Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, et al

Impressive but a bit too full of its own importance

Making biopics must be really hard. Not only do you have to try and carve a coherent beginning, middle and end out of material that almost certainly doesn't have something so convenient, but you have to fit it within about two hours. So above all, credit to everyone here for attempting it and making a set of pretty complex subjects - both Oppenheimer himself and the work he was doing - accessible. I enjoyed the film: the staging was superb, Robert Downey Jr was particularly good, and the switching between different eras was very effective at breaking up a long story. 

That said, unfortunately there's more to complain about. Apparently Christopher Nolan gets final cut on his films, which probably explains why this is about an hour too long. Sure, it's an important subject but Nolan - who wrote, directed and produced and so must also take responsibility for any issues - includes too much detail and loses his way a few times as a result. The contrast with Barbie was of course much remarked upon at the time, and for me the notable difference is not just in tone but the fact that both films are making serious points but only one wants to beat you into submission with them (which was also the one that won all the awards - I'll let you draw your own conclusions about that).

Minor gripes: I thought Cillian Murphy was a bit one-note, I could have done without Kenneth Branagh popping up yet again (as before, he's too recognisable and unbalances his scenes), and Tom Conti was apparently reprising his cod-Greek accent from Shirley Valentine. And did Florence Pugh really need to be naked for most of her scenes? It was completely out of place (and don't tell me someone as capable as Christopher Nolan couldn't have achieved exactly the same effect without it, particularly given an actor of her calibre).

But still, an admirable achievement and I'm pleased I finally watched it - even though I'm unlikely to bother again. 

Watching - September 2025

The Hard Way (1991)

Not a film often mentioned in discussions of Michael J. Fox's career, I think, which is a shame because it's good - not a classic, but deserving of being remembered, at least. He's great as a spoiled brat of a film star (having a tantrum about wanting to be treated like an adult is hilarious) and if there are a few too many trademark Fox pratfalls, well, that's what he does. James Woods is also good as the "real" cop - although of course, it makes you start questioning what he did to get the performance right! Recommended  - I ended up buying a secondhand DVD because it cost about the same as renting it on Prime or whatever.

He Said, She Said (1991)

Another film I remembered fondly, having not seen it for a long, long time (and coincidentally, from the same year). The dual perspectives results in a fun format and one that would stand revisiting today - even though there are plenty of things that date the film, not least some of the sexual politics, the core story holds up. Elizabeth Perkins is particularly good, subtlely changing her performance to suit the two perspectives. Rather sweetly, the two halves were directed by a man and a woman respectively, who later married.

The Trip (2010)

Long before David Tennant and Michael Sheen played fictionalised versions of themselves in Staged, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon did the same in The Trip. And if Tennant and Sheen were willing to come across as overgrown children in the name of comedy, then what's perhaps more remarkable here is that Coogan is prepared to portray himself as a vain, touchy, womanising and ultimately somewhat lonely man. Without the distance that a character with a different name gives, that strikes me as quite brave. I'm not sure it makes for particularly good comedy though; the show is easy to admire but hard to love. Worth watching, though.

The King's Speech (2010)

I first watched this at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh with my long-time colleagues Graham and Richard. We all loved it, but I don't remember being as moved by the ending as I am now for some reason. Perhaps I've become more emotional as I've aged, or possibly I'm just a soppy old git now. Still, it's a lovely film.

Cousins (1989)

One of my long-time favourite films. As is often the case, I find myself agreeing with Roger Ebert's spot-on review; this isn't realistic, but it doesn't matter because it's a touching celebration of love, and because Isabella Rossellini conveys such a convincing range of emotions and sweetness that it's easier to ignore the fact that in real life this whole thing would be a horrible mess.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Good, clean, escapist fun. George Clooney makes it easy looking smooth even when he's obviously doing something slightly questionable.

Ant-Man (2015)

I just fancied something with Paul Rudd in it, as he has a great, everyman quality (similar to John Cusack, I'd say) that makes watching him great fun. Oddly, Ant-Man's director Peyton Reed has compared Rudd's character in this film with Clooney's in Ocean's Eleven, although I only found this out after I'd seen them both!

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Another choice because I hadn't seen it since - well, probably since it came out. Lots of fun action, occasional humour, bad guy gets killed, all that good stuff. Visually amazing of course, and the rate that the MCU was churning films out at this point was incredible, but fairly simple plot-wise. A good watch though.

Reading - September 2025

Small Inventions That Made a Big Difference by Helen Pilcher (2021)

A series of short essays - what would have been newspaper columns, in a different context - about unconsidered but influential items and how they came to be. The subjects range from paper clips to pacemakers, so the criteria used for selection are fairly fluid. Interesting but inessential reading, and somewhat bitty.

Daydream by Hannah Grace (2024)

Second time reading this in about three months, mainly because I'd since read the previous two Hannah Grace books and although this works standalone, it makes a bit more sense as a follow-on from them. Plus it's a really sweet romance and I just liked the characters!

Guitar by Earl Slick with Jeff Slate (2024)

As the selected discography at the back of the book shows, Earl Slick has worked with a bunch of famous and lesser-known musicians, but all of those fade into insignificance compared to the central creative relationship of his life, that with David Bowie. Slick played more times with Bowie than I'd realised, over 40 years, and unsurprisingly the book is mostly about this. Slick's a real rock'n'roll original and although he says he never considered a different life, you get a sense of how precarious it could be at times. It's an easy read, with some interesting titbits about working as side man Bowie and also with John Lennon, but I didn't get as much of a sense of the man behind the guitar as I did with, say, Steve Lukather's autobiography.

It Just Occurred to Me ... The Reminiscences and Thoughts of Chairman Humph by Humphrey Lyttleton (2006)

A slight but rambling book, being a very loosely connected series of anecdotes, memories and thoughts from a legendary figure in British jazz and radio. In fairness, the title tells you exactly what you're getting, and perhaps the more complete life story is in one of his other eight books. It's entertaining enough - and I learned more about him than I knew before - but a bit disjointed and somewhat unfulfilling. Much of the material is covered in his Desert Island Discs appearance, from the same year, and it's nice to hear him talk, so I'd recommend that over the book.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood (2023)

Apparently this is more of a YA novel, which might explain why it's a bit less spicy than some of her others that I've read. But in fact that just allows for more story, and I enjoyed what was there, even though it doesn't feel particularly realistic (the main male character is too perfect) - although in fairness I thought it was ridiculous that the chess World Champion would be 20, when in fact the current World Champion was 18 when he won, so what do I know.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (2021)

This is where the Ali Hazelwood phenom started then. If the initial setup is a little unlikely - although it's no worse than other romcom meet-cutes I suppose - the gradual development of the central relationship from pretend into a real one is believable and emotionally satisfying. Highly readable and very enjoyable.

How I Escaped My Certain Fate by Stewart Lee (2010)

I read this about fourteen years ago and enjoyed it, so the discovery of a copy in a charity shop prompted me to do so again. Still very funny in places, but having seen Lee perform in the mean time, I can see what it loses on the page. He's a very Marmite comedian (who would, no doubt, have something suitably trenchant and acerbic to say about the use of the popular yeast extract as a metaphor for "some people think he's shit") but I think he's great.

Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood (2025)

From the cover and the blurb, I was expecting this to be a straightforward enemies-to-lovers romance. After a couple of chapters, it seemed obvious that it was actually a fake-dating story (my second this month!). And then, half way through, it turned out to be kind of both and kind of neither, but a really nice mix of those plus a couple of other romance tropes thrown in for good measure, all assembled with more emotional depth than I expected and a really satisfying story development.

The Price of Money by Rob Dix (2022)

A great primer on how the money system works, including why inflation happens and why governments deliberately cause it, what that means for everything else and finally some suggestions about how one might mitigate its effects. Short, chattily and engagingly written - highly recommended.

The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson (2024)

One man's story of his journey into the utter madness of trading in the money markets (probably the wrong term, technically) and of his discovery of a conscience after making millions betting on the world's economy continuing to get worse. Compelling reading, but the combination of this and The Price of Money is somewhat sobering: clearly, no-one actually knows how the current state of capitalism will end up, nor how to control it or the forces that are making it worse - let alone get the actual problems in the world (water scarcity, global warming, inequality, you know, little things like that) attended to.

Pedal Power 2025

Blimey, it's been over three years since I last surveyed my kingdom of effects pedals. I've been chopping and changing a lot, and of course, any pedal set up is ultimately completely dependent on the amp, speaker and cab they're running through, and it's taken me a while to properly realise this. It's only now that I have an amp and cab I'm really happy with. As such, it makes sense to talk about them first.

For some reason that I can no longer recall, about two years ago I got a bee in my bonnet about solid state amps. Valves amps sound great, but they are problematic - power hungry, hot, delicate and expensive. And despite the vast amounts of bullshit spouted about the supposed magical qualities of valves, there are a few people trying to promote the idea that a well designed analogue circuit - so not digital modelling - can achieve the same results and not just be for cheap practice amps.

The long-standing king of solid state is the Peavey Bandit, which has been gaining more respect over the years, and Orange have their Super Crush amps that are very well regarded. And around this time I started hearing more about Quilter amps, and it turned out that they'd recently released a smaller amp.

And so it was that I ended up buying - new! - a Quilter Superblock US, which, despite its size, is a 25W amp. Around the same time, I decided I should have a decent cab and so ordered a Fat Baby 1x12 from the excellent and super-helpful folks at Zilla in Cornwall. As you can see from the picture, the contrast between the tiny amp and the somewhat oversized cab is quite striking! The combination sounds fantastic: the base Superblock US sound is Fender-based, so the cleans are lovely, and when pushed with a drive pedal, it really rocks.

With the core sound established, I re-examined my pedal board. I already had plenty of options, so it wasn't a case of throwing everything out and starting again, just identifying what worked well. For a while, I went minimal: just two pedals and the amp, and in fact the Blackstar boost shown here wasn't really necessary, because the Line 6 HX Stomp provides a comedically over-comprehensive set of options. It's wired so that the signal goes into the Stomp, then the Superblock's pre-amp is in the loop of the Stomp, and then the Stomp is in the loop of the Superblock. The upshot is that I can use the Quilter's pre-amp or bypass it and use a Line 6 amp model, and choose which (modelled) effects go before and after each.

This provided an incredibly wide range of different sounds, what with something like fifty different amp models and several hundred effects to choose from. But I realised after a while that I wasn't really happy with any of the sounds; I'd spend more time fiddling with options than just getting lost in the music. I'm not sure if that's because I know there's always another thing to try, or because I just didn't like what I was hearing, not that I could tell you what it was I didn't like. So I retired the HX Stomp for now and tried again.

Going back to individual pedals has been a bit of a relief, surprisingly - there's a lot less range, but what there is sounds really good. Also, the Pedaltrain fits nicely on top of the cab, so I can either just leave it there or put it on the floor when I play.

The pedals then, in signal order:

Digitech Freqout

This is a brilliant pedal that I've had for a while, but hasn't been on any board I've documented for some reason. All it does - brilliantly - is mimic the sound of a guitar edging into feedback. It's a sound I love and it's hard not to over-use it. It has to be first in the chain in order to get the cleanest sound.

Cry Baby Mini (CBM95)

Some people find this version of the Cry Baby too small, but I don't mind.

Fredric Effects King of Klone

What's better than one Klon Centaur-alike? Two! A staple of my boards for a while now

Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost

I bought a lot of pedals over the last ten years, but none for about a year, and this last one. It was shown on (YouTube channel) TPS and compared favourably to a (much more expensive) Kingsley pedal on the guitar forum. When I found out Blackstar were selling an ostensibly £190 pedal direct on Reverb for £99 (they still are, actually), well, I couldn't resist. It's not a clean boost, but it's a lot flatter (depending on the EQ settings) than the Klone, and adds a nice crunch to any sound. And so, having said I wanted to avoid valve amps, I've ended up with a valve on the board anyway!

Tech 21 Double Drive

An old favourite now, very versatile. Sounds particularly good when boosted by either the Klone or the Dept. 10.

Strymon Ola

I fancied a decent chorus and when this came up secondhand, and knowing the quality of the Strymon stuff - I've had five of their pedals at various times - it was a done deal. The Ola isn't one of their more celebrated pedals and it's a bit of a one-trick pony (a bit like the DIG) but it sounds superb - well up to an Analogman Chorus I A/B'd it with.

BOSS GE-7 (modded)

A fantastic utility pedal. After this, we go into the Superblock's input, and then out of the effects loop into the ...

Strymon Brigadier

I've had (and still have) analogue bucket brigade delays, but this is a better all-round pedal. Sounds gorgeous. Strymon recently released the Brig, which supposedly has reworked algorithms, but I can't hear much of a difference.

Neunaber Immerse (mk 2)

I've not even considered another reverb pedal since I got this (blimey) over four years ago. Interestingly, Quilter recently bought Neunaber, which makes me wonder whether the excellent reverb in the Superblock is theirs.

TC Electronics Ditto+

A great little looper.

The little shaving cream tin on the board holds picks and a tuner - the traditional/cliché utensil for this is an Altoids tin but I have several of these spare. Do these need to be on the board? Debatable. But it keeps it all together.

Reading - August 2025

Some Kind of Wonderful by John Hughes (draft script, 1986)

Any background info or trivia on one of my favourite films is welcome, so I was delighted to stumble across somekindofwonderful.org, a fan site from, I would guess, 20 years ago but amazingly still up and running. There's some amusing bits and pieces there (including the fact that there was a novelisation!) but by far the most interesting thing is this early draft script containing numerous differences from the eventual film. It casts light on some of the more jarring non-sequiturs in the film (like, why does Watts suddenly ask Keith if he misses her?) and contains a somewhat different (and frankly, unconvincing) ending. I'm not going to pretend Some Kind of Wonderful is a classic film but I'm very fond of it and this is great stuff.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell (2017)

To start with, this didn't seem very promising - the unvarnished, day-to-day trivia of the man who runs (and owns) the "largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland". But its low-key charm and humour grew on me, and the never-ending series of clueless customers, while I am sure intensely frustrating in real life, is dryly amusing on the page.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks (2023)

Here's an interesting combination of approaches: ostensibly an account of the making of a real film, written (mostly) as if it was a novel, but actually completely fictional. Except that - not least because Tom Hanks is the author - I'm certain that pretty much all of this is based on real events in some way. Even though there's no real plot - we just taken through the process of making a film - it's entertaining and compelling, and gives a brilliant insight into the sheer effort and logistics involved in the undertaking (and quite a lot about the madness and egos, too). And the fact that Tom Hanks, when he's not busy being one the best screen actors in history, can write this well is a bit like learning that your dad is a brilliant sculptor in his spare time, but you only just found out.

Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall by "Bill Johnson" (Tom Hanks?) (2023)

Brilliantly, the whole script for the film being made in The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece (above) is online, via a QR code in the book. I'm not experienced enough to judge whether it's much cop as a script; not much happens, but given that it's supposedly a new installment in an MCU-like arc, it seems comparable with that kind of film (one fight scene starts with the description "The sequence will last the better part of a half hour"). What I love about it though is that it was clearly fully imagined before the book was written, because there are multiple points where the book mentions the casting of a role, or how dialog was changed, or sequences filmed, that match the script.

The Funny Thing About Love by Tom Ellen (2024)

Predictable but emminently readable and predictably and enjoyably feel-good romance. Finished it in a couple of days.

Happy Place by Emily Henry (2023)

A clever structure of alternating then and now chapters gives us both the beginning and end of the relationship - except that, of course, the real end will be a reconciliation. So the chapters showing us the past keep the read from being too depressing, while the chapters about the characters' current reality build the tension. Will they work things out? It builds over longer than I would normally like, but does make the final ending more satisfying. I could quibble about the fairly obvious emotional manipulation going on here - it's a bit like being able to see the machinery behind the illusion - but it didn't stop me enjoying the book and wanting to reach the end (in a good way).

Watching - August 2025

The Naked Gun (2025)

Sunday afternoon cinema visit with the boys! I don't think I knew this new version was about to be released when I watched the original a couple of weeks earlier, and said that probably the spoof only worked for people old enough to remember what it was spoofing. But B & Z both enjoyed it, so clearly I was wrong about that. This is hit and miss, just like the original, but even though it's more hit than miss, overall it's a fun film to pass a couple of hours rather than a future classic.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

I've watched this many times, but it's always been a TV version that I recorded ages ago. I bought this on DVD recently and so this is first time I've seen the full, unexpurgated cut. There's a lot more! Still brilliant of course.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Family choice for Saturday viewing with pizza. Great fun, although I can't fully decide if the constant derision of The Teenz (who, lest we forget, chose this) is amusing or irritating. Probably both.

The Secret of My Success (1987)

A bit of a curio, and very much of its time - the clothes, the ambition, the casual sexism. Amusing enough, but it's not really sure if it's a satire or an instruction manual - or, briefly, a bedroom farce.

50 First Dates (2004)

Comfort, can't be arsed to think of something more challenging to watch viewing. There's a lot to dislike about the film, really, but for me, the central story between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler is enough to win me over. The less said about Rob Schneider's performance the better.

The Princess Diaries (2001)

Saturday evening family choice, which actually I was quite pleased about because I hadn't seen it for ages and it's a sweet, uncomplicated film with plenty of funny moments and the peerless Julie Andrews for class.

Watching - July 2025

Taskmaster (season 19, 2025)

A sudden jump to season 19, as K - who I watch with - managed to grind through everything from 5 to 18 without me, and also it turns out she was desperate to watch Mathew Baynton. Very entertaining as always, although possibly ten episodes is stretching it a little and of course, as with anything improvised, it can be a bit hit or miss. But you can't fault the creativity or the effort put in, both by Alex Horne and the Taskmaster team (excluding Greg Davies, who seems to have it rather easy) and the participants. Also, fun fact I learned: Alex Horne lives in Chesham, near where I grew up, and many of the filming locations are in the area!

Live Aid at 40 (2025)

A documentary about such a complex subject - even a three part one, as here - is only going to be able to skim the surface of the event itself, let alone all the political and social issues that led up to it and that arose from it. Still, this was a balanced and interesting overview of an incredible series of achievements.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (season 4, 2016-2017)

I said I'd give myself a break after the last season, but actually, this is perfectly sized for consumption in between other things, and sufficiently unchallenging viewing for when I'm tired or not feeling well (although this is obviously doing a disservice to the amount of effort involved in making it). I could do without the cliffhanger at the end of each season (of course it will resolve itself - the essence of a sitcom is that the "sit" never changes), but it's nice to see Jake and Amy in a straightforward relationship, without gratuitous roadblocks thrown in the way, and all 22 episodes are effortlessly funny.

The Naked Gun (1988)

It's possible that parody dates faster than just about any other form of comedy. Being the film version of the early 80s TV series Police Squad, which in turn was a spoof of 60s and 70s police dramas, this was probably already out of date when it was released. It didn't stop it being a success, and yes, it is funny - but I'm guessing only for people my age or above?

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Comfort viewing for while I'm ill. Still brilliant.

Inside Out (2015)

Having stumbled across an interesting video about Inside Out, I couldn't not watch the film itself, especially since I haven't seen it since records began! (ok, actually, so in at least five years) I still think it's incredibly insightful, and they have so much fun with the metaphor of how memories get stored (including repeatedly sending a random commercial back for fun). A classic for a reason.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

This is basically a James Bond film, right? Silly, fairly mindless action fun that jumps round multiple random locations. Kept me entertained.

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

A Powell/Pressburger film that I'm not quite sure warrants the "masterpiece" accolade given by some (including Martin Scorcese, no less), but as a lovely example of a romantic comedy of the time, it's unquestionably charming.

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019)

A weird, hodge-podge of a film that can't decide what it wants to be, so ends up being bits of about three. Not that any of it is bad by any means, it's just that the motivation seems to be more that Quentin Tarantino wanted to do a pastiche/tribute to various bits of Hollywood history and retrofitted a story around them. He - along with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio - seem to be having great fun remaking a lost era, but I suspect most of it is lost on anyone who isn't a film buff. For example, 8 August, 1969 - the date of the Tate murders - wouldn't have registered with me if I hadn't read the synopsis ahead of time. But without this information, or knowledge of what actually happened that day, the ending's impact is completely fudged. Still, I enjoyed it, nothing dragged, Pitt in particular is very good and I'm pleased I watched it. (side note: just reading some of the ridiculous critical theories catalogued on Wikipedia confirms to me that it's a film made for film geeks to bullshit about and I have no doubt that this is part of Tarantino's motivation also)

How Do You Know? (2010)

I can see what the makers were trying to do here, but the story is too slight for the emotions they're attempting to invoke. So, ultimately, it's a bit unsatisfying, because it's not clear why the two main characters should feel strongly enough end up together. It's a shame, because Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd are very good. Oh well.