Anne Billson
@annebillson.bsky.social
Auteur en filmcriticus, screenwriter, vertaler, fotograaf, evil feminist, wicked spinster, international cat-sitter. Likes frites, beer & chocolade. The Low Countries.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Tech Companies: Look what AI can do.
Everybody: Yeah, but can you get it not to?
Everybody: Yeah, but can you get it not to?
February 10, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Tech Companies: Look what AI can do.
Everybody: Yeah, but can you get it not to?
Everybody: Yeah, but can you get it not to?
Reposted by Anne Billson
Always loved this guy.
Country Singer, songwriter Charley Crockett well said......
February 10, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Always loved this guy.
In a zoom meeting & my iPad, open next to my Mac so I could consult a PDF doc, suddenly started reciting the text out loud in a robot voice. Everyone stared at me, like WTF??? Only way I could turn it off was to mute the iPad sound. I guess it was some type of AI thing I brushed against by accident.
February 10, 2026 at 3:11 PM
In a zoom meeting & my iPad, open next to my Mac so I could consult a PDF doc, suddenly started reciting the text out loud in a robot voice. Everyone stared at me, like WTF??? Only way I could turn it off was to mute the iPad sound. I guess it was some type of AI thing I brushed against by accident.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Infanta Margarita Teresa, drowning in her truly astonishing pink dress, 1665. By Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo, whose day is today.
February 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Infanta Margarita Teresa, drowning in her truly astonishing pink dress, 1665. By Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo, whose day is today.
I remember this, though don't recall reading about it in such detail. What an ordeal, what an incredible survival story. Far more thrilling than anything in SLIVER itself, which IIRC was a bit of a dud.
My helicopter went into freefall – inside an active volcano
Christopher Duddy was shooting a film in Hawaii when disaster struck. For 28 hours he choked on fumes near a lava lake, fighting to get to safety
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:49 AM
I remember this, though don't recall reading about it in such detail. What an ordeal, what an incredible survival story. Far more thrilling than anything in SLIVER itself, which IIRC was a bit of a dud.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Okay, I don't know how this happened but somehow I wrote an essay for the Imprint release of HARD BOILED. I will be carrying it around showing it to strangers for now on.
Hard Boiled (1992) - 4K UHD + Blu-ray SteelBook + Hardcover Booklet in Limited Edition Hardbox - Imprint Asia #49 | Via Vision Entertainment
As a cop, he has brains, brawn, and an instinct to kill.
viavision.com.au
February 10, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Okay, I don't know how this happened but somehow I wrote an essay for the Imprint release of HARD BOILED. I will be carrying it around showing it to strangers for now on.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Reposted by Anne Billson
Post a banger only intermittently and sarcastically in ze Engleesh
"Ich kenne Schritte, die sehr nützen,
und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen.
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss,
weiß noch nicht, dass er tanzen muss."
"Ich kenne Schritte, die sehr nützen,
und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen.
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss,
weiß noch nicht, dass er tanzen muss."
February 10, 2026 at 4:52 AM
Post a banger only intermittently and sarcastically in ze Engleesh
"Ich kenne Schritte, die sehr nützen,
und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen.
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss,
weiß noch nicht, dass er tanzen muss."
"Ich kenne Schritte, die sehr nützen,
und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen.
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss,
weiß noch nicht, dass er tanzen muss."
Reposted by Anne Billson
Michael Curtiz's "Captain Blood" 4K UHD - Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone @Criterion
4K UHD US: amzn.to/4alfPKZ
4K UHD UK: amzn.to/47zaMGy
US Blu-ray: amzn.to/4aDJWym
BONUS CAPTURES:
www.patreon.com/posts/michae...
OUR COMPARISON:
www.dvdbeaver.com/subsite/film...
4K UHD US: amzn.to/4alfPKZ
4K UHD UK: amzn.to/47zaMGy
US Blu-ray: amzn.to/4aDJWym
BONUS CAPTURES:
www.patreon.com/posts/michae...
OUR COMPARISON:
www.dvdbeaver.com/subsite/film...
February 9, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Michael Curtiz's "Captain Blood" 4K UHD - Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone @Criterion
4K UHD US: amzn.to/4alfPKZ
4K UHD UK: amzn.to/47zaMGy
US Blu-ray: amzn.to/4aDJWym
BONUS CAPTURES:
www.patreon.com/posts/michae...
OUR COMPARISON:
www.dvdbeaver.com/subsite/film...
4K UHD US: amzn.to/4alfPKZ
4K UHD UK: amzn.to/47zaMGy
US Blu-ray: amzn.to/4aDJWym
BONUS CAPTURES:
www.patreon.com/posts/michae...
OUR COMPARISON:
www.dvdbeaver.com/subsite/film...
Reposted by Anne Billson
Watching My Cousin Vinny, for reasons. Oh my god…Marisa Tomei. Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne knocking it out of the park and she steals every scene she’s in.
February 9, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Watching My Cousin Vinny, for reasons. Oh my god…Marisa Tomei. Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne knocking it out of the park and she steals every scene she’s in.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Props to Laura Dern, who I think took more movies from the closet than pretty much everyone who has visited.
February 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Props to Laura Dern, who I think took more movies from the closet than pretty much everyone who has visited.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Amazing!
The Academy Theater
Inglewood, California
1939
The theater was designed by architect S. Charles Lee in the Streamline Moderne style.
It opened November 7, 1939, and was intended to house the Academy Awards, though it never did.
#academytheater #streamlinemoderne #inglewood #california #artdeco
Inglewood, California
1939
The theater was designed by architect S. Charles Lee in the Streamline Moderne style.
It opened November 7, 1939, and was intended to house the Academy Awards, though it never did.
#academytheater #streamlinemoderne #inglewood #california #artdeco
February 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Amazing!
Reposted by Anne Billson
If they can do this to find a dog, they can do this to find anyone. That’s terrifying.
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
If they can do this to find a dog, they can do this to find anyone. That’s terrifying.
Reposted by Anne Billson
"Better [this] than another politely reverent variation on Sunday-evening telly."
I got on all right with "WUTHERING HEIGHTS".
‘Wuthering Heights’ review: Less 120 Days of Sodom, more Carry on Heathcliff
www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...
I got on all right with "WUTHERING HEIGHTS".
‘Wuthering Heights’ review: Less 120 Days of Sodom, more Carry on Heathcliff
www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...
‘Wuthering Heights’ review: Less 120 Days of Sodom, more Carry on Heathcliff
The Irish actor Alison Oliver shines in a film that can’t shake off the problem with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"Better [this] than another politely reverent variation on Sunday-evening telly."
I got on all right with "WUTHERING HEIGHTS".
‘Wuthering Heights’ review: Less 120 Days of Sodom, more Carry on Heathcliff
www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...
I got on all right with "WUTHERING HEIGHTS".
‘Wuthering Heights’ review: Less 120 Days of Sodom, more Carry on Heathcliff
www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...
Reposted by Anne Billson
I will go to my GRAVE cackling over this Marlon Brando anecdote
Please engrave it on my tombstone
Please engrave it on my tombstone
February 9, 2026 at 2:07 PM
I will go to my GRAVE cackling over this Marlon Brando anecdote
Please engrave it on my tombstone
Please engrave it on my tombstone
Reposted by Anne Billson
I began to write LOSS PROTOCOL in 2023, and here at last is a box of copies of the finished book. Published, in the UK, on February 12th.
February 9, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I began to write LOSS PROTOCOL in 2023, and here at last is a box of copies of the finished book. Published, in the UK, on February 12th.
Reposted by Anne Billson
New blog post: Maurice Leloir's Three Musketeers
Maurice Leloir’s Three Musketeers
Just after Christmas I watched the recent French film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, after which I resolved to finally read The Three Musketeers, something I'd been intending to do since reading The Count of Monte Cristo four years ago. I'm currently two thirds of the way through The Three Musketeers and enjoying it very much despite the familiarity of the story.
www.johncoulthart.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM
New blog post: Maurice Leloir's Three Musketeers
Reposted by Anne Billson
I'm a sucker for a low key, down-to-earth crime movie, so I really liked Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND, about a not particularly impressive art heist.
The Mastermind | VERN'S REVIEWS on the FILMS of CINEMA
Kelly Reichardt’s THE MASTERMIND is in a niche that really appeals to me: the unglamorous crime tale. It’s about an art heist, but there are zero
outlawvern.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM
I'm a sucker for a low key, down-to-earth crime movie, so I really liked Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND, about a not particularly impressive art heist.
It's black!
The black one is the blue one www.bbc.co.uk/news/educati...
Is the new passport really blue or black?
The new UK blue passport is as
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
It's black!
Also, my news UK passport is black. I thought the whole point of Brexit* was a return to navy blue passports. But now I have one maroon passport and one black one, which I guess makes it less likely I'll get them confused (always a concern at my age) */s
Just received my new UK passport. I often wonder what the point is of signing for a package when you have to scrawl on their app with your finger so your signature ends up looking as though a cat walked across the screen. I mean, your CAT could sign for it and no one would ever know the difference.
February 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Also, my news UK passport is black. I thought the whole point of Brexit* was a return to navy blue passports. But now I have one maroon passport and one black one, which I guess makes it less likely I'll get them confused (always a concern at my age) */s
Reposted by Anne Billson
Me, trying to work.
Daphne: No.
Daphne: No.
February 9, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Me, trying to work.
Daphne: No.
Daphne: No.
Reposted by Anne Billson
The amazing & slightly manic Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire. Built for Sir Francis Willoughby in the 1580s, painted in 1697 by Jan Siberechts of Antwerp. Today is his day.
February 9, 2026 at 1:45 PM
The amazing & slightly manic Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire. Built for Sir Francis Willoughby in the 1580s, painted in 1697 by Jan Siberechts of Antwerp. Today is his day.
Fucking accounting software supposed to save me work? In practice just means I have to write out THREE invoices: once in software for records, but b/c that's in Dutch I can't send it to UK-based companies so have to do it again in docx before converting THAT to PDF because I can't edit in adobe FFS.
February 9, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Fucking accounting software supposed to save me work? In practice just means I have to write out THREE invoices: once in software for records, but b/c that's in Dutch I can't send it to UK-based companies so have to do it again in docx before converting THAT to PDF because I can't edit in adobe FFS.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Its reputation as a Big Fat Book you read to show off, or as an endurance test, does it no favours. It is, as Helen suggests, wonderful.
I'm up to page 252 of WAR AND PEACE (I'm supposed to be doing a chapter a day throughout the year but I'm a bit ahead because I can't always take it away with me when I go). I suppose trillions of readers have expressed this before me, but it's brilliant, isn't it?
February 8, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Its reputation as a Big Fat Book you read to show off, or as an endurance test, does it no favours. It is, as Helen suggests, wonderful.
Reposted by Anne Billson
Son of Mik was temporarily VERY excited about the idea of going to see the new family movie Kangaroo but only because he thought it was going to be an animal attack movie following the same naming convention as Alligator and Grizzly.
There is clearly a gap in the market for a Murder Roo movie.
There is clearly a gap in the market for a Murder Roo movie.
February 9, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Son of Mik was temporarily VERY excited about the idea of going to see the new family movie Kangaroo but only because he thought it was going to be an animal attack movie following the same naming convention as Alligator and Grizzly.
There is clearly a gap in the market for a Murder Roo movie.
There is clearly a gap in the market for a Murder Roo movie.