🏆 Top Pick

The Ballad of Wallis Island

A delightful and sensative piece of storytelling with fantastic performances, especially Tim Key’s blend of harmless irritation and heartbreaking falability. Very high on the re-watch list!

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍀 – “Five bags of popcorn and a four leaf clover to remind ourselves to make the most of what we have when we’re lucky enough to have it.”
Watched:
- Invalid date of Invalid date

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off

An absolute classic that still holds up today.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💿 – “Five bags of popcorn and a copy the awesome sountrack.”
Watched:
- 9th of March 2025

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🏆 Top Pick

Aliens Expanded

Absolutely fantastic documentary, I could have probrably watched another four hours and still wanted more. Having watched Alien and Aliens at such a young age it was obviously going to make a huge impression on me. What struck me duing the documentary was just how much theses two films, particularly Aliens, have shaped my values and world views.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and an extra one for the +4 hour duration.”
Watched:
- 21st of February 2025

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A Real Pain

…

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , suicide, holocaust.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and”
Watched:
- 20th of February 2025

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Groundhog Day

The classic Sci-Fi time loop plot device with prime Bill Murray.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 8th of February 2025

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Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light

Sublime! Mark Rylance is a national treasure. Bravo!

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 4th of February 2025

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Black Panther

I thought I’d give this another chance, I wish I hadn’t. That waterfall scene just ruins it every time.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿 – “Two bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 1st of February 2025

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The Wild Robot

Utterly soulless. Was this written by a robot during the writer’s strike by any chance? It’s been an age since I’ve watched any of these family animated movies. Maybe I’m just old and bitter. Could have been brilliant but just came across as a weird twist on nature.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿⏩ – “One bags of popcorn and a fast forward button to skip to the end.”
Watched:
- 26th of January 2025

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Grand Sumo – 2025-01

Usual drama and upset. I followed along, got a bingo line, missed out on first place draw but ended up winning the raffle and bought an Ura towel. Phew!

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 26th of January 2025

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Ghost in the Shell

No, not the live action version. Classic 90s hand-painted anime thank you very much. Convoluted but fun.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 24th of January 2025

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Look Back

A touching story of friendship and time through the unique storytelling style of Tatsuki Fujimoto. Based on the manga of the same tile.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 23rd of January 2025

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Poor Things

A highly stylised and visually spectacular feminist romp. Furious jumping indeed!

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 22nd of January 2025

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Eraserhead

It‘s only a puppet!

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 20th of January 2025

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Minority Report

Better than I thought it was going to be. The story was much darker in theme than I was expecting too: the treatment of the female ‘precog’ by most characters was particularly unsettling. I’ve not read the book but I’m guessing the jet-pack pantomime what the point at which the screenplay deviated from the original story. waves gloved-hands erratically in the air

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿 – “Three bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 19th of January 2025

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Atsuko Okatsuka: Father

Don’t trust the reviews, Atsuko’s sideways stand up had me laughing out loud.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🚴🚴 – “Four bags of popcorn and two bicycles to construct a tandem for you and your loved one.”
Watched:
- 18th of January 2025

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Cyborg: A Documentary

A balanced and fascinating film that touched on so many subjects; disability, transition, consent, ethics, our relationship with technology and our perception of reality.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 16th of January 2025

🎦 cinema

Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy

A little too stylised for my liking which was probably intentional. I think they missed a trick visulising the extent of what has been and still is being produced. I was left with a few thoughts. Even if we stopped today, how are we possibly going to manage the clean up of the total sum of material poison we have produced to date considering the contamination is at a microscopic level? We need to immediately dismantle fast fashion. The social media unboxing influencers profiting from consumerism voyeurism are abhorrent, especially ones targeted at children.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , envrionmental collapse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿 – “Three bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 4th of January 2025

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Stewart Lee, Basic Lee: Live at The Lowry

Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stew… no… Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, yeah… Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 24th of December 2024

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Grand Theft Hamlet

Creativity through constraint. A visceral reminder of experience of the Covid 19 lockdown and the coping mechanisms we used or created to endure it. Clever, funny and poignant.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 18th of December 2024

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Venom: The Last Dance

Some hilariously awkward foreshadowing in the first three minutes that infected my thoughts throughout. Everyone looked very tired and glad it was over… or is it?

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿 – “Two bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 15th of December 2024

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How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Low-budget youth-led environmental activism revenge movie. Not the finest acting but an heartfelt story with some interesting plot sleight of hand.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , death, terminal illness, alcohol abuse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿 – “Three bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 13th of December 2024

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Mr Robot – S02

Mind-bending follow-up to season one. I especially enjoyed the penultimate episode. Technically on point.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , mental health.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🫠 – “Five bags of popcorn and a melting face because at times you had no idea what was real and what wasn’t.”
Watched:
- 8th of December 2024

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🏆 Top Pick

The Franchise – S01

I’ve been waiting for someone to satirise the superhero movie franchise for a long time and The Franchise delivered big time. Who better than Armando Iannucci and co. to make such scathing commentary on the vacuous re-hashed content and well-observed dysfunctional culture of the film and TV industry. Bravo! Please don’t spoil it by commissioning a second series!

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🪦 – “Five bags of popcorn and a tombstone to mark the death of the superhero movie franchise.”
Watched:
- 30th of November 2024

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The Substance

Sunk cost fallacy in full effect! Wow, that was something else. A couple of plot holes and mechanics that broke flow but to be fair the thing was mad as a box of frogs.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , violence, gore.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿📝 – “Four bags of popcorn and a list of instructions to follow so you don’t mess up like the characters in this film.”
Watched:
- 1st of November 2024

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Mr Robot – S01

By all accounts, the most technically accurate depiction of hacker culture. Rami Malek plays the character of Elliot really sympathetically and is supported by a great cast. Gripping stuff, looking forward to season 2.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , mental health.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿👺 – “Five bags of popcorn and a goblin mask to conseal your identity while getting up to mischeif.”
Watched:
- 30th of October 2024

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Alien: Romulus

Cosplaying the original two films like Goonies in Space. The set design and practical effects were superb but it all fell apart quickly. Shaking my head at facehuggers impatiently tapping their fingers for a snifter of heat, sound or sweat. Then shouting ‘oh come on!’ as ~50 of the creatures missed their targets like the aimless uzi spraying henchmen of an action movie. Cringing at the zero gravity acid ballet bullshit, the completely unnecessary Ash AI slop, the constant ‘bring me up to speed via the vid-screen’ recap, the accelerated gestation period. The actor playing the synthetic was a thin thread preventing the film from falling apart and me from switching off, until ‘get away from her [awkward beat] you bitch’ – Did he just look at the camera? He just looked at the camera! He winked! He fucking winked! URHG!!! – It took too much from the original while saying nearly nothing original. I kept thinking ‘what does this remind me of?’ and then I remembered. Star Wars The Force Awakens. Can you pander to hardcore fans while pulling in a whole new generation? No.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿☣️ – “One bag of popcorn and a biohazard sign warning people to stay away from this one!”
Watched:
- 30th of October 2024

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Train to Busan

A refreshing take on the zombie apocalypse, this time trapped on an express train with the undead. Pretty solid throughout with an ending you wouldn’t get from the west.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , gore, violence, suicide.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🏏 – “Four bags of popcorn and a cricket bat to fight off all of the zombies.”
Watched:
- 7th of October 2024

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The Quiet Earth

Post-apocalypse with a twist. Not Oscar worthy acting but it’s a unique story, told well. Probably one of my new favourites in the genre. Just watch it.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🛒 – “Four bags of popcorn and shopping trolley to pick up whatever takes your eye.”
Watched:
- 6th of October 2024

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Star Trek: Discovery – S01

The first Star Trek series I’ve ever watched. I absolutely loved the world building, character development and pacing. The mycelium references were particularly interesting. A very solid first series.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍄 – “Five bags of popcorn and a mushroom packed full of time traveling mycelium.”
Watched:
- 29th of September 2024

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Kneecap

Raucous and rebellious backstory of Irish group Keecap. Astonishingly well acted by the trio.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , violence, drug abuse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿✊ – “Four bags of popcorn and a raised fist to show solidarity for people resisting oppression.”
Watched:
- 5th of September 2024

🎦 cinema

Wilding

The moving and inspiring story of the radical new direction of Knepp Estate. I didn’t care much for the reconstruction vignettes on the first viewing. Heartwarming and hopeful. More of this please.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿💚 – “Four bags of popcorn and a green heart to bring you some hope.”
Watched:
- 31st of August 2024

🎦 cinema

Can't Get You Out of My Head

Epic six-part series of the relationship between technology and society.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , violence.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 20th of August 2024

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🏆 Top Pick

Hundreds of Beavers

Uncomfortably slow to build but then snowballs to maximum hilarity. Probably one of the most original and silliest things I’ve seen all year.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🪤 – “Five bags of popcorn and a trap to catch at least one of those pesky beavers!”
Watched:
- 13th of August 2024

🎦 cinema

Carlos

The touching and tragic life story of musician Carlos Santana. I particularly liked the term ‘future pull’ to describe taking charge of your destiny.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , sexual abuse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Four bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 11th of August 2024

🎦 cinema

Deadpool & Wolverine

The opening Will Smith joke was sublime. Overall it suffered from an overwhelming The Lego Batman Movie joke pacing. I laughed at bits, not at others. I wouldn’t re-watch it.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 29th of July 2024

🎦 cinema

HyperNormalisation

Adam Curtis’ documentary that explores how we have come to exist in a ‘post-truth’ world.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , gore, violence, death.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 3rd of July 2024

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All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

Adam Curtis’ documentary series that explores technology and its impact in how we perceive and interact in the world.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn and .”
Watched:
- 27th of June 2024

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River

More two minute time-loop fun from the people responsible for the excellent Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , Suicide.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍺 – “Four bags of popcorn and some a bottle of beer as you never know when one might come in handy.”
Watched:
- 16th of June 2024

soda

Good Omens – S02

A cameo-packed extension of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s original masterpiece novel. It had a lot of Pratchett’s humour, more than the first season from what I remember. But at times it did feel like a spin-off sitcom, possibly a result of the flat and featureless audio and sound design.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿😇😈 – “Three bags of popcorn, a devil and an angle to make sure you’re safe on either side of the apocalypse.”
Watched:
- 15th of June 2024

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The Days

A graphic dramatisation of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that resulted in a near reactor meltdown at the privately owned TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A story about the desire for absolutes while in a context of ambiguity, the facade of public performance and back-channel truths. I hadn’t appreciated the amount of symbolism in Shin Godzilla that reflected the events of this disaster, definitely time for a re-watch. As far as I’m aware, neither of these examples speak to the natural disaster simulation test results TEPCO were sitting on.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , death.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿☢️ – “Five bags of popcorn and radioactive sign to tell people about the danger of nuclear power.”
Watched:
- 14th of June 2024

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Grand Sumo – 2024-05

Another wild basho! Swooned as always by Ura, I thought this was his basho toward the end of week one but sadly not. An amazing performance by Midorifuji too, he’s so feisty!

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 26th of May 2024

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Three Colours Blue

An astonishing visceral piece of cinema. The play of light and sound was sublime!

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💎 – “Five bags of popcorn and a sparkly blue thing.”
Watched:
- 17th of May 2024

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The Fabelmans

My second time watching this after seeing it in at the cinema. Very well acted and some great moments of humour. A refreshing film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿📽️ – “Four bags of popcorn and a film projector to watch all those home movies… just don’t look what’s going on in the background.”
Watched:
- 28th of April 2024

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Another fucking Marvel film? Why do I do this to myself‽ …for my family that’s why! I mean it was okay, better than the rest of the Marvage (see what I did there?) being churned out. Awkwafina was the only thing that kept me watching.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿 – “Two bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 28th of April 2024

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Grand Sumo – 2024-03

Watching mostly on catch-up but occasionally live, this was the most entertaining and nail-biting basho yet. So much upset and surprise!

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 – “Five bags of popcorn.”
Watched:
- 24th of March 2024

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Avengers: Age of Ultron

I’m so sick of the Marvel cash cow and all of the actors associated with it. Even the Spider-Verse seems to be disappearing up its own stylistic wormhole. Don’t let me down Deadpool 3!

Type: film
Rating: 💩💵 – “No bags of popcorn, instead a huge stinking pile of poop with bundles of cash poked into it.”
Watched:
- 24th of March 2024

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American Fiction

“Biting satire with a twist. Heartfelt performances that had me guessing where the caricatures began and ended. Had me squirming and laughing throughout.” says middle-aged middle-class white guy. Oh wait, hand on a minute…

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🪞 – “Five bags of popcorn and a mirror to take a good hard look at yourself.”
Watched:
- 24th of March 2024

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Inception

Mind-bending epic from Christopher Nolan. A practical effect goes a long way. I might have to re-watch the South Park parody now.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿💎 – “Four bags of popcorn and a totem to help you work out where the heck you are!”
Watched:
- 16th of March 2024

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🏆 Top Pick

Monster

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s modern-day Rashomon masterpiece. Utterly speechless.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , child abuse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🏆 – “Five bags of popcorn and an award, my top pick for the Oscars!”
Watched:
- 15th of March 2024

🎦 cinema

Dune: Part Two

Harkonnen would live in a house like this? My Fitbit says I slept through the entire 3 hours, I was most definitely awake. Desperately seeking closure on the trilogy… please tell me its only a trilogy!

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🥤🥤🥤 – “Four bags of popcorn and three cups of your favourite drink because you’re going to need it in the desert!”
Watched:
- 10th of March 2024

🎦 cinema

Ocean Waves

A lesser known Studio Ghibli coming-of-age romantic drama, recalling the long-forgotten frustrations of youth. Worth a watch for the evocative animation of Japan’s everyday beauty and wonder.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿 – “Three bags of popcorn and that’s enough.”
Watched:
- 8th of March 2024

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Europa Report

Well executed slow-burn sci-fi disaster movie in the found-footage style. A firm favourite I keep coming back to.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿📹 – “Four bags of popcorn and video camera to start documenting your exciting life.”
Watched:
- 7th of March 2024

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The Happiness of the Katakuris

Shallow Grave meets Sound of Music. As ludicrous as it sounds, a wonderful absurdist tale of family, death and deceit. From the twisted mind of Takashi Miike, expect over-the-top song and dance numbers, claymation and surreal cut scenes.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🪩 – “Four bags of popcorn and a disco ball to dance to the silly musical numbers.”
Watched:
- 6th of March 2024

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The Fifth Element

Luc Besson’s absolutely nails our not-too-distant future with extraordinary attention to detail. This viewing I couldn’t help but connect Chris Rock’s Ruby Rhod character with the vacuous and shallow personas of today’s Youtubers. I still find the hip-hop-era scene a bit cringy though.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🙈🙉 – “Five bags of popcorn and something to hide behind and block out the sound at the opera scene… EWW!”
Watched:
- 1st of March 2024

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🏆 Top Pick

Perfect Days

Wim Wenders’s mediative film about personal perspective and the pursuit of happiness. Exploring themes of class, acceptance, routine and change. Beautifully shot with elements of wabi-sabi weaved into its visual storytelling, especially the komorebi themed dream sequences. Perfect indeed.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿📷 – “Five bags of popcorn and camera to start taking photos of the everyday around you.”
Watched:
- 24th of February 2024

🎦 cinema

The Hunger Games

Muttering “It’s no Battle Royale!” to myself throughout. Some interesting blending of new/old aesthetics though. Meh, wouldn’t watch again.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿📀 – “Two bags of popcorn and a DVD of Battle Royale which is far better in my opinion.”
Watched:
- 16th of February 2024

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🏆 Top Pick

RSC: My Neighbour Totoro

Exceeded all of my expectations. An absolute treat for any Totoro or Ghibli fan. Worth every penny if you can afford the price tag. Pure magic.

Type: theatre
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🧑‍🤝‍🧑 – “Five bags of popcorn and someone to give a big hug to, because by the end of it you’ll have so much joy in your heart.”
Watched:
- 10th of February 2024

🎭 theatre

Chainsaw Man – S01

The first four arcs of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s splatterfest manga Chainsaw Man leaps off the page an onto the screen. MAPPA studio did a fantastic job on the animation. Season two will be released as a film, I can’t wait!

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , gore, violence, death.

Type: tv
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🐶 – “Five bags of popcorn and a devil phooch to gift you immortality, albeit as a devil.”
Watched:
- 9th of February 2024

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Avatar

Ethically and loyalty-challenged veteran bumbles between a scientist-military-bigCorp-indigenous love-hate tree-felling trapezium of grand proportions. The CGI still hold up strong in 2024.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿👓👓 – “Three bags of popcorn and two pairs of glasses; a pair of 3D glasses for the glitzy effects or a pair of ‘eyes open’ novety glasses so you can have a nap without anyone noticing.”
Watched:
- 9th of February 2024

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Belle

A visually stunning and at times hard-hitting retelling of Beauty and the Beast in the digital age. Mamoru Hosoda masterfully navigates themes such as childhood, identity, social networks, AI, accompanied by a moving soundtrack.

Trigger warning
Themes may be triggering for some people; , death, child abuse.

Type: film
Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🐋 – “Four bags of popcorn and a gigantic whale to ride on because that looks fun!”
Watched:
- 28th of January 2024

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Watchings

Currently watching

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