Mark Jenkin’s arresting folk horror baffles and beguiles in equal measure. — Here in southwest England, Mark Jenkin is one of our local filmmaking heroes. In fact, he’s so admired that in this part of the world, his latest, surreal folk horror curio Enys Men, is outperforming Avatar: The Way of Water. …

The timeless message of Steven Spielberg’s landmark Holocaust drama. — NOTE: Contains spoilers. Here are three good reasons to revisit Steven Spielberg’s landmark adaptation of Thomas Keneally’s fact-based novel, Schindler’s Ark. Firstly, and most importantly, today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Secondly, the end of this year marks the 30th anniversary of its release. Finally, Spielberg’s latest, Oscar-tipped The Fabelmans, is…

Damien Chazelle’s latest is a debauched, self-indulgent, headache-inducing slog. — First, a warning: Damien Chazelle’s new film Babylon is packed with sex, nudity, violence, swearing, drug abuse, multiple bodily fluids, and elephant excrement. In fact, the pachyderm scatological gross-out occurs in the very first scene, direct to camera. This repulsiveness sets the tone for what follows, during the depravity and…

The Dillon Empire mulls over this year’s Academy Award nominees. — NOTE: For my thoughts in more depth on any given film, just click the title and the link will take you back to my original review at Simon Dillon Cinema. Once again, I’m being asked what I think what will win at the Oscars, versus what I think should win…

In the distant future, a teenage boy inherits the planet Mars. — I’m currently showcasing the first nine chapters of my novel The Martian Inheritance, part one of The George Hughes Trilogy; three science fiction adventure novels aimed at the young and young at heart. For more background on the novels, please check out this article. Previous Chapters: Chapter One: The Mars Landing Chapter…

You too can breed smug specimens of cinematic literacy. — Previous parts Part One Part Two This is a continuation of my series concerning how my wife and I undertook a cinematic education for the results of our genetic experimentation. Both specimens underwent a variation of the programme I describe herein, though with some personality-appropriate deviations. I hope what follows proves informative…

My favourite Medium writers for all things nerdy. — I decided to make this instalment of Dillon Detours separate and distinct from last month’s cineaste celebration, as I think the writers here occupy a slightly different territory (though they border and often overlap with that of the cineaste). At any rate, this month I’m shining the Dillon Empire spotlight…

Ruben Östlund’s satirical swipe at the stupidly rich is too overlong and obvious to raise much of a smile. — I meant to watch this last year but have been rather tardy getting to it. After finally trundling off to see it last night, my expectations were high, considering some of the strong reviews. …

An enjoyable, satisfyingly nasty, albeit conventional AI-gone-awry sci-fi horror flick. — Taking its cue from Westworld, Blade Runner, Black Mirror, Humans, and any number of other android-gone-wrong sci-fi you’d care to mention, M3GAN is nonetheless an engaging high-tech horror in its own right. …