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After Last Season: Interns, Intention, and the Internet
A group discussion about the strangest, funniest, and most confusing movie trailer you are ever likely to see... Read this article Published on Thu Apr 2 14:09:53 2009

Romantic Comedy: Love, Nervousness & Intertextuality
James MacDowell discusses modern romantic comedy in light of the history of romantic love it grew from, and the intertextuality so common in the genre since the 80s. Read this article Published on Sun Feb 15 15:11:32 2009

Ball of Fire and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - a Comparison
Anna Sloan compares the seminal Disney fairytale to Howard Hawks' underrated updating of it, tracing the approach of each to notions of romance and fantasy... Read this article Published on Wed Nov 19 00:54:06 2008

There Will Be Blood: An Extended Alternate Take
An essay/Alternate Take proposing reasons why we might call There Will Be Blood a 'psychopathic' film, by James MacDowell... Read this article Published on Fri Apr 4 15:28:12 2008

Love and Fate in The Clock and Before Sunrise
Through a comparison of two very different romance films, James MacDowell floats some ways of thinking about Hollywood's depictions of fated love... Read this article Published on Thu Jan 3 11:46:06 2008

'Merry Christmas, Alternate Takes!'
James Zborowski offers a general critical analysis of It's a Wonderful Life... Read this article Published on Fri Dec 14 18:43:15 2007

Glimpses from the Stockholm International Film Festival 2007
Cindy Carlsson gives us some previews of films that should be coming our way over the next cinematic year... Read this article Published on Wed Dec 12 16:49:13 2007

The Significance of Film Names
James Zborowski starts a discussion concerning the things film titles can do... Read this article Published on Sat Nov 17 15:38:19 2007

The Happy Ending in Modern Romance Films, Vol. 1: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The first part of an ongoing investigation into the 'happy ending' and modern American romance films, with a particular focus on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... Read this article Published on Fri Nov 16 15:47:03 2007

INLAND EMPIRE, a round-table Alternate Take
A round-table discussion between our writers exploring issues surrounding one of the most perplexing and intriguing films of recent years... Read this article Published on Thu Jun 21 18:56:23 2007

The Double Life of Veronique: Kieslowski and Pure Emotion
An investigation into the emotional and metaphysical themes and style of Kieslowski's most unique and ambiguous film, by Kevin Pearson... Read this article Published on Thu May 17 00:23:04 2007

Alexander Revisited: Assessing the Director's Cut
Kevin Pearson examines Stone's new DVD version of his maligned epic, and discovers a great film hidden beneath the theatrical cut... Read this article Published on Sun Mar 25 22:46:22 2007

'Good Film - Preferred the Book, Though...': Cinematic Adaptations
A short look into the world of adaptations to coincide with the release of Perfume: the Story of a Murderer, the adaptation of the 'unfilmable' novel that defeated Kubrick. By Jim Holden. Read this article Published on Sun Jan 14 12:53:53 2007

Some Reviews From the 50th London Film Festival
James MacDowell reports on some notable films from the LFF: Shortbus, Half Nelson, Bobby and The Boss of it All. Read this article Published on Thu Nov 30 12:52:58 2006

Fiction vs. Reality in the Films of Michael Winterbottom
Some of the varied films of Winterbottom are looked at here from the viewpoint of how they play with ideas of realism. By Jim Holden. Read this article Published on Tue Nov 21 12:46:05 2006

United 93: Apolitical Propaganda?
Emotionally wrecking, flawlessly shot and faintly politically suspect: United 93 was likely the most important film of 2006. This article discusses it from a range of different perspectives. Read this article Published on Sat Aug 5 19:45:18 2006

R. Kelly's Trapped In the Closet
An attempt to get to grips with the most epically ridiculous, and entertaining, music video you will ever see. Read this article Published on Mon May 22 08:28:06 2006

Whatever Happened to the Movie Star?
Jake Finbow suggests reasons to be cheerful about the slow demise of the Hollywood star persona. Read this article Published on Thu Mar 16 12:42:58 2006

The Academy Awards, 2006
The Academy finally recognises Spike Lee...? No, it's plumped for Crash instead. Some notes on what had the potential to be the most politically-charged Oscars on record. Read this article Published on Tue Mar 7 16:45:18 2006

Cinema, Connection, Me and You and Everyone We Know
Cinema as the supreme art of human connection + Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know... An idealistic rant. Read this article Published on Fri Dec 23 11:46:13 2005

Happy Endings and True Love: Part 3
The conclusion of James MacDowell's investigation into the Hollywood happy ending finishes with an analysis of Before Sunset... Read this article Published on Mon Oct 10 18:55:44 2005

Raindance Festival Report
Your Alternate Takes reporter reviews selected films from Britain's biggest independent film festival... Read this article Published on Sun Oct 9 20:14:48 2005

Happy Endings & True Love: Part 2
James MacDowell continues his investigation into the happy ending here through a close analysis of Before Sunrise... Read this article Published on Fri Sep 16 16:45:29 2005

Some reviews from the Edinburgh Film Festival
Tom Steward reports on Kinky Boots, Tickets, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, and Land of the Dead Read this article Published on Mon Sep 12 16:21:20 2005

Happy Endings & True Love: Part 1
Exactly how unrealistic is the Hollywood romance happy ending? Through a discussion of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Sleepless in Seattle, James MacDowell attempts to find out. Read this article Published on Wed Sep 7 22:24:13 2005

Mourning Daddy
D.I.Y. Fathers in The Snowman and Terminator 2, by Neon Kelly. Read this article Published on Sun Aug 7 19:54:13 2005

Jim Jarmusch
An ode to the deadpan poet of crumpled hipsters, by Tom Steward. Read this article Published on Tue Jul 26 21:13:41 2005

Some thoughts on Safety, Danger, Dreams and Genre-worlds
James MacDowell argues for the pleasures of unsafe cinematic worlds. Read this article Published on Thu Jul 21 02:55:05 2005

Radical form: A political evaluation of Gus Van Sant's Elephant
James Whitfield tackles the political minefield of Van Sant's take on high-school shootings. Read this article Published on Thu Jul 21 01:43:47 2005

The 'Quirky' New Wave
James MacDowell thinks we are in the middle of a new American Wave. Read this article Published on Thu Jul 21 01:04:04 2005

Man in Black: Does Will Smith's race matter?
Victor Wong explains how civilisation has been saved from the potentially catastrophic powers of Will Smith's big, black, manhood. Read this article Published on Thu Jul 21 00:25:44 2005