Anora

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... Anora!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th November 2025

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 97 (2024) 
(clearly old habits die hard)

Funny thing: If this had never won Best Picture at the Oscars I wouldn't have given this the time of day - call it a case of it slipping under my radar. But I think I am, by now, well-versed enough in Best Picture Oscar winners to give this a look. Maybe, like numerous times before, I will be surprised?

Turns out, I was: Firstly, I will give the Academy credit as this has to be one of the times they show a spine and give the top prize to the most unconventional of candidates. I call this unconventional due to the subject matter and large amounts of swearing.
Secondly, it seems the reign of the 'small-scale-low-budget' trend of winners (that commenced with The Hurt Locker) shows no sign of stopping - Not that I'm complaining. 
Thirdly, this is both funny and sad in equal measure. In fact, I do agree with the observation that this movie owes more to the screwball films of the 1930s than would first appear. Certainly it comes with a coating of over nine decades of change but it's there. And, with said coating, fascinating to see.
Finally, Mikey Madison is indeed a force to be reckoned with.

So yeah, a well deserved winner of Best Picture on all accounts. 

The Wicker Man

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Wicker Man!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st October 2025

It's Halloween night so what better way to see out this year's clutch of horror movies than to go on hard mode?

In a way this movie surprised me: I was expecting to have some dread, the building of tension and Christopher Lee at his freakish best. Certainly I did get that but what I wasn't expecting was some musical numbers. And some bright colours. And some truly bizarre behaviour.
I have to wonder: has time been kind to this movie? True we know how it's going to end (even though it still hits like a truck) and somehow the movie comes across as more comical than threatening. Or maybe this inspired a line of imitators so long that the original's power has faded

I also found myself wondering: is this a movie about being threatened by a cult? Because one may come away with the impression that the cult looks appealing...

Doctor Sleep

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Doctor Sleep!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th October 2025

Well I've seen The Shining. So let's talk about the adaptation of the sequel to that novel.

From the outset, this film is a contradiction: It looks like a horror movie but it is more a thriller. It is marketed as a sequel to the movie adaptation but can't decide whether to be a separate entity or be in reverence. It is a sequel to a movie adaptation but the original was majorly divorced from the source material. It is an adaptation of a sequel to a book that was adapted but this adaptation is still focused on the adaptation of it's predecessor and through writing this sentence I think I have fallen into some sort of singularity here.

But if the above paragraph seems confused then that's exactly the vibe I'm getting from this movie. There are some good ideas throughout but they just seem so all over the place and difficult to connect with. Matters aren't helped with a complete disregard for the subtlety that made The Shining so compelling. 

Black Christmas

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Black Christmas!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th October 2025

Its well documented that I have a strong distaste for slasher movies. But, for some reason I will never understand, I still ended up watching this one. 
In this case, this movie has reputation for being one of the earliest entrants in the slasher genre. Some even say that the mighty Halloween owes a considerable debt to.

Watching this movie, there is a lot going for it: The 'dumb teenagers' trope that so frustrates me with slasher movies is thankfully absent. The tension is unbearable. The trick of 'what you can't see' is put to good use. And the killer is nothing less than unsettling.
The real treat however is the cast - in particular there are some names I have seen previously: Olivia Hussey (1968 Romeo and Juliet), Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Margot Kidder (Superman). It is indeed a treat seeing these faces in roles completely different from what I' knew them from. Kidder in particular is a treat to see as a smoking/hard drinking curmudgeon. 

So yeah, a slasher that does things differently is always welcome in my book. 
Still not sold on the genre though...

Weapons

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Weapons!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th October 2025

Well I saw Barbarian last week so I should be prepared for this, right?
It's well documented that horror movies aren't my favourite genre of movies so it should eb noted that watching this movie was something of a milestone: Its the first horror movie I saw in the cinema. As such it should come to no surprise that I prefer to watch horror movies at home - that way no one can see or hear you jump. Or shriek. Or bite down on one's fingers.

As for the movie itself, seeing Barbarian beforehand was the wise move as it gave me at least some idea of what to expect. And director Zach Creggar is pulling off the same trick: A mystery narrative where each piece of the puzzle slowly comes into place. It is indeed a compelling narrative, with some interesting twists and some unbearable tension. And all accumulating to a truly demented finale. 
It has been said that Halloween was conceived as an exercise of taking the lessons learned from Hitchcock and running with them. I wonder if the same can be said about this....

Barbarian

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Barbarian!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd October 2025

Yes it's that time of the year again: Time for some horror movies.
I have been hearing some good things about this movie - and it's successor Weapons. Certainly I will watch the latter but I should watch the former to grasp just what I'm getting myself into.

Before watching this movie I was told that I would need to go in blind: Knowing as little about it as possible. Turns out they weren't kidding.
Suffice to say, I will keep that approach going. But what I will say that whilst the horror genre isn't my forte this would have be the most unique horror movie I have seen.

Furthermore, that one of the cast is named Kate Nichols is something that amuses me. 

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th September 2025

Anyone heard of this? This is a mockumentary, presenting an alternate history where the American Civil War was won by the South. As such, it tracks a path where events go differently and the world as we know it looks very different. The views of the Confederacy still remain but in a more modern setting - further reinforced by ads that proliferate through the documentary.

Yes, this is quite vicious in it's satire and dark in it's hilarity. Yet the vision it presents is quite nasty, in that a) it's ideals of the Civil War being presented in a modern context and b) how disturbingly similar it looks to the racism that exists in the U.S. of today. Just when you think we had advanced from bleaker times...
Nevertheless, the facts are well presented and the level of research that went into this speculation is staggering. And no matter how uncomfortable viewing this may be, it still manages to generate some laughs.

Still, as I watch this, I am reminded of my own country and it's own brand of racism. Makes me wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with their own mockumentary presenting an alternate history where the arrival of the First Fleet went a little differently.....

The Revenge Artist

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Revenge Artist (M.F.A.)!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th September 2025

I may have said some less than favourable things about Promising Young Woman but if it wasn't for that movie, I wouldn't have heard about this one: Some have claimed that this 2017 movie addressed the same themes as Promising Young Woman and did it better. Sounds like a challenge to me: I'm in!

Of course getting a hold of this movie was one thing, sitting down and watching it was another. I will admit that the similarities to Promising Young Woman are evident but this comes across as the cheaper and nastier cousin.
And that is the strength of this movie: It's honest. It is uncomfortable, it doesn't shy away from the SA scenes, it addresses the effects of SA, it calls out ignorance and inaction, and it is focused. It also helps it has a compelling lead in Francesca Eastwood, who clearly takes after her dad. 

It wasn't an easy watch but it certainly was compelling. 

North by Northwest

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... North By Northwest!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th September 2025

It seems to me that the most famous movies of Alfred Hitchcock are Psycho and The Birds. So who has to take up the somewhat unfortunate role of being no.3? One would think it would be this: Widely regarded as one of The Master's masterworks but, somehow at the same time, not as widely recognised by the outsider.

But what does it matter? This is superb stuff.
Ever seen those thrillers where some hapless guy is mistaken for someone else and has his life disrupted as they are dragged further and further into extraordinary circumstances? Well you can blame this movie for that scenario: For this is pretty much the wellspring that inspired countless other movies. And yet this is still gripping stuff and shows a level of suspense that it's disciples still can't match.

K-Pop Demon Hunters

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... K-Pop Demon Hunters!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th September 2025

Yep, it's this movie. I have a lot of things to say about it so lets resort to dot points:

• Hasn't this been a hit? It's generated a passionate fanbase, scored hits with it's soundtrack and made a lot of interest in K-pop. And all from a an idea that seems absurd on paper.
• Personally I knew what I was getting myself in for due to an interest in Asian pop (started with anime, expanded upon by Kiera). 
• Oh who am I kidding? This was a lot of fun to watch. And there is plenty to latch onto here: Creative animation, jokes coming out at a machine-gun rate, snappy songs, great action scenes and real love for K-pop itself. 
• Special mention must go to what is some razor sharp writing with it's themes and compelling characters - which I hope other writers take note of. 
• Also of note is some surprisingly poignant musings on identity and self-worth.
• I noted Netflix has a Singalong version - which suggests that there are people who CAN hit those high notes in Golden (and make the guy in A-Ha jealous) 
• I wonder if this is going to set a new benchmark for populist entertainment that will have others falling over themselves to meet? If so, I'm all for it :)
• Ultimately, this movie has more personality than ever thought possible. Remarkable. 

Soul

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Soul!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th August 2025

Like every man and his dog, I do love me some Pixar: They tell great stories, have stunning animation, have boundless imagination, and can inspire both laughter & tears in equal measure. We all know what to expect from this fiendishly talented studio and yet we don't complain. As such, they have had hit after hit.
That being said, with such a success rate, it makes the weaker films easier to forgive and forget. And that makes an interesting question: Never mind which is the greatest Pixar movie; what is the least Pixar movie?

But even if Pixar may be running on successful formula, the greatest achievement is that the formula doesn't get old. And Soul may be running on said formula but it still works.
All of the above is, of course, a long-winded way of saying that this is a Pixar movie so we can't expect the usual high standard of animation, imagination, laughter and tears. Which is what we all signed up for.
What is particularly noteworthy about Soul however is it's strength of ideas: It is indeed a bold move to bring up existential themes in a children's movie (Never-Ending Story anyone?) but they still resonate deeply as an adult: The concerns of whether you've lived a meaningful life and whether you are prepared to live. And that really speaks to someone like myself who has struggled with self-worth - and no matter how many movies I see related to this topic it still resonates.

And that epiphany scene is truly something astonishing. 

Also: Wait, Nine Inch Nails did the music to this?!

Vertigo

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Vertigo!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd August 2025

Here we go: One of Alfred Hitchcock's best known films - one in a filmography that is chock-full of them. Certainly I knew the name and I knew that the film was remade for a Faith No More video so let's take a look....

I find a lot to admire in this movie. There's some great visual tricks, there's some fantastic location footage that shows off San Francisco, the themes of obsession are handled well, Hitchcock's skill with suspense is in fine form and Bernard Hermann's score emerges as the MVP. 

However, as I watch this movie I can't help but think that of Hitchcock himself. For in recent years, Hitchcock has fallen out of favour as it has been made clear that he exhibited some questionable behaviour: Being nasty to actors and obsessing over the image of a particular blonde. As such, I can't help but think that Vertigo is The Master at his most confessional. After all, the title is Vertigo and it's funny how all sense of acrophobia disappears for a sizable chunk of the movie. 

So not bad but compared to to other Hitchcock movies I've seen this one did feel somewhat cold. 

Young Frankenstein

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Young Frankenstein!

Original image located here. Accessed 15th August 2025

Seems that this is one of Gene Wilder's fondest remembered performances alongside Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Being well aware of the other movie, this seems like a challenge.

But this is still a Mel Brooks movie, so expect some biting satire walking hand-in-hand with jokes that bounce from hilarious to the inane. And this one delivers: Right from the get-go this is clearly paying homage to the Frankenstein mythos, and not just the original movie. The mood is still the same and I recognised some scenes from the James Whale movie but this time it's loaded with jokes.
Jokes that range from the dumb to the side-splitting. 
So yeah, this was kinda dumb but still pretty funny.