Gavin Wiesen directs Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts and Rita Wilson in this teen drama where an artistic loner at a posh school falls in with an It girl.

Cute without being too fluffy. I’m not sure why we are supposed to care about a rich kid who does fuck all work, even though he has the talent and the brains? Probably thinks of itself as more an update on The Catcher In the Rye than Ferris Bueller. The Emma Roberts part is shaded better than it needs to be.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Holidate (2020)

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

Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske and Bill Roberts direct Donald Duck, Goofy and Joe Carioca in this Walt Disney animation movie that packages together various shorts about South America.

Better than its reputation with the highlights being Donald having a shit time in Peru, the introduction of a cigar smoking parrot (who you always seemed to get in Nineties Kinder Surprise Eggs as the toy) and a marvellous animated finale to Aquarela do Brasil written by Ary Barroso.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The Three Caballeros (1944)

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

Guillermo del Toro directs Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam and Josh Brolin in this monster movie where something lurks in the sewers of a post-pandemic New York City.

Problem Number One: You can tell del Toro is far more enamoured with his fairytale father and son side characters (a cobbler and an autistic respectively) than he is with the B-List stars who play flavourless cops and scientists in the foreground. Problem Number Two: It was butchered by the Weinstein Brothers before release. Problem Number Three: The best shot in the movie was added by after-the-fact hired gun Ole Bornedal. In all honesty, I reckon del Toro’s untainted version would have been a slog. The battle for Mimic between the now lauded director and the now infamous producers probably honed this into something marketable. If not particularly engaging. It is opaque in its storytelling and not particularly effective or original when it comes to the creature feature basics. A bastard movie.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Cronos (1993)

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

Otto Preminger directs Jean Seberg, Deborah Kerr and David Niven in this teen drama where a spoilt only child schemes to stop her beloved Daddy from remarrying on the French Riviera one horny summer ago.

Lacks the subtle depths of the novella. Everyone is a setting too sunny and well adjusted, though all very watchable. Preminger’s gambit of showing the jaded near future in black and white lends a certain air of style. A pleasant watch… I’m pretty sure this was aiming higher though.

6

Perfect Double Bill: SSeberg (2019)

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/

Robert Greenwald directs Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly in this musical where a sexy muse inspires a graphic designer and a retired nightclub owner to open a classy roller disco.

A notorious flop. Sure sure, Xanadu is genuinely batshit mental but it is also pure of heart and never boring to watch. Michael Beck from The Warriors is so out of his element that you hope the Baseball Furies might turn up and put him out of his misery. Gene and Olivia however suit this brand of candy ass nonsense to a tee and add a lot of value. The ELO’s songs are all quite catchy. The neon SFX are well deployed. The big dance numbers are unadulterated and unashamed cheese. If you were 6 years old and off your nut on sugar and e-numbers you might think this is actually the finest work of cinema ever released. Cute.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Two Of a Kind (1983)

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/

Martin Scorsese directs Liza Minnelli, Robert DeNiro and Lionel Stander in this revival of the big MGM musical that feels more about an awful relationship that a talented singer begrudgingly has with an utter prick, with occasional song and dance numbers.

Marty makes a movie about toxic masculinity and abuse that just goes on and on and on. Has the cocaine fuelled over confidence that destroyed New American Cinema. Wobbly Scorsese is better than no Scorsese. Some of the fake environments just look stunningly artificial. Liza is pretty special, the famous theme song thumps, this is an obvious influence on La La Land’s structure. Still, an abrasive endurance test whatever and whichever cut you watch.

6

Perfect Double Bill: La La Land (2016)

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/

Tony Scott directs Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman and James Gandolfini in this submarine action drama where two officers violently disagree on whether to launch their nuclear weapons when a transmission is compromised.

Denzel in his most heroic role. Hackman chewing scenery as the pissiest little bitch ever to rise through the ranks of the navy. Tarantino’s really really really obvious script doctoring punch-up scenes. They stand out like sexy big toes. Scott relishing the sweat, claustrophobia and rapid cut scenes of “what would you do?” stand taking. It is 12 Angry Men with live ammo. If you read this blog, I reckon you’d wager I’d eat all this up with a spoon. This feels tailored towards all my tastes… on paper. And I’ve watched the flick a fair few times since racing to see it on opening weekend but it always leaves me a tinsy bit lukewarm. The plot goes around in circles a few dances too many times and you are never sure why certain characters take the unexpected sides they do. It’s just a little too repetitive and messy to reach maximum potential intensity. Yet that doesn’t diminish what an effective Saturday night entertainment Crimson Tide can be once your expectations are tapered. Also: one of the reddest films ever made.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Unstoppable (2010)

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/

Garry Marshall directs Michelle Pfeiffer, Al Pacino and Nathan Lane in this romantic comedy set around a New York diner where two lonely people work.

Based on a clearly grittier stage play this feels misjudged, softened. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t pass as entertainment. Pfeiffer is far too breathtaking to play dowdy but her acting is strong. Marshall can’t resist his light romcom schtick but to be honest it actually works with the support ensemble. The bruising content never rubs smoothly against the soppy gloss yet I’d watch this a dozen times again before Runaway Bride or New Year’s Day. The messages about recovery from past trauma and renewed trust resonates, rare to see such uncomfortable themes work in this genre.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Pretty Woman (1990)

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/

Stephen Frears directs John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening in this neo-noir based on Jim Thompson’s novel about two con women battling it out for the attentions of a short game hustler.

A video rental years favourite of mine. I probably enjoyed the sharp suits, sharper practices and blocky colour scheme back then as a pre-teen. As I grew older I began to appreciate more and more, away from the sunny location shoot (Los Angeles plays itself wonderfully) and jaunty Carter Burwell score, just how misanthropic and despairing this truly is. The Grifters is one rotten orange. The adaptation is by crime fiction heavyweight Donald E Westlake, and he typed it up with Scorsese in line to direct. Frears keeps things pretty playful, his strength is with actors, delivering an early career best from Bening and spectacular work from Huston. She is otherworldly nasty here, when she shows a vulnerability we know to also be very scared. When I was a kid, I loyally followed Cusack, now he’s the least engrossing performance. As about as awesome as crime cinema can get. I don’t remember a single gunshot.

10

Perfect Double Bill: Force Of Evil (1948)

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/

Mark Mylod directs Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult and Ralph Fiennes in this dark satire where the wealthy visit an exclusive island restaurant only to discover chef has some unusual plans for them.

More “eat the rich”. Imagine the intentional industrial accidents of Willy Wonka’s factory but for people in designer clothing. Technically this is faultless, yet there’s not a lot of surprise or spark. It runs its rail, “tweezered to fuck.” Looking impeccable but cold and unfulfilling. There’s no real exploitation value or grander truth exposed, only occasionally biting enough to raise a laugh. You never get bored of the key cast, Hoult probably understands what the audience crave more than anyone else here does, yet my biggest take home was Anya Taylor-Joy looks even better with her hair down. And that ain’t exactly the most earth-shattering doggy bag to pop in your fridge.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Triangle of Sadness (2022)

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/