The End

Hello to anyone out there,

I’ve decided after 16 years and 1,363 films to end this blog.

I started this as a runner for an animation company as a way of documenting my viewing habits. Since then it’s been a constant companion, friend, obligation and chore.

In recent months it’s become increasingly difficult for me to muster the energy and motivation to write these posts, and I’ve felt it stagnate to some degree.

Which is why I’ve decided to end it. It’s been great and bizarre to have stuck to something for so long. But it’s time to move on.

For the 3 (if that?) people reading this, if you want to keep seeing what I’m watching (with the occasional comment and review even) you can find me here.

Thank you sincerely to anyone and everyone who ever read a single one of these posts.

Good night and good luck,

Diarmaid

Nosferatu (2024)

Director: Robert Eggers

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5040012

Review: Follows familiar beats fluidly with a good sense of dread and a number of impressive performances.

Watch it if: You like a Dracula movie.

And if you liked: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Nosferatu the Vampyre

Check this out: Dracula

The Sugarland Express

Director: Steven Spielberg

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072226

Review: Charming and intriguing with well considered character chemistry and a real sense of movement.

Watch it if: You're interested in the early career of Spielberg.

And if you liked: Something Wild, The Blues Brothers

Gladiator II

Director: Ridley Scott

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9218128L

Review: Runs a little long but delivers on the action and drama with fun machinations and great villain performances.

Watch it if: You want something packed to the brim with character plots.

And if you liked: Gladiator

Cat's Eye

Director: Lewis Teague

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088889

Review: Nothing changing the world but reasonably fun, especially for the first two segments.

Watch it if: You enjoy an anthology.

And if you liked: The Game, Scrooged, Body Bags

Check this out: Quitters, Inc. and The Ledge

Body Bags

Director: John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper and Larry Sulkis

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106449

Review: Fun and silly in the right ways with some spooky ideas and plenty of winks for horror nerds to enjoy.

Watch it if: You want something goofy that's not too distracting.

And if you liked: Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow

Here

Director: Robert Zemeckis

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18272208

Review: Flows better than one might expect given its conceit but bogged down by an overly sentimental tone and unconvincing de-aging effects.

Watch it if: You're intrigued enough by the approach that the contents don't matter.

And if you liked: Forrest Gump

Check this out: Here

Venom: The Last Dance

Director: Kelly Marcel

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16366836

Review: Messy in its third act which undercuts its emotional beats but brings enough fun and goofy adventure along the way to justify itself.

Watch it if: You're ok with a whole lot of nonsense being thrown at you at once.

And if you liked: Venom, Venom: There Will Be Carnage

The Fog

Director: John Carpenter

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080749

Review: Moody and fun with a fairly thin plot but a deeply effective atmosphere that carries it through.

Watch it if: You've somehow never seen it like I hadn't.

And if you liked: Mandy, The Mist, Halloween

Goodrich

Director: Hallie Meyers-Shyer

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10171472

Review: A little rushed in one or two of its smaller beats but held together well by a charming and affecting central performance.

Watch it if: You're ok with something that fully revolves around its central character, for better or worse.

And if you liked: About a Boy, It's Complicated

Joker: Folie à Deux

Director: Todd Phillips

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11315808

Review: A boring and overlong story with nothing really interesting to hold onto, strung along by flat, meaningless song sequences.

Watch it if: You're that curious.

And if you liked: Joker

Hellboy: The Crooked Man

Director: Brian Taylor

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26757462

Review: Held back by its budget and some hokey dialogue but when it works, it works well with some strong ideas and well executed moments.

Watch it if: You're willing to look past a film's limitations.

And if you liked: Hellboy, Hellboy: The Golden Army, Evil Dead Rise, The Witch

Check this out: TITLE

Frenzy

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068611/

Review: Runs out of steam as it goes but front loads with some interesting work and some provocative imagery.

Watch it if: You can handle at least one fairly brutal scene.

And if you liked: Peeping Tom, Torn Curtain

Check this out: Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Director: Tim Burton

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049403

Review: Messy and inconsistent with no real justification for its return but brings a few laughs and fun bits along the way.

Watch it if: You're ok with something feeling like several half-baked concepts stitched together.

And if you liked: Beetlejuice, Wednesday, Coming 2 America

Lisa Frankenstein

Director: Zelda Williams

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21188080

Review: A little unconfident and could use some more character clarity but delivers a a good amount of fun while going down more gruesome paths than one expects.

Watch it if: You like something that can sneak up on you with its subversion.

And if you liked: Encino Man, Totally Killer, Warm Bodies

Strange Darling

Director: JT Mollner

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22375054

Review: Surprising and exhilerating all the way through with a fun approach to storytelling and an impressive central performance.

Watch it if: You're ok with something fairly visceral.

And if you liked: Longlegs, Pearl, Let the Corpses Tan

Alien: Romulus

Director: Fede Alvarez

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18412256

Review: A good setup and basic throughline completely destroyed by fan-service references and inept actor recreation.

Watch it if: You're ok with something thats themes are completely at odds with how it was made.

And if you liked: Alien, Alien: Resurrection

Cuckoo

Director: Tilman Singer

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12349832

Review: Eerie in the right ways with a story that pulls you in with mystery and an excellent central performance.

Watch it if: You can handle some fairly nasty body horror.

And if you liked: The X-Files, The Brood, Splice

Lynch/Oz

Director: Alexandre O. Philippe

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15399286

Review: An intriguing and fun watch laid out in an interesting manner filled with plenty of interesting tid-bits.

Watch it if: You like digging deep into film interpretation.

And if you liked: Room 237, The Films of David Lynch

Torn Curtain

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061107

Review: Intriguing and lush until its premise is fully revealed when it becomes more of a series of interesting scenes than an overall successful story.

Watch it if: You're interested in expanding your Hitchcock viewing past the obvious options.

And if you liked: The 39 Steps, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy