James Hawes directs Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Brosnahan in this espionage thriller where the CIA’s nerdy IT expert decides to go out in the field to avenge his lover’s murder.

My sort of movie – but uninspired and with a non-entity protagonist.

4

Perfect Double Bill: The Rhythm Section (2020)

M. Night Shyamalan direct William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard in this chilling mystery flick where a series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

The Village is still a strange experience. It features all that is adorable and all that is repellant about a Shyamalan joint. The twist is very guessable but the build-up is atmospheric despite itself. It doesn’t truly work as a horror but the imagery can oft be sinister. The 21st century The Crucible political allegory is ripe for the picking but it no longer feels like part of the conversation about 9/11 fuelled cinema. What it does have is a wonderful breakout performance from Bryce Dallas Howard and a genuinely shocking moment involving a subdued Joaquin.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Unbreakable (2000)

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

Victor Kulle directs Heather Locklear, Robert Carradine and Ned Beatty in this psychological thriller where a woman, after suffering a nervous breakdown, moves into a new house but soon begins to suspect that her husband and his sister are up to incestuous foul play.

Tubi trash picked by my beautiful wife. Mental breakdown covers up a whole trough of narrative incoherence.

2

Perfect Double Bill: Body Language (1992)

Gillo Pontecorvo directs Marlon Brando, Evaristo Márquez, and Renato Salvatori in this historical epic where a British mercenary helps the revolting slaves of an Antilles island colony gain independence from Portugal.

Wow! One of Brando’s last proper acting lead performances. Not done for the paycheck or to shitstink the set of big production out with bad behaviour. One from the heart from Marlon. And he almost is star powered off the screen by a non-actor in a big part. Evaristo Márquez was just a charismatic labourer when he got cast to go toe to toe with the all-time god of method. Fucking magnetic “amateur” performance. You can only see this in shitty third gen copy formats. Our DVD looks like someone has wiped there arse with the reels before transferring it by UHF. Still, scarily accurate depiction of colonialism divide and conquer in action. Battles, education and danger.

8

Perfect Double Bill: The Battle of Algiers (1966)

You can follow me on Letterboxd here https://letterboxd.com/ValVerdeNights/