Niels Arden Oplev directs Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace and Dominic Cooper in this revenge thriller where a man with a dark secret infiltrates an organised crime gang and a scarred woman wanting revenge blackmails him into taking on her own crusade for justice.

The first 30 minutes of this are intentionally but needlessly confusing. Convoluted storytelling resolved – the final hour has some good set pieces and a sad little almost romance that feeds into the leads overqualified talents.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Close (2019)

My wife and I 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/

Sidney Poitier directs himself, Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee in this buddy western where a righteous wagon trail master and a sleazy preacher navigate their party around a posse of white hired guns in Reconstruction America.

An absolute pleasure on the big screen. Feels like a big entertainment, hitting laughs, adventure and drama. Yet it also tackles historical racism, in a way that must have spoken loudly to African American audiences in the Seventies and still has relevance today. I’ve never really noticed Belafonte in a movie before but he’s on fire here. Benny Carter’s bluesy jazzy score is an earworm and invigorates every time it comes on. Bank robberies, horse theft, horse chases, desert battles, shoot outs and stand-offs – I can think of no better way to spend an evening.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

My wife and I 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/

Harald Zwart directs Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas in this crime comedy where three different men become obsessed with a low-rent femme fatale who will do anything to live in the perfect home.

James M Cain meets There’s Something About Mary. Silly little movie that supplies the usually drippy Tyler with something a bit more vivacious. Strong comedy support from Paul Reiser and John Goodman. Michael Douglas steals the show as a bingo loving hitman. The third act grinds its gears for 10 minutes more than its worth. It feels like we are never leaving that living room set but the overburdened farce finally ends on three high impact punchlines.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Very Bad Things (1998)

My wife and I 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/

Robert Aldrich directs Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert and Ed Lauter in the prison sports movie where a disgraced NFL star is tasked with putting together a team from the chain gang.

The edgiest TV sitcom never made. Everything about it is indulgent and overlong. You hope it will at least snap into shape once the big game begins, split screen and all. Even that treats every shot of coverage as essential subplot. Features early noteworthy roles for Richard Kiel and Bernadette Peters.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

My wife and I 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 Craven directs Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett and Kadeem Hardison in this horror comedy take on Dracula.

You can see why this had such a slating on release… it stinks of vanity, choppy as fuck, broad humour, Eddie only trying to be funny when he is hidden under latex in secondary roles, the distinct lack of scares. Yet there are admirable qualities too: gore, committed comedy support from Hardison and a brilliantly coarse John Witherspoon, amazing production design, a certain degree of fealty to the gothic romance of Bram Stoker, Angela Bassett is underserved but still resplendent. With low expectations it fills a Saturday night adequately. But if Craven and Murphy had unified and forged a clear agreement of what they wanted to achieve then this could have been so much more than a one-watcher.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Vamps (2012)

My wife and I 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/

Michelangelo Antonioni directs Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti in this Italian arthouse flick where a couple consider infidelity over a long sleepless night.

More empty glamour and hollow nihilism. Feels the least effective of the trilogy. The acting is sound – it is all about death and fucking again, ain’t it?

6

Perfect Double Bill: L’Avventura (1960)

My wife and I 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 Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman direct Sterling Holloway, John Fiedler and Junius Matthews in this Walt Disney cartoon collecting three adventures from The Hundred Acre Woods.

A bit too insipid for adults. Cute enough to sell toys. Pooh is a dickhead. Not enough Eyeore.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Tigger Movie (2000)

My wife and I 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/

Adam Wingard directs Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci and Wendy Glenn in this home invasion horror movie where a rich family is stalked by masked killers and a very capable final girl emerges amongst them.

I think the slow drip ‘eat the rich’ satire and the long ramp up before any carnage starts puts some people off. When You’re Next builds up a head of steam though it really delivers. OTT kills, iconic menaces, simple tension and a fantastic genre lead in Sharni Vinson. When she starts laying out X-rated Home Alone traps and taking mutherfuckas down with gusto you quickly realise in a parallel universe she could be the unhinged psycho everyone else needs to save themselves from. Very rewatchable.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The Guest (2014)

My wife and I 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/

Jacques Demy directs Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris and Françoise Dorléac in this French musical about two sisters who plan to leave their hometown for Paris on the weekend a carnival arrives in town.

Obviously doesn’t have the bittersweet emotional heft of The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg but proves a lot more of a lark. The various men orbiting sisters Delphine and Solange are a bit meh… but then a dubbed yet glorious Gene Kelly turns up in an ice cream pink polo shirt and I was fully invested. The narrative carousel has the ideal partners occupy a small space (a town square) yet never spend any meaningful time together over the eventful weekend. This leaves plenty of room for primary coloured song and dance. It is a truly happy film… wistful, vibrant and with a serial killer subplot. Even the dialogue scenes are done in rhyming couplets. Cute and camp pleasures abound.

9

Perfect Double Bill: The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964)

My wife and I 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/

Matt Ruskin directs Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon and Alessandro Nivola in this true crime story told from them perspective of Loretta McLaughlin, the reporter who broke the serial killer story for the Boston Record American.

My, oh my! Somebody has watched Zodiac. Solid.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Zodiac (2007)

My wife and I 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/