The Impossipod is back for M:I- FALLOUT, a highly-regarded entry that, frankly, @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social are a bit meh about. They discuss Henry Cavill & his $3M moustache, a shift towards messianic tropes, & the script’s misunderstanding of political anarchism. - buff.ly/pq8UlGj #filmsky

"If any short contains the thesis of presenting the Gazan anthology FROM GROUND ZERO together, it is arguably a line from Mustafa Al-Nabih’s OFFERINGS: 'We know they had a past, dreams, a life, and a future'." 🇵🇸 - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/from-gr...

The Fargo Side: illustrations of Coen Bros movies in the style of your favorite surreal comic strip.

I’ve been rewatching the Coen Bros filmography this month and while drawing a Barton Fink illustration, it struck me how much their films feel like Far Side cartoons: funny, strange, clever, yet frequently inscrutable. Anyway here’s a thread!

"WINTER KEPT US WARM (1965) preserves a singular lifeworld in poetic form, bringing the raw and honest tumult of youthful romance into lyrical harmony with all the advantages cinema offers." - Jessie Krahn as part of our 'TAKE TWO' features strand: buff.ly/wGSiuhb #cinesky

Remembering the time someone declared they were "ashamed to have written for [us]" because we weren't deemed to be sufficiently mournful over Margaret Thatcher's death, having posted a joke about her the week she died.

Thoroughly enjoying @takeonecinema.net's Dinopod/Xenopod/Impossipod podcasts, poking each of the Alien, Jurassic and M:I films with critical analysis.

"TOGETHER makes an ambitious leap towards heady metaphors, but fails to fuse itself to an otherwise exciting and provocative emerging canon in horror cinema." - Jessie Krahn reviews: buff.ly/D53Zbiv #filmsky

on this the noo, as entertaining and informative as ever

"With the 20th anniversary of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, it’s pertinent to look back on the wave of criticism with which the film was met, particularly concerning ideas of the Western among more conservative figures." - Nancy Epton examines the legacy of Ang Lee's modern classic:

I think is also the episode where I bring up that a lot of Alec Baldwin’s lines as Hunley in Rogue Nation and Fallout can be appended with ‘Lemon’ and become indistinguishable from lines written for Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock…

Back in the UK and can shout about our new Impossipod episode on '@takeonecinema.net Presents...'. Rogue Nation is a film I like a lot, especially Sean Harris's Solomon Lane, but it's already whispering the things I might not like about future instalments: takeonecinema.net/the-impossip...

New Impossipod today! Simon & Jim return to M:I and Rogue Nation, to discuss how this both subverts the tropes of this franchise, continues themes on 'Deep State' conspiracy theories, and how Ilsa Faust represents a new expression of femininity for this franchise:

🎥 Love writing about film? Want to get your reviews published? Reel Voices is back – and applications are open! This free mentoring programme is designed for aspiring film critics aged 18–24. 🗓 Deadline to apply: Sept 2nd 👉 Apply now www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/reel-voices

The BFI London Film Festival #LFF competition line up has just been announced - which are you most excited about? www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-...

For @takeonecinema.net - Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is shattering takeonecinema.net/2025/put-you...

"PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK is not a neutral film but it should not be. Farsi’s documentary is urgent, heart-wrenching, & deeply personal, profiling a single life among the tens of thousands lost too soon." - @carmenchloie.bsky.social's first EIFF2025 dispatch: buff.ly/ab3qwQe #edfilmfest

"THE LIFE OF CHUCK, with its formally experimental structure and its genuinely life-affirming joyfulness, represents a renewed confidence for #MikeFlanagan in his own writing." - Simon Bowie reviews: buff.ly/j44O0xr #filmsky #thelifeofchuck

Terence Stamp to Saint Peter at the pearly gates:

The Impossipod returns August 27th, following the extra episode of The Dinopod for #JurassicWorldRebirth, but the original TAKE ONE Presents series, The Xenopod, will also return at a date TBD, with an episode where Jim & Simon plan to cover the whole of the #AlienEarth series once it has all aired.

Two writers’ first articles this week, with coverage of Venice 🎭 🇮🇹, Edinburgh 🏰 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, Edinburgh Shorts 🤏, Cambridge 🎓🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, London 🎡 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and more soon, with even more folk writing their first articles with us alongside longtime contributors. If you’d like to join the team, check out the website! 🎬🎞️✍️

DEAD MAN’S SHOES update! We have been exploring options with regards to materials and working on bonus material scheduling. We are now hoping to produce a 4K release early in 2026.

"MATERIALISTS finds Céline Song widening her cinematic lens beyond the tender intimacy of her debut PAST LIVES. This time, she offers a sharper, more scornful critique on modern romance and personal branding." - Lewis Meadwell reviews: buff.ly/EDRplCu #filmsky

We're interrupting our series on Mission: Impossible to go back to the Jurassic Park / World franchise. We analyse JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, a film that I liked but with caveats. After JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION, it's just nice that this feels like a competent blockbuster.

The Dinopod is back for one week only! @SimonXIX.com and @jimgr.bsky.social discuss a recurring theme of blockbuster films going 'back to basics', elements that distinguish this film from the other World films & how sick they are of mutated hybrid monster dinosaurs: takeonecinema.net/the-dinopod/...

"WEAPONS delivers both fear & laughter but the resolution is less enterprising than the initial idea. The performances are entertaining, but audiences are likely to be split over whether the conclusion & final approach are worthy of them." - @reaffirmsfaith.bsky.social reviews:

these are tremendously fun podcasts, if you haven’t dived in yet. start with xenopod and go from there.

Get subscribed folks - dropping Wednesday!

“#RyanCoogler continues to grow as a filmmaker: the choice not to water down the more challenging ideas underneath the blockbuster sensibilities of SINNERS proves to be the lifeblood of the film.” - now available on DVD and Blu-ray, @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: buff.ly/QBpvoQI #filmsky

Pretty sure we've asked this before, but not sure on which platforms and will actually act on it For A Thing(TM) this time. We want links to the work, and handles of your favourite film poster designers and artists. Reply and repost far and wide! And plugging yourself is also 100% fine!

“The fact [one of the best scenes in JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH] comes from the original novel - [one] screenwriter Koepp longed to include in the films - is maybe emblematic of the lack of ideas the series has now had for over 30 years.” - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/jurassi...

“The specific events in LATE SHIFT don’t especially matter, but the resilience Leonie Benesch conveys in the face of whatever they may be matters hugely.” - out this Friday, @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/late-sh... #filmsky @vertigorel.bsky.social

They've tackled the Alien and Jurassic Park franchises, now they are tackling the Mission Impossible franchise. Hitting a real sweet spot between film criticism and just being humans who love fun movies. I'm really enjoying this run. Highly recommend you give this a listen.

"THE NAKED GUN is by no means the saviour of theatrical comedy. Still, with many films of its ilk relegated to streaming services, Akiva Schaffer’s legacy sequel is an unexpectedly welcome theatrical experience." - @calbody.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/the-nak... #filmsky

We're back to discuss the best Mission: Impossible film, GHOST PROTOCOL. You may disagree with us on that but it very clearly sets the template for the tone and structure of these films going forwards. Available now wherever podcasts are sold: search for 'TAKE ONE Presents'.

Our journey through the M:I franchise continues! Ghost Protocol sets the tone and approach for the remainder of the films, and is quite possibly the high watermark. We discuss Brad Bird’s visual approach here, as well as what it gets right narratively after the second and third entries’ missteps.

The Impossipod is back! @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social hail GHOST PROTOCOL as the possible M:I zenith with spot-on tone that was carried forward, the intent to replace Cruise that wasn't, how it addresses Cruise's aging body, & how Hollywood desperately wanted to make Jeremy Renner happen:

For #ThrowbackThursday, this week in 2017 Mike Boyd reviewed Cambridge African Film Festival selection KATI KATI, "an extraordinary work of film art; using classic techniques to tell a beautiful and thought-provoking story of love, loss, life and death": buff.ly/gGiclUm #filmsky

"The inaugural edition of North West Independent Film Festival in Preston used its second day to focus on the theme of ‘Shifting Grounds: Breaking Cycles, Seeking Truths’, showcasing films with a spirit of independence & creative ambition," writes James Learoyd: takeonecinema.net/2025/north-w...

#ThrowbackThursday: on this day in 2013, Keith Braithwaite on the re-release of THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER - "We are never bored [-] something from which contemporary directors who deliver 160-minute plus slabs of nothing happening with frantic energy could learn a lot. ": buff.ly/ad9U4qL #filmsky

Hey, @yougov.co.uk - we fixed the labelling on your survey.

🇺🇸 This July 4th, why not watch a classic film all about the exposure of a thin-skinned, power-hungry, media-sceptical Republican president involved in unpopular wars using illegal means to pursue his political opponents? No reason for this recommendation, just came to us.

“Children recognize me from Free Willy, and their parents recognize me from Reservoir Dogs. The kids are, like, "There's Glen!" and the parents are, like, "Don't go near that guy!"” — RIP Michael Madsen

"HARVEST is too tonally inconsistent and tediously obtuse to harvest any emotional substance from the ideas that it sows." - @SimonXIX.com ahead of the wide UK release after its Glasgow Film Festival showings:

For today's #ThrowbackThursday, we're casting our minds back 7 years to the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018. On this day in 2018, we published a review of Matt Palmer's CALIBRE, "an engaging and intelligent film" now available on Netflix: buff.ly/YKNs0ko #filmsky

"Emma Mackey is an engaging screen presence that keeps HOT MILK more or less on track in her lead role, but the lack of narrative direction leaves her character and the film to languish in the hot Spanish sun." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/hot-milk/

The focus on the pod feed is currently Mission: Impossible, but @jimgr.bsky.social & @simonxix.com will saddle up The Dinopod once again soon for #JurassicWorldRebirth. Publication date TBD soon, as they need time to chew over the film, much like a Dilophosaurus on Dennis Nedry.

"By defying a desire for simplistic metaphors and clear avatars for contemporary concerns, it's arguable that 28 YEARS LATER allows meaning to emerge in the minds of individual viewers in more complex and unexpected ways." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews:

"Huppert’s gut-punching performance solidifies THE PIANO TEACHER as one of modern cinema's most profound, painful, & transcendental films.", writes Steph Brown as part of #TakeTwo, where writers revisit enduring films & express what makes them remarkable today: takeonecinema.net/2025/the-pia...

"The working-class coming-of-age genre [is] especially prone to [self-pity or melodrama] without a strong vision. CHRISTY never fails to feel genuine, covering a rekindling of a fraught brotherhood with a joyous air of authenticity." - @calbody.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/christy...