After Hours
Greetings, ‘After Hours’ is a dark comedy film from 1985 that was directed by Martin Scorsese and was written by Joseph Minion who would later write ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ which became the source of a few well known memes. Now considered something of a cult classic, ‘After Hours’ was released at a low point in Scorsese’s career after his previous movie, ‘The King of Comedy’, bombed at the box office and Paramount Pictures had bailed on his ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ passion project. The sizeable cast consists of Griffin Dunne as the protagonist Paul Hackett, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Teri Garr, Catherine O’Hara and John Heard among the primary roles. Comedy duo Cheech and Chong, known for their stoner comedies, have minor appearances throughout the film as a disreputable pair. Industry stalwart Howard Shore composes an impressive score that perfectly encapsulates the mood, incorporating the ticking of a clock into each theme which becomes increasingly frantic as the night progresses.
The story is set in New York City and begins with Paul Hackett, a simple word processor, showing a new employee named Lloyd the ropes. Lloyd explains to an uninterested Paul that this is only a temporary gig for him until he can go on to bigger and better things. The work day comes to a close and Paul, who lives a fairly dull life, decides to go to a café late in the evening to grab something to eat. He is minding his own business as he eats alone and reads a book when a woman sitting at a table across from him strikes up a conversation about the novel. The woman introduces herself as Macy and the two converse for some time with underlying flirtations. Before the two part ways, Macy says that she lives in an apartment with a sculptor that sells artistic paperweights shaped like bagels. She leaves her number with Paul with the pretence that he should get in touch if he ever wants to buy one.
A bored Paul goes to back his apartment and after lazing about in front of the television, he decides to spice up his monotonous existence by calling the number. The phone is answered by Kiki, the sculptor roommate, and Paul is given her address which is a great number of blocks away in SoHo. Paul, excited by the prospect of a one night stand with Macy, hails a cab which is driven at outrageous speed by the cab driver. Such is the reckless pace that Paul’s $20, which is all the money he had to pay the driver, flies out of the window mid-journey. He tries to warn the driver of this but he is unheard until the taxi comes to a stop outside of his destination. When Paul does explain the situation, the driver gives him an uncomfortable deathly glare before charging off once again. Little does Paul know as he rings the buzzer for the apartment, that would be the first unfortunate occurrence in a very extensive list of horrid experiences that will befall him that night.
I was drawn to this film by its premise of an everyday man experiencing a long and increasingly surreal Kafkaesque night as he haplessly stumbles from one bad circumstance to another when he simply wants to return to his apartment. Despite a slow burn beginning, the movie does pick up and I found myself enjoying it when the misfortunes started to stack up. I thought ‘After Hours’ was very well plotted out with small and seemingly unimportant throw away lines becoming major plot points later on that come back to bite Paul. I also like that Paul isn’t a particularly moral person. He comes across as shallow as he is only out for some tail and the cosmos decides that his punishment is to be desperately in the thrall of one woman after another as they becomes gradually more unhinged. I’ve seen a good number of Scorsese’s films and while ‘After Hours’ is rarely discussed among his works, I would consider it as one of the best in his filmography.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
Sonny'll come after you with everything he's got.
Tom Hagen
The Godfather
Night Gallery
Greetings, ‘Night Gallery’ is a horror anthology series that ran from 1970 to 1973 and was hosted by acclaimed writer Rod Serling in a similar manner to his appearances in his hit programme ‘The Twilight Zone’. The show contains 43 episodes which are composed of 93 segments and ran for three seasons. The first two seasons would have multiple stories that were needed to fill a 50 minute long episode while the final season’s instalments lasted 30 minutes and mostly contained only one story. The format follows Serling as the curator of a macabre art gallery as he introduces stories by way of highlighting some gruesome artwork that represents the themes of the entry’s plot. Numerous celebrities stared in this show including Orson Welles, Leslie Neilson, Leonard Nimoy, Mickey Rooney, Burgess Meredith and Adam West. Some performers, including Meredith, would have repeat appearances during the show’s run. The music was composed by Billy Goldenberg who also wrote the score for the made for TV movie ‘Duel’, Gil Mellé and Eddie Sauter.
The pilot episode was first aired on 8th November 1969, a whole year before the first season graced the screen, and has three strong segments. The first story is entitled ‘The Cemetery’ and has Roddy McDowell, Ossie Davis and George Macready as its principal cast members. The plot begins with the paralyzed and aging artist William Hendricks who overlooks the family cemetery from his bedroom window. The affluent William is unable to move by himself but gets by with the help of his faithful and diligent butler called Osmond Portifoy. The two men have mutual respect and fondness for the other after spending decades by each other’s side. One day William’s nephew, an odious man by the name of Jeremy Evans, comes to visit his uncle and it is clear he has designs on inheriting the artisan’s wealth. Jeremy wastes no time in killing off his sickly, immobile uncle by opening the window and letting in frigid air which William’s ailing body is unable to fend off.
William soon succumbs to his illness and Jeremy, as sole heir, gets his clutches on the riches he was so inhumanely prepared to kill for. A grieving but stiff upper lipped Osmond has strong suspicions that Jeremy had purposefully hastened William’s demise. Shortly afterwards, Jeremy moves into the mansion and makes no secret of his dislike for the previous owner or the butler who had once served him. He keeps Osmond in his employ to lord it over Portifoy and delights in the material fortunes his misdeeds have brought him. His contentedness doesn’t last for long. Upon a wall that ascends along the grand staircase hangs a painting. The painting’s subject is of the cemetery outside William’s window. Jeremy takes little notice of it at first but he starts to see it change ever so slightly as time goes by. As one day leads to another, it becomes clear the painting is showing the soil on his departed uncle’s grave being upturned and Jeremy fears that a vengeful apparition is coming for him.
‘Night Gallery’ had a high bar to clear after ‘The Twilight Zone’ and while I consider myself a fan, the show is certainly not on the same level as Serling’s other work which is admittedly quite the task to follow through on. It has some great vignettes such as ‘Certain Shadows on the Wall’, ‘The Caterpillar’ and ‘They’re Tearing Down Tim Reilly’s Bar’ which are well worth the watch but there are also a few misfires too. I’m very enamoured with the idea of a bleak art gallery as the setting but the flow of episodes could be quite jarring. For instance, there could be a very atmospheric section which is followed in rapid succession with a short comedy skit that is full of corny jokes. This is something that Serling himself, who didn’t have full creative control, railed against as he felt it undercut his art. With the end of ‘Night Gallery’, I’ve seen a good portion of Serling’s works but I’m always keen to explore more of it.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=6/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle.
The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Election
Greetings, ‘Election’ is a 1999 dark comedy film that was directed by Alexander Payne, the filmmaker who would later become known for directing ‘Downsizing’ in 2017 and modern Christmas favourite ‘The Holdovers’ in 2023. The screenplay, which was scripted by himself and Jim Taylor, was based upon a novel of the same name that was written by Tom Perotta and was released a year before the movie debuted. The story of ‘Election’ didn’t end there as Perotta published a sequel to his hit book named ‘Tracy Flick Can’t Win’ some decades later in 2022. The latest novel focuses on the breakout character of the first instalment. The 90s film stars Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein and the late Jessica Campbell in the main roles. Supporting cast includes Molly Hagan, Delaney Driscoll and Phil Reeves. The soundtrack was composed by Rolfe Kent who was involved in numerous notable works such as ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’, ‘Freaky Friday’ and ‘Thank You For Smoking’.
The plot is set in a Nebraskan High School and the titular ‘election’ is for the student government president which most pupils are understandably unenthusiastic about. There is one student who can’t be described as unenthusiastic. That pupil is Tracy Flick, an ambitious high achiever, who is being encouraged to excel academically by her equally driven mother. Running unopposed, Tracy is guaranteed to get the presidential position. This is much to the distaste of her US History and Civics teacher who is named Jim McAllister. Jim is able to hide his dislike of Tracy who he finds to be an annoying ‘know it all’ but the cause of his ill feeling goes further than that. Some months prior to the election, his best friend and a fellow teacher at the school called Dave became smitten with Tracy and entered into a romantic relationship with her. The relationship was eventually discovered. It resulted in Dave being fired, divorced from his wife and relocating to another part of the country while Tracy suffered no fallout. Jim recognised that Dave, being the adult in the situation, was in the wrong but he was irked by how Tracy continued as if nothing had happened while he lost a valued friend.
The reasons behind McAllister’s discomfort is deeper still. Struggling to conceive a child with his spouse, Jim has confused sexual fantasies about Tracy and realises if she wins the presidency that he will be spending a lot more time with her. Fearing he could be seduced down the same path that ruined his best friend’s life, Jim plots against Tracy by enticing the dim-witted football player Paul Metzler to throw his hat in the ring. Since he broke his leg in a skiing accident, Paul has a lot of free time on his hands and is excited to apply himself during the campaign which gets under Tracy’s skin. Another shock candidate comes on to the scene as Tammy Metzler, the adopted sister of Paul, announces her bid to spite her brother. Unbeknownst to Paul, Tammy had a secretive girlfriend who had broken up with her after denouncing their relationship as an experimental fling and started dating him instead. Tammy has no interest in the election and delivers a fiery speech promising to dissolve the whole student government should she be elected. Her proposal is met with rapturous applause by her fellow students which sends the teaching staff into a panic, confuses the hurt but good natured Paul and rattles the picture perfect Tracy.
I knew very little about ‘Election’ before going into it but I can confidently say that it is easily one of the best films I have seen in quite a long time. It never dragged once and kept me entertained from the opening titles to the closing credits. Part of the reason for this high praise is that the characters, in particular Tracy and Jim, feel very realistic and resemble people the audience could cross paths with in the real world. A lot of this is thanks to the stellar work of the actors and actresses involved, specifically Witherspoon’s transformation into the uptight Tracy. Payne and Witherspoon are due to collaborate once again as there are plans to adapt the sequel novel into a follow up movie which I am interested in seeing once it has been released. I’m also keen to read the two books as well, seeing how the original compares to the movie, and checking out more of Payne’s directorial efforts.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
Charles, I will not stop living and breathing art just because you need to relax. I'm here with you. I will live with you in this hellhole, but I must express myself. If you don't let me gut out this house and make it my own, I WILL GO INSANE AND I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME!!!
Delia Deetz
Beetlejuice
The Singing Detective
Greetings and welcome to the first blog update of 2026! I’m kicking the year off with a review of ‘The Singing Detective’, a six part BBC drama series from 1986 that was written by Dennis Potter and directed by Jon Amiel who went on to direct ‘Copycat’ some years later. The mini-series, which was polled as the 20th greatest British TV programme ever made at the turn of the century by the British Film Institute, is headlined by prolific actor Michael Gambon. The late Gambon is the most famous of the cast but he is supported by some familiar faces such as Joanne Whalley, Patrick Malahide, Janet Suzman, Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. The soundtrack is comprised of many songs from the 1930s and 40s by numerous artists including the Andrew Sisters, the Mills Brothers and Al Bowlly to name but a few.
The story follows the ill-tempered Philip E Marlow, an ageing mystery writer with a bad case of writer’s block and an even worse case of psoriatic arthropathy. The aforementioned condition is a chronic skin and joint disease that causes lesions to erupt all over his body as well as causes intense pain in his hands and feet. Unable to move unassisted, Marlow spends most of his time trapped in a hospital bed surrounded by fellow infirm patients that he barely tolerates and is occasionally visited by his ex-wife whom he frequently clashes with. He is physically unable to write any new works and his bored mind begins rewriting his previous stories. Marlow’s grasp on reality is loose as he is often involuntarily whisked away into feverish dreams as a result of his poor state. During those delirious episodes, he is transported into the world of a novel he wrote many years prior. That novel is ‘The Singing Detective’.
Set in the darkened and fog filled streets of 1940s London, Philip imagines himself as the protagonist of his novel with which he seemingly shares a name. This pencil moustached Philip is a crooning entertainer in a dance hall alongside his big band and moonlights as a witty trench coat wearing detective. After the body of a Russian prostitute is found in the Thames, Philip tries to uncover the truth behind her murder and soon finds himself entangled in a perilous web in which various intelligence agencies are lurking. As well as fantasising about his gritty fictional world of singing private eyes and unscrupulous spies, the real Philip is haunted by his most unhappy childhood spent in wartime England. He grimly recalls his parent’s marital breakdown, who were an entertainment duo, while his past, present and make believe world all begin to merge into one.
Those hoping for a standard mystery case with thought provoking clues and solid answers are not going to find any of that in this show. It becomes increasingly clear that ‘The Singing Detective’ has no interest in following a tried and tested path. Instead, it is a confused thread of multiple storylines that is more focused on how Philip was shaped into the cantankerous man he is by his troubled past. The show was later adapted into a film in 2003 starring Robert Downey Jr and Mel Gibson although it had been thoroughly Americanised and takes place in the USA. The movie is generally considered a big step down from the source material that inspired it. I can see why the mini-series is as highly thought of as it is and Michael Gambon’s performance is especially noteworthy as he plays the two differing characters perfectly.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=6/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
This fantasy has been a profound disappointment.
Dilbert
Dilbert
Happy New Year: 2025 Review!
Greetings, as difficult as it is to believe these are the final hours of 2025 and a brand new year of great opportunities and exciting experiences lies ahead. This year has absolutely flown in, as has the decade itself in which we are now very firmly in, and I’m leaving it behind with some fond memories. As usual, I’d like to send off 2025 with my top choices for entertainment that I reviewed on this site during the year. If you’d like to give a shout out to anything in particular that grabbed your interest these past 12 months, feel free to mention it in the comments.
Television Show of the Year: The Twilight Zone
A show so iconic that its very name became a shorthand for someone experiencing a bizarre or strange scenario that defies explanation. The first incarnation of the science fiction and horror anthology series ran from 1959 to 1964 and was presented by the always smooth Rod Serling. 156 episodes were broadcast in that time and I’d be hard pressed to mention any that irked me as the level of quality was fairly high throughout its run. Being a black and white show certainly dates ‘The Twilight Zone’ but it also adds to the bountiful charm it has as does the number of old high profile actors or actresses who made appearances.
Book of the Year: Joyland
Published in 2013, this is a short and sweet novel straight from the mind of Stephen King. This one might be easily lost among the sprawling bibliography of King’s but I found it enthralling nonetheless. The story follows an early twenty something called Devin Jones in the summer of 1973 as he tries to forget his cheating ex-girlfriend and attempts to hold down a summer job in an amusement park. This isn’t any ordinary amusement park as there had been a grisly murder of a young woman in the Horror House attraction a few years prior. It is rumoured that the ghost of the woman occasionally appears at the site of her unhappy end.
Game of the Year: Minecraft
The Swedish sandbox game from 2011 which took the world by storm and didn’t let up. It still retains its crown as the bestselling video game in history to this day as countless players roam their custom maps, building the expansive structures of their imagination. There are no shortage of players who have needed to battle against Creepers, Zombies and Spiders, to name a few of the deadly enemy AI, only to end up losing their hard earned items once slain. This is one game that will continue on well into the future as it constantly reinvents itself with new updates every few years.
Film of the Year: Duel
Released in 1971, ‘Duel’ is among one of Steven Spielberg’s first forays into directing and is a clear indication that he had a bright future ahead of him. With a small cast of characters, Spielberg is able to conjure up a tense movie about a driver trying to survive a cat and mouse game with a trucker who has a bad case of road rage. The lead character of David is played by Dennis Weaver while his deadly adversary is never fully revealed as the audience only catches glimpses of him. After watching this one, some viewers might think twice about overtaking a truck any time soon.
There we have it! We have reached the end of the blog update and the end of the year. I’ll be enjoying a bit of a break after something of a busy period these last few weeks but I’ll soon be hard at work on my next update for the site in January. I’ll also be tending to some future Write Wise entries that are already being planned out as you read this. Those should prove to be enjoyable additions to an ever growing bibliography. I’m hoping that 12 months from now we will all be looking back on a prosperous and significant year. Have a happy New Year and a great 2026!
Quote of the Day
These go to 11.
Nigel Tufnel
This is Spinal Tap
Merry Christmas 2025!
Greetings, this is just my usual post wishing you a Merry Christmas as the big day is only one sleep away. Have a great day tomorrow and hopefully you’ll get all the presents you are wishing for. I’m already looking forward to drinking copious amounts of mulled wine, tucking into some good food and snacking on more sweets than I should. Falcon’s blog will be back on New Year’s Eve with the traditional annual round up.
Quote of the Day
Sorry. Checkout lines were worse than rush-hour on the 95. If I heard "Silent Night" one more time, I was gonna start taking hostages.
Dana Scully
The X-Files
