Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directs Emma Corrin, Jack O’Connell and Matthew Duckett in this adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s classic, controversial fuck novel.

An unnecessary remake. Every generation needs their period frolic in the sunshine I guess. Lashings of sex and nudity. Duckett as the cuck and Joely Richardson (stunt casting) as Mrs Bolton put in the best shifts. Have a slither of ambiguity about them. The costume design and production is very bright and tactile. Understands Lawrence’s vision, politics and philosophy but then again so did the Ken Russell’s mini series.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Lady Chatterley (2006)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Alan Parker directs Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne and Maria Doyle in this Irish musical comedy where a young hustler recruits a soul band from the estates of North Dublin.

Iconic and very quotable. Foul mouthed as opposed to genuinely gritty. A rainy fairytale. The music makes it. Mad to think Robert Arkins who carries the ensemble with charisma and timing never really worked on a big film again.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Sing Street (2016)

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Janeen Damian directs Lindsay Lohan, Ed Speleers and Alexander Vlahos in this romantic comedy set in “Ireland” where a book editor’s wish to marry her dream man disrupts the wedding she has crossed the ocean to attend.

Nobody drinks wine in Ireland… allegedly. Why are all the actors British? Truth be told, if Lindsay Lohan turned up in a small Irish town they’d declare a three day holiday and worship her as a returned pagan goddess. She works her way through about 50 fetch fits here. So as a delivery system to look at stunning Li-Lo, mission accomplished. In all other ways a failure of a film. Is it trying to replicate the blocky textureless tone of her tween films from two decades ago? On purpose? The cliches, the immature characterisations, the non-jokes. It is like Lohan has been stuck remaking Just My Luck on a loop for twenty years. Blarney edition.

2

Perfect Double Bill: Just My Luck (2006)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

David Chung directs Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada and Michael Wong in the kung-fu thriller where three young law enforcement officers find themselves pulled into a deadly spiral of revenge after they foil a plane hijacking.

Nightclub fights through shattering glass. Skyscraper dangles. Dynamite versus tank finale. Unpredictable plotting – I’d struggle to give you a plot synopsis until the end of the second act when things coalesce. Young Michelle with dork hair and loads of class. Amazing stunts between moments of high melodrama and goofy romantic comedy. Full fat entertainment where nobody is safe and there’s always a more deranged villain waiting in the wings.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Yes, Madam (1986)

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Kornél Mundruczó direct Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf and Molly Parker in this drama following a grieving mother after she loses her child during a home birth.

Grief as glacial display case. Apes a lot of big, gruelling emotions and devastations without much insight or consistency. Exists only to get actors award nominations. What is in this for me?

4

Perfect Double Bill: Rabbit Hole (2010)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Mikio Naruse directs Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori and Mariko Okada in this Japanese classic following two jaded lovers as their fortunes waver and their lives intersect while Japan rebuilds itself post-WWII.

Feels shockingly mature, emotionally intelligent, pragmatic for its time. Non-judgmental of its bureaucratic cad and yearning everywoman. A saga but sexually frank and unromantic until cold, brute melodrama closes the criss crossing threads. Something unique, something special.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Suzaki Paradise: Red Light District (1956)

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Moritz Mohr directs Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe and Michelle Dockery in the action sci-fi spoof where a mute orphan is raised into a killing machine to take down a family of tyrants.

Again… self aware to the point of distraction. There are times when the constant internal monologue from Bob from Bob’s Burger really distracts from some pretty extravagant gun-fu. Game support cast with a hot Rothe (who knew motorcycle helmets could be so sexy?) and new-to-me Andrew Koji standing out. Absolutely relentless, I’m too old for this shit, slow it down man!

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Man From Nowhere (2010)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Rose Glass directs Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian and Ed Harris in this neo noir nightmare where a gunrunner’s daughter and a female bodybuilder enter into a deadly tryst.

Neo-Noir is my jam. Massive soft spot for Stewart (she’s a little under served here and allows newcomer O’Brian the spotlight). Plotwise this does nothing unexpected but where it stands out are the frequent lurches into surrealism. This becomes pure terror fuel at times. The deeper we go, the more adoring the visual shout outs to David Lynch become obvious. Night road. Slat door closet. Deformed cheeks. Glass really revels within the diseased mind, manages to keep things grungy and composed as sanity falls apart. I dig what she does. The set pieces can be a little piecemeal but this is about slippery characters with no code, great bodies and nothing but violence in their love language. Will rewatch soon.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

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David Leitch directs Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Hannah Waddingham in this action romantic comedy inspired by the TV show where a stuntman solves mysteries.

Watched in a shopping mall multiplex in Istanbul… with an advertisement break in the middle of the movie. I’m gonna put my flag in the ground and say “Meta-Movies” started as a sub genre with Hudson Hawk. Met their giddy heights early with Scream and now we live in a land of self aware overkill thanks to Deadpool. Hudson Hawk had a running joke where Bruce Willis could never enjoy his coffee. The Fall Guy replicates that… is it a nod or an unconscious lift? Why does the blockbuster movie production that will make or break Blunt’s fledgling director’s career look so lame? Is that intentional? And why… when Gosling and Blunt clearly have such sizzling chemistry… are they kept apart for three whole set pieces in the middle act? The stand out ‘skip dragged by truck’ chase sequence is interrupted pointlessly by a karaoke crosscut AND has a randomly introduced character sitting where Blunt’s Jody should obviously be?! Did they not want the bigger star to be a damsel who needs rescuing? Was Blunt unable to take part in the slam bang for medical reasons? Did someone seriously think the karaoke gag aided the flow of the big kinetic spectacle? For the first 45 minutes The Fall Guy is near flawless bubblegum entertainment. Charming, funny, colourful, amazing practical stunts. But then it just kinda stays ON and becomes a bit forgettable, tiring. Third act problems are a running joke among the characters but that doesn’t excuse not nailing it during an incoherent destruction derby. Like many a starry May blockbuster of old it can never quite lives up to the trailer. The Fall Guy fulfils its brief (especially as a tribute to stunt teams) but I think we all would have preferred it if Gosling instead cashed in his Barbie bankability by trying to do a Nice Guys 2 with these stunts and this budget.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Nice Guys (2016)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

James DeMonaco directs Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey and Adelaide Kane in this sci-fi thriller where a family must defend their home against invaders on a night when even murder is legal.

An annual night of state sanctioned lawless violence. Masked attackers hunt and kill and torture anyone too poor to afford fortress home security. Beefs and unspoken animosities are settled with consequence free bloodletting. The “America” of Childish Gambino music video and Garland’s Civil War gets to let off some steam. People are snotty towards DeMonaco’s now long running Purge franchise but for me it delivers B-Movie thrills consistently and often imaginatively. The first entry starts small and cheekily takes full advantage of the negative space of an unlit dream home. Thrifty but nifty. The wider world we explore in the robust sequels and prequels is hinted at enough, the ground rules tantalisingly established. The main villain, Polite Purger, is a neato mix of Alex The Droog and Patrick Bateman. Take a bow, Rhys Wakefield. Hawke and Headey are always fine value, just that little touch more superior to the genre trash they often make. Straw Dogs meets John Carpenter meets class war fascism. And there’s a few surprises along the way. These flicks are richer, deeper and more inventive than they ever need to be.

8

Perfect Double Bill: The First Purge (2018)

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