I rated Train Dreams (2025) 8/10 #IMDb Joel Edgerton is Robert, a logger working for the railway in the early 20th century. The film looks great and there’s a number of poignant moments. Will Patton’s narration is not overused, and feels Coens-esque. Edgerton’s subdued performance is excellent.

I rated The Killing of America (1981) 8/10 #IMDb Brutal documentary that investigates the violence in the US, bookended by the assassinations of JFK and John Lennon. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart. Looks at gun violence and serial killers, including an interview with Ed Kemper.

I rated Red Sparrow (2018) 7/10 #IMDb Ex-ballerina Jennifer Lawrence is trained to be a spy, tasked with uncovering a high profile mole. Jennifer Lawrence is very good in the lead role but it’s a very dark and depressing film. If you’re an espionage fan, then this ticks all the boxes.

I rated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) 7/10 #IMDb Clocking in at a whopping 2h 28m, it suffers from what you would expect from a prequel: you know which characters will survive, and you’re just waiting for Furiosa to lose the arm. Strong action but it doesn’t reach the heights of the previous.

I rated Alone in Berlin (2016) 7/10 #IMDb Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson’s son dies on the front line and they decide to leave postcards around Berlin denouncing Hitler. Based on the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, Gleeson and Thompson are both excellent if the film is a little flat.

I rated Phantasm (1979) 5/10 #IMDb Shoe-string budget horror sees creepy goings on with the Tall Man who’s robbing graves. There’s a couple of particularly gory scenes but the acting and script are dire. The Tall Man is quite creepy. The best thing is the soundtrack.

I rated The Rip (2026) 6/10 #IMDb Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are Miami cops who come across a huge wodge of cash in a house. Lots of dark stares, shouting and shooting in a convoluted plot. There’s not enough that’s interesting though to want to revisit it.

I rated People We Meet on Vacation (2026) 6/10 #IMDb Emily Bader goes on vacation each year with Tom Blyth who is *definitely* just a friend. It’s a fairly basic romantic comedy with few twists that gets very soppy towards the end. Afternoon half term entertainment.

I rated The Wrecking Crew (2026) 5/10 #IMDb Dave Bautista and Jason Mamoa take on the Yakuza in Hawaii. Straight to Prime odd couple buddy dadsploitation actioner. There’s a not so good call out to Oldboy and a rubbish CGI helicopter car smash sequence. It’s not awful but immediately forgettable.

I rated Eternity (2025) 7/10 #IMDb In Heaven, Elisabeth Olsen must choose between her 2nd husband Miles Teller or her 1st, Callum Turner, who died young. The visual representation of Heaven is well realised and there’s a good mix of comedy and drama. Not as hard-hitting as What Dreams May Come.

RIP Robert Duvall. He loved the smell of napalm in the morning #TheGodfather #ToKillAMockingbird #DeepImpact #ApocalypseNow

Excited to be using our new exercise after half term. That's a reason to look forward to come back. And it hasn't even started yet. #ALevelMaths #Maths

NOW AVAILABLE! Bonus content for the TLMaths A-Level Maths textbook: Choosing Integration Methods. Free to download from TLMaths.com. Full worked solutions are provided (as well as just the answers) for use at home or in the classroom. #ALevelMaths @danihosford.bsky.social

“Pot as many balls as you can.” - RIP John Virgo

RIP Catherine O’Hara #HomeAlone #Beetlejuice #BestInShow #SchittsCreek

I rated Hamnet (2025) 8/10 #IMDb Jessie Buckley is Agnes, wife to Bill Shakespeare and mother of Hamnet, a child who inspires Hamlet. Chloé Zhao’s direction is excellent, as is Buckley’s performance. It doesn’t shy away from the dirt and grime and isn’t a particularly pleasant watch. Deserves awards

The joy of not having a huge team in writing text books is that we spend significant time working through each others sections. Id show you my workings but my writing is scruffy. #ALevelMaths #ALevelFurtherMaths #Maths @tlmaths.bsky.social

We get asked when we find time to write the @tlmaths.bsky.social textbooks. We work full time, I'm a unionist and now a green party activist. Jack sensibly uses the evenings. Me, well nothing better than 4.30am maths. #Maths #,ALevelMaths #FurtherMaths

I rated Marty Supreme (2025) 8/10 #IMDb Timothée Chalamet is Marty Mauser, an unscrupulous ping pong hustler who’d throw anybody under a bus to get ahead. It’s an entertaining film with lots of “Oh no, what now?” moments - there’s a hint of the Coens in there. It’s 2h30m but you won’t notice.

Does anyone know if there is a physics equivalent to @tlmaths.bsky.social , i.e a video tutorial for the entire content. They go on PMT for past papers etc but don't know where to look for help

I rated Song Sung Blue (2025) 9/10 #IMDb Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute act. I didn’t know anything about the true story - it’s really well acted by all and the songs are great. Really enjoyable. The best thing I’ve seen with Jim Belushi in it!

I rated A Grand Day Out (1989) 7/10 #IMDb Wallace and Gromit’s first adventure takes them to the moon in search of cheese. The look of Wallace is a little weird if you’ve seen any other of their films, but the attention to detail and the looks of long-suffering Gromit are great.

I rated Evita (1996) 5/10 #IMDb Madonna is Eva Perón of Argentina. The film looks great but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s songs haven’t aged well. It has one great song and the rest are all pretty rubbish. And you’ll need to read Eva Perón’s Wikipedia to really know what’s going on. And Jimmy Nail is in it.

I rated A Man Called Otto (2022) 8/10 #IMDb Tom Hanks is a right grump as Otto, the man on the street who keeps everything in place. It’s a strong dark comedy with a well-drawn and fun supporting cast. Very enjoyable

My film overview of 2025:

Here we go! It's the end of year movie round up of 2025! I've been much more pro-active with going to the cinema this year and have watched 92 films (a number of which were streamed). Films are named in alphabetical order within their score groups: 9 (my favourites): A Complete Unknown F1 1/7

I rated Anaconda (2025) 5/10 #IMDb Childhood friends Jack Black and Paul Rudd travel to the Amazon to film a remake of Anaconda. There’s a few laughs to be had (most of which are in the trailer unfortunately), and Jack Black is very watchable. Bit of fun that’ll be forgotten about in a week.

Writing some of the TLMaths Further Maths Core Pure Part 2 textbook today, on the exotic Red Funnel ferry! #MathsToday #ALevelMaths

I rated Elf (2003) 6/10 #IMDb I finally got around to watching Elf for the first time. Will Ferrell crashes through his scenes as Buddy and it’s very enjoyable watching James Caan get actually annoyed with him. An easy watch but not one of my Xmas faves.

I’ve always wanted to try one of these Scantron machines. Where’s Santa when you need him?

I rated Frankenstein (2025) 8/10 #IMDb Guillermo Del Toro’s rendition of the classic tale is a grand and bloody affair that doesn’t hold back on crunch. It’s definitely up there with the 1931 version and the Cushing/Lee Curse of Frankenstein. Del Toro’s best is still Pan’s Labyrinth though.

I rated The Salt Path (2024) 5/10 #IMDb Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs lose their home and go for a walk. Leaving aside whether all of the story is actually true or not, the film itself is quite tedious and all of the interactions they have with other characters feel unlikely.

I rated Troll 2 (2025) 5/10 #IMDb More monster mashing in Norway as another Troll gets woken up hell-bent on destroying Trondheim. Cheesy sequel set in some beautiful wintery locales. There’s a couple of smiles to be had but the light-hearted bits very much take you out of the action.

I rated The Great Flood (2025) 4/10 #IMDb High concept Korean disaster movie where the waters are rising fast and a mother and son must climb their apartment building to safety. When the twist arrives halfway through, it sucks all the air (and my caring) out of the back-of-a-napkin plot.

I rated Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) 7/10 #IMDb Papyrus 3. The scale and visuals are truly impressive and the 3D worked very well. The film clocks in at over 3 hours and to its credit is very character-focused. But story-wise it is just too similar to the last film and doesn’t offer any twists.

Even better, come work with *me* 😁 Seriously Barton is an amazing place to work.

I rated Fackham Hall (2025) 6/10 #IMDb Spoofs are quite rare these days, and this one does Downton Abbey. The gags are thick and fast, which it needs, but while not all hit this is a better effort at Airplane-style humour than the recent Naked Gun remake. Bit of fun.

Come and work with me! app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... Barton Peveril Sixth Form College is in Eastleigh, near Southampton. We have over 1100 students studying A-Level Maths across both year groups. If you have any questions, please drop me a message! #ALevelMaths

Professional scepticism is the disciplined habit of slowing down unscrupulous optimism before it does damage. Before rolling out the next shiny policy, ask: - What problem are we solving? - What would show this is wrong? - What will we stop doing if it fails? open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

RIP to Rob Reiner and his wife. Horrific news.

Come and work with me! app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... Barton Peveril Sixth Form College is in Eastleigh, near Southampton. We have over 1100 students studying A-Level Maths across both year groups. If you have any questions, please drop me a message!

I rated Last Breath (2025) 5/10 #IMDb Based on a true story, during a storm in the North Sea, a trio of divers fixing a pipeline on the sea floor encounter difficulties. For a film set mainly underwater, Last Breath is very dry. There’s little character development and it’s all just a bit boring.

I rated Code 3 (2025) 7/10 #IMDb Rainn Wilson stars as a veteran paramedic at the end of his tether on a 24 hour shift. It has quite challenging tonal shifts between comedy and depressing drama, and is successful in showing the grim reality of the job.

I rated Downtime (1995) 5/10 #IMDb 6 years after Doctor Who ended, this spin-off has the Brigadier facing off against Yeti. It very much feels like late 80s Who with little exposition (unlike today’s) and a creeping sense of dread. It zips along but sadly the production values and acting are weak.

I rated The Family Plan 2 (2025) 4/10 #IMDb Unnecessary sequel sees Mark Wahlberg takes his fam on holiday to Europe where they must outwit Kit Harington. It’s essentially Nobody 2 without the violence or humour. I feel like this plot has been made 100 times already. Utter meh.

I rated Wicked: For Good (2025) 5/10 #IMDb Part 1 was too slow, part 2 has to stuff large amounts of plot, including the whole of the original Wizard of Oz, into a tight space. Unfortunately the 1939 story doesn’t gel perfectly. The songs are weak and Michelle Yeoh is rubbish. Looks good though!

I rated Death of a Unicorn (2025) 5/10 #IMDb Paul Rudd accidentally hits a unicorn while driving to meet wealthy client Richard E. Grant. It’s not really funny or scary and just sports a larger budget than other, better horror-comedy creature-features. See Tremors.

I rated Zootropolis 2 (2025) 7/10 #IMDb The bunny & fox police duo Hopps & Wilde must crack another case. It’s pretty good fun - there’s a great Shining sequence - but it doesn’t break any boundaries. A few kids in the cinema were very bored by the end - it’s a little too long for the younguns.

I rated Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) 10/10 #IMDb Stanley Kramer’s fictionalised version of the Judges’ Trial in 1947 is pitch perfect, exploring guilt and blame in Germany after the Holocaust. Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell and Judy Garland are all fantastic.

It’s the annual tradition of bringing out AQA’s January 2012 Integration by Substitution question! Adapted slightly to ask for the exact value. I’ve used it every year since my students at the time sat the paper #ALevelMaths