Greg T
@gregt314.bsky.social
Gentleman, wordsmith, man-about-town, et cetera and so forth.
Film #123 for 2025 is The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (1977). It's not Disney's finest animation, and the episodic anthology format gives it pacing problems as a feature-length release, but it's possibly the most faithful book adaptation they ever made, and it's full of joy and delight.
November 25, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Film #123 for 2025 is The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (1977). It's not Disney's finest animation, and the episodic anthology format gives it pacing problems as a feature-length release, but it's possibly the most faithful book adaptation they ever made, and it's full of joy and delight.
Film #122 for 2025 is Conan the Barbarian (1982). As a story, it doesn't work, and young Arnie is no actor. But it looks great, it sounds great, every scene looks like a Boris Vallejo painting and every line of dialogue is instantly quotable. I enjoyed it.
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Film #122 for 2025 is Conan the Barbarian (1982). As a story, it doesn't work, and young Arnie is no actor. But it looks great, it sounds great, every scene looks like a Boris Vallejo painting and every line of dialogue is instantly quotable. I enjoyed it.
Watching Conan the Barbarian (1982) and really appreciating how committed Thulsa Doom is to personal branding. Even the ends of the mill-logs that Conan pushes have custom sculpts.
November 25, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Watching Conan the Barbarian (1982) and really appreciating how committed Thulsa Doom is to personal branding. Even the ends of the mill-logs that Conan pushes have custom sculpts.
It will absolutely not work as promised (because reliable age assurance/estimation technology does not exist), it will actively harm children, it will compromise the privacy of Australians, and it will be oppressive for a range of Australians who cannot safely verify their identities.
One year ago this week, Labor introduced its social media ban for under 16s, ramming it through parliament in 7 days - such was their keenness
A year later, just 19 days before the laws come into effect on 10 December, the government was still finalising details
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
A year later, just 19 days before the laws come into effect on 10 December, the government was still finalising details
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Labor has brushed aside concerns over the social media ban. But what if it doesn’t work as promised?
If Meta, the world’s biggest social media company, expects problems after a year of preparation, then what should the rest of us be expecting?
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:17 AM
It will absolutely not work as promised (because reliable age assurance/estimation technology does not exist), it will actively harm children, it will compromise the privacy of Australians, and it will be oppressive for a range of Australians who cannot safely verify their identities.
Film #121 for 2025 is Frankenstein (1931), a weird adaptation that drops most of the subtlety and subtext in favour of the creature being unambiguously monstrous (albeit a rather pathetic kind of monstrous). The sets are gorgeous, the creation scene is rightly iconic, but the back half struggles.
November 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Film #121 for 2025 is Frankenstein (1931), a weird adaptation that drops most of the subtlety and subtext in favour of the creature being unambiguously monstrous (albeit a rather pathetic kind of monstrous). The sets are gorgeous, the creation scene is rightly iconic, but the back half struggles.
So just on Wicked: For Good... I enjoyed it in a mixed way e.g. fun but very flawed.
But I'm seeing so many people *loving* it in a deep, pure, visceral emotional way, and I think it's probably better to judge it by that than by a critical appraisal of its choices and challenges.
But I'm seeing so many people *loving* it in a deep, pure, visceral emotional way, and I think it's probably better to judge it by that than by a critical appraisal of its choices and challenges.
November 23, 2025 at 10:38 AM
So just on Wicked: For Good... I enjoyed it in a mixed way e.g. fun but very flawed.
But I'm seeing so many people *loving* it in a deep, pure, visceral emotional way, and I think it's probably better to judge it by that than by a critical appraisal of its choices and challenges.
But I'm seeing so many people *loving* it in a deep, pure, visceral emotional way, and I think it's probably better to judge it by that than by a critical appraisal of its choices and challenges.
Just now learning that Frankenstein's name in the 1931 film is "Henry" instead of "Victor", for stupid reasons, and that the idea of an assistant named "Igor" doesn't turn up until Son of Frankenstein in 1939.
"Henry Frankenstein" feels basically like "Kevin Frankenstein" or "Barry Frankenstein".
"Henry Frankenstein" feels basically like "Kevin Frankenstein" or "Barry Frankenstein".
November 23, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Just now learning that Frankenstein's name in the 1931 film is "Henry" instead of "Victor", for stupid reasons, and that the idea of an assistant named "Igor" doesn't turn up until Son of Frankenstein in 1939.
"Henry Frankenstein" feels basically like "Kevin Frankenstein" or "Barry Frankenstein".
"Henry Frankenstein" feels basically like "Kevin Frankenstein" or "Barry Frankenstein".
Film #120 for 2025 is Wicked: For Good (2025). It looks fabulous, and Ariana Grande shines, but it inherits serious pacing and plotting problems from its source material that are only magnified by padding it out to feature-length, and none of the songs here are remotely as good as Defying Gravity.
November 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Film #120 for 2025 is Wicked: For Good (2025). It looks fabulous, and Ariana Grande shines, but it inherits serious pacing and plotting problems from its source material that are only magnified by padding it out to feature-length, and none of the songs here are remotely as good as Defying Gravity.
Film #119 for 2025 is Bring It On (2000), which I have seen many times before, but it's still extraordinarily solid.
November 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Film #119 for 2025 is Bring It On (2000), which I have seen many times before, but it's still extraordinarily solid.
Film #118 for 2025 is Rush Hour (1998). Come for the amazing Jackie Chan stuntwork, stick around for a broadly agreeable buddy-cop comedy.
November 20, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Film #118 for 2025 is Rush Hour (1998). Come for the amazing Jackie Chan stuntwork, stick around for a broadly agreeable buddy-cop comedy.
Film #117 for 2025 is Ballad of a Small Player (2025). Director Edward Berger tries his hand at a psychodrama-slash-ghost-story, with visually stunning results, an anxiety-inducingly-sweaty performance from Colin Farrell, and storytelling that will inevitably be divisive. I liked it.
November 20, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Film #117 for 2025 is Ballad of a Small Player (2025). Director Edward Berger tries his hand at a psychodrama-slash-ghost-story, with visually stunning results, an anxiety-inducingly-sweaty performance from Colin Farrell, and storytelling that will inevitably be divisive. I liked it.
Film #116 for 2025 is About A Boy (2002), featuring a tiny Nicholas Hoult, and I absolutely loved it. Elegant screenplay, knockout performances from the leads. It sounds dodgy to say it's effectively a romcom beween a man and a child, but it is, and it's deeply wholesome and heartwarming.
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Film #116 for 2025 is About A Boy (2002), featuring a tiny Nicholas Hoult, and I absolutely loved it. Elegant screenplay, knockout performances from the leads. It sounds dodgy to say it's effectively a romcom beween a man and a child, but it is, and it's deeply wholesome and heartwarming.
Film #115 for 2025 is Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) aka Die Hard 3. I was surprised to find I enjoyed this much more than Die Hard 2. It starts with an explosion, and it keeps exploding until the credits roll. Samuel L Jackson is a very welcome addition to the cast.
November 19, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Film #115 for 2025 is Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) aka Die Hard 3. I was surprised to find I enjoyed this much more than Die Hard 2. It starts with an explosion, and it keeps exploding until the credits roll. Samuel L Jackson is a very welcome addition to the cast.
Film #114 for 2025 was Empire Records, which apparently I re-watched earlier this year but didn't make a note of at the time.
This means that 10% of all unique films I've ever seen were seen in 2025.
This means that 10% of all unique films I've ever seen were seen in 2025.
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Film #114 for 2025 was Empire Records, which apparently I re-watched earlier this year but didn't make a note of at the time.
This means that 10% of all unique films I've ever seen were seen in 2025.
This means that 10% of all unique films I've ever seen were seen in 2025.
Film #113 for 2025 is Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) aka Final Destination 6. By any measure - professionalism, characterisation, pacing, script, or pure fun - this is the best film in the franchise, by a wide margin.
November 18, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Film #113 for 2025 is Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) aka Final Destination 6. By any measure - professionalism, characterisation, pacing, script, or pure fun - this is the best film in the franchise, by a wide margin.
Film #112 for 2025 is (500) Days of Summer (2009). On the one hand, it's frequently charming, visually inventive, and un-cliched. On the other, I'm not sure the film understands exactly how much Tom is a toxic asshat who can't respect boundaries - even though it fairly explicitly tells us so.
November 18, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Film #112 for 2025 is (500) Days of Summer (2009). On the one hand, it's frequently charming, visually inventive, and un-cliched. On the other, I'm not sure the film understands exactly how much Tom is a toxic asshat who can't respect boundaries - even though it fairly explicitly tells us so.
TFW an internet ad thinks "mission assurance" is a thing I want and will pay a large sum of money to get.
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 AM
TFW an internet ad thinks "mission assurance" is a thing I want and will pay a large sum of money to get.
November 16, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Film #111 for 2025 is One Battle After Another (2025), and it lives up to the hype. Pointed, relentless, and timely. Sean Penn's performance as the villain is a lock for Best Supporting Actor.
November 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Film #111 for 2025 is One Battle After Another (2025), and it lives up to the hype. Pointed, relentless, and timely. Sean Penn's performance as the villain is a lock for Best Supporting Actor.
I love how the Wuthering Heights trailer is working its ass off to make it look like this is a normal romance for normal people while also reassuring Emerald Fennell fans that it *will* get deeply weird and Jacob Elordi *will* lick a wall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLC...
"Wuthering Heights" | Official Trailer
YouTube video by Warner Bros.
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I love how the Wuthering Heights trailer is working its ass off to make it look like this is a normal romance for normal people while also reassuring Emerald Fennell fans that it *will* get deeply weird and Jacob Elordi *will* lick a wall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLC...
Film #110 for 2025 is Heathers (1989). Probably the fourth, fifth or sixth time I've watched this, but it still holds up. Ryder and Slater make the film's claustrophobic hallucinatory petty psychodrama work.
November 14, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Film #110 for 2025 is Heathers (1989). Probably the fourth, fifth or sixth time I've watched this, but it still holds up. Ryder and Slater make the film's claustrophobic hallucinatory petty psychodrama work.
Starting to feel like "Nine Canberra Liberals MLAs enter, only one will survive to contest the next election".
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Breaking: Leanne Castley, Jeremy Hanson step down as Canberra Liberals leaders
The pair's resignations come after weeks of silence following the removal of Elizabeth Lee and Peter Cain from the Canberra Liberals party room.
www.abc.net.au
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Starting to feel like "Nine Canberra Liberals MLAs enter, only one will survive to contest the next election".
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Film #109 for 2025 is Frankenstein (2025). Guillermo del Toro does for Frankenstein what Francis Ford Coppola did for Dracula - a visually sumptuous gothic melodrama absolutely drenched in blood and desire. It steals fire from cinematic gods and refuses to give it back.
November 9, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Film #109 for 2025 is Frankenstein (2025). Guillermo del Toro does for Frankenstein what Francis Ford Coppola did for Dracula - a visually sumptuous gothic melodrama absolutely drenched in blood and desire. It steals fire from cinematic gods and refuses to give it back.
Film #108 for 2025 is King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). I am convinced a truly great film is hiding somewhere in the footage that Guy Ritchie shot for his balls-to-the-wall fantasy epic, and sometimes that film shines through, but the final version falls far short of what it could have been.
November 8, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Film #108 for 2025 is King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). I am convinced a truly great film is hiding somewhere in the footage that Guy Ritchie shot for his balls-to-the-wall fantasy epic, and sometimes that film shines through, but the final version falls far short of what it could have been.