Matt Tuckey is a writer from Oldham, England. He covers celebrities, night life, Manchester, fitness, creative writing, social media, psychology and events. Some of this may, in some way, help others. Or maybe it'll just entertain you for a while.
A lot of these films were recorded from TV in the 90s, onto Long Play VHS, then transferred to DVD in around 2006-7. The DVD recorder seemed a little faulty, though, and I didn’t seem to be able to play the discs properly after recording and finalising (almost like ‘locking the door’ on a DVD to stop any more content being recorded onto it, and to allow it to be played on other devices).
Hence, most of these discs stayed in storage under my bed, as they had done for 20 years.
In December ’25 my PC pretty much conked out, so I had to splurge on a new one. Along with presents for family and meals out, I figured I may as well invest more. I’m a tight bastard most of the year, so why not shell out more on a Blu-Ray player? They’re under £100 these days. Not to mention, an old college mate of mine had moved abroad and had left a load of DVDs and Blu-Rays at his dad’s. He kindly donated them to me. I needed something to watch them on.
So, that month I made a purchase; my dad and I wired everything up and I tried out one of the donated Blu-Rays. Brilliant picture quality. Everything worked fine. But what about the DVD+Rs storing all those VHS films?
Turns out, they play too. They even fast forward, rewind and pause, something my old DVD+R recorder didn’t seem to be able to do, to my frustration. I’ve enjoyed revisiting some grainy, low-quality versions of some classic movies. I’ve watched the likes of Videodrome and Psycho, both recorded from TV on Long Play (VHS tape recorded at half speed, meaning you could fit double the video time onto the tape). I find, these days, I understand the plots much more than I did in my late teens and early 20s.
I’ve got a list of old films to revisit and I’ve tapped through a few of them. I have more to watch and am looking forward to immersing myself in some brilliant (and usually little-known) cinema.
This blog passed the 3 million hit mark yesterday. I’ve been running it since 2008. I hit 1 million in April ‘23 and 2 million in April this year. Either people are suddenly interested in my random nights out and amateur psychological musings, or there’s a whole lot of bot traffic out there. I suspect the latter.
Peter Cullen died, yet another person I could have met at one convention or another, but didn’t. I'm sure he was booked to attend at something local. He voiced the titular Predator, Eeyore the donkey from Whinnie the Pooh and Optimus Prime in the 1984 animated Transformers: The Movie.
It’s a bank holiday tomorrow and I predictably have put up a last minute meetup for tonight: drinks on Deansgate, if that floats your boat. I always forget when it’s a bank holiday, and no other organiser on Meetup seems to put much up either. There’s a women’s cinema trip, a live music acoustic set in a pub, a bouldering session and a 70s disco night – great if that’s your thing – but not much else. I guess it’s down to me. 9pm, Slug and Lettuce Deansgate, 9pm.
Last Saturday I described this insane diet basted on Christian Bale’s efforts to prepare for his role in The Machinist.
The problem with a diet like this is that we all have food in our cupboards, fridges and freezers, and there’s no point it going off. So you might as well eat it. And that’s what I’ve been doing: with one meal per day, munching through the eggs, bread and other perishables. I also had made a huge pan of vegetable soup. I had some ingredients for a recipe, so I bought the remaining goods and cooked that too. I’ve actually got loads of non-tuna-and-pineapple stuff still to go. Furthermore, my mum – who doesn’t yet know I’m doing this project – invited me round for a curry. This absolutely stuffed me. When you're only eating one meal a day, it takes a long time to use up.
Soon, though, it will be just a can of tuna and an apple as a daily meal - as confirmed by the director below...
I watched The Machinist, and understood it a lot better this time. I’ve also watched the commentary track, in which director Brad Anderson clears up a few of the more confusing plot points. I totally forgot Michael Ironside and Jennifer Jason Leigh were in this.
I started this at 86.2, went down to 83.2 and am currently back up at 85.9. Teething problems. I’m steadily skipping it off. Watch what happens this next week.
Discussed Magic Eye pictures with Aisha Katya. I’d swear that is a chicken.
Bill Duke – Mac in Predator - liked my photo of us.
Saw the solar eclipse on Wednesday, from Hartshead Pike. If you missed it, there’s another in 12 months.
Went out for a few birthday drinks in Freemount Northern Quarter last night. Behind Closed Doors turned me away because I was in shorts. You’d think a bar with S&M befitted mannequins wouldn’t have that strict a dress code in 2026, but here we are. Moved to Voyuer, a new edgy bar with risque-sounding cocktails (mine was called ‘Delusions of Grandeur,’ so make of that what you will), where a trans waiter served us Baby Godfather shots, a caramel liqueur. Turned out BCD and Voyuer are part of the same company. We finished the night off in Guilty By Association. I managed to get the bus back. Good night in all.
I mentioned on Friday that one of my Meetup attendees came out to Joshua Brooks then sacked us off to White Hotel, some competitor house music club. I’ve met up with him again last night, along with many other Meetup folk. I wanted to do some birthday drinks, and Meetup people are literally the ONLY people available to come out. So I put up an event with Manchester Nightlife (which, by the way, has now passed 1000 members. Only taken 2 years).
8 people RSVPd. Most of them showed up in meeting spot Flok, including White Castle Guy. (Turns out he’d left JB’s last week because he’d had a run-in with a member of staff.) Some other people I knew from previous events attended, and some new folk.
From Flok we moved to Lost in Tokyo, Japanese themed cocktail bar, then to Soup. For some reason I was absurdly overdressed for a warm summer’s night in hipstery Northern Quarter, wearing the blue 3-piece suit I got for a recent wedding. Soup’s doormen said they had a ‘no suit policy,’ that it wasn’t that vibe, but when they found out it was my birthday they made an exception. Fair play.
People dropped off as the night went on, until it was just myself, White Castle Guy and a Chinese Guy who’s English was so rudimentary he was getting by with Google Translate on his phone. It was before midnight when the 3 of us were stood on the street and White Castle Guy started ranting about COVID conspiracies, vaccines and Fauci (who doesn’t even have any authority in this country).
One thing you should know about me. I worked in social care during the pandemic as an essential worker. Loads of my clients died. I have clinically vulnerable relatives who were fortunate to make it through those years. I have no patience for anti-vaxx bullshit.
Furthermore, at the end of the night, I had no energy to argue. I just went home. This morning I blocked White Castle Guy. Hmm. Of course he’s got a bible verse on his Insta.
A suggestion, again – Monopoly desperately need bullhorns for the photo ops as we can’t hear what the stewards are shouting.
SoCalVal, Richard Chaves, Bill Duke
Next to the stage is the Predator panel, with Richard Chaves – Poncho – and Bill Duke – Mac – answering compare SoCalVal’s questions.
RC: I took a bad road through Manchester, but the hospitality is incredible.
BD: It’s great being here. Great food.
SCV: What’s your favourite Manchester cuisine?
RC: Fish and chips. And I found a great Thai restaurant. The hotel food is excellent.
SCV: What are your first memories of meeting each other?
RC: Bill was a brilliant actor and director. I first met Carl Weathers and Bill Duke; we spent time in the gym together. Great memories.
BD: I met Richard in prison. He was in the top bunk, I was in the bottom.
SCV: You had no CGI in 1987. What was it like not taking shortcuts?
BD: In the middle of the jungle, we had bugs in the food. I said, ‘take this back. We’re not eating this!’ The caterers said, ‘we’re in the jungle! We’re not putting bugs in your food!’
Our first audience question is from a man who travelled to the show from Budapest. He tells us there’s a dubbed version of Predator with one person narrating it all. They’re not even voiceovers.
RC: There were 2 friends of Bill’s who were French. They saw it in French. When Arnold does a movie, the dubbers do his accent. I had to do all the breathing and running for the dub track. That was intense.
The next question asks about the predator creature reveal towards the end of the film.
RC: We didn’t see the predator until the movie. James Cameron worked on it. We went to Mexico to film with Kevin Peter Hall (the titular predator). He’s passed. I went, ‘oh, man, this is going to be good.’ I think it’s one of the greatest alien creatures of all time.
An audience member asks about Chaves’ work on Hill St Blues, and he tells of performing with Bruno Kirby from Godfather Part II (young Clemenza).
AQ: There are so many iconic lines from Predator. Were they all scripted, or did you come up with any?
BD: They were scripted, but a good director will tell you what to do. On a great film like this it’s a collaboration. You can put in your 2 cents, try to make it better. It was a privilege.
The next audience question comes from a Marty McFly cosplayer.
AQ: I heard a story that Arnold took a gym to the jungle. Who was hiding from him?
BD: I used to hide. Richard and Arnie used to run miles before filming. Before we went down there, we worked out for 3 and a half months, then got told: ‘Richard, you’ve broken a sweat, will you please come down and join me?’ I was in the best shape before, during and after.
AQ: Is Arnold more scary than the Predator?
BD: Arnie had a trainer called Sven. He was bigger than Arnold and could bicep curl Arnold holding him under his armpits.
RC: Sven was the World’s Strongest Man in the 80s. There are stories that I’m saving for my book that will not be published until after I’m gone.
AQ: Are there any 80s actors that you never got to work with that you wanted to?
RC: I wanted to work for the director James Cameron. I auditioned for a small part in the first Terminator. The guy I wanted to be directed by is this man.
He points at Bill Duke.
AQ: There were so many big names on the set. Who was tougher?
RC: I’d love to say Richard Chavez. They used to call me ‘El Gato,’ The Cat. Carl was incredible. I loved to see Bill say ‘I’m gonna have me some fun.’
BD: The jungle doesn’t care how big you are, or about fame. The heat, the animals, the food was not great. It was the brotherhood that brought us together.
SCV: Any final words?
BD: This is my first time in Manchester. Your kindness has been a great experience. We’d love to come back.
RC: I was in Liverpool last year, but this year…
He looks at Duke -
RC: Buddy buddy buddy. This is my 4th time. I did a play, then Milton Keynes, then Liverpool. An incredible experience.
BD: One thing you could all improve is the damn driving. You come to the crossroads, the streets don’t have signs. Who’s idea was that?!
Well, I doubt any British drivers would argue with that. Fittingly, I had to battle that traffic after the panel, which closed off the itinerary for the day.
“My favourite film is Commando,” says Jamie Bigg, Giant from Gladiators. “Bill Duke is just over there! I’m a big Superman and Batman fan.”
Giant is the first guest on stage at Comic Con Manchester. It’s the 25th July and Bowlers Exhibition Centre is packed with actors (including Duke who played Cook in Commando and Mac in Predator), cosplayers, movie fans and comic stalls. Compare SoCalVal kicks off the proceedings asking Bigg about his journey into the Gladiators reboot of the 90s TV show.
JB: I always was a big guy. I watched Gladiators back in the day. To play the character being a superhero.
SCV: What are the differences with the new Gladiators?
JB: I’m a big guy. We see that in the old show but Gladiators now are more 360. They’re more all round athletes. When I was a bodybuilder I was eating 10k calories per day. To maintain a physique you need to stretch, stay all-round healthy.
SCV: What’s your favourite cheat meal?
JB: Large Papa Johns Pepperoni Passion with barbecue sauce, and for dessert apple crumble with custard.
SCV: Who do you get on with?
JB: Legend.
The mic is passed out to the audience, where a kid asks about his favourite Gladiators event. Giant’s a big Duel fan.
JB: It’s a high pressure game. I don’t like heights, but due to the fear factor, the adrenaline meaning you have to jump off safely. Why would I do that?!
Another child asks, what’s the worst day you ever had?
JB: When they brought in Duel! You have to fall off backwards!
CHILD AQ: What’s your favourite thing about wrestling?
JB: The music. Shawn Michaels walking out. The special moves, and how exciting they were. I love Hulk Hogan.
SCV: Why not present your own travel show? Is there anywhere you’ve not been?
JB: I’d love to see Thailand.
Next comes a question about social media.
JB: It can take over your life. You wake up and reach for your phone. I’m trying to be productive with it, spending time with family instead. Something in moderation is good, but it can take over your whole life.
Hmm. Try being a blogger, Jamie.
SCV: Gladiators is a comfort show for many. What’s yours?
JB: Suits. I’m in season 8. Also Game of Thrones, and I loved (Superman spin-off) Smallville.
SCV: We’ve had the cast here.
JB: Chris Reeves is the all time favourite Superman. And Henry Cavill…. I’m a straight guy, but what a gorgeous man.
AQ: Wolf was always my favourite Gladiator. Who was yours?
JB: Wolf is 70 now! He’s doing great for his age. Hunter was my favourite, physically, and he was a nice guy.
SCV: Any actors that inspire you?
JB: Arnie. Not just his films and bodybuilding, but in terms of believing you can do something.
SCV: What’s next?
JB: I’d love to be here tomorrow but I’m at an event in Stoke. I’ve got more travel; I’ve never been to Amsterdam. I’m 41 next month; it’s gonna be great. There’ll be things with wrestling; I’m going to speak on mental health - I have a speech I’m passionate about. I’m gonna use social media to promote men’s mental health and prevent suicide.
SCV: What do you want to accomplish?
JB: I’d try reality TV like I’m a Celebrity. I want a lot of challenges like lack of food.
Carrie Henn is next to the stage: Newt from 1986’s Aliens.
CH: 40 years later, it’s great to see fans. I don’t watch Aliens back. I don’t like to do that. I was 9 when filming, 10 when it came out.
SCV: How did the part come to you?
CH: Dad was in the Air Force. They couldn’t find a person in the US. Dad was over in the UK and had no clue what what the part entailed. It just fell into my lap. I had no clue whatsoever how big it would be. Then a few years ago a guy invited me to a con in London.
SCV: What was the release like? Did people spot you?
CH: I moved towns just as the film came out. Most girls at 10 aren’t always nice.
SCV: Any pearls of wisdom for getting into entertainment?
CH: Not really.
Okaaaay…
SCV: I was looking at your Saturn Award. Congratulations! How did that come about?
CH: I got my Saturn Award in ‘87. James Cameron was there. He’s hard but amazing.
The mic goes out to the audience.
AQ: Do you ever get spotted now you’re a teacher?
CH: Sometimes people bring stuff to sign, but not that often. I’m just their teacher.
AQ: What was acting like with Sigourney Weaver?
CH: I had Velcro shoes, and she kept taking them off. She just cut the shoes off in the end.
SCV: What franchises speak to you at Comic Con?
CH: I don’t want to have to think when I watch TV. Rom-coms. My kids are fans of Harry Potter and Star Wars.
AQ: Who’s you’re favourite marine? (in Aliens)
CH: Hudson. He saved me a few times.
SCV: What’s your favourite romcom?
CH: Clueless, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, that’s what I watched on the first date I went on with my husband.
SCV: Any places you’d like to go?
CH: England. I lived here from ages 2-10. My mom’s British. But I’m a Liverpool fan. They’re my team.
SCV: Did you enjoy the World Cup?
CH: We did have a good time: the Scottish drinking us dry was fun. (Henn resides in Atwater California.) There was one guy, an American, who started a GoFundMe so he could stay.
SCV: Are you a ranch fan? People were taking it home!
CH: It’s okay. The chocolate isn’t the same. I love it here.
SCV: What’s next?
CH: We broke up beginning of June. I’m taking my daughter back to Florida. When I filmed Aliens I was in 4th grade. It’s the only school photo I don’t have. Now I teach that grade.
Commonwealth Games are in full swing. We get to see parts on Channel 5, and a little more on BBC Alba. England are in 2nd place on the medals table behind Australia. I’m working through this Commonwealth Games Fit project I set for myself.
Manchester Day Parade took place yesterday, a celebration of the city by a consortium of different local social groups. More on each of these soon.
Greater Manchester elects a new mayor on Thursday. Looks like I’ll be going for Greens, with Geraldine Goggins on the ballot. I’m disgusted in Labour’s Zionism, their refusal to accept the ICC’s ruling that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza, and their apparent lack of understanding of their own rules on Personal Independence Payment. It’s not an out-of-work benefit. Labour seem unaware of this.
Greens, on the other hand, want to properly tax the billionaires, fund the NHS and social care system, build more affordable homes, fund proper mental health support, increase the minimum wage, stop the gig economy and stop corporations from dumping literal shit in our rivers, to name a few reforms. So they’ve got my vote.
Friday night: Manchester club Joshua Brooks welcomes house music producer Miguel Campbell for Full Circle, a night of deep house. His 2011 hit Something Special is still a banger.
New Batman spinoff Clayface has finally released their trailer.
Clayface was partly filmed in Castlefield Manchester, and also Stockport Centre. Look carefully and you’ll notice Stockport Plaza.
Back in September last year, the production of the movie used Castlefield Manchester as a filming location. I took a look.
Sunday night: The Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony takes place, around 6pm (the exact details aren’t readily available). I’m working through this absurd Commonwealth Games Fit project, with an unrealistic goal of losing nearly 13 kilos. I wouldn’t count on it happening at present.
Well. That IDRA meetup didn’t take off, for whatever reason. Too niche, perhaps. Anyway, I ended up staying in last night. Hence, I accidentally woke up at 5am, when I’d like to have been coming home.
I’m off work until Friday. I have a ton to do.
Saturday night: Join Manchester Nightlife Meetup as we head to hidden bar Kodo Their location requires a bit of legwork to find, but I’ve figured it out. There’s a door. There’s a code to get in. (I’ve found all of this for you.) Think moody red lights, Japanese décor… and that’s all that’s available online. All you have to do is meet me and the group in Roxy Ballroom, Withy Grove, first. 9pm, Saturday.
It’s May today, hence this absurd Excess project comes to a close. What have I done since Sunday night?
A while back, I got a couple of Chivas Regal blending kits as presents, containing 5 single malt blends in each: Smoky, Citrus, Creamy, Fruity and Floral, plus a bottle of standard Chivas Regal blend. These are made for blending, but I sipped through them individually to try each. They also came with a beaker, stirrer and an empty bottle for the blend. With the next kit I might try blending to experiment.
I also polished off the last third of a bottle of Jura Journey, a great single malt. Not in one night, I might add.
Rewatched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, about a journalist reporting on a motorbike race while slamming a suitcase full of drugs into his body. Rewatched The Crow, seeing as I met David Patrick Kelly the other day. Rewatched 8 Mile for a similar reason, although substitute the actor for Mekhi Phifer. Rewatched David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, about a TV executive becoming obsessed with a Malaysian snuff TV broadcast that eventually gives him insane hallucinations. It was a DVD transfer from a recording I made off the BBC probably just before the turn of the century, when Mark Cousins was presenting Moviedrome, a series of cult films. Brilliantly weird film, great lead actor in James Woods, shame he’s turned into a MAGA nutter in recent years. Rewatched Terminator 2: Judgement Day, this time with the Blu-Ray commentary and in-screen accompanying storyboard. Fascinating. Not seen it in years, certainly not since meeting the cast in July ‘24. Rewatched Scanners, about an underground society of mind readers whose telekinetic abilities cause their victims’ heads to explode. Crazy shit again from David Cronenberg. I recently watched his early works which feature similar mind reading themes, in particular Stereo.
There’s more to be uploaded, including a small psychopharmacological experiment. I read one of the books I pulled out, review to be uploaded soon.
But how was this month’s actual excess experiment? How did it go?
Honestly, the steady flow of alcohol didn’t do my mental health any good. Shock. It was difficult to get out and see the city and do things out there, as gathering people together is insanely hard unless it’s a Saturday night. Even then, with conventions and televised boxing matches, it can be hard to find the time myself. But generally, nobody has money, people’s interests are different, people travel, so a lot of what I did was to stay home, hammer through that alcohol and watch those films.
Looking back at the original plans, I’m not sure I’ve seen many opportunities to do things other than the horror convention. There are 4 blog posts on that in the last month. Everything else has been hand weights, movies, the odd night out and hard spirits. I enjoyed most of it. 3 more months to achieve the rest.
Made some space in the alcohol cupboard this month.
It’s only now that I realise, after doing this for a month, that this Excess project wasn’t even part of the plans I had for this year. Wow. I’d just assumed it was because I had no room in my drinks cupboard.
Once again, For the Love of Horror was an astounding local movie event with some superb guests offering photo ops, autographs, stage discussions and there was even a Blade-style blood rave (that I missed). Find part 1 and part 2 of my writeups.
I got a follow back on Instagram from Finn Carter, Rhonda off Tremors.
Jeff Daniel Phillips, Herman Munster in the Munsters remake, liked my picture of him.
Unfortunately, after paying for a picture with Mekhi Pfifer, he then turned out to be Zionist. Well. Terrifier’s Jenna Kanell liked my pic of her.
Rewatched City of God, the Brazilian gangster movie. Excellent crime drama set in the Rio favelas, taking inspiration from real life, Goodfellas and I expect Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels.
Rewatched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, an outrageous drug-fuelled trip through a police convention, a motorbike race and a desert. So many cameos that I didn’t recognise until this week.
Rewatched Lost Highway, David Lynch’s weird tale of a sax player sentenced over the murder of his wife (an act of which he has no recollection) only for him to disappear in jail and be replaced by another guy who has no recollection of how he got there. So good, but such a headfuck. Not seen it in maybe 20 years. Patricia Arquette, man. Good lord.
Polished off a citrus single malt 5cl bottle from the Chivas Regal blending kit I got Christmas before last. I’ve actually got 2 kits and am tapping through the content. I should try making a blend for the hip flask.
Excess Month ends on Thursday. I’ve read one of the books that I’d pulled out that fit this theme; review to be uploaded at some point.
Lastly, today is Alien Day: 26th April. 4/26. As in LV-426, the planet they land on in Alien.
