Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller direct Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller and James Ortiz in this sci-fi adventure where an amnesiac science teacher wakes alone aboard a spaceship on a last ditch mission to save the Sun.

A magnificent piece of big studio entertainment. Beautiful, thrilling, intelligent and gets you in the feels. Gosling leans into his slapstick coward persona… keeping even the most doom fuelled moments light. The emotional connection built between him and Rocky the alien rock puppet is simply quite extraordinary. The space set pieces are beautiful and thrilling. Though bizarrely about a quarter of our screen broke away for a piss at the start of the most exciting sequence. The previous Andy Weir adaptation, The Martian, and this share so much source code. I’m glad in the current blockbuster ‘IP above all else’ artistic fascism that both original intergalactic survivalist romps now exist. Hard science, big love.

9

Perfect Double Bill: First Man (2018)

Gus Van Sant directs Bill Skarsgård, Al Pacino and Colman Domingo in this true crime drama where a man swindled by his mortgage company takes the owner’s son hostage with a booby trapped shotgun.

I’ve read a few reviews dismissing this as gun-for-hire (the irony) work from Van Sant. The resting director came on board after Werner Herzog pulled out at the last minute. Gus actually makes a seductive fist of splicing dramatic shots, with recreated news footage and black and white stills to give the recreation a sense of temporal place. Skarsgård is fine as a twitchy, angry man who somehow blindly trusts the system to a fault. Maybe the more interesting part of the story is the court case that followed. More focus there, maybe as a framing device, might have tipped this over from curio to classic.

6

Perfect Double Bill: 30 Minutes Or Less (2011)

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

Matt Bittenelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett direct Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton and Sarah Michelle Gellar in this “hunt the bride” sequel.

I think possibly there is too much pressure of expectation on a genre sequel like this. It would be lovely to have a new Scream or Conjuring tier series in the mix but a one off encore rerun of the fun is perfectly fine too. 2 hits the highs of the first, escalating the scale without losing what made the original work. Newton, Buffy and Elijah Wood are fine new additions to the ensemble. It is especially nice to have SMG back in a prominent role as she reestablishes her bonafides here. Just a truly likeable screen presence. Weaving goes full tilt as the traumatised survivor. Her face working over time with twitches and mugging. Gory slapstick aside, there are tonal shifts that are awkward. Two characters go at it like Arquette and Gandolfini in True Romance. The violence in that scene feels way too full on given the cartoonish tone of the rest of the dark comedy horror. Yet even that hard going sequence serves the plot and other characters motivations.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Freaky (2020)

Arne Glimcher directs Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne and Blair Underwood in this thriller where a Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after twenty-five years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death.

Hat Sweat Cinema. Lurid, pleasingly bonkers. I guessed the twist way too early. But it is a lark seeing the original action hero Connery get violently put down by a bunch of modern “serious” actors. Everyone is up at 11. Ed Harris is batshit as a hillbilly Hannibal Lecter in a camp extended cameo. Larry Fishburne probably does the best job as the living embodiment of ACAB. This was a throwaway filler release back in the day. Now it sits a whole lot better. On location, proper A-Listers, nasty shocks. Ends on a superfluous car chase and a heated stand-off. Where are these movies now?

6

Perfect Double Bill: Primal Fear (1996)

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Andy Tennant directs Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland in this screwball comedy romance adventure where a lost treasure hunt rekindles a married couple’s estranged romance.

Nobody’s best work but the locations are nice. Expensive floss that would kill a Bank Holiday afternoon pleasantly.

5

Perfect Double Bill: How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003)

Kantemir Balagov directs Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina and Andrey Bykov in this Russian drama follow the entangled lives of two female friends in post-war Leningrad.

Drip feed storytelling and mysterious colour coding. Goes to some achingly dark yet pragmatic places. A very good art house film but not a rewatchable.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Lore (2012)

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

John McTiernan directs Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo and Denis Leary in this art heist caper romance remake.

Just glides along. Mahogany seduction. Pierce and Rene have tangible heat. Top tier sex scene. The robbery aspects are a little forgettable and ultimately superfluous.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Entrapment (1999)

Ringo Lam directs Chow Yun-Fat, Yueh Sun and Danny Lee in this Hong Kong action thriller where an undercover cop infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewellery store.

Better known these days for being one of Tarantino’s key sources for Reservoir Dogs. It is only really the final act that has the parallels… though there are later sequences that are shot for shot. The first hour is more of a light melodrama than bullet fest with Yun-Fat rejected by the cops he is supposed to be on the same team with and struggling to get quality time with his gal. When action does happen Lam comes to life.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Tiger On The Beat (1988)

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Deon Taylor directs Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy and Mike Colter in this erotic thriller where a successful married man finds himself entangled in a cunning police detective’s latest investigation after hooking up with her in a ill advised one night stand.

Flat and lifeless. Wants to fit in all the twists in of a Channel 5 late night “boobies in the first 5 minutes” flick. Without the boobies. It is admirable that with Fatale and The Intruder, Deon Taylor seems hellbent of resurrecting the 90’s “XXX from Hell” sub genre for black audiences. But he ain’t very good at doing much with ‘em but tracing over with a thick soft pencil. His PG instincts, squeamishness around nudity, skewed morality and offensive wealth obsessions really deflate the balloon. And Michael Ealy is and always will be too bland to lead movies. There’s a better movie here that focuses more on Swank’s sociopathic cop.

3

Perfect Double Bill: The Intruder (2019)

Andrea Arnold directs Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan in this British magical realist drama about an troubled estate kid who crosses path with a man who might be a bird.

A Canterbury Tale on E-scooters. Poverty porn but as constant vulnerability rather than a glamorisation. Not that the Barry Keoghan’s bad behaviour / sweet Daddying sequences aren’t fun. Coming Of Age rough and tough with a low key mythical side quest. Possibly my favourite Andrea Arnold flick so far.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Fish Tank (2009)

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