Last night I watched The Sheep Detectives. The premise is a bit, "sure, why not?" but if you accept it, it's a charming and surpisingpy touching comedy mystery, with an all star cast, that delivers as entertaining a whoddunit as you could ask for.
Dan Berlinka
@danberlinka.bsky.social
Writer / director / coverer of waterfronts
Last night I watched Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture A Duckling. Despite (or because of) its limitations, it has that unique sense of "European uncanny". Fun twists, practical gore, and a streak of perversion that runs through it like the highway that sits above the landscape on vast concrete pillars.
Got the day (month, in fact) wrong! As you were. (Can you transfer Garden Cinema tickets? In which case, does anyone want a ticket for Klute on afternoon of 31 August?)
Anne Billson@annebillson.bsky.social · 6d agoSo - anyone else Klute-ing at the very wonderful Garden Cinema on Monday afternoon? (Availing myself of my lifetime membership)
Yesterday I watched Intruder (1989), a body count movie with inventive practical gore (after a slow start). It's late in the slasher cycle so the tropes are well established, but it doesn't parody or subvert them so much as find variations. Interesting filmographies in the credit list. I liked it.
Last night I saw Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. For some time I've felt that no one should invoke the "final girl", unless they can write a 5000 word essay on Carol J. Clover's Men, Women, and Chain Saws. Jane Schoenbrun's art-slasher is that essay. If you meet it where it is, it's great fun.
Nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard an eerie metallic sound coming from somewhere inside the house. It was my landline.
Btw I don't mean to brag, but I made it through The Odyssey without a bathroom break.
Yesterday I saw The Odyssey. The sheer amount of familiar faces is almost comical, but there are fine performances from Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo and Lupita Nyong'o. I enjoyed it, but did find myself thinking now would be a good time to re-release Excalibur.
I finished Erasure by Percival Everett (filmed as American Fiction which I'd enjoyed.) The book explores disappearing selves and is wrapped in layers of irony, not least of which is that the sensationalist novel within the novel is much more readable than Monk's postmodern musings. I liked it a lot.
Last night I watched Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. Buckets of blood, fan-friendly casting, and bonus points for the hot pick-up from the previous film. Tonally it's a bit too cartoony for me - I think Abigail is Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's masterpiece - but it's a fun, easy watch.
Anyone in London able to put me up for the night of August 14th? Person who has put me up in the past cannot as they are moving house. Only thing - I'm highly allergic to cats and would probably die in your house, so that's a no if you have them.
New short story! "Terminal Day" is now live at @3lobedmag.com!
3LBE Magazine - Terminal Day by Lavie Tidhar
Shulamit Singh, moving like a ghost among the throng of revellers, streamers hung under the dome, the daylight illuminating cotton candy stands and grilled meats, slices of fresh papayas...
3lobedmag.com
Last night I watched Red Rooms. A horror movie premise, shot like a cyber thriller, wrapped inside a psychological character study (and a meta critique of the genre and true crime fandom.) Juliette Gariépy's hyper controlled performance is incredible and I thought the whole film was stunningly good.
Cool that on the basis of having shared this one headline, we’re getting angry Instagram comments criticising us for not casting British or autistic actors. Guys come on - read more than one sentence before you cancel us, this is the most autistic production to ever autism.
Chortle@chortle.bsky.social · 2w agoBritish autism sitcom attracts star names
Last night I watched The Voyeurs for the Sydney Sweeney / Justice Smith / preposterous thriller combo. This is basically Rear Window with boobs and just as good or bad as that sounds. Not un-fun if you like ludicrous twists and can turn to someone and repeatedly ask "but why would anyone do that?"
I'm not posting Odyssey memes because one must be wary of GIFs bearing Greeks.
Yesterday I rewatched Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978). Probably my first viewing since seeing it on TV in the 1980s. It's as good as I remembered, though also a little schlockier, but that's disguised by the brilliant use of locations and how the camerawork creates such a paranoid atmosphere.
I finished Small Prophets, the kind of whimsical show that would never get commissioned without a star writer-performer behind it. I enjoyed it, but can't say I ever really understood it. Pierce Quigley is terrific, though I confess I sympathise with the neighbour. Man just wants the hedge trimmed.
On Friday, in NFT1, I saw The Killer (1989), the film that made me fall in love with John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat all those years ago. It's pure genre. Every man thinks meanly of himself for never having been in a shootout, back to back with an enemy turned ally, because you share a code of honour.
Last night I rewatched Jennifer's Body. (I'd been meaning to revisit it ever since I saw it being reappraised in 1000 Women In Horror.) It's quite a noughties time capsule - messy, but never boring, and (for men) like accidentally eavesdropping on a disturbing conversation you weren't meant to hear.
Last night I watched The Housemaid. It's in that subgenre of preposterous thriller (complimentary) where you know there's a big "this changes everything" reveal coming. Sydney Sweeney has a curious unknowable quality that suits it well and Amanda Seyfried seems to be having a blast. I liked it.
I finished Widow's Bay S1. Thanks to all who recommended it. A terrific cast and a masterclass in balancing character comedy and horror without compromising either. My favourite episodes tended to be the semi-standalone "curse of the week" ones but I devoured the whole series and already want more.
Last night, in honour of Sam Neill, I rewatched Possession. I didn't really get it the first time I saw it. Or the second. But the performances are the definition of "committed" and the Berlin Wall cuts through the movie as an incredible visual metaphor. There's no other film quite like it.
Yesterday I saw Evil Dead Burn. I loved Sébastien Vaniček's Infested for its mix of horror and social commentary. Here I felt the two didn't quite mesh, like the theme wanted its own non-franchise movie. Still there's lots of gory fun and I applaud having a French lead character for no reason.
There's not a single film that wasn't made better by Sam Neill being in it. RIP
EVIL DEAD BURNS aka Deadites meet the New French Extremity: Chekhov's gun; Chekhov's fountain pen; Chekhov's fishing line; Chekhov's strimmer; Chekhov's car seat headrest; Chekhov's stairlift; Chekhov's dishwasher cutlery basket; Chekhov's dog; Chekhov's chainsaw; Chekhov's Jacques Brel song etc
I despise those BBFC explainers at the cinema. I understand how film ratings work. Everyone understands how film ratings work. And on the off-chance that someone wanders in who's never seen a movie before, do they really need it explained *twice*? And the second time as a cutesy animation, yet?!