theoesophagus
@theoesophagus
Layabout. Letterboxd profile: boxd.it/HLzf www.goodreads.com/oesophagus
Was listening to Unt by Penthouse. Has aged extremely well. They really were a perfect band. This is a photo I took of them at the Oxford Point very many years ago when I interviewed them for the uni paper.
Last year we bought a dismembered Edgar Allan Poe from TK Maxx. My wife restored his missing limb in time for Halloween. 2024 2025
This is how our cat chooses to exit the cat flap despite knowing the normal, more accessible option.
Mario Bava by Leon Hunt (@darklonelywater.bsky.social), a fascinating deconstruction of the cult mythos of the Italian director. Hunt looks at what goes into a genre filmmaker becoming a cult icon. Exploring the reality of critical & commercial reception & how the reception evolved & feeds on itself
Suzuki Seiju And Postwar Cinema by William Carroll places the titular director in the social, cultural and political contexts he was working in while also exploring how this impacted on the evolution of his techniques and themes. A vital book on Japanese cinema.
Pleading The Blood by Christopher Sieving (@soulburger26.bsky.social) is the perfect companion piece to Bill Gunn's masterpiece, Ganja & Hess. It is a thoroughly researched tome that gives life to a film finally finding an audience and a director still deserving of a greater one.
Tim Lucas's monograph on the portmanteau Spirits Of The Dead is a personal memoir of the blossoming of a budding film obsessive, a detailed production history of a unique film & incisive critique. Spirits Of The Dead has existed in a strange, neglected netherworld of film until this wonderful book.
Zoinks! The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby Doo by Mark Norman (@folklorepod.bsky.social) is a fantastically entertaining analysis of Scooby Doo's relationship to folklore. Freddie Prinze Jr. once declared that Scooby Doo would be taught in schools. Norman's forensic book is the foundational text.
Revolution In 35mm is a collection of insightful essays on political cinema edited by Andrew Nette (@pulpcurry.bsky.social) & Samm Deighan. The major selling point of this fantastic book is the diverse range of films & filmmakers that it covers. This is a vital book radical cinema has long needed.
"I asked some friends to explain to me what a Marxist-Leninist tracking shot is. I still have no idea. Nevertheless I could tell them all about what an anarcho-syndicalist tracking shot is..."
Reading the book that comes with the amazing @filmsradiance.bsky.social Damiani Damiani - Franco Nero mafia box set. Damiani really was a legend:
Midnight Mass (@midnightmasspod.bsky.social) is a joyful, orgiastic bacchanal in honour of cult cinema. From the heartbreaking comedy of Harold & Maude to the Godfather of Gore, HG Lewis. A loving, sincere and raunchy ode to a world where everyone is welcome and valued.
The Lady Killers podcast (@theladykillerspod.bsky.social) examines films where female identifying killers take centre stage. It is both razor sharp serious in its exploration of the gender dynamics at play and riotously goofy as it unpicks and celebrates wild world of cult cinema.
Had to hide it in the under-the-stairs cupboard so the cat wouldn't help himself. Our son wrote a note for Santa to help him find it.
This is the treat we are leaving for Santa tonight, a gingerbread Millennium Falcon
Everyman - The Masculinity in Cinema Podcast (@EverymanFilmPod) with Kat Ellinger and @mdconterio.bsky.social does exactly what it says on the tin. It explores representations of masculinity in cinema. The takes are often hot and spicy but never contrary. A gem.
Fatal Attractions (@fatalattractpod.bsky.social) is a podcast that has found its space since it began its journey over 7 years ago to proselytise for the erotic and the thrilling in cinema. The world seems to be ready for a return and Fatal Attractions are the experts who can guide us through.
Eros & Massacre (@cinepunx.bsky.social) from the prolific Samm Deighan is another master class in the wilder excesses and obscure corners of world cinema from over the last 100 years. Deighan's expertise is matched by her enthusiasm, her always interesting guests and esoteric insights.
Film Guff ( @filmguff.bsky.social) with @cornwolf.bsky.social and @cevni.bsky.social tends towards the more mainstream fare but with the in depth and forensic fanaticism of the cult film fan. An epic episode on the original and best Super Mario Brothers' film is just one of many highlights.
I Spit On Your Celluloid by Heidi Honeycutt (@headpress.bsky.social) is a deep cut of a film text. A heavy, heavy tome with a light touch. It is a wide ranging dive into the history of women directors and creators of horror cinema from the 19th century up until the present day.
The Q&A that Jeff and Steve McDonald did with Thurston Moore at Rough Trade East last month was both an amazing experience and a sobering reminder of the fact that I am becoming an old man.
Listening to the new Redd Kross record and reading about The McDonald brothers in Now You're One Of Us. Can't explain how important Redd Kross have been to me over the last 28 years since I first discovered their split Carpenter's cover single with Sonic Youth in a bargain bin.