At last, some political hope. Labour lied and lied and lied about this election. Shame on them, and congratulations to Hannah Spencer x

Friends near TRURO - we are performing a wonderful production of HAMLET this week with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Come and say hello!

Had a much-needed day off yesterday, and was able to catch the new Sam Raimi film SEND HELP. It's a lovely reminder that he's a very unique filmmaker and has had a very unique career, and the way he's stuck to his guns and style and interests is pretty crazy. Recommended x

Now would be a good a time as ever to buy a copy of NOBODY'S GIRL, the memoir of VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, one of the many women abused by Jeffrey Epstein and specifically by the former Prince Andrew. She never saw her abusers face justice, and took her own life before it was published.

Had a long train ride yesterday to lovely TRURO, so I watched the new documentary THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR on Netflix. Kind of a perfect summary of the litany of institutional failures that is crippling any idea of justice in America. The weaponisation of fear will claim more victims

Some unexpected time off today, so I've been able to catch up with A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, the latest Game of Thrones spinoff. It takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it's everything that made GOT great - the small character moments, humour and heart

Finally got round to watching the new Brazilian film THE SECRET AGENT yesterday, a strangely paced but very timely and chillingly topical epic about widespread state corruption. Wagner Moura is genuinely incredible in it, and deserves any awards coming his way x

Battersea, right now. Hope everyone is okay

McSweeney

I watched 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE over the weekend, which was a massive tonal shift from the previous films. Thoughtful and surprising, it does the thing that far more sequels should do - tries something different. Just let Nia DaCosta direct everything from now on please

It got snubbed by the Oscars this week, but the Korean film NO OTHER CHOICE is out in UK cinemas this weekend, and comes highly recommended. Parasite vibes from the director of Oldboy and The Handmaiden, it's hilarious and terrifying and a warning about where we're all headed x

This is a reference to “Which Way, Western Man?”, a notorious antisemitic neo-Nazi book from 1978. From the official White House account.

Next up, at the Royal Shakespeare Company:

Went and watched the new film THE HOUSEMAID in the cinema last night, which was an absolute scream - a completely trashy thriller which used to be ten-a-penny back in the 90s and simply doesn't get made any more. Utter nonsense but weirdly kind of pure and nostalgic

Okay, so the best show on TV right now is HEATED RIVALRY, which has only recently started streaming in the UK. It might sound very trashy (two rival ice hockey players have a secret romance) but it's unexpectedly funny and romantic and remarkably well-written and performed

I jumped the gun on this a few weeks ago, but today the film adaptation of HAMNET is finally out in UK cinemas. Highly recommended, it's a beautiful distillation of the five stages of grief seen through the lens of art and why we make it and how it can help us through the dark x

Managed to watch MARTY SUPREME in a good old-fashioned American movie theatre, and it's got the same weird, propulsive energy as Good Time or Uncut Gems. I get how these films are divisive, not for everyone, but they work for me, this one in particular. Chalamet is the real deal

Saw some Warhol and Liechtenstein and Basquiat yesterday at the Broad Museum in downtown LA

Caught up with a couple of old friends at the Academy Museum

Happy new year to Sooz, one of my favourite people online x

Only one of the main parties has had a leader that meaningfully challenged the Thatcherite consensus since 1979 and our establishment media was allowed to suggest "he'd reopen Auschwitz" without consequence. Thatcher walked so every PM that followed could jog a little faster.

This part in particular hit pretty hard today x

Also took a little walk along Coldwater Canyon to check out THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES, a beautiful mural artwork that charts the history of the local area, and its incredible lineage of indigenous and immigrant contributions

I am still a big NERD who likes to READ BOOKS so I really loved exploring the new Studio City branch of THE LAST BOOKSTORE

If you genuinely in any way think that Trump has illegally invaded another country and kidnapped its leader because he cares about the Venezuelan people or drug trafficking, then I have some amazing magic beans to sell you

Let’s just be very clear - if you support a far-right fascist dictator invading another country and kidnapping its leader in the middle of the night, you are also a fascist and I don’t think we can be friends

L.A. nights

Favourite things of 2025 x

Genuinely so touched and happy that Grand Theft Hamlet appealed so much to John Stark, a wonderful blind film critic who made this lovely, personal video about it. It still means so much to us when our film connects with people in this way x www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLfv...

What the hell am I doing, drinking in LA? At 46? Happy New Year friends x

The final ever comic strip of Calvin & Hobbes. Published exactly 30 years ago today. Keep going x

Anyone posting glowing tributes about Brigitte Bardot - please spend just 10 seconds googling the stuff she’s said about Muslims over the years, and then delete your praise

If you're in the UK and fancy a cinema trip over this weird period between Xmas and 2026, then I would highly recommend the Norwegian film SENTIMENTAL VALUE, an incredibly well-acted drama about why we make art and how it reflects on our own lives. Profoundly moving stuff x

There's a lot of weird snobbery about these films, but like the first two, I enjoyed AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Very much more of the same, but "the same" includes genuinely astonishing special effects, and a kind of grand sense of scope and scale that's sadly becoming all too rare

Still don't think anyone's ever quite done the brilliant book justice, and I had some issues with the basic premise of IT: WELCOME TO DERRY, but can't deny its final two episodes were hugely impressive. Genuinely disturbing, epic in scale, and even nicely tied in to The Shining

Just a reminder that at least 600 Americans were fired for failing to show sufficient respect after Charlie Kirk's murder.

So let me get this straight - saying mean things about Charlie Kirk after he was killed was unacceptable, but this kind of stuff is?

It's actually crazy how many great films Rob Reiner made. This Is Spinal Tap. Stand by Me. The Princess Bride. When Harry Met Sally. Misery. A Few Good Men. Even his underrated more recent stuff like The Bucket List and Flipped. May his memory be a blessing x