I loved that series! The way Craig Mazin managed to simplify such a complex topic, while also condensing how nuclear reactors work in a way that was easy to understand takes some real skill. I can't imagine how many re-writes he had to go through to make the series work but I'm so glad he did. I'm rather excited for his take on The Last Of Us.

Although it's a mini-series, some mini-series are considered films anyway and have been screened as theatrical releases (Berlin Alexanderplatz, Dekalog, Heimat, etc) so I'd personally let it slide. :)

Peeping Tom (1960)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054167/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I am not fully sure if I have seen at least parts of the movie before, somehow the method how the killings happened felt familiar... Maybe I saw it as a kid from TV and got nightmares.

I guess it was ok, even if the age shows (in how the characters act etc., cliches and stereotypes). I mainly watched it as the summary said it was a controversial and legendary movie back when it appeared.

Vivian's (actress Moira Shearer) dancing act in the movie reminded me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq3zolkk-DU#t=125 (at 2:05)

Next I am supposed to watch Blood Simple (1984):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Being a big Coen brothers fan, I wonder if I've really missed their first movie? To be fixed soon.

I love Peeping Tom but it took a few viewings to appreciate what Michael Powell was doing. It's still very challenging that the protagonist is this despicable, unpleasant killer, but he's very human, flawed and kinda charismatic to the point that it's really hard not to sympathise and empathise with him after the suffering he's been through, but it's difficult to say that he's likeable since he's a literal killer. It's like the film is testing my own sense of morals with it, how things are never quite simply black and white.

Blood Simple is amazing! I need to re-watch it but it's engaging from the get-go. It's so impressive how the Coens showed such visual prowess so early on in their careers. Bloody marvellous film!

---------

This morning I watched The Times Of Harvey Milk, an Oscar winning documentary focusing on the legendary gay politician Harvey Milk. It's a really warm and inspiring recollection of his career, his highlights, his personality, all collected from friends and colleagues who knew him best. It's a really sweetly-made film, examining also the height of bigotry and rivalry that Milk had to face when he received push-back for supporting the community of San Francisco (not just gay people, but also the elderly, black people, children, parents, etc). He was a real humanitarian and I find that so inspiring.

Yeah the protagonist actor was pretty good with his Norman Bates-like introvert. I kinda sympathized with the character.
Interesting to think this movie happened to come out the same year as Psycho.

I wouldn't be surprised I have already seen it, only forgotten about it. Let's see.

I always thought "Arizona Baby" was my first Coen movie, and I was genuinely surprised how good that movie was. I was expecting some light-hearted and cliched romantic or family comedy, but it was so much more. Then later seeing Fargo and especially The Big Lebowski hit the jackpot.

I have to admit there are some Coen movies for which I don't care that much, like "O Brother Where Art Thou" or "Hail, Ceasar". Just not my bottle of vodka (I don't drink tea).

I recently watched Noroi, an underrated Japanese found footage horror film about a filmmaker who goes missing while investigating an ancient curse on a small Japanese village.

I remember watching this years ago when someone recommended it to me and I remembered very little about it, but it holds up really well. Most of the horror comes from psychological discomfort and how the film delves into fear of the unknown. It's also quite a complex film, gradually tying together all these seemingly irrelevant narrative threads together while avoiding hand-holding and explanations.

An absolute treat and would recommend if you're looking for a good horror film for Halloween!

"Obviously she's crazy if she's screwing a shrink."
I took a few shots of vodka and watched The Breakfast Club again, I've seen it so many damn times. I love the movie. John Hughes was a genius. May he rest easy.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has the weirdest sequel-hook I've ever seen. The protagonist swears up and down via narration that she can use the haunted book to bring the victims back to life, but there's no hint as to how and I can't see how that ties into any sequel-potential.

I recently saw The Secret Garden (2020) and it was just OK. I've never seen the original film and I'm not particularly familiar with the story of The Secret Garden, so this movie seemed fine enough for me on a lazy afternoon. I quite like Jack Thorne as a screenwriter too. I did find the movie a little forgettable unfortunately. I watched it via the Sky Cinema subscription that SkyQ users can get access to.

On the one hand, I'm glad to see Sky Cinema adding more original films to their roster, but on the other hand I've mostly thought their productions have been really average.

Recently got my copy of Tales From The Hood 1 & 2 on blu-ray (from the British Film Institute!) so I'm really excited to delve into that.

I haven't seen the movie nor read the book, but trying to bring dead people back to life (which always goes great) is a tried and true premise of many horror stories.

If some of the books' stories involve necromancy, fair enough. But the book was the tool of a vengeful ghost, who agreed to quit provided the record of her turmoil is set straight. Either a different ghost will haunt the book to justify a poor outcome, or they'll have the good sense to make the sequel a completely disconnected anthology like the first should have been.

The Crazies. I want to like it but it was just lacking. Before that, I watched Shaun of the Dead. It's awesome.

I recently watched Tales From The Hood which was fantastic. I expected a campy horror-comedy, but what I got was a much more socially-conscious, self-aware horror anthology film that explores racism, domestic abuse, rehabilitation and white supremacy in very careful, but inventive, unsettling and exciting ways. The most disturbing sequence is a rehabilitation scene where a prisoner is spun around as images of gangster violence with real historic photographs of lynching and other horrible murders of black people flash up on the screen, making the connection that black-on-black violence in gangs is basically doing the same damage that murderous racists do. It's a brilliant piece of commentary that causes reflection on how people fall into violent gang lifestyles and how that benefits racists.

It's a smartly-made film that feels like Goosebumps for adults. It's also produced by Spike Lee, so if you enjoy Spike's style of filmmaking, you will likely enjoy this one!

I recently finished watching Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe. I think Ken Loach is rather brilliant, one of my favourite directors of the British realist movement (Kes is a genuine treat if you've not seen it yet). I think Mike Leigh is a more consistent director, but Ken Loach's gems are too good to pass up on. Would strongly recommend Sorry We Missed You and I, Daniel Blake for some of his best films in the past two decades.

I recently watched a short documentary film by Les Black called Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe in which the great German director does, in fact, eat his own shoe. It was due to him losing a bet with Errol Morris, a student of Herzog's - Herzog bet that Morris couldn't get his film made, and Morris succeeded. It wasn't so much a bet made out of spite, but because Herzog understands the difficulty for independent filmmakers to get funding and distribution for films they're so passionate about. As Werner Herzog is a man of his word, he actually eats his shoe on stage as a form of promotion for Errol Morris' film Gates Of Heaven. It brings in the crowd, and it's interesting to see how they prepare the boots with garlic, onions, spices and hot sauce.

What's really fascinating is the critical eye Herzog has for advertising. He despises it, he says it'll be the end of civilisation, and with his act of eating a boot, he performs something more meaningful than the thousands/millions of images conjured up by advertising. Eating the boot is a form of advertising for Morris' film, but it's a promotion filled with human adversity, loyalty and solidarity that makes it so darn engaging.

If you can watch this one anywhere, it's really only 20 minutes long, and it should be essential viewing for any Werner Herzog fans. :)

My list:


Bloodshot
Crawlspace
Deadgirl (2008)
Detachment (2011)
Donnie Darko
Dracula Untold
Hacker (2015) (Chris Hemsworth)
Imperium
Lord of War
Rambo 1 (First Blood)
Rambo: Last Blood
Strangers: Prey at Night
The Experiment (2010)
The Godfather (entire trilogy)
The Program (1993)
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal (2001)