The 24 Frames Cast

What happens when the system designed to protect humanity decides it knows better than us?

In this episode, I dive into the chilling world of Colossus: The Forbin Project—a Cold War sci-fi that feels more relevant now than ever. From nuclear anxiety and early AI fears to questions about control and the films place in Sci Fi history.

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A new projector at home means it's time to buy Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia again. Are they worth the upgrade?

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In this episode, I explore An Ungentlemanly Act—the BBC’s understated dramatization of the opening hours of the Falklands War—and what it reveals about Britain at a turning point in its history. Moving beyond a simple retelling, I examine the political tensions in both Britain and Argentina in 1982, and how those pressures led to a conflict neither side fully anticipated.

We place the film within the wider tradition of British imperial cinema, from Zulu to The Four Feathers, and consider how it both draws from and quietly questions those narratives. At its core, the film presents a familiar British story: a small group facing overwhelming odds with restraint, professionalism, and a sense of duty—but here, that story ends in surrender rather than victory.

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In this episode, I explore the themes of science, faith, and belief through the lens of the film Contact. The discussion looks at how the story challenges the divide between evidence and personal experience, particularly when the film’s scientist protagonist finds herself defending something she cannot prove. Along the way, the episode reflects on how people understand scientific knowledge, why debates about design and evolution persist, and how both believers and non-believers search for meaning in the universe.

Bond returns with Goldfinger. Is this peak Bond?

This episode explores Manon as both a tragic love story and a sharp portrait of postwar France. We examine how Henri-Georges Clouzot adapts an 18th-century novel into a study of moral ambiguity in the shadow of Liberation and the trial of Philippe Pétain.

The discussion focuses on Manon as a socially marked woman shaped by poverty, sexuality, and public judgment, and on Robert as a dislocated Resistance fighter whose devotion masks instability rather than heroism. We consider how Clouzot crafts a distinctly unsentimental “woman’s picture,” how his visual style reflects a climate of suspicion and exhaustion, and how the film anticipates the psychological pressure of later works like The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques.

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A look at the past few weeks home media purchases.

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I love books about films so I thought it would be nice to share a recent recommendation. Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film is more than just a biography; it's a journey through the history of Hollywood in the Golden Age and an absolute must read.

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Loveless is Andrey Zvyagintsev’s chilling portrait of a family — and a society — defined by emotional absence. Framed around the disappearance of a child, the film refuses the comforts of mystery or redemption, instead observing how indifference, distraction, and self-interest quietly shape everyday life. Through its restrained style and unflinching gaze, Loveless becomes less a story about loss than a study of what happens when care itself erodes — in private relationships and in the world beyond them.

A experiment with the podcast; short, sharp reviews of films I've enjoyed and think you will like too. This time it's Édouard Molinaro 1958 noir thriller Back to the Wall. Enjoy.