Brian Bowe
@brian-bowe.bsky.social
professional word wrangler
•Words: Sight & Sound | LWLies | Quietus
•Editor: HeadStuff
•Portfolio: http://bquinn.contently.com
•Words: Sight & Sound | LWLies | Quietus
•Editor: HeadStuff
•Portfolio: http://bquinn.contently.com
Everyone needs to watch ROLLER BOOGIE (1979). Everyone.
December 15, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Everyone needs to watch ROLLER BOOGIE (1979). Everyone.
Caught up with Joanna Arnow’s feature debut, ‘The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed’ (2023), last night and suddenly feeling rather hopeful for the future of American filmmaking.
December 14, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Caught up with Joanna Arnow’s feature debut, ‘The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed’ (2023), last night and suddenly feeling rather hopeful for the future of American filmmaking.
I keep reading that Laura Poitras’ new doc COVER-UP got an Irish cinema release, and yet I can’t find it screening anywhere…
December 6, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I keep reading that Laura Poitras’ new doc COVER-UP got an Irish cinema release, and yet I can’t find it screening anywhere…
Tarantino’s Lillard diss means now is a good time to remind you that the actor put in one of the best performances of 2025 (in Life of Chuck), and all he needed was one scene.
December 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Tarantino’s Lillard diss means now is a good time to remind you that the actor put in one of the best performances of 2025 (in Life of Chuck), and all he needed was one scene.
We watched Fritz Lang's THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953) last night -- a tight, fun little thriller, with a charming cameo from
Nat King Cole no less! Alas, not among my top Blues (Velvet, Betty, Brothers, Three Colours, Sunshine). The journey continues. 💙
Nat King Cole no less! Alas, not among my top Blues (Velvet, Betty, Brothers, Three Colours, Sunshine). The journey continues. 💙
December 2, 2025 at 2:37 PM
We watched Fritz Lang's THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953) last night -- a tight, fun little thriller, with a charming cameo from
Nat King Cole no less! Alas, not among my top Blues (Velvet, Betty, Brothers, Three Colours, Sunshine). The journey continues. 💙
Nat King Cole no less! Alas, not among my top Blues (Velvet, Betty, Brothers, Three Colours, Sunshine). The journey continues. 💙
Favourite first-time watches of November 2025:
• Lady Terminator (1988)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• The Ambulance (1990)
• The Ice Tower (2025)
• Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)
• Lady Terminator (1988)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• The Ambulance (1990)
• The Ice Tower (2025)
• Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)
November 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Favourite first-time watches of November 2025:
• Lady Terminator (1988)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• The Ambulance (1990)
• The Ice Tower (2025)
• Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)
• Lady Terminator (1988)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• The Ambulance (1990)
• The Ice Tower (2025)
• Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)
Spotted DOLORES CLAIBORNE in an Irish Times listicle on King adaptations and realised that it’s been on my watchlist for far too long. Worked a treat for a late Sunday matinee. Full of melancholy, melodrama and a frazzled Christopher Plummer serving up three square meals of bitchery.
November 24, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Spotted DOLORES CLAIBORNE in an Irish Times listicle on King adaptations and realised that it’s been on my watchlist for far too long. Worked a treat for a late Sunday matinee. Full of melancholy, melodrama and a frazzled Christopher Plummer serving up three square meals of bitchery.
I didn’t get a ticket for MBV tonight, but I did come across this potentially equally soul-enriching experience. Will report back.
November 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM
I didn’t get a ticket for MBV tonight, but I did come across this potentially equally soul-enriching experience. Will report back.
Most post-screening Q&As are excruciating, but this was fun! @irishfilminstitute.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Most post-screening Q&As are excruciating, but this was fun! @irishfilminstitute.bsky.social
The only exception being a giddy-to-the-gills Red Buttons, to whom Eric Roberts is only happy to concede ground, and who at one crucial moment snuffs out a bad guy with a piss-filled bedpan to the head, hitting him with that doink-sploosh one-two combo!
November 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
The only exception being a giddy-to-the-gills Red Buttons, to whom Eric Roberts is only happy to concede ground, and who at one crucial moment snuffs out a bad guy with a piss-filled bedpan to the head, hitting him with that doink-sploosh one-two combo!
THE AMBULANCE (1990) •
A lesser actor would’ve been upstaged by such a full-bodied mullet. Not Roberts, he’s going full tilt here and ain’t nothing holding him back.
A lesser actor would’ve been upstaged by such a full-bodied mullet. Not Roberts, he’s going full tilt here and ain’t nothing holding him back.
November 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
THE AMBULANCE (1990) •
A lesser actor would’ve been upstaged by such a full-bodied mullet. Not Roberts, he’s going full tilt here and ain’t nothing holding him back.
A lesser actor would’ve been upstaged by such a full-bodied mullet. Not Roberts, he’s going full tilt here and ain’t nothing holding him back.
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1948) •
Two broken toy soldiers stumbling in circles through dingy bars and empty streets, blinded by grief, guilt and looking for someone to pin it on. All 82mins seen through Van Heflin’s bug eyes and carried atop Robert Ryan’s ludicrously broad shoulders.
Two broken toy soldiers stumbling in circles through dingy bars and empty streets, blinded by grief, guilt and looking for someone to pin it on. All 82mins seen through Van Heflin’s bug eyes and carried atop Robert Ryan’s ludicrously broad shoulders.
November 10, 2025 at 9:10 AM
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1948) •
Two broken toy soldiers stumbling in circles through dingy bars and empty streets, blinded by grief, guilt and looking for someone to pin it on. All 82mins seen through Van Heflin’s bug eyes and carried atop Robert Ryan’s ludicrously broad shoulders.
Two broken toy soldiers stumbling in circles through dingy bars and empty streets, blinded by grief, guilt and looking for someone to pin it on. All 82mins seen through Van Heflin’s bug eyes and carried atop Robert Ryan’s ludicrously broad shoulders.
Few films feel like velvet. This is one of them. Dark and deep. I held on to it, crawled into it and will be wrapped up in it till spring.
November 4, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Few films feel like velvet. This is one of them. Dark and deep. I held on to it, crawled into it and will be wrapped up in it till spring.
It ain’t a masterpiece. But as a time capsule it really hits home that on top of losing art spaces, we’re losing spaces where we can talk about art. It’s up to us to carve out these intimate pockets of conversation where we can. Start a film club! Join the library! Loiter in movie theatre lobbies!
November 3, 2025 at 8:04 AM
It ain’t a masterpiece. But as a time capsule it really hits home that on top of losing art spaces, we’re losing spaces where we can talk about art. It’s up to us to carve out these intimate pockets of conversation where we can. Start a film club! Join the library! Loiter in movie theatre lobbies!
I wonder if Jeff Lieberman had any clue that his goofy 1988 sci-fi REMOTE CONTROL would someday become a tearjerker for those of us old enough to remember the thrill of discovery and discussion that came with stepping into a video store
…
…
November 3, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I wonder if Jeff Lieberman had any clue that his goofy 1988 sci-fi REMOTE CONTROL would someday become a tearjerker for those of us old enough to remember the thrill of discovery and discussion that came with stepping into a video store
…
…
…that tear his chest open like cheap Christmas wrapping paper until he’s left a lifeless, tattered lump. Deader than dead! Does she then walk away? Yes, but not before kicking what’s left of this poor bastard in the balls. Lady Terminator, folks! ❤️
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
…that tear his chest open like cheap Christmas wrapping paper until he’s left a lifeless, tattered lump. Deader than dead! Does she then walk away? Yes, but not before kicking what’s left of this poor bastard in the balls. Lady Terminator, folks! ❤️
We watched LADY TERMINATOR (1988) over Halloween, and just to give you some insight into Lady Terminator’s meticulous work ethic: at one point, she blasts away a military officer with a heavy-duty machine gun, stands over his broken body, continues to riddle it with bullets (beautiful squib work)
…
…
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
We watched LADY TERMINATOR (1988) over Halloween, and just to give you some insight into Lady Terminator’s meticulous work ethic: at one point, she blasts away a military officer with a heavy-duty machine gun, stands over his broken body, continues to riddle it with bullets (beautiful squib work)
…
…
Favourite first-time watches of October 2025:
• Stuck (2007)
• The Mastermind (2025)
• Dirty Weekend (1993)
• High Spirits (1988)
• Stuck (2007)
• The Mastermind (2025)
• Dirty Weekend (1993)
• High Spirits (1988)
November 1, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Favourite first-time watches of October 2025:
• Stuck (2007)
• The Mastermind (2025)
• Dirty Weekend (1993)
• High Spirits (1988)
• Stuck (2007)
• The Mastermind (2025)
• Dirty Weekend (1993)
• High Spirits (1988)
Gonna be a good’un
October 30, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Gonna be a good’un
One day to go until BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL 2025 and I just can't get over how strong this programme is - certainly the best lineup I've seen from an Irish film festival this year, including events that look to challenge notions of what a film fest should be! 👉 belfastfilmfestival.org/whats-on
October 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
One day to go until BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL 2025 and I just can't get over how strong this programme is - certainly the best lineup I've seen from an Irish film festival this year, including events that look to challenge notions of what a film fest should be! 👉 belfastfilmfestival.org/whats-on
My local library remains undefeated.
October 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
My local library remains undefeated.
… I’m not suggesting it should be reclaimed as a masterpiece, but in contrast to today’s relentless slew of formulaic musical biopics, ONE TRICK PONY emerges as a truly refreshing and curious experiment in abstract self-portraiture. Plus, Lou Reed is fantastic as a slimy music exec!
October 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
… I’m not suggesting it should be reclaimed as a masterpiece, but in contrast to today’s relentless slew of formulaic musical biopics, ONE TRICK PONY emerges as a truly refreshing and curious experiment in abstract self-portraiture. Plus, Lou Reed is fantastic as a slimy music exec!