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I have seen far too little of California, which is a shame because the confident freehand of American architecture between the wars reaches its greatest exuberance in the Golden State.

William Gayton began his eponymous Gaytonia Apartments in Long Beach, Ca., in 1929 and they were only midway complete before, as the characteristically colloquial style of Variety put it, Wall Street ‘laid an egg’ with the stock market crash.

This is a deliciously free California Gothic, unbothered by the pretensions of historicist verisimilitude. (A contrast to our still-much-appreciated academic friends on the East Coast.) Indeed, despite its castellar appearance it is mostly constructed of artfully handled stucco on wood disguising itself as stone.

And, true to the apartment house form, there’s even underground parking.

You are cordially invited to the launch of

This new journal is devoted to
the history and activities of the Order of Malta.

Please join us for a drink to celebrate the launch of this venture.

6:30pm to 9:00pm
Tuesday 18 February 2025
St Wilfrid’s Hall, Brompton Oratory, Brompton Road, London SW7 2RP

Copies will be available for purchase at £14

Please RSVP by 14 February to:
journal@gpesmom.org

Please share this invitation with others who might be interested in attending.

See also the Crux Alba website, Instagram, and Twitter.

I love a trip to the cinema and since 2021 we’ve had an Everyman cinema here in God’s Own Borough of Southwark, smack dab in the heart of Borough Market — a great boon for us locals.

We already have the BFI (and its IMAX) next door on the South Bank, but the comfort and quality of an Everyman is well worth the price of the ticket. (Sadly, this website is not yet sponsored by the Everyman corporation, but we are open to such possibilities.)

I thought a brief overview of most-but-not-all the films I managed to see on the big screen in anno domini 2024 was worthwhile, so here goes:

The Boys in the Boat (USA, 124 min) — Who can say no to a good old-fashioned American feel-good film? And a rowing film, at that. Excellent recreation of the 1930s and a nice beat-the-Nazis true story. (Caveat: In a brief moment, they got the name of Jesse Owens’ university wrong.)

The Holdovers (USA, 133 min) — It’s been a while since we had a decent New England boarding school film. A pupil neglected by his parents is forced to stay at school over the Christmas holiday, with an equally forced teacher resenting his presence.

Teenager Dominic Sessa is excellent in his first film role — he was allowed to audition as they were filming at his school, Deerfield — but the real star is Da’Vine Joy Randolph as the school cook.

Interstellar (USA, 169 min) — This 2014 film from director Christopher Nolan is vast in its vision. BIG. An intriguing reflection on the love of a family and the fallen nature of even the bravest individuals that revives the neglected genre of cosmic dread. Ideal for IMAX which it was re-released on for its tenth anniversary. Nolan doesn’t disappoint.

Oppenheimer (USA, 180 min) — Nor did Nolan disappoint here. This film didn’t feel nearly as long as it was, but it was beautifully captivating. I was surprised that my filmgoing companion, who has the attention span of a small child, was seeing it for her second time; I was even tempted to give it a second viewing myself (but didn’t). Top-notch film score from Ludwig Göransson, as well. ‘Oppenheimer’ was serious without being tiresome.

The Fall Guy (USA, 126 min) — A stunt double in love with his beautiful colleague is unwittingly embroiled in a conspiracy to cover up an accidental death on the set of her directorial debut.

The light-hearted framework of an incredibly charming romance nonetheless has some cracking action scenes. Anyone who’s ever been in love should enjoy this film. Emily Blunt was brilliant but Hannah Waddingham is the surprise of the show.

This one I did see twice in the cinema — a first since the film-of-the-decade ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. We need more films as delightful as this.

Fly Me to the Moon (USA, 132 min) — An advertising executive (Scarlett Johansson) and the NASA launch director (Channing Tatum) are forced fake the moon landings — just in case — by shadowy forces of the state (Woody Harrelson). Silly and fun.

Ne le dis à personne / Tell No One (France, 131 min) — This might be my favourite film and I probably watch it every year or so. A doctor whose wife was murdered eight years previous may finally be implicated in her murder — until a cryptic email arrives in his inbox suggesting she might still be alive. He must move heaven and earth to evade the police, find his wife, and prove his innocence.

Released in 2006, ‘Ne le dis à personne’ is the perfect blend of thriller, action, intrigue, romance, and it has Kristin Scott Thomas. What more could you want? It gratuitously adds to that with performances from François Cluzet, the amazing Jean Rochefort (RIP), Nathalie Baye, and André Dussollier.

While based on a book by Harlan Coben, the director Guillaume Canet changed the ending: the writer said the director’s conclusion was better than his. Not a perfect film — there were one or two things I would have done slightly differently — but an expertly crafted one all the same.

The Count of Monte Cristo (France, 178 min) — I’ve read the book three times and each experience has hit differently. This adaptation was watchable but flawed. The main actor lacked gravitas and it’s a tad overproduced.

The 1998 Depardieu miniseries remains the standard. Apparently we’re getting an Italian-French co-produced miniseries sometime this year but it looks disappointing, too.

Might be time to read the book again.

Ghostbusters (USA, 105 min) — What a delight this film is. Impossibly silly, deeply enjoyable, and — from the opening scenes at Columbia University and the New York Public Library — one of the most New Yorker films ever. (“Ghostbusters, whaddya want.”) It even features a cardinalatial nod of approval.

A film like this is always best in the cinema. I think ‘Ghostbusters’ may have been the first movie I ever saw in a cinema: in the movie theatre in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard when I was a very small boy but it was already on revival. Glad to see it again on the big screen in London.

Juror No. 2 (USA, 114 min) — Clint Eastwood is well into his 90s and still knocking it outta the park with a well-crafted film like this.

A moral thriller in which a recovering alcoholic with a newborn is called for jury duty in a murder trial and slowly begins to think he may be the one responsible for the victim’s death.

There’s a lot of layers in this film but never too much to handle. This one will get you thinking.

Point Break (USA, 122 min) — Big California vibe! Surfing, skydiving, bank-robbing, and the Feds. Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 film became a minor cult classic and made $83.5 million on a $24 million budget. Enjoyed it.

Gladiator II (USA/UK, 148 min) — I went in with drastically low expectations but left the cinema pleasantly surprised.

Main actor Paul Mescal was a bit of a dud — tá brón orm, a chara! — but Denzel Washington stole the screen whenever he was on it. Reprises from Derek Jacobi and Connie Nielsen were strangely heartwarming, like the return of old friends.

The Twin Emperors were DEEPLY creepy and Pedro Pascal’s acting matures like a fine wine. There was even a role for our old Mossad friend Lior Raz (of ‘Fauda’) and Tim McInnerny (‘Blackadder’, etc.) played a hapless senator.

Far from the classic status its predecessor enjoys, but enjoyable all the same.

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