Whilst the third act seems to position the film in an impatient race toward that (arguably predictable) final image, letting the more controlled plotting of its opening hour fall by the wayside, as an intense and routinely bloody horror experience, Talk to Me more than justifies the price of admission. It just seems to me that perhaps the film has been slightly overhyped, potentially suffering (rather than benefiting) from the adulation it has received from the likes of Peter Jackson, who has referred to it as the 'best, most intense horror movie I’ve enjoyed in years'.
Film Review: Cobweb (Bodin, 2023)
Opening with a title card reading 'One Week Before Halloween', Cobweb introduces us to a young boy named Peter. Peter is the quiet one in class; he's clearly being bullied and seems to have no friends to play with at lunchtime. A new substitute teacher, Miss Devine, tasking the kids with painting some Halloween-themed artwork, … Continue reading Film Review: Cobweb (Bodin, 2023)
Film Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (Taguchi, 2023)
Adapted from the light novel of the same name (which was also adapted into manga), The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is the sweet-natured second release from industry newcomer Clap Animation Studio, following their debut Pompo the Cinephile last year. Echoing recent supernaturally infused boy-meets-girl romances, most notably Makoto Niitsu's acclaimed thematic trilogy … Continue reading Film Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (Taguchi, 2023)
Film Review: Asteroid City (Anderson, 2023)
Asteroid City just seems to further the case for Anderson's artistic stagnation. Unwilling or unable to try something new, he seems to be running on autopilot, recycling his mise-en-scene, cinematography, and favourite collaborators ad nauseum.
Film Review: Surrounded (Mandler, 2023)
A young black man, stetson hat perched at an angle to conceal his face, places a candle on the altar in a small rural church. He walks out the door and down Mainstreet, little more than a silhouette against the sun setting on a typical Western landscape. Hills, mountains and dusty trails in the background … Continue reading Film Review: Surrounded (Mandler, 2023)
Film Review: Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
For better or worse, Mission: Impossible has become the literal definition of set-piece cinema, with each new installment promising an even more bombastic, edge-of-your-seat stunt sequence performed by the 'one and only saviour of cinema', Tom Cruise. Whilst previous films in the series have seen Cruise's IMF agent Ethan Hunt scale the largest tower in … Continue reading Film Review: Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
Film Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Mangold, 2023)
There’s a gag in Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s 2011 episode ‘The Gang Gets Trapped’ where the main characters are discussing the merits of the Indiana Jones franchise as a whole, having decided to steal a random family’s antique vase (‘it belongs in a museum!’ the characters quip). Dennis, the group’s resident sociopath, comes to the … Continue reading Film Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Mangold, 2023)
‘From’ and the Ghost of ‘Lost’
Harold Perrineau as Boyd in From One thing that you can always say about Lost, the J.J. Abrams-produced ABC series that aired from 2004-2010, was that it always kept you guessing. Yes, the end of the show was a disappointment, confirming (I think - it’s been a while!) that the survivors of Flight 815 had … Continue reading ‘From’ and the Ghost of ‘Lost’
Film Review: Reality (Satter, 2023)
Reality stars Sydney Sweeney as the titular and perhaps ironically (if not bizarrely) named Reality Winner, a real-life NSA whistleblower who leaked information confirming Russia’s involvement in hacking and manipulation of the US presidential election back in 2016. Playing out almost in real-time, Reality is based upon the transcribed conversations between the twenty-something woman and … Continue reading Film Review: Reality (Satter, 2023)
Film Review: Skinamarink (Ball, 2023)
In Skinamarink, director Kyle Edward Ball offers an experimental riff on the haunted house story, an ambient and atmospheric experience that demands the audience’s full attention from the off. Comprised almost entirely of static shots of the interior of a family household, often framed from unconventional and almost uncanny angles (we see ceilings, banisters and … Continue reading Film Review: Skinamarink (Ball, 2023)
BEST OF 2022
For me, 2022 was a year of prioritising the new films, filmmakers and national cinemas. I tried to forego all cinematic prejudices, approaching films and genres without any preconceived expectations. I viewed multiplex blockbusters and art house indies as equal partners, two sides of the same coin, a coin we call cinema. According to my … Continue reading BEST OF 2022
TV Review: 1899 (Netflix, 2022)
If asked what television show from the past few years I would recommend to the sci-fi fanatic in search of their new obsession, my instant response would have been Dark, the German-language mystery-thriller that centres around the suspicious disappearances of local children in an isolated town. The Netflix-distributed show, which ran for three brilliant and … Continue reading TV Review: 1899 (Netflix, 2022)
Black Panther and the Loss of a Hero
Since the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, fans of the actor and his performance as the MCU's iteration of T'Challa (AKA, Black Panther) have been waiting with bated breath in nervous anticipation of how this would affect the character and the larger franchise going forward. Would T'Challa be recast? Would Marvel produce a … Continue reading Black Panther and the Loss of a Hero
4 Essential Resources for Cinephiles
Being a film fan is easy. Keeping track of your passion for cinema and all of the great stuff you've been meaning to watch can be a bit more difficult. Similarly, with all of the variety of films out there, not just in the cinema but on countless streaming services, each with ever-increasing lists of new releases and recommendations, I thought it might be useful to share some of my personal recommendations for keeping up-to-date, tracking down and watching films.
Film Review: Aftersun (Wells, 2022)
Charlotte Wells' Aftersun begins with pixelated DV camera footage of a father and daughter, Calum and Sophie, on holiday in the sun, a picturesque escape from the everyday and mundane lives of our straight-talking Scottish protagonists. Spooling out upon both our cinema screens and the now adult Sophie's home television, we are given glimpses of … Continue reading Film Review: Aftersun (Wells, 2022)
TV Review: Andor, Episodes 8-9 (Disney +)
Episodes 8 and 9 of Andor see the titular character endure the authoritarian restraints of an ISB prison, having been sentenced to six years for non-existent crimes against the Empire in Episode 7. The clinically white institution tethers its inmates to the ground by means of an electrified floor that prisoners are forced to walk … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episodes 8-9 (Disney +)
Film Review: Neptune Frost (Williams, 2021)
Set in the near future, Neptune Frost tells the story of an intersex runaway named Neptune (Cheryl Isheja) and a disillusioned coltan miner called Matalusa (Bertrand Ninteretse), two strangers who share a prophetic dream of a radical communal utopia that dares to confront the international oppression and exploitation of the African continent and its people. … Continue reading Film Review: Neptune Frost (Williams, 2021)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 7 (Disney+)
Episode seven of Andor - 'The Announcement' - marks a moment of reflection for our key characters. Having lost the majority of the rebel crew that undertook the heist on Aldhani, Cassian returns to his adoptive mother Maarva (Fiona Shaw) on Ferrix to find his local community broken and oppressed by the freshly entrenched Imperial … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 7 (Disney+)
Film Review: Black Adam (2022)
Dwayne Johnson as 'Teth-Adam', AKA Black Adam Dwayne Johnson's long-awaited turn as fan-favourite Teth-Adam (AKA Black Adam), a former slave turned super-anti-hero, hits most of the right notes for a comic book origin story, a film that comes across as a familiar but comfortable melody, one that you have heard many times before - enjoyable, … Continue reading Film Review: Black Adam (2022)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 6 (Disney+)
***Spoiler Warning*** In just a few short episodes, Andor has introduced us to a band of rebel characters, fleshed them out into complicated and psychologically-defined heroes, and made me (and a whole host of other fans) fall in love with them and their cause. Episode six of Andor, titled 'The Eye', finds the rebel group … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 6 (Disney+)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 5 (Disney+)
Andor (Luna) and Nemik (Lawther) Episode five of Andor - 'The Axe Forgets' - seemingly marks the calm before the storm; a moment's breath before the rebel heist spearheaded by Skarsgård's Luthen, but executed by the undercover rebels we met for the first time alongside Cassian last week. In disguise as 'Clem', Cassian integrates himself … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 5 (Disney+)
Film Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism (Thomas, 2022)
I really wish I liked this more. As a huge fan of Grady Hendrix's original book, I was looking forward to My Best Friend's Exorcism, but the film, directed by Damon Thomas, really struggles to nail the tone of the novel or find its own voice. The closing credits - an 80s freeze frame montage … Continue reading Film Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism (Thomas, 2022)
News: BBC Radio Devon Interview (26 Sep 2022) on Cinema on the Front Line
https://youtu.be/6Ir5ZfOmz74 Had the chance to talk about Cinema on the Front Line and the Theatre Library Association Award with Pippa Quelch on BBC Radio Devon.
News: Theatre Library Association Prize
Very pleased to announce that my book - Cinema on the Front Line: British Soldiers and Cinema in the First World War - has won the 2021 Theatre Library Association Richard Wall memorial award for exemplary work in the field of recorded performance! Reading through the list of past winners (the award started in 1974) … Continue reading News: Theatre Library Association Prize
Film Review: Hatching (Bergholm, 2022)
In the dead of night, a young girl is awoken by the terrifying screams of a creature in the woods. Journeying from the safety of her picture-perfect family home, Tinja, described as a 'princess' by her two-faced mother, finds a wounded crow that ultimately succumbs to its wounds but leaves behind a delicate egg in … Continue reading Film Review: Hatching (Bergholm, 2022)
Film Review: Funny Pages (Kline, 2022)
Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) in Funny Pages In his feature film debut, Owen Kline replicates the gritty, lo-fi sentiment of the 1960s/70s 'underground comix' writers and artists that his central, incredibly arrogant protagonist, Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) loves and aspires to rival. Funny Pages is a warts-and-all slice of Americana predicated upon a male juvenile obsession with … Continue reading Film Review: Funny Pages (Kline, 2022)
Jordan Peele: Auteur or Metteur en scène?
Auteur (noun): a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp. Metteur en scene (noun): a director who has technical competence when it comes to film directing, but does not add personal style to the aesthetic of the film. Watching Jordan Peele's new … Continue reading Jordan Peele: Auteur or Metteur en scène?
The Sandman, Seriality (Cereality?) and the Value of Truly Episodic Television
A key reason I love Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics is that with each new issue, you never know exactly when, where and with whom you might find yourself. One chapter might play out like a video-nasty nightmare ('24 Hours'), another a treatise upon the nature of storytelling's relationship to 'truth' ('A Midsummer Night's Dream'), or … Continue reading The Sandman, Seriality (Cereality?) and the Value of Truly Episodic Television
Incantation (2022), Active Spectatorship and Optical Illusions
Netflix's found-footage Taiwanese horror film Incantation (Ko, 2022) offers something unique in a quite tired genre. Whilst falling into the usual tropes of found footage films - the shaky POV shots of shadowy rooms keeping us on our toes, static CCTV footage demanding our close scrutiny, pixelated social media posts fragmenting into digital debris before … Continue reading Incantation (2022), Active Spectatorship and Optical Illusions
Comic Book films, Martin Scorsese and the ‘Footballification’ of Film Culture
Listeners of James O'Brien's LBC show will be familiar with a term popularised, if not coined, by the radio host to account for the political divide of post-Brexit Britain. Describing the stubborn bi-partisanship of contemporary politics, O'Brien likened the right/left divide in political life to rival football teams and their fans. 'We’re completely immersed in … Continue reading Comic Book films, Martin Scorsese and the ‘Footballification’ of Film Culture
Film Review: Vicious Fun (Calahan, 2020)
A love-letter to/comedy send-up of slasher films of the 1980s, Cody Calahan's Vicious Fun covers similar ground to classic meta-horror films like Cabin in the Woods and Scream, tipping its hat toward the genre's tropes and conventions in a charming manner, although without offering much in the way that's new to the formula of self-aware … Continue reading Film Review: Vicious Fun (Calahan, 2020)
Film Review: Sound of Metal (Marder, 2019)
Following his fantastic starring role in Mogul Mowgli (2020), Riz Ahmed gives a career-defining performance as Ruben Stone, another musician devastated by a failing body in Sound of Metal, this time playing a heavy metal drummer whose sudden loss of hearing leaves himself afloat in a world for which he has to find new ways … Continue reading Film Review: Sound of Metal (Marder, 2019)
Film Review: Come True (Burns, 2020)
Come True is a nightmarish lo-fi horror film which explores the boundaries between dreams and the real world, occupying a space somewhere between Inception and the collective hallucinatory works of David Lynch. Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone) is a teenage runaway who is plagued by insomnia and, when she is able to sleep, enigmatic but oppressively … Continue reading Film Review: Come True (Burns, 2020)
Film Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
It's here. Five years on since the release of the original theatrical cut, Zack Snyder's Justice League has arrived with full force on streaming services across the world, coming in at a staggering runtime of almost four hours. Following the fan-driven #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign, ZSJL has had an extraordinary journey to the screen, one which will … Continue reading Film Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Film Review: Cowboys (Kerrigan, 2020)
Writer/director Anna Kerrigan's Cowboys is a sensitive drama which tells the story of father Troy's (Steve Zahn) attempt to empower and understand his transgender son Joe, despite mother Sally's (Jillian Bell) desire to ignore or even supress her son's true identity. Pieced together through flashbacks and memory, Kerrigan's film is truly brilliant in its sympathetic … Continue reading Film Review: Cowboys (Kerrigan, 2020)
Book Review: Later by Stephen King
'Like I said, this is a horror story...' So says Jamie Conklin the narrator of Stephen King's slender novel, Later, a pulpy thriller which sees the author combine his tried and tested tropes to mostly riveting effect: a child protagonist with special powers, facing horrors originating from both the real world and the supernatural, set … Continue reading Book Review: Later by Stephen King
Film Review: She Dies Tomorrow (Seimetz, 2020)
She Dies Tomorrow plays out as a fever dream of doom ideation and reflection upon the nature of depression, but its central premise which sees the sudden notion that one is going to die the following day, infecting people like some sort of contagion, perhaps limits the film's more serious implications. The film's cast - … Continue reading Film Review: She Dies Tomorrow (Seimetz, 2020)
Comic Review: Joker #1 (2021)
James Tynion is on a roll. Between his regular Batman series and creator-owned titles like Department of Truth and Something is Killing the Children, Tynion has to be one of the most exciting and prolific talents working in comics right now. The first issue of his new series Joker boasts all the promise and excitement … Continue reading Comic Review: Joker #1 (2021)
Film Review: The Owners (Berg, 2020)
Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones, The Falling) stars alongside British screen icons Sylvester McCoy and Rita Tushingham in this home invasion horror/thriller which packs a nasty visual punch, if not a fully coherent plot. When Williams' boyfriend Nathan (Ian Kenny) and his two lads-in-crime plan to rob an elderly couple's house in their absence, only … Continue reading Film Review: The Owners (Berg, 2020)
Film Review: Moxie (Poehler, 2021)
Moxie is a film with heart, ambition and a clear sense of what it wants to say. It is also a film that perhaps plays it too safely in some respects. Amy Poehler's high school comedy-drama sees self-proclaimed introvert Vivian (a star turn from Hadley Robinson) take on the everyday sexism and misogyny of her … Continue reading Film Review: Moxie (Poehler, 2021)
Film Review: Capone (Trank, 2020)
Much like Hardy's turn at the titular gangster, Trank's Capone is messy and unfocused; a peculiar blend of straight-laced biopic and hallucinatory psycho-drama. Following the Chicago mobster in his final year of life, slipping between memory and nightmare as a consequence of his diagnosed neurosyphilis, the film's portrayal of Capone is perhaps uncertain of exactly … Continue reading Film Review: Capone (Trank, 2020)
Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
My second entry into the new Star Wars 'publishing initiative', Into the Dark by Claudia Gray is an intriguingly detailed and engaging Star Wars yarn which benefits from its relatable and interesting characters more than its arguably bare-bones narrative. Although the novel collects a number of characters and subplots - Jedi masters, padawans, rogues, politicians … Continue reading Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
Film Review: I Care A Lot (Blakeson, 2020)
I Care A Lot: Rosamund Pike as “Martha”. Photo Cr. Seacia Pavao / Netflix Rosamund Pike steals the show in this strange comedy/thriller/drama which sees her sociopathic anti-hero Marla Grayson exploit the elderly through a devious scam. Utilising a network of complicit and corrupt doctors, residential care home managers and lawyers, Grayson makes a killing … Continue reading Film Review: I Care A Lot (Blakeson, 2020)
TV Review: WandaVision Season 1 (2021)
As a reasonably recent convert to the superhero genre, both in comics and film, and as an more of a self-proclaimed DC fan than a Marvel one, WandaVision at first glance seemed too much of a deep dive for someone with only a passing familiarity with its central characters. The post-modern 'show within a show' … Continue reading TV Review: WandaVision Season 1 (2021)
TV Review: Tribes of Europa – Season 1 (2021)
The six part first season of Netflix's Tribes of Europa manages to draw upon and balance a number of genre and textual influences in a manner which, whilst derivative, nonetheless makes for an enjoyable binge watch. The six part first season of Netflix's Tribes of Europa manages to draw upon and balance a number of … Continue reading TV Review: Tribes of Europa – Season 1 (2021)
Film Review: Apples (Nikou, 2020)
Screened as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2021 Apples, the debut feature from Christos Nikou, offers an insightful and heartfelt take on the nature of memory, identity and loss in a quiet, almost meditative drama. The film follows an unnamed man who has seemingly lost his memory, a condition which seems to be spreading … Continue reading Film Review: Apples (Nikou, 2020)
Film Review: The Old Guard (Prince-Bythewood, 2020)
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s comic book adaptation The Old Guard offers some entertaining moments of action and sci-fi curiosity, but is ultimately undermined by its by-the-numbers blockbuster narrative structure and predictable third-act twists.Despite having not read the comic book upon which the film is based, it’s easy to pick up on its comic roots with a story that blends John … Continue reading Film Review: The Old Guard (Prince-Bythewood, 2020)
Film Review: The Vast of Night (2019)
In many ways the opening shot of The Vast of Night encapsulates everything we need to know about the film. A slow zoom towards a retro 1950s television tuned into a Twilight Zone-like sci-fi series named 'Paradox Theater'. The TV set sits in a room filled with similarly mismatched furniture. Is this the present day? … Continue reading Film Review: The Vast of Night (2019)
Review: The Gift (Edgerton, 2015)
In the midst of a summer filled with mediocre blockbusters, The Gift offers an intriguing alternative to those fed up with superheroes and spies as a surprisingly engaging psychological thriller from first time writer/director Joel Edgerton. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) have moved to Los Angeles from Chicago to start a new life. Simon has a … Continue reading Review: The Gift (Edgerton, 2015)
(Re)aquainting Ourselves With Atticus Finch
For bookworms across the world the release of Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman posed an insurmountable problem for fans of the author's iconic work To Kill a Mockingbird. The problem presented, as it were, was the new novel's revelation that Atticus Finch - father of Scout and Jem, protector of the innocent and all round good guy - … Continue reading (Re)aquainting Ourselves With Atticus Finch
Notes from the Multiplex 