Giuseppe Tornatore directs Philippe Noiret, Marco Leonardi and Salvatore Cascio in this Italian coming-of-age movie that charts the friendship between a young boy and an aging projectionist who works at the titular movie theatre.

Bumped up to a 10 out of 10. I think the first two times I saw it as a teenager I was a bit stymied by the sentimental aspects. Now I just get lost in the romantic sweep. At what age does nostalgia for a lost time, a time and place I never existed in, become potent? A beautiful film… there’s something pure, primordial about. The strength and simplicity of even the opening moments set the tone. Every shot is clean but full of depth and implicit storytelling. It feels like the shots of Sicilian lemons and billowing curtains are there to invoke the senses cinema often ignores – taste, smell, touch. And then we are off. Just magical. And with added bonus that the end credits leave glimpses of the lengthier director’s cut… making the whole thing seem like a half imagined dream.

10

Perfect Double Bill: Jacquot De Nantes (1991)

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/

Hirokazu Kore-eda directs Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won and Bae Doona in this Korean drama where a pair of baby dealers try to sell an unwanted child with the mum, a stowaway, the cops and some gangsters in tow.

Like Shoplifters, another makeshift family of low level grifters and a lot of heart. What I liked most about this is that even though it deals with some pretty heavy chew, it could easily be a remake of a forgotten early 90s John Hughes script too… Gets the balance just right between art and entertainment.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Shoplifters (2018)

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 Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett direct Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Courtney Cox in this Ghostface-Take-Manhattan horror episode.

In my review of 5 I stated “I’d happily see the survivors try and carry Number 6 on their own and let those old hands get on with their lives.” I get my wish here and it cooks. Better than anything since Scream 2. With more room to bed in, the ‘Core Four’ come into their own and some of the newcomers catch the eye too. This doesn’t drag like two hours at all and the set pieces are definitively front-and-centre. The truly invigorating prologue twisteroo. The Bodega shotgun massacre. The Judgment Night inspired ladder peril. The much teased subway ride of costumed ghouls. Super gory too. Only the essential Scream whodunnit aspect lets it down. Didn’t change my guess at the outcome after the first 30 minute mark and I got as close you reasonably could. Scream 7, please!

8

Perfect Double Bill: Scream 7 (2024)

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/

Jeff Tremaine directs Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and Bam Margera in this action comedy documentary where a group of skateboarders and stunt people’s kids do nasty pranks and dares on together camera.

The cat couldn’t sleep so I selected this late night treat from my drinking days. Feels very much like an offshoot of the TV series but the air horn golf and a very sincere X-ray specialist had me in fits of suppressed giggles towards the end.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Jackass: Number Two (2006)

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/

Daniel Espinosa directs Jared Leto, Matt Smith and Adria Arjona in this Marvel spin-off where a sick scientist gains the powers of a vampire.

No idea why I do this to myself? It was unlikely I was going to enjoy Morbius. Leto is a million miles away from my ideal leading man… the superhero sub-genre feels tired currently. Morbius is hacked to fuck. The scenes are piecemeal, disjointed. There’s barely a movie here. 90 minutes of deleted scenes.

3

Perfect Double Bill: Blade Trinity (2004)

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/

Sian Heder directs Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin in this teen drama where the hearing child of deaf parents begins to follow her own path, causing disruption within the household that relies heavily on her.

I liked so much about this movie. Especially the salty, playful performances. You’d never catch me looking sideways at it but I’ve come to it late in the day. Watched with the Best Picture Oscar win hanging over it you can’t help but notice how slight and well trodden Heder’s movements are. Some scenes bare the distracting digital scars of what can only be a COVID restricted reshoot and they shake you out of the story. It is baggy and overlong. Still, CODA feels very different from your standard gold bait in that it is built primarily to entertain and is full of positive messaging.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Children Of A Lesser God (1986)

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/

Stanley Kramer directs Sidney Poitier, Tony Curtis and Cara Williams in this race drama where two prisoners, one black and one white, are shackled together and on the lam.

The ultimate solidarity movie. After they set aside their prejudice, the pair realise their struggle, present and existential, is shared and decide not to abandon each other. Tony Curtis is a little miscast as a gutter brute but does solid work. Poitier is something else. Man wasn’t no flash in the pan. Must have been fascinating for him to navigate being the big screen voice of controlled black outrage for audiences of all colours at this precise point in American history. You feel him making silent decisions both as a capable but desperate character but also as a consummate actor in every moment here. The set pieces are strong… the interlude with the deserted farmer’s wife and her child is sensational. The atmosphere of the entire film is amped up by Kramer’s choice to make all the music diegetic. Proto-buddy movie, sweaty thriller, brave statement. The Defiant Ones holds up incredibly well.

8

Perfect Double Bill: In The Heat Of the Night (1967)

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/

Eliza Hittman directs Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder and Théodore Pellerin in this drama where a pregnant teen has to navigate the bureaucracy, costs and perils of crossing state lines to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

A sensitive and immersive procedural drama about modern day abortion in America. Really memorable lead performance by Flanigan who evokes a lot with very little dialogue. Having said that – I could tell this wasn’t for intended me as every man is pitched as an active sexual predator except the bus station employee who gave them directions. I’m a big boy, I can take it… but every… fucking… man? Made very much for its echo chamber which maybe limits its scope to change the current political landscape.

6

Perfect Double Bill: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (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/

Roland Emmerich directs Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger and Jason Isaacs in this period war drama where a peaceful farmer is driven to lead a colonial militia against the British during the American Revolutionary war.

A more subdued Mel leans into his acting chops for a movie that doesn’t fully deserve them. This is more blockbuster than prestige but the unusual mixture of gloss and gore can be strangely winning. The third act has problems – a couple of key characters are killed off quite abruptly before the big conclusive battle set-piece and it proves hard getting back into the rhythm of this being a rousing entertainment. Still the sight of Mel taking on the old country with nothing more than a massive flagpole has its iconic pleasures, as does the knowledge he was probably still pranking away off camera then switching to dour everyman once the Independence Day director yelled ‘Action’. Isaacs made his name with his hissable bastard of a redcoat villain here. The entire package doesn’t work but quality elements like him make it a very serviceable if throwaway Saturday night filler.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The Bounty (1984)

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/

Christian Petzold directs Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld and Nina Kunzendorf in this German drama where a concentration camp survivor who has undergone reconstructive surgery tries to reconnect with her untrustworthy husband.

A strong mystery about broken people. We are never sure of the husband’s true motivations… surely he recognises his own wife? Excellent central performance by Hoss, Petzold’s low key, sparse direction always allows her to shine. A really neat mic drop ending slightly ruined by our steaming service buffering in the final seconds.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Transit (2018)

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/