Thomas Caldwell
@cinemaautopsy.bsky.social
writer | broadcaster | film critic | artistic director of Children’s International Film Festival | day job at @stmartinsyac.bsky.social | Twin Peaks & Doctor Who fan | loves physical media | posts about things I like | https://linktr.ee/cinemaautopsy
I don’t mean to boast, but I got a TARDIS cake made for me today.
December 6, 2025 at 6:09 AM
I don’t mean to boast, but I got a TARDIS cake made for me today.
Happy Birthday DOCTOR WHO! 62-years-old and still ever present on my screen, in my ears and on my shelves.
#DoctorWho
#DoctorWho
November 23, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Happy Birthday DOCTOR WHO! 62-years-old and still ever present on my screen, in my ears and on my shelves.
#DoctorWho
#DoctorWho
Video calls between director Sepideh Farsi, an exiled Iranian filmmaker, and Fatma Hassona, a young Palestinian woman living in Gaza, provides a deeply personal account of genocide. PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK is released in Australia tomorrow. More thoughts: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
November 18, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Video calls between director Sepideh Farsi, an exiled Iranian filmmaker, and Fatma Hassona, a young Palestinian woman living in Gaza, provides a deeply personal account of genocide. PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK is released in Australia tomorrow. More thoughts: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
TWO PROSECUTORS is released in Australia tomorrow. Set at the height of Stalin's Great Purge it's a chilling study of the Kafkaesque strategies used by impenetrable bureaucracies to obfuscate and frustrate; depicting the more insidious techniques authoritarian regimes use to crush the human spirit.
November 12, 2025 at 8:18 AM
TWO PROSECUTORS is released in Australia tomorrow. Set at the height of Stalin's Great Purge it's a chilling study of the Kafkaesque strategies used by impenetrable bureaucracies to obfuscate and frustrate; depicting the more insidious techniques authoritarian regimes use to crush the human spirit.
I saw and loved DIE MY LOVE last night. Probably Jennifer Lawrence's best performance to date. Some thoughts on how fraught it is portraying mental illness and why this film is an exception: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
November 12, 2025 at 2:13 AM
I saw and loved DIE MY LOVE last night. Probably Jennifer Lawrence's best performance to date. Some thoughts on how fraught it is portraying mental illness and why this film is an exception: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
I first saw FONG SAI YUK in the mid '90s and it was one of the key films that made me fall in love with Hong Kong action cinema. I finally rewatched it again last night, wonderfully presented in 4K by @88films.bsky.social, and shared my reaction on @letterboxd.social: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
November 9, 2025 at 12:19 AM
I first saw FONG SAI YUK in the mid '90s and it was one of the key films that made me fall in love with Hong Kong action cinema. I finally rewatched it again last night, wonderfully presented in 4K by @88films.bsky.social, and shared my reaction on @letterboxd.social: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
Another film released in Australia today that I really loved is HAPPYEND, a Japanese coming-of-age film set in the not too distant future when everything is getting just that little bit more authoritarian and repressive. Further thoughts at: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
October 30, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Another film released in Australia today that I really loved is HAPPYEND, a Japanese coming-of-age film set in the not too distant future when everything is getting just that little bit more authoritarian and repressive. Further thoughts at: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
I liked BUGONIA a lot and attempted to briefly explain why it is more a film about human behaviour rather than politics, without giving too much away, on my @letterboxd.social account: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
October 29, 2025 at 11:53 PM
I liked BUGONIA a lot and attempted to briefly explain why it is more a film about human behaviour rather than politics, without giving too much away, on my @letterboxd.social account: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
I can't stop thinking about Guillermo Del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN. It'll be on @netflix.com soon but catch it on the big screen if you possibly can. Further thoughts over at @letterboxd.social: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
October 29, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I can't stop thinking about Guillermo Del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN. It'll be on @netflix.com soon but catch it on the big screen if you possibly can. Further thoughts over at @letterboxd.social: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
Rewatched PHANTOM THREAD over the weekend and knowing what happens gives it a whole different layer of enjoyment and appreciation. But nothing will beat the experience of seeing this for the first time in a packed cinema of people laughing in shocked delight at the audacity of where it goes.
October 27, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Rewatched PHANTOM THREAD over the weekend and knowing what happens gives it a whole different layer of enjoyment and appreciation. But nothing will beat the experience of seeing this for the first time in a packed cinema of people laughing in shocked delight at the audacity of where it goes.
Took a while to get through ALIEN: EARTH as after its incredible first episode it never quite lived up to its promise. But there are elements of the series that are among the best of what the franchise has done recently. Some reservations but I’ll absolutely watch the next season if it happens.
October 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Took a while to get through ALIEN: EARTH as after its incredible first episode it never quite lived up to its promise. But there are elements of the series that are among the best of what the franchise has done recently. Some reservations but I’ll absolutely watch the next season if it happens.
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE is a nerve-racking reminder of how close the world is to nuclear war. Rebecca Ferguson stands out as one of the high ranking people struggling to remain professional in a situation of high anxiety. It's now odd to see a film about the US government where people are competent.
October 23, 2025 at 11:18 PM
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE is a nerve-racking reminder of how close the world is to nuclear war. Rebecca Ferguson stands out as one of the high ranking people struggling to remain professional in a situation of high anxiety. It's now odd to see a film about the US government where people are competent.
I don't think I've seen a film about living with dementia as tender as FAMILIAR TOUCH. It portrays the experiences of protagonist Ruth and her carers with so much dignity and compassion, while staying honest about the hardship and grief involved. There's a lot of comfort in this film's humanity.
October 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
I don't think I've seen a film about living with dementia as tender as FAMILIAR TOUCH. It portrays the experiences of protagonist Ruth and her carers with so much dignity and compassion, while staying honest about the hardship and grief involved. There's a lot of comfort in this film's humanity.
The assemblage of police body camera footage to create such a compelling narrative in THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (@netflix.com) is so impressive. It is a devastating and heartbreaking story that also works as a profound microcosm of contemporary America's damaged psyche and propensity towards violence.
October 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The assemblage of police body camera footage to create such a compelling narrative in THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (@netflix.com) is so impressive. It is a devastating and heartbreaking story that also works as a profound microcosm of contemporary America's damaged psyche and propensity towards violence.
Kelly Reichardt’s latest, THE MASTERMIND with Josh O'Connor as a likeable yet inept art thief, starts as an endearing and amusing low fi heist film but unfolds into an insightful examination of a man who's so disengaged, self-centred & self pitying that he's oblivious to the harm he does to others.
October 22, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Kelly Reichardt’s latest, THE MASTERMIND with Josh O'Connor as a likeable yet inept art thief, starts as an endearing and amusing low fi heist film but unfolds into an insightful examination of a man who's so disengaged, self-centred & self pitying that he's oblivious to the harm he does to others.
Not sure when I got the German blu-ray of THE NEVERENDING STORY but I've now seen both versions of one of my beloved childhood films. Nostalgia means I'll never be able to be truly critical of it but it does feel timeless; if it were to be remade now you could easily depict the Nothing as AI slop.
October 12, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Not sure when I got the German blu-ray of THE NEVERENDING STORY but I've now seen both versions of one of my beloved childhood films. Nostalgia means I'll never be able to be truly critical of it but it does feel timeless; if it were to be remade now you could easily depict the Nothing as AI slop.
Diane Keaton could move seamlessly between comedy and drama, and is one of the reasons so many iconic 1970s (and beyond) films are so amazing, influential and memorable. She was one of the greats.
October 11, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Diane Keaton could move seamlessly between comedy and drama, and is one of the reasons so many iconic 1970s (and beyond) films are so amazing, influential and memorable. She was one of the greats.
It wasn't my intention to wait until now to see ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER but it meant I saw it on 70mm at the Astor Theatre along with a really fun and savvy pre-show. Anyway, pretty great, right? Probably will become the defining film of 2025. A couple more thoughts: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
October 6, 2025 at 11:58 AM
It wasn't my intention to wait until now to see ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER but it meant I saw it on 70mm at the Astor Theatre along with a really fun and savvy pre-show. Anyway, pretty great, right? Probably will become the defining film of 2025. A couple more thoughts: letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
I finally watched my DVD of RIFIFI last night, addressing a very long overdue #filmblindspot. It is easily one of the all-time great heist films, and arguably the one that set the standard and template that all others should be measured by. More fragmented thoughts at
letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
October 5, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I finally watched my DVD of RIFIFI last night, addressing a very long overdue #filmblindspot. It is easily one of the all-time great heist films, and arguably the one that set the standard and template that all others should be measured by. More fragmented thoughts at
letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
letterboxd.com/cinemaautops...
Considering how common the mockumentary has become it’s remarkable how few things have come close to nailing the format as THIS IS SPINAL TAP. So much of the joy comes from being lulled into feeling it’s an actual doc and then a random line catches you off guard and you laugh until your face hurts.
September 20, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Considering how common the mockumentary has become it’s remarkable how few things have come close to nailing the format as THIS IS SPINAL TAP. So much of the joy comes from being lulled into feeling it’s an actual doc and then a random line catches you off guard and you laugh until your face hurts.
Arriving at the tail end of Classical Hollywood, becoming a star of New Hollywood, a director and an essential player in facilitating the wave of independent American cinema in the 1990s, Robert Redford's impact on the last 60 years of American cinema was enormous. Vale to a great artist.
September 17, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Arriving at the tail end of Classical Hollywood, becoming a star of New Hollywood, a director and an essential player in facilitating the wave of independent American cinema in the 1990s, Robert Redford's impact on the last 60 years of American cinema was enormous. Vale to a great artist.
I rewatched my 20th anniversary DVD of the original TRON, which I bought 23 years ago. Damn. One detail that's aged well is the villain is a smug tech arsehole who amassed power by exploiting the work of others to create an AI entity that's ruining the potential that computing once offered humanity.
September 14, 2025 at 11:46 AM
I rewatched my 20th anniversary DVD of the original TRON, which I bought 23 years ago. Damn. One detail that's aged well is the villain is a smug tech arsehole who amassed power by exploiting the work of others to create an AI entity that's ruining the potential that computing once offered humanity.
SKETCH is released in Australia tomorrow. I was expecting a whimsical and wacky family film about drawings that come to life. Instead, it's a darkly funny kids horror with nods to PET SEMATARY, JURASSIC PARK & ARACHNOPHOBIA and more than a little DNA from 1980s Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg films.
September 10, 2025 at 1:43 AM
SKETCH is released in Australia tomorrow. I was expecting a whimsical and wacky family film about drawings that come to life. Instead, it's a darkly funny kids horror with nods to PET SEMATARY, JURASSIC PARK & ARACHNOPHOBIA and more than a little DNA from 1980s Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg films.
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST sees Spike Lee in full operatic mode and Denzel Washington in full bombastic mode, and I'm here for both. Lee's distinct style is both familiar and surprising in the way it so often draws attention to itself or seems to go against the grain. A highly energetic morality play.
September 8, 2025 at 7:45 AM
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST sees Spike Lee in full operatic mode and Denzel Washington in full bombastic mode, and I'm here for both. Lee's distinct style is both familiar and surprising in the way it so often draws attention to itself or seems to go against the grain. A highly energetic morality play.
DRESSED TO KILL was a big De Palma #filmblindspot for me, so I’m glad to have finally seen it. It’s sleazy, exploitive, silly and problematic as hell but I really enjoyed the craftsmanship and unashamed perversity & voyeurism of it all. A beautiful fusion of Hitchcockian themes & giallo aesthetics.
September 7, 2025 at 11:34 AM
DRESSED TO KILL was a big De Palma #filmblindspot for me, so I’m glad to have finally seen it. It’s sleazy, exploitive, silly and problematic as hell but I really enjoyed the craftsmanship and unashamed perversity & voyeurism of it all. A beautiful fusion of Hitchcockian themes & giallo aesthetics.