“I can’t go on. I’ll go on.” So goes possibly the most well-known phrase written by Samuel Beckett, appearing in his 1953 novel The Unnamable. The statement can be interpreted in two immediately discernible ways. Firstly, it has been contemporaneously raised as a mantra for stoicism and perseverance in the face of hardship, and inContinue reading “The Trials of Faith of Supporting Tottenham Hotspur”
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Slipping
I can feel myself slipping into Poetry because I’m slipping more and more of my Bludgeoned days into the drawers of poems Drawn from myself out of nothing between Emailing and list-calling and cell-filling and during Sleepless nights scanning the sheep-less Fields of my memories excavating the buried scraps All buzzed with insomnolent abstraction BeforeContinue reading “Slipping”
Pablo Neruda and the Virtues of Laziness
Originally published in Empty Mirror in May 2020: https://www.emptymirrorbooks.com/literature/pablo-neruda-virtues-of-laziness As history progresses, writings from the past can often take on fresh and unexpected potency; for instance, returning to the ecologically-focused poetry of Pablo Neruda, I found new significance in two thematically connected pieces: ‘Ode to Laziness’ (1954) and ‘Lazybones’ (1958). What with the current worldwideContinue reading “Pablo Neruda and the Virtues of Laziness”
Knives Out Review
Rian Johnson reverses out of the Star Wars universe with a starry Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery, which just about manages to transcend its somewhat cutesy concept through a cutting takedown of structures of privilege In a sense, the murder mystery is inherently contrived as a genre, consisting of plot necessities and stock characters which areContinue reading “Knives Out Review”
My Top 20 Films of the Decade
20. Drive (2011) Ryan Gosling has, on reflection, been the decade’s most dynamic leading man, able to switch between genres – and between big-budget and independent fare – while repeatedly showing different facets to his ability. The Driver deserves to stand as his most iconic role, with Drive (not La La Land) the movie inContinue reading “My Top 20 Films of the Decade”
Doctor Sleep Review
The unexpected sequel to one of the most iconic films of all time is an oft-confused yet occasionally thrilling spectacle It’s become a relatively well-known fact that Stephen King strongly dislikes Stanley Kubrick’s telling of The Shining story. Jack Nicholson was just too crazy from the beginning, he’s argued – where was the slow descentContinue reading “Doctor Sleep Review”
The Irishman Review
Martin Scorsese reunites with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for a sprawling and uncompromising deep-dive into the violent undercurrents of mid-twentieth-century American history, in what may be the director’s best film since the 1990s. “Almost 25 years since they last worked together!” So goes the historical component much of the media has excitably givenContinue reading “The Irishman Review”
The Blog
Reviews of film, literature, television, theatre and music, as well as general cultural critique, by an English graduate from North London
Opened Book 