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…
At first, aside from the trail of destruction left by the Beast, William couldn’t understand why everyone felt afraid of the forest itself. In appearance, it seemed like any other woodland, with oaks, elms, ashes, silver birches, and horse chestnuts. Their branches sighed in the late afternoon breeze, their browning…
I love romantic comedies. Yet for some reason, whenever I make that statement, people are confused. Apparently, an introverted author of gothic mystery horror thrillers, with an exceedingly dark sense of humour and a penchant for melancholy doomed romance, cannot also be a lover of light, escapist, comedic romance, where…
Guilt, loss, and self-inflicted purgatories are nothing new in horror cinema. Nor are tales of losing one’s marbles in off-the-grid isolation. As such, there are a lot of precedents for writer/director Russell Owen’s Shepherd. The horrific events contained therein may just be taking place in the imagination of protagonist Eric…
Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma scores another bullseye with Petite Maman, a deceptively simple yet utterly beautiful magical realist gem. At a mere 72 minutes, the film is spare and stripped down, without an ounce of fat on its cinematic bones. …
House of Gucci is the second Ridley Scott film in as many months, thanks to pandemic-related release delays. …
To say that Titane is not for the easily offended or faint of heart is like saying it gets a bit chilly at the south pole. So consider yourself well and truly warned: This film contains graphically gory, blackly comic violence, sex, nudity, swearing and sometimes a mixture of all…
A comely young woman of but eighteen, Agnes caught Sir William’s eye in the court of the King. Daughter of the late Earl of Worcester, she became the King’s ward when plague struck her family, leaving her as the surviving member. Although high-born, the King agreed to Sir William’s request…
Encanto is Disney’s 60th animated feature, and quite honestly, it feels like the House of Mouse on bland autopilot. Yes, on a technical level it’s splendid, with all the lovely digimation flourishes you’d expect, and directors Jared Bush, Bryon Howard, and Charise Castro Smith putting their colourful boxes of tricks…
In 1922, Douglas Fairbanks starred in a silent version of Robin Hood. At the time, it was considered the pinnacle of blockbuster cinema entertainment, and even now it remains a hugely entertaining watch for film scholars and casual viewers alike. However, with the coming of sound and colour, the Fairbanks…
Novelist and Short Story-ist. Film and Book Lover. If you cut me, I bleed celluloid and paper pulp. Blog: www.simondillonbooks.wordpress.com
