A Blog from Logical Cobwebs

The Odyssey

2026-07-29T00:00:00Z

When I found out this Nolan epic was being shown in 35mm at Dundee Contemporary Arts, I had to see it. So much hype, so much star power. Great cinematography. Accomplished acting. Good music. Time didn't drag, which is an achievement in a nearly 3 hour film, but it didn't excite me. Ultimately, disappointing.

The plot seemed a bit derivative (haha).

Maybe it was never going to live up to its hype. I have liked other Nolan films (Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer) but none of them are in my top 100.

You're better off watching this low budget film which I saw earlier this month, which was made for a tiny fraction of the cost.

The Last Viking

2026-07-18T00:00:00Z

An unexpected gem from Denmark. Came for the Scandi-noir, stayed for the offbeat and thoughtful story. Out loud laughs from the audience at Dundee Contemporary Arts but I wouldn't call it a comedy. I haven't seen anything else from this director (Anders Thomas Jensen) so I'll have to fix that.

I know I always give 5 stars but, spoiler, I don't for the next one.

The Straight Story

2026-04-06T00:00:00Z

I got this on DVD over 20 years ago and have always loved it. When it came up as a 4K restoration at Dundee Contemporary Arts it was irresistible. A slow, measured story full of love. Like a lot of films, best on the big screen. My mum loves this too. In my top 100 films.

Taxi Tehran

2026-04-04T00:00:00Z

Another cracking film on Mubi. Not sure if it's called "Taxi Tehran" or just "Taxi" but it's wonderful. Director Jafar Panahi circumvents being banned from filmmaking by seemingly filming the whole thing from his taxi dashcam. Random strangers share stories on their journeys, only they're really actors. A lovely pace and tone. Particularly poignant given the current war and violence.

I seem to give all my films 5 stars but I think it's because I'm only moved to blog about them if they are brilliant. Into my top 100 at the expense of Peter Sellers' Being There (sorry). Please watch.

Perfect Days

2026-03-22T00:00:00Z

Koji Yakusho has such an interesting face and charm that watching his daily routine is absolutely mesmorising. Everything done with such care and focus. If this was an hour longer and they filled in that time just with more of him going about his daily life then I would be totally onboard. Straight into my top 100, at the expense of North by Northwest (sorry Mr. Hitchcock, it's a cut-throat business being in the top 100).

The Secret Agent

2026-03-13T00:00:00Z

I can't say enough good things about this film. First of all, the style. I'd have to ask someone who lived in that part of Brazil in 1977 but it felt just like it was filmed in Recife in 1977, in exactly the same way that Nouvelle Vague did. Spellbinding. The music was perfect, the film stock (of which I know very little) was perfect. I knew I was going to love it just a few minutes in.

The tempo was mesmerising. Very slow and reflective, which is just my thing. There's some fast-paced stuff later in the film but even that feels measured.

Dona Sebastiana, played by Tânia Maria, brilliantly played the matriarch of her small community: caring but not to be messed with. "Marcelo", played by Wagner Moura, amazed in every scene: quiet, introspective.

The Secret Agent has gone straight into my top 100 films, replacing Killers of the Flower Moon (it's a cut throat list). It looks like I've got three other Kleber Mendonça Filho films to watch now: Neighbouring Sounds (2012), Aquarius (2016), and Bacurau (2019).

The iconic Beetle from the opening scene

Dona Sebastiana's "refugees"

The Heb races over the years

2026-01-10T00:00:00Z

Before the Heb

The Heb was born out of the ashes of the Hebridean Challenge which ran from about 2002 to 2009. It was a complex and expensive 5-day race the length of the Outer Hebrides (either from Barra to the Butt of Lewis or vice versa). Nonie raced it in 2003 and 2004. I raced it in 2006 and 2008.

The Hebridean Challenge was, in turn, born out of the ashes of the Western Isles Challenge which ran from about 1994 to 2000. They were very similar but different organisers.

The Heb

The Heb is a simpler 2-day race over 200km on The Uists, a series of islands connected by causeways. There's a core route by bike which is mostly on-road but includes significant off-road sections and beach rides. There's a short kayak section each day and some serious hill runs over some unforgiving terrain. The whole course is achievable by the top competitors but the majority have to skip sections to get to the finish of each day in time (incurring time penalties). It was run by Durty Events.

2016

The first race (BBC). Nonie and I marshalled because we were curious about the race. Had a great time and resolved to come back and race it the next year.

Nonie on marshalling duties.

2017

2—3 September 2017

Nonie and I raced. I came 34th with a total of 26:16:53 (includes time penalties). The winning time was 14:32:26! Results

The race always starts at the wind turbine beside Lionacleit school.

2018

1—2 September 2018

Nonie and I raced again. I came 26th with a total of 24:37:38. Winning time was 13:24:36. Results

The weather was rainy and windy. 50 mph headwinds on the bike meant that, even on the flat, if you stopped pedalling you came to a halt within seconds. The bike along the beach section was particularly gruelling: 12km of cycling at walking pace. Memorable for sure.

Nonie and Bill atop the final hill, soaking wet and getting battered by the wind.

2019

31 August—1 September 2019

Nonie and I raced again and convinced some friends to join us: Colin Thompson, Steve Hunt, Russell Rowlands, Jon Whitaker, and Sue Couling. I came 14th with a total of 25:02:10. Results

Approaching Lochboisdale on the ferry. Benn Mor and Hecla bathed in the sunset.

2020

Cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

2021

Cancelled due to ferry complications. Getting 150 people onto South Uist isn't easy if they cancel a ferry and the tight schedule doesn't allow for any wiggle room. We ended up going out (on a different ferry) and completing most of the course for fun. With Sue Couling, Jon Whitaker, and George Horsman.

The informal start to Not The Heb

2022

I raced as a pair with Colin Thompson and we came 12th (first male pair) with 17:49:13. With George Horsman, Jon Whitaker, Steve Hunt, and Clive Richardson. Results

Colin and me running along the beach on the north side of Vallay, the tidal island off North Uist.

There were rumours of a final race in 2026 but that is now looking unlikely. Seems like 2022 was the final one.

Nouvelle Vague

2025-12-10T00:00:00Z

What a beautiful film. It was made in 2025 but feels exactly like it was shot in 1960 — like a documentary of the making of Breathless. In black and white of course, but it goes further than that. It's a deep attention to all the details.

I can't wait to watch Breathless again and then Nouvelle Vague again. The resemblence and style of Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin to Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo is uncanny.

Seberg and Belmondo in 1960

Deutch and Dullin in 2025

There's a good behind the scenes writeup on Netflix.

A train trip from Scotland to Barcelona

2025-11-23T00:00:00Z

When Team Tito asked me to go out to the Mozilla Festival in Barcelona I immediately thought about trying to get there by train. This is partly because I believe you should catch a train instead of plane whenever possible and partly because I thought it would be an adventure.

Caledonian Sleeper from Dundee to London
Eurostar to Paris
TGV to Barcelona
Back the same way, except I got the standard train back to Dundee instead of the sleeper.

Caledonian Sleeper

Dundee train station

This is the perfect way to get to London if you want to arrive there early in the morning. It's expensive, especially if you're travelling on your own and can't share a cabin but it's about the same price a the regular train + a hotel in London. The best bit is that you sleep the whole way. Actually, it can be a slightly disturbed sleep because the train rumbles and gently nudges you awake as you trundle through stations during the night. I find it charming and soporific but it's not for everyone. You board at 21:54 and on previous trips I've sat in the club car with a whisky before going to bed but I was tired so I just went straight to sleep.

Beakfast in the club car nice and early at 06:30 was very good. Nice coffee and a full vegan breakfast. Rolled into Euston station just at 08:00, bang on time.

Eurostar to Paris

My train to Paris was at 10:31 which was a nice relaxed transfer. It's only 10 minutes walk to St Pancras International but there's security etc. so I wanted to be in good time. I had plenty of time for a second breakfast and found a seat in the crowded departure lounge. The Eurostar is so smooth compared to other train routes in the UK. It was a very easy trip and I go to Gare du Nord around 14:00.

I couldn't check into my hotel until 15:00 and it was only 50 minutes walk so instead of jumping on the Metro I walked in the sunshine instead.

Gard du Nord

Overnight in Paris

Place de la Bastille

In theory, you can get from London to Barcelona in one day but I would have had to get an earlier Eurostar (which would have been tight in St Pancras) and it would have been a dash across Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. Any delays would have meant an unplanned overnight stop somewhere and additional costs for rebooking trains. Also, coming straight off the sleeper and spending ten hours on two train would be a long old day.

Of course, the upside of stopping overnight in Paris is more time in Paris (a little under 24 hours). I didn't plan much but had a lovely run along the Seine, a nice meal out and then a long walk in the morning.

TGV to Barcelona

To get the cheapest ticket, I waited until 14:40 to get the train from Gare de Lyon. It's almost 7 hours to Sants station in Barcelona but it was a good journey. Mostly in the dark so I had to wait for the return journey to see the Pyrenees and the Alps.

Checked into my hotel at 22:00 and then straight out for some tapas with friends.

Sants station, Barcelona

Return

Well, much the same on the way back. Another 24 hours in Paris. Found a lovely restaurant (Les Tontons Veg) near Gard du Nord. Spent two nights in London seeing family and then the regular train back up to Dundee.

Would I get the train to Barcelona again? Absolutely, if I had the time and could combine it with a bit of a holiday.

Honey Don't

2025-09-26T00:00:00Z

From the opening credits I was hooked: a disjointed drive through a desolate looking Albuquerque with credits shown on the sides of buildings, road signs, hoardings and shop names. It would have been cheaper, I suspect, to digitally superimpose the credits onto the buildings but I'm pretty sure these were real pieces of graffiti and art. A nice touch.

The film is sort of timeless, in the sense it's hard to tie down when it's supposed to be set. Mobile phones set if firmly in the now but everything else could be from anytime over the past 50 years. It works.

Qualley's title character, Honey, oozes style and cool. The plot sort of drifts along while still being engaging. I'd say it's not a thriller, not an action movie — more of a drama with murder and violence.

Seen at the DCA on 25 September 2025. Go and see it if you can. It's glorious on the big screen.