Matthew Aldridge
@mpaldridge.bsky.social
But blue. https://mpaldridge.github.io
IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU 🇺🇸 An unpleasant time at the cinema. I was stressed-out, tense and uncomfortable for the whole two hours, and did not enjoy myself. Four stars! ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 15, 2025 at 11:23 PM
IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU 🇺🇸 An unpleasant time at the cinema. I was stressed-out, tense and uncomfortable for the whole two hours, and did not enjoy myself. Four stars! ★★★★ #LIFF2025
GHOST ELEPHANTS 🇺🇸🇦🇴🇧🇼 Werner Herzog documentary about the search for giant elephants in the highlands of Angola. I liked that it didn’t shy away from the weirdness of the place, without straying into mocking or gawping or (except in one very funny but knowing moment) romanticising it. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 15, 2025 at 11:22 PM
GHOST ELEPHANTS 🇺🇸🇦🇴🇧🇼 Werner Herzog documentary about the search for giant elephants in the highlands of Angola. I liked that it didn’t shy away from the weirdness of the place, without straying into mocking or gawping or (except in one very funny but knowing moment) romanticising it. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO 🇨🇱 Drama about a community of travestis (the subtitles translate this as “transvestites”, which I’m not sure is quite right) in a deserted Chilean mining town, and an unnamed “plague” that is affecting the town. ★★★ #LIFF2025
November 15, 2025 at 11:09 PM
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO 🇨🇱 Drama about a community of travestis (the subtitles translate this as “transvestites”, which I’m not sure is quite right) in a deserted Chilean mining town, and an unnamed “plague” that is affecting the town. ★★★ #LIFF2025
And one can have endless arguments about what’s correct! (die Schweiz? la Suisse? la Svizzera? la Svizra?)
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 AM
And one can have endless arguments about what’s correct! (die Schweiz? la Suisse? la Svizzera? la Svizra?)
SILENT FRIEND 🇩🇪🇭🇺 The 1907 and 1972 storylines were really good but then didn’t have endings; I didn’t like the 2022 plot as much. The general “Isn’t the most important thing science teaches us that everything is connected?” tone grated on me. ★★★ #LIFF2025
November 14, 2025 at 11:42 PM
SILENT FRIEND 🇩🇪🇭🇺 The 1907 and 1972 storylines were really good but then didn’t have endings; I didn’t like the 2022 plot as much. The general “Isn’t the most important thing science teaches us that everything is connected?” tone grated on me. ★★★ #LIFF2025
Other #LIFF2025 notes:
– Second film in three days to feature a character playing the Chopin E minor Prelude.
– There appears to have been a victory in the “The emergency exit lights in Vue screen 12 are too bright” wars.
– Second film in three days to feature a character playing the Chopin E minor Prelude.
– There appears to have been a victory in the “The emergency exit lights in Vue screen 12 are too bright” wars.
November 14, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Other #LIFF2025 notes:
– Second film in three days to feature a character playing the Chopin E minor Prelude.
– There appears to have been a victory in the “The emergency exit lights in Vue screen 12 are too bright” wars.
– Second film in three days to feature a character playing the Chopin E minor Prelude.
– There appears to have been a victory in the “The emergency exit lights in Vue screen 12 are too bright” wars.
MIROIRS No 3 🇩🇪 I was intrigued by the characters and I was never bored, but the film didn’t seem to know what to do with its own setup. ★★★ #LIFF2025
November 14, 2025 at 7:52 PM
MIROIRS No 3 🇩🇪 I was intrigued by the characters and I was never bored, but the film didn’t seem to know what to do with its own setup. ★★★ #LIFF2025
If commissioning crime is outlawed, only outlaws will be Crime Commissioners.
November 13, 2025 at 11:13 PM
If commissioning crime is outlawed, only outlaws will be Crime Commissioners.
PETER HUJAR’S DAY 🇺🇸 I thought I might be bored by two people just talking about what one of them did the day before – but quite the contrary. If anything, it’s the other bits (unnecessary changes of location/clothing; the Mozart’s Requiem parts) that irritate a little. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
PETER HUJAR’S DAY 🇺🇸 I thought I might be bored by two people just talking about what one of them did the day before – but quite the contrary. If anything, it’s the other bits (unnecessary changes of location/clothing; the Mozart’s Requiem parts) that irritate a little. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
Catching up on some #LIFF2025 reviews I have got behind with:
PERLA 🇸🇰🇦🇹 An interesting character study that gradually reveals a darker background, but I was never totally gripped by this. ★★★
PERLA 🇸🇰🇦🇹 An interesting character study that gradually reveals a darker background, but I was never totally gripped by this. ★★★
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Catching up on some #LIFF2025 reviews I have got behind with:
PERLA 🇸🇰🇦🇹 An interesting character study that gradually reveals a darker background, but I was never totally gripped by this. ★★★
PERLA 🇸🇰🇦🇹 An interesting character study that gradually reveals a darker background, but I was never totally gripped by this. ★★★
I also admired FAMILY SUNDAY 🇲🇽🌎, a Rear Window (or opening scene of A Shot in the Dark) -esque oner, albeit that was too chilly to *enjoy*, exactly.
Number of award-winning shorts that featured:
– a play on the phrase “Houston, we have a problem”: 2
– a human finger severed by a kitchen knife: 2
Number of award-winning shorts that featured:
– a play on the phrase “Houston, we have a problem”: 2
– a human finger severed by a kitchen knife: 2
November 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
I also admired FAMILY SUNDAY 🇲🇽🌎, a Rear Window (or opening scene of A Shot in the Dark) -esque oner, albeit that was too chilly to *enjoy*, exactly.
Number of award-winning shorts that featured:
– a play on the phrase “Houston, we have a problem”: 2
– a human finger severed by a kitchen knife: 2
Number of award-winning shorts that featured:
– a play on the phrase “Houston, we have a problem”: 2
– a human finger severed by a kitchen knife: 2
#LIFF2025 SHORTS AWARD WINNERS:
My favourites were:
THEIR EYES 🇫🇷📰 Artfully presented documentary about foreign workers who draw outlines around and label objects in photographs, in order to provide train data for self-driving cars.
ROCKET FUEL 🇬🇧💮 Very funny kids with tremendous Yorkshire accents.
My favourites were:
THEIR EYES 🇫🇷📰 Artfully presented documentary about foreign workers who draw outlines around and label objects in photographs, in order to provide train data for self-driving cars.
ROCKET FUEL 🇬🇧💮 Very funny kids with tremendous Yorkshire accents.
November 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
#LIFF2025 SHORTS AWARD WINNERS:
My favourites were:
THEIR EYES 🇫🇷📰 Artfully presented documentary about foreign workers who draw outlines around and label objects in photographs, in order to provide train data for self-driving cars.
ROCKET FUEL 🇬🇧💮 Very funny kids with tremendous Yorkshire accents.
My favourites were:
THEIR EYES 🇫🇷📰 Artfully presented documentary about foreign workers who draw outlines around and label objects in photographs, in order to provide train data for self-driving cars.
ROCKET FUEL 🇬🇧💮 Very funny kids with tremendous Yorkshire accents.
IS THIS THING ON? 🇺🇸 After two huge, Oscar-y, music-heavy epics where he plays the dominating, complicated main character, Bradley Cooper now gives us a low-key middle-age comedy-of-remarriage where he has a small part as a bad actor called Balls. I liked it a lot! ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 11, 2025 at 11:23 PM
IS THIS THING ON? 🇺🇸 After two huge, Oscar-y, music-heavy epics where he plays the dominating, complicated main character, Bradley Cooper now gives us a low-key middle-age comedy-of-remarriage where he has a small part as a bad actor called Balls. I liked it a lot! ★★★★ #LIFF2025
THE CURRENTS / Las Corrientes 🇦🇷🇨🇭 Genuinely cinematic – not in the “smashy monsters” way, but in the “skilfully uses photography and sound design to show the characters’ feelings without them just telling you” way. Last act (from the lighthouse) didn’t really work for me. ★★★ – or ★★★★? #LIFF2025
November 10, 2025 at 11:37 PM
THE CURRENTS / Las Corrientes 🇦🇷🇨🇭 Genuinely cinematic – not in the “smashy monsters” way, but in the “skilfully uses photography and sound design to show the characters’ feelings without them just telling you” way. Last act (from the lighthouse) didn’t really work for me. ★★★ – or ★★★★? #LIFF2025
TOUKI BOUKI (1973) 🇸🇳 Collage-y, impressionistic, repetitive; almost more of an art piece than a traditional narrative feature. Some amazing cinematography; some very tough-to-watch shots of animal slaughter; startlingly avant-garde sound design throughout. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 10, 2025 at 8:29 PM
TOUKI BOUKI (1973) 🇸🇳 Collage-y, impressionistic, repetitive; almost more of an art piece than a traditional narrative feature. Some amazing cinematography; some very tough-to-watch shots of animal slaughter; startlingly avant-garde sound design throughout. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
WANDA (1970) 🇺🇸 Grimy, feminist, social realism somehow becoming caper-y road movie. Slow-paced, although I was caught up in it in the second half. Surprised how much of the fashion I recognised via cultural osmosis. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
November 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
WANDA (1970) 🇺🇸 Grimy, feminist, social realism somehow becoming caper-y road movie. Slow-paced, although I was caught up in it in the second half. Surprised how much of the fashion I recognised via cultural osmosis. ★★★★ #LIFF2025
Also #LIFF2025 notable:
4.00 Follies
4.00 Silent Friend
3.94 It Was Just an Accident
3.90 Love Letters
3.85 Bugonia
3.69 Sirāt
3.63 Die My Love
3.50 Rental Family
3.25 Dragonfly
3.25 The Thing With Feathers
3.18 Alpha
3.12 The Secret Agent
3.11 A Private Life
2.79 The Black Hole
4.00 Follies
4.00 Silent Friend
3.94 It Was Just an Accident
3.90 Love Letters
3.85 Bugonia
3.69 Sirāt
3.63 Die My Love
3.50 Rental Family
3.25 Dragonfly
3.25 The Thing With Feathers
3.18 Alpha
3.12 The Secret Agent
3.11 A Private Life
2.79 The Black Hole
November 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Also #LIFF2025 notable:
4.00 Follies
4.00 Silent Friend
3.94 It Was Just an Accident
3.90 Love Letters
3.85 Bugonia
3.69 Sirāt
3.63 Die My Love
3.50 Rental Family
3.25 Dragonfly
3.25 The Thing With Feathers
3.18 Alpha
3.12 The Secret Agent
3.11 A Private Life
2.79 The Black Hole
4.00 Follies
4.00 Silent Friend
3.94 It Was Just an Accident
3.90 Love Letters
3.85 Bugonia
3.69 Sirāt
3.63 Die My Love
3.50 Rental Family
3.25 Dragonfly
3.25 The Thing With Feathers
3.18 Alpha
3.12 The Secret Agent
3.11 A Private Life
2.79 The Black Hole
Reposted by Matthew Aldridge
I do like how, in the bit of Prescott's memo where he criticises the BBC for editing together different parts of Trump's speech, his own quote of "what Trump actually said" is... edited together from different parts of his speech.
November 10, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I do like how, in the bit of Prescott's memo where he criticises the BBC for editing together different parts of Trump's speech, his own quote of "what Trump actually said" is... edited together from different parts of his speech.
THE SECRET AGENT / O Agente Secreto 🇧🇷 I liked the woozy “tropical noir” vibes and all the weird little bits (and the shoutout to Leeds University!). But I spent a lot of it wishing the plot were pacier – until the actual conclusion, which went past too breezily. ★★★ #LIFF2025
November 9, 2025 at 11:17 PM
THE SECRET AGENT / O Agente Secreto 🇧🇷 I liked the woozy “tropical noir” vibes and all the weird little bits (and the shoutout to Leeds University!). But I spent a lot of it wishing the plot were pacier – until the actual conclusion, which went past too breezily. ★★★ #LIFF2025