Stage: Learning to let go

Lost Watches
by Lorenzo Allchurch
director Alex Helfrecht
with Lorenzo Allchurch, Gabriella Moran, Leah Aspden, Jason Isaacs
composer Dominic Brennan • lighting Nell Golledge
production design Rob Davis • costumes Trynity Silk
Park Theatre, London • 30.Jul-23.Aug.25 ★★★

As absurdist dark comedy, this offbeat new play is packed with haunting insight and clever interaction. It's very cleverly staged with a striking set design, lighting effects and a superb cast that brings a natural spark to their complex roles. It's also deliberately evasive, playing with enormous ideas in often rather silly ways that leave us on the outside of the story. So we never really feel the huge emotions that are gurgling up everywhere. But there's plenty to think about.

It centres on Allen (playwright Lorenzo Allchurch), a hapless young guy living in his family's sprawling home after the death of his mother. He hangs out in her sculpting shed, where his closest companion is a huge bust of William Burroughs (voiced by Jason Isaacs), which pokes and prods Allen with sneery wordplay. He's visited by his competitive brother Jack, their absent father and the ghost of their mother (all played by Gabriella Moran). And a local cop (Leah Aspden) comes to investigate strange noises and other things going on here.

Allen can't afford to keep this house, and the bank is about to foreclose. But he is frozen in inaction, unable to decide what to do or how to move on. And he has never dealt with issues that have haunted him since his childhood. Burroughs' sardonic suggestions aren't helping, and neither are the other people around him, real or imaginary. So it's clear that fate needs to step in, and indeed it does.

On a very effective minimalist black stage that features inventive props, lights and projections, Allchurch gives a full-on performance, spiralling through this situation as a young man who isn't really searching for answers, but he needs them. It's a fascinating performance, even if the play itself becomes a bit frustrating as it spins in nutty circles with its impenetrable dialog and some surprising swerves in the plot. Thankfully, the psychological intensity of it all holds the interest.

The key idea here is that we all need to find a way to let go of things that prevent us from moving forward with our lives, including objects, places and even the memories that keep us stuck in place. And of course mental health issues are also part of the conversation. All of this comes through with a provocative kick in the dense dialog and plotting, which flips into an unexpected final scene that offers a glimmer of hope. 

For details, PARK THEATRE > 

photos by Mark Senior • 1.Aug.25

Raindance: Take your shot

The 33rd Raindance Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday with the world premiere of the British drama Heavyweight and a properly epic afterparty at with special honours were presented to screen icons Celia Imrie and Jason Isaacs. The festival runs over the next 10 days with a flurry of independent films. I'm trying to limit how many I watch, aiming for one per day. So here are the first two...

Heavyweight
dir-scr Christopher M Anthony; with Jordan Bolger, Nicholas Pinnock 25/UK ****
Unfolding in real time and largely in a single room, like a stage play, this British boxing drama has a propulsive pace as it traces the run-up to a championship bout. Writer-director Christopher Anthony keeps the tension high with edgy dialog, beefy performances, prowling camerawork and a churning underscore. The sheer machismo on display is perhaps a bit exhausting, but it's balanced by a terrific sense of underlying emotion.

A Cell Phone Movie
dir-scr Will Sterling; with Will Sterling, Tessa Glanville 25/US ****
As the title indicates, this meta-comedy was shot on a mobile phone. It looks great, skilfully filmed in wide-screen and sharply well-edited too. Actor-filmmaker Will Sterling is a charming lead, and the comedy is warm and off-the-cuff, with a continual stream of witty gags about trying to make a no-budget movie. Even more engaging are the thoughtfully serious sequences that dig deeper into the characters and situations.

Full reviews of festival films will be linked here in due course: SHADOWS @ RAINDANCE >

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C R I T I C A L  W E E K

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Red Path • 28 Years Later
Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf
ALL REVIEWS >

This week I got to attend the glamorous world premiere of Jurassic World: Rebirth, with the full cast and crew in attendance, including Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali. And the film is great fun. The new Pixar animation Elio is an enjoyable if familiar space romp, but it's packed with dazzling touches. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are back with 28 Years Later, a superbly ripping addition to the franchise. John Travolta stars in the wobbly but watchable caper comedy High Rollers. Harry Melling and Caleb Landry Jones lead the cast of Scottish period weirdness Harvest, which struggles to make its point. Writer-director Eva Victor stars with Naomi Ackie in the beautifully written and directed Sorry, Baby, putting a truthful spin on a big event. Leonie Benesch is excellent as an overworked nurse in the expertly shot Swiss drama Late Shift. And the properly stunning Tunisian drama Red Path tells a riveting true story with power and emotion. I also attended the opening night cabaret for this year's London Clown Festival

This coming week there are many more films at Raindance, plus Brad Pitt in F1, Dylan O'Brien in Ponyboi, the indie comedy Rent Free, the French comedy Colours of Time and the Colombian drama Salt Water, plus the premiere for Lena Dunham's TV series Too Much and three live performances: Quadrophenia at Sadler's Wells, Jonah Non Grata at Soho Theatre and Botis Seva's Until We Sleep at Sadler's Wells East.

Critical Week: Always say yes

After wrapping up the first SXSW London festival over the weekend, I had a flurry of screenings to keep me busy this week. This included the action comedy Deep Cover, with Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed as improv comics on police business in the London underworld. It's ridiculous but a lot of fun. Even more absurd was the silly action romp Shadow Force, rescued by the sheer charm of Kerry Washington and Omar Sy as parents with secret black ops skills, pulled back into the mayhem. The tired premise nearly sinks it, but the actors make it watchable, including a villainous Mark Strong.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tornado
Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf
ALL REVIEWS >

The week's other big screening was the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, which looked amazing on a huge Imax screen. While not strictly necessary, the film is still rousing enough to be worth a look. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in the romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy, which is funny, engaging and delightfully pointed. The French romcom Jane Austen Wrecked My Life takes a low-key approach to its engagingly astute story of a blocked writer. Shakespeare's classic is reimagined as a lavishly produced pop musical for Juliet & Romeo, simplifying things in the process, but remaining entertaining too. And the clearly low-budget independent drama Franklin centres on two aspiring actors in Los Angeles as they navigate career and love-life issues.

I also attended the premiere of the third season of Squid Game, which included a terrific on-stage Q&A with stars Lee Jung-Jae, Lee Byung-hun and Park Gyuyoung, plus creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. And the dance show Inside Giovanni's Room, based on the landmark James Baldwin novel, was simply gorgeous at Sadler's Wells East.

This coming week will be rather busy with the Pixar animation Elio, Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth, John Travolta in High Rollers, Harry Melling in Harvest, Naomi Ackie in Sorry Baby, Leonie Benesch in Late Shift and the Tunisian drama Red Path, plus the first week of movies at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival and the annual opening night cabaret for the London Clown Festival.

Screen: May TV Roundup

There's been some very high-profile television over the past few months, including shows that have made global headlines, like Adolescence and the third season of The White Lotus. There have also been a few new series that are happy to simply keep us smiling, like The Four Seasons and The Studio. We need more of these at the moment! This roundup starts with four shows that came back for another season...

The White Lotus: series 3
Writer-director Mike White continues to take on major themes in unusually subtle ways, this time at a resort Thailand that's so beautiful we will all start saving up now. And the guests and staff are a terrific collection of people who are dealing with a range of issues that relate to morality and spirituality. It's so skilfully written and played that each scene worms its way into our subconscious. Standouts in the exceptional ensemble include Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Aimee Lou Wood, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola, plus a blazing Sam Rockwell. There are some loose threads that feel a bit messy, but this is top-tier TV. (Max)

Hacks: series 4
With a much darker tone, this season kicks off as war rages between the imperious Deborah (Jean Smart) and the feisty Ava (Hanna Einbinder). And things get very nasty indeed in these sharply well-written and performed episodes, with various subplots helpfully providing comic relief, most notably the ongoing antics of agents Jimmy and Kayla (Paul W Downs and Megan Salter). The depiction of the world of late night television is astute, including a properly pointed look at network TV politics. But as always, it's the rollercoaster relationship between Deborah and Ava that keeps us hooked, and it's a fantastic ride this time around. (Max)

The Conners:
series 7
There are only six episodes in this show's final season, capping a span of 37 years in the life of this working class family. The writers set out to both maintain the timely, salt-of-the-earth sensibilities while providing strong arcs for each of the central characters, and they manage to do this with clever plotting and their usual hilariously barbed dialog. The focus is on the veteran cast members, who continued to deepen their roles from episode to episode. So we'll miss John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson, and it's a little frustrating that Michael Fishman (as DJ) wasn't back for the emotional goodbye. (ABC)

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
Based on Hilary Mantel's historical novel, Wolf Hall gripped the nation in 2015, and it's taken a decade to get Part 2. The story picks up immediately, following Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) as he tries to navigate backchannel politics in the court of Henry VIII (Damien Lewis) and Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips). Beautifully written by Peter Straughan, and skilfully played by an excellent ensemble, this is a gorgeously made series that lives in its quieter moments. While the pacing is slow and delicate, the dialog is packed with subterfuge, as relationships are twisted by gossip and ambition. History is rarely recounted with so much introspection. (BBC)

S O M E T H I N G   N E W

Adolescence
This feels like landmark television, with four utterly unmissable episodes. It's written, directed and performed with staggering skill to tell a story that feels almost terrifyingly urgent. On the surface it's about a detective (Ashley Walters) investigating the murder of a teen girl by a 13-year-old boy (Owen Cooper), whose father (Stephen Graham) can't comprehend the situation. But the show is actually a deep dive into the impact of toxic masculinity on society, touching on a range of jaw-dropping aspects. Philip Barantini directs each episode in a single long take that ramps up the intensity and provides powerful gut punches. (Netflix)

The Studio
While this comedy is somewhat goofy, it's also so much fun that we never want it to end. Seth Rogen leads the cast (and creative team) to take us behind the chaotic scenes, playing a Hollywood studio boss who's in over his head. Each episode works as a meta-joke exploring various aspects of moviemaking with humour that's both jaggedly smart and profoundly silly. And amid the broad jokes are some knowing observations about Hollywood. The quality slips in the final few episodes, which begin to feel somewhat repetitive, but the terrific cast includes the great Catherine O'Hara, and more A-list cameos per episode than seems humanly possible. (Apple)

The Four Seasons
Loosely based on the 1981 film, this eight-part series created by Tina Fey centres on three couples who take four holidays together over the course of a year. As their relationships shift, there's plenty of sharp comedy and strong emotion thanks to first-rate actors Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney and Marco Calvani. Most enjoyable is the way the show is unafraid to indulge in some very silly antics alongside the much more serious storylines. So even if it all feels a bit too smart to be believable, the terrific actors find strongly grounded moments along the way. All of which makes it hugely entertaining. (Netflix)

Mid-Century Modern
Almost painfully broad, this is an old-school sitcom with a queer twist, essentially remaking The Golden Girls with three gay men in Palm Springs. Nathan Lane is the sardonic leader of the pack, Matt Bomer is the brainless himbo and Nathan Lee Graham is the wry socialite, with the great Linda Lavin as the resident house mother. This could work a treat, but the writing is almost painfully simplistic, falling back on obvious jokes and a string of starry cameos. Thankfully, the actors are excellent at providing the textures needed to make the characters likeable. But without much of interest going on, it's not easy to care if they return for more. (Disney)

Étoile
This has promise, an ensemble comedy centred around an exchange between premiere ballet companies in New York and Paris, but it's assembled in a bewilderingly uneven way. Everything is infused with slapstick, creating deliberately wacky characters who are both unsympathetic and frankly implausible. This almost works for quirky artistes like Tobias Glick's obsessively awkward choreographer, but it rings badly false with the administrators who take up the vast majority of the screen time. It seems like a crime to saddle actors like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Luke Kirby with such one-note roles. Still, it's just about watchable. (Amazon)

Mr Loverman
This is a beautifully written and directed series, based on the Bernardine Evaristo novel about a lively Afro-Caribbean family man in London (a stunningly complex role for Lennie James) who is secretly in love with his best friend Morris (Ariyon Bakare), but is still unable to come out of the closet. The show flickers back to previous times and places in their decades together, punctuated by both everyday encounters and momentous events. Most intriguing is how this sensitive, observant show traces how gay rights evolved around these two men, and their very different reactions to that. And the final episodes are powerfully moving. (BBC)

Carême
Loosely based on real historical figures, this French series centres around the very first celebrity chef Antonin Careme (Benjamin Voisin) in the early 19th century, and throws him into the middle of soapy romance and lots of political intrigue under Napoleon's turbulent rule. The food on display is fabulous, of course. And there's some fun to be had in Careme's sexual shenanigans, even if the plot badly bogs down in the more thriller-style elements that leave it little more than a quest for revenge. At least it plays out with some nice twists, and strong performances from the seductive Voisin, Lyna Khoudri, Jeremie Renier and others. (Apple)

GUILTY PLEASURES: Britain's Got Talent, Fool Us, The Traitors (Australia), Drag Race (17/Down Under), Million Dollar Secret.

NOW WATCHING: Overcompensating, Your Friends & Neighbors, Andor 2, The Last of Us 2, The Handmaid's Tale 6

COMING SOON: MurderBot, Adults, Stick, Long Way Home, And Just Like That 2, Fubar 2, Squid Game 3.

Previous roundup: MARCH 2025 > 

Critical Week: Taking notes

The autumn festival season continues all over the world (London's largest fest starts next week), even as awards season has already begun, with contenders screening for voters. And yes, I need to take notes when I see so many movies in a concentrated period - tricky in the dark, but it helps to write things down even if I struggle to read my dodgy handwriting in the light later. For me, this week's movies included the comedy Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, starring a particularly radiant Lesley Manville. Yes, it's cute and sweet, but it's remarkably never silly or sentimental. A proper gem. And then there was the horror thriller Smile, which will probably top the box office this weekend thanks to horror genre fans. Anchored by a superbly committed performance from Sosie Bacon, it's unnerving, grisly and jumpy but not actually scary.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Argentina, 1985 • Flux Gourmet
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Girls Girls Girls • Taming the Garden
ALL REVIEWS >

Meanwhile, Francois Ozon is back with his terrific new film Peter von Kant, a skilful pastiche that's part remake and part biopic about Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Control is a contained thriller from Canada with a limited setting and small cast, and it never quite develops its high concept. From Iceland the dramatic epic Godland is gloomy and gorgeous in equal measure, packed with provocative themes. The French drama Rodeo has a kinetic sense of edgy energy, but a rather simple plot, as it follows a feisty young woman into the masculine world of trick motorbikers. And the kaleidoscopic Egyptian doc-drama Shall I Compare You to a Summer's Day? boldly explores how it feels to be a gay man in the Arab world.

Films to watch this next week include Christian Bale and Margot Robbie in Amsterdam, Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan in The Lost King, Aubrey Plaza in Emily the Criminal, the Bronte biopic Emily, surreal comedy All Sorts, British drama Big Boys Don't Cry and the comedy Phantom Project.

Critical Week: Take a load off

Bigger movies continue to turn up at the box office each week, signalling a return to the pre-lockdown pattern of one blockbuster per week. And press screenings are also getting a bit more colourful as a result. We had two big screenings this week, starting with the Nicolas Cage pastiche action comedy bromance The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is even more fun than expected. Going full-method as himself, Cage and up-for-it costar Pedro Pascal dive fully into the ridiculous story, and they keep the audience right with them. There was also Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third chapter in the whizzy but oddly uninvolving Harry Potter prequel franchise. This one is much more momentous, and the actors (notably Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen) make it worth a look. I also caught up with Michael Bay's latest over-the-top action thriller Ambulance, a choppy but very entertaining ride through Los Angeles with the superb Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen and Eiza Gonzalez.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Compartment No 6 • Small Body
Poppy Field • Cow
PERHAPS AVOID:
Agent Game • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
ALL REVIEWS >

Further afield were the by-numbers spy thriller Agent Game, which has a strong cast (Dermot Mulroney, Jason Isaacs, even Mel Gibson) but rarely rises above its cliches. French actor-filmmaker Valerie Lemercier's Aline is a fictionalised biopic about Celine Dion, and it's as bonkers as you hope it will be. From Ireland, You Are Not My Mother is a stylish dramatic horror that properly gets under the skin. And from France, Anais in Love is a sunny, chatty comedy-drama that recounts an awkward coming of age.

For this coming week I have no press screenings in the diary, but I do have some links to watch at home, for films including Eva Longoria in the comedy Unplugging, James Duval in the comedy I Challenger and the Japanese triptych Sexual Drive. I also hope to see Alexander Skarsgard in The Northman, most likely buying a ticket for a regular cinema.

Critical Week: Somebody's watching

It's been a quiet week as far as press screenings go, but I've been keeping busy with various events, as well as the usual collection of movies to watch using online screening links. BFI Flare held an event to launch the programme for its 36th festival, and it was great to have an in-person event again - although without the usual festival afterparty. The festival runs 16-27 March as a mix of cinema and virtual screenings and events, and I'm looking forward to it as usual. Flare is easily London's most festive film festival.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Strawberry Mansion
Kimi • Uncharted
The Real Charlie Chaplin
ALL REVIEWS >

As for the movies, I watched Steven Soderbergh's superbly involving Hitchcockian thriller Kimi, which stars Zoe Kravitz (above) as a tech worker caught in a properly suspenseful mystery. Naomi Watts is terrific in The Desperate Hour, essentially a one-woman show about a mother panicking to get back to her children. It's emotive but a bit contrived.  From Australia, Streamline is an intriguing but far too gloomy drama about a swimmer (Levi Miller) who goes off the rails. From Greece, Echoes of the Past is a familiar WWII drama elevated by the great Max von Sydow, in his final film role. The surreal adventure Strawberry Mansion is a wonderfully inventive journey into dreamscapes starring Kenrucker Audley, who also cowrote and codirected. And from France, A Night in the Fields is an involving short feature about two teens working out their friendship and more.

I also revisited the sensitive, improv-style 2020 New York drama Cicada before hosting a Valentine's Day Q&A with writer-director-star Matthew Fifer, producer Jeremy Truong, producer Ramfis Myrthil and editor Kyle Sims. The film's UK release was delayed by the pandemic, and it was great to finally get to meet them, welcome them to London and chat to a very receptive audience.

In this coming week, films to see include Channing Tatum in Dog and the Palestinian thriller Huda's Salon. I'm also heading off on a break for a couple of weeks, so blog entries may be a bit sporadic. But I'm hoping to catch up with the Foo Fighters in Studio 666 and, yes, Robert Pattinson in The Batman along the way.

Critical Week: On top of the world

Christmas was a quiet one for me, as I tested positive for covid right before the holidays. I had no symptoms beyond a mild sniffly cold (which I probably would have had anyway), but I have had to isolate for a week and wait for a negative test. So I used the time to catch up on a few awards-season movies that I'd missed, including the French animated adventure The Summit of the Gods, a thrilling story about mountaineering with seriously spectacular imagery (find it on Netflix). The drama Mass centres around a conversation about a tragedy between four people, played by the superb Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton and Reed Birney. It's riveting and powerfully provocative.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Licorice Pizza • Titane
The Tragedy of Macbeth
ALL REVIEWS >

From Germany, the disarming comedy I'm Your Man stars Maren Eggert as a woman living with a robot (Dan Stevens) who has been designed as her perfect man. It's funny and hugely charming. From India, the documentary Writing With Fire follows a group of fierce female journalists who are making a huge impact on their nation. The Last Days of Innocence is a collection of four expertly made short films about that moment when childhood is interrupted by real life. And among the TV series and favourite old films I've been watching, I saw Last Train to Christmas, a fiendishly clever fantasy satire starring Michael Sheen that starts as a goofy comedy and becomes something surprisingly thoughtful.

Coming up this next week, my first in-person screening of the new year will be the action thriller The 355 with Jessica Chastain and Lupita Nyong'o, and I have more awards contenders to catch up with, including the Kosovo drama Hive and Mexico's Prayers for the Stolen.

Critical Week: Smiles everybody

Screenings continue to be a mixed bag of current releases and awards contenders. Higher profile films this week include Javier Bardem in the Spanish film The Good Boss, a blackly comical satire about the tension between a boss and his employees. And the true World War II adventure Operation Mincemeat has a first-rate cast featuring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Penelope Wilton, Jason Isaacs and Johnny Flynn.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Flee • C'mon C'mon
The Hand of God
Boxing Day • Final Account
ALL REVIEWS >

The main reason why I saw so few films this week: I spend eight hours watching The Beatles: Get Back, Peter Jackson's hugely engaging documentary made from footage unseen for 50 years. It's essential for fans. Also a bit off the beaten path were the thoughtful and provocative Canadian drama I Am Syd Stone, addressing issues of sexuality in show business; Andrea Arnold's experiential doc Cow, following the life of a farm animal in a way that's riveting; the World War II doc Final Account, interviewing Germans who were children when the Nazis came to power; and the shorts collection The French Boys features five very strong dramas.

Coming up this next week, I will be watching Steven Spielberg's remake of the musical West Side Story, Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley, Lea Seydoux in France, the horror thriller Agnes, the drama Famous, the pantomime on film Cinderella and the shorts collection The French Boys 2.

Critical Week: Smile for the camera

This week was supposed to be a quiet pause to regain my breath after the Venice Film Festival and to get ready for the London Film Festival - press screenings start on Monday in advance of the festival itself (4-15 Oct). But it hasn't worked out like that. This was a busy week too! Screenings included the new Armando Ianucci film The Death of Stalin, a hilariously pointed political comedy set in 1953 Moscow with an ace cast of scene-stealers including Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin and Jeffrey Tambor (pictured above with others).

Annette Bening and Jamie Bell are excellent in the skilfully made British comedy-drama Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, based on a memoir about the final years of Oscar-winning screen siren Gloria Grahame. Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts shine in the gripping and sometimes a bit murky The Glass Castle, based on a memoir about growing up with anti-establishment parents.

Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf take on the title roles in Borg vs McEnroe, a lively, beautifully observed biopic about the iconic tennis rivalry, set during the 1980 Wimbledon final. Robert Pattinson plays a low-life criminal loser in Good Time, a luridly stylish all-night odyssey that stretches credibility but holds the interest. And an ensemble of solid British actors features in Brakes, a multi-strand improvised movie about break-ups that's scruffy and funny.

In the diary for this next week is a mix of festival and mainstream films: Reese Witherspoon in Home Again,Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name, Lola Kirke and Zoe Kravitz in Gemini, the horror thriller The Ritual, Russian marital drama Loveless, Japanese action movie Blade of the Immortal, Zambian drama I Am Not a Witch,arthouse thriller Let the Corpses Tan and Afghan filmmaker doc The Prince of Nothingwood.

Critical Week: In the shadows

I only saw two movies this week - but then I am on holiday at the moment! Dane DeHaan stars in A Cure for Wellness, an overlong, visually sumptuous horror thriller set in a Swiss sanatorium where something nasty is going on underwater. Alas, the script simplifies things rather than deepening them over two and a half hours. More enjoyable is the Matt Damon romp The Great Wall, a big East-meets-West action adventure blending mythology with history. Silly and over-reliant on digital effects, but entertaining.

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On Saturday, since I'm in Los Angeles, I was able to attend the Dorian Awards winner's toast at The Pikey on Sunset Blvd. I'm a voting member of Galeca, which hands out the prizes, but I'd never attended the event. It's a casual, lively gathering featuring champagne and frites, and I enjoyed a chance to interact with other critics as well as the winners and special guests. Here are some pics...

The creators, writers and cast of The Real O'Neals turned up to collect their award for Unsung TV Show of the Year.

Left: composer Nicholas Brittell and actor Trevante Rhodes collected the awards for Moonlight, including Film, Rising Star (Rhodes), Director, Screenplay, Actor (Mahershala Ali) and LGBTQ Film. Right: cinematographer Lunis Sandgren accepts the award for La La Land as Visually Striking Film of the Year.

Left to right: actress Amy Landecker picked up the award for Transparent as TV Comedy, Michelle Visage collected the prize for RuPaul''s Drag Race All Stars as Campy TV Show, and producer Ashley Golden was presented the award for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee as TV Current Affairs Show of the Year.

The event was unusually relaxed, allowing for some terrific rambling conversations, photo ops and lots of laughter. A highlight for me was getting to meet Bradley Whitford (right with his partner Landecker) and having a lengthy friendly drunken political rant about Trump and climate change issues. Exactly the kind of conversation you'd want to have with Whitford! Of course, now I want to plan a trip back to LA every year to coincide with this event.

See the full list of Galeca nominees and winners.

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Movies opening here in the USA this weekend that look interesting include Jordan Peele's offbeat horror Get Out and the Nicholas Hoult thriller Collide. Hopefully I'll have time to see one of them this weekend, along with watching the Oscars on Sunday at a normal hour (as opposed to the live 1am to 6am in London). And then it's back to London on Monday!