A film, video game and music connoisseur. Horror enthusiast. I have been reviewing films and video games online since 2010.
Bristol,UK
Joined February 2012
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I have a wild double bill lined up next week.
Starting at Prince Charles Cinema and then ending at BFI IMAX.
I did some research and just found out that Laika is owned by Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike. The film director Travis Knight who I am familiar with is his son who serves as president and CEO of Laika.
That’s so rare and cool to see a billionaire funding the creation of such a painstakingly complex form of art. This means that their films falling short at the box office isn’t much of an issue, because they’re privately funded by Phil Knight. What’s a $100 million loss to a man with $27 billion?, if you have still managed to create a stunning film in the process. They literally have no outside pressure from film studios or reliance on them because they no longer do business with them for distribution.
Anyway go see Wildwood. It’s a special film well worth your time and money.
I’m someone who loves Coraline and Paranorman but Wildwood is Laika’s magnum opus. It’s incredibly ambitious and a phenomenal feat in stop motion filmmaking and dark fairytale storytelling.
It reminded me of the complexities within the animated films I grew up loving, which made them even more memorable. Films that contain intense sequences, involving chases/battles, and death. Films with compelling adult themes that children will appreciate as they grow older.
Wildwood has all of this and more whilst being a beacon of craftsmanship and creativity, that we are at risk of losing if those who disregard the creative arts, in favour of soulless generative AI get their way. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
My 6th day and 11th film this week at the cinema.
#NowWatching Wildwood
I’m going in blind. I don’t know anything about the plot and I haven’t seen the trailer. All I know is that it’s critically acclaimed.
Last night I was grateful to witness on a cinema screen, the presence of one of horror’s most mesmerising women.
I first saw this back in 2021. Edwige Fenech has such an alluring presence that it made me eager to watch more of her films. So during that same year I watched more and became a great admirer of her and director Sergio Martino in the process.
Who Can Kill A Child? (1976) is one of my favourite film discoveries of the year. It has a title that would lead you to believe it’s an excessively violent horror with little substance or merit, but I was surprised by the film for many reasons, one of them being the fact that it’s the opposite of that.
It’s a great suspense-driven film which has a very real message at its core, about how children are always the victims of war and adult conflicts. The film smartly subverts expectations by having the children be the antagonists which through a series of escalating events, leads the adult characters to question “Who can kill a child?”.
I’m very glad that my first experience with this film was in a cinema. I have subsequently pre ordered the upcoming 4K Limited Edition release.
When it comes to horror and violence I can usually endure and watch anything, but the opening of Who Can Kill a Child? Was difficult to watch and I looked away from the screen a couple times.
To illustrate the films central theme about the effect war has on children, which as the film states “In the end, the ones that always suffer the most are the children” it begins with 10 minutes of real narrated footage from the Holocaust, the civil war in Nigeria, Vietnam war, the India-Pakistan war and the Korean War. Real footage from during and after those atrocities, focusing exclusively on the children in those circumstances. The imagery featured a lot of child corpses and malnourished, diseased children. It was very uncomfortable to watch but it made the core theme of the film land like a blow from a sledgehammer. Unfortunately it’s an issue that will forever remain timely as what I saw in that opening, is exactly what has been occurring to children in Palestine.
I spoke about this on my podcast.
The opening 10 minutes of Clayface immediately let me know that the film wouldn’t reach the potential I hoped it would.
The initial character set up is integral to making a story such as this work, and Clayface speeds through it.
And those same people will try and jump you for sharing a more nuanced and critical opinion, of something you still like. Madness😂
I need certain people to stop overhyping every single film they watch. How is anyone supposed to trust your opinion when every tweet makes it sound like you just saw the next Godfather? I love when people get excited about movies, but when everything is remarkable, masterful or a tour de force, the praise quickly loses its meaning. This constant hyperbole is doing more harm than good.
I realised this is why I despise the majoriry of content creation. So much of it is nonsense. If you’re making content about a specific thing .. films, books, gardening, make up, travel etc. that makes sense. It has direction, purpose and can be driven by passion.
I can’t stand how many people make “content” and it’s just pure foolishness. It’s desperate. There’s far too many people making content who don’t have the natural skills to do so. It becomes abundantly clear when someone is forcing it. Making content solely out of a desire to be popular instead of making content linked to their passions.
Dario Argento is my favourite horror director.
Tonight I watched Deep Red in the cinema.
Need I say anymore. 🩸🔪🎞️
First film of the day done @
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival.
🎞️: The Fourth Man (1983) directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Day 1 of Forbidden Worlds Film Festival
📍Bristol
🎞️: Blood and Black Lace (1964)
I rarely share my video coverage / content on here but I might do it more often.
And if that happens it’s because The Academy decided to play in people’s faces again, not because of a lack of awards worthy Black performances.
Mahershala Ali - Best Actor (Your Mother 3x)
Kara Young - Best Actress (Is God Is)
Sterling K. Brown - Best Supporting Actor (Is God Is)
Adia - Best Supporting Actress (Your Mother 3x)
Blood and Black Lace is my favourite Giallo film 🇮🇹
I never imagined I’d have a chance to see this classic in a cinema but thanks to @FWFilmFestival that became a reality tonight 🔪🩸
