Heading to Pincher Creek, Alberta, and making sure to pack some copies of my novella - especially since it's set there! 🥰
Charles Johnston
@charlesjohnston.bsky.social
Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Author of SLEEP WALK. Writer for Spectrum Culture. DETENTIONAIRE co-creator. charlesjohnston.ca
Saw my novella Sleep Walk advertised on the NYT front page this morning! books.friesenpress.com/store/title/....
Brand New Day, same old Spider-Man spectrumculture.com/2026/07/30/s...
Spider-Man: Brand New Day - Spectrum Culture
The latest Spider-Man film’s grounding in New York City adds a layer of realism and allows director Destin Daniel Cretton to play to his strengths as a chronicler of small but significant moments.
spectrumculture.com
So I'm working on my "Memoirs" -- A zine that I wrote in one week, and am currently illustrating. It's about my summer in the year 2003. #artsky #zine #writer #illustration #queer #queerartist #trans
An excellent new gamelan album on Oren Ambarchi's Black Truffle label. Check it! spectrumculture.com/2026/07/30/d...
Dewa Alit and Gamelan Salukat: Baur Bentur - Spectrum Culture
Even a casual spin of Baur Bentur reveals something rich, strange and fruitful coming into being.
spectrumculture.com
From the Vaults of Streaming Hell, we bring you: "Backstabbed"! spectrumculture.com/2026/07/29/f...
From the Vaults of Streaming Hell: Backstabbed - Spectrum Culture
Doug Campbell’s Backstabbed belongs to a contemporary strain of exploitation cinema that extrapolates upon societal taboos so shamelessly as to be strangely audacious; the film is inelegant, but unden...
spectrumculture.com
Craziest case of the Mandela Effect ever. I saw Moonraker when it first came out. I even had a 'Jaws' doll I took with me because I was obsessed with that character. Definitely remember the braces, and so does my wife.
Art Of Coop@artofcoop.bsky.social · 2w agoHow many Horsegirls are we gonna get this year? This authentic, poignant film is good, at least. spectrumculture.com/2026/07/21/h...
Horsegirls - Spectrum Culture
Given all the ways that Horsegirls could have gone wrong, writer/director Lauren Meyering’s feature debut impressively threads a few needles.
spectrumculture.com
A fascinating book, very off its time, oozing paranoia, about a woman trying to raise four kids in Sacramento who is convinced someone is trying to kill her. Adding to its allure is the fact that Stanley Kubrick almost made it, but then hired Diane Johnson to help him adapt The Shining instead.
Wrote about four books I've read recently on my 'stack, including a Gibson novel, Egan's Goon Squad, the amazing music nonfiction Hit Men, and a Stephen King literary criticism book: open.substack.com/pub/billstak...
Bill's Reading Roundup
4 Books, 4 Takes, More Than 4 Sentences Long.
open.substack.com
It's amazing to be needed. My review of Night Nurse for @spectrumculture.bsky.social.
Night Nurse - Spectrum Culture
A high-quality homage to erotic thrillers, Night Nurse seductively circles intriguing ideas without ever diving too deep.
spectrumculture.com
If you or anyone you know loves contemporary poetry, tell them about this:
RogerEbert.com@ebertvoices.bsky.social · 4w ago"Oliver’s ability to summon emotions with words is uncanny. Waters’ documentary is proof." @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social reviews MARY OLIVER: SAVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mary...
I found a weird pulp novel and wrote about it! It's a '70s novel about a sexy spygirl, the second entry in Paul Kenyon's Baroness series with a very James Bond-esque title: Diamonds are for Dying. Check it out: billstakes.substack.com/p/super-sexy...
Super Sexy Spygirl from the '70s
Paul Kenyon's The Baroness Book 2: Diamonds Are For Dying
billstakes.substack.com
These are our favorite films of 2026 so far....
The Best Films of 2026 (So Far) - Spectrum Culture
2026 is shaping up to be a great year at the movies.
spectrumculture.com
I'm glad I watched this one alone because it made me cry a few times. My review of Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World for @spectrumculture.bsky.social. spectrumculture.com/2026/07/02/m...
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World - Spectrum Culture
This extensive documentary sheds light on how beautiful, honest and wise Mary Oliver’s poems are by letting them breathe and inviting appreciators to rejoice in them.
spectrumculture.com
My aunt recommended this book and holy cow it was good. Get yourself an auntie who reads horror! #booksky💙📚
“An atmospheric thriller that balances engaging characterization with sometimes-gruesome shocks.” - Kirkus Review. I've been reading Kirkus reviews since I was a kid and now my novella Sleep Walk has one! 💖 I'm over the moon. www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
SLEEP WALK | Kirkus Reviews
In Johnston’s novella, a Canadian man recovering from a horrific accident is desperate to find the truth after tragedies befall those closest to him.
kirkusreviews.com
Thank you so much for all of your happy birthday wishes. Honestly, I don’t really feel 100. I feel pretty good. I feel like I’m only 98!
Jacked is far too uninspired to be artful and lacks the naiveté or even self-awareness to be so bad it’s good. My review for @spectrumculture.bsky.social.
Jacked - Spectrum Culture
Jacked is a wildly off-the-mark attempt to be an inventive slasher; it’s far too uninspired to be artful and lacks the naiveté or even self-awareness to be so bad it’s good.
spectrumculture.com
For @spectrumculture.bsky.social I wrote about Ozu’s earliest surviving film, a ski comedy that’s light on the surface but has a lot on its mind
Oeuvre: Ozu: Days of Youth - Spectrum Culture
The Japanese director’s earliest surviving film is a student comedy, but despite its light subject matter, it paves the way for mature themes and begins to give birth to his distinct aesthetic.
spectrumculture.com
Long before YouTube built its pipeline and Spotify buried its royalties, two films were already asking whether you were a victim of the machine or complicit in it. The Tonearm's Bill Cooper investigates. Guilty Viewing — 'Remote Control,' 'Funny Games,' and the Moral Architecture of the Algorithm:
'Remote Control,' 'Funny Games,' and the Algorithm
Long before YouTube built its pipeline and Spotify buried its royalties, two films were already asking whether you were a victim of the machine or complicit in it. Warning: contains spoilers!
thetonearm.com
Our latest Streaming Hell pick packs a Hawaiian punch! spectrumculture.com/2026/06/24/f...
From the Vaults of Streaming Hell: Hard Ticket to Hawaii - Spectrum Culture
The second installment in the ridiculous and campy collection of sexploitation action movies made by Andy and Arlene Sidaris succeeds by bursting with effervescent fun.
spectrumculture.com
A Saudi Arabian whodunit and refreshingly fresh take on the genre. My review of Unidentified for @spectrumculture.bsky.social.
Unidentified - Spectrum Culture
Unidentified is a fascinating, culturally specific spin on the crime thriller genre with an assured tone and a twist ending almost impossible to see coming.
spectrumculture.com
I was Alex for Halloween for like five years straight… #booksky📚💙
Maddie About You spectrumculture.com/2026/06/21/m...
Maddie’s Secret - Spectrum Culture
A tonally daring exploration of the symbiotic relationship between digital visibility and self-destruction, Maddie’s Secret is a film that is as aesthetically striking as it is narratively jarring.
spectrumculture.com
When Canada won their first FIFA World Cup match yesterday our neighborhood was quaking with excitement. Even our cat took notice!
