The road is long With many a winding turn That leads us to who knows where, But I'm strong Strong enough to carry him He ain't heavy, he's my brother His welfare is of my concern No burden is he to bear We'll get there For I know He would not encumber me He ain't heavy, he's my brother. (Joe+Jake)

Much as The Rock's genial charm made him an ideal leading man, that charm was drained to the dregs by such poor choices like Black Adam, Red Notice and Red One. Benny Safdie's evocative biopic of MMA fighter Mark Kerr shows that the big guy could act all along. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/10/02/t...

Whan I sleep I dream, Whan I wauk I'm eerie, Sleep I canna get, For thinkin' o' my dearie. Lanely night comes on, A' the house are sleeping, I think on the bonnie lad That has my heart a keeping. Ay waukin O, waukin ay and wearie, Sleep I canna get, for thinkin' o' my dearie. Robert Burns (+Jake)

It's Killing Faith in the US, but it's Devil in the Dust here in the UK, either way, it's an atmospheric, supernatural S. Craig Zahler meets True Grit western with Guy Pearce, Bill Pullman, DeWanda Wise and Joanna Cassidy and it's out this Friday Oct 3rd 2025. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/10/01/k...

When I get back from the cinema, this is a fairly typical scene, gathered in the door to the kitchen, eager for biscuits, treats and scritches, Joe and Jake are two rather needy characters, but with hearts of gold. On reflection, Joe and Jake would prefer it if I just didn't leave the house at all.

In the event of an alien invasion, who would represent Earth in confronting the aliens? If you said Trevor Bannister, smarmy salesman Mr Lucas from Are You Being Served? you'll love Object Z, a long lost ITV rival to Dr Who out now on blu-ray from the BFI. 3/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/30/o...

Getting excited about the forthcoming Tron: Ares? Let me just gently puncture your rising enthusiasm by reminding you what a big, beautiful, complete shambles the last Tron sequel was; fantastic music, great visuals, utterly incomprehensible techno-babble ahoy! 3/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/29/t...

Oh no! It's been a while since stripey fun lovin' criminals Joe and Jake got themselves into a good old Scottish 'fankle' but this is one of these moments. Where does Joe end and Jake begin? It's anyone's guess as sometimes they merge to become a two headed cat and today is one of them. Namaste!

Theatre buffs and Hamilton-heads will be keen to see Satisfied, a new documentry that covers the personal story behind the creation of the key role of Angelica Schuyler in the hit musical. Renée Elise Goldsberry's own video diaries feature, in cinemas Sept 30th 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/29/s...

A Sunday afternoon guest post from regular contributor Adam Courtliff; Adam correctly assumed I'd know nothing about Chinese animation Ne Zha 2, so I was happy to be educated by his informative review, published here. (I'm still getting over KPOP Demon Hunters) 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/28/n...

If you thought Portland was a war-zone right now, you have seen nothing compared to yesterday's tense stand-off between Jake the cat and the unrepentent interloper Django. Django's menacing appearance in the garden caused brave Jake to shoo him away, but how long will it be before he strikes again?

A direct reference to this movie in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another prompted a rewatch of F Gary Gray's excellent 1996 urban crime drama Set It Off. Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah lead a gang of women who shock the system with their bank heists. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/28/s...

Happy #caturday, and welcome to the Joe show, with me, your host, it's Joe the cat. Have you had just about enough of bad news, utterly corrupt public figures, and the world getting worse every time you look online? Joe has. He's had it up to here. So, join Joe's revolution! It all starts here!

If you tolerate Trump/Epstein authoritarianism, then your children will be next. That's the message from Paul Thomas Anderson's epic One Battle After Another, in which a once-radical father (DiCaprio) seeks to protect his daughter from Col. Lockjaw (Sean Penn)-5/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/27/o...

Good morning. Joe and Jake regret to inform your that your application has been unsuccessful. The boys had many, many applications to consider, and they regret that on this occassion, you just didn't make the cut. They wish you luck in the future. They are the toughest little furry cookies ever.

Another renosed review, Thomas Mignone's Queen of Manhattan is out Sept 2025…'an original, bracingly fearless film on a taboo subject matter …sex-workers have been demonised too long, this film speaks up for them and blows away cobwebs of stigma and prejudice…’ 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/25/q...

We can agree Gabriel Byrne is a terrific actor, and it's a shame that his career-best work in 2020's Leonard Cohen-inspired Death of a Ladies' Man was barely seen. But no more; it's streaming from tomorrow, and showcases a monumental performance from Byrne. 4/5. film-authority.com/2025/09/25/d...

Hello, do you like cats? Do you like stripey cats? If so, the boys are keen to hear from you. It's hard to believe that when they were born, nobody wanted Joe and Jake, and people looking for cats to adopt came to see them, but decided they didn't want them. Now they have found their forever home.

Thanks to the BFI, a new 4K UHD version of Werner Herzog's classic 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre heads our way this week; shot in the beautiful German town of Lübeck, it's a hot take on the original story with lots of plague, pestilence, animals and white rats. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/25/n...

Hola, boys! I guess The Rapture didn't happen after all, since Joe and Jake are still here and there's nobody more good and worthy than these little mites. They're remaining on hold for any emergencies, snuggled up in their lifeboat of hopes and dreams, and wish you all a happy #whiskerswednesday

'Allo Jean Paul...' Oui, mon petit chou, Eurotrash is back on UK screens via @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social, re-screening the classic culture show from October 12th 2025. I reviewed the hedonistic Antoine De Caunes/Jean-Paul Gaultier show on blu-ray in 2022. 4/5 film-authority.com/2022/09/30/e...

It's the second British comedy of the year to click big with audiences, and like The Penguin Lessons, comes from Steve Coogan's Baby Cow productions. The Ballad of Wallis Island is a deft, charming comedy showcasing Tom Basden and Tim Key, with Carey Mulligan. 5/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/24/t...

...and Rapture Day seems to have been a bit much for our friend Joe the cat, looking a bit upset here. Bro Jake is made of sterner stuff and is comforting his brother. Since all of us good people are heading off, I'll wish you sinners a good day and look forward to taking my place elsewhere...bye!

Thanks to all who pointed out that today is a very special day true-believers, yes, it's Rapture Day once again. I'll set my forthcoming posts to auto-publish just in case I'm taken up to the celestial firmament and you're left watching Nic Cage in Left Behind 2/5 film-authority.com/2022/05/15/l...

Both my regular readers know I've been working myself up to yet another career suicide move by attempting to re-habillitate Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill, that review drops this week. First, I'll attempt the same trick on his unloved 2012 thriller Passion. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/23/p...

Is the week ahead looking ike a hard ask? Fret not, our feline friends Joe and Jake are here with their double loaf, absorbing extraneous arms and legs into their dual-loaf position. Their aim is to keep snug and warm, and set a good example to all of their many friends around the world. Namaste!

There's no real Ice Roads in Ice Road: Vengeance, and that's just the start of the problems for a routine Liam Neeson action thriller. Mike McCann heads to Mount Everest to deliver his brother's ashes and welds trucks and fights locals and it's all quite silly. 2/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/22/i...

Hello, I'm Jake. and hello, I'm Joe. In a packed programme tonight, we meet a man who goes in for meditation, because he thinks it's better than sitting around doing nothing. and it's goodnight from me... ..and it's goodnight from him. Goodnight! (Joe and Jake are trying out synchronized arms)

Reviews of Alien: Earth and other shows will just have to be put on ice for now. Somewhere out there there are executives who think that running cover for the Trump/Epstein sex-trafficking ring is a great look for Disney and this is the only way to protest their political stance that impacts at all.

I'm a card-carrying fan of @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social and tptvencore.co.uk came up with a real rarity in 1989 spy thriller Red King, White Knight. Helen Mirren, Alien's Tom Skerritt and Max von Sydow in a manhunt for an assassin planning to kill Gorbachev. 3/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/21/r...

It's #caturday, and Jake the cat is here with a message for all the #catsofbluesky. After giving it a great deal of thought, Jake wants to say hello, he wants to wish you all the very best, and he hopes that in some small way his good wishes will help you have a better day. That is all. Namaste.

Crime doesn't pay, at least on tv; as America's incompetent criminal management literally destroy their own country, best curl up on the couch and watch Jason Bateman and Jude Law as brothers whose Brooklyn nightspot becomes a hot-bed of ski-masks and shooters. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/20/b...

Hell, my name is Joe and my brand is handsome. Are you looking for a good-looking cat, to illuminate a party, or advertise goods? Joe is willing to lend his image to your enterprise, if you can afford him. Joe is only willing to be involved with the best products, contact Joe for more details...

Misogyny is an issue with the work of Alfred Hitchcock these days, and 1972 hit Frenzy needs words of warning and context. But with Anthony Shaffer writing, there's also a few details which make this 'innocent man accused of murder' story worthwhile in 2025...3/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/19/f...

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding? Joe and Jake do their best to foster a caring, sharing enviroment, and invite you to be part of it. Imagine cuddling up with these two little princes, and pretend the madness of the world outside is just a bad dream. The stripey ones salute you!

You can imagine why you can't see this film in 2025. …Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover was a metaphor of Thatcher’s Britain, of indolent immorality in the open, but we’ve got plenty more pressing dystopias to choose from in 2025...5/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/18/t...

...and the splendid podcast So Disappointed continues to look at pop culture that promised much and delivered little; this time around it's Morrissey. I saw Morrisey live in Motherwell when he walked off stage in a huff halfway through Shoplifters, and can confirm he was disappointing even in 1995.

...so let's have something more upbeat. Over at @thelistuk.bsky.social magazine, Maggie Robin told me about the new play about Hercules the Bear, star of James Bond flick Octopussy and a REAL bear, no CGI nonsense. Maggie was great to chat to; article via the link below. list.co.uk/news/maggie-...

The grimmest of grim days in UK news; I didn’t particularly care for Netflix drama Scoop, but re-nosed this review as the world’s attention becomes focused on the Epstein List, as the royals close ranks to protect the predators against victims of child-abuse. 2/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/17/s...

What's up? Jake is up, and looking coy. Jake used to live in a bin, but now he's a little gentleman. For today's pose, he's got his paws neatly crossed, and his famous unsure owl face on. Jake is a gentle soul, and means no harm to anyone. In fact, he wishes everyone all the very best! Namaste!

Somedays, we're all about serious film criticism, but other days we're reviewing The Gumball Rally, a genial precursor to the Cannonball Run movies. This was a prime time movie on BBC 1 when I was 13, and it deserves more that a miserly 29 percent rating on RT. 3/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/17/t...

…and one more cinematic tune from the late great Robert Redford, the brilliant, romantic conspiracy thriller 3 Days of the Condor. Henry St in Brooklyn Heights never looked better, not did Redford on his pushbike and in a classic jacket. Faye Dunaway co-stars. 4/5 film-authority.com/2021/11/06/3...

On the bbc iPlayer, the late Robert Redford teamed up with Dustin Hoffman in the true story of the Watergate investigation. Redford used his star power for good; of course we now know in 2025 that no president can commit a crime and films like this are fantasy. 5/5 film-authority.com/2022/07/30/a...

…another classic Robert Redford movie well worth celebrating, but one that you might not know quite so well is 1975’s The Great Waldo Pepper, with the star charismatic as ever as a barnstorming flying ace. William Goldman scripts, George Roy Hill directed. film-authority.com/2014/02/14/t...

Lets celebrate the life and movies of the late, great Robert Redford, starting with the classic star vehicle The Sting… film-authority.com/2022/09/14/t...

Today, Joe and Jake offer another 80's throwback, this time to the classic 'duo' poses of Johnny Hates Jazz and Go West. One moody in the front, the other moody at the back; these boys have got their New Romantic image down to a fine art! They wish everyone on blue-sky the very best! Namaste, boys!

All-time classic on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social tonight, John Carpenter's brilliant They Live is a modern satire that's proved all-too accurate. Roddy Piper finds the scales falling from his eyes when he finds glasses which show things as they really are. 4/5 film-authority.com/2014/01/28/t...

Out this week from StudioCanal on bluray 4K UHD, The Man in the White Suit, Alexander Mackendrick’s pertinent, strident, still powerful classic film about the manufacturing malaise built-into the capitalist status quo…a spiky satire with deadly serious intent…5/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/16/t...

I didn't make the presser for Stephen King adaptation The Long walk, but happy to platform a positive review from Adam Courtliff. It's a dystopian parable from the director of The Hunger Games, Francis Lawrence, and showcases an ensemble cast plus Mark Hamill. 4/5 film-authority.com/2025/09/15/t...

As a feral cat, Joe has issues about allowing himself to be touched, he likes to keep all contact on his own terms. Every so often, he forgets and allows a tummy-tickle; this rare photograph captures one of these instances. Apologies for my Wookie-like arm, I'm harvesting body-hair for a transplant.