Born in the mid-70’s, Mat ‘Witchfinder’ Corne grew up as part of the Star Wars generation, and to be honest he’s still stuck there! If there’s some kind of geeky hobby that can be pursued then Mat is almost certainly interested, be it Retro Gaming, binge-watching Cult TV shows, collecting vintage Star Wars toys or checking out the latest action films at the cinema.
With an encyclopaedic knowledge of movies, TV, games and music, Mat is never short of something to say on any topic and is partial to a good rant about most things. Aside from the nostalgic hobbies he’s also a fan of football, rollercoasters and travelling the world, which he combines at regular opportunities! He lives in Stoke-on-Trent with his incredibly patient wife and a ridiculous Romanian rescue dog called Luca.
Mat is responsible for MovieMuse’s weekly Freeview Movies of the Week article and is co-editor of the MovieMuse podcast.
Mat's favourite things...
Films | Games | TV | Music |
---|---|---|---|
The Empire Strikes Back | Bubble Bobble (Arcade) | The X-Files | Master of Puppets (Metallica) |
Die Hard | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) | Twin Peaks | Songs for the Deaf (Queens of the Stone Age) |
Back to the Future | Wizball (Commodore 64) | The Walking Dead | Appetite for Destruction (Guns n Roses) |
Star Wars | Fallout 3 (PS3) | Breaking Bad | Earth Vs The Wildhearts (The Wildhearts) |
The Terminator | Chuckie Egg (BBC Micro) | 24 (Seasons 1-4 only!) | Rust in Peace (Megadeth) |
Rocky | Rock Band 3 (PS3) | ||
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Star Wars (Arcade) | ||
Halloween | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Megadrive) | ||
Fargo | Donkey Kong (Arcade) | ||
Pulp Fiction | Golden Axe (Megadrive) |
Mat’s Reviews
Poster | Movie | Year | Comments | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
Logan | 2017 | To call this a superhero film does it a massive disservice. An emotional and violent road movie that is a fitting end to the Wolverine story and is exactly the mature film that many have been hoping for from this genre. | 9 | |
Slap Shot | 1977 | There are a few humorous moments at either end of this film, but the story is so marginal that an hour could easily be removed from the middle and have barely any effect, while Paul Newman seems either bored or embarrassed to be involved. | 5 | |
The Dark Crystal | 1982 | The story is a fairly generic fantasy offering, but the puppetry and voice acting is generally impressive and this has aged far better than Labyrinth, despite being produced 3 years earlier. | 6 | |
Robocop | 1988 | An absolute classic of the genre, and still as gut-wrenchingly violent and darkly satirical as it ever was, but recent viewing also revealed a emotional tale about humanity that I hadn't previously appreciated. | 10 | |
Star Trek: Insurrection | 1998 | A surprisingly light-hearted and amusing outing for the usually serious Next Generation crew, with the lack of significant deep space action a definite plus-point. Much better than expected! | 7 | |
Shaun of the Dead | 2004 | A quintessentially British blend of horror and comedy, with plenty of pop culture nods and dozens of memorable scenes. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright may have gone on to bigger movies, but there are few that hit the mark as well as their debut. | 10 | |
Dressed to Kill | 1980 | Unashamedly taking influence from more than one Hitchcock film, this movie was probably pretty disturbing in its day, but almost 40 years on provides more giggles than scares. | 5 | |
Top Dog | 2015 | Exactly as good as you'd expect a family film about International Dachshund Racing to be. Undemanding and instantly forgettable, but entertaining enough. | 5 | |
The Croods | 2013 | One of the most gorgeous-looking animated films I've seen, and it has some nice characters and funny moments too. It's just a shame the story is rather lacklustre and predictable. | 6 | |
Moon | 2009 | A great performance by Sam Rockwell anchors a dark and intelligent Sci-Fi film that successfully captures the feel of some of the iconic 70's films from the genre. | 8 | |
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | It may not be much different to its predecessors in terms of story, but the addition of Sean Connery as Indy's dad brings a new dynamic to the main characters and more humour, making this my favourite of the series. | 9 | |
Creature from the Black Lagoon | 1954 | The rubber-suited creature may no longer be scary, but the film itself is still enjoyable in other ways, and features some impressive underwater cinematography for its time. Fully deserving of its classic status. | 7 | |
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them | 2016 | A darker, more grown-up story from J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World, with glorious production design and superb performances from Eddie Redmayne and especially Dan Fogler. The only letdown is the below-par CGI rendering some mostly unspectacular beasts. | 8 | |
Thor | 2011 | An entertaining debut for Marvel's God of Thunder. The action sequences are largely forgettable, but as with most Marvel offerings, the humour and charisma of the lead actors is what stands out. | 7 | |
The Purge: Election Year | 2016 | The most visually stylish of the three films, and the concept is great, but the story doesn’t work as well as in the first two films. It is still a decent and logical conclusion to the Purge story so far, however. | 6 | |
Monsters University | 2013 | Pixar's take on the Frat-house comedy is far from their greatest offering, but even their mediocre films are better than most CG-animated movies. The return of one of their best duos, Mike and Sully, was also most welcome. | 7 | |
The Force Among Us | 2007 | A sometimes interesting look at Star Wars fandom, but it lacks a consistent theme and has low production values. Sadly, despite attempts to dispel the stereotypes associated with Star Wars fans, all it really does is validate them. | 4 | |
Inside Out | 2015 | Pixar's most intelligent and creative movie to date, and one whose themes are more suitable for adults than children, though it will undoubtedly entertain both. | 8 | |
The Woman In Black - Angel of Death | 2014 | When you can make it out through the darkness, the production design is great, but the story is neither interesting or scary in this disappointing sequel. | 4 | |
Red State | 2011 | An uncharacteristically gritty film from director Kevin Smith. The delivery is uneven, but the story is all the more disturbing because people like those portrayed in the film really do exist in America. | 6 | |
The World's End | 2013 | Undoubtedly the worst of the 'Three Flavours Cornetto' trilogy, but there are still plenty of laughs, shocks and genre staples to make it worthwhile and enjoyable viewing. | 7 | |
Rise of the Rabbit | 2015 | Nicely animated, lacking in plot and with unmemorable voice acting, this Chinese offering is still no worse than the Kung-Fu Panda movies it is obviously trying to cash in on. | 5 | |
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol | 2011 | Tom Cruise does his best to ruin it by being miserable throughout, but the supporting cast supply enough humour and excitement to redeem it, and the action sequences are excellent. Probably my favourite of the series. | 8 | |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | I love the concept, the acting is decent and there are plenty of amusing moments, but the film is bogged down by 20 unnecessary minutes of inexplicable nonsense in the middle. | 6 | |
Jason X | 2001 | The characters are as one-dimensional and badly acted as ever, but the move to a futuristic setting breathes a bit of new life into the Friday the 13th series, and the film benefits from not taking itself seriously. | 5 |