Oliver Battershall

The Sixth Sense (1999)
A movie that’s so much more than the twist everyone knows it for. It’s a perfectly constructed mystery, a hauntingly effective ghost story and a beautiful rumination on grief. How about Haley Joel Osment by the way, one of the best child performances I’ve ever seen. I teared up during that scene in the car near the end. Absolute peak Shyama-lama-ding-dong, he can insert such a great sense of childlike wonderment into otherwise gripping thrillers when he wants to. By the way it’s laughable that people try to make a debate out of the greatest year in cinema history when 1999 exists.

Lynch/Oz (2022) 4/5
A sprawling documentary that definitely overextends itself but regardless is a treat for those of us who can’t resist digging into the art we love, uncovering and questioning implicit dialogue between artists over the span of decades. More than just an investigation into the links between Lynch and Oz, it delves into the very fabric of cinema history (of which the two of them are huge parts) and, in an anthology format presented by various figures in film, celebrates the different ways childhood and nostalgia can impact our appreciation and creation of art. As I said, at times it seems desperate to make some tenuous links and answer questions that Lynch never would’ve wanted to be answered, but despite the heavy academic lean I very much enjoyed this ambitious piece.

Lilo & Stitch (2025) 2.5/5
The latest film I’ve watched at work, this one was more lame nonsense from the Marcel the Shell director. Not much I can say other than I’ve realised the charm of a lovable rascal protagonist starts to wear off as you get older and start feeling for the people taking care of them. I do wonder which will happen first, the watering hole of intellectual properties from decades ago ripe for rehashing running dry, or audiences eventually catching onto the grift and losing interest. Neither looks very close, so that’s not great!

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) 3/5
A pretty unremarkable comedy with generally unlikeable characters but I thought it stuck the landing well with a fun ending. Needed more Nick Robinson and less of the nerd.

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) 4/5
A very neat little AI takeover story with a cool soundtrack and real tangible stakes. Chilling yet fun, with a surprisingly nuanced understanding of its largely hypothetical subject matter for its time.

American Movie (1999) 4.5/5
What a gem this is. The characters in this make it so captivating because that’s exactly what they seem like, characters, in some Coen Brothers film or Christopher Guest mockumentary. But they’re so beautifully real, and that makes their accidentally hilarious exchanges and unique backstories that much more captivating. A tale of emotive contrasts: passion versus pragmatism, the human spirit versus the urge to give up the ghost, the American Dream versus reality.

Conclave (2024) 4/5
This is a very vulnerable moment for me, I’m exposing myself as the one guy on Earth who didn’t get round to watching Conclave when it came out nor when there was a literal conclave a month ago. This is a proper old fashioned great movie. Our generation’s 12 Angry Men. A film that reminds the world that lads love gossip just as much as the women in a huge step forward for gender equality.

Hatchet II (2010) 3.5/5
Finally got round to watching the sequel to one of my favourite comedy-horrors. It drags its feet at first through some mostly unnecessary reminders to the audience of the events of the first movie, but once it gets going it gets GOING. The kills are just as varied as the original and even more over the top. Tony Todd is always a treat to watch and it’s cool to see Tom Holland, director of Fright Night, one of my favourite ever horrors, in an acting role.