Grant Watson
@fictionmachine.bsky.social
Rotten Tomatoes-accredited film critic. Award-winning playwright. Noted international education analyst. Serviceable theatre director. Has multiple sclerosis.
www.fictionmachine.com
www.fictionmachine.com
Nakadai Tatsuya has passed away, aged 92. He was one of the greats of Japanese screen actors, appearing in The Human Condition, Harakiri, Kwaidan, Ran, Sword of Doom, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and many, many others.
November 11, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Nakadai Tatsuya has passed away, aged 92. He was one of the greats of Japanese screen actors, appearing in The Human Condition, Harakiri, Kwaidan, Ran, Sword of Doom, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and many, many others.
Oh waiter, a shot of your finest plum wine - I need to clean some coins.
November 7, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Oh waiter, a shot of your finest plum wine - I need to clean some coins.
RIP Nabil Shaban, Jordanian-British actor and iconic performer with disability. Founded the Graeae disability theatre company. Appeared in City of Joy, Wittgenstein, and Children of Men. Famously played the capitalist alien banker Sil in Doctor Who.
October 26, 2025 at 12:44 AM
RIP Nabil Shaban, Jordanian-British actor and iconic performer with disability. Founded the Graeae disability theatre company. Appeared in City of Joy, Wittgenstein, and Children of Men. Famously played the capitalist alien banker Sil in Doctor Who.
RIP Dead or Alive creator Itagaki Tomonobu. I was a particularly keen fan of Dead or Alive 2 on the Sega Dreamcast.
October 16, 2025 at 10:20 AM
RIP Dead or Alive creator Itagaki Tomonobu. I was a particularly keen fan of Dead or Alive 2 on the Sega Dreamcast.
One of my all-time favourites films: Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days. 30 years old, right here, right now.
October 13, 2025 at 4:14 AM
One of my all-time favourites films: Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days. 30 years old, right here, right now.
So remember to love the almighty Southern Cassowary – but also remember: don’t hug it. (13/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:57 AM
So remember to love the almighty Southern Cassowary – but also remember: don’t hug it. (13/13)
That said, given the chance they’ll try eating anything. Items found in cassowary poop have included half-digested fish, a plastic toy car, children’s blocks, and a bandicoot. (Pictured: a bandicoot.) (11/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:53 AM
That said, given the chance they’ll try eating anything. Items found in cassowary poop have included half-digested fish, a plastic toy car, children’s blocks, and a bandicoot. (Pictured: a bandicoot.) (11/13)
Despite their fearsome appearance, cassowaries generally eat fruit. They swallow them whole. They can even eat toxic fruit, because they have a ridiculously short digestive tract. (10/y)
October 8, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Despite their fearsome appearance, cassowaries generally eat fruit. They swallow them whole. They can even eat toxic fruit, because they have a ridiculously short digestive tract. (10/y)
The males nurse the eggs and raise the chicks, who leave the nest at about nine months. The females are off as soon as they lay, to have sex with other males. Do not slut-shame them. (9/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:50 AM
The males nurse the eggs and raise the chicks, who leave the nest at about nine months. The females are off as soon as they lay, to have sex with other males. Do not slut-shame them. (9/13)
This photograph contains a cassowary. (8/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:49 AM
This photograph contains a cassowary. (8/13)
Despite this sort of take-no-shit behaviour, the Southern Cassowary is not the deadliest bird in the world. Ostriches kill 2-3 people each year. Why are Cassowaries less deadly? They are exceptional at hide-and-seek. (7/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Despite this sort of take-no-shit behaviour, the Southern Cassowary is not the deadliest bird in the world. Ostriches kill 2-3 people each year. Why are Cassowaries less deadly? They are exceptional at hide-and-seek. (7/13)
The first recorded human death by cassowary was in 1926. 16-year-old Phillip McClean and his brother attacked a local cassowary with clubs. Phillip tripped while trying to hit the bird; it responded by kicking a half-inch hole through his neck. (6/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:46 AM
The first recorded human death by cassowary was in 1926. 16-year-old Phillip McClean and his brother attacked a local cassowary with clubs. Phillip tripped while trying to hit the bird; it responded by kicking a half-inch hole through his neck. (6/13)
Cassowaries have three toes on each foot. The inner toe comprises a five-inch-long claw that would be better off described as “Jesus fuck that bird’s got a knife!!” (5/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Cassowaries have three toes on each foot. The inner toe comprises a five-inch-long claw that would be better off described as “Jesus fuck that bird’s got a knife!!” (5/13)
Yeah, a cassowary’s voice is deep. Really deep. Like, James Earl Jones once heard it and said “fuck me, brother, that’s deep”. Well, he probably said that. (4/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Yeah, a cassowary’s voice is deep. Really deep. Like, James Earl Jones once heard it and said “fuck me, brother, that’s deep”. Well, he probably said that. (4/13)
They each have a hard keratinous casque on their head. We don’t know why. There are theories – a secondary sexual characteristic, for example, or a weapon for head-butting rivals. They seem to also amplify deep sounds made by the cassowary. (3/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:42 AM
They each have a hard keratinous casque on their head. We don’t know why. There are theories – a secondary sexual characteristic, for example, or a weapon for head-butting rivals. They seem to also amplify deep sounds made by the cassowary. (3/13)
I mean, they’re tall. Really tall. Average heights are 1.5-1.8 metres. Females can occasionally top the charts at just on 2 metres. That’s 6 foot 6 and a half inches. (2/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:40 AM
I mean, they’re tall. Really tall. Average heights are 1.5-1.8 metres. Females can occasionally top the charts at just on 2 metres. That’s 6 foot 6 and a half inches. (2/13)
Is there a more magnificent Australian bird than the Southern Cassowary? There is not. Located in Queensland, Papua New Guinea, and a few Pacific islands, it is the third-largest flightless bird in the world after the ostrich and the emu. (1/13)
October 8, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Is there a more magnificent Australian bird than the Southern Cassowary? There is not. Located in Queensland, Papua New Guinea, and a few Pacific islands, it is the third-largest flightless bird in the world after the ostrich and the emu. (1/13)
You've changed since ER, Anthony Edwards.
October 7, 2025 at 12:56 AM
You've changed since ER, Anthony Edwards.
"They're really welcoming, and have no problem that I masturbate in front of unwilling female comedians backstage," the previously cancelled performer said.
October 6, 2025 at 5:14 AM
"They're really welcoming, and have no problem that I masturbate in front of unwilling female comedians backstage," the previously cancelled performer said.
Today marks 20 years since the release of Serenity, the last gasp of Joss Whedon's Firefly, and its fans still haven't shut up about it.
September 30, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Today marks 20 years since the release of Serenity, the last gasp of Joss Whedon's Firefly, and its fans still haven't shut up about it.
Porn star name.
September 29, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Porn star name.
Three Days of the Condor, starring the recently departed Robert Redford, turns 50 years old today.
September 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Three Days of the Condor, starring the recently departed Robert Redford, turns 50 years old today.