“You’ve got a killer scene there man!”
Scenes that make the movies
Split Screen
When films talk to one another
Reloading the Canon
A weekly podcast I co-host.
Category Archives: Reviews
The Favourite (2018)
I much prefer Yorgos when he’s working from within his own demented imagination – this is very much a director-for-hire job, though as far as career moves go you could certainly do a lot worse – but I’m nonetheless impressed … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
The Old Man & the Gun (2018)
I love how golden and warm this feels. The filmic equivalent of wood crackling in a fire. Lowery submits to Redford’s charm and legacy, creating a swan-song for him that is apt if slightly pandering. It’s refreshing to see a … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)
Was not expecting this to be so perverse and uncomfortable but Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance – embodying the kind of strange and troubling yet utterly fascinating woman she has revisited throughout her career – is wholly riveting. Sara Colangelo’s vision of … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
Chopping Mall (1986)
It’s unusual for a film from the low-budget realm, especially of the horror/comedy variety, to have such an ambitious and silly high-concept. Like, you could make a pretty nuts n’ bolts slasher movie set in a shopping centre with the … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
The Mighty Peking Man (1977)
Somebody just hook these Shaw bros. movies up to my veins like an IV drip. Mighty Peking Man is man-in-rubber-suit nirvana. Blatantly pillaging plot and set-pieces from King Kong, Tarazan, Godzilla and any other lucrative property that made money in the West, the film still feels … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
As robust and practical an action movie as there ever was. Fallout takes a second to ease into once you realise that, oh wait, you need to actually remember what happened in the last instalment this time around, but it soon makes … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged 2018, Christopher McQuarrie, Michelle Monaghan, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Simon Pegg, Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames
Leave a comment
Nancy (2018)
Nancy feels like an eerie short story, full of gloomy detail and a vivid exploration of one woman’s pained and complex psyche, perfectly contained within a tight 80 minute runtime. Riseborough delivers yet another revelatory performance here, I’ve actually lost count … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Leave a comment
Cam (2018)
Even wrapped up in a potentially problematic genre framework, Cam avoids the pitfalls that weaker films about this subject matter would fall into and succeeds as a thoroughly entertaining and effective invasion shocker. Madeline Brewer’s performance is great, managing to exude the extreme … Continue reading
Tideland (2005)
The deranged lovechild of Lewis Carroll, Gummo, Nekromantik and Malick nobody asked for. Endlessly icky and puzzling but one of those hard Gilliam tonal swings you wouldn’t want to be without. The mix of innocence and perversion soon becomes tiresome but there are … Continue reading
The Exorcist III (1990)
This is genuinely creepy in parts and works better as a companion to Blatty’s own The Ninth Configuration rather than a second sequel to The Exorcist, but it’s not a bad one of those either. George C. Scott delivers an angry, blustering performance … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 