Chen Kaige directs Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi in this Chinese period saga following two Peking Opera performers; from their childhood of brutal orphaned training to persecution during Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

Spanning a lifetime and with moments of extreme cruelty and petulant betrayal, Kaige’s unrequited romance is quite the achievement. Moving with cinematic sweep of Lean and achieving the intimacy of Rossellini, this showcases two great performances. Leslie Cheung as the closeted, distant female performer is a heartbreaking, androgynous enigma. Gong Li as the acquisitive interloper who marries into the trope and at times threatens the partnership of the stars, while at other times saves it, is an equally tragic and absorbing figure. Farewell My Concubine delivers a history lesson and an emotional rollercoaster, managing to always look immaculate while it does it. The only negatives really are Chinese Opera is bit grating on the old ears. But you can tune out and just observe who the audience is made up of, a key indicator as to what particular point in China’s century of political turmoil we are in.

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/

Richard Donner directs Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Jet Li in this action comedy where Riggs & Murtagh take down some Chinese people smugglers.

I’m guessing it was around Christmas of 1997 that the Warner Brothers executives shuffled ashen faced out of a rough cut of their big Uma Thurman The Avengers remake and collectively realised they did not have a tentpole release for the coming summer season. A Lethal Weapon sequel was greenlit, scripted, filmed and edited within a record breaking 6 months. I first saw posters for it on holiday in Paris and it was a shock. None of Empire’s or Premiere’s January Preview Of 1998 issues has made any mention of Lethal Weapon 4 coming. That’s how quickly it was made. And it is all the better for it. This is a zippy, breathless, natural concoction. Action packed. The carnage and inventiveness of the flamethrower opener or the freeway chase are unlike anything the series has seen. Million dollar slapstick. The magic chemistry of Mel and Danny is given plenty of screentime together and they even takedown Jet Li’s formidable villain in unison for the first time. Riggs is getting “too old” to beat down the big bad by himself at this point. Joe Pesci said ‘Yes’ only after shooting began and new addition Chris Rock’s character had a hasty rewrite when everyone agreed the original intent of making his character gay didn’t work. So most of their bickering is together, separate from the action. Like little screechy time outs. Rock is one of the funniest men alive, though not the best actor, so his outbursts almost feel like everyone stops to watch him do a skit. It doesn’t gel but you’d miss his Detective Butters if they do ever make a 5. Russo is the only returning player who maybe deserved a little more attention but who knows what her shooting availability was at such late notice? This is a movie that feels almost a million miles away from the hard edge psychosis of the 1987 original but a definite improvement on the weak action and aimless frivolity of the third entry. Made with the intention of being the final word on a beloved franchise, there are legacy moments that feel a little too indulgent but in the main Lethal Weapon 4 proves a glorious unashamed piece of Hollywood entertainment. Knowing they don’t make them like this anymore means it has actually aged well beyond its mercenary motivations. Even if Donner, Gibson, Glover and Warners had a more artistic reason to revive the series in either 1998 or 2021 it is unlikely to turn out as spectacular and warm hearted as this did.

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/

Walter Hill directs Nick Nolte, Powers Booth and Michael Ironside in this action thriller where a Texas Ranger from a border town wars with his childhood best friend who runs a drug smuggling empire.

Also starring: María Conchita Alonso! Rip Torn! William Forsythe! AND Clancy MUTHAFUCKIN’ Brown! Holy shit… this must be the greatest movie none of us have ever seen. And you know what? Extreme Prejudice is pretty, pretty, pretty good. A modern day western. That favourite sub-genre of mine. With a Ry Cooder twangy guitar score to boot. Nolte’s white hat is a bit of a hulk… his only personality quirk is he doesn’t like people joining him for a drink uninvited. Powers Booth channels his inner Cy Tolliver and plays the vainglorious cartel boss with a cocky sadness. He’s the best thing in this and chews up some awesome lines. Ironside runs a secret special ops unit of “officially dead” soldiers… this is where your Forsythes and Clancys come in. A lot of screentime is spent on them… you get the best action sequence with the zombie squad as they stage a robbery to match Point Break’s immersive heists… but they really deserve their own movie. They distract from the purer western duel between the leads. What they do add is extra guns to the grand finale. Hill (always comfortable with an action ensemble) replays The Wild Bunch massacre with automatic weapons and rather callously kills off most of the cast with same disregard as if they were extras. There’s something true about not giving each of them an extended death scene but by the credits you can’t help but wonder whether even more could have made out of all the potential that the hook, the movie poster and the cool trailer have!? Strange to watch a movie that hits the spot, exceeds expectations yet leaves you begging.

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/

Anna Biller directs Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Laura Waddell in this erotic parody of Sixties exploitation where a witch wants a real man, but real men are found wanting.

This is visually a spot on parody of Russ Meyers and Herschell Gordon Lewis. I know Biller denies their influence on her kinky, dark comedy but if you want an easy reference point to her bright, declarative use of colour and the busty, direct tone of performance then that really is the touchstone most will recognise. Not a lot happens but it all looks fantastic and Samantha Robinson gives a compelling and iconic performance as the titular seductress. More a mood piece than a particularly effective feminist statement or genre thrill but in terms of style over substance it is very charming. Possibly another voice needed to be heard in post production as it does drag on indulgently with nowhere fresh to go after the 90 minute mark. Sexy, straight faced, beautiful.

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/

John Sturges directs Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine in this Cold War action thriller where a spy commandeers a submarine to beat the Russians to a fallen satellite in the frozen tundras of Greenland.

Often turgid. We meet all the principles during an event free pleasure cruise in a submarine. 90 minutes later we are waiting around a snow mobile service entry while all the double agents slowly reveal themselves. McGoohan has one of his trademark curt strops and throws some test tubes about. This is the content we want! Then the movie finale comes to life in the closing twenty minutes with a genuinely intense Mexican stand-off with the Russians. Until then a fine cast is wasted and the usually dependable Sturges is lost at sea.

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/

Robert Altman directs Elliot Gould, Sterling Hayden and Nina van Pallandt in this detective drama where Phillip Marlowe looks for a missing writer while he investigates his friend’s wife’s murder.

Ambling, meta and damn near perfect. Elliot Gould’s Marlowe is a mumbling piece of driftwood gently pulled along between waves of conspiracy and the tide of the truth. He slopes scruffily through lengthy scenes, letting them unravel at their own natural pace. It is a knowing, relaxed and expert piece of comedy acting in an otherwise hard edged, serious mystery. A progenitor for Chevy Chase in Fletch and especially Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. If you are a fan of either of those movies… and you should love both those movies… then this will be right up your street. You are so enthralled by Gould’s detached, out of sync Marlowe buying late night catfood or watching stray dogs rut from a bus window that the violent mystery elements creep up on you. When the old school crime strands intrude, they feel like eruptions. A funny, lonely counter culture rebranding of the old noir tropes that you should just let wash over you until it reaches its shockingly impactful conclusion. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!

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/

Don Taylor directs Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Bradford Dillman in this sci-fi sequel where a few survivors of the future ape apocalypse crashland in modern day America.

A very dry film where most of the scenes are the talking apes being examined and interrogated in government facilities. There is some amusing satire when they briefly become media sensations. The bleak fugitive finale fulfils the adventure requirements barely. Talky but not without something to say. God only knows what seventies kids, excited to see more simian dystopian action, made of it? Imagine a Fast & Furious sequel which was mainly the family renewing their driving licences and insurance quotes.

5

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/

Xavier Dolan directs Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard and Léa Seydoux in this French drama where an estranged playwright returns home one last time to argue with his family.

An excuse for beautiful actors to look dowdy and shout over each other. Exhausting.

3

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/

Mike Nichols directs Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Spader in this werewolf movie where a mild mannered executive regains his animal instincts at work and in the bedroom after being bitten by a wild animal.

If you approach Wolf as a horror movie then you aren’t going to get a lot out of it. There is gore, peril and minimalist Rick Baker transformation FX work. Basically he bangs on some mutton chops and contact lenses to the top billed and lets them lope about with their mouths half open. It is no An American Werewolf In London, and was never intended to be. This has more sophisticated and more old fashioned intentions. Watching stars act and interact over a generous two hours. And you can’t do that if everyone spends six deadening hours a day in the prosthetics trailer get slapped up. The main hook ain’t watching Nicholson rampage through a moonlit Central Park… it is watching him go from sad sack to Jack’s back! The thrill of witnessing an A-Lister rope a-dope us into relishing him rediscovering all his old hammy tics and wild eyed cool. Want to see Jack flirt outrageously with Pfeiffer? They have a surprisingly electric chemistry considering the May to December age difference. Like Cruise, she’s always better when paired off against a New Hollywood elder statesman. Want to see Jack kick a hostile takeover in to touch and piss on a deliciously slimy James Spader’s disloyal suede shoes in the process? He gets there, he delivers. You leap a little out of your seat and punch the air when the wolf’s bite reinvigorates his predatory instincts with such puckish mischief. The pace is majestic, again a little clunky if you just want a full fat horror… but if you’ve come from an astute old school drama where the supernatural elements are there as a plot catalyst rather than the main thrust then you’ll have tons of fun. Approach it maturely as a work from the director of The Graduate and Working Girl and you’ll know what exquisite pleasures you are letting yourself in for. An underrated ominous score from Ennio Morricone stirs the emotions. Christopher Plummer, Kate Nelligan and Om Puri round out the ensemble with a touch of prestige.

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/

Sean Foley directs Julian Barratt, Essie Davis and Andrea Riseborough in this British comedy where a forgotten teatime detective telly show luvvie is called out of obscurity to solve a case on the Isle of Man.

Alan Partridge meets Garth Marenghi… with a half dozen jokes to gently fall back on. A nice conceit, enthusiastically performed, but only intermittently funny.

5

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/