I still really don’t know about all the abuse stuff in this it makes the whole thing feel pretty lurid but McAvoy is untouchable here, a movie that hinges on that performance and it delivers above and beyond. It’s a masterclass. I just cannot wrap my head around the child abuse = superpowers stuff but when I’m not thinking about that I’m having a really exciting time. It’s just hard not to think about that.

One of those brilliant 3 star Friday night entertainers that Shyamalan is so good at. I wish we would’ve stayed at the concert but that ending and mid credits scene more than made up for the 3rd act dip in excitement.

This was fascinating stuff. I only planned to watch 10 or 15 minutes but was hooked by the doc’s central figure. What a strange life he had (has?) and how instrumental he sounded in shaping film censorship at such a pivotal moment in the UK. Really recommend this one if you have the Severin blu-ray of Nightmare.

Belongs to that interesting horror nanogenre where a child sees something violent or sexual (or both as in this case) and becomes a slasher as a result. This one’s fairly nasty and boundary pushing because of how much of it involves children. Savini’s effects work is typically wonderful, with the beheading centrepiece that probably sent the BBFC’s jaws swinging. The king of video nasties almost by default when the distributor is arrested for doing so.

Also like how is the cinematography for something this trashy so beautiful?

Didn’t cry this time but did find new things to ponder

Lovely stuff. Standing in the shadow of 9/11 is this dark and brooding drama about two broken people searching for their purpose. Hard to imagine this being made any other time than the Millenium. Superhero movies didn’t have the template they have today. X-Men hadn’t even happened yet. I’m sure there’s a lot of interesting queer theories about the suppressing your true self elements, so I’ll go find them now. A really strong and moody piece of pulp. Hopefully I’ll like Split more this time.

Soledad Miranda is very beautiful as are the locations and incredibly tacky 70s decor but maybe I’ve seen too many of these films now where they really do start to blur together. I’d take Daughters of Darkness any day. There just isn’t much here to write about.

Not just an incredibly detailed recreation of 1940s Hollywood, not just a wonderful noir pastiche that is drenched in loving callbacks, not just a technical marvel that still impresses almost 40 years later.

Even if it were just one of those things it would be enough to earn a perfect score. And then you find out that the villain’s plan is just… capitalism. It’s perfect.

Still really enjoyed this, it has all the typical Shyamalan idiosyncrasies plus a wonderful twilight zone style atmosphere which makes it all the more disturbing in the body horror sequences. Bleak stuff for PG-13 and not for everyone but I really like the big swing taken here and his cameo is maybe my favourite of them all.

This was very odd but not without its charms such as Shelley Duvall and the cinematography. You know when something’s just not quite your thing?

An American Nightmare Noir.

A techno conspiracy thriller that is up there with The Conversation and now that I’ve seen The Parallax View, that too. Extremely compelling from start to finish and a tension that only builds, never dissipates. Travolta has arguably never been better. A meta textual DePalma exercise in self awareness that does not at any moment feel unsubtle or overindulged.

Some of the most beautiful cinematography of the era and beautifully scored as usual by Donaggio, this is a near-perfect movie with so much to love. Dennis Franz. Criterion did good.