iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I’m on two podcasts today covering two different things! Firstly a new show I’ve created called MODERN CINEMA chatting #Digger in depth with @samwellpv.bsky.social. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

podcasts.apple.com

Digger

Podcast Episode · Modern Cinema · 6 October · 1hr 18min

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Chatting today on my Substack about Tom Cruise in #Digger. A swing, to be sure, but a good one? Have a read and find out. ajblack.substack.com/p/digger-pro...

ajblack.substack.com

Digger provides a theatrical fable about our own short-sightedness

Tom Cruise’s star turn isn’t entirely what you’ll remember about this…

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

25 years since 9/11 today (incredibly) so I’ve written a bit about cinema’s response to it across several decades. ajblack.substack.com/p/911-in-cin...

ajblack.substack.com

9/11 in cinema and how we tried to make sense of it

25 years on, how have we reconciled it?

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Writing on my Substack today about THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, a film which I think I found more interesting and visually arresting than compelling. Please subscribe for free too! ajblack.substack.com/p/the-death-...

ajblack.substack.com

The Death of Robin Hood grapples with the myth of heroism

Prince of more than just thieves…

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Today would have been the 96th birthday of the late, great Sean Connery. I’ve written a book on him so to help celebrate the big man, do consider buying a copy and digging into his career. Available most places books are sold. Thanks if you do. amzn.eu/d/0hLfF1AY

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One Rules Them All: A Lord of the Rings Podcast @onerulesthemall.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Interesting article from fellow Film Stories podcaster, Tony (and thanks for the plug). Are we obsessed with filling in all the gaps in #Tolkien canon? And does it matter? Aren't we all here to enjoy the ride? #Thelordoftherings #TheRingsOfPower

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I’m chatting a bit about various shows - Rings of Power, Game of Thrones and especially Star Trek - as I talk about our obsession with canon. Do subscribe for free if you like what you read! ajblack.substack.com/p/why-are-we...

ajblack.substack.com

Why are we so obsessed with knowing everything?

TV and film's desperate need to sketch in Canon...

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I’m on @atthe90smovies.bsky.social this week with @bazgreenland.bsky.social chatting a fave! THE ROCK which affords me the opportunity to chat about my Sean Connery book, action cinema and a lot else besides. Available on all podcast players. Enjoy! open.spotify.com/episode/3BcV...

open.spotify.com

The Rock with Baz Greenland

At the Movies in the 90s · Episode

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

If you look under ‘Extras’ when you go to I Want to Believe, it should be there.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

There’s a new cut of the second X-Files movie out on Friday, so I sat down with the creator of the show, Chris Carter, to chat about it. Always a massive pleasure talking to someone whose work I grew up watching and adoring. open.spotify.com/episode/4JPn...

open.spotify.com

Chris Carter on I Want to Believe: Vrach Frankenshteyn

The X-Cast: An X-Files Podcast · Episode

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Beware spoilers if you haven’t seen it, but I wrote a bit about Spider-Man: Brand New Day on my Substack. Thanks if you give it a read and especially if you subscribe. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...

open.substack.com

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is all about letting go of the MCU we loved

A fourth film that tries to please two different masters...

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Currently halfway through a 10-part appreciation on my Substack of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I get into *that* moment where Indy directly faces Hitler. It’s remarkable on numerous levels. Would love it if you read and gave me a subscribe in the bargain. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...

open.substack.com

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 5: "Into the Lion's Den"

A race against evil...

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I can see you are FILLING some time with this.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Threw some thoughts together about #AvengersDoomsday on my Substack. Less so the film (it’s 5 months away after all) and more how it’s positioning itself in relation to Marvel and movie making. Please give me a subscribe if you give this a read. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...

open.substack.com

Avengers: Doomsday invites a new era of ‘legacyquel’ filmmaking

They’re bringing an old kind of party to you...

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Finished this last night. Injury Time by David Goldblatt. One for football fans primarily, but this weaves in politics and culture as it diagnoses the parlous state of football as a sport underneath all of the entertainment. It’s quite depressing to read actually 😀 but well done by Goldblatt.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Today on @filmstories.bsky.social I’m chattering about TROY from 2004, in the wake of The Odyssey. Very interesting returning to this one & seeing just how different the approach is. filmstories.co.uk/features/the...

filmstories.co.uk

The Odyssey highlights what went wrong with Troy

With The Odyssey in cinemas, attention has returned to 2004's Troy. Is it the definitive depiction of the Trojan War? We pay a return visit:

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Second best feeling to winning the World Cup as an Englishman? Watching this ghastly bunch of nasty POS Argentina players lose comprehensively. Viva Espana! 🇪🇸

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Brilliant. Love both those films.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Oh great, what titles are those for?

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Thanks so much Tim. Hope life is treating you well.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Everyone and their 20 year old dog are writing about #TheOdyssey this weekend and, friends, I am no exception. Less a review, more thoughts on how this fits in Christopher Nolan’s broader work, but thar be spoilers a bit so exercise caution. Oh & please subscribe! open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...

open.substack.com

The Odyssey of Christopher Nolan

A style. A theme. A link. A thesis.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

On my Substack, I’m kicking off a 10-part series talking about one of my cinematic loves - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Subscribe for free to get these in your inbox as I probably won’t put them all on social media. open.substack.com/pub/ajblack/...

open.substack.com

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Pt 1 - "You Lost Today, Kid..."

...but it doesn't mean you have to like it.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

open.substack.com

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Pt 1 - "You Lost Today, Kid..."

...but it doesn't mean you have to like it.

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Reposted by A. J. Black

A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Kicking off a Substack where all of my writing, unless it’s for Film Stories, shall now go. Please subscribe and make an increasingly old man very happy. I thank you. substack.com/@ajblack/not...

substack.com

Shall we begin?

Notes on why I'm doing this

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Why look at the Sun directly without sunglasses when you could look straight into a flashlight?

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Kicking off a Substack where all of my writing, unless it’s for Film Stories, shall now go. Please subscribe and make an increasingly old man very happy. I thank you. substack.com/@ajblack/not...

substack.com

Shall we begin?

Notes on why I'm doing this

063

Reposted by A. J. Black

A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Wrote a bit about TOY STORY 5 and its use of technology @filmstories.bsky.social A few spoilers within so be cautious, but it’s a movie that warns us about the threat of tech to childhood but suggests we can make it work for us, not the other way around. filmstories.co.uk/features/toy...

filmstories.co.uk

Toy Story 5 understands that tech needs to serve childhood

Pixar's Toy Story 5 confronts an existential threat to childhood. With spoilers, a look at what it says about technology and the young.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

filmstories.co.uk

Toy Story 5 understands that tech needs to serve childhood

Pixar's Toy Story 5 confronts an existential threat to childhood. With spoilers, a look at what it says about technology and the young.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

We’re just not as cool, Brummies, is the long and short of it. We don’t sound as cool. We don’t act as cool. Unless you’re into metal and then we’re legendary. Everything else, we just lack.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

But probably accurate for most of that base.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

One day I’ll write more, or podcast more, about QOS, especially about how politically prescient this one is. Felt cold and un-Bondian at the time but it’s ageing like a fine vintage now.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

@newpathstohelicon.bsky.social assume you’ve seen this for Birmingham? Might see about going myself in Bath.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Why are they talking about it?

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Film Stories @filmstories.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: creepy anthologies, chilly aliens, lost entities and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to… filmstories.co.uk/news/film-st...

filmstories.co.uk

Film Stories Podcast Network | Tales From The Crypt, War Of The Worlds, E.T. and more

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: creepy anthologies, chilly aliens, lost entities and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I have actually done this, to be fair.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Sadly, and I genuinely do mean sadly despite being an Englishman as my great grandfather was a full blown Scot, I think they’re cooked.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Name a film with a title that is a full sentence.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Every Any Which Which Way Way But You Loose Can

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Toby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

In this heat remember your five a day: Breakfast: Solero Elevenses: Calippo Lunch: Fruit Pastilles lolly Tea: Strawberry Mivvi Dinner: Raspberry Ripple (2 litre tub)

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Hunting a cannibal is a bit like making love to a beautiful woman. You surveil your mark. You offer up some meat. And you strike while it’s hot!

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I know! Let’s turn the genuine anxiety of Western civilisation that moronic leaders and despots will blow up the world into a gameshow! They’ll love that! The sound you can hear is Dr Strangelove spinning in its grave.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Yeah it actually worries me a bit, because I always feel I want my cultural knowledge to build on itself & inform who I am now, but there are definitely things that the brain just refuses to hold onto. It must all be there lurking somewhere.

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A. J. Black @ajblack.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I’m now at the point I go to watch a film, find I’ve logged and reviewed it on Letterboxd, have no memory of watching or reviewing it, but decide not to bother as I’ve already seen it!

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