Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror is a singular, suspenseful must-see, critiquing and celebrating Hollywood spectacle. — With Nope, Jordan Peele solidifies his reputation as a consistently innovative and interesting horror director, following the superb double whammy of Get Out and Us. Nope is perhaps not quite as incisive in terms of social satire, but it hardly matters. Genre thrills are the order of the day here…

After a truly excruciating selection process, here are my literary essentials. — Writing prompts irritate me. The voices in my head provide enough prompts without being bombarded by others, urging me to expound on favourite films, music, or (in this case) the seven books I’d take to a desert island, in the tradition of the BBC’s Desert Island Books. …

Reflections on Sergio Leone’s masterful gangster epic. — One of my local cinemas recently ran an Ennio Morricone season, in tribute to the late, great composer. The season included classics like The Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso, and Once Upon a Time in the West (which I wrote about recently here), as well as lesser-known gems such as The Great…

The legendary British director taught me during my final year of university. — Whilst at university during the mid-1990s, one of our lecturers was the legendary Ken Russell, the late British director of classics such as The Devils (1971) and Tommy (1975). Ken was brought in to comment on the rough cut of our dissertation short films, and he also provided a series…

Michael Mann’s adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel remains a first-rate rousing romantic adventure. — “I will find you!” Daniel Day-Lewis’s Hawkeye declares to the object of his affection, Cora (Madeleine Stowe), when forced to part company during a deadly pursuit by Huron warriors. This memorable line from The Last of the Mohicans appeared in the trailer, curated by booming voiceover man, thus rather muting…

David Leitch’s Japanese high-speed train action comedy is brainless nonsense, but not in a good way. — Watching Bullet Train is like being trapped on public transport whilst being chatted up at interminable length by an annoyingly outgoing individual sitting next to you, in whom you have no romantic interest, but from whom you cannot escape. You want to be left alone. …

The Dillon Empire is taking a break. — Just to let you know, the Dillon Empire is risking algorithmic excommunication from the Temple of Medium by taking a holiday. Shocking, I know. But I believe in taking proper breaks, which means unplugging fully and completely from all online activity. …

Daisy Edgar-Jones shines in a pretty but predictable adaptation of the Delia Owens bestseller. — Where the Crawdads Sing is not a novel I’ve read. However, director Olivia Newman and screenwriter Lucy Alibar’s adaptation of Delia Owens’s bestseller didn’t exactly set my cinematic soul on fire. It’s enjoyable enough, in a soapy, love triangle-cum courtroom drama sort of way, with an engaging lead performance from…

The Dillon Empire’s top tales of organised crime from cinema history. — I’ve been meaning to write this list for a while, having written other genre-based entries on the likes of film noir, musicals, war films, romantic comedies, and so forth. With the recent publication of this piece on gangster films by Sir Paul Combs (Knight of the Dillon Empire), and also…