Phantasm star Reggie Bannister dead at the age of 80. He was the heart of the horror franchise.

The mighty Antonio Banderas is 66 years old today. Here's that time we met in London where we discussed Paella. Really.

Dustin Hoffman is 89 today. My first ever junket was for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. He pointed at me in the packed screening room & said how he thought I looked like the film's director. Had a chat with him after. He was drinking a Bloody Mary - before noon. Cool guy.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey: a suitably epic big budget adventure with some impressive set pieces. There's a lot of bombast, but this actually works best in the smaller moments. Nolan's tricks with time help stop things being too episodic. Not flawless, but still impressive.

Apropos of nothing - here's a random photograph that I took of Christopher Nolan at the European premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in London.

Wolfgang Petersen's Poseidon: an energetic big budget disaster movie. Josh Lucas & Kurt Russell lead an impressive cast. This delivers on spectacle, but scrimps on characterisation. It's not perfect, but it delivers enough thrills & action to entertain for ninety minutes or so.

Sam Neill has died at the age of 78. He had countless film & TV roles across all genres & always added gravitas & charm to every performance. Roles included Jurassic Park, Possession, The Piano, Event Horizon, In The Mouth Of Madness, Dead Calm & Reilly, Ace Of Spies. Sad news.

Jonathan Mostow‘s Breakdown: a nightmarish suspense thriller. Kurt Russell excels as the desperate everyman battling country hicks (led by J.T. Walsh) who have taken his wife (Kathleen Quinlan). Mostow has a knack for building tension & strong action. Real edge of seat stuff.

It's Saturday. Why not have scrambled eggs for breakfast the way that Ian Fleming would - in the style of James Bond.

I've been a fan of Gregg Henry's work for years. It was a pleasure to get to talk to him for the Movies In Focus podcast. I even asked him about the new Brian De Palma film! Coming soon...

Daniel Roher's Tuner: expertly crafted thriller with a nice balance of humour & drama. Leo Woodall makes for a great lead, while Dustin Hoffman heads-up a good supporting cast. This classiclly styled piece has notes of John McTiernan's The Thomas Crown Affair. Highly recommended.

Steven Spielberg's Minority Report - the '40s noir elements stand out. The precog names Arthur (Conan Doyle), Dashiell (Hammett), Agatha (Christie). Colin Farrell's double-breasted suits. The greenhouse sequence echoes Hawks' The Big Sleep. Kaminski's almost B&W photography.

Robinson Crusoe On Mars might be pulp sci-fi, but it’s played incredibly straight. The Techniscope visuals & bright sound-stage sets are reminiscent of Star Trek, while there’s more than a touch of that other seminal ‘60s sci-fi TV series, Lost In Space. Excellent entertainment!

Respect to Avco Embassy!

From the Movies In Focus archives... An original UK VHS of Return Of The Jedi. Yes, I know I didn't rewind this one either!

I chatted to David Morse about his new film Broken Land. He brought up Richard Donner's Inside Moves - so I got to tell him how much I admired the film - and his performance. One of those actors that makes any role great. Check out the next episode of my podcast for more.

From the Movies In Focus archives... An original UK VHS of The Empire Strikes Back. Beautiful artwork on this one. You'll notice that I wasn't kind - and didn't rewind on my last viewing.

Terence Young's From Russia With Love - this second James Bond film is more an espionage thriller than an action pic. Sean Connery is fully at home as Ian Fleming's spy & Robert Shaw is a great opponent. Classy stuff that sees the franchise's trademark elements coming together.

Joshua Seftel's War, Inc: action-fused political satire that fizzles. A spiritual sequel to Grosse Pointe Blank, this has none of it's wit or charm - the tone & plot are a mess. A strong cast can't save this (even John Cusack seems out of his depth). Sadly, it's a real misfire.

Today's postal delivery. The Ginger Snaps trilogy from @secondsightfilms.bsky.social. Looking forward to digging into this 3 disc set. @aimpublicity.bsky.social

Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers leaves me in a serious quandary. Soderbergh is probably my favourite living director - but James Corden a massive no-no for me. Cultural Kryptonite.

Graham Baker's Beowulf: a post-apocalyptic sci-fi take on the legendary epic poem. Christopher Lambert stars in this very '90s B movie. It's utterly preposterous, the performances are hammy & the effects are shonky, but it's not without a certain amount of silly old school charm.

Jan de Bont's Twister: energetic big budget disaster movie. A game cast (Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Philip Seymour Hoffman & others) adds panache to the flimsy plot. It moves at a brisk pace & delivers on spectacle - most of the effects still hold up. Entertaining 90s balderdash.

I'm not sure what came first.... Christopher Nolan's decision to remake Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Insomnia - or his sense of style.

The mighty George Lucas is 82 years old today. He's the man who helped ignite my love of movies and taught me everything I know about mens fashion!

From the Movies In Focus archives... A widescreen version of the original UK VHS release of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.

From the Movies In Focus archives... The original UK VHS for Tim Burton's Batman. I had this on pre-order and picked it up on the day of release!

Mark Jenkin's Rose Of Nevada: a hypnotic supernatural drama that refuses to offer easy answers. This textured tale blends dream logic with a gritty reality. George MacKay & Callum Turner deliver strong turns, adding an additional layer to Jenkin's specific style of filmmaking.

Renny Harlin's Deep Water: unabashed entertainment. Part disaster movie, part survival film. Aaron Eckhart's gruff stoicism leads a cast of stock characters of shark food. The visceral plane crash sequence is well handled. Fun 90s style popcorn flick that's worth a look. Dive in!

Crispin Glover in Paul Bunnell's upcoming reimagining of the Lon Chaney horror pic A Blind Bargain looks remarkably like his father Bruce in Diamonds Are Forever.