Matt Jukes - Bristol Burnout

Thank U, Next

So somewhat unexpectedly - and some might say ironically given I do a pretty popular newsletter sharing vacancies for the sorts of vacancies I am interested in - I find myself in need of a job. Without getting into it my return to TPXimpact fell apart at the final hurdle

150 days later: sunset of a sabbatical

(Well it was 150 days when I first started writing this..) I’m coming to the end of my sabbatical and am getting psyched up for my return to the (remote) workplace. Honestly I am returning with a certain amount of trepidation. The privilege to have been able to take

Enn Eff Tee time

I’ve been trying to get my head around some of the crypto related stuff that seems to dominate certain corners of the digital landscape these days - inspired in part by conversations with a cabbie in DC and an Uber driver in New York who were all-in on crypto.

October observations

Happy Halloween (bah humbug!). October has been a mixed bag. I’ve been feeling a lot better - mentally and physically - but that has meant I’ve started to get antsy and a bit bored without work or a major project to spend time on...which I’ve been

movies

Dune

TL;DR A rare movie that justifies the hype. If you have been waiting for a movie worth risking a visit to the cinema for this is it (much more than Bond IMHO). This is an epic, spectacular science fiction movie that never looks (or sounds) less than amazing and

One year later

Later this week marks the anniversary of my 'me vs automobile' accident. 52 weeks since even the lessons of the late, great Green Cross Code Man failed to save me from getting bounced along the street by a car (at a pedestrian crossing no less.) All in all it was

tv

ER endeavours

I have just completed viewing every episode of ER. That is 331 episodes over 15 seasons. Almost 250 hours. I was at university when ER landed in the UK. A friend - actually a film student - was obsessed with it and that led to me becoming a casual fan.

September's Sabbatical Shenanigans

It turns out taking a sabbatical takes a bit of effort (if you want to avoid becoming a complete hermit). Other people have jobs and lives and there is only so much time you can fill bingeing old ER episodes. That said over the course of the month I did

movies

No Time To Die

The saviour of the British Box Office (or so we have been led to believe) has finally landed in cinemas. My venue of choice has shows starting every 30 minutes for the next few days - though mine at 10am only had a dozen people in there. I don't consider

movies

Many Saints of Newark

I truly believe that 'The Sopranos' is one of the greatest television shows of all time (even with the stupid ending!) and was genuinely excited when the news of this prequel was released. Unfortunately it is a real disappointment from start to finish. I think if it had been pitched

Escape TO New York

Even before my recent burnout related issues I'd been dreaming of taking a sabbatical - I'd missed travelling and had known for a while I needed to get away for a while if I was to have any chance of really recharging. I essentially had a Plan A and a

movies

Gunpowder Milkshake

Maybe I am just drawn to movies that are 90s nostalgia-fests? That said actually the film this most reminds me of is 'Shoot 'em Up' which IMDb reliably informs me was 2007 - though I imagine the creators thought they were creating a female led John Wick. Whatever inspired it

movies

Copshop

This is definitely a post-peak-Covid cinema release. I can't imagine this getting into a movie theatre a couple of years ago - it positively screams 'straight to streaming'. Heck it stars the twin monarchs of streaming action flicks - Butler and Grillo. That said I genuinely enjoyed it. It mainly

movies

My Marvel movie & telly top to bottom

These days I'm not sure what it canon and not re the tv shows so I may have taken some liberties but nonetheless this is my list - it is mainly based on how likely I am to rewatch the film/show (or how often I have) and how fondly

movies

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The biggest compliment I can give this film is it removes the bitter taste that was 'Iron Fist'. This is the magical, mystical, Marvel Kung Fu movie we all hoped they could pull off. This is very much a love letter to kung fu movies over the decades. An early

Donda by Kanye West

Is Doodo.

tv

Kevin Can F**k Himself

Well that was interesting. In a weird way this show reminds me of WandaVision. Not for any plot reasons but because it really plays fast and loose with standard television preconceptions. For the record I'm not sure whether I enjoyed it...but I am pretty sure I didn't dislike it.

movies

Vacation Friends

Let's be honest the augurs were not good for this movie. Despite being a genuine new release with a recognisable cast - something we are still lacking in at the moment - it slipped onto Disney+ with zero fanfare. I can see why. There remains a kind of modern sub-genre

movies

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

Disclaimer - the render is being removed from my house. It is loud and messy (and unexpected) so I needed a plan to escape for a few hours. So I went to the cinema and saw the only appropriate movie I hadn't already seen. The fact the staff were genuinely

comics

Something is Killing the Children

James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'edera have created the best Buffy comic ever in 'Something is Killing the Children'. Sure it isn't Buffy and actually has more differences than similarities on a close reading but the broad strokes are - young woman charged with a mission to kill supernatural monsters,

tv

Seven STARZ

Of all the streaming platforms I subscribe to (and I subscribe to most of them) Starz is the one consistently punching above its weight. It is low profile compared to Netflix, the Pluses (Apple and Disney) and Amazon but someone(s) there have a real eye for a show. This

movies

Boss Level

During the glory days of Blockbuster there was a thriving industry in 'straight-to-video' movies. Often rip-offs of successful movies, or rubbish sequels, or occasionally interesting movies that studios just lost faith in. For me it was all about the action genre in these cast-offs. Ninjas, samurais, Delta Force or Green

movies

Free Guy

I know next to nothing about video games. Which given I am a sci-fi reading, comic collecting, Marvel movie viewing geek of some standing is probably a bit weird. In fact all I know about video games I learned from books and movies which is probably a poor source. That

tv

Cruel Summer

'Cruel Summer' is a teen drama/mystery that has been a hit in the US (apparently - who knows what that means these days) and landed on Amazon Prime on Friday. It is the story of the abduction of a popular teenager and the aftermath of her escape told over

books

Shards of Earth

Adrian Tchaikovsky wrote one of my favourite sci-fi books in modern times - the amazing and fascinating 'Children of Time' (i.e. that book about the spiders) but other than the novella 'The Expert System's Brother' I haven't really clicked with his other work (even the sequel to 'Children of