The Haughty Culturist - The thinking person's guide to books, films & pop culture

Latest

Legs and Nike shoes just visible as a basketball player leaps for a shot

Air (2023): big business, bare Jordan | Review

21 May 2023

An up-and-coming underdog defies the rules and changes history. No, not Michael Jordan, silly: Nike

Low-angle shot of a spiral circle creating concentric circles of vivid blue against a deep black background.

Her (2013): AI and the puzzle of beautiful, handwritten letters

16 May 2023

A woman's thigh wearing fishnet stockings. We can just see the top of her skirt. The image has a strange mustard hue.

Peeping Tom (1960) explained: sex, death and sinister cinema

7 May 2023

Abstract close-up of darkened leaves on a red background.

Children of Men (2006): dystopia or disaster movie?

23 April 2023

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Film

Horror movie 1408: you can check out but you’ll never leave

Film

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and the theatre of war

Film

Decoding Shutter Island (2010): true selves and hidden identity

Film

Se7en (1995) explained: how to create hell on Earth

Film

The Firm (1993) explained: for the love of money

Film

Flatliners (1990) explained: hell and hallucination

A stag stands in the forest - it's facing us but looking away from the camera.

Film

Get Out (2017) explained: race, horror and hunting

Film

Halloween (1978) explained: but wait, were there TWO killers?

Book reviews

The Talented Mr Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith

Book reviews

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

Film

Alien: Covenant (2017) explained – colonialism and creation

Film

Violent Night (2022): ho, ho … oh | Review