Summer holidays were defined by Happy Days in my house. We started our day watching The Fonz, Mrs. C and Richie before the freedom of the day unfolded. I probably didn’t realise until Far & Away came out that Richie Cunningham now directed movies… and one of them… Willow was also on constant repeat in my house.

He is a director who often transcends genre and a definable visual style. As comfortable in fantasy as he is grit. He has made both blockbusters and Oscar Sweepers nearly all of which feature a reassuringly welcome small speaking part for his brother Clint and a guaranteed slickness. But for me his starry ensembles are his strength. He seems to flourish with family dynamics and worlds of work. While he has made as many prosperous stinkers ( The Da Vinci Code series, A Beautiful Mind) as great entertainments (Ransom, Solo) , I’ll always have a soft spot for the child star who became a dependable cap wearing journeyman.

Parenthood (1989)

Ron Howard directs Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest and Jason Robards in this comedy drama that follows an extended families’ ups and downs raising their kids.

The sprawling cast here also contains Rick Moranis, Keanu Reeves and a pre-fame Joaquin Phoenix. Spinning a lot of narrative plates, you can never get bored as we spend no more than two consecutive scenes stuck in one household. There’s a surprising amount of raunch but it is the drama that works better than the zany comedy. You care about the sensitive arcs of Wiest’s single mom, Martin’s over anxious son and Robards blinkered patriarch a lot more than the innuendo and the off the wall kids parties. The wrap up is a little pat and the normally scene stealing Moranis feels a little wasted in a one note role.

6

Backdraft (1991)

Ron Howard directs Kurt Russell, Billy Baldwin and Robert DeNiro in this action thriller where two warring brothers end up in the same firefighting unit.

An almost insanely busy plotline manages to fit in plenty of blazes and bravery. It could be a Top Gun inspired two hour recruitment advert for the Fire Department? Is it an East Of Eden style battle of the siblings drama? Or a The Silence of the Lambs crime thriller with arson as the M.O.? There’s romances, corrupt officials, bunkhouse comedy and training montages… even some Irish dancing. And with all this spilling fuel lying around Backdraft ignites! A hit that delivers thrills and soap in spades. The roaring fire FX work is still blisteringly suffocating. You can feel the heat, believe the peril. An early Hans Zimmer score rouses and hustles you along over the junkyard narrative. So pretty boy Billy Baldwin isn’t the finest actor for us to be focussed on, everyone around him screams quality. DeNiro is subdued and intelligent, Jennifer Jason Leigh is cute and resourceful in a rare straight romantic support role and Donald Sutherland has mischievous larks as a firebug rip-off of Hannibal Lector. Star of the show is Kurt Russell… not for the first or last time… channeling his inner John Wayne as the blowhard legend who is right goddamn it. All little boys want to be firemen and the rescue sequences where we get to ride the engine or run by Russel’s side as he dashes head first into danger are wish fulfilment of the highest order. Howard has a keen eye for the mechanics and details of the everyday life of the firehouse and this feels very much like the start of an unofficial trilogy where he deep drills into a workplace subculture over an intense life or death period. There’s an admiration and respect for the graft and teamwork needed to save lives on a daily basis and that celebration of people being dedicated to their jobs (a rarity for Hollywood) carries over into The Paper and Apollo 13.

9

The Paper (1994)

Ron Howard directs Michael Keaton, Glenn Close and Marissa Tomei in this comedy drama following a day in the life of a New York tabloid where all the editorial staff are reaching definitive crossroads in their careers.

A personal favourite. I really don’t know why this has such a lukewarm reputation. It outzips and outzings His Girl Friday, moves at a relentless pace and features Keaton’s best performance. Some contemporary middling reviews quibble that the black youths the breaking story is about receive minimal screentime but that misses the point. The film is not about the people in the news, it is about the people who investigate, write and gatekeep the news. Their search for the truth within a deadline, for a story within the financial pressure of a struggling service. The hustle and workplace banter and seething conflicts to get a sellable paper out everyday is captivating. A loud cacophony that turns into a symphony. People may love their All The President’s Mens and Spotlights with their grinding conspiracies slowly dragged out over months of dead ends and dogged research but what about the journalists who have to land the exclusive every day, any day… with no idea of where the public’s shifting attention or appetite will be in 10 hours time when the presses roll. For a mainly office bound film, the chase is absolutely thrilling. We watch the imperfect machinations grind against each other. Keaton gets a fair few grandstanding rants, Close is baleful and resplendent as the ice queen bean counter and Duvall again adds a phlegmy glow as the old hand in charge of all the warring personalities. As the day tightens into night and we see various newshounds risk their outside lives to get the job done, their own personal dramas begin to echo each other. If Keaton stays at the New York Sun he could easily become estranged from his young family like Duvall’s mournful Bernie long ago has, if he moves into a more 9-5 corporate role, as Close’s Alicia has, will he be able to look himself in the mirror as he puts budgets ahead of honest reporting. These echoes the concerns of the work / life balance Howard explored in subplots involving Robards, Martin and Russell in Parenthood and Backdraft respectively. Howard keeps lots of plate spinning with the light touch of someone who spent his formative years on TV sets. The Paper proves his finest multistrand composition

and clearest hymn to the everyday professional.

10

Apollo 13 (1995)

Ron Howard directs Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Ed Harris in this true story of a doomed NASA space mission in 1970 that saw it astronauts trapped in their lunar module with diminishing resources.

Critically acclaimed and a massive summer hit, Apollo 13 should probably be higher in my rankings. It has the same focus on “getting the job done right” and team dynamics as The Paper and Backdraft, but married to a true story. The film has loads of unfussy strengths… believable model work augmented with CGI, the magisterial Tom Hanks in one of his first serious adventure leads and a James Horner score that fills the low key problem solving action with a persuasive zeal. Yet I find it a little dry… outwith the genuinely thrilling set pieces, the drama in the claustrophobic cockpit and middle-aged white man populated control room becomes quite repetitive and predictable. Because this is a tribute to the ingenuity of heroes under pressure we get very little personal conflict. Tempers fray slightly but you’d struggle to say that Paxton, Kevin Bacon or even Hanks imbue their real life astronauts with much of their own natural star personalities. This version is a little too faithful and respectful. Always fun when you click on a movie’s Wikipedia page and someone lists the historical inaccuracies, none of which will hamper your enjoyment of this gentle disaster movie. They might niggle if you were a NASA obsessive but I came for a manly tale of stoic survival and ingenuity, not minutiae. There’s very little that jars or takes you out of the story. And maybe that’s why Apollo 13 only satisfies me rather than seduces me. It is a bit too academic, a bit too worthily procedural to survive repeated viewings.

6

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Ron Howard directs Amy Adams, Glenn Close and Gabriel Basso in this adaptation of a bestselling memoir following an Ohio boy’s tribulations growing up in a low income, mentally unstable family.

Holy Shit! What a bin fire! Laughable poverty cosplay where horrible people destroy each other’s lives and we are supposed to glean some dignity from their selfish, unhinged behaviour. Cut these fuckers loose. The central lad is a bit of a lunk… difficult to see why we should care about his job prospects or his personal life (which seem on course to be pretty decent) considering he seems to be so emotionally formless and inept at social interactions. Amy Adams gets lost in a “poor me” maelstrom of half tragedies. She is my favourite actress and even I just wished her character would overdose and stop being such a blight on everyone’s life by the midway point. There are hints that her Bev was abused by her own father and maybe the kids are the product of incest but the film shies away from doing little more than teasing that unfulfilled revelation for the hyper observant. Meanwhile Close is lost under Bo Selecta prosthetics trying to turn a racist old birdie into a firebrand hero. We are supposed to marvel at the sacrifices she makes; begging for extra Meals On Wheels to feed her starving overweight grandchild. Two minutes later, she is casually stocking up a pantry full to the rafters with tins and boxes. There’s at least three moments when you wish this alleged force of nature would knock her wayward daughter around the head or let the kids be taken into care. Instead she stares stoically and that silence and inaction is supposed to be seen as heroic. This is a gallingly bad piece of Oscar bait that never settles down long enough for us to even get a baring on who we should be rooting for. While there is nothing wrong with unlikable characters or movies that spotlights the struggles of poor people – you just need to do more than wallow in their distress. I chuckled so often at the pinball of fate that bounced callously around this generation hopping story that I wondered whether Howard should have approached it as a light comedy… a la Parenthood. Howard the director’s tastes have been off since the turn of the century. I know Cinderella Man, Frost / Nixon and Rush have their fans but for me only his fumbled epics like In the Heart of the Sea and Solo have shown any of the old promise and skill. The sad fact is, in spite of being a consistent moneymaker for the studios for over four decades now, Howard seemingly doesn’t have the creative control, power or inclination to launch projects like Backdraft or Ransom anymore. Which is a shame as some of us crave blockbusters set in the real world, certainly over indulgent dramas with no workable grip on reality.

2

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Cameron Crowe directs John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney in this teen romance where a heartbroken boy does indeed serenade his true love with a boombox held aloft over his head at dawn… blasting the Peter Gabriel song they lost their virginities together to.

Lloyd Dobbler’s career path: “I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that… What I really want to do with my life – what I want to do for a living – is I want to be with your daughter. I’m good at it.”

I’m letting you peek behind the curtain a little here but I have always tried to be a Lloyd Dobbler in my romances. Going all in for the right girl, not really caring about career or other relationships beyond them. There were times when my idea of “the right girl” was blinkered, or I wasn’t emotionally mature enough to live up to that self imposed standard… or when life meant we just outgrew each other after all that personal focus… but it has definitely succeeded in the long run. Sure I don’t live in a palace or have much more to my name other than a few good comic runs and too many DVDs but I am truly happy with Natalie… ecstatic, secure and content. And my thinking that the right girl is what you should pour all your energy and attention into has paid off handsomely. I have a partner who does make my life all the better as I hope I try to make hers. By striving to be the best man I can for the best woman, I know I have attained prosperity by my own measuring stick.

And Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut has always informed that thinking. Cusack gives his best, sweetest and most earnest performance as Lloyd. A naturally cool guy, who doesn’t particularly care about popularity. He wears his heart on his sleeve and goes all in for the girl he wants. Crowe conjures up iconic scene after iconic scene. He is a writer director who somehow blends sincerity with a worldly wit. I could easily rattle off a list of a hundred minor and fetishised moments from this mere 100 minute film. All are human, strong, true, amusing. So I’ll just lean into two reasons why I think this is an indisputable Five Star classic.

1) The second half of the story is giving over to Ione Skye’s dream girl brain Diane Court… we know Lloyd by now and have been seduced by him. She is conferred the bulk of the remaining screen time to carry us through the real drama and big decisions. While Lloyd has the freedom to follow his heart, she has harder choices to make about her future and Crowe never belittles them just because they are not obviously crowd pleasing or punchline driven.

2) That exemplary final scene. Boarding a plane to England together, Lloyd is calming Diane down over her fear of flying. He has brought snacks and reading materials. Knowing that she is nervous about the flight he explains that when the Smoking sign dings the pilot has taken the airplane up safely and everything will be alright. We follow their small talk and fears for their future. And then we silently hold on them, waiting for the ding. As it rings and the movie cuts to black and credits roll… we also know everything will be alright. Not just with the flight but with Lloyd and Diane. Say Anything… doesn’t end on a rainswept kiss or a rushed wedding, it ends on a subtle promise that these kids and their nervous love is going to soar. The ding is all we need to know. It is a wrinkle of screenwriting finesse that outshines Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. Beautiful.

10

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Richard Donner directs Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer in this fantasy adventure where a young thief helps a couple of cursed lovers; a knight who turns into a wolf at night and a princess who turns into a hawk by day.

Again, like The Neverending Story, this feels like one that should have been a childhood favourite but passed me by? I was a little worried in the first ten minutes. Matthew Broderick escapes a dungeon talking direct to camera / praying to God (in a dry run for Ferris Bueller). The action is very scrappily edited and dubbed. Like someone lost all the coverage and the sequence has been cobbled together from B roll and off cuts. Once we are on the run with Hauer and a hawk the quality solidifies. He cuts a striking figure and the location work is pretty epic. As the sun sets he tags out and Michelle Pfeiffer mysteriously appears all sexy and ethereal. Donner gets the blend of derring do, mysticism and tragic romance just right. It isn’t a perfect production. A synth score by Alan Parsons intrudes regularly to take you out of the timeless aesthetic. The grand finale of a cathedral interior joust doesn’t really play all the balls in the air with any noticeable flair. A comfy forgotten blockbuster most notable for being one of the awesome Rutger’s first Hollywood hero roles.

7

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Lina Wertmüller directs Antonio Petruzzi, Stefano Satta Flores and Sergio Ferranino in this slice of life drama where the restless but feckless young men of an Italian small town attempt to find their way with little effort or success.

A tribute to Fellini’s I Vitteloni that embraces the ugliness of provincial life even more. The results are a little whimsical but there are some strikingly inventive camera moves.

5

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Anna Rose Holmer directs Royalty Hightower, Inayah Rodgers and Makyla Burnam in this teen movie where a young girl gives up boxing training at her community centre to try out for the dance troupe; The Lionesses.

Lots of beautiful composed shots of training and deserted public spaces give this a real power. The subplot about a series of faintings kinda overtakes the pleasure of the tomboy quietly reinventing herself but it all has a low stakes, elegant, eerie quality.

6

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Chen Kaige directs Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi in this Chinese period saga following two Peking Opera performers; from their childhood of brutal orphaned training to persecution during Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

Spanning a lifetime and with moments of extreme cruelty and petulant betrayal, Kaige’s unrequited romance is quite the achievement. Moving with cinematic sweep of Lean and achieving the intimacy of Rossellini, this showcases two great performances. Leslie Cheung as the closeted, distant female performer is a heartbreaking, androgynous enigma. Gong Li as the acquisitive interloper who marries into the trope and at times threatens the partnership of the stars, while at other times saves it, is an equally tragic and absorbing figure. Farewell My Concubine delivers a history lesson and an emotional rollercoaster, managing to always look immaculate while it does it. The only negatives really are Chinese Opera is bit grating on the old ears. But you can tune out and just observe who the audience is made up of, a key indicator as to what particular point in China’s century of political turmoil we are in.

8

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Richard Donner directs Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Jet Li in this action comedy where Riggs & Murtagh take down some Chinese people smugglers.

I’m guessing it was around Christmas of 1997 that the Warner Brothers executives shuffled ashen faced out of a rough cut of their big Uma Thurman The Avengers remake and collectively realised they did not have a tentpole release for the coming summer season. A Lethal Weapon sequel was greenlit, scripted, filmed and edited within a record breaking 6 months. I first saw posters for it on holiday in Paris and it was a shock. None of Empire’s or Premiere’s January Preview Of 1998 issues has made any mention of Lethal Weapon 4 coming. That’s how quickly it was made. And it is all the better for it. This is a zippy, breathless, natural concoction. Action packed. The carnage and inventiveness of the flamethrower opener or the freeway chase are unlike anything the series has seen. Million dollar slapstick. The magic chemistry of Mel and Danny is given plenty of screentime together and they even takedown Jet Li’s formidable villain in unison for the first time. Riggs is getting “too old” to beat down the big bad by himself at this point. Joe Pesci said ‘Yes’ only after shooting began and new addition Chris Rock’s character had a hasty rewrite when everyone agreed the original intent of making his character gay didn’t work. So most of their bickering is together, separate from the action. Like little screechy time outs. Rock is one of the funniest men alive, though not the best actor, so his outbursts almost feel like everyone stops to watch him do a skit. It doesn’t gel but you’d miss his Detective Butters if they do ever make a 5. Russo is the only returning player who maybe deserved a little more attention but who knows what her shooting availability was at such late notice? This is a movie that feels almost a million miles away from the hard edge psychosis of the 1987 original but a definite improvement on the weak action and aimless frivolity of the third entry. Made with the intention of being the final word on a beloved franchise, there are legacy moments that feel a little too indulgent but in the main Lethal Weapon 4 proves a glorious unashamed piece of Hollywood entertainment. Knowing they don’t make them like this anymore means it has actually aged well beyond its mercenary motivations. Even if Donner, Gibson, Glover and Warners had a more artistic reason to revive the series in either 1998 or 2021 it is unlikely to turn out as spectacular and warm hearted as this did.

8

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Walter Hill directs Nick Nolte, Powers Booth and Michael Ironside in this action thriller where a Texas Ranger from a border town wars with his childhood best friend who runs a drug smuggling empire.

Also starring: María Conchita Alonso! Rip Torn! William Forsythe! AND Clancy MUTHAFUCKIN’ Brown! Holy shit… this must be the greatest movie none of us have ever seen. And you know what? Extreme Prejudice is pretty, pretty, pretty good. A modern day western. That favourite sub-genre of mine. With a Ry Cooder twangy guitar score to boot. Nolte’s white hat is a bit of a hulk… his only personality quirk is he doesn’t like people joining him for a drink uninvited. Powers Booth channels his inner Cy Tolliver and plays the vainglorious cartel boss with a cocky sadness. He’s the best thing in this and chews up some awesome lines. Ironside runs a secret special ops unit of “officially dead” soldiers… this is where your Forsythes and Clancys come in. A lot of screentime is spent on them… you get the best action sequence with the zombie squad as they stage a robbery to match Point Break’s immersive heists… but they really deserve their own movie. They distract from the purer western duel between the leads. What they do add is extra guns to the grand finale. Hill (always comfortable with an action ensemble) replays The Wild Bunch massacre with automatic weapons and rather callously kills off most of the cast with same disregard as if they were extras. There’s something true about not giving each of them an extended death scene but by the credits you can’t help but wonder whether even more could have made out of all the potential that the hook, the movie poster and the cool trailer have!? Strange to watch a movie that hits the spot, exceeds expectations yet leaves you begging.

7

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Anna Biller directs Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Laura Waddell in this erotic parody of Sixties exploitation where a witch wants a real man, but real men are found wanting.

This is visually a spot on parody of Russ Meyers and Herschell Gordon Lewis. I know Biller denies their influence on her kinky, dark comedy but if you want an easy reference point to her bright, declarative use of colour and the busty, direct tone of performance then that really is the touchstone most will recognise. Not a lot happens but it all looks fantastic and Samantha Robinson gives a compelling and iconic performance as the titular seductress. More a mood piece than a particularly effective feminist statement or genre thrill but in terms of style over substance it is very charming. Possibly another voice needed to be heard in post production as it does drag on indulgently with nowhere fresh to go after the 90 minute mark. Sexy, straight faced, beautiful.

7

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

John Sturges directs Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine in this Cold War action thriller where a spy commandeers a submarine to beat the Russians to a fallen satellite in the frozen tundras of Greenland.

Often turgid. We meet all the principles during an event free pleasure cruise in a submarine. 90 minutes later we are waiting around a snow mobile service entry while all the double agents slowly reveal themselves. McGoohan has one of his trademark curt strops and throws some test tubes about. This is the content we want! Then the movie finale comes to life in the closing twenty minutes with a genuinely intense Mexican stand-off with the Russians. Until then a fine cast is wasted and the usually dependable Sturges is lost at sea.

4

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/