I have to say I'm right into getting theatrical and extended cuts for historical and fantasy films these days. The first one I invested in was 'The Kingdom of Heaven', and it was just so much the better. Troy was the same, some of the battle effects they cut were amazing - made me wince - and then of course the three Lord of the Rings films - I can't even entertain watching the cutdown cinema versions anymore. Far too much was lost. And so the other day I stumbled on the exte

I'm a huge fan of the Sopranos. Loved everything about it. The characters, their quirks, the dark humour, broken personalities, drama, violence, tenderness and never ever knowing what was going to happen next. So I was really looking forward to The Many Saints of Newark, a film that promised a young Tony in the making. Now, I'd heard some troubling, unsupportive reviews but I remained openminded, excited. Last night I watched it. And I am conflicted. Really! Conflicted. For

DreamSwarm celebrates the art and artists of a strange place. The brainchild and baby of Andy Mark Simpson, it is a place that enjoys the art and feeling of the supernatural, the otherworldly, yet encompasses those works that do not necessarily fit within the popular, more mainstream genre conventions of traditional Horror and Science-Fiction. This is the liminal world of Fae and folklore, myth, magical realism, and urban darkness - where time travel simply is the hum of an e

Okay. I admit it. I'm one of those people who often shirks watching a hit series or film simply because it's popular. I don't know why. Stupid really. I did exactly that with Peaky Blinders. More fool I. It's brilliant. To be fair, I had tried watching it once before but wasn't in the mood for a period piece. I watched less than an episode then. But six weeks ago I'd exhausted my watch list - having just finished watching Stranger Things (for exactly the same foolish reasons

Having taken an unintended writing break (bar writing short stories and dramatic whimsey) after completing Life of Maggot, I find I am again needing to play with words, so as to be ready when the Muse does eventually dance. Hence two blog posts in a week. This post, though, will be around one of my other main passions - watching film and TV - and today my thoughts on watching the film 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'. As a once prolific reader - child and adult - whose ability

This week I’ve dipped my toe into horror twice. The first by reading Printer’s Devil Court, by the author Susan Hill, and the second by...