Waiting until the third paragraph before explaining his "problematic" opinions are resistance to the far-right and support for the same trans community the Guardian endlessly vilifies. So maybe it should stop asking me for money.

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (2) Zootopia 2 $27.2m 2 (1) Five Nights at Freddy's 2 $21.1m 3 (3) Wicked: For Good $8.2m 4 (N) Ella McCay $2.9m 5 (4) Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution $2.6m A reissue of How the Grinch Stole Christmas 6th/$2.6m and Silent Night, Deadly Night 8th/$2.1m.

First Takes - Where Does It Hurt? (1972) Jeremy watches the satirical comedy directed by Rod Amateau and starring Peter Sellers, Rick Lenz, Jo Ann Pflug and Pat Morita. youtu.be/2lzM17cd0Gc?...

Our Breaking Bad

Misread this as Paul Daniels.

It's the animated version of The Celestial Toymaker.

First Takes - The Running Man (2025) Jeremy watches the sci-fi action adventure directed by Edgar Wright from the novella by Stephen King and starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones and William H Macy. youtu.be/oPimMeuGdEs?...

hmmm

First Takes - Blackmail (1929) Jeremy watches the early talkie thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, Cyril Ritchard, Donald Calthrop and the voice of Joan Barry. youtu.be/xZro1zdLnw8

SAG actor Quentin Tarantino says Paul Dano is the worst SAG actor

First Takes - The Shouds (2025) Jeremy watches the sci-fi drama written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce and Sandrine Holt. youtu.be/DftJptkkdNo

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (1) Zootopia 2 $49.2m 2 (N) Five Nights at Freddy's 2 $42.3m 3 (2) Wicked: For Good $22.2m 4 (N) Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution $7.7m 5 (R) Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Saga $4m Next week, Ella Mackay and Silent Night, Deadly Night.

First Takes - Otto: Der Liebesfilm (1992) Jeremy watches the German comedy, whose subtitle translates as "the Romance Film", co-written, co-directed by and starring Otto Waalkes and featuring Jessika Cardinahl, Juraj Kukura and Ruth Maria Kubitschek. youtu.be/11DE3DYUw0M?...

Classic Doctor Who scheduled on BBC Four over Christmas, as part of an Innes Lloyd tribute night. The listing is ambiguously worded, but it seems Tuesday 23rd December at 8.00pm will see the first UK repeat of The Ice Warriors: One. #DoctorWho

Troughton in "Inferno". Imagine him scampering frantically about, trying to get people to listen to him. Fixing the computer at gunpoint. Aggravating Stahlman just by existing. "Listen to that! It's the sound of this planet screaming out its rage!" is a total Troughton moment.

Watching the episode of Dad's Army where it's mentioned that Godfrey got drunk and sang about "a monk of high renown". Having googled the lyrics, I'm shocked that they were allowed to even allude to that, but it underlines the joke about the normally sweet-natured Godfrey knowing such an obscenity.

First Takes - Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) Jeremy watches the sci-fi adventure sequel directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey and Rupert Friend. youtu.be/vJu85YobTyM?...

This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥

Averages of the three-day weekend's box office forecast: 1 (N) Zootopia 2 $108.3m 2 (1) Wicked: For Good $83.5m 3 (2) Now You See Me: Now You Don't $6m 4 (3) Predator: Badlands $4.7m 5 (4) The Running Man $3.7m Eternity 7th/$2.4m

2/2 What's going on with the screen in the background. It starts off showing studio footage and then starts showing weird random Pet Shop Boys related stuff. Any ideas?

Was not in the mood to watch anything for DW Day, breaking my six-year run. 2019: Remembrance of the Daleks. 2020: The Three Doctors. 2021: The Sea Devils. 2022: An Unearthly Child and The Cave of Skulls, starting my year-long marathon. 2023: The Daleks in Colour. :( 2024: Silver Nemesis SE.

The one time I went clubbing - for a friend's birthday - I stood in the corner for an hour with my coat on, slowly sipping a pint while staring into space.

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (N) Wicked: For Good $158.7m 2 (1) Now You See Me: Now You Don't $9.2m 3 (3) Predator: Badlands $6m 4 (2) The Running Man $5.7m 5 (N) Sisu: Road to Revenge $4.6m Rental Family 6th/$3.9m. Next week, Eternity and Zootopia 2.

First Takes - Corner Office (2023) Jeremy watches the dark psychological comedy directed by Joachim Back and starring Jon Hamm, Danny Pudi, Sarah Gadon and Christopher Heyerdahl. youtu.be/5cnhBrXEzEw?...

First Takes - Keeper (2025) Jeremy watches the folk horror directed by Osgood Perkins and starring Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland, Birkett Turton and Eden Weiss. youtu.be/mb2I7vrGqa0

Gone down a weird rabbithole with far-right Facebook slopaganda* about celebrities cancelling things as a result of the New York election result. *I just invented this word: AI-generated disinformation content pumped onto social media by right-wing think tanks, and "slopaganda" was right there.

Interesting to see Private Eye running a full pro-transphobia column in the new issue. Hislop learned nothing from backing Wakefield, did he?

Don't be fooled by the acclaim from other directors. Keeper is the most boring and predictable horror film of the year.

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (N) Now You See Me: Now You Don't $20.2m 2 (N) The Running Man $19.3m 3 (1) Predator: Badlands $18.4m 4 (2) Regretting You $4.8m 5 (N) Keeper $3.3m A reissue of Wicked 9th/$2.4m. Next week, Rental Family, Sisu: Road to Revenge and Wicked: For Good.

First Takes - Predator: Badlands (2025) Jeremy watches the sci-fi action adventure, co-written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. youtu.be/qxWGKJHu3J0?...

Hey, remember how Batman died in The Dark Knight Rises and they've brought him back in new continuities twice since then? The writer of Crime Traveller strikes again.

First Takes - Bugonia (2025) Jeremy watches the darkly comic thriller directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis and Alicia Silverstone. youtu.be/vn_d96G4yEI

How to drive normal people away from your business.

While keeping a Nazi U-boat captain prisoner, I accidentally gave away the name of one of my subordinates. Hope there's no blowback after the war's over.

Christmas Karma is apparently the big British film for the festive season. It's out next week and the only place I've seen any mention of it is in adverts for Cineworld gift vouchers, at Cineworld.

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (N) Predator: Badlands $27.5m 2 (2) Regretting You $5.4m 3 (1) Black Phone 2 $4.9m 4 (3) Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc $3m 5 (N) Sarah's Oil $3m Die My Love 7th/$2.8m, Nuremberg 8th/$2.7m, Christy 9th/$2.5m.

Not only does Peter Bradshaw have obviously no taste when he claims the hilarious Freddy Got Fingered and the entertaining The Incredible Hulk are two of the four worst films he's watched at the Guardian, the article includes a picture from the wrong Hulk film. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/no...

This feels... strangely pointed. youtu.be/NpEU9NY58IE?...

University Challenge: 115 points Knights of the Old Republic, Michael Faraday, Peter, Pip, A Fistful of, Revelations The British Grenadiers, Georg Friedrich Handel, Ida, sulphur, brachiosaurus, Gujarat, Mathilda, Lenin, Thailand, Asia, Sheffield United.

Bugonia was very disappointing and weirdly wrongheaded. Why might this be? Ari Aster, who produced and is spreading his poison of making stupid people's ideas of good films.

An All-New Cinema Limbo takes a journey into the future - a world of towns fuelled by pigpoo, bungee fights and an inadvertant Tommy reunion. @shammountebank.bsky.social joins me to discuss the thrilling adventure and tragic backstory of MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME! www.podnose.com/cinema-limbo...

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (3) Black Phone 2 $8.2m 2 (1) Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc $6.9m 3 (2) Regretting You $6.3m 4 (R) Back to the Future $4.8m 5 (4) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere $4.4m Bugonia 6th/$4.2m.

youtu.be/7_pIeTFUGzU?... Looks quite good in its own right, but not many laughs for what is ostensibly a horror-comedy series.

University Challenge 155 points Lost world, propaganda, Waverley, Camus, Kafka, Naples, Glasgow, gluteus, Schengen, Paul Auster, Leviathan, dodo, Judy Blume, Bluey, Dies Irae, Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, JMW Turner, Diego Garcia, Joe Pesci, Albert Finney, Jodie Foster.

First Takes - The Big Sleep (1946) Jeremy watches the suspense thriller directed by Howard Hawks and starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers and Elisha Cook Jr. youtu.be/2xQIKcvoo1g?...

Because it's the day the clocks go back.

Averages of the weekend's box office forecast: 1 (N) Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc $15m 2 (N) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere $14.9m 3 (N) Regretting You $14.8m 4 (1) Black Phone 2 $12.9m 5 (2) TRON Ares $4.7m Shelby Oaks 7th/$2.9m Next week, Stitch Head and Bugonia.

New episode coming next week.

Willem Dafoe is a good shout for Scrooge, if you have to cast an American, but Johnny Depp? Fuck off.