Birds, Strangers & Psychos, an anthology of Hitchock-inspired short stories, is the Times's "thriller of the month". We're launching it at the BFI Southbank, 6.30pm next Monday. Drop by if you're free, or need a place to lie low. Still some vacancies. All mod cons whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/defau...

It's not *quite* sweater weather yet, but it IS the first day of fall. So here is lovely Kim Novak in a nice cozy-chunky sweater.

A fantastically tense slice of competency porn from the mighty Kathryn Bigelow. Even more chilling than imminent nuclear war was realising how significantly this infrastructure has been dismantled, with precious few experts left in place to execute this intricate cascade of “best case” protocols.

Rory (aka Lee Marvin) update: Still cute. Still silly. Still tiny.

Delighted to be introducing probably the greatest J-horror of them all in Hackney for Halloween. See you there!

This reminds me of what I loved about Victor Erice's Close Your Eyes.

I wrote something about older people (ie me) on screen. "Feisty, frail or fiendish: why do film-makers still insist on shoving older characters into stereotypes?"

Been worried about a possible missing cat all morning - Lucia, still not, according to her owner, home at midnight. The awful 1am fireworks. Then no Lucia visit for her usual 2nd breakfast. But she's just strolled up like a dandy with family money. So relieved I feel like I'm suddenly on holiday.

This played like someone had read the first three pages of The Haunting Of Hill House and then decided just to freestyle the rest of it. Those sets though - by Argentine production designer Eugenio Zanetti - just incredible

Election (2014) photograph by Anne Billson

Carrefour (2016) photograph by Anne Billson

Love this map. Be great if it reflected topography rather than rainfall.

The movies have made me who I am. Proof: last night, after watching a movie whose protagonist was a serial slasher, I had a vivid dream in which *I* was a serial slasher. It was like experiencing MANIAC (1980) and then its 2012 POV reimagining.

A walk finds a car park littered with fireworks cast-offs and packaging. So at near 1am someone parked up and set off what seemed half a full display of fireworks. Then they sped off. How did they have so many fireworks? Could be someone just celebrating twins. But feels purposefully violent.

The campus is absolutely fabulous, but I think I might get bored with it after a time - there seems to be nothing but water here & there are never many people around.

Just got sucked into @neal.fun's "Not a Robot" neal.fun/not-a-robot/

Audience review: The Long Walk. Forest Cinema. 21st September. I was worried the young audience's phone use during the trailers would continue, but as soon as the film began, phones disappeared and chatter stopped. The few latecomers found their seats quietly and unobtrusively. *****/5

I love to stand in the shower with my hands against the wall and my head bowed, water running down the elaborate back tattoo that hints at the torment within

Pye wants you to know it’s almost dinnertime.

Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson after a screening of One Battle After Another at DGA. They talked about a lot of things, but since it’s the DGA it was very appropriate to pay tribute to the late Adam Somner, who AD’d for both of them, and is clearly very missed ❤️

CATS ON FILM (kindle or paperback) "possibly the greatest book ever" "one of the finest pieces of specialist film scholarship published in recent years” “Bonus: includes My Day by Jones, AKA Alien from the cat's PoV. Fun!” www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1978038747

Rue Jourdan (2014) photograph by Anne Billson

Fantastic ruins in a forest. Imagine what this building once was! By Jacob Grimmer of Antwerp whose day is today.

Love it because of old scenery of İstanbul

And the strange anecdote about Bond and M’s “interesting experience“ in Tokyo. Best ever use of the “chastise one henchman but kill the other one instead” gag too.

Cormac McCarthy's living room, with shelves he designed to fit 1,000 books, or 5% of his personal library. 📸Wayne Martin Belger, @smithsonianmag.bsky.social

That fight scene is so beautifully edited, shot, choreographed. Never seems to lose its impact.

I like the irony that Grant *doesn’t* try and open Bond’s briefcase when he offers Grant the sovereigns : what saves Bond’s life is the second case (belonging to Nash, the agent Grant killed)

Colleen Camp, Barbara Carrera & Larry Cohen on the set of THE WICKED STEPMOTHER. Larry Cohen's memoir "I KILLED BETTE DAVIS And Other Confessions of Heinous Crimes Committed in the Name of Moviemaking" will have photos direct from the Cohen family collection.

My favorite Bond film. And probably my favorite Fleming novel.

Hotel is appalling. We are all in the attic.

Sep 21st 1997 - Reiko awakes the day after Sadako's curse would have killed her, believing ex-husband Ryūji and her son Yoichi are now save too. 📽️📅 Ring (1998)

Wonderful that Arsenal have introduced facilities to ensure no-one misses out on Escape to the Country

ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE has arrived!! It looks *amazing* Desperately in need of money at mo so am selling 5 signed and dedicated copies for £25 plus postage. If you want one, a month before it's released, let me know and I'll DM you.

The fact that it's very obviously Scotland heightens the similarities to The Thirty-Nine Steps during the helicopter bit, which is nice. Also what *was* the point of having Grant kill some RANDOM SPECTRE mook wearing a rubber Sean Connery mask?

This guy had a ridiculously interesting life: www.theguardian.com/technology/2... Flew Hurricanes in WW2, broke the air speed record and, for good measure, played a henchman in From Russia With Love.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963): first time on the big screen. 1) The last movie JFK ever saw 2) Opening title music is an instrumental; Matt Monro sings it over the closing credits 3) Maurice Binder didn't do the opening credits 4) Bond & Moneypenny come the closest to actually snogging that I've seen

Sunday #Hildy

'Ten TV Comedies You Like' - special boomer edition (plus a couple of later sitcoms I loved, but no one else did) The Phil Silvers Show The Rag Trade Hancock's Half Hour It's a Square World The Frost Report Q Marty 'Allo 'Allo! Hippies Paris

New graffiti in Norwich. Not quite sure what Ross Kemp did to deserve that.

Griffin, Martin Schongauer, ca. 1435–1491 www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

So few reviews (from outside the US; we know you guys don't have a free press anymore) even mention the propagandist recreation of a geopolitics in which a robust, square-jawed USA is assailed by external chaos actors. Lads, it's been a while now that the chaos has been coming from inside the house.

Dear Pam, We're having our first smell of the sea.

LSD blotter sheets from Blotter Barn's collection

THE EX: a ghost story (kindle or ppbk) a delicious blend of spookiness, social satire, terrifying apparitions, binge drinking, sexy interludes & a fine cat... allusions to the likes of Night of the Demon & Dead of Night" "as if Harold Lloyd had strayed into The Omen" www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VN8P1RR

Russ Meyer outside his house in Palm Desert (1992) photograph by Anne Billson

Macao (1979) photograph by Anne Billson

Election (2014) photograph by Anne Billson