Rob Atkinson

In the middle left are a man and woman in green, to the right and above is a young boy in blue staring with wide white eyeballs. Behind a yellow background.

This weaves together a sense of creepiness, dread and paranoia pretty well. Set in a sleepy, traditional English village, it explores the death of the nuclear family well. Perhaps other themes could have been explored in more detail, but this was a fun ride either way.

#FilmSky🎥

A black and white photo of a woman with a bob haircut. Over her face is a white mask with holes for her eyes.

For such a simple story, there has to be something that makes it standout, and it's the mood and atmosphere created that makes the film so oppressive. The visuals as well are superb, along with only having background noises to accompany it. The ending is so poetic, in a macabre way.

#FilmSky🎥

Yeah I completely get that. I also guess it's dependent on how used to the author's style you are.

That's good to hear. There's definitely enough here to keep me intrigued and invested in the story, though still just getting by with Jezal's one.

Interesting you rate the Devils, I've heard so many mixed things with it!

Morning! I'm around the halfway point of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. Enjoying it so far, but not reached the heights that everyone holds it in for me.

My stats for what I read in January

An image of each book I read and the rating.

A pretty varied reading month. Homegoing being my book of the month. I won't be surprised if this is vying for book of the year at the end.

#BookSky📚💙

Oh interesting! Thanks, I'll check it out!

Great list! A few that are around where I've put them, but I've still got a fair way to go before creating a definitive list.

Yep completely agree. Lemmon was absolutely fantastic in this and the chemistry with MacLaine worked perfectly.

Currently compiling a ranked list of Best Picture winners and this is comfortably in my top ten.

1990 Ranked Going through as many films from a set year as possible and ranking them. This time it's 1990!

Overall rankings from 1990 that I've got to so far.

#FilmSky🎥

boxd.it/R2y2M

A red background. In the top right in black and white are a man and a woman walking away smiling, looking over their shoulders. Below the title of The Apartment is a key in a door lock in white.

It's impressive how many layers there are to Baxter's character from the spineless nature in the face of the highers up at work and yet being this pitious person. Combine Ms Kubelik's naivety and the uncaring, slimy Sheldrake, it all works phenomenally.

#FilmSky🎥

Straight on it with my 1960 films and it's an excellent start.

#FilmSky🎥

A Sioux chief with a white moustachioed man below them are mountains and fields with bison

The positives - better representation of the Sioux and Pawnee tribes than in normal Hollywood fare. The filming and score are great.

The negatives - the needless white saviour complex on display and Costner's monotonous readings of the diary.

#FilmSky🎥

Thanks! Certainly been one of the toughest for a long while.

Godfather III - 3.5 stars No Other Choice - 4 stars Awakenings - 3.5 stars The Juniper Tree - 3 stars

Happy #LetterboxdFriday!

Godfather III - not as bad as anticipated

No Other Choice - Thoroughly enjoyed this blackly comic satire

Awakenings - Robin Williams is great in this drama, that has both lightness and shade

The Juniper Tree - Bergman filtered through A Grimm Brothers tale.

Thanks!

A black and white photo of a young woman in a shawl looking upwards. Below in white are silhouettes of birds.

Some striking visuals in a Bergmanesque vein and a gorgeously ethereal soundtrack. It's a slow burn with familial tension and a bit of horror. Definitely one that I struggled somewhat to connect with on a story level.

#FilmSky🎥

Thank you! Yeah I'm hoping work calms down a bit, so I can get back into it.

Me throwing up a peace sign post run

A black and white photo with a man blurred out in the background and a bird flying away from him.

Really struggled to motivate myself to get out for run this month, but was good to do a 5k this evening.

🎶 Wunderhorse - Midas 🎶

#RunningPunks #Running #UKRunChat

Me finding out a new Sault album has dropped.

Instantly stops listening to everything and puts the album on.

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

As I hope you already know, there's a new Springsteen song called "Streets of Minneapolis." I'm going on my fifth listen myself. If it's your first, you may well be saddened but you won't be sorry.

youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...

A blue sky and the sea. A man on a rock waving his arms in the air and a man on a ramp looking at him.

This is a quietly devastating film, where there's such light and darkness to it. Yes, the ending is a bit saccharine, but on the whole, it's a good film. What makes it so? Robin Williams' gentle, understated role as the doctor and the partnership with de Niro is great.

#FilmSky🎥

Much appreciated!

Next film year decision is upon me and it's 1960.

Definite watches are:

The Apartment
Spartacus
The Bad Sleep Well
La Dolce Vita.

Any other recommendations?

#FilmSky🎥

An orange and red with two female silhouettes looking at each other, with cotton plants climbing the sides.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This is simply incredible! A multi generational story,with snapshots of life in Ghana and the USA, exploring generational trauma, colonialism and the various events that each family have to navigate. Character work is next level!

#BookSky📚💙

Morning! I'm about halfway through Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which is superb so far.

A stone background with a detailed arch

The Stone Sky by N.K Jemisin

The final few chapters are excellent, however the build up to it, is pretty lacklustre. The issue was the introduction of the third narrative, which meant that the other two were stuck in limbo,with no character development. The weakest of the trilogy.

#BookSky📚💙

I enjoyed this a lot. The dark comedy is great in and of itself, but the family drama adds much needed depth to the film. Lee Byung-hun is great in this and Son Ye-jin is a great counterpart. Some of the fades, transitions and edits are masterful.

#FilmSky🎥

A man looking to the right with a pot with a chilli plant in, held over his head.

#NowWatching No Other Choice (2025) dir. Park Chan-wook

#FilmSky🎥

A man with his hands in prayer looking straight at the camera

Definitely better than I expected given its reputation, though lesser than the first two. There are some great set pieces throughout and that final half hour is sublime. On the one hand the plot seems pretty ridiculous, but on the other is a nice way to look at greed, faith and the church. #FilmSky🎥