood
• Blog by Paul Greenwood

After a promising start with two scripts made into short films in the US, it became a bit of a struggle with my film writing experiences limited to features for a monthly business title. Not to be deterred I decided to take the bold step of travelling to South America and working as a film reviewer for the Santiago Times in Chile, despite not being able to speak the lingo.

My intention now is to carry on writing reviews, annoying my friends with endless film analyses and criticising my dad for loving standard British fare like Bridget Jones and Notting Hill. My top ten films, although ever changing, will always be devoid of staple Hollywood blockbusters. Currently they are: City of God, Leon, Officers Ward, Shawshank Redemption, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Dumb and Dumber, Amelie, Stand By Me, Belleville Rendez-vous, and Shine.

Published work:

• Reviews by Chris Evans
• Filmmaking by Chris Evans
• Blog by Chris Evans

Based in Central London with any cinema not more than a walk or tube stop away, Sandro has been juggling a science degree with an all-consuming passion for film that is gradually taking over any rational perception of reality he might have. Not that he is complaining.

Having surrendered to the sour reality of the 21st century bubblegum blockbuster movie, he secretly regrets not growing up during the French New Wave. A big fan of independent and world cinema, the less a film cost to make, the more likely he is to enjoy it. And despite unequivocally opposing the principle of lists, he is quick to point out that Tokyo Story and Persona would be near the top under most circumstances. Having contributed to various online film outlets, he is now fully ready to take on the world with the sketchy knowledge he gained from countless sleepless nights in front of the small screen here and the odd Raindance filmmaking course there. In his spare time, though, he eats cheese and broccoli and despises Britpop.

Published work:

• Reviews by Sandro Matosevic
• Filmmaking by Sandro Matosevic
• Blog by Sandro Matosevic

Adrian flounders around London and doesn't really know what he's doing. Since graduating in '99 he has dabbled in pretty much anything he can, from television production, journalism, comedy writing and presenting his own doomed pilot TV show to working on live events, camerawork and selling terrible furniture in Highgate to people with more money than sense.

The only constant in his life has been Jaffa Cakes, Yop and Bill Murray, and is unapologically defiant in his view that The Phantom Menace was not shit and considers the Matrix to be turgid, pompous twaddle. At the moment his favourite films are Alien, The Wicker Man, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Exorcist and Manhattan. Adrian can nbe found at www.adrianmackinder.co.uk

Published work:

• Reviews by Adrian Mackinder
• Filmmaking by Adrian Mackinder
• Blog by Adrian Mackinder

Fresh from doing a pointless degree at university and unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, I came to the realisation that one of the few activities that gave me a pure, uncomplicated pleasure was watching a bloody good film. With an early-20's naivete I thought that coming to this realisation meant that I was destined to a life of fame and fortune within the film industry, blessed as I was with a burgeoning talent that would soon be recognised by all and sundry. After working on a few low-budget films, I was quickly made aware of the fact that I had neither the skill, determination or energy to occupy any position within a film crew, and my potentially Scorsese-esque talent failed to materialise. However, I still knew that I loved films, so decided to embark on a film theory MA which would allow me to work with film but with half the effort needed on a more practical course. As well as curing my aversion to any film that hasn't come out of Hollywood over the past 30 years, the MA gave me a new found knowledge and the irritating habit of being unable to watch a film without analysing it to death. I am now pursuing my dream of being paid to watch films, but even if I do not reach my ambition, I will still forever more enjoy watching a Sunday afternoon matinee with a cup of tea and large packet of chocolate biscuits. My highly unoriginal, embarassingly Hollywood-dominated favourite 5 films, depending on what day you ask me, are: Swingers (USA 1996), Last of the Mohicans (USA 1992), Manhunter (USA 1986, The Untouchables (USA 1987), When Harry Met Sally (USA 1989)

Published work:

• Reviews by Ed Colley
• Filmmaking by Ed Colley
• Blog by Ed Colley

Cinema has fascinated me for as long as I can remember, and when something takes hold of your life so completely it's only natural to want to shout about it. To the relief of everyone who gets bored with me harping on about great movies they'll never see, I started writing for Future Movies in the summer of 2001. Since then FM has been my outlet, my inspiration and my proudest achievement. I've been lucky enough to witness the site expand in popularity and influence, whilst enjoying the opportunity to sharpen the tools of my trade and work closely with some damned fine individuals. As we continue to grow I hope all of you out there will continue to be moved by what we say about the movies. As for my favourite films, results vary from day to day according to mood, memory, the alignment of the planets and what I had for breakfast. Feel free to stop me in the street anytime for an update.

Published work:

• Reviews by Nik Huggins
• Filmmaking by Nik Huggins
• Blog by Nik Huggins

A designer by profession Johan is constantly evolving Future Movies by making the site look good and usable as well as doing all the programming. His favourite films are Rain Man, Scarface(1983), City of God, Blade Runner (the directors cut), and Donnie Darko. His web portfolio is at www.johandesilva.co.uk and like many at Future Movies available for interesting work. Please use the Contact Form for web related issues.

Published work:

• Reviews by Johan De Silva
• Filmmaking by Johan De Silva
• Blog by Johan De Silva

Coco was found, asleep on a piece of driftwood, in the Sargasso Sea, and bought up in a nunnery. Unfortunately it was a silent order, and she was soon bored of learning to make lace, so she ran away to London where she has been ever since, amusing herself by watching films and knitting. Coco's favourite films include Dirty Dancing and The Princess Bride.

Published work:

• Reviews by Coco Forsythe
• Filmmaking by Coco Forsythe
• Blog by Coco Forsythe