Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Martin McDonagh directs John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi in this dark comedy where two hitmen ‘wait out the inevitable’ in 1970s Chile.

So Waiting For Godot meets Pulp Fiction… again! I’m a big fan of both the McDonaghs. Their London Irish fatalism, their left leaning politics in a reactionary voice, their insight into male relationships. But let’s be honest, we’ve seen exactly this colour and shape from both of ‘em now a few times. Hitchcock loved a man on the run. Schrader almost exclusively spins out the same alienated character study. And Martin McDonagh does impatient, world weary, expletive filled bickering like no one else. I reckon he has a fine three camera contrarian sitcom in him. Wild Horse Nine really only has a lush Easter Island setting and John Malkovich in a career peak to set it apart. There is the same callous humanity here as in Dangerous Liaisons… maybe the humour come when the soul occasionally peeks out from behind the dead eyed mask in much the same way as the sex appeal did back with Valmont. Any way, Malkovich = Oscar front runner. What’s it all about? It feels like an allegory doesn’t it. I think it is ultimately about the con of democracy. How you can never truly trust those you have to rely on to have your best interest at heart… even if you accept they’ll be corrupt and self serving… you have to chose someone to take control of the elements of your life you cannot control. So pick the right collaborator, be a realist about it, better the devil you know.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002)

Lance Oppenheim directs Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo in this true story about the rise and fall of the To Catch A Predator nonce hunting show.

Merritt Weaver rocks in this – funny but horrific. Pattinson channels Partridge – does America even know about the lift. Very Nightcrawler in tone and energy and morality. I love the corroded VHS colouring of it. Leaves you hanging though. We reach the forgone conclusion and it just cuts away. I think there is further drama in the fallout, drama we crave. Don’t make me have to read three pages of Wikipedia on the way home to get the full story.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Nightcrawler (2015)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Clint Eastwood directs Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora and Michael Zelniker in this biopic about the troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie Parker.

Another one off the bucket list. Often a drag as even two hours in it’s hard to tell where in the discombobulated timeline we are. There are many quality elements about this production (acting, music, grand period detail) but it rarely connects with you as a viewer. I genuinely asked myself “Is that it?” after almost three hours.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Ray (2004)

Sidney Lumet directs Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick in this caper where three generations of men reluctantly work together on a score.

Not a great movie but a fantastic cast. Having said that… terrible casting. How can three white guys who are supposed to be blood related to each other be so genetically divergent? Hoffman is going a touch too hard, Broderick ain’t got the minerals but gruff and charming Connery shines. The heist and the moral dilemma aren’t any big shakes so this is very much a tough but tender hang out movie. Connery dominates, everyone else just about keeps up. On-location with a bit of grit and ethnic sparkle. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore, lads.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Why Me? (1990)

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Amy Heckerling directs Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Sean Penn in this seminal teen movie where a group of Californian high school students ignore their studies in favor of sex, drugs and minimum wage jobs at the mall.

One of Natalie’s favourite, I have more appreciation than affection for it. I guess I prefer the crystal cut visuals, cynical emotions and existential pretensions of John Hughes. That’s the teat of teen culture I was raised on. This is more a sensitive, self aware sex comedy. Iconic in the VHS era for launching the careers of Phoebe Cates and Sean Penn thanks to two very memorable scenes. And Spicoli ordering a pizza to class is a truly brilliant one. Famously based on a Rolling Stones article where a still youthful looking Cameron Crowe went undercover to a high school this genuinely does feel like it has insider perspective. For all I love about Hughes, his sixteen year olds are wrinkle free Boomers with big hair. Fast Times is one the few Eighties teen flicks that doesn’t lend the fashions as an anthropological freak show and feels grounded in terms of the tribal splits. There are funny set pieces, the tentative hook ups are both sad and sexy. Almost everyone grows. Jennifer Jason Leigh is perfect in her good girl exploring sex role… she has had the best career since. Even better than Penn’s if your metric is a body of work that has stood the test of time.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Licorice Pizza (2021)

Francesco Barilli directs Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia and Mario Scaccia in this giallo where a fragile woman is troubled by strange hallucinations related to the tragic suicide of her mother.

Relatively bloodless. Meandering and difficult to follow… this is all atmosphere. Unreliable unreality is the only constant. As forgettable as a nice dream.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Woodshock (2017)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Max Eggers and Sam Eggers directs Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap and Kathryn Hunter in this psychological chiller where a newly pregnant couple are forced to take in an ailing, estranged stepmother.

We came for Brandy. We stayed for Kathryn Hunter. Not great but not the complete “M-E-double-S mess” you’d expect. Decent credit sequence, a powerhouse villain performance. Get Out meets Rosemary’s Baby but with a nappy full of faecal matter.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Visit (2015)

David Anspaugh directs Sean Astin, Charles S. Dutton and Jon Favreau in the true story sports movie about a young man who was always told that he was too wee and too thick to play college football but who went to near martyr-level lengths to make the B-team at Notre Dame.

A very similar experience to Forrest Gump. Surface level this is a nostalgia porn, triumph against adversity, strive to achieve the impossible dream male fairytale. But the ultimate message is rather bleak and cynical, the naivety and pluck is a veil. It just happens to be filmed with autumnal lushness and a rousing score. They don’t make em like the Boomers like to think they were made anymore. Go Rudy! But in all honesty it is hard not to care about and roots for Sean Astin whether he is searching earnestly for pirate treasure or giving ring destroying assist.

6

Perfect Double Bill: School Ties (1992)

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Boaz Davidson directs Lawrence Monoson, Diane Franklin and Steve Antin in this teen sex comedy.

The first hour of this is indistinguishable from a Porky’s. The relative high quality and ambitious filmmaking of say a Risky Business or a Fast Times is nowhere to be seen as is any chance of catching future stars before they became household names. Crass, bawdy and amateurish. But the final 20 minutes is abruptly intense and melancholy. Narratively the flow of the story makes perfect sense but the enigmatic rawness of the switch up elevates the film (just) out of the saucy exploitation gutter. Top new wave soundtrack with every song used twice to rinse maximum value. Diane Franklin went on to play one of princesses in Bill & Ted. Most triumphant!!

6

Perfect Double Bill: Private School (1983)

Tim Mielants directs Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman and Jay Lycurgo in this drama following a put upon headteacher at a violent boy’s home.

These teenagers look way old. This pressure cooker day is set in the Nineties and I’ve reached the age where even the smallest anachronism about “my decade” really irritates me. There’s me waving my wrinkled fist at a cloud as someone refers to drinking Hooch a couple of years before the brand launched. Get over yourself, Bobby. Very worthy Play For Today type deal. There’s a nice moment where the fly on the wall documentary framing device switches to the perspective of a graceful overseeing actual fly as it hovers over the drama. There are probably too many framing devices here in all honesty. Pick one, not six. They do chose the right ending though. Not the one that would have capped off a Play For Today back in the day. Nice to have Tracey Ullman back as she’s perfect here.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Clockwork Mice (1995)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin