total change of gear. nightmare alley — new film by guillermo del toro who, obviously, shape of water, but this actually dates back to when he was making cronos, which was like a vampire movie. and this is based on a novel from the �*aos that was first filmed in 1947 — a kind of a film noir. story is bradley cooper is a natural born con man. he's running away from his past. he takes up with a carnival. he learns the tricks of mentalism — like a coded way in which you can do an act that makes you look like a mind reader. first half of the film takes place in a carnival, the second half takes place in the city, where he develops an act as the great stanton — the great mind reader. and then, his path crosses with cate blanchett, who is a psychoanalyst, and he's kind of offered the opportunity to sell his soul, which hejumps at. what i love about this is — well, three things. firstly, i love guillermo del toro's films anyway, because he's a properfilm—maker. he make films that — they — he create worlds. you know, the world is artificial, but it's also got its feet on the ground. the whole thing is completely immersive. second thing is, yes, this is a neo noir but it's — it owes a lot to horror, it owes a lot to tod browning's freaks from the 1930s.