Aesthetic Realms

19/12/2020

This really made my weekend, happy to have been asked to contribute an article to the cinema issue of The Modernist this month, Kino. Loved writing about architecture, modernist design and Science Fiction audiovisual aesthetics in Spike Jonze's Her 📽 Always loved this melancholy little film, nice to finally write about it.

20/11/2020

Absolutely loved the Waterstones Zoom event this eve hearing more about the twisted original world and the eccentrically brilliant writing of one of my fave TV shows Inside No 9 from the dark, genius minds of Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith
with the fab Robin Ince. Love the work of these guys and listening to their writing process. League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No. 9, beautifully punctuated with the darkest of humour, real emotion, clever twists and always exquisitely performed. Can't wait to get the new script books...

02/09/2020

Never thought Succession sounded like a show I'd be into but I was totally blown away by the cast, writing, production values, twisted characters, epic title sequence ( by Picture Mill) & music ( by Nicholas Brittel), total class by Jesse Armstrong the king of cringe Britcom (Peep Show, The Thick of It, Black Mirror)

01/06/2020

If you're like me, totally starved of something decent to watch after a zillion years in lockdown and looking for something with a bit of Umph, have a look at my top picks for All 4, BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon Prime for Mcr Wire including the queens of British comedy French and Saunders, seminal late 90s and early 00s tv like ER, Spaced and Peep Show, incredible shows that demonstrate unique form like Skins, Killing Eve and This is England and tons more inc independent and world cinema, hard-hitting narratives, fun stuff to make you laugh and cult classics to relive your youth...

Two men trapped in a giant phallus driving each other to madness seems to be as far away from Robert Egger’s debut feature VVitch as you could get. For Louder Than War, Ally Davies explores the experimental, dark, richly intoxicating world of The Lighthouse and its hauntingly immersive elements…

21/03/2020

We're so sad to announce that after much thought we'll be postponing Pilot Light TV Festival and in turn, our new Aesthetic Realms events, that were due to take place in May 2020. We want to put the safety of our lovely team and wonderful audiences and guests first but we'll be back.

Take care everyone during these trying times 🧡📺👋

06/03/2020

Film events galore for film lovers in Manchester this March- have a look a my latest film event round-up for Mcr Wire featuring Viva Spanish and Latin American Festival at HOME, Manchester Film Festival, Grimmfest's Horror Legend David Cronenberg All Dayer at Stockport Plaza, Starburst Film Festival, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art and Game of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings and Blade Runner with live scores at The Bridgewater Hall. Film fan overload much...

From cult classics to movies live-scored right in front of your very eyes, we've pulled together the best film events in Manchester for March 2020.

01/02/2020

Robert Eggers' atmospheric second feature The Lighthouse is released today, check out my review for Louder Than War about this dark, audio-visual treat for all the senses and read about its brutally windswept, filthy heart. Cinematography, sound, music and lighting to really punch you in the gut...

Two men trapped in a giant phallus driving each other to madness seems as far from Egger’s debut as you can get. Ally Davies explores The Lighthouse

01/02/2020

There's some great film events in Feb, head to my latest Film Event Round-up for Manchester Wire featuring events from HOME (Parasite Q&A, artist film, Iris Prize ) Indie Flicks UK (international short film festival) Bridgewater Hall (Grease Live in Concert) Make A Scene (Live at the Oscars event) Village Screen (Valentine's screenings) King St Townhouse & Back to the Future The Musical Opera House...

From cosy nights to Valentine's day events, February is packed with an inspiring mix of film events for all your filmic hunger...

07/01/2020

January can often bring a sense of melancholy, have a look at my latest film event round-up for Mcr Wire for January with some of the best film events in Mcr to hopefully help inspire, intrigue and bring you a smile. There's also quite a big offer in the city to develop your creative skills this month. There's PUSH festival (with great events for filmmakers and producers), a Robert Bolt film season and a Gothic Cinema course with MMU from HOME, a fab programme from Cultureplex and great screening events from Make A Scene and Live Cinema UK

A New Year and a new selection of film events! We round up the best film events in Manchester during January 2020. What will you see?

01/01/2020

BBC's A Christmas Carol was an incredible, moving and refreshingly different adaptation. It's darkness was taken to new depths.and it was emotive and haunting but not in the ways you would expect. Its approach to trauma and the examination of humanity were beautifully written. Special mention also for Sonja Klaus' production design, Joanna Eatwell's costume design and Biker Bertelmann's Dustin O'Halloran's evocative score.

26/12/2019

Why are the gremlins such adept electricians and electronic specialists? So from birth they can rewire and control an array of complex electric systems such as traffic lights, police cars, trucks, set up and run an entire cinema and projection room, a stair lift and building sprinklers. Where did they learn this specialist skillset... if they really applied themselves they could be teaching this s**t

26/12/2019

After watching 6 different versions of A Christmas Carol over Xmas I have to say my favourite is still the heart-warming and witty mastery of The Muppet's Christmas Carol. It's just got everything: the nostalgia, the cuteness, great SFX, fab production design, Michael Caine, singing vegetables, good songs, clever Muppet wit and a lot of heart. And most importantly the incredibley crafted and puppeted Muppets I grew up adoring. The Victorian costume design that are made for the Muppets also deserve a special mention for being particularly authentic and muppety