Pierre Morel directs Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen in this action thriller where a retired specialist hunts the white slaving ring who have kidnapped his daughter.

Now iconic but still barmy. So many strange choices from the soapy pop music subplots to Maggie Grace’s puppy dog running style. The first half which mainly centres around the buying of a karaoke machine tries for the slow build of the original Die Hard – taking extra time to immerse us into the characters before all hell breaks loose. Yet these characters are so creaky that it feels almost surreal to linger on their dynamics and quirks. Once we are in Paris and the action begins proper, the movie grows no more realistic… but you are getting what you bought a ticket for. Wallop. Wallop. Wallop. Mid level carnage, slightly better acted macho posing. The kinetics are actually quite forgettable… it is the untethered nature of the screen acting and the seedy but sincere scripting that have made this a cultural touchstone.

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/

Raja Gosnell directs Drew Barrymore, David Arquette and Michael Vartan in this teen romantic comedy where a dowdy journalist goes undercover as a high school girl, only this second chance sees her having to fit in with the cool kids.

Tries to do a lot with its overstocked cast, 80s nostalgia and law bending romances but a really game lead performance by Barrymore centres it. The very attractive star leans into her mugging, gross out and slapstick moments – whipping up laughs in even the most serviceable scenes. Her sweetness, sexiness and sense of timing proves compelling… as self produced vehicles go, Barrymore knows precisely what works for herself.

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/

Wes Anderson directs Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Olivia Williams in this comedy where a precocious teenager starts a friendship with a depressed millionaire, attempts to seduce the new kindergarten teacher and gets kicked out of the private school that is his world.

This is the tipping point where Murray shifted from beloved comedy star to global treasure. His grumpy, detached performance here is his best dramatic work… still hitting laughs… the lack of Oscar nomination is galling. The film itself is, for me, Anderson’s masterwork. Melancholy and enthusiasm, dreamers and deliberateness. Everything perfectly calibrated from the montages to the fonts. The reference points and homages just obscure enough to be hip without being alienating. An eye for getting his best out of casts that Hollywood has often forgotten what to do with. Later movies of his are more confident in their twee affectations but this still has one foot grounded in reality. The double whammy of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums marked Anderson out as a distinct voice and measured creative within indie cinema. I’d say Rushmore just pips the later film past the post. It does just as much emotionally and visually with less resources and prestige. The soundtrack zings stamp for stamp. The slightly scrappier nature (don’t get me wrong this would feel pristine if it came from any other auteur) makes Rushmore just a bit easier to fall for. You watch Rushmore, by the final curtain, your soul feels a little cleaner, a little more glowing. It is breathlessly well composed cinema – one of the indisputable classics of modern comedy. “These are O.R. scrubs.” “Oh. Are. They?”

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/

Philippe Lacôte directs Bakary Koné, Steve Tientcheu and Jean Cyrille Digbeu in this Ivory Coast prison drama where a new inmate finds himself the evening’s entertainment while a shift in power among the gangs takes place.

A mash-up of A Prophet and Arabian Nights, this is a visually striking often rather sentimental prison thriller. Not every conceit works – the interpretive dance numbers and flashbacks to a world of magic and myths are never given enough space to feel essential. Yet there is a power to Night of the Kings from moment to moment. One imposing character sinks into the underworld with a disturbing acceptance… we share the disorientating rush of becoming the new focal point of La Maca. A beautifully lit shot is always the priority over brutality, it is a very violent and threatening milieu that sidesteps showing too much gore or pain. Worth a watch.

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/

Christian Petzold directs Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski and Jacob Matschenz in this German romance where a spurned woman and a diver fall for each other.

This unlikely mix of fable, sex, break-ups and town planning reminds me very much of Krzysztof Kieslowski. The ups and downs of the relationships can be a little trying to keep up with – we often feel half removed from the deep emotions being churned up. A very likeable cast of modern arthouse stalwarts keep you invested in the choppy twists and turns.

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/

Jim Abrahams directs Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino and Lloyd Bridges in this spoof comedy that rips off Top Gun for laughs… or at least tries very hard to.

Lacking the hit rate of Airplane! or The Naked Gun, the best you can say about this is it at least attempts to match the production values of the hits it is lampooning.

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/

Jim Jarmusch directs Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska in this vampire film where two wan immortals bum around being glum.

Who decided haughty, emaciated posh Brits were the epitome of cool? The strange thing is these parasites are an accurate representation of their sort… self centred, snobbish and with an unfair advantage in artistic endeavours. They see their privilege as a curse and the rest of us as “zombies” they have to endure… but not share their world with. Ugh! The shitty thing is these parallels are accidental rather than an intentionally damning statement on the advantage and attitudes of the ruling class. Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin inject a bit of oomph and life into their smaller supporting roles. It looks striking, But essentially you are stuck in the company of a couple of fey dandies looking down at us from the miserable ivory towers. No thank you.

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/

Brandon Cronenberg directs Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott and Jennifer Jason Leigh in this sci-fi horror where an assassin leaps into stooges’ bodies taking over their lives until they have access to the target.

Lots of nice juicy disturbing qualities here but it runs out of steam when the focus moves away from Riseborough’s haunted existential parasite. The gender bending nudity and practical FX are strong, the violence excessive. The artier sequences where minds meld and separate are very impressive. Yet it is hard to fully care about these cold characters and their simulacra world. It feels too flat, too closed off, too much like a drab playset. And for all of Brandon’s strengths as a genre director (he understands the mission) you can’t shake off the irritating pall of nepotism. Not only would he not be making this feature if it wasn’t for his more famous groundbreaking father, but he wouldn’t be making it like this if it wasn’t for David’s brand identity. The best thing about Possessor is it is a homage to daddy, but whether you want to sit through Oedipal karaoke and not feel slightly gypped is a whole other thing. Ironically Possessor is a body horror throwback that cannot figure out its own identity while inhabiting another’s flesh.

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/

Russ Meyers directs Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers and Marcia McBroom in this sex romp where a female trio arrive in LA hoping to make good in fame and riches, sex and love.

Paced and edited like a bullet train, you are more likely to have a heart attack than keep up. Busty young ingenues race through a decade worth of soap opera melodrama in a mere 100 minutes. Unpredictable, horny, parodic and a lot of fun.

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/

John McTiernan directs Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons in this action adventure where John McClane finds himself racing around New York solving riddles and completing impossible feats at the whim of a mad bomber.

Hot time Summer in the city… YOU ARE ABOUT TO HAVE A VERY BAD DAY! I’m just going to say it, I grew up loving this but the more I watch it the more it niggles at me. While 2 is a near perfect sequel (sue me), this feels quite cobbled together. The disorientating but blissfully unceasing first half of phone trash talking, taxi chases, subway explosions and quirky bomb disposals gives way to a very choppy and loose concluding half. The editing in the second section is atrocious, coincidences are relied on heavily and you can see the scars and severed connections created by the obviously reshot finale. Where did the battalion of terrorists go after they armed up? Why is Samuel L Jackson in that helicopter? Well, Samuel L Jackson is wonderful here as the reluctant participant in the mind games and terror tactics of a bunch of white people… so why wouldn’t you let him joyride inappropriately into the big end sequence? He never undersells the risk, kills every line and has a good rapport with Willis, who generously shares his spotlight. Race and racism is leant into frequently, leading to some witty asides (“Let me guess… Rodney King?”) and moments of gripping small scale peril. Willis’ opening salvo, forced to walk around Harlem with a charged epithet on a billboard, is a moment that feels truly original and unlikely in action cinema. Later Jackson’s Zeus has to answer a ringing phone as a beat cop points his gun at him for a misdemeanour and you never question the reality of his precarious situation as a black man. Quibbles aside, this is still a rush of adrenaline… I just kinda wish it could maintain the polished unpredictability of the earlier set pieces right up until the finish line. Still, we have John McClane chuckling deliriously as he climbs out of an obliterated subway carriage… just as incredulous as we are that he is not dead… and sometimes that’s all you need to get you through a tough week.

9

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/