“What do you mean you don’t like jazz?” ‘La La Land’, directed by Damien Chazelle in 2016, is an American romantic comedy musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Stone plays Mia, an aspiring actress who, over the course of a year, forms a relationship with Sebastian, played by Gosling, a Jazz pianist whose ambition…

“I don’t want the kids to see me crying.” ‘Two Days, One Night’, directed by the Dardenne brothers in 2014, is a Belgian movie starring Marion Cotillard. Cotillard plays Sandra, a worker at a solar-panel factory who suffers from depression and has been forced to take time off work. Whilst she is absent, her fellow…

“I don’t mind taking more, Hefina. Not the lesbians so much, because of their cuisine, but I’ll take an extra gay.” ‘Pride’, directed by Matthew Warchus in 2014, is a British comedy drama that tells the story of the support given to Welsh miners by a group of lesbian and gay activists and their unlikely…

“Should it ever befall me, and it could happen today, to be a victim of the terrorism swallowing up all foreigners here, I would like my community, my church, my family, to remember that my life was given to God and to this country. That the Unique Master of all life was no stranger to…

“I found the poems in the fields, And only wrote them down.” ‘By Our Selves’, directed by Andrew Kotting in 2015, is a British experimental docudrama about the journey of poet John Clare from Epping Forest to Northamptonshire. The film stars Toby Jones as the poet, silently wandering through woodland, whilst Freddie Jones, his father,…

“What will you do when they catch you? What will you do if they break you? If you continue to fight, what will you become?” ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, directed by Gareth Edwards in 2016, is an American science fiction fantasy movie and part of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. The story takes place…

“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Scamander. Just like your suitcase, I think there’s more to you than meets the eye. Kicked out of Hogwarts for endangering human life with a beast, yet one of your teachers argued strongly against your expulsion. I wonder… what makes Albus Dumbledore so fond of you, Mr. Scamander?” ‘Fantastic Beasts…

“Come back to me.” ‘Arrival’, directed by Denis Villeneuve in 2016, is an American science fiction movie starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Adams plays Louise Banks who is recruited by the US military when mysterious pods the size of skyscrapers appear in twelve locations around the Earth. With the help of theoretical physicist Ian…

“Before Keiller’s (or Robinson’s) prophetic gaze, the English countryside is a monument to itself, and ripe for revolutionary appropriation.” ‘Robinson in Ruins’, directed by Patrick Keiller in 2010, is a British conceptual documentary that examines the history and landscape of locations around Oxford. In essence it’s a ‘found footage’ movie: Vanessa Redgrave plays the narrator,…

“Children, don’t know their parents ordeals. Sure, they know certain details, striking elements. And they know what they need to know to be on one side or the other. They don’t know that I trembled the first time I ever saw you on stage. All the orchestra behind my back were laughing at my falling…

“Don’t be upset if it’s not the way you dream it’ll be.” ‘The Kid with a Bike’, directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne in 2011, is a Belgian drama telling the story of a twelve year old boy, Cyril, played by Thomas Doret, who is abandoned by his father and is placed in a foster…

“You’re a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You’ve spent your life trying to widen it. Your work saved the lives of thousands. What if I told you that reality is one of many?” ‘Doctor Strange’, directed by Scott Derrickson in 2016, is a fantasy adventure and is an instalment in the Marvel…

“I’ve been thinking about laws on Mars. There’s an international treaty saying that no country can lay claim to anything that’s not on Earth. By another treaty if you’re not in any country’s territory, maritime law applies. So Mars is international waters. Now, NASA is an American non-military organization, it owns the Hab. But the…

 “Well, it looks like somebody got bored doing it. Washington’s the only one with any clothes, and they’re just kind of roughed in. Lincoln doesn’t even have an ear.” ‘Nebraska’, directed by Alexander Payne in 2013, is an American comedy road movie that follows the journey of an elderly man and his son as the…

“When I was four, I didn’t even know about the world, and now me and ma are going to live in it forever and ever until we’re dead. This is a street in a city in a country called America, and earth. That’s a blue and green planet, always spinning, so I don’t know why…

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we spend most of our time stumbling around the dark. Suddenly, a light gets turned on and there’s a fair share of blame to go around. I can’t speak to what happened before I arrived, but all of you have done some very good reporting here. Reporting that I…

“I am convinced that memory has a gravitational force. It is constantly attracting us. Those who have a memory are able to live in the fragile present moment. Those who have none don’t live anywhere. Each night, slowly, impassively, the centre of the galaxy passes over Santiago.” ‘Nostalgia for the Light’, directed by Patricio Guzmán…

“Hobie Doyle: Would that it were so simple. Laurence Laurentz: Would that it were so simple! Hobie Doyle: Would that it were so simple. Laurence Laurentz: Would that it were so simple! Hobie Doyle: Would that it were so simple. Laurence Laurentz: Would that it were so simple!” ‘Hail Caesar!’, directed by Joel and Ethan…

“I thought this city would be a perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, life’s a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a…

“You must have patience, even while people die. Only thus can the whole evil be destroyed. You must let it grow.” I’m a happy member of the ‘Folk Horror Revival’ Facebook group. I bought the ‘Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies’ book and I’ve contributed a poem to the up-coming ‘Corpse Roads’ anthology, but I have…

“Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry.” ‘The Big Short’, directed by Adam McKay in 2015, is an American comedy that tells the story of the 2007-2008 financial collapse through the eyes of speculators who made money from it. Christian Bale plays Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager who predicts the crisis…

“You, the colonized Africans, you must follow the example of the Vietnamese people. Your brothers, your wives and your children have a right to justice and freedom! Fighters, do not be the colonists’ slaves any longer. Witness the Vietnamese victory, and break free of your chains!” ‘Outside the Law’, directed by Rachid Bouchareb in 2010,…

“Art always finds a way to reflect reality at that moment” ‘Julieta’, directed by Pedro Almodóvar in 2016, is a Spanish drama that charts the life of the title character, played by Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte. The movie opens with Julieta about to move to Portugal with her boyfriend, Lorenzo, when a chance encounter…

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook, or tie down its tongue with a rope? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Nothing on Earth is its equal. It is king over all that are proud.” ‘Leviathan’, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev in 2014, is a Russian…

“That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it! My father made that shield!” ‘Captain America: Civil War’, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo in 2016, is the third in a trilogy of superhero films, and another entry in the complex Marvel sequence of movies. In this instalment, Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans,…

“Okay. How do we blow it up? There’s always a way to do that.” ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, directed by J. J. Abrams in 2015, is a science fiction fantasy movie based on George Lucas’s series from the 1970s and 1980s. Set thirty years after the third movie in the original trilogy, it focuses…

“What sort of sacrifice are these vows of yours?” ‘Ida’, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski in 2013, is a Polish drama set in 1962. Agata Kulesza plays Anna, a novice nun who has grown up in the convent. When she comes of age, the prioress tells her she must leave to find out more about her…

“Just when you think it can’t get any worse, you run out of cigarettes.” ‘Carol’, directed by Todd Haynes in 2015, is an American drama set in New York in the 1950s. An aspiring photographer called Therese, played by Rooney Mara, becomes romantically involved with an older woman, Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, who is…

“I gave God a chance to kill me. He didn’t do it, so he’s pleased with me.” ‘The White Ribbon’, written and directed by Michael Haneke in 2009 is an historical movie set in a small German village in the months leading up to the First World War. A series of mysterious accidents and crimes…

“I remember. I remember everything.” ‘Jason Bourne’ is the fifth movie in a series of action thrillers, and the third to be directed by Paul Greengrass. It features Matt Damon as the titular ex-CIA assassin who, ten years after he exposed the corrupt operation that lead to his estrangement from the US intelligence service, finds…