Stephen 'Spling' Aspeling has been entertaining/guiding us through his movie reviews for more than 16 years. With his new book The Essence of Dreams: An Anthology of Film Reviews launching, we caught up with him to chat all things movies and film criticism. 

When did you decide you wanted to become a movie critic?

I decided I wanted to become a movie critic during my high school days at Kingswood College in Grahamstown. Having always had a passion for creative writing and art, the amalgamation of these two pursuits seemed like a natural progression. Growing up watching Leon van Nierop on GMSA and Barry Ronge on a number of movie shows, these two icons of the local film critic scene were a real inspiration.

How did the idea of a book come about?

Writing a book has been on my bucket list for some time. I started writing a biographical book about my school days, which you could describe as a blend of Spud as told retrospectively by John Cleese. But after 60 pages I realised that I needed a narrative hook to avoid simply being memoirs or facing possible legal issues relating to actual people involved.

Not having all that much time to dedicate to rewriting this novel, I decided to change gears and create a compilation based on 16 years of film criticism. As a big fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, David Lynch and even Salvador Dali, dreams have always been a fascination and this is why the illusionary nature of filmmaking has been so appealing.

When a director is able to translate their vision into a completely authentic and immersive cinematic experience, this can be likened to living vicariously through their eyes or in a dream. This absolute escape is what The Essence of Dreams: An Anthology of Film Reviews is all about, presenting a selection of films that will transport you and maybe even haunt you long after the credits roll.

The book contains reviews of movies you scored at least 8/10. Why the decision to include only these?

I wanted to create a book about films that have scored high in order to effectively curate a movie bucket list. We live busy lives and I think there is some value in giving readers a list of movies that I regard as surefire hits.

Beyond this, we've come through quite a lot over the last few years, which has led to the rise of animated and superhero films that are all about pure escapism. While these movies tend to dominate cinemas nowadays, The Essence of Dreams directs readers to a niche of artful, soulful and even surreal films that they may have missed. Tied together by the overriding theme, which is all about world-building and creating living dreams, I was able to narrow the selection down to 97 films.

Looking back, are there movies you reviewed which you would treat differently now – maybe scored them too high or too low?

When I review films, I try to build a case for them, which means that I need to be able to defend them with sound reasoning. Adhering to this process and trying to mine the merits in some of the most hopeless scenarios, my ratings tend to be more balanced when it comes to heart and mind. So typically, there aren't major discrepancies. I'm sure there are many people who would disagree with my 10/10 rating of Gravity starring Sandra Bullock, which I gave to the 3D version of this technical masterpiece. As listeners and readers will know, it's very rare for me to give a ‘timeless’ 10 or a ‘worthless’ 1 rating.

Can you see your taste evolve through the book, or is there a consistency in your preferences?

I can appreciate most genres, which means that I'm willing to watch just about anything that has at least tried to carry out its vision. Making an excellent film is the stuff of miracles, a multifaceted artistic endeavour that is dependent on a big team of people with different creative ambitions as well as studios with business objectives.

People tend to forget that while movies are entertainment, the end goal is usually to make money and get as many people into the cinema as possible. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order, so it's difficult to track the evolution of my taste in film but what is curious is how the length of the film reviews vary.

Has the role of the movie critic changed over the past few years with the rise of social media and YouTube critics?

Movie critics have had to evolve with the rise of new digital spaces. Traditional critics who were simply attached to one newspaper are no longer the norm. These days titles such as entertainment journalist have come to include a wide variety of TV, theatre and movies. Just as the concept of print media seems to be struggling to match the measured results that digital allows, movie critics have tried to remain relevant by diversifying their review format or at least adopting a wider spectrum suited to the mainstream appeal of social media.

The internet has made it possible for almost anyone to have a loudspeaker, which has had an impact on journalism as a whole, but we'll probably see a new dawn for the specialisation and respect given to a few expert opinions. This will probably be even more evident with the proliferation of artificial intelligence, which some pundits have rightly said will create more of the median with repackaged opinion, insights and works.

What’s shaping out to be your movie of the year?

The release schedule has slowed down quite considerably, possibly a hangover from the Covid-19 pandemic years. While there are no clear frontrunners at this stage, I still have to see Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer which has been described as his masterpiece. Every Nolan film is now a cinematic event. While I do find that his dark, monolithic and clinical films tend to compete for best in genre, they do tend to prize perfection over human engagement, which leaves them evocative, powerful but rather humourless and cold.

Who’s the next big director to watch?

Most of the "next big director" candidates are being snatched up by the big budget Disney franchises, so we do seem to be moving away from the idea of auteurs. I really appreciate what Ari Aster is managing to do with his horror films, which while strongly influenced by horror classics do show a director who is finding his voice. Already managing to bridge the gap between commercial and critical appeal, hopefully this revival of horror through elevated horror will give rise to a few more discoveries who are more concerned with creative control.

Over the past two decades or so, we’ve seen the rise (and fall) of superhero movies. What’s the next trend?

Having survived the pandemic and gone through a very dark time in human history, audiences will probably still want the joy of pure escapism they've come to expect. While the dissolution, trials and torment will undoubtedly fuel creativity for many budding filmmakers of tomorrow, the age of fake news, questioning of authority and growing suspicion may give rise to our fascination with space and other worlds, prompting more in the way of aliens and interplanetary exploration.

Rebooting tried and tested franchises is another safe way to ensure that these revivals continue to make money at the box office, milking the stars of yesteryear before we are ultimately forced to officially anoint the next generation of stars. Dune is a classic case in point.

Where will people be able to buy The Essence of Dreams?

The Essence of Dreams is now available through Amazon.com as a paperback and ebook. The delivery and import duties make the paperback quite expensive to bring into the country, which is why I'm also selling signed copies through splingmovies.com. Currently looking at finding a local printing press as well as exploring distribution and bookstore opportunities.