Iain Stott

When I first discovered the joys of Woody Allen, Interiors came as something of a shock. Where was the man who could effortlessly blend solemn introspection with great belly-laughs? Where was my Woody?

I assume that those that have watched this film can be divided into two camps; those that think it is an allegorical masterpiece, and those that think it is a meaningless load of old codswallop. Which camp do I belong to?

Miranda July is one of those annoying people who seems to be able to turn their hand to just about anything. Artist, musician, filmmaker, actress, writer, all around smarty-pants; and on top of all that, with those piercing blue eyes and slender figure, she’s also quite beautiful.

To fully appreciate this collection of short stories, one must, I think, be familiar with the author Alexei Sayle’s stand-up or television sketch comedy work. His prose very much mirrors his angry, ranting, incredulous Liverpudlian persona.

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters (1955) and Seymour: An Introduction (1959), are a pair of long short stories written by Salinger about the Glass family.

Alan Gibson and Jeremy Paul’s sequel to the cracking time travel comedy-drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980). Although inferior to its predecessor and as such something of a disappointment, it is anything but the disaster that it might have been.

So, it turns out that flying saucers aren’t occupied by little green men from outer space after all, but by time travelling civil servants from the year 2130. At least, that is according to this television film from 1980 that was filmed as part of the acclaimed BBC’s Play for Today series.

One can only sit back and wonder at what the world of England in 1981 must have been like. A world in which three hours of primetime Christmas television programming on BBC1 (not BBC2, mind) was set aside for a film of comparatively funereal pacing, that alluded to Greek mythology and Scandinavian cinema, not to mention the faint whiff of homoeroticism, and that had a plot that even David Lynch would have been scratching his head at.

Dead creatures is, for want of a better term, a zombie film. Although, I’m sure that pedants and horror movie buffs alike will frown upon the term. Because, these “zombies” are, and here’s the problem, very much alive.

Claymator Adam Elliot’s semi-autobiographical short film trilogy, each one painting a portrait of a different family member, Uncle (1996), Cousin (1998), and Brother (1999), heralded the arrival of a fantastic new talent.