Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Steven Spielberg directs Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth in this conspiracy thriller where a group of unlikely whistle blowers are chased by a shadowy organisation who have suppressed evidence of close encounters.

The craft in this is undeniably masterful but the story as told is oft drab, uninvolving and chaotic. Blunt’s is a gloriously vivacious and energetic presence but not the lead. Her powers and importance are enigmatic, never fully locked down. She is more a sexy Macgufffin than a flesh and blood character. The big set piece sequences are momentarily thrilling but hobbled by obvious digital FX that have no place in a film this expensive and self important. AND the inescapable tight spots are resolved with little effort or logic once they have served their popcorn purpose. The movie plays out like a bunch of scripts blended together. Projects that Spielberg couldn’t get to work over the years. Off cuts minced from abandoned prestige drama but sold now as summer blockbuster. It is a feathered fish with sinister sequences, philosophical debates, some wonder but little cohesion. If it was the final three episodes of The X-Files it would make far more sense. But as the potential swan song of cinema’s greatest entertainer?… I’m not satisfied and I’m precisely the sort of fan who should give this a grateful pass. The movie feels in constant conversation with Steve’s life’s work (a jacket here, a showy one-r or three there, crowbarred in family dysfunction, Close Encounters) but is this all self reflection or cavalier Easter egg cuteness?

5

Perfect Double Bill: Close Encounters Of Third Kind (1977)

Travis Knight directs Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Idris Elba in this sci-fi fantasy comedy based on the Eighties toy line sold via a beloved cartoon series.

When I was a seven year old kid these action figures were my world. 2026: I had Eternia / the screen all to myself for this. OK…so one noisy guy came in to finish his sodas and then left. And the manager popped in, not to night vision the room for the potential piracy cameras, just to make sure someone was still there. When I exited at half past midnight the two teenagers left on shift who seemed very disappointed they had to work so late for one old dude. Was it worth it? It is a cute movie that often looks about as good as a CGI reliant fantasia can. Better than Thor or Guardians which are keystones to the vibes. Nicholas Galitzine makes a good fist as the hero, there are plenty of trippy visuals that explode with colour. Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn is underused but gives off a satisfied little kinky smile whenever Skeletor chokes her out with his toxic strangle. Is Jared Leto’s Skeletor the comic relief saving grace everyone makes him out to be? I didn’t see it myself. I thought he was adequate hidden behind digital animation. Probably the best performance he has given since getting his face smashed in during Fight Club. The movie could easily be half an hour shorter. There are narrative time outs where characters bond in two separate dungeons and one forest spaceship breakdown that drain the momentum. Three pit stops is too many. The action is also perfunctory. Snark is fine, snark has a place, but imagine if they went down the fully committed horny sincere Flash Gordon route. Daniel Pemberton’s electric guitar led score needs special mention as it sounds like Kiss or Rush have taken over the mixing booth. Often it supplies the gas that keeps this mixed bag juggernaut moving forward.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Masters Of The Universe (1987)

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

Kane Parsons directs Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Lukita Maxwell in this psychological horror about a furniture store that has an infinite supernatural liminal labyrinth down in its basement.

Every generation needs their The Blair Witch Project? I was easily the oldest swinging dick in my packed out late night screening. The youth all had bought big sodas and hotdogs from the concession stands. Vue Omni making bank like it is 1999. A time when every weekend the foyer of the multiplex was this busy with commerce. The movie itself is curiously adequate. There are nail biting peaks and glaring flaws but as a one watcher it had me locked. There are moments hot washed in beige paranoia. A few Lynchian images that truly unnerve. And, not to sound like a cine-stalker but, Renate is so primo beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off her. The camera loves her, the costume designer adores dressing her up. She even looks like a Golden Age glamour icon drenched in blood, frantic and having reality collapse around her. The downside is much of this is drawn out tease, 20 something Parsons is a strong visual storyteller but I don’t think I needed his take on middle aged people emoting their demons… and the monster reveal is laughable. Memorable but just undeniably daft. There is enough blank space enigma here to make you think about deeper intent for days after. What does all this represent and manifest? Are the Backrooms lost thoughts, memories or dreams corrupted by reproduction? Or is it generational fear about AI? Source code so glitchy and corrupted it is mutant and recognisably false yet we now have to navigate its unsolicited unreality? Or a parable about old original cinema art having to survive the cloning process of constant studio approved IP regurgitation? Why can’t Sony / Warners / Universal keep cranking out the same nostalgia brand rollercoaster movies every few years? Each one a faded replica of what worked before but denuded of lived in details and littered with unnerving, disgusting compromises? Maybe Backrooms isn’t an allegory for any of that and is just a calling card that somehow became a sleeper event for a generation.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Obsession (2026)

Jane Schoenbrun directs Justice Smith, Jack Haven and Ian Foreman in this 90’s-set teen chiller where two fans of a forgotten young adult genre show deal with a darkness at the edge of their own lives.

Lynch meets Buffy. I do understand what this is about, “the subtext”, but that doesn’t stop it from being a meandering drag. The cosmic horror of being trapped in the wrong life doesn’t need to be this dawdling slow. The lifeline of fandom as an outsider should allow this to engage in even more extreme imagery more often. Plays out more like a “will this do” sketch stretched out to feature length, knowing there is an inbuilt market for it. Lovecraftian terror has a colour scheme and it is PUCE! And yet I’m excited for Schoenbrun’s next film, a queer slasher.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The People’s Joker (2022)

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Christopher Cain directs Pat Morita, Hilary Swank and Michael Ironside in this soft reboot of the Eighties teen martial arts series where Mr. Miyagi is back and he takes a new pupil under his wing: a troubled adolescent girl.

Didn’t bother with this as a teen… Was it direct to video in the UK? How was I supposed to know Hilary Swank would grow up into an Oscar darling? Adequate… good villain from Ironside. He runs a fascist teen death squad to keep his high school / college in order. Little Walton Goggins is one of his mid ground hench kids. The one that occasionally has flickers of humanity on his face. There is a Free Willy subplot involving an injured eagle. Swank wears some LA Gears. Clutch the straws, relax the brain.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

Dan Curtis directs Karen Black, Robert Burton and George Gaynes in this made-for-TV horror anthology where Karen Black plays all the leads.

Part of the fun of watching this in the 21st century is discovering the moment in each story which you know they just wouldn’t include now. The final part involving the psychotic little fetish is relentlessly intense but also grating. Watch with the volume down.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Asylum (1972)

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

Randal Kleiser directs Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, and Robert Oliveri in the sequel to the size changing laser family comedy.

There barely is 90 minutes of movie here but the set-up and toddler stomping through Las Vegas make for good trailer moments. Moranis is a delight as always. The two alternating twin kids who play the gargantuan look a bit like Herc from The Wire. Fans of Texas Switches will have a field day.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Honey, I Shrunk The Kid (1989)

Paul W.S. Anderson directs Milla Jovovich, Dave Bautista and Arly Jover in this dystopian sci-fi quest movie.

Two B-Movie actors playing to their fanbases. There absolutely is an audience for this murky CGI / 90s metal album cover / Fury Road on a shoestring slop. I’m certainly never going to queue for it but I don’t say ‘nope’ when it pops up on streaming. Jovovich and Bautista have enough star power to hold your focus, a few of unreal engine set pieces and trailer shots have an intensity if you don’t think about them too hard. The kinda flick made to get lost in the shuffle but even a four of spades has its purpose in the deck entire.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Hellboy (2019)

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Terry George directs Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo and Nick Nolte in this true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

Sturdy take on a great story. Obviously boiling down a completely different genocide to the same narrative template as Schindler’s List leaves this open to wild accusations of varnishing ugly truths. There has been kickback against modern history as presented here. Did the real Rusesabagina’s profiteer… or even disrupt UN peacekeeping efforts? If the Hollywood HeroTM version reflects anything it is that to walk such a dangerous tightrope one must anger, betray and exploit a lot of enemies and allies to survive. I’m happy to sit with the harsh reality that Rusesabagina played his game on hard mode and quite a few people have their lives because of his manipulations. In its best moments this is as thrilling as Captain Phillips.

8

Perfect Double Bill: The Promise (2017)

Brian Grant directs Eric Roberts, Kari Wuhrer and Ron Perlman in this erotic thriller where a student applies her psychic powers to figure out whether the professor she has a mad crush on killed the woman who lived below him.

The saxophone player just hangs out in the hallway. Is this meta? Every erotic thriller cliche blended and strained through fantasy. Dream sequences, horny deliriums, actual sex. Every man is a predator, every third scene involves explicit nudity. Kari Wuhrer is aesthetically spot-on casting – innocent look, smoking bod and zero qualms about stripping off if the plot demands it. Roberts eats well. His prime suspect is a curious soft spoken enigma but in the psychic flashes he will appears saturated in bright blue light… starkers… with witch doctor eye make-up… making salacious movements right to camera. Right at you! He occupies a strange maximalist acting space between Brando and Cage. I have a lot of time for him. The mystery offers plenty of red herrings and moments of peril. Not quite the gold standard of the sub genre but as satisfying as a dirty burger and loaded fries. With cheese.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Ex (1996)

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