Right, as the world is burning, I’ve decided to make a conscious effort to promote my writing and actively trying to get more boutique label work (whether it’s booklet writing or contributing extras to a release).
My lane is very much action film theory, retrospectives, and film history! Hit me up
Saw Koichi Sakamoto's SHOGUN'S NINJA (2025) last weekend and honestly, it was a ton of fun. With great choreo, a tight script, and an LGBTQ-friendly premise, this was a solid ride. It also helps if your villains are Seiji Takaiwa & Etsuko Shihomi's daughter! Go watch it!
Essays/articles I'm also currently working on:
A breakdown of the action set-piece creativity and Looney Tunes-esque hilarity of Shoot’Em Up.
The existential action of Grosse Pointe Blank
The importance of the supporting cast in Die Hard with a Vengeance
Also need to finish my huge Dolph essay.
Before The Replacement Killers piece, I’ll be doing my best to convince everyone that Striking Distance is a lost American Giallo (similar to how Lifeforce is perceived as a lost Hammer Horror sci-fi film). Could be a fun piece?
I’ve been posting a lot to do with what I’m currently working on or writing about, so I thought I’d share info about the next few pieces.
After The Replacement Killers piece, I’ll be finishing off an essay called Of Sound Mind, which looks at pattern recognition and ND coding in Zatoichi (2003)
Well, since this post is getting some traction, here's the book in question: www.terror-vision.com/store/p/hand...
Cheers Derek! Thanks for reading 👍🏻
Less article, more essay 👍🏻
While I polish up my Striking Distance piece (the forgotten American Giallo), I’ve been thinking about how I’ll tackle The Replacement Killers essay. I’ll be looking Art Deco architecture, colour, and subversion of expectations with its Neo Noir sensibilities. Should be a fun one!
Dom is, no bullshit, one of my favorite writers about film that I have discovered in my time writing about movies myself. He’s insightful, thoughtful, and genuinely makes me more appreciative of films I enjoy with his work. He also has gives a lot of effort to films many would dismiss, case in point
Too kind, Matt. Thank you, brother 🤘🏻
Cheers, Matt 👍🏻.
Btw, I've got some new writing up that you may want to check out.
Nice to see my jawline and chin again after losing two stone (I think it works out as 35 pounds) in a few months. I feel a bit more like me again.
Still proud of last week’s essay!
I look at the fetishisation of shots, kink culture and androgyny in the costume design, and the intriguing symbology found within The Crow: City of Angels thatdomobrien.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/s...
This felt so much like Alpha Stunts, but I was like "Hmmm, Koichi Sakamoto didn't start working on Kamen Rider until W, which was after this..." Turns out it's Makoto Yokoyama, the co-director of Sakamoto's WICKED GAMES and the director of the Alpha Stunt showcase SHADOW FURY.
I wrote another book!
When I finish the Striking Distance piece/editorial, it's straight onto more action film theory. I'll be tackling one of my favourites - The Replacement Killers. It's much more than a Woo rip-off!
I got to speak to THEEEEE Leon S. Kennedy himself and was (mostly) normal about it
Still proud of last week’s essay!
I look at the fetishisation of shots, kink culture and androgyny in the costume design, and the intriguing symbology found within The Crow: City of Angels thatdomobrien.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/s...
I'm getting old school Roxy Bar & Screen vibes from the 2010s. This makes me super happy
Currently rewatching SHOOT’EM UP and I’ve got a cracking idea for an essay. Is anyone putting this out on a remastered disc? Because if so, I’d love to be part of it 🤘🏻
Author Justin Burning pictured holding his book HAND-HELD HELL: THE OUTBREAK OF HOMEMADE HORROR, published in 2023 by Terror Vision/Graveface Publishing.
We've all spent a lot of time lately thinking about the horrors of real life. Would you rather focus on the horrors of the ultra-low-budget, red-dyed corn syrup-stained, butcher shop offal-slathered, and astoundingly creative but endearingly under-prepared world of amateur genre filmmaking?
True, which is why I thought why bother 🤷♂️. But, after the last year, I refuse to be negative.
Given the lack of engagement on here, is it worth me asking fellow writers (that I'm friends with) to give my essay posts a bit of a boost? Or is that utterly shameless?
Decided to go through my site and re-edited some of my favourite pieces (the recent CoA essay is excluded from this as I’ve already edited it). This means they are a little leaner (where necessary), the grammar is redone, and are overall a better reading experience
thatdomobrien.wordpress.com/blog/
Well, this has generated a load of views on my WordPress👏🏻, so cheers to those who’ve read this essay.
I'll be reposting my massive Bad Boys 4 essay to this site over the weekend (finally moving it away from Substack). #actionsky
ICYMI last night, here’s my essay on the fetishisation of clothing, shots and symbolism within The Crow: City of Angels (1996). I may edit a little more at a later date, but for now, it is what it is 👍🏻 thatdomobrien.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/s...
As promised. This is my first post in nearly a year, so the editing may be a bit wonky. I’m still getting back into the swing of things!
thatdomobrien.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/s...
