Dr Luke Buckmaster

@lukebuckmaster.bsky.social

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Film & TV critic for The Guardian Australia and Flicks.com.au. PHD in virtual reality. Climate activist.

Creator of Nicolas Cage fan site, The Cage Gauge: https://www.flicks.com.au/cagegauge/

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One of the first people to read the new Japanese translation of my book is legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear and Death Stranding 🔥🏍🚨

Took me a long time to get around to playing Tetris Effect in VR. Blown away. It doubles down on the game's meditative qualities and aspires for something transcendental. Beautifully crafted. I've had powerful recreational drugs that weren't as mind-blowing.

If only our global emissions graphs looked like Oscars ratings graphs

As part of a new art exhibition, Melbourne's Immigration Museum has constructed a fabulous replica of a video store from the 90s. Here's me behind the counter, and my story in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/culture/2024...

And they say critics aren't artistic!

George Carlin 😅😅

Look away for a moment, and toddlers change the reality in the room

There's a large framed print of this quote at my local GP. It didn't remind me of any F. Scott Fitzgerald book. Turns out it's commonly misattrubuted and originated from the film adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I need to make an appointment with the doctor and tell 'em, right?

The opening paragraph of Peter Pan is classic. Bold, bittersweet, and in the last sentence, unexpectedly cynical.

Love Larry David's statement about the end of Curb Your Enthusiasm 🤣🤣

WC Fields was once asked "do you like children?” He famously responded: “I do if they’re properly cooked.” 🤣🤣

In solidarity with Melbourne's Mothers Rebellion for Climate Justice ❤️✊️ #extinctionrebellion #cop28

As a writer in a content-drenched world, it's hard to get your work out there. I'd be humbled if you sign up to my newsletter, Buckmaster Fortnightly, wrapping together all my recent writing about new film and TV releases. Sign up: bit.ly/2FwV58l This pic of Bessie is to help woo the algorithm.

My favourite superhero movie ending. "They called me Mr Glass."

Long flight to Perth, Western Australia. Then a three hour car ride to a remote coastal region. And THEN...three hours watching Nicolas Cage on set, performing a few metres from me. Yep, the trip was worth it!

Speed Racer is a hugely underrated movie. The Wachowski sisters construct a candy-coloured world in a constant state of visual flux: every scene, every backdrop, every transition is an opportunity for invention. The action doesn't unfold, it explodes. A work of hyper intense audacity.

The writing is a little boilerplate, but, like its predecessors, Spider-Man 2 (on PS5) is environmentally and architecturally stunning. Flying through its virtual recreation of New York never gets old; you can almost swing your way into a flow state.

Meta Quest 3. An impressive, sleek VR headset, much smaller and much more powerful than the Quest 2 (pictured on the right). The technology is progressing in leaps and bounds. The next generation of computing will be spatial - but it'll take a while to get there.

When discussing cinematic space we often consider horizontal and vertical elements - things that move sideways or up and down. Wes Anderson's new film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar superbly plays with depth and backgrounds, creating layers that seem to extend into the wall behind the screen.

Repetition is an important aspect of language, expression, nature, art, architecture, contemplation. All coming together beautifully at the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

On this day four years ago I was arrested for blocking the road outside the headquarters of Santos - Australia's second largest oil and gas producer. I was holding a banner that read CLIMATE EMERGENCY. One life, one planet, one chance to make a difference. History is never inevitable.

The gorgeous Open Air Museum in Hakone, Japan. Feeling slightly guilty about publishing a "hey, I'm on vacation" post. But so pretty!

Everything surprises you in Tokyo, nothing surprises you in Tokyo.

My baby: "Yes, the Hong Kong skyline is behind me. But that muffin is in front of me. Please respect my choices as I respect yours. Also: goo gah gah gah."

This fabulously plump magpie is using our sprinkler for showering.

First time checking Twitter for a while, discover the grandstanding blowhard is now inserting himself into the top of my notifications. I hope Musk does start charging for it. That'll kill the bird for good, and decent folk can migrate here.

The sheer audacity of Dr. Seuss. He forces you into a musical relationship with language. There's no way to not play along. In a tight spot, he'll invent words or break grammatical rules. Nothing's more important than rhythm.

Revisiting Mr Bean. So refreshing to watch comedy that slows down, stretches out moments, strips back verbal language, expresses farce through physicality, finds constant crisis in the ordinary. Genius.

Look how lovely my Edgar Allan Poe book of poems is. You can find it in the antiques and trinkets shop, next to the monkey's paw...