"'The best way to critique a film is to make a film.' The provocative declaration belongs to Godard, but it’s Richard Linklater who reinvigorates it with NOUVELLE VAGUE's reverence for the French New Wave." - Asia Lo Savio from @camfilmfest.com & #ReelVoices: buff.ly/Xd2qCPS

"SIRĀT is a film that purposefully defies strict genre classification. Beginning as a ‘found-family’ road-trip drama, it abruptly morphs into a painstakingly tension-fraught thrill ride, punctuated by moments crafted to shock & awe." - Alfie Tiplady, @camfilmfest.com #ReelVoices: buff.ly/NnjkAjS

"Awkward and endearing, PILLION is a stunningly impressive debut from HARRY LIGHTON, giving the rom-com the subversive, sexy spin it was in dire need of." - Mia Humphreys from @CamFilmFest.com: buff.ly/Tev6cy4 #filmsky

Follow us here, folks! Xitter was once our most significant traffic source, but we can't keep posting there in good conscience. We have healthy traffic from search, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes & others, but please share/repost our writers' work and our profile here so we may grow a social audience here.

"SALVE MARIA is a rebellion against the sociological monomyth of the 'immaculate mother' and a captivating story which also renders visible those who are so frequently mythically distorted: women in crisis." - Katherine Stockton for #ReelVoices at @camfilmfest.com buff.ly/APINvC7 #cinema #filmsky

I really appreciated A Sad and Beautiful World; a film I'll remember because of the chemistry between Mounia Akl and Hasan Akil. The final reels, as the story concludes, will also really stick with me. Review below for @takeonecinema.net out of #LFF, probably my last full write-up from the fest.

"A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD tells a story that can & has collapsed into a maudlin heap many times. However, the [leads'] gentle chemistry, the [stroytelling] dexterity, & the sincerity of relatable themes [create] affecting & engaging romantic drama." - @jimgr.bsky.social from #LFF: buff.ly/D8swVm7

"SALVE MARIA is a rebellion against the sociological monomyth of the 'immaculate mother' and a captivating story which also renders visible those who are so frequently mythically distorted: women in crisis." - Katherine Stockton for #ReelVoices at @camfilmfest.com buff.ly/APINvC7 #cinema #filmsky

“BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY [...] presents the story of four filmmakers [...] with incredible stylistic nuance and narrative depth[.] Ivona Juka’s LGBTQ drama is a monumental film of striking cultural importance.” - Asia Lo Savio, part of the #ReelVoices team @camfilmfest.com: buff.ly/nG4coNg

“WE LIVE HERE is a hard-hitting debut that questions the future of warfare and military action on a global scale, as well as presenting the catastrophic impact of nuclear weapons and radiation exposure.” - Kit Gilby from @camfilmfest.com as part of #ReelVoices: buff.ly/KBBKt0G

“For audiences interested in the effect of our shifting media landscape on democracy, the weaving of archival footage & personal stories with narrative momentum makes NEWS WITHOUT A NEWSROOM thoughtful, relevant, & well-timed.” - Emily Hill (#ReelVoices scheme) at @CamFilmFest.com:

I went long(ish) on DIE MY LOVE, please have a read. I appreciated a lot & think Ramsay continues to be one of my favourite working filmmakers. There's a bagginess here that her other features don't have, but it's also in fascinating conversation with her other work. Review for @takeonecinema.net!👇

"DIE MY LOVE is unlikely to be considered the pinnacle of Ramsay’s career. Still, even when revisiting themes, the intense clarity of vision ensures Ramsay’s work continues to feel fresh and ominously vibrant." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews out of #LFF:

“For audiences interested in the effect of our shifting media landscape on democracy, the weaving of archival footage & personal stories with narrative momentum makes NEWS WITHOUT A NEWSROOM thoughtful, relevant, & well-timed.” - Emily Hill (#ReelVoices scheme) at @CamFilmFest.com:

By the time ANEMONE bumbled towards its final scenes, my patience had long since been stretched by its interminable string of false summits. It’s hard for any film with this sort of intense Day-Lewis performance at its heart to be a total bust, but it really seems to try hard to be. Review below!

We’re delighted to share that we will be collaborating with @camfilmfest.com and their education partner Anglia Ruskin University (@angliaruskin.bsky.social), in our role as media partner, on the CFF Reel Voices scheme. Read more here: takeonecinema.net/2025/reel-vo...

“ANEMONE is fortunate in [possessing] Daniel Day-Lewis’s first film performance in eight years. Although Ronan Day-Lewis garners a performance of simmering intensity from his father, their co-written script is flat & opaque to the point of tedium.” - @jimgr.bsky.social’s #LFF review: buff.ly/Xl44ZuI

"Both Shakespeare & Zhao acknowledge the beauty of grief, which is, of course, a form of love, as well as its horrific reality. [...] Tears streamed down my face, my breath coming in shudders by the end." - Sophie Russell writes on HAMNET from #LFF: takeonecinema.net/2025/hamnet/

Come for me being slightly softer on Dead Reckoning <whispers>ₚₐᵣₜ ₒₙₑ than I expected, although really not by much, stay for me laying into Tory donors with an enthusiasm only matched by Tom Cruise jumping off cliffs.

We recorded these episodes a while ago and I'd forgotten how off the rails we get at the end of this episode. DEAD RECKONING (PART ONE) truly drives us to a strange place: the film's script is bad, the IMF is now weirdly like Scientology, and the AI antagonist doesn't work.

The Impossipod is back for DEAD RECKONING PART ONE! @SimonXIX.com & @jimgr.bsky.social discuss the IMF's reconfiguration to weird cult & the nebulousness of the AI antagonist. Their minds are then broken upon discovering which derided English director has an inexplicable knighthood:

"If Shelley’s novel can be considered the dense and sprawling sheet music for an orchestral symphony of ideas, then Del Toro’s arrangement here is sparser. However, [...] the tune of FRANKENSTEIN [...] harmonises with the full version." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews from #LFF: buff.ly/q41kjL9

Look, it's good, just listen ok

I can now give my unfiltered opinion that Alien: Earth had things it did well, but it had many more things it did extremely poorly, that I don't understand why this was the vehicle for this story, didn't think it handled its themes well or originally, and the season finale was absolutely dreadful.

We used our podcast about film franchises that we produce for a film reviews website to talk about a TV series. It's a brave new world for us.

The Xenopod returns for a special new episode discussing the new Alien franchise TV series, Alien: Earth. @simonxix.com & @jimgr.bsky.social discuss how well the worldbuilding works, before descending into a discussion of why the series as a whole doesn't work: takeonecinema.net/thexenopod/a...

"With seething social commentary at its centre, BAD APPLES feels contemporary and culturally accurate to the landscape of public education in the UK [and] director Jonatan Etzler wields the school setting with skill." - @reaffirmsfaith.bsky.social reviews at #LFF: buff.ly/1YQk7Cp

I went quite long on WAKE UP DEAD MAN, the new Knives Out film, because it really resonates with thoughts I've been having around the right's (mis)appropriation of Christianity and how neo-fascists are using the rhetoric of Christianity without any embeddedness in Christ's teachings.

"WAKE UP DEAD MAN may not bring anything novel for newcomers, but it’s a treat for KNIVES OUT fans, serves as a corrective for GLASS ONION's excesses, & imbues the story with meaningful resonance for contemporary Christian politics." - @simonxix.com @ GFT's satellite #LFF screening: buff.ly/e7zMeGP

Ballad of a Small Player didn’t click for me, despite some engaging showiness. Review below for @takeonecinema.net from #LFF! 👇

"BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER rarely fails to be entertaining [...]. However, [its virtues] are fleeting thrills in the service of an unmemorable story. Berger’s film looks like a high roller, but it’s playing with buttons and matchsticks." - @jimgr.bsky.social at #LFF: buff.ly/xPNsVy9 #filmsky

“A PALE VIEW OF HILLS lives up to a strong cinematic legacy of Ishiguro adaptations with its stunning, dreamy aesthetic and the performances of a talented cast, but the script does not achieve the nuances of its preceding adaptations.” - @reaffirmsfaith.bsky.social at #LFF:

Really enjoyed the #LFF short film strand ARE YOU KIDDING?, which screens for the first time tonight. Will be trying my hardest to do more short film coverage this year.

"Overall, the ARE YOU KIDDING? strand of short films at London Film Festival 2025 has (for the most part) a commanding understanding of tone, pitching the collection into a tradition of morbid, dark & absurd humour." - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews tonight's shorts at #LFF2025:

“Equal parts comical and concerning, LEFT-HANDED GIRL is about resilience in a man’s world, with a five-year-old’s innocent questions shattering illusions and bringing about change.” - @reaffirmsfaith.bsky.social reviews from #LFF: takeonecinema.net/2025/left-ha...

"You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it."

THE SMASHING MACHINE is an accomplished film, but the narrative seems to be all exploratory jabs and no haymaker. Safdie’s film skips deftly around several cliches, but fails to use that fancy footwork to advance something memorable of its own. - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: buff.ly/21T6mTO #filmsky

Longer thoughts at @takeonecinema.net on One Battle After Another, which I think will have legs in the minds of cinemagoers, box office be damned. (Also, if you liked it go check out How To Blow Up A Pipeline, a great but much smaller film I name check in this piece.)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s proven filmmaking ability makes ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER a technically accomplished picture that is gripping and entertaining, taking sides in the battle for history without losing its capacity for doubt. - @jimgr.bsky.social reviews: takeonecinema.net/2025/one-bat...

Really enjoying (re)watching the Mission: Impossible films along with this podcast. Mainly it is cementing my opinion that the overarching theme of the franchise is "Ethan Hunt is a messy bitch who loves the drama"

There's a title up for grabs! Get on it!

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