A Severed Head (1970, released 1971 Dick Clement)

"I think you ought to get right away. Go to Crete or Turkey or Tunis. Find yourself."
"And how can I be sure that I'd be there?"

Frederic Raphael's treatment of Iris Murdoch's novel depicts a crazy romantic merry-go-round in which Lee Remick leaves husband Ian Holm for psychiatrist friend Dickie Attenborough, whilst Holm has been having an affair with Jennie Linden. And that's just the beginning... Other people involved are Attenborough's 'sister' Claire Bloom, Clive Revill and Ann Firbank.

Mad scene where drunk Holm assaults Bloom, then falls into a strange imaginary sequence - most interesting. Somewhat shocking and funny.

Edited by Peter Weatherley (The Hireling, Alien), photographed by Austin Dempster.

The Best Things in 2026

I Swear

Say Nothing.

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

One Battle After Another. Far fuckin' out, brother!

Bird (Andrea Arnold)

Le Notti de Cabiria

Materialists

Hamnet (and, come to that, Hamlet)

Frank Borzage / 7th Heaven and The Doll

The best of Silent Witness / Tim Prager.

Project Hail Mary

Hacks, Ted Lasso, Blue Lights

The Blame

Blue Lights - Season 4 (2026)

It is probably fair to say that the cops depicted here are in truth a nicer lot than exist in a real police station. But also that we've had so many shows about flawed / conflicted law enforcement types (The Cops springs to mind particularly) that this comes over as a welcome change. It's also very pro police in that they are human beings who have a laugh and are hard working, reasonable people at times under severe pressure.

An exciting beginning (one of the Angela Bassett episodes) puts us in the thick on an anti-migrant protest and introduces a social media activist who causes a lot of problems for Grace (Sian Brooke). Aisling (Dearbhaile McKinney) can't face being in a relationship with Tommy (Nathan Braniff). Shane (Frank Blake) is keen to make an impression with Michael Smiley's unit as he has spotted a gangster suspiciously driving a coach laden with soldier-types. Sandra (Andi Osho) is in court but the case against the killer of her husband is quashed by MI5 pressure thanks to gangster Abigail McGibbon, whose son Michael Shea is a nasty mess. The station is under threat of being closed.

After flashback episode 4, featuring Richard Dormer, Sandra now realises she has the evidence to expose the whole corrupt mess and so bringing the overarching four series story to a conclusion - they could leave it there. (Probably won't.)

Bring back deep focus!

With Joanne Crawford, Neil Keery, Andrea Irvine, Michael Smiley, Cathy Tyson, Hannah McClean, Jonathan Harden, Seamus O'Hara. 

Forbidden Planet (1955 Fred M Wilcox)

A somewhat kitsch and trippy experience particularly as the weird sound effects run through the whole film instead of music. The story seems preposterous. Whether it’s intentionally referencing The Tempest I couldn’t say. Robbie the Robot is clearly a man in a robot suit. The production design is pretty wacky. 

This looks like it belongs in that Diane Keaton book of weird photos

Watch out for those monsters of the Id!

Louis and Bebe Barron were the 'beatniks' responsible for the electronic score. Unknown to them MGM had made a deal with the unions that it was a one-off and they'd never be hired again.

With: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis (Bad Day at Black Rock, Blackboard Jungle, then just about every TV show you can think of), Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Earl Holliman (cook). Photographed by George Folsey, editor Ferris Webster.

Yeah, I don't think I will be watching this next Halloween.

The Haunting (1963 Robert Wise)

An incisively directed and edited film, with good performances and design, and yet it doesn't quite work.

Why not? Because the Julie Harris character has just spent years suffering looking after her mother, and also feels guilty for not being there when she died. She wants something to happen to her. She thinks the house is either after her or for her. (How can she have any experience of psychic phenomena when she's been housebound for so long?) Nothing is resolved. And we feel the ending is somewhat fluffed.

But it's still an absorbing watch, largely because Robert Wise is so good as creating scenes. (He learned first from Orson Welles, then Val Lewton, let's not forget.)

The editor is Ernest Walter (The Mercenaries, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Nicholas and Alexandra, Children of the Damned). Davis Boulton shot it (also Children of the Damned).

Of the cast, Claire Bloom is the most watchable. With Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn.

Amazing production design. We especially liked the door that bends in.

Nicholas Nickleby (2002 Douglas McGrath & scr)

Successful, star-studded interpretation led by Charlie Hunnam (The Gentleman). Jamie Bell is probably the stand-out as Smike. With Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Christopher Plummer, Romola Garai, Tom Courtenay, Anne Hathaway, Kevin McKidd, Edward Fox, Nicholas Rowe, Nathan Lane, Barry Humphries, Alan Cumming, Phil Davis, Sophie Thompson, Timothy Spall, Gerard Horan, David Bradley.

Photographed by Dick Pope, edited by Lesley Walker (Mona Lisa, Shirley Valentine, All Or Nothing, The Fisher King).

We loved the line "Your day is done. Night is coming fast for you."

Bollocks of 2026

It's sadly early to start this list (5 January) but unfortunately we have a contender already, Hunting Wives, some crap about a woman who finds herself in the gun packing heart of Texas Republicanism. The title indicates how crap it will be.

Can You Keep a Secret? Dawn French, Mark Heap 'comedy'.

The Lady. True story of Fergie's dresser-turned-murderer. Just wasn't engaging.

The Fortune. Terribly written crap with Eleanor Tomlinson, set in Hartlepool. She inherits from someone she doesn't know and behaves implausibly from the off. Channel 5 bollocks.

Benidorm is Murder. Retired detective John Hannah solves murders. More Channel 5 bollocks. Embarrassing.

Little Disasters. Was put off by the opening seconds, Diane Kruger's look to camera and the portentous voiceover.

Death Valley. Timothy Spall actor turned detective thing. Not exactly bollocks, but life's too short for unfunny guff.

My Brilliant Career. When annoying Australian lead actress goes into a weird dance to modern pop music in 1900 we just through 'eeoo'.

The Undeclared War - season 2. Not bollocks, just boring.

Trigger Point. As insane as the last one. A series of bomb defusal scenes with a meaningless and far-fetched plot wrapped around it. Who writes this bollocks? If not for Vicky McClure it's unlikely we would have persevered.

An Antique Christmas. Woman helps her parents sell their antique shop. Actually worse than it sounds.