A. J. Black
@ajblack.bsky.social
Author • Write about Film/TV & podcast @filmstories.bsky.social • Physical media collector • All the details: linktr.ee/ajblackwriter
25 years since 9/11 today (incredibly) so I’ve written a bit about cinema’s response to it across several decades. ajblack.substack.com/p/911-in-cin...
9/11 in cinema and how we tried to make sense of it
25 years on, how have we reconciled it?
ajblack.substack.com
Writing on my Substack today about THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, a film which I think I found more interesting and visually arresting than compelling. Please subscribe for free too! ajblack.substack.com/p/the-death-...
The Death of Robin Hood grapples with the myth of heroism
Prince of more than just thieves…
ajblack.substack.com
Today would have been the 96th birthday of the late, great Sean Connery. I’ve written a book on him so to help celebrate the big man, do consider buying a copy and digging into his career. Available most places books are sold. Thanks if you do. amzn.eu/d/0hLfF1AY
Interesting article from fellow Film Stories podcaster, Tony (and thanks for the plug). Are we obsessed with filling in all the gaps in #Tolkien canon? And does it matter? Aren't we all here to enjoy the ride? #Thelordoftherings #TheRingsOfPower
A. J. Black@ajblack.bsky.social · 3w agoI’m chatting a bit about various shows - Rings of Power, Game of Thrones and especially Star Trek - as I talk about our obsession with canon. Do subscribe for free if you like what you read! ajblack.substack.com/p/why-are-we...
I’m chatting a bit about various shows - Rings of Power, Game of Thrones and especially Star Trek - as I talk about our obsession with canon. Do subscribe for free if you like what you read! ajblack.substack.com/p/why-are-we...
Why are we so obsessed with knowing everything?
TV and film's desperate need to sketch in Canon...
ajblack.substack.com
I’m on @atthe90smovies.bsky.social this week with @bazgreenland.bsky.social chatting a fave! THE ROCK which affords me the opportunity to chat about my Sean Connery book, action cinema and a lot else besides. Available on all podcast players. Enjoy! open.spotify.com/episode/3BcV...
The Rock with Baz Greenland
At the Movies in the 90s · Episode
open.spotify.com
Out today on Disney+ in the UK, here are my thoughts on the new The X-Files: I Want to Believe director’s cut for @filmstories.bsky.social. filmstories.co.uk/reviews/the-...
The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn review | a Director's Cut injecting new life into an old body
X-Files: I Want To Believe has an unexpected new director's cut from Chris Carter. But does it change the movie? Here's our review.
filmstories.co.uk
There’s a new cut of the second X-Files movie out on Friday, so I sat down with the creator of the show, Chris Carter, to chat about it. Always a massive pleasure talking to someone whose work I grew up watching and adoring. open.spotify.com/episode/4JPn...
Chris Carter on I Want to Believe: Vrach Frankenshteyn
The X-Cast: An X-Files Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
Today on @filmstories.bsky.social, I’m talking about how Star Trek and Doctor Who find themselves in remarkably similar waters in terms of their future right now. filmstories.co.uk/features/sta...
Star Trek and Doctor Who | Two franchises facing one similar future
Dark days may be ahead for two of the best-known sci-fi franchises in TV. Are Star Trek and Doctor Who heading for a black hole?
filmstories.co.uk
Beware spoilers if you haven’t seen it, but I wrote a bit about Spider-Man: Brand New Day on my Substack. Thanks if you give it a read and especially if you subscribe. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is all about letting go of the MCU we loved
A fourth film that tries to please two different masters...
open.substack.com
Currently halfway through a 10-part appreciation on my Substack of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I get into *that* moment where Indy directly faces Hitler. It’s remarkable on numerous levels. Would love it if you read and gave me a subscribe in the bargain. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 5: "Into the Lion's Den"
A race against evil...
open.substack.com
Threw some thoughts together about #AvengersDoomsday on my Substack. Less so the film (it’s 5 months away after all) and more how it’s positioning itself in relation to Marvel and movie making. Please give me a subscribe if you give this a read. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
Avengers: Doomsday invites a new era of ‘legacyquel’ filmmaking
They’re bringing an old kind of party to you...
open.substack.com
Finished this last night. Injury Time by David Goldblatt. One for football fans primarily, but this weaves in politics and culture as it diagnoses the parlous state of football as a sport underneath all of the entertainment. It’s quite depressing to read actually 😀 but well done by Goldblatt.
Today on @filmstories.bsky.social I’m chattering about TROY from 2004, in the wake of The Odyssey. Very interesting returning to this one & seeing just how different the approach is. filmstories.co.uk/features/the...
The Odyssey highlights what went wrong with Troy
With The Odyssey in cinemas, attention has returned to 2004's Troy. Is it the definitive depiction of the Trojan War? We pay a return visit:
filmstories.co.uk
Second best feeling to winning the World Cup as an Englishman? Watching this ghastly bunch of nasty POS Argentina players lose comprehensively. Viva Espana! 🇪🇸
Everyone and their 20 year old dog are writing about #TheOdyssey this weekend and, friends, I am no exception. Less a review, more thoughts on how this fits in Christopher Nolan’s broader work, but thar be spoilers a bit so exercise caution. Oh & please subscribe! open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
The Odyssey of Christopher Nolan
A style. A theme. A link. A thesis.
open.substack.com
On my Substack, I’m kicking off a 10-part series talking about one of my cinematic loves - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Subscribe for free to get these in your inbox as I probably won’t put them all on social media. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Pt 1 - "You Lost Today, Kid..."
...but it doesn't mean you have to like it.
open.substack.com
On my Substack, I’m kicking off a 10-part series talking about one of my cinematic loves - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Subscribe for free to get these in your inbox as I probably won’t put them all on social media. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Pt 1 - "You Lost Today, Kid..."
...but it doesn't mean you have to like it.
open.substack.com
Kicking off a Substack where all of my writing, unless it’s for Film Stories, shall now go. Please subscribe and make an increasingly old man very happy. I thank you. substack.com/@ajblack/not...
Shall we begin?
Notes on why I'm doing this
substack.com
Kicking off a Substack where all of my writing, unless it’s for Film Stories, shall now go. Please subscribe and make an increasingly old man very happy. I thank you. substack.com/@ajblack/not...
Shall we begin?
Notes on why I'm doing this
substack.com
Wrote a bit about TOY STORY 5 and its use of technology @filmstories.bsky.social A few spoilers within so be cautious, but it’s a movie that warns us about the threat of tech to childhood but suggests we can make it work for us, not the other way around. filmstories.co.uk/features/toy...
Toy Story 5 understands that tech needs to serve childhood
Pixar's Toy Story 5 confronts an existential threat to childhood. With spoilers, a look at what it says about technology and the young.
filmstories.co.uk
Wrote a bit about TOY STORY 5 and its use of technology @filmstories.bsky.social A few spoilers within so be cautious, but it’s a movie that warns us about the threat of tech to childhood but suggests we can make it work for us, not the other way around. filmstories.co.uk/features/toy...
Toy Story 5 understands that tech needs to serve childhood
Pixar's Toy Story 5 confronts an existential threat to childhood. With spoilers, a look at what it says about technology and the young.
filmstories.co.uk
This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: creepy anthologies, chilly aliens, lost entities and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to… filmstories.co.uk/news/film-st...
Film Stories Podcast Network | Tales From The Crypt, War Of The Worlds, E.T. and more
This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: creepy anthologies, chilly aliens, lost entities and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…
filmstories.co.uk
Name a film with a title that is a full sentence.
Jason Bailey@jasondashbailey.com · 3mo agoName a film with a title that is a full sentence.
In this heat remember your five a day: Breakfast: Solero Elevenses: Calippo Lunch: Fruit Pastilles lolly Tea: Strawberry Mivvi Dinner: Raspberry Ripple (2 litre tub)
Never saw this one back in the day so it was a first viewing and I was… whelmed, shall we say? Mark and I had a good chat about Beatty’s distinctive comic-book adaptation so enjoy if you listen.
At the Movies in the 90s Podcast@atthe90smovies.bsky.social · 3mo agoNEW EPISODE! @steelbookbluray.com & @ajblack.bsky.social chat Warren Beatty’s 1990 comic book adaptation, DICK TRACY. 🎧 on all podcast players. open.spotify.com/episode/74iY...
Honestly, the replies to this thread just show off how gorgeous so much of the U.K. is. We really do so often forget that or take it for granted.
Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 3mo agoBluesky, we're gonna do a holiday in England. Somewhere quiet and pretty without too many people, nice pubs etc. Basically a week of reading in a garden. Anywhere nice spring to mind?
