Nick Bartlett

Freelance Writer

Critical popcorn •

Overlooked Horrors Worth Rediscovering from Hammer Studio

Hammer horror is one of those rare British film institutions whose identity has become almost synonymous with specific images, such as Christopher Lee in a cape, Peter Cushing surrounded by scientific paraphernalia, crumbling castles, bright-red Technicolor blood, and a dark sense of irony. For a studio that made well over a hundred films, however, these recognisable tropes only represent a fraction of Hammer’s total output.
FILMHOUNDS Magazine •

Ellen Greene Discusses Little Shop Of Horrors

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Warner Bros.’ Little Shop of Horrors, we spoke with Ellen Greene, the one performer who brought her role from the original stage production to Frank Oz’s beloved film adaptation. As Audrey, Greene is the film’s beating heart, balancing endearing vulnerability, impeccable comic timing and a voice that can break your heart, in the midst of the cruel, cynical black comedy created by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.
Critical popcorn •

Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine Review

In recent years, it seems that Martin McDonagh has become a polarizing figure, yet his feature films always have something to commend, and he has an unerring ability to coax excellent performances from his casts – even if something like Seven Psychopaths left me cold. The best thing about Wild Horse Nine is also the worst thing about it; it is exactly what you would expect a film about two CIA hitmen, written and directed by McDonagh to be.
FILMHOUNDS Magazine •

Flic Story (4K Review) - I Can’t Believe It’s Not Melville

Jean-Pierre Melville really changed the game for French gangster thrillers. In a move that many of his early admirers decried, his films tended to lend their gangster protagonists a nobility, or at least an existentialism that was almost admirable. Jacques Deray’s films don’t tend to  have the precise cinematography or understated performances of Melville’s best work, but Flic Story is the closest he gets to a Melville film, and it’s a decent attempt.
GameRant •

10 Best Game of Thrones Theories We'll Never Know the Truth About

One of the great things about A Song of Ice and Fire is that George R. R. Martin rarely wastes a detail. A seemingly throwaway line can take on significance several books later, while the tiniest detail can inspire years of speculation. This created something of a problem for Game of Thrones, where the nature of an adaptation meant several planned subplots had to be abandoned because showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss hadn't laid the groundwork in early seasons.
FILMHOUNDS Magazine •

Tequila Sunrise (4K Review) — In Search Of A Great Director

There’s a misnomer when it comes to screenwriters or playwrights who turn to directing. The assumption is often that, since they understand story, structure and character, they will naturally make decent film directors too. There have certainly been plenty of success stories, like Martin McDonagh, Alex Garland and Paul Schrader, but 1988’s Tequila Sunrise is a useful reminder that writing and directing are two very different disciplines.
GameRant •

Game of Thrones Fans Need to Read This 20-Year-Old Fantasy Book Series With a Proper Ending

There are few fantasy series more frustrating than George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice And Fire. The book series, which was adapted into Game of Thrones, remains one of the great fantasy epics of the 21st century, but it's still annoyingly incomplete. The prospect of actually seeing the final installments of the story looks increasingly unlikely, but fortunately for frustrated readers, there is another option that might just scratch the itch left behind by Winds of Winter.
FILMHOUNDS Magazine •

Kiki’s Delivery Service (4K Review)

As part of his “Great Movies” series, Roger Ebert described Hayao Mitazaki’s My Neighbour Totoro as a film “based on experience, situation and exploration, not on conflict and threat.” Of all Miyazaki’s subsequent films, the one that best captures this essence is Kiki’s Delivery Service. Like Totoro, it has little traditional conflict; instead, its drama comes from simply being young and trying to find your place in the world.
GameRant •

10 Twilight Zone Episodes That Would Make Excellent Films

The Twilight Zone was built around surprising twists, but not every episode relied on one. Some of the series' best stories were driven by characters, moral dilemmas or high-concept premises that could potentially support a much larger story. Several recent movies have demonstrated how easily a simple, one-line concept can become the foundation for a movie, with Obsession, Backrooms and The End Of Oak Street all indebted to specific episodes of The Twilight Zone....
Critical popcorn •

Hunt for the Wilderpeople [10th Anniversary] review: Dir. Taika Waititi

Watching Hunt for the Wilderpeople today, it’s impossible not to think of Sam Neill, who sadly passed away last month. Neill was obviously most identified with Jurassic Park, but his role as the irascible “Crocodile Dundee fella” in Taika Waititi’s fourth feature now feels like one of the defining roles of the final act of his career, which makes this ten-year anniversary rerelease from Vertigo unexpectedly poignant.
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