Think of any dystopian environment you’ve either read in a book or seen on screen. How do they typically come to be that way? Usually, it’s the result of humanity sliding into autocracy, or a cataclysmic environmental event, or a rapid increase in social injustices. It’s unclear as to how […]
Alex Paine
Risky Business (1983) An Interesting And Unusual Start To Tom Cruise’s Stardom (Review)
I think I went into Risky Business with the wrong impression. I didn’t grow up in the 1980s, I grew up in the 2010s, so my view of ’80s teen comedies has been entirely shaped by John Hughes and the Brat Pack. I think of films like Ferris Bueller’s Day […]
Blow Out 4K (1981): A Taut, Tense and Involving Thriller (Review)
The poster for Blow Out – a stark picture of John Travolta’s face screaming from within a void of blackness – has been staring at me ever since I first noticed it in my dad’s movie collection as a little kid. I never knew what it was about, who was […]
Alex’s 2024 Favourites (So Far)
I set myself a challenge at the start of 2024: see as many new films as I possibly can, whether that’s in the cinema, or any new releases in streaming services. Personally, I think I’ve done pretty well in that regard: 48 films seen in the cinema, a couple more […]
One Last Trip Inside No 9 (2024) Final Series Roundup
Binge-watching Inside No. 9 last summer is one of the best viewing decisions I’ve ever made. Within just a few days, I was three series in and the show had become one of my all-time favourites and, though some episodes are weaker than others and some of their experiments feel […]
Doctor Who (2024) The Legend of Ruby Sunday & Empire of Death (Review) – It’s Certainly A Finale (SPOILERS)
So, it seems that the Doctor Who fanbase has never been unanimously happy with any Doctor Who finale since the show’s return in 2005. For every really solid finale (Parting Of The Ways, Journey’s End, and The Doctor Falls) fans still complain about deus ex machinas, plot contrivances and nonsensical […]
Doctor Who (2024) Rogue – Extremely Fun Period Piece Romp Misses A Few Opportunities (Review)
Rogue is the closest thing we’ve had to a ‘normal’ Doctor Who episode all series. I’m not criticising there – I’ve loved the experimentation and the changes in format – but at the same time, a classic period romp with a big camp monster and star-studded supporting cast isn’t going […]
Doctor Who (2024) Dot & Bubble (SPOILER REVIEW) An Unexpectedly Bleak and Brilliant Treat
Even though it’s been out for less than a day at the time of writing this, I feel like the ending of Dot & Bubble will get talked about much more than the rest of the episode. The final five minutes are fantastic, and I will get to them, but […]
Stopmotion (2023) And the Unfulfilled Horror Potential of its Stop-Motion (Review)
I’m sure that the film synopsis for Robert Morgan’s Stopmotion was churned out on a conveyor belt in a factory built especially for making things I will love. Here we have all the basic elements. It’s called, and uses, the medium of stop-motion. Check. It’s a low budget horror that […]
Doctor Who (2024) 73 Yards – A Genre-Bending and Potentially Era-Defining Episode (Review)
If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ve heard of the phrase “Doctor-lite story” and know what it refers to. It’s an episode that features minimal appearances from the Doctor (and in most cases the main companion as well), instead focusing on another group of characters battling a monster or some […]