“THE LAST GUEST OF THE HOLLOWAY MOTEL is a testament to a wish to change the oppressive gender ideals living in the football sphere and start building a community in support of queer football players.” - Asia Lo Savio reviews as part of BFI Flare: takeonecinema.net/2026/the-las...

“Based on the 1919 book, Tina Garavi's film adds entertaining anachronisms and dramatic storylines to suit its new medium; some of these choices land, others are not given the time to warrant their daring.” - @reaffirmsfaith.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

Is TERMINATOR: DARK FATE good or have @SimonXIX.com & @jimgr.bsky.social been in the Terminator mines too long? They talk about the conversation w/ T2, Linda Hamilton's return, contemporary representation of Mexico, & how controversy around the opening scene links to THE LAST JEDI:

THE FALL OF SIR DOUGLAS WEATHERFORD is in UK cinemas now. It's a fun little film about the impact of tourism with a terrific Gazelle Twin soundtrack. I was lucky enough to see it at #GFF26 with a director Q&A and I reviewed for @takeonecinema.net. takeonecinema.net/2026/the-fal...

I loved Blue Heron, one of the best films I've seen this year so far. I really find it invigorating, for want of a better word, when a film uses the medium to put something on screen I would find hard to put into words. Superb film.

“BLUE HERON is a gentle demonstration of cinema’s power, and Romvari's ability to create a tangible, shared experience of something difficult to put into words. The film is one of fuzzy memories & half-truths, but the impression it leaves is firm & enduring.” - @jimgr.com reviews. #filmsky

“BACKROOMS is an eerily realised creative vision, but it’s difficult to escape the idea that it takes a suboptimal turn away from the technical strengths that give this adaptation such a firm footing.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

“Performances and occasional wit cannot save KÖLN 75 from being baffling and trying. Unlike the real concert, this film squanders what could be a great premise on a too-neat feel-good story.” - @carmenchloie.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

So, it's ended up difficult for me to go next week...BUT, I can assign the Platinum Pass to someone else. I've asked our existing writers too, but if you know a good writer not already covering SXSW London 2026 who might be keen to for @takeonecinema.net, point them to me; jim[@]takeonecinema[.]net.

TERMINATOR GENISYS starts really well with a really promising premise that will reset this stale franchise. Then it proceeds to do everything in the same way as previous entries in the franchise.

This film is not as bad as you remember, until it's suddenly *just as bad as you remember*. New edition of '@takeonecinema.net presents...'!

TERMINATOR GENISYS: a film with a promising start that falls off a cliff. @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social discuss planning for a trilogy without making a successful film, how turning Skynet into consumer tech impacts the narrative's politics, & why ‘Genisys’ is spelled that way.

“HEN merely enables the viewer to take comfort that, although they may not have yet gone vegan, at least they've likely never chucked a living chicken off the roof of a building for their art.” - Jessie Krahn reviews. #filmsky

“Despite its allegory that is as blatant as an audience might expect, THE GOOD BOY packs in a surprising amount of affecting moments, and the knowledge England’s Good Boys can only be raised by Good Systems.” - Katherine Stockton reviews. #filmsky

“The vapidity of MICHAEL is all the more irritating given the allusions and nods it makes to the things that shaped all facets of Jackson’s life, image, and creative vision. The film is bland at best and cowardly at worst.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

“If cinema is to survive as a community experience, we need to value and protect places like the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford, now in the middle of a campaign to secure its long-term future.” - read more and join the campaign for @uppcinema.bsky.social.

Folks, this film is a rough watch. Relentlessly dreary, dour, and tedious. However we have a good discussion about the embeddedness in US military hegemony and how this completely discards the atomic anxiety that fueled the first few Terminator films.

“OMAHA might not employ the most thoroughly crafted methods by grabbing the heartstrings in its fist, but the cast’s performances capture an honest empathy that is difficult to put aside. And maybe you shouldn’t.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

Ironically forgot to shout about a new episode because @simonxix.com & I were recording a different one earlier this week. Terminator: Salvation is one of the prongs on my Trident of Terrible Cinema from a godawful visit in 2009. Thought my opinion of it might improve in better context. It did not.

Pod With Us If You Want To Live is back! @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social talk about #TerminatorSalvation, a disappointing turn from anti-war themes towards military establishment narratives, dour-by-design colour palette, & Jim's legendary Worst Day of Cinema: buff.ly/O7cDXMx #filmsky #terminator

"EXIT 8 leans a little too heavily on [the 'liminal space'] aesthetic to remain fully engrossing for even the succinct 95-minute runtime, but the film finds its way much faster than The Lost Man did." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews, out this Friday in the UK.

“Visually dynamic and elegantly crafted, Damiano Michieletto’s PRIMAVERA is a compelling study of repression, suffering and earnest rebellion.” - Nancy Epton reviews. #filmsky

"Mark Jenkin’s unique filming style lends texture & physicality to ROSE OF NEVADA, a blend of British social realism & ghost story, even while the dream-like nature of it means that it fades like a dream upon ending." - @simonxix.com from the film's GFF run:

“[#ULTRAS demonstrates that #football] is not an escape from society, or even a reflection of it – it is a key thread running through the tapestry of communities across the globe.” - #RagnhildEkner's doc is out this week, read @jimgr.bsky.social's review from LFF 2025 screenings: buff.ly/eQuM0xd

“Director Julian Lautenbacher [shows] bravery in choosing queer identity and dance as his documentary's expression of resistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine." - Asia Lo Savio reviews:

“A dose of Polonium-210 already begins to feel inviting a mere half hour into the prolonged 136-minute runtime of THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

“Even though WASTEMAN’s brutal narrative isn’t anything novel, it possesses a freshness courtesy of McMau’s first time behind the camera, added to the debut screenplay from newcomers Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran.” - Nancy Epton reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/wasteman/

“Even if DEPARTURES leans heavily on its influences before it establishes what it wants to say, there are enough novel angles and flourishes that its bolshy Mancunian voice is clearly heard and worth listening to.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/departu...

We’re old enough to remember when Sora and video GenAI was the death of cinema. Most folk are. It was only last year.

“THE DRAMA renders philosophical thought experiments as tangible personal relationships. The film is both fiendishly juvenile and thought-provoking, with Kristoffer Borgli's black comedy approach harmonising these two qualities.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews. #filmsky

Going to the cinema this weekend be like

The year is 2085. Fifty years after a Looney Tunes reboot referenced 2020s internet culture, everybody thinks that ducks eat Dubai chocolate. Many ducks have perished with the myth.

"Frankenstein is, in part, about unchecked ambition & 'filthy creation'. In pursuing greatness for himself, Victor brought misery upon a creature of which he lost control. Maybe THE BRIDE! is a good adaptation of her work in spirit, if not in practice." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews:

First of a couple of new reviews from me this week. First up, PROJECT HAIL MARY, which I enjoyed a lot even if I wanted a bit more of what Sandra Hüller was bringing to the film. Review for @takeonecinema.net here!

"PROJECT HAIL MARY evokes many forebears which have perhaps examined such themes more deeply or to better effect. However, even if it remains emotionally simple (sometimes stubbornly so), few films can offer as many shining moments." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/project...

Happy don't-post-anything-bizarre-or-nobody-will-believe-you day, everyone!

"CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN’ has hints of greatness throughout its script but ultimately lands as a safe debut for James McAvoy that doesn’t dare to tread very far outside the formula for music biopic cinema." - @simonxix.com reviews out of GFF:

"...the story of a tour guide in a small Borders town, driven mad by the intrusion of [filming] a prestige fantasy series, balances a light comedy tone with unexpected poignancy, even if some of its more impactful ideas are underdeveloped." - @simonxix.com reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/the-fal...

"SUKKWAN ISLAND (also known as MY FATHER’S ISLAND) is a slow devastation. The conclusion seems inevitable from the outset but, like the young man in the film, we are dragged along for the experience." - @simonxix.com reviews at GFF: takeonecinema.net/2026/sukkman...

On this month's episode, we discuss TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES which is bland, kind of homophobic, and needlessly misogynistic. And somehow the franchise goes downhill /after this/.

The T3 episode of Pod With Us If You Want To Live is here! @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social discuss the pivot to generic early 2000s action, wild tonal whiplash, casual laddish misogyny & Arnold’s small distraction during this film of running for Governor of California. buff.ly/oZO1lAJ

"THINK OF ENGLAND starts by evoking the idea of indecency with a wry grin, but what it ends up producing is something more reflective." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews ahead of the @glasgowfilmfest.bsky.social premiere: buff.ly/x2vVGzH #GFF26 #GlasgowFilmFestival #filmsky

Cracking film. I reviewed many years ago for @takeonecinema.net before even conceiving of doing a podcast series looking at the whole Alien franchise.

"There is more than enough wit and wisdom in the delivery of GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE that it rarely fails to be entertaining, even if the film struggles to shape a unique viewpoint from its mélange of influences." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/good-lu...

The @glasgowfilmfest.bsky.social is underway, and so is our coverage. Articles incoming from @simonxix.com, @carmenchloie.bsky.social & @jimgr.bsky.social at least. Here's a thread as they come in! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎞️

"Emerald Fennell manages to achieve some new and striking things, but it’s an odd irony that in trying to be stirring and daring, WUTHERING HEIGHTS ends up rather blunted and safe." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2026/wutheri...

Not this shit again

For @takeonecinema.net, I reviewed EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET, the opening film of this year's Glasgow Film Festival. It's a stirring documentary focused on the individuals who chose to defend their neighbours that day and the Scottish context of the protest. People Make Glasgow. #GFF26

We said we'd be back. This film has loads of literature on it so we get into quite a few different readings of the film in this episode particularly around representations of masculinity and femininity.