Tom
Alexander Payne’s Evergreen Political Masterpiece; Election
My favourite Payne film is also one of his earliest and is what is often referred to in public and …
Read more
Tom
Shampoo – Beatty, Ashby, Towne and the Many Other Women
Has there ever been a more quality final product for a fashion of vanity project as this? Even then…
Read more
Tom
Speak No Evil (2024) – Review
Now Speak No Evil from 2022 was one of my favourite films of that year and a sublime surprise in th…
Read more
Tom
Steve Martin – Original Screenplays (In Some Sense of the Word)
Steve Martin’s talents are such that they clearly no bound. For one of course being not only his wo…
Read more
Tom
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) – Review
Perhaps the most frustrating thing overall about Tim Burton’s latest effort, the long awaited lega-…
Read more
Tom
Sing Sing (2024) – Review
There are the typical trappings of an overly sentimental film that can overflow into films of quali…
Read more
Tom
Blink Twice (2024) – Review
Zoe Kravitz has always been an incredibly known quantity when it comes to celebrity and in regards …
Read more
Tom
Steve Martin and Carl Reiner – A Comedy Pair For the Ages
In interview after interview and speech after speech, Steve Martin always cites one of his major in…
Read more
Tom
Alien Romulus (2024) – Review
It was fair to say that perhaps I bigged up the latest entry into the Alien franchise a little bit …
Read more
Tom
Steve Martin - Acting other People’s Words
When it comes to absolute influences to me creatively, Steve Martin is one of the biggest. Whether …
Read more
Tom
Trap (2024) – Review
The greatest strength of the recent films of M. Night Shyamalan has always been in my opinion the s…
Read more
Tom
Deadpool and Wolverine (2024) – Review
A week has passed since I first saw Deadpool and Wolverine and due to a litany of reasons, this is …
Read more
Tom
Triple Bill: Love Affair Through the Years
Through the years the original 1939 film of Love Affair , has been remade twice. First as the equal…
Read more
Tom
Twisters (2024) – Review
I was not up on the Twister train to be honest with you, I had never seen the original film until e…
Read more
Tom
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) – Review
Now, how far should one go to commend modest mediocrity? Well I think to be honest the latest soft …
Read more
Tom
Longlegs (2024) – Review
Now my journey to Longlegs I am sure was similar to a lot of peoples following Neon’s absolutely as…
Read more
Tom
In a Violent Nature (2024) – Review
The theatrical feature length directorial debut of special effects great Chris Nash has a very simp…
Read more
Tom
Halloween – THE WHOLE SAGA (Part Three)
This final article looks at the remaining films released, in the reboot era, the Zombie films and t…
Read more
Tom
Fly Me to the Moon (2024) – Review
There are films that are based around true stories that are so far fetched and removed from the ori…
Read more
Tom
Maxxxine (2024) – Review
Perhaps there has been no quicker turn around on a horror trilogy and no better sustaining of pure …
Read more
Tom
Kinds of Kindness (2024) – Review
It’s not that Yorgos Lanthimos is a marmite director for me because often it is within each film it…
Read more
Tom
Halloween – THE WHOLE SAGA (Part Two)
This article looks at the films released from 1989 – 2002.
Read more
Tom
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) – Review
After missing the first film on arrival and watching it at home and not catching all the fuss, then…
Read more
Tom
Horizon – An American Saga: Part One (2024) – Review
Kevin Costner may be of all our great American film stars the one most in the same vein as Marilyn …
Read more
Tom
The Bike-Riders (2024) – Review
Jeff Nichols is a pronounced figure in American film and has for my money made thus far four very g…
Read more
Tom
Warren Beatty’s Misfire of all Misfires; Bulworth (1998, Written by Beatty and Jeffrey Pikser)
Perhaps there is no bigger swing in Beatty’s career than Bulworth. Now of course scope wise one doe…
Read more
Tom
Hit Man (2024) – Review
There are star vehicles that are designed to show off variety, then there are star vehicles designe…
Read more
Tom
Halloween – THE WHOLE SAGA (Part One)
The Halloween series is one of the most convoluted and messy horror franchises we have ever had. Wh…
Read more
Tom
The Way We Were (1973) – Barbara, Robert and Sydney
Sydney Pollack, working with Robert Redford once more came in 1973 to adapt to the screen the beaut…
Read more
Tom
Cruising and Jade – Friedkin’s Successes and Failures in the Erotic Thriller Genre
Cruising feels in many ways like a film one must clear their throat for before talking about – no p…
Read more
Tom
Oliver Stone’s Nixon, His Mirror to JFK.
Whereas as much as JFK is a film about political and governmental mistrust and conspiracy as it is …
Read more
Tom
Blazing Saddles (1974) – 50 Years On
In 1974, as aforementioned, Mel Brooks released two comedic masterpieces with his frequent and grea…
Read more
Tom
Shcrader’s American Gigolo – A Statement on a Decade and a Statement of Intent
There is a mission about Paul Schrader’s film American Gigolo, just as there is a mission about it’…
Read more
Tom
Dead Poets Society (1989) - The Beauty and Pain of Coming of Age
In the 80’s boom of 50’s set nostalgia films there was more than a few that were set inside the pr…
Read more
Tom
Robert Altman’s The Player (1992)
Hollywood has been making movies about itself nearly since the beginning, and for that matter Holly…
Read more
Tom
“The American Dream is a product”: Comparing Arthur Miller and David Mamet’s portrayal of the salesmen of said Dream.
“Happiness comes not in fulfilling the dream but in ever believing in it and reaching for it"…
Read more
Tom
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) – Review
In many ways it is hard of course to follow on from what many rightly in my opinion refer to as one…
Read more
Tom
Giving Up Berlin - Comparing the presentation and dissection of America and the nuclear family in Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and William’s “Cat on a hot tin roof”
Within both Edward Albee’s “ Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and Tennessee William’s “ Cat on…
Read more
Tom
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) – Review
After the incredibly promising Saint Maud, whatever Rose Glass was to do next was always going to b…
Read more
Tom
Triple Bill: Written and Directed by Colin Higgins
Truly one of the great losses in comedy film history is that of Colin Higgins, who after his major …
Read more
Tom
The Fall Guy (2024) – Review
Now I have often gone on rants about sincerity in our movies of late, with so many frequently for m…
Read more
Tom
Abigail (2024) – Review
When it comes to absolutely solid and completely enjoyable horror that still manages to imbue genui…
Read more
Tom
Late Night With The Devil (2024) – Review
On paper Late Night With the Devil presents itself in a mould that inhabits one of my favourite pi…
Read more
Tom
The First Omen (2024) – Review
Now for better or for worse, as has happened may times before and will happen I’m sure many times a…
Read more
Tom
Immaculate (2024) – Review
To paraphrase… somebody I think, a great film need only have a great opening, a great ending and tw…
Read more
Tom
Civil War (2024) – Review
Coming home after the cinema I am often asked by my family what I thought of the film I just watche…
Read more
Tom
Mother’s Instinct (2024) – Review
Lord knows I love a 50’s physiological thriller and lord knows I love Anne Hathaway, which is why I…
Read more
Tom
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) – Review
N ow I gave Afterlife both an easy road and a hard road, an easy road in the sense that I gave the…
Read more
Tom
Challengers (2024) – Review
Perhaps my most anticipated movie of the decade. Pardon me if I re-use this joke on the podcast but…
Read more
TV series
‘More Than a Study in the Tragedy of Mundanity’; A Study of ‘Everyday Tragedy’ within Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads”
In 1988, Alan Bennett did something rather unprecedented for the theatrical landscape of the era of…
Read more
Tom
Lisa Frankenstein (2024) – Review
I had high hopes for Lisa Frankenstein for many reasons and it is unfortunately so that for all it …
Read more
Tom
Drive Away Dolls (2024) – Review
There are odd films and then there are filmic oddities, Drive Away Dolls is such a film that is bot…
Read more
Tom
Dune: Part Two (2024) – Review
There is no doubt in my mind that on a proficiency and craft level I may not see a better film this…
Read more
Tom
Back to Black (2024) – Review
Firstly, don’t watch this film, watch Asif Kapadia’s Amy. Now read the review. I have made it ver…
Read more
Tom
The Big Chill, Forty Years On from Fifteen Years On – Everything Still Fits
The ultimate achievement in Lawrence Kasdan’s cannon as a writer and director and the one that in m…
Read more
Tom
Brian De Palma, “the Modern Master of Suspense” (Part Four – 00s and Onward)
This is a continuation of last week’s article exploring the earlier works of Brian De Palma. Cred…
Read more
Tom
Brian De Palma, “the Modern Master of Suspense” (Part Three - 90’s)
This is a continuation of last week’s article, exploring the works of writer and director Brain De …
Read more
Tom
Brian De Palma, “the Modern Master of Suspense” (Part Two – 80s)
This is a continuation of last week’s article, exploring the works of writer and director Brain De …
Read more
Tom
Wicked Little Letters (2024) – Review
To start with I guess one must address the very British elephant in the room in that as a British c…
Read more
Tom
Madame Web (2024) – Review
Now don’t get me wrong, this is still a 1/10 film, the sort of film that does make you wonder about…
Read more
Tom
Bob Marley: One Love (2024) – Review
#Re-releaseWalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory I grow ever so ever so weary of the same cycle that goes with…
Read more
Tom
Brian De Palma, “the Modern Master of Suspense” (Part One – 60s and 70’s)
Over the course of the next three articles, I will explore and look at (in some cases for the fir…
Read more
Tom
All of Us Strangers (2023) – Review
Anybody who knows me will know that one of my favourite films of all time and one that I am constan…
Read more
Tom
The Iron Claw (2023) – Review
Sean Durkin’s The Nest was one of my very favourite films of the year of its release and so I was a…
Read more
Tom
Mike Nichols: The Greatest (The 00’s)
The end is always nigh. Such is the pain of life. But lets not eulogise just yet, whilst we still h…
Read more
Top Tens
The Thomas Carruthers Awards 2023 (Yes, it’s back! Again!)
*The Thomas Carruthers Awards are a prestigious awards body comprised of 8 awards; Best Film, Best …
Read more
Top Tens
My Top 20 Films of the Year (Start of February 2023 – End of January 2024)
*I choose these dates wholly arbitrarily based upon my U.K residence and the fact that due to my co…
Read more
Tom
D*cks the Musical (2023) – Review
There is nothing I love more than audacity and originality that lands and in our current comedic la…
Read more
Tom
The Royal Hotel (2023) – Review
With the strike and with COVID there has been an awful lot of sophomoric releases this year aswell …
Read more
Tom
The Holdovers (2023) – Review
I wasn’t disappointed by any means on first watch by The Holdovers, on a first watch in-fact I note…
Read more
Tom
American Fiction (2024) – Revi
Every year an incredibly strong debut comes along that becomes a dark horse in the Oscar race and t…
Read more
Tom
Mike Nichols: The Greatest (The 90’s)
I keep waiting to write the introduction where I note that this was Nichols weakest decade, and y…
Read more
Tom
Argylle (2024) – Review
The morning of Saturday 3 rd February was a terrible series of events, two mainly. One was a car i…
Read more
Tom
The Killer (2023) – Review
David Fincher is in my all time top directors ranking – I mean when a man loves Benjamin Button and…
Read more
Tom
The Zone of Interest (2023) – Review
Jonathan Glazer’s debut film was the sensational, incredibly volatile and high octane Sexy Beast, a…
Read more
Tom
Ferrari (2023) – Review
This year due to a plethora of reasons has ended up one where many of our great film-makers and man…
Read more
Tom
May December (2023) - Review
Well. Not in a very long time has my top three films of the year been of such an incredibly high ca…
Read more
Tom
Eileen (2023) – Review
I try whenever I can to read material before seeing their film adaptations, fortunately a holiday l…
Read more
Tom
Maestro (2023) – Review
So it seems that Maestro is to be the film that is of this Oscar season one of my films to defend a…
Read more
Tom
One Life (2024) – Review
I have to admit I feel rather ghoulish and guilty about how tepid I plan to be about this film, whi…
Read more
Tom
Dream Scenario (2023) – Review
In a year of bold projects for A24, Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario in many ways feels like a re…
Read more
Tom
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) – Review
There have been two films this Oscar season so far that have been incredibly acclaimed that in a ra…
Read more
Tom
Anyone But You (2023) – Review
I would like if I may to reprint my concluding words from my review of 2022’s Ticket to Paradise; “…
Read more
Tom
Poor Things (2023) – Review
It happens every Oscar season to every film lover – that one film, or two, hopefully no more just d…
Read more
Tom
Saltburn (2023) – Review
There is indeed an intoxication and a seduction at the heart of Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, that on…
Read more
Tom
Triple Bill: Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Jonathan Glazer as a director is very singular in the respect that I don’t actually think you could…
Read more
Socials