u/Comfortable_Duck6362

Christopher Nolan directing this feels just right. He clearly knew how to take such a famous story, an epic poem as it was called then, and make it feel new. Someone's probably going to try and edit it like a silent film because that kind of scale is a lost art in the 21st Century. Gives the opening title card "A Time of Apparent Magic..." another meaning. Matt Damon gave such an incredible performance. Everyone did, to be honest. I hope when it comes to 4K UHD there are loads of special features. It's easily the top of my list of Best Films of 2026.

This week marks what would have been Harry Dean Stanton's 100th birthday. I was so used to him stealing the scene in supporting roles. He's fantastic in lots of David Lynch work though I first knew him as Brett in Ridley Scott's Alien and his brief appearance as a Quaker in Seven Psychopaths. Here, he's the lead and my God, what an understated, devastating film. I count myself a fan of Wim Wenders. Wings of Desire is one of my favourite films of all time. So I was going in with high standards and boy, were they met. Some people really don't like it but I genuinely can't imagine giving this film any less than 5 stars.

Waking up to the sad news that Sam Neill has passed away I was a bit stuck on what film to watch. He was in so many classics. I decided on this one after watching it ages ago on the Irish language broadcaster TG4. It's a really beautiful film in how it deals with grief and it definitely hits home with me. Neill is incredible in it. The way it peels back his mask of gruff, emotionally distant mountain man to reveal someone very lonely who didn't get a fair shot at life is the kind of filmmaking that reminds you why you love cinema. It's certainly one of Taika Waititi's strongest. He had a real golden run from 2017-19.

Anyway, I thought it was a good choice to remember the majestical Mr. Neill.

A friend of mine selected it for a movie meetup as it's one of their favourite films. Really unsettling J-horror example. No big boo scares like a Western filmmaker would deploy. The scariest shots are the ones that you just hold on. Going in, you think it's going to be very dated as a Y2K Internet story but it's incredibly prescient. It shows how the technology that's supposed to connect us has only isolated us further and one of the strongest metaphors for depression I've seen on screen.

Been hearing mixed things about the latest Steven Spielberg film. I thought it was good but nowhere near the level of his most famous alien encounter stories. Some good ideas and some classic Spielberg set pieces and shots but has too much going on and never quite harmonises. The amount of drafts David Koepp made of this and it still feels like it could have done with one more rewrite. John Williams had a lovely score and Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt gave it 110 percent. Be interested to see whether it improves with time or falls behind because the 'War of the Worlds' remake was seen as a misfire back in 2005 and now it's found more of an appreciation as an attempt to reinvigorate a classic done-to-death text. Happy to have seen it though.

You know the one. Nicolas Cage has long hair and says "put the bunny back in the box." It's one of many films that draws from the premise of Die Hard but it doesn't feel like a knock-off. Just a great time at the movies.

Seemed like a straightforward gay romantic drama but it's a lot more than that. Kind of messes with your idea of reality. Small cast with Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. All incredible though. Speaking of Mescal, much like Aftersun, it deploys a classic 80s song I'll never be able to hear the same way again after.

*reposted because I forgot to include the year in the title

I'd watched it once years ago but wasn't totally invested. It was on television and I wasn't in charge of the remote. This time, I gave it my full attention, especially with it being Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday today. It's really quite a poignant film. Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable taking their final bows in roles that are very much reflections of where they were at that point of time. Neither were in the best of health (physically and mentally) making it. I think it's quite ahead of the curve. All the Hollywood stars in a project that's not Hollywood at all. It's a shame the critics didn't appreciate it at the time but I suppose it's one of those cases where they weren't ready for it yet. This and the incomplete 'Something's Got to Give' are interesting looks into what direction Marilyn Monroe's career might have taken if not for her untimely death at 36.

I first became aware of Andrei Tarkovsky right before The Pandemic. I was in my first year of university studying the Creative Arts and I wanted to expand my palette of world cinema. It took me a long time to actually get into his work. Last year, I watched Solaris with my sister and her now ex boyfriend who's from Ukraine. I really respected Solaris but I think Stalker is something else. Feels so harsh but so human, but if anyone ever asks me to film around some abandoned chemical factories I'm going to tell them to fuck off.

On this day, 20 May 2006, 20 Years ago, I was changing channels and stopped on BBC One for 'The Age of Steel', Part Two of the Cybermen's return to Doctor Who in Series 2. I hadn't a clue what was going on but something about this program was reeling me in.

It took a while before I'd cemented the Saturday night routine but no joke, the program changed my life for the better.

It helped me step outside my comfort zone, which isn't an easy thing to do when you're autistic, it gave me my two best friends, and it consistently inspired me creatively. (I've been writing my Big Finish Competition entries since 2020. Fingers crossed I catch lightning in a bottle one day.)

The true never-ending story is travelling in the TARDIS. I'm grateful to have spent so much time with The Time Lord. I have two hearts worth of love for Dear Doctor Who.

On this day, 20 May 2006, 20 Years ago, I was changing channels and stopped on BBC One for 'The Age of Steel', Part Two of the Cybermen's return to Doctor Who in Series 2. I hadn't a clue what was going on but something about this program was reeling me in.

It took a while before I'd cemented the Saturday night routine but no joke, the program changed my life for the better.

It helped me step outside my comfort zone, which isn't an easy thing to do when you're autistic, it gave me my two best friends, and it consistently inspired me creatively. (I've been writing my Big Finish Competition entries since 2020. Fingers crossed I catch lightning in a bottle one day.)

The true never-ending story is travelling in the TARDIS. I'm grateful to have spent so much time with The Time Lord. I have two hearts worth of love for Dear Doctor Who.

What's your Fan Anniversary date? And how long have you been travelling with the long-running sci-fi adventure serial?

On this day, 20 May 2006, 20 Years ago, I was changing channels and stopped on BBC One for 'The Age of Steel', Part Two of the Cybermen's return to Doctor Who in Series 2. I hadn't a clue what was going on but something about this program was reeling me in.

It took a while before I'd cemented the Saturday night routine but no joke, the program changed my life for the better.

It helped me step outside my comfort zone, which isn't an easy thing to do when you're autistic, it gave me my two best friends, and it consistently inspired me creatively. (I've been writing my Big Finish Competition entries since 2020. Fingers crossed I catch lightning in a bottle one day.)

The true never-ending story is travelling in the TARDIS. I'm grateful to have spent so much time with The Time Lord. I have two hearts worth of love for Dear Doctor Who.