The Brutalist (2024)

What? A film with an Intermission? Yay! Mind you, it needs it - at three and a half hours! Fear ye not though, as it's so well done that the time flies. Well, maybe flies is a stretch - but it really didn't feel that length.

It's superbly acted by the cast, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones are the stand-outs, but also Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn and Raffey Cassidy do fine jobs.

I'm sure you know what it's about, but briefly it's the (not true) story of an architect fleeing the abuses of WWII Europe in 1947, heading for the USA (land of opportunity) where he bumps into a wealthy capitalist chappie who heads up a family who are bored with their wealth so look for stuff to do. Aha! We'll use this architect to build a community centre in the memory of grandma. So they do.

As the film proceeds we find out more about his family that was left behind, learn more about The American Dream, get embroiled in all sorts of drama as things go well, then not so well and deep-dive on various characters in the tale. It's layered with all sorts of other stuff via clever story-writing and directing (Brady Corbet) and ends up a moving spectacle which will keep you watching. Well, it did me, anyway!

At the cinema now or streaming (though it's still quite expensive there, so it's point-using time again unless you want to wait 'til it's cheaper etc.) I was very impressed.

Noreve Pixel Fold Cover

Noreve sent over a couple of cases/covers for a couple of Pixel phones I have here, the other being a Pixel 9 but I start with this one, for the original generation Pixel Fold. The whole folding phone concept is difficult for case-makers, I contend, particularly when they have a front-facing full screen (unlike, for example, the Microsoft Surface Duo range).

I have tried quite a few cases/covers for my Pixel Fold and none of them really satisfy fully - there's always something not quite right, not quite fitting, not quite tight enough (typically) to hold the device as it should be, but still strong enough to survive being pulled open without the case coming away in one's hand. The original Pixel Fold is a particular challenge in this respect because it's hinge is very firm, stays at any angle and so pulling it open is the real test of how well a case has been designed and put together.

But first, the leather! The classy, gorgeous leather. Noreve sent me one of their 'grippier' versions of the cover (at my request) and it is the Saffiano variant in black. It passes the leather 'smell test' with flying colours, adding to the premium look, feel and appearance compared to many a cheaper model from other manufacturers. There are oodles of different textures to choose from - and even more colours. Each case - or in this case, 'second skin' - is made-to-order and sent out, worldwide, from their base in France.

As you can see from the photos, each is sent out in a premium box and inside, a red drawstring pouch, adding to the unique attention to detail from Noreve. The component parts are protected inside by sheets of polystyrene so that there's no risk to them during shipping/transit. The whole experience does instill a feeling of confidence and that although these cases and covers are far from the cheapest available, they have a special something missing elsewhere.

Anyway, on to the fit and finish. You can hopefully see from the photos here that it has been very carefully designed and made so that there are 'lugs' along the inside of the front portion which ensure that the (particularly front part of the) cover doesn't come away when that stiff hinge is pulled against by the owner, opening things up. Around the edges, there are cutouts for the volume rocker and power button on one side, camera island on the back, speaker up-top, microphones, speaker and USB-C port at the bottom and of course, flush fitting the hinge surround.

There's really nothing to complain about here as everything works exactly as you'd expect, including the Qi wireless charging on a range of chargers that I have around the house/office. As I say, it's not the cheapest solution out there, prices range from €125-€250 depending on colour and finish, but I contend that it's worth every penny for such a remarkably classy and premium product - very often in life you get what you pay for. Noreve did send this over to me for review, but in no way dictated to me what I should say in my review and were quickly responsive when I had queries. Recommended. More discussion about this and loads of other mobile-related topics are on our weekly Phones Show Chat Podcast.

A Ghost Story (2017)

David Lowery's 2017 film, is a haunting and deeply meditative exploration of grief, time, and the cyclical nature of existence. It’s a film that lingers long after the credits roll, its minimalist approach and deliberate pacing creating an atmosphere of profound melancholy.

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), under a simple white sheet with two black eyeholes, delivers a surprisingly expressive performance as "C," a recently deceased musician. His silent presence is both unsettling and poignant, a constant reminder of the lingering essence of a life abruptly ended. Rooney Mara (Carol, Nightmare Alley, Una), as "M," his grieving partner, conveys a raw vulnerability that anchors the film's emotional core.

Lowery (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pete's Dragon) masterfully utilises long, static takes, allowing the viewer to absorb the subtle shifts in emotion and the slow passage of time. The film's 4:3 aspect ratio further enhances this sense of intimacy and isolation, drawing the viewer into the confined space of the house, which becomes a character in itself. The house, a silent witness to both joy and sorrow, becomes a stage for C's spectral observation.

The narrative unfolds in a non-linear fashion, blurring the lines between past, present, and future. We witness M's initial devastation, her attempts to move on, and the subsequent occupation of the house by new residents. Through C's ghostly perspective, we see the echoes of lives lived and lost, the repetitive patterns of human experience.

One of the film's most memorable scenes involves M eating an entire pie, a moment of raw, unadulterated grief captured in a single, unbroken take. It's a testament to Mara's talent and Lowery's commitment to capturing the visceral reality of emotional pain.

The film is not horror (or even, ironically, a ghost story) in the conventional sense. It's a quiet, introspective journey into the heart of loss, a meditation on the ephemeral nature of existence. The film challenges viewers to confront their own mortality and consider the enduring power of memory and connection. While its deliberate pacing and abstract storytelling may not appeal to all audiences, those willing to surrender to its hypnotic rhythm will find themselves rewarded with a profoundly moving experience.

The film's strength lies in its ability to evoke a sense of melancholic beauty, reminding us that even in the face of oblivion, the echoes of our lives continue to resonate through time. Available at time of writing via some streaming services in the UK. Review by me, assisted by Gemini.

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of February 2025

  ...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 5 - Seb's Place does Tech Addicts

Sunday 2nd February

Gareth and I are joined by Seb from Seb’s Place, a British YouTube channel covering 8-bit and 16-bit computers. Seb discusses his channel, his loves and hates in the retro tech, his collection and gaming in the modern world.

Phones Show Chat

Episode 839 - The Freepoc Downloader
Sunday 2nd February

Malcolm Bryant joins Steve and I again this week to talk in-depth about being a developer, the frustrations of dealing with Google and their Play Store - and the action he has taken to go his own way! We're tinkering with Launchers, prototype keyboards, Always on Displays and loads of other stuff as usual, so do join us for an hour as we Clamber for Amber!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 6 - The Encryption Element

Sunday 9th February

Gareth and I chat about the UK Government compelling Apple to give access to their encryption, Meta torrenting ebooks, Coolermaster unleashing the Masterhub, Windows 98, AOL Desktop, film photography and my take on the Marshall Monitor III.

Phones Show Chat

Episode 840 - Shiny Folding New Lust!
Sunday 9th February

Steve and I are joined by Garry Clark of CoolSmartPhone fame this week. He gives us a rundown of all the interesting phones he's been reviewing and using, I'm still tinkering with Octopi, Steve's Droning on(!) about Microsoft's Universal Keyboard and Gemini devices and we have lots more topics as always.

Whatever Works

Episode 221 - Ninja Raspberry Vomit!
Monday 10th February
Aidan and I are here again with an hour of chaos, mayhem and tomfoolery as we natter about Whatever Works for us and you! We go Skyriding whilst firing paintballs at intruders, cool our beers (well, Aidan doesn't!), Dimplex, crevice-cleaning, strips for doors and pee - far too much to miss out on - so don't!

Projector Room

Episode 179 - Heretic Hijack Pussycat
Wednesday 12th February

Allan is back and joins Gareth and I once again as we get back on track with the usual stuff. We explore the Valleys of buxom Vixens, deal with A Complete Unknown Fancy Dance, track The Hitcher Out There and catch The Intruder in a Silo! Loads more of course including what's Coming Soon!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 7 - Vibes of a Vinyl Revival

Sunday 16th February

Gareth and I are back with news of Vinyl records hitting the high street big time, the Retroid Flip 2, Gadhouse’s Cosmo Solar Edition portable turntable and a scam involving YouTube. Plenty more as always!

Phones Show Chat

Episode 841 - Passports, Plastic and Proud
Sunday 16th February

Ron K Jeffries from the USA joins Steve and I for the first time, so gives us the rundown on his phone/tech history, from Sidekick to Pixel and much between! We also get his thoughts on various topics in the phone world. I'm chatting Skyline and Noreve while Steve's talking camera buttons and upscaling old video amongst much more.

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 8 - Slopes Does Tech Addicts

Sunday 23rd February

Gareth and I chat to Daniel Ibbertson from Slopes Game Room about Kickstarter scams, Amstrad mascots, Streets of Rage, Evil dead, retro games, collections, emulation and much more.

Phones Show Chat

Episode 842 - The Three Year iPhone Upgrade That Wasn't Really
Sunday 23rd February

Steve and I are joined by Tom Stuart after a bit of a gap, so good to chat with him and find out what he's been using and to get his thoughts on various phone topics. Steve's onto the iPhone 16e launch, me, the Oppo Find N5, er, inavailability(!) and we're both trying out cases'n'covers, right on the Pulse! We even have time to venture into Windows Phone and Surface Go (not Duo, but Go)!

Projector Room

Episode 180 - The Damned Wolf Man
Wednesday 26th February

Gareth, Allan and I are back once more as we natter about all things film, cinema and TV. There's a Catch-22 Regarding Henry, some non-fizzy Prizzi's Honor, Dexter discovers Wolf Man, The Night Agent is always a Flight Risk and is it The Damned Who Saw Her Die? Lots of answers to questions like this, so do join us!

The Podcasts

PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts

The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat & The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - Tech Addicts

The Team
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea

Wolf Man (2025)

Here we have another shot at the whole Wolf Man thing, following in a tradition of other shots at it including The Wolfman (2010), right back to The Wolf Man (1941) and likely before! This one comes from writer/director Leigh Whannell with a recent track record of the excellent 2020 film with Elisabeth Ross, The Invisible Man. So high hopes.

We join the film 30 years before present day in the company of father (Grady) and son (Blake) on a hunting trip, deep in the woods of Oregon where they live in a wooden cabin. The have an encounter (which comes to nothing beyond some scares) with (what we now know to be) Wolf Man. Or at least, a Wolf Man! We see that father is treating son very strictly, teaching him, hard-nosed, skills he'll need to survive out here in the wild.

Skip to the present where we join Blake as an adult with wife Charlotte and their daughter, Ginger. They live in the city and we discover that Blake had lost touch with his father a long time back. Word was that he had been missing anyway, and now, via a letter he gets, confirmation that the authorities are assuming him dead. He and Charlotte are writers and appear to be going through a bit of dysfunction in their marriage, which they decide they can fix with a trip out to Oregon to collect his dad's belongings. Gulp!

As soon as they get there, they start to get stalked by what they think is some kind of animal which causes them to crash their truck then chases them as they hot-foot it for his dad's cabin. They make it inside but in the chaos, Blake gets bitten on the arm by this creature. It's probably not really anything of a spoiler to say that, like with An American Werewolf in London, we watch the transformation over time of nice chappie into beast. You'll all know what's what here!

So we now have a situation with dad transforming slowly inside the cabin, beast outside the house on the prowl and wife and daughter scared shitless in the mix! The beast is actually different from the one in An American Werewolf in London (and others) because it's not one who comes out every full moon or just at night - once transformed, that's what it is.

You can imagine that we then have a bunch of situations as the three of them (initially) try to escape (of course, there's no mobile phone signal) and find themselves in a whole load of different scenarios, scary setups and adventures(!) as the chase is on to stay alive (and watch dad go the way he's going)!

The cast do a decent enough job, Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) as Blake, Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel, The Assistant, Ozark, Apartment 7A) as Charlotte and Matilda Firth (Subservience) as Ginger. There's some neat ideas going on where camera position moves around in order to let the audience see/hear what the beast is seeing/hearing, then circles to do the same with the other characters, not impacted by the 'virus'. There are a few scenes of gory body-horror type stuff to enjoy, but not that many.

The set is within the shadowy woods, like a good fairy tale would be, eerie, dark, menacing with some decent-enough attempts at tension and suspense. Thankfully, silly jump-scare moments are at a minimum so the viewer can soak up the atmosphere and feel a bit of the terror experienced by, particularly, the two females. There's some lovely scenery on show - not sure if it's real or CGI, but it's very nice eye-candy.

It's all a bit of a chilling, thrill-ride really and clearly everyone was having a hoot riding, though there's not really much development on show regarding the characters - most of that is done, what we're getting, in the first 15 minutes of the one hour and forty-five. An excellent romp that entertained me, though not as good as The Invisible Man. It's available in cinemas in the UK or to rent/buy on a couple of streaming services so far, so use your vouchers!

The Quiet Earth (1985)

This is a quirky little low-budget, 90-minute sci-fi drama out of New Zealand from 1985 in which Zac the scientist wakes up one day after having tried to commit suicide, to find that he appears to be the only animal on earth. And it's very much a film of two halves.

The initial concept is fascinating and thought-provoking as it engages the viewer in a mind game for themselves about how they would react given the same circumstances. We stay with Zac for a large part of the film, alone, as he tries to work out what's happened, how to make the most of the situation and how he might use his scientific knowledge to try to fix whatever has gone wrong.

Slowly but surely as Zac spends more and more time alone with the problem and the total freedom to do whatever he likes as the only animal on earth, he starts to lose his good mental health and descents into more and more bizarre behaviours, ultimately declaring himself god of Earth! What would we do? Would we be OK with that? Would we be resourceful enough to survive?

So it's interesting to see what he does and how he does it to survive the situation - it's a good job he's a scientist as he can turn his hand to many engineering tasks to keep things going, especially after the electricity runs out. This is by far the most interesting part of the film and it's a shame really that it didn't continue as it was for the whole story because, out of the blue, first one other person turns up, then another and it changes the tone of proceedings completely.

One of them is a man, the other a woman. The woman arrives first and she, too, was in a situation staring death in the face when 'the event' happened, so survived. Zac and Joanne bond readily and after a time end up 'being together', joining forces to try to find some way to help the earth out of its problem. Then along comes a bloke, who, similarly, survived because he was in a life/death situation when it happened.

The 'new' bloke (Api) then starts to challenge Zac for the attentions of Joanne and much of the emphasis turns to a kind of love/lust triangle as they work out their positions and male ego/testosterone comes to the fore, animal territorialism driving each to establish their position. And that kind of spoils things really. I think it might have worked much better if it just continued with a 'reflective' tone of man against isolation and loneliness. However, I'm not filmmaker!

Geoff Murphy is, directing, and alongside the late Bruno Lawrence who plays the lead, and couple of other writers, decide that this is the direction they wanted it to go. The three main players do a reasonable job, though Lawrence is certainly the more convincing and accomplished actor in the mix. Alison Routledge plays Joanne and Peter Smith, Api.

So we trundle along toward the finale, in which the sci-fi bit kicks in and there's something of an explanation as to what's gone on, wrong and we find out if Mr Boffin-Brain the scientist has been able to fix things - or the earth has been lost, as it was, for good. The final scene is somewhat thought-provoking in itself and to some degree worth wading through the second half of the film, by the time you have got half way anyway, to see.

Not a great film, but a really nice idea - which I think I would have preferred to have seen done a little differently. Anyway it's on one or two streaming services around just now if you fancy it.

Humane (2024)

Directed by the Canadian Caitlin Cronenberg in her first main film and based on an idea by writer/producer Michael Sparaga, this little low-budget thriller is quite good fun. It's a bit of a nutty idea, but certainly an interesting one!

The setup is a world where resources are running out, environmental collapse, population out of control - not enough to go round. So the governments of the world get together, close the borders and agree that they will have to cull their citizens by 20% each within a certain time. We're in America and there, people are offered $250,000 to be euthanised - the money then making their remaining family's lives better.

The family we spend pretty much all of the film with are wealthy and privileged, dad, step mum, four siblings (and a daughter of one of the siblings). They are successful people, in business, the media, arts and so on - all brought about by the family having money. One of the sons, it turns out, is adopted and has had drug problems.

Dad and step mum have decided that they are going to do the decent thing for the country, world and environment and signed up to the euthanasia scheme. We join the family as dad has organised a dinner party to tell them all the news and has lined up the mob (from the firm assigned by the government) to come round and do the job, that evening. Things go wrong when step mum disappears during the meal and the plan for two bodies from this family, this night, can't be cancelled. They need two bodies and it doesn't matter which, as long as they are from this family!

So you can imagine from hereon in what happens, with dad dead, step mum missing, as the four of them argue and fight tooth and nail to make sure that they are not the one to have to take step mum's place! The daughter is whisked away, incidentally, by the team, who don't deal with minors! The team are polite, well turned out, but ruthless in their goal if/when anyone steps out of line or tries not to comply with 'the law'. So that's about the backdrop of what's going on with the rest of the film depicting the fallout from their inter-negotiations and ensuing chaos.

Three of the four of them are decidedly unpleasant, with huge egos, money having carried all before them their whole lives, so we're encouraged to dislike all of them from the outset. There are some twists and turns along the way, but nothing you don't see coming, and it becomes a bit of a survival outing in the end, falling out, teaming up, testing the system and each other. All good fun with a bonkers idea, as I say.

The cast is mostly people I don't know very well, Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire (12 Monkeys, The Rig), Peter Gallagher (American Beauty, The O.C.), Enrico Colantoni (Contagion), Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale (Cardinal), Sirena Gulamgaus and Uni Park but they do a decent-enough job between them and keep the interest going. Thankfully there's very little handheld camera work, which there could have been - as they race around the big house full of staircases, corners, rooms and corridors. Pretty much all of the film is set in the house, so nicely claustrophobic - especially when the government team lock them in!

Some interesting ideas about/for the big wide world out there, turned into a nasty little thriller bringing out the worst in some rich folk with some gore thrown in here and there, but really not too much to worry about. I quite enjoyed it anyway. It's on Paramount+ as I speak and a couple of other streaming services in the UK.

The Host (2006)

I was watching a YouTube video the other day which included Quentin Tarantino reeling off a list of films that, since he'd been directing, he wished he'd made! Then I realised that one of them, this one, was a film by Bong Joon-ho that I'd completely missed out on! I was a fan of the film version of his Snowpiercer, the wonderful Parasite, the inventive Okja, gripping Memories of Murder and the grizzly Mother too, so this was sure to be a winner.

And it was! A very different kind of film about a monster terrorising the public in Seoul, and in particular one family (as far as the viewer is concerned), but with multiple layers underneath the obvious which the director was making some social-political-environmental statements about - particularly with regards to the American authorities and how they were behaving irresponsibly in Korea.

The monster is a huge kind of fish thing, very imaginatively created, with a head/mouth a bit like Ridley Scott's Alien's, but it also kind of looks like female genitalia as well! It's been created by scientists dumping chemicals in the river. (Anyone seen The Simpsons episode with the 3-eyed fish after Mr Burns had done similar?) Anyway, in amongst much mayhem, killings, rampaging and chaos, the little girl in our family-in-focus is whisked away by the monster and dumped into a secure area of the sewer alongside a few other 'captures' - some dead, some alive, by the looks of it.

The first part of the film is quite comic really as we get to know the bumbling members of the endearing family, interaction with each other and quirks. And funny, they are. When the creature appears and takes the young girl off however, the comic stuff, to some degree, drops away to be replaced by a drama about a determined family in crisis. They creatively break every rule in order to get her back from the creature, battling the authorities along the way who are trying to lock down the public amidst the chaos.

There's lots of thrills, chases and edge-of-the-seat suspense as we're encouraged very much to get alongside the quirky family. They often provide us with heart warming moments as we root for them in their quest! The performances are excellent right across the board but a special mention for dad, played by Song Kang-ho (from the aforementioned Parasite, Snowpiercer and Memories of a Murder, but also A Taxi Driver which I enjoyed very much, too). More familiar faces for those who follow the work of Bong Joon-ho pop up as he clearly liked to be loyal to his regular actors. Byun Hee-Bong as the grandad, Bae Doona as the olympic archer sister (you can imagine) and particularly Ko Ah-sung (Snowpiercer, Life on Mars) as the little girl, who was terrific throughout.

It's a thought-provoking 'creature-feature'(!) which leaps between the terror of what the creature is capable of, moving poinginancy of the impact on a nuclear family in the mix, thrills and spills of the chase, the fight with the authorities, suspense in dark, wet and unwelcoming sewers around a threatening river, a jump-scare or two and a whole ton more to really enjoy. No wonder Tarantino was jealous and wished he'd made it. An entertaining thrill-ride it is with some messages baked-in. I'm not really doing it justice here with my brief thoughts, so do see it! It's available via some streaming services in the UK as I write.

Blood Star (2024)

This first outing for director/writer Lawrence Jacomelli reminded me very much of Greg McLean's 2005 film Wolf Creek about a trio of backpackers heading off across Australia who bump into Mr Nasty who then terrorises them. This one's similar in tone, but is focused on a girl who is a petty criminal, heading across New Mexico's dirt and dust to get away from her abusive boyfriend.

We join the story in a flashback to a different girl who is covered in blood, staggering along a dirt road, being pursued by a man in a police car who stops when she falls to the ground, gives her a gun, offering her a 'last chance' before heading back to his car which he uses to forcefully put an end to her misery! Then we arrive at present-day and petty criminal girl Bobbie, who is driving her car long-distance. She keeps getting phone calls from her boyfriend and sister, but shrugs them off, wanting to be alone and left to escape her chaotic life.

She stops for petrol and whilst there, a cop (the same one as from the flashback) creeps around her, behaving suspiciously, flexing his power as a cop to make her respect him and, basically, acknowledge that she needs to not behave like the smart-arsed, over-confident independent girl she is, but toe the line - after all, he is a Sheriff, not 'officer'. He lets her go but pursues her devilishly, stopping her for speeding, then trumping up some ludicrous allegations and slapping a huge fine on her which he knows she can't pay.

This continues for a while. She starts to realise that this cop is actually a bit of a fruit-loop and tries to evade him. She ends up in roadside cafe where she gets a young waitress fired by her actions, then offers her a lift home in her car. The cop is still lurking around, behaving badly, and this is where things turn from nasty and suspicious into sinister, dark and outrageous - as the thriller shifts up a gear for the audience and down a lot of gears for poor Bobbie!

The cast, like the director/writer is somewhat inexperienced - TV work for some of them, the veteran, if there is one, being John Schwab (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Zero Dark Thirty) as Sheriff Bilstein. Bobbie is played Britni Camacho and Amy, the waitress, by Sydney Brumfield. Camacho is the star of the show, in pretty much every scene, and pulls it off pretty well. Schwab turns from Mr Nasty to Mr Nice Guy to Mr Fruit-Loop somewhat convincingly and Brumfield, who isn't in it for long, does a fair job.

It's a fairly mindless road-movie/survival-thriller relying, like Wolf Creek, on the bonkers behaviour of a man around unsuspecting victims - but at least in the latter, there was some attempt at an explanation as to why what was going on, was so! Here, not so much - more simply a sadistic thrill-ride, if this is your thing! It runs for just over an hour and a half and there are a few scenes that are a bit gory, so beware, but not that many.

The setting might be more likely the star of the show with some creative close-focus cinematography. The landscape is barren, dry and hot - which has been shot nicely. There are a few plot holes, one big one at the end which I couldn't work out at all (nor find out about it online anywhere), but this is more about atmosphere, suspense and a growing anxiety as the audience gets alongside Bobbie - the only character really who is in any way developed throughout. I enjoyed it anyway and you can too as it's available via various streaming outlets if you fancy the genre.

Hold Your Breath (2018)

Otherwise known as A Breath Away, or Just A Breath Away - might be simplest to call it by its original French title, Dans la brume! I reported on my viewing of The Night Eats the World (2018) the other day and Dominique Rocher, who directed that, is credited with being a writer for this one. Confused already? Thankfully the film and story here is a tad simpler.

Whilst the former was a French Zombie film, Hold Your Breath shares some of its themes around the topic and tone of isolation. So another disaster movie set in Paris, but this time it's about a fog/mist/cloud which seeps up from under the ground following an earthquake. The mist rises towards near-rooftop level, so the trick is to get above it. If you don't, and you breath it in, you die. Unless you're a dog. Well, some breeds of dog. Apparently. Yes, there are some plot inconsistencies servicing some thrills later!

The family that the film focuses on comprises mum, dad and daughter who has an incurable disease (Stimberger Syndrome) and has to live in a techy-bubble to stay alive - which needs to be powered at all times. It feels as though the story is set a little in the future, but not a long way. Mum and dad are scientists, though it's never revealed in what field or capacity - for the purposes of the story, they're just brain-boxes!

Daughter Sarah's 'bubble' is located on the second floor where she lives with mum (dad seems to live across the way - we're not ever given any backstory on that either - whether they are separated or just choosing to live separately) but unfortunately, this is under the level of the mist. Fortunately, it doesn't matter as her bubble keeps the mist away from her. As long as she has power to keep it going. And therein lies the focus of the story, as the power goes out! There are batteries for backup, but not indefinitely - and they have to be regularly changed.

Mum and dad get together amidst the crisis and, as they can't stay on the second floor, head up to the top floor where a kindly old couple take them in and try to help them keep Sarah's bubble powered. They have a walkie-talkie link to Sarah from within a reasonable distance, so upstairs is fine. The characters don't know what's going on any more than the audience do - we're all kept in a similar bubble to Sarah's, in fact!

The thriller bit of the story unfolds as the parents have to dart across the city to get an air-tight suit for Sarah, in order to get her out of the bubble, building and city heading off to some relative's place on higher ground. Where, presumably, there's also another high-tech bubble for her to survive in once they get there! So mum and dad have to find oxygen, climb buildings, survive explosions, fall into the Seine, hold their breath when dashing between places when they have no oxygen, clamber over rooftops, deal with corrupt cops taking the law into their own hands, track down a lab where said suit is located - you get the idea. Most of it is a race against time and not getting trapped in the mist, so as to snuff it.

Having said all that, the film portrays the story at a fairly leisurely pace. There's no zombies lurking around as you might expect in this kind of film - just mostly dead bodies (staying dead!) and eerie, quiet, mist-filled streets full of wrecked cars and abandoned belongings. The eerie bit is done quite well, plenty of atmosphere, a bit of tension here and there in a nicely produced and presented story that almost ends up being a short 90-minute family drama rather than disaster flick.

I don't know any of the cast or crew, though I get the feeling I should know mum, played by Olga Kurylenko at least, as she was in a Bond film - Quantum of Solace. Romain Duris plays dad and Fantine Harduin, Sarah - who, surprisingly given the focus of the story, has the least screen-time and acting to do! In actual fact, the old couple upstairs are the most interesting characters played by Michel Robin (Amélie, A Very Long Engagement) and the late Anna Gaylor. They all do very well though and remain fairly convincing throughout.

It's a nice little film, short and sweet, which you can get engaged with as long as you're not looking too closely for the plot holes! A nice idea, fairly well done, which you can get on most streaming services now, including Roku and Tubi.

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of January 2025

  ...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 1 - An Ayaneo Diffusion

Sunday 5th January

The wandering minstrels return to spoil your weekends again! Gareth and I launch into a 'seasonal' approach to podcasting - this, the first of the first batch of 10 for 2025. We go Walkie-talkies with Xiaomi, modulate our gaming gear, see Gemini Live live and float, ring the changes with Galaxy and Easily Diffuse our Linux experience! Loads more as usual, but a shorter runtime - let us know what you think of the new approach, shorter but more often! Available now in the usual places.

Phones Show Chat
Episode 835 - A Tale of Two...
Sunday 5th January

Jeremy Harpham joins Steve and I this week as we start off a fresh, New Year! We find out what he's been using, looking forward to, favouring - and get his take on our stuff too. Steve's awaiting the arrival of all sorts of new phones and accessories, whilst enjoying the retro stuff too, and I declare my Phone of 2024 whilst waiting for the Razer Phone to arrive, packed with LineageOS22! Time for plenty more as always, so do join us.

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 2 - Mecha Minds

Sunday 12th January

Gareth  and I are back again this week with a dip into all stuff Tech - mostly brought to us in and amongst CES 2025. Acer and Bosch, Mecha and LG, XBox and Legion - there's even space for outlying Oukitel and Brilliant Bargain Basement! Plus my first steps with Linux Mint Cinnamon and Gareth's Gaming Goodies! All available in the usual places now, so enjoy!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 836 - Triumph of the Midrange
Sunday 12th January

This week Steve and I welcome Ben Wood back again. We catch up on what’s going on at the Mobile Phone Museum, delve into the devices he’s been using, uncover his Phone of the Year for 2024 and get his take on all things tech. Loads more stuff, as always, including Nothing Phone (2a), Oppo, Honor, Lineage, Razer, ThinkPhone, Edge 50 Neo and that TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper again. Phew! Don’t miss it!

Projector Room

Episode 177 - Nosferatu's Milieu
Monday 13th January

Gareth and I are with you this time without Allan, as he's moving house - but we plough on regardless with a slightly different schedule and theme. We pick up on some 'specials' - Nosferatu, Black Christmas, Milieu, Short Films and our Picks of 2024 - good and bad! Plus Coming Soon and The Final Curtain. Hope you enjoy - let me know what the audio is like as it's the first time I've done the editing. Gulp!

Chewing Gum for the Ears

Episode 30 - Twenty Twenty Four

Steve and I sat down to share our thoughts on our picks of the albums released in 2024 today and the chat, with samples, is now available in the usual places, so do tune in if you have a spare 37 minutes!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 3 - The TikTok Timebomb

Sunday 19th January

Gareth and I talk TikTok, Nintendo Switch 2, Brad Pitt, Canon's Webcam subscription, the Ion Boombox and, of course, Sex Toys! Bargains galore with a little banter mixed in. Do join us, now available in the usual places!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 837 - Ecosystem Twitchiness
Sunday 19th January

A Neo Duo! Steve and I welcome Ian Bundey back this week and find out what's been going on in his world of fast-paced-F1 and Gig mobile phone photography, amongst a load of other stuff of course. Me updating my Sony to Android 15 and it's Neo for the both of us - me with Moto and Steve DJI as he heads for the skies with a drone. Then it's feet back on the ground with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus and one last old Nokia (maybe the best). Do join us for an hour.

Whatever Works

Episode 220 - Ninja Raspberry Vomit!
Monday 20th January
Aidan and I are back to mould your Monday into something worth breathing in, so why not waste an hour with us as we Travel with John for a pee, Hammer it Smooth, expose the Simplicity of Selenium, Arc our Mechanical Nanu - and oodles more clap-trap like that! Available now in the usual places!

Tech Addicts 2025

Season 1 Episode 4 - The Galaxy of Terror

Sunday 26th January

Gareth and I debate Samsung’s recent Unpacked event showing off the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, S25 Ultra and S25 Edge, AI baked into the software, where Samsung stops and Gemini starts with Photo, Gallery and Audio Enhancements. Some time left to linger in Linux and a bombardment of Bargain Basement beauties!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 838 - Launching Notification Reader
Sunday 26th January

That's Malcolm Bryant's app and he joins Steve Nutt on the show with Steve and I as we delve into it and get the developer lowdown on its testing and evolution. All interesting nerdy/geeky stuff which we know you love! We touch on the Samsung S25 announcements, some phone accessories and declare. The Four Nerds await you!

Projector Room

Episode 178 - Survive The Bride!
Wednesday 29th January

Allan is still missing this time so Gareth and I are Men Behaving Badly, makin' it up as we go along! We Survive Hell in the Pacific, take a Fresh look at Phoenix Nights, tackle Darkman Before Sunrise - and 28 Years Later, turn Bambi into an Alien! All good fun, so do join us!

The Podcasts

PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts

The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat & The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - Tech Addicts

The Team
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea

The Night Eats the World (2018)

La nuit a dévoré le monde is a 2018 French Zombie film, though everyone's speaking English (not just dubbed) with hardly a French accent in sight! As with most Zombie films, it's all a bit far-fetched but this 90-minute one, directed by Dominique Rocher (Hold Your Breath) is somewhat different in focus, if not theme.

We join the story as our central character turns up a party, in a Parisian apartment in a tall townhouse, in full swing. Apparently he's the ex-boyfriend of the party's host, with a timely visit in order to 'collect his stuff'! He's kind of spoiling the general atmos, so she shuffles him into her workroom inviting him to help himself to his stuff. He's tired, gets bored and falls asleep in a chair.

The next morning he wakes up, still in said chair, and all is quiet. Until he opens the door and is faced with blood caked onto the walls of the rest of the apartment where the party was - and not a soul in sight. He wanders around wondering what on earth has happened to everyone, then when he opens the apartment's front door into the stairwell, all becomes clear - as a couple of zombies are sitting there, leaping into action to try to nosh him up with all speed! Thinking on his feet, he quickly shuts the door and locks himself in the apartment.

The chap in question is Sam, played by Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World, Oslo, August 31st), and we spend most of the rest of the film with him as the tone and focus of this unusual zombie film makes itself clear to us. It's not so much about the zombies (well, it is, or we wouldn't have a film here) but more about isolation as Sam barricades himself in the building - and his descent into a less than lucid state of mind.

Usually, as you might know if you read my stuff, I find zombie films funny - but this is just different. It's actually an attempt to demonstrate what it must be like for someone to spend weeks into months (we're never very clearly given the overall time frame, though he is counting the days off in the window dust initially) with no human contact and having to survive.

Eventually the water and electricity stops flowing so we spend time with Sam as he creatively finds ways to survive, still longing for human contact, getting lonelier and lonelier. He can see the living dead outside as he's got, by this time, the run of the whole building, isolating each apartment methodically, one by one. It also becomes clear that he is a very methodical person, mapping out his resources and foraging for supplies to keep himself alive.

A girl called Sarah turns up out of the blue - played very nicely by Golshifteh Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge, Invasion, Paterson) - or does she, we wonder. He shoots her with a shotgun he has found in the building before realising that she's not a zombie - or does he, we wonder. By this stage he's descending further into a state of mind which might suggest that she doesn't really exist - more conjured up by his loneliness as he nurses her back to health, removing shotgun pellets - or does he?!

So yes, very different kind of zombie film it is, touching in places, some gore, guts, shooting and mayhem, but not a huge amount. The living dead look convincing enough but this is much more about the human spirit, isolation and survival. Do humans need other people around them? Can they survive without? Especially when holed-up with no chance of solutions, not knowing whether or not they are actually the only person alive!

Very well worth watching - it's on most of the UK streaming services by the looks of it now, so I recommend that you do. Don't be put off by the genre, it's much more than that.

The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

Here we have what appears to be a fairly low-budget Brit horror/zombie/thriller set in a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape, eventually leading us into central London. It's directed by Colm McCarthy (Bagman, Peaky Blinders) and it looks like the money has been mostly spent on salaries and sets!

We start off in an army base somewhere rural, where a group of 20 little girls are detained, locked up most of the time, allowed out to get school-type lessons. They are in solitary confinement and when they go to the lessons, restrained in their wheelchairs, they are led at gunpoint. It soon becomes apparent that these are no ordinary little girls - in fact, maybe not girls at all!

We spend most time following one of them, Melanie, played very well and convincingly by Sennia Nanua. She is very polite and tries to engage with the soldiers around her, who are instructed not to do so, and her teacher, who is more forgiving and sympathetic to the girls' plight. She is inquisitive and clearly very bright - seemingly, to some degree, a little different to the 19 around her.

The teacher, Helen, is played very nicely by Gemma Arterton (Summerland, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, My Zoe) and similarly, the lead soldier, Sgt Parks, by Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur, The World's End). Helen tries to be more lenient and understanding, as I say, but when she does, the soldiers are at hand to put her in her place. Also in the army camp is a science lab where Dr Caldwell, played by Glenn Close (What Happened to Monday, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons) is conducting experiments in order to find a vaccination against the zombie-people out there.

Anyway, one day, all hell breaks loose and the zombies, known here as The Hungries, who are constantly trying to get in through the camp's fencing and eat the humans, break through. There is much mayhem, bloodshed, gnashing of flesh and shooting of zombies, generally through their heads! There's a background as to how things have ended up like this which the doctor explains to us, part way in, to do with people's brains being taken over by some fungal infection or other!

The Hungries seem to be able to smell people, so the humans have to blather themselves in some sort of blocking cream to offset the desire! So, following the chaos, a group of our key characters escape in an army truck, including Melanie, the main subject of the doctor's scientific work, so she can carry it on later - into central London so they can get somewhere safe or rescued. You get the idea, by now!

It's actually a really good watch for a low-budget Brit-flick. The CGI scenery is very nicely done, not like a 1970's episode of Dr Who at all, and much thought has gone into building, people, states of decay (following how ever many years it's been), vehicles and so on. There are parts where suspense and eeriness is present, certainly as they have to tip-toe through a mass of The Hungries not making a noise, and it's been very nicely shot with thoughtful lighting to add to the tension. Acting is very good by all and yes, it's a decent-enough yarn to keep one's attention for just under two hours. Available in the UK just now on various streaming services and recommended.

The Watched (2024)

Renamed from The Watchers possibly to avoid confusion with the 2022 Netflix UK series The Watcher - or even perhaps the 2022 film Watcher, this is another film from Ishana Shyamalan (Old), daughter of M Night, which falls under the banner of mystery, fantasy, horror, supernatural thriller - so pick what you like and you'll get the idea that this kind of thing runs in the family! It's based on a novel of the same name by A M Shine.

Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire, The Alienist) plays Mina who we first see working in a pet shop in a town in Ireland by day and dressing up to be someone else in pubs in the evenings, apparently not liking herself much. It doesn't take long for us to discover that she's blanking her twin sister, Lucy, and has been doing so their whole lives following an incident (which will come out later) regarding the death of their mother.

She's asked by the mysteriously unclear shop owner (the first sign of any spook) to deliver a yellow bird in a cage to Belfast. It's a long journey but she's alright with it and sets off the next day. She's following Satnav directions and is led further and further down country lanes and eventually into a dark and threatening-looking forest. This is where the spooks proper start to happen as all her electrics stop working, phone, radio - and the car conks out in the middle of nowhere!

Not knowing what to do, she grabs the bird in the cage and heads off on foot. The spooky forest seems to now come alive, she sees a female figure and runs after her, seeking help. The figure encourages her to run through a doorway - and gives her 5 seconds to decide/do so in order to get her (implied) help. She does, of course! When she gets through the door, she finds herself in a room with a heavy, solid door with many locks, one wall which is a huge (two-way) mirror and some bare furnishings.

Each night, the four of them (and three before she got there) have to 'perform' in front of the glass in order to keep some mysterious creatures outside entertained. We don't see the creatures at this stage, but we do hear them - especially when they happily applaud any performances which the four put on. Ciara, played by Georgina Campbell (Barbarian), for example, likes to dance - and they like that!

The other two characters in the room are an older woman called Madeline, played by Olwen Fouéré (The Survivalist) and a younger chap called Daniel, played by Oliver Finnegan (Video Nasty). When daylight arrives, the creatures disappear and four of them have the run of the forest. But there are certain 'rules' that they must adhere to, as spelled out by Madeline (who has been trapped in this scenario for the longest so is kind of in-charge by default), to avoid a fate worse than death! So the creatures are The Watchers and the four of them are The Watched!

Mina tries, unsuccessfully, to 'escape' the situation a couple of times and even bravely takes steps to do so that the rest of them have not dared, but that's about all I can tell you really regarding the scenario and plot as anything much else would be spoilers. As you will expect, from hereon in things get eerie, dark and intriguing - with interesting twists, one or two of which you might not see coming.

Some of the characters' decisions are a bit wonky, frankly - it's easy to pick fault rather than to just enjoy the solid atmosphere that's been created in this dark and spooky tale. It's pretty well acted by all, though with some dubious Irish accents (Fanning gets away with that as she's an American character living in Ireland), nicely shot, good use of darkness, light, colour and mono with little to complain about really. Nice piece of fantasy which should keep you entertained for and hour and forty minutes.

Available in the UK on a few streaming services to buy/rent at time of writing and if you like this kind of stuff, you won't regret coughin' up for the ride!

Juror #2 (2024)

A film by Clint Eastwood about moral dilemmas, truth, justice, values assigned to people because of their past behaviour and appearance and much more, wrapped up in a courtroom (or rather, mostly, jury's room) drama. When watching, this is what to focus on really rather than thinking about the plot holes and inconsistencies which will just spoil it.

Justin Kemp is played by Nicholas Hoult and the character is called up for jury duty. His wife is about to give birth and he doesn't want to be there, but does the dutiful thing. When he gets into role and starts hearing about the case in question, he quickly realises that the man being accused of murder couldn't have done it - because, he thinks, he did!

Kemp's an ex-alcoholic making good in life, portrayed to us the viewers as someone who used to be bad but now is good, thus further dangling the dilemma in front of his face in the courtroom. If he had done it, it was an accident, but because of his background he fears that the authorities wouldn't believe him and he would be whisked away to prison himself instead. So he deliberates long and hard about doing the 'right' thing weighed up against what he has to personally lose. Keep quiet and let the accused take the rap or do the decent thing and ruin his own life.

The prosecutor is played by Toni Collette by the numbers, J.K. Simmons pops up as another juror with a background and agenda of his own, Kiefer Sutherland jumps in for a couple of scenes as a lawyer Kemp consults and that's about all I know of the cast. They generally play it straight and without thrills and the film does come across at times like a made-for-TV outing I'm afraid. I wasn't convinced that any of them were here for anything much but a payday. There's little tension or suspense, even given the plot and time spent in the jury room, and it takes the film's last two scenes to get any momentum, summarising the above, really.

It's OK - it's just not going to blow anyone's socks off as it trundles along towards the end after 2 hours, seeping out bits of flashback to fill in gaps - and round the characters' stories up about the events surrounding the night in question, 12 months before any of this film is set. It makes its points in the end, verges on being thought-provoking but even that's not good enough to overcome much of the clumsy editing and unhelpful missing data in the plot. Bit of a head-scratcher in the end. It's doing the rounds on one or two streaming services as I write in the UK - but if I were you, unless I had vouchers or points to use, I'd wait 'til it's 'included' somewhere rather than coughin' up your hard-earned.

Conclave (2024)

I'm not usually one to go for religion-centric films, but this has got such rave reviews that it had to be given a go! I'm pleased that I did, as it's actually more of an unfolding thriller, with more simply a backdrop of all the religion stuff.

It's centred around the events following the death of a pope and the now well-known traditional, elongated process of the cardinals picking a new one. Rafe, sorry, Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges, The Invisible Woman, Official Secrets) plays Lawrence, the (now) top bloke in charge of the procedure, ensuring that it goes smoothly and without incident. Some hope!

What comes out in this adaptation of Robert Harris' 2016 novel (so no, it's not a true story!) is a depiction of carefully constructed back-biting, power-struggles, conspiracy, bad behaviour, lies, politics and cheating by egocentric characters, apparently all fighting and manipulating each other to get themselves voted in by the others.

Fiennes' performance is staggeringly convincing, as we'd expect by now, but the other main player in the cast also thrill with what could be described as their career-best performances. Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia, The Lovely Bones) plays Bellini, John Lithgow (Luther, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Cliffhanger, Dexter), Tremblay and Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Immortal Beloved, Merlin), still going strong, as Sister Agnes in this Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) delight of a film.

It's all set in the claustrophobic Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel, start to finish with cinematography reflecting that, beautifully shot with lovely colours, as the film, at something of a pedestrian pace at times, lingers on individuals, their thoughts, moral struggles and particularly Lawrence's difficult emotional task as he tries to sort it all out - keeping a lid on any scandal potential which pops up and the impact of that on the people involved and the image of the religion.

So yes, he spends most of the film getting alongside the others, investigating claims and counterclaims of wrongdoing, guiding and counselling some, damping down the ambitions and self-centredness of others. Some who think they don't want the job - others who clearly do but not wanting to show that they do, one other, particularly, who clearly desperately wants it in order to return the religion to the old values, rather than the currently depicted more liberal approach.

Issues such as homosexuality, race, gender, equality are on the table with different characters believing that different ways forward are the right ways for the religion to go. It seems to be made as a reflection of the political processes in countries around the world, where so many of these attitudes and beliefs of the best way forward are out there and clear for all to see. At time of writing, we have just had the American swing from a more liberal democratic government to a more traditional and nationalistic republican one - and it's clear to see the parallels.

Yes, the film can appear to be slow at times, but just around every corner there's a twist or turn to surprise the audience with plenty of tension and suspense on display - including a finale which I'm sure you'll see coming, but one element of it you probably won't. I shall say no more!

It's a riveting watch even, for those like me who usually reject all things religious, as there's something for everyone, including a great score - but particularly quite superb acting from a highly respected and experienced cast. A must-see. At time of writing it's available in the UK at cinemas but also pay-to-view on two or three streaming services. If you don't have vouchers, points and other ways of watching I'd hang on until the price drops a bit though.