The Animal (1976)

Anyone up for experimental arthouse cinema? Director/writer Walter Ungerer was, in 1976, to bring the art world this quite bizarre film in which, well, nothing really much happens. Much is left to the viewer's interpretation, assuming they stay awake long enough!

So yes, it's an existential mystery about a couple who appear to be meeting up at a holiday cabin in a snow-covered isolated location somewhere in New England, America. We join the story on a railway platform where she, Jo, is apparently aimlessly wandering up and down. For quite some time. And then some more time. Then her husband/boyfriend, Paul, turns up in a car and they seem to play some sort of game where he plays at being a stranger picking up a girl.

We eventually get to the cabin. Lots of snow. Falling and covering the ground, deeply. We spend time with the couple as they eat. Sleep. Dress. Undress. Walk. Ski. Argue about his sexist approach to her briefly. Maybe they have gone there to repair something between them? Then a child turns up, lurking outside the cabin. Standing. Staring. Not spookily, but just, well, there! Jo tries to engage the child in conversation. No go. Then there are two. Then gone with an old woman.

Then during a skiing session they get separated and Jo disappears. He hunts for her. We see her approaching a cottage. He gets concerned so calls the police. There's a 'manhunt' where lots of local people join in a search but find nothing. Timescales are not given. This could be hours, days or months! Eventually he gives up, packs his bags to leave, alone, then goes out one more time for a last search and with the suggestion for us that he might actually finally solve the mystery.

Nothing much is explained though. The landscape is gorgeous and the director is clearly making the most of it within this strange little 80-minute film. Perhaps the cold isolation is supposed to reflect the relationship that they are trying to fix? I have no idea what the title is about as there were no animals that I could see - nor any humans behaving like an 'animal'. Commentators seem to report that this is a film about loss, fate and the unknowable. All a bit lost on me, I'm afraid! If you fancy the challenge you can see it on Vimeo just now.

Sony Xperia 5 Mk IV (Revisited in 2025)

I reviewed the Sony Xperia 5 Mk IV in October 2022 and was very positive about the dinky (kinda) flagship from Japan. Since then, a few things of note have happened, which I'll come to - but for now, the question is whether or not it could still be used as a primary phone 3 years later - and what's still great about it, if anything.

We've had all the Mk V (1, 5, 10), Mk VI (1, 10) and Mk VII (1, 10) Xperias since then of course as the years have progressed. Notice anything missing? Yes, you're clearly a genius - the Demise of the Five. They made a Mk V but then that seems to have been the end of it, though traditionally tight-lipped Sony don't actually say so. I suspect that with the 10 Mk VII specs being somewhat upped this year, it doesn't point to Five Alive!

This 5 Mk IV has run out of updates. OS was given a measly two, so Android 14 was the last, and 3 years of Google Security Updates, so until September 2025. I write in September here and the phone has indeed been given quarterly updates for the last 12 months, but I suspect that this is it now. There might be a September update coming this month I guess, but very possibly not - and even if there was, it would certainly be the last.

But most people don't care about that (or even know) and chugging along in the background is the Google-controlled Play System Updates, which keep things pretty safe for way into the future. So no development of, or updates to, Sony apps going forward but everything else should continue until Google pull the plug on Android 14, I guess, which, going by recent comparative behaviour should be at least 10 years. Android 6 (Marshmallow) was released in 2015 and is still supported at time of writing, so on that basis, this Xperia should be good for another 7 years!

The AlbumArt on the Always on Display was stripped away after the Mk IV Xperias (1, 5) which is a great shame - and further, the version on the 1 Mk IV goes to sleep after the first track. So it shows the AlbumArt of the last playing track when the screen timed out and stays there. That makes the 5 Mk IV even more special as it doesn't do this and continues to update as tracks change. No idea what is different between them to have changed this but in my experience here, this is what happened. Anything newer than the Mk IV devices don't get it at all.

And that is also true of the Notification LED. A tiny dot in the top-right, front-facing, which gives notifications of stuff coming in, charging status and so on. It's hard to stress how useful this is, even with a bright Always on Display available too, as it's the glanceability (if that's a word) factor. It catches the eye as it flashes, changes colour or glows - for an instant view of what's come in or how the battery is or whatever. For anyone having not used a phone with this in the past, you don't know what you missed!

So various LED colours then - red for low battery, green if the phone is charged enough, orange if lower but charging, white for most app notifications (though developers were able to assign their own or even use patterns of blinking - so check your apps as they might still do it), blue is for, you guessed it, Bluetooth stuff and there are apps on the Play Store which allow further granular control. It's a hark back to earlier years when most OEMs did this but now, the best you can hope for is, yes, third party, but certainly no physical lamp (that I'm aware of) so all in-screen. So anyway, yes, gone.

The price is now of benefit to buyers of course, though you'd be hard-pushed to find a new one now (and if it had been sitting on a shelf in a stock room, the battery would be knackered by now anyway!), a far-cry, used, from the £949 release price in the UK! I just had a look on CeX in the UK for a used one in good condition and it seems to be about £300 - less on eBay no doubt - so certainly less than a third of that release price, maybe even a quarter.

This was the first 5-series Xperia that got Qi wireless charging and three years on it's still working perfectly well here. We don't get any battery health data here so without deeper diving with various apps/tools/testing, I can't see what that is - but it certainly appears to be working well and not far away from the review data I quoted three years ago. Yes, the 5,000mAh battery in this dinky device (how did they fit it in?!) is still quite superb - my 10% Reading Test still returns a result of over two and half hours and for my average daily use, a day and a half if needed. Your mileage will vary of course, based on how you use your phones.

The dinky physical form is now unique I think. Certainly in its 21:9 ratio. It's very cute - and the 5 Mk V went fatter, so not as nice. It's really slim and pocketable and even for someone not wanting to use it as their main phone, it can be a perfect on/offline MP3 Player (I'll come to that later though). I did recently wonder about the 21:9 and conclude that Sony were wise to switch out to 19.5:9 for the Mk VI model (1) and Mk VII (1, 10) but I'm not so sure with the slim MP3-player sized 5 Mk IV here. It kind of feels just right for purpose as it is. It would be nice to see it in 19.5:9 but I do think it would have less impact (and the 10-series has always been a bit chunkier anyway).

Yes, the boxy aluminium design works nicely with the symmetrical bezels making room for the sensors and speakers and flat, 6.1" 1080 x 2520 (449ppi) screen which remains bright and colourful (and free from scratches with GGVictus) with 101 ways in Sony's software to tweak and adjust it. It's a no-compromise (IP65/8) design which Sony have stuck with over the years with Xperia phones and it somehow just feels right again, even with this tiny phone. The only downside to the small form factor is that it's tiny for typing on the keyboard. Gboard can be adjusted to compensate but eventually you have to stop making it taller (as you can't see the rest of the screen) and there's nothing you can do, obviously, about the width. Tinkering with other keyboards or voice input might help, but for me, I accept that I'll need to put on my glasses and be careful (as I like Gboard).

The two-stage camera shutter button is (I think) still unique to Sony. Others have dabbled with capacitive and so-called smart buttons, but I do not believe anyone has come close to this very camera-centric, two-stage button with focus confirmation on-screen in the Photography Pro (camera) app and more. It's fiendish - and makes it a delight for anyone having used proper cameras. As we know, one can make the most of all the photography-centric apps if paired up with a Sony camera, but I've never used one. Check YouTube for reviews of those who are deeper baked into Sony's ecosystem. The other buttons are lovely too though - still working perfectly as they were on Day One, beautifully crafted, for volume and power/capacitive (instant) fingerprint scanning.

And then there's the 3.5mm audio-out/microphone-in socket (which I am guilty of underusing and favouring Bluetooth) giving high quality audio output via wired headphones. It works perfectly well still, 3 years on, with 24-bit output, the drilled-down full version of Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio, upscaling of music via DSEE Ultimate and so on - for those who want to make use of wired headphones (and not be bugged with Notifications and the Google Assistant)! The SIM Card Tray with fingernail access, seems to have survived my abuse over the three years, in/out as a Serial SIM-Swapper regularly, but no sign of it breaking or wearing out.

The 128GB of storage seems mean by 2025 standards but they have stuck with that in all-but the 1-series (256GB) even with the 10-series on brand new release as I write. They clearly figure that their users are going to be happy with the microSD Card expanded memory option - and maybe they are right, with so much mobile phone use now being cloud-based. Speaking as a data-hoarder it kind of sticks in my throat a bit, but in reality, most of the time I have a good connection and use YouTube Music, streaming. So there's that. Anyway, armed with my 1TB card I'm OK - and anyone wanting more for far-reaching photography/videography storage will likely be on the 1-series anyway.

Because of the really clean version of Android on the phone, I remain, 3 years later, amazed at the processing speed of data driven by SnapDragon 8 Gen 1 (4nm) supported with 8GB RAM. Really snappy. I notice the difference when copying stuff from one place to another or getting the Play Store to install app updates etc. Blazingly fast - and without any resource-hungry AI to be driven, the 8GB RAM is perfectly good still. Yes, the phone flies with any tasks thrown at it, even demanding games (not that I do much of that)!

I hear no degradation in the powerful front-facing proper stereo speakers 3 years on. They remain, as I reported before, loud, bass-orientated enough (for the size of the phone), clear and with good tone. The Dynamic Vibration is something else that nobody does in the same way - and Sony sadly removed it with the Mk V devices (10-series never had it). This also works perfectly 3 years on and the fact that it is now missing from newer devices (other than the 5-series) is yet another great shame. The pulsating of the vibration motor to beats in the music is wonderful to feel/use. So, another tick for this older model. Hooked up to my WH-1000XM4 headphones (now, themselves, two generations old) remains perfectly good. Are we seeing a pattern here?!

I continue to make use of HDMI-Out (DisplayPort) here now and then, though again, with connectivity and latency options so good these days, it's something that needs to be on the 'handy-to-have' list rather than Mission: Critical one in 2025. Plex and Roku changed so much of that for me! All the connectivity stuff works perfectly well still to, so apparently the components were good at the outset and have stood the test of time.

One of the changes Sony made with the 1 Mk VI was to ditch much of the confusing Cinema Pro, Music Pro, Photo Pro and Video Pro cludge for a unified, user-friendly, non-geeky approach to all things camera. And that was a good move because all this stuff is complex on this phone and feels like it's geared up for photography nerds, not Joe Public. It depends on your approach to all things photography I guess but they'll reach a much wider audience by making it not so stuck-up-in-the-clouds. So yes, with the 2022 phone here, one is not going to get a change on that. You can always use a different camera app to keep things simple, I guess. However, it's nice to have a 2.5x zoom on the camera and 3 x 12MP shooters which do the trick with the Zeiss Optics with T* lens coating and all those Program, Shutter Priority and Manual modes. So many dials and buttons to play with for those who want to deep-dive.

I'm not really the 'pro' target audience for this phone as I won't be VLogging, shooting a movie or even recording high quality audio, but with the stuff on offer here generally as a mobile phone (and already in the house here - or cheap to buy now, used) it might be worthy of consideration, abandoned by Sony as it is. Is a later version really needed? I guess a lot of that depends on one's view regarding the later simplified auto-all camera (which, by the way, you don't either get in the 5 Mk V) and software update situation - for those who are not bothered about ongoing Sony support but are trusting Google to keep it secure, it's still worth a look in my view. It still has a good number of now-unique features which Sony have stripped out going forward (and nobody else even did) and it really is lovely in the hand, the pocket, light and dinky (for those with good eyes and nimble fingers for that keyboard)!

It has a load of good aspects going for it including Qi charging, great speakers (and audio all-round), Dynamic Vibration, super battery, a great OLED panel with the best AoD there is - and that LED Notification light. Well worth considering if you fancy a small phone which keeps it simple in many ways, no AI (apart from what Google supply) and still as fast as lightning in pretty much whatever you throw at it. It still works perfectly well in 2025 and is recommended if you can find one used - there's an awful lot of phone here for under £300.

The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023)

This is a film created and delivered by near first-timer Francis Galluppi which is somewhat hard to categorise! A thriller crime comedy I guess. It has a Tarantino stamp all over it in terms of style but lots of Coen Brothers' stuff too - it really is a rip-roaring ride for a solid 90-minutes of entertainment.

It's clearly a fairly low-budget film which is set in one location almost throughout - the dusty, dry landscape of Arizona and particularly one petrol station with attached hotel and cafe. The Americans would call that a truck-stop, motel and diner of course. And do!

We start off with a simple scenario where a petrol tanker has come off the road and is laying on it's side, driver dead, out of sight of anyone passing. The petrol station is waiting for it to arrive and the longer it goes on with no fuel available, the more people turn up, are told that the delivery is due any minute and so wait in the diner until it does (not knowing that it never will)! Nobody has enough fuel to get the next 100 miles to the next petrol station so they're stuck.

On the radio, we're hearing about a bank robbery which has taken place nearby and the criminals are at large, having fled. First up on the scene at the diner is a premium knife salesman on his way to see his daughter. He's told to wait by the guy running the petrol station, so does. Next up is the waitress opening up the diner being dropped off by her husband, the Sheriff. Waitress and knife salesman start to natter. 

Then come the criminals en route to Mexico! They're told the same story and have no option to wait. They do so in the same manner, quietly at first, bag of money in the boot of their car, until they see waitress making a phone call. They then leap into action, threatening waitress and knife salesman to keep quiet and they'll live - to carry on as normal until the petrol lorry arrives.

So now the tension is high between those who know who is who - they try to keep a lid on it as other people arrive facing the same wait. An older couple come in. Even the Sheriff's Deputy rocks up to get some coffee. The air is thick with stress as everyone's on edge and not wanting the robbers to start shooting anyone.

Then we get a young Bonnie and Clyde type couple - think the Honey Bunny pair in Pulp Fiction! They work out what's going on and who is who - and as they are hard up for money, try to plot a way to turn the situation so they can cash in financially. So to rob the robbers! The more people pour into the scene, the more complex it gets, until the gasket is blown and we have the showdown, about two thirds of the way through. And I'll say no more on the plot so as not to spoil the happenings and outcomes for everyone, but expect mayhem and violence (well, otherwise there wouldn't have been much of a story here now, would there)!

The two coppers are actually very funny in their interactions with each other, likewise the guy running the petrol station, initially the old couple and even one of the robbers - a bit young and not very bright, being guided by his older 'brother' (partner in crime). The whole cast do a great job - I don't really know most of them but at least one or two have popped up in Tarantino films. Jim Cummings plays the knife salesman, Faizon Love the petrol station guy, Jocelin Donahue (Doctor Sleep, the waitress, Gene Jones (The Hateful Eight, No Country for Old Men) the old man and so on. I'm sure some will know these actors better than me.

It's a great little thriller which keeps you on your toes until the final scene (in fact there's a comic audio turn during the credits too) and well worth tracking down. It's been a long-time coming but can now be seen on various streaming services here in the UK.

Woken (2023)

Written and directed by Alan Friel in his first feature film, Woken's biggest strength is the pacing of the unfolding of the mystery and what's going on! I hadn't really worked it out until three-quarters of the way through and the viewer is kept on their toes as they try to unravel the story!

It starts with a pregnant young Anna, jumping off a cliff to what one could only imagine to be her certain death. However, we then join her again as she's in a bed with a bandage on her head and no memory. No memory of anything. Not the cliff-jumping incident, who she is, where she is from, where she is or who the people around her are.

The people around her are her husband, James, and a friendly, caring lady called Helen. They are lavishing her with sympathy for her situation and try to help her come to terms with the fact that she can't remember anything. They help her with photo albums and incidents from the past, but there's really no helping her as she just can't get there. So she grows to relax and trust the pair of them and accept that the man must be her husband.

They are in a cottage, in the middle of an island, isolated and alone, separated from the world. It doesn't take long for us to find out the first fact about the situation - that there's been some kind of virus and they are on the island in order to keep out of the way of it. However, Anna starts to get suspicious of the actions of Helen and, particularly, James so starts to push the boundaries trying to discover for herself what is going on.

This is where the strength lies, as I said, because we see what she sees to a large extent. We discover stuff as she does. We do get a little more insight than her, but not really with any great reveals - so yes, we're living the trauma and anxiety with Anna - and that works really well as a strategy for the unfolding of the tale. Now, later on it does get a little daft, frankly, when the reveals arrive and it's all very far-fetched, but that really doesn't matter because by then, we've soaked up the process. So that's all I'll say!

Erin Kellyman (28 Years Later, Blitz) plays Anna beautifully well, Maxine Peake (Dinner Ladies, Shameless, The Theory of Everything) is not far behind her as Helen, Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans, Black Mirror) is husband James, Corrado Invernizzi (Le Mans '66, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Peter, husband of Helen (who we don't see much of) and Peter McDonald (The Batman, The Dig) plays the Doctor attending to Anna in her pregnancy. It's a bit of a Brit Pack of actors from TV and film and I think that the production company is from Ireland.

It's nicely shot with claustrophobic interiors and lavish land/seascapes on display throughout. Careful use of interesting close-ups and focus are employed which often works well, adding to the anxiety, stress and growing paranoia within our main character, Anna. It's an enjoyable ride. Forget about the last 20 minutes and you will still have felt it had been worth the bus fare. I liked it. The only way I could find to watch this was via Dailymotion by the way. Presumably it'll come to mainline streaming eventually.

Love Life (2022)

Director Kôji Fukada presents a beautifully layered drama that begins with a deceptive sense of domestic tranquility before descending into a powerful exploration of grief, love and the silent complexities that exist within families.

The film introduces us to Taeko, her husband Jiro, and her young son Keita, who live a simple, happy life in a modest Japanese apartment. Through these ideals there's a fragility lurking, suggested by the recentness of their marriage and the quiet resentment of Jiro’s parents. The grandparents, while loving toward Keita, are unable to fully accept him as a true part of their family as he was not from their son - a tension that Jiro’s father struggles to conceal.

This peace is shattered by a devastating tragedy that shifts the film's entire tone. The incident forces the characters to confront their deepest emotions, revealing hidden sides of their personalities and challenging their relationships in profound ways.

Taeko, in particular, is forced to re-engage with her past when her ex-husband and Keita’s biological father, the unhearing and non-verbal Paku, reappears after a long absence. A bond is reformed between them as Taeko, the only one who knows sign language, comes to his aid. This act of compassion further strains her relationship with Jiro, who feels sidelined and helpless. The friction builds as Taeko’s focus shifts towards caring for Paku, causing resentment to flow freely between the couple.

The emotional complexity is further heightened by Jiro’s own actions. While helping his parents move, he reconnects with a former girlfriend he had once abandoned, adding yet another layer of betrayal and unresolved history to the tale. It’s a beautifully constructed and often heartbreaking portrait of modern family life, where personal histories collide and past decisions haunt the present.

A central strength of the film lies in its portrayal of grief and isolation, as well as guarded communication. Yes, Japanese culture is on display here - the politeness and reserved nature of the people which are particularly relevant to the story. The characters, especially in the face of a tragic event, often bottle up their feelings and create a sense of quiet desperation. This cultural context provides a powerful backdrop for the emotional distance that grows between Taeko and Jiro.

Fumino Kimura's performance as Taeko is excellent. Her ability to convey profound emotion through the most subtle gestures and expressions is what makes the film so genuine and moving. The heartbreak feels well-earned and realistic, ensuring that the story never feels soppy or shallow. It's a solid drama that captivates with its quiet intensity and leaves a lasting impression. Streaming on BFIPlayer via Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ in the UK at time of writing.

The Birds II: Land's End (1994)

The only way I could find to watch this was via the Internet Archive (apparently it comes around sometimes on Tubi and Mubi). But probably not worth the bother! It's a made-for-TV film from 1994 which is fairly poorly acted, scripted, presented, shot, produced, directed and imagined. Feels a bit like they were trying to do a Jaws with birds because of the seaside setting thrown in!

Tippi Hedren is roped in for a few scenes as a link to The Birds (1963) and apart from that, the highlight of the cast seems to be James Naughton, playing a budding photographer (who'd rather photographically document what's going on with the invasion of the birds than live)! He's the chappie who was in some of those Planets of the Apes TV spin-offs in the 70s - oh and Ally McBeal's dad later on! Brad Johnson plays the lead - again, pretty badly, and the kids aren't much better, adding to the real feel of a made-for-TV outing. Their family dog does a good turn!

Anyway, the story is about a family of four who go to stay in a house (detached, middle of nowhere, by the beach) so that he can write a book (or something) for the summer. His wife gets a temporary job with the aforementioned budding photographer (who also instantly has the hots for her) and yes, much like the story of Hitchcock's The Birds and Birdemic, a load of birds start terrorising everyone for no apparent reason on Amity, er, Gull Island! The quality is pitched somewhere between those two other films, but much further towards the latter than the masterwork!

Most of the camerawork is gulls in flight at close quarters, flapping around madly, so few long-shots like we saw, laughably, in Birdemic! Most of the 'special effects' are centred around people having their eyes pecked out. There's no suspense or tension, start to finish. It's short and sweet and I guess credit should be given for effort - someone having a go - but it does feel like it might have worked better as some sort of comedy-thriller/horror than to take itself seriously, as it seems to do.

Anyway, worth a look for fans of Hitchcock's film and Daphne Du Maurier's story, even if to just see how not to do it!

Memoria (2021)

This pure slice of Tilda Swinton arthouse, brought to us by Apichatpong Weerasethakul has just arrived on Channel 4 (in the UK at time of writing) and for those up for a slow-burn, meditative, quirky, hypnotic two and a quarter hours are in for a treat.

Tilda Swinton stars as Jessica Holland, a Scottish botanist in Bogotá, Colombia, who is suddenly plagued by a mysterious, deep sonic boom that only she can hear. She tries to find out what it was. And wonders if she heard it at all. Or if it was something from another time, place or universe. Or was it just in her head? She consults with a sound engineer who tries to recreate the sound from her description. The next day, he's gone and nobody knew him.

She continues her search which lands her in a remote jungle village where she meets a much older man, who has the same name, Hernán, as the sound engineer. He lives a reclusive life. He reveals that he is an "antenna" for the memories of the Earth, and he has a unique ability to connect with the planet's history and its past inhabitants. You can probably see where this is going - something otherworldly and off-piste!

The finale of the film throws much of what's gone before out the window as the film shifts gear doing a 180 in genre/theme! So I'll say no more. The cinematography is lovely, with long, lingering shots - and the sounds cleverly let us in on what she's hearing and going through. And of course, it's the Tilda Show throughout, showing everyone once again how to act. Well worth a look but be warned - it's often a head-scratcher (at least until the final act)!