Novelist. Short Story-ist. Film enthusiast. Book enthusiast. Purveyor of sarcasm and dark humour. And somehow, he escaped… — If you’re reading this, it’s already too late. To click on this page is to open Pandora’s Box. So why not satisfy your curiosity, and chew on a mouthful of my Medium articles? I submit these to a variety of publications, including Fictions, Fan Fare, Frame Rated, and The Writing…

Ti West’s horror prequel features an astonishing central performance from Mia Goth that should have been Oscar-nominated. — For some reason, Ti West’s Pearl — a prequel to last year’s enjoyable 1970s slasher throwback X — took almost a year to reach the UK. I finally caught up with it at the cinema last night and have three immediate reactions: 1) The central performance by Mia Goth is…

Mighty maestros of movie music scoring. — Music can be a critical component in a film, and there are many schools of thought on how it should be deployed. Some films eschew music scores entirely. Some take a minimalist approach. Others state that like editing, music shouldn’t be noticeable to the viewer. But if I’m honest, whilst…

A donkey experiences the good, bad, and ugly of humanity in a quirky, surreal, poignant gem from Jerzy Skolimowski. — After a brief scan of online comments from people (as opposed to critics) who have seen Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, I feel the need to preface this review with two warnings for two very different kinds of viewer, lest I get it in the neck from either. Firstly, if you’re an…

Bobby Farrelly’s new comedy-drama may be predictable, but it’s charmingly performed by Woody Harrelson and a winning supporting cast. — Not to be confused with John Irvin’s 1984 John Hurt-starring horse racing drama about Bob Champion, Bobby Farrelly’s comedy-drama is based on a Spanish film called Camperones from 2018, which I confess I’ve not seen. Regardless of the source material, Champions is a diverting watch. The plot may be entirely…

Meta irritation levels go off the charts in this unscary, unfunny, incoherent entry in the interminable slasher series. — As with many legacy sequels, there is no good artistic reason for any more Scream films to exist. Nor has there been since the seminal original. Scream VI may wear its bad faith on its sleeve, with the usual meta-discussions of slasher film tropes now evolved into the implications of…

Everything Everywhere All At Once triumphs. The Dillon Empire despairs. — Following my mostly inaccurate Oscar predictions (here, if you wish to see just why I should be stoned as a false prophet), it’s time to offer my two pennies worth on the winners. I should preface this with my usual Dillon Empire caveats. 1) No, I didn’t stay up to…

Contrasting the 1930 classic with the new 2022 version. — Warning: Contains spoilers. I’ve now finally seen the new take on Erich Maria Remarque’s famous novel All Quiet on the Western Front. In view of all the awards buzz, I thought this would be an opportune time to compare it with Lewis Milestone’s classic 1930 adaptation, which I consider joint…

Colm Bairéad’s subtle, Oscar-nominated adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novella features an outstanding central performance from Catherine Clinch. — This is a belated review, as The Quiet Girl was out in cinemas last year, and I somehow managed to miss it. I was pleased to see it appear again at my favourite local independent cinema, the Barn in Dartington. In view of its nomination for Best International Feature at…