Oli Lyttelton
@olilyttelton.bsky.social
Screenwriter/producer - CHEATERS (s2 on BBC iPlayer Nov 19th), WEDDING SEASON (Hulu/Disney+)
Feb 7th: I SAW THE TV GLOW (Now TV). You can recognise the constituent parts of Jane Schoenbrun's staggering second feature -- Lynch, Buffy, 90s kids horror shows, Gregg Araki -- but in her hands they come out feeling entirely new, and a little bit like the future. Hasn't left my head since I saw it
February 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Feb 7th: I SAW THE TV GLOW (Now TV). You can recognise the constituent parts of Jane Schoenbrun's staggering second feature -- Lynch, Buffy, 90s kids horror shows, Gregg Araki -- but in her hands they come out feeling entirely new, and a little bit like the future. Hasn't left my head since I saw it
Feb 6th: THE STRAIGHT STORY (Channel 4). Following an elderly gent who travels 200 miles on a lawnmower to visit his ailing brother, this is easily the most atypical film in David Lynch's filmography (not least that it was made for Disney). It's also one of his best: gentle, humane, still weird.
February 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Feb 6th: THE STRAIGHT STORY (Channel 4). Following an elderly gent who travels 200 miles on a lawnmower to visit his ailing brother, this is easily the most atypical film in David Lynch's filmography (not least that it was made for Disney). It's also one of his best: gentle, humane, still weird.
Feb 5th: TO DIE FOR (ITVx). With apologies to the ace BABYGIRL, Nicole Kidman's finest hour remains her murderous TV weatherperson in Gus Van Sant (who I'd love to see in this mode again & Buck Henry's acidic satire, a couple of decades ahead of its time in its skewering of true crime and the media.
February 6, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Feb 5th: TO DIE FOR (ITVx). With apologies to the ace BABYGIRL, Nicole Kidman's finest hour remains her murderous TV weatherperson in Gus Van Sant (who I'd love to see in this mode again & Buck Henry's acidic satire, a couple of decades ahead of its time in its skewering of true crime and the media.
Feb 4th: CYRANO (BBC iPlayer). Easily Joe Wright's best since ANNA KARENINA (not the highest bar when you realise what he made in between), this adapts the classic tale into a musical (with songs by The National!). Prob Marmite-y, but I thought it was gorgeous, with Peter Dinklage esp heartbreaking.
February 4, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Feb 4th: CYRANO (BBC iPlayer). Easily Joe Wright's best since ANNA KARENINA (not the highest bar when you realise what he made in between), this adapts the classic tale into a musical (with songs by The National!). Prob Marmite-y, but I thought it was gorgeous, with Peter Dinklage esp heartbreaking.
Feb 3rd: ONE FINE MORNING (MUBI). With her Mary Wollstonecraft biopic not due to film until later this year, it'll be the longest gap without a Mia Hansen-Løve film in her so-far glittering career. This, her most recent, is one of her finest, as gentle, warm and extremely deeply moving as always.
February 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Feb 3rd: ONE FINE MORNING (MUBI). With her Mary Wollstonecraft biopic not due to film until later this year, it'll be the longest gap without a Mia Hansen-Løve film in her so-far glittering career. This, her most recent, is one of her finest, as gentle, warm and extremely deeply moving as always.
Feb 2nd: BOUND (Prime Video). One of the best of the scuzzy, sexy mid-90s neo-noir wave, Lana & Lilly Wachowski's breakout film is both quite unlike what they would go on to make, and utterly revealing of what was to come. No one else ever used leads Jennifer Tilly & Gina Gershon as well either.
February 3, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Feb 2nd: BOUND (Prime Video). One of the best of the scuzzy, sexy mid-90s neo-noir wave, Lana & Lilly Wachowski's breakout film is both quite unlike what they would go on to make, and utterly revealing of what was to come. No one else ever used leads Jennifer Tilly & Gina Gershon as well either.
Feb 1st: ANATOMY OF A MURDER (BBC iPlayer). Aside from having my all time fave trailer (www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwX8... - why didn't CONCLAVE go this way?...), Otto Preminger's adaptation of Robert Travers' novel is maybe the best courtroom drama ever made, dense and knotty but paced like the wind.
February 3, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Feb 1st: ANATOMY OF A MURDER (BBC iPlayer). Aside from having my all time fave trailer (www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwX8... - why didn't CONCLAVE go this way?...), Otto Preminger's adaptation of Robert Travers' novel is maybe the best courtroom drama ever made, dense and knotty but paced like the wind.
Jan 31st: INFINITY POOL (Netflix). Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg's latest divided people, but I thought it was by far the most effective of the recent eat-the-rich satires (a la THE MENU or TRIANGLE OF SADNESS), in part cos it goes to real extremes. Alexander Skarsgard & Mia Goth both superb.
January 31, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Jan 31st: INFINITY POOL (Netflix). Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg's latest divided people, but I thought it was by far the most effective of the recent eat-the-rich satires (a la THE MENU or TRIANGLE OF SADNESS), in part cos it goes to real extremes. Alexander Skarsgard & Mia Goth both superb.
Jan 30th: HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (Channel 4). Saw and adored HARD TRUTHS last night, which as usual made me wish all films were by Mike Leigh? It's in some ways a companion piece to this, from 2008, as Sally Hawkins' upbeat schoolteacher crosses paths with Eddie Marsan's misanthropic driving instructor.
January 30, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Jan 30th: HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (Channel 4). Saw and adored HARD TRUTHS last night, which as usual made me wish all films were by Mike Leigh? It's in some ways a companion piece to this, from 2008, as Sally Hawkins' upbeat schoolteacher crosses paths with Eddie Marsan's misanthropic driving instructor.
Jan 29th: NIGHTBITCH (Disney+). I loved Marielle Heller's first three films, and despite the dire trailer (and some dismissive reviews from some quarters), her run continues with this adaptation of Rachel Yoder's novel. Personal, unusual and thorny, with career-best stuff from Amy Adams.
January 29, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Jan 29th: NIGHTBITCH (Disney+). I loved Marielle Heller's first three films, and despite the dire trailer (and some dismissive reviews from some quarters), her run continues with this adaptation of Rachel Yoder's novel. Personal, unusual and thorny, with career-best stuff from Amy Adams.
Jan 28th: HOPE & GLORY (Prime Video). It's maybe odd to think of a film with 5 Oscar and 13 BAFTA nods as 'underrated,' but John Boorman's autobiographical look at his Blitz-era childhood isn't exactly a Letterboxd fave these days. It's great nonetheless: specific, affecting and gorgeously directed.
January 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Jan 28th: HOPE & GLORY (Prime Video). It's maybe odd to think of a film with 5 Oscar and 13 BAFTA nods as 'underrated,' but John Boorman's autobiographical look at his Blitz-era childhood isn't exactly a Letterboxd fave these days. It's great nonetheless: specific, affecting and gorgeously directed.
Jan 27th: THE HERE AFTER (MUBI). I haven't caught up with Magnus von Horn's recently Oscar nominated THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE yet, but by all accounts he's three-for-three between that, previous film SWEAT and this, his debut, a muscular, provocative drama about a teen recently released from juvie.
January 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Jan 27th: THE HERE AFTER (MUBI). I haven't caught up with Magnus von Horn's recently Oscar nominated THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE yet, but by all accounts he's three-for-three between that, previous film SWEAT and this, his debut, a muscular, provocative drama about a teen recently released from juvie.
Jan 26th: WILL & HARPER (Netflix). Josh Greenbaum, director of the great BARB & STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR, returned last year with this gentle, funny, deeply humane, urgent-now-more-than-ever doc following Will Ferrell & longtime friend Harper Steele on a road trip after the latter's transition.
January 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Jan 26th: WILL & HARPER (Netflix). Josh Greenbaum, director of the great BARB & STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR, returned last year with this gentle, funny, deeply humane, urgent-now-more-than-ever doc following Will Ferrell & longtime friend Harper Steele on a road trip after the latter's transition.
Jan 25th: THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (ITVx). Beloved by Coppola and Scorsese, and 'borrowed' from by Disney for ALADDIN, this Arabian Nights-derived fantasy still looks spectacular 85 years on and holds together nicely despite going through FIVE directors (including a pre-Archers Michael Powell).
January 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Jan 25th: THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (ITVx). Beloved by Coppola and Scorsese, and 'borrowed' from by Disney for ALADDIN, this Arabian Nights-derived fantasy still looks spectacular 85 years on and holds together nicely despite going through FIVE directors (including a pre-Archers Michael Powell).
Jan 24th: THE SHALLOWS (BBC iPlayer). Until recently, Blake Lively's greatest nemesis was the great white shark that menaces her while she's trapped on a rock in this lean thriller from CARRY-ON director Jaume Collet-Serra, who knows how to squeeze every ounce of tension from an irresistible set-up.
January 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Jan 24th: THE SHALLOWS (BBC iPlayer). Until recently, Blake Lively's greatest nemesis was the great white shark that menaces her while she's trapped on a rock in this lean thriller from CARRY-ON director Jaume Collet-Serra, who knows how to squeeze every ounce of tension from an irresistible set-up.
Jan 23rd: THE DEATH OF DICK LONG (Channel 4). The little-seen (not sure it's been available at all in the UK?) solo feature from Daniel Scheinert is quite different from his work as part of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE... duo Daniels, but it's worth a watch -- shocking, funny but ultimately compassionate.
January 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Jan 23rd: THE DEATH OF DICK LONG (Channel 4). The little-seen (not sure it's been available at all in the UK?) solo feature from Daniel Scheinert is quite different from his work as part of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE... duo Daniels, but it's worth a watch -- shocking, funny but ultimately compassionate.
Jan 22nd: AFTERSUN (BBC iPlayer). Halfway through the 2020s, and Charlotte Wells' devastating debut feature I think is still my top pick of the decade so far. Following a father (an Oscar-nominated Paul Mescal) and daughter on holiday, it's a gorgeous, deeply sad film with an unforgettable ending.
January 24, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Jan 22nd: AFTERSUN (BBC iPlayer). Halfway through the 2020s, and Charlotte Wells' devastating debut feature I think is still my top pick of the decade so far. Following a father (an Oscar-nominated Paul Mescal) and daughter on holiday, it's a gorgeous, deeply sad film with an unforgettable ending.
Jan 21st: ROCCO & HIS BROTHERS (BFI Player). The BFI's ace Visconti season on both the South Bank and their streaming service is well timed, with Brady Corbet namechecking the Italian director as a key influence on THE BRUTALIST. This is my fave of his, an epic family drama with novelistic richness.
January 23, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Jan 21st: ROCCO & HIS BROTHERS (BFI Player). The BFI's ace Visconti season on both the South Bank and their streaming service is well timed, with Brady Corbet namechecking the Italian director as a key influence on THE BRUTALIST. This is my fave of his, an epic family drama with novelistic richness.
Jan 20th: WITCHES (MUBI). Historically I've not usually clicked with the essay film, but Elizabeth Sankey's latest, which combines a history of women and witchcraft onscreen and off with a deeply personal story of post-partum mental illness, is terrific: raw, moving and even playful in places.
January 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Jan 20th: WITCHES (MUBI). Historically I've not usually clicked with the essay film, but Elizabeth Sankey's latest, which combines a history of women and witchcraft onscreen and off with a deeply personal story of post-partum mental illness, is terrific: raw, moving and even playful in places.
Jan 19th: THE DEATH OF STALIN (Netflix). Can’t imagine why a film about the banality of evil and the pettiness of politics even under the bleakest of circumstances is on my mind right now… Anyway, this is arguably Armando Iannucci’s finest hour, and one of the very best comedies of the last decade.
January 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Jan 19th: THE DEATH OF STALIN (Netflix). Can’t imagine why a film about the banality of evil and the pettiness of politics even under the bleakest of circumstances is on my mind right now… Anyway, this is arguably Armando Iannucci’s finest hour, and one of the very best comedies of the last decade.
Jan 18th: JEREMIAH JOHNSON (ITVx). Source of the famous nodding meme, and starring Robert Redford at his absolute handsomest, Sydney Pollack’s Western about a legendary mountain man is closer to MCCABE & MRS MILLER than Leone, but in its almost procedural detail is ultimately very rewarding.
January 18, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Jan 18th: JEREMIAH JOHNSON (ITVx). Source of the famous nodding meme, and starring Robert Redford at his absolute handsomest, Sydney Pollack’s Western about a legendary mountain man is closer to MCCABE & MRS MILLER than Leone, but in its almost procedural detail is ultimately very rewarding.
Jan 17th: TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN (Now TV). "No more Lubitsch," Billy Wilder said at the great director's funeral. "Worse, no more Lubitsch pictures," replied William Wyler. Many of us feel similarly about David Lynch today, but if you missed it or want to revisit, his final work is still streaming.
January 17, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Jan 17th: TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN (Now TV). "No more Lubitsch," Billy Wilder said at the great director's funeral. "Worse, no more Lubitsch pictures," replied William Wyler. Many of us feel similarly about David Lynch today, but if you missed it or want to revisit, his final work is still streaming.
Jan 16th: THE FABELMANS (Now TV). “When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting. When the horizon's at the top, it's interesting. When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit. Now, good luck to you. And get the fuck out of my office!”
January 16, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Jan 16th: THE FABELMANS (Now TV). “When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting. When the horizon's at the top, it's interesting. When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit. Now, good luck to you. And get the fuck out of my office!”
Jan 15th: TRANSIT (ITVx). Christian Petzold's adaptation of Anna Segher's 1944 novel brilliantly updates the story of a refugee looking for passage out of fascist-run France, creating an existential thriller that exists outside history and place, but is absolutely about our moment in time.
January 15, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Jan 15th: TRANSIT (ITVx). Christian Petzold's adaptation of Anna Segher's 1944 novel brilliantly updates the story of a refugee looking for passage out of fascist-run France, creating an existential thriller that exists outside history and place, but is absolutely about our moment in time.
Jan 14th: ROBIN AND MARIAN (Channel 4). God, I love this one. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn give arguably their finest performances in Richard Lester's revisionist take on the Sherwood Forest legend. Elegiac and deeply romantic, it's a great film about aging and myth (among other things).
January 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Jan 14th: ROBIN AND MARIAN (Channel 4). God, I love this one. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn give arguably their finest performances in Richard Lester's revisionist take on the Sherwood Forest legend. Elegiac and deeply romantic, it's a great film about aging and myth (among other things).