Craig Zobel directs Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank and Ethan Suplee in this satirical action comedy where a rich cabal kidnaps the people they are politically opposed to and hunts them on a reserve full of traps and twists.

The Hunt ain’t a perfect slice of B-Movie exploitation. The politics are scattershot and it is difficult to commit into the action. The first 30 minutes is a pass-the-parcel of protagonists… just when you log that the camera has focussed on a recognisable or potentially heroic face for more than two shots… that actor is maimed, killed or imploded. It is a neato running joke but unsettling storytelling. The second half is much better. Betty Gilpin’s off-kilter but sharp one woman army takes the battle back to the spoilt and the filmmakers have just as much sport lampooning the doomed elite as they do the defenceless poor. The political content is probably a little too broad and “2019 America” specific to work out-with a undelayed cinema release but the violence is consistently OTT. Taken as a more colourful variation of a Purge movie or a free roaming update of The Last Supper… The Hunt is consistently slambang entertaining even in its weaker moments.

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/

Richard Attenborough directs Anthony Hopkins, Burgess Meredith and Ann-Margaret in this chiller where a ventriloquist about to hit the big time needs to face some issues he has with his creepy dummy.

One of those films that was always available to me as a kid (it always seemed to be coming on TV or on other people’s video shelves) but I never watched. Probably because of my aversion to horror. This would have been a good teen first horror, ironically. Nothing too scarring really happens. Scripted by William Goldman, the first act is rich with fantastic film writing. It is a masterclass of setting up and making us care. The wintery New York setting only adds to the ripe atmosphere. Yet once we get to murders and the mystery of just who is in control, it feels like bloodless Stephen King territory or a prestige Psycho retread. Hopkins is a bit too cold a fish to care about, eliciting none of the essential sympathy Anthony Perkins would, for example. Ann-Margaret at least adds a bit of sex appeal into the slow entropy of the second hour. Great to look at, classy, with bursts of unsettling strange… Magic was probably a better movie in my overactive youthful imagination.

6

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 Leigh directs Alison Steadman, Tim Stern and Janine Duvitski in this television play about a middle class soirée hosted by an overconfident, domineering housewife.

Naked and Nuts in May aside, I’m not a big fan of Leigh. I find his sneering view of the working class difficult to chuckle at. This much beloved farce works for two reasons. Steadman’s hideously spot on tyrant in high street evening wear. And the amount of unspoken animosities and hinted at innuendos among the other guests. Just how did taciturn, grumpy Tony’s shirt get wet? Existential crisis with ice and a slice of lemon.

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/

Wang Xiaoshuai directs Wang Jingchun, Yong Mei and Qi Xi in this epic drama following one couple’s tragedies during China’s era of One Child policy.

A superbly acted and richly textured family saga. The sense of period and place is evocative. The elliptical time structure wrong foots you and makes you actively engage with characters’ changes of fortunes. You find yourself second guessing your grasp of the plot and chastising yourself for cynically assuming the worst of the lead couple. Would make a good double bill with the decades spanning Ash is the Purest White.

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/

John Herzfeld directs Danny Aiello, James Spader and Teri Hatcher in this freewheelin’ crime caper following the fallout from a bungled assassination.

Made during the big Pulp Fiction gold rush of mid 90s, this has very little but light entertainment to offer. It lacks Elmore Leonard’s wit, Scorsese’s bravura craft or QT’s eye for ensemble casting. The imposed quirkiness is very heavy handed. Various sub-plots shift from engaging to pointless, and the characters never are given enough breathing space to come alive. Aiello, Glenne Headley, Paul Mazursky and a very fresh faced Charlize Theron make the most out of what blanks they are armed with but if someone told you Jeff Daniels was only available for 48 hours of filming and they didn’t complete shooting his pages you’d believe them. Watchable, disposable.

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/

Alfred Hitchcock directs Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and Leo. G Carroll in this thriller where a frigid psychoanalyst and her murder suspect lover go on the run.

Dirty old Alfred gets a little too caught up with violently frustrated men and repressed beauties here. The set pieces and suspense are low volume. The stand-out is a Salvador Dali designed dream sequence full of visual crossword clues to the mystery’s solution. Fantastic to look at but unless there was an interval to muse on what you’ve just witnessed you’d never have a chance to unpick the pun imagery and resolve what happened and whodunnit.

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/

Mark Rosman directs Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson and Janis Ward in this horror slasher where some dorm sisters kill their guardian moments before the last party of the year.

The characters are unlikeable and the kills come way too quick. Most of the deserving victims are bumped off with a hasty, tension-free impatience. The production does however look superior to nearly all of its peers. The flashback opening is an unspoken homage to Citizen Kane, there are crane shots and everything is impeccably lit… right up to the party finale that has the phantasmagorical colour scheme of a Bava or Argento. Prettiness does not a great chiller make though.

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/

The name’s Bond… James Bond.

Dr No (1962) 👍🏼

From Russia With Love (1963) 👍🏼👍🏼

Goldfinger (1964) 👍🏼👍🏼

Thunderball (1965)

You Only Live Twice (1967) 👍🏼👍🏼

Casino Royale (1967)

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) 👍🏼👍🏼

Diamonds Are Forever (1971) 👍🏼

Live and Let Die (1973) 👍🏼👍🏼

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) 👍🏼

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 👍🏼

Moonraker (1979)

For Your Eyes Only (1981) 👍🏼

Never Say Never Again (1983)

Octopussy (1983) 👍🏼

A View To a Kill (1985)

The Living Daylight (1987) 👍🏼👍🏼

Licence to Kill (1989) 👍🏼

Goldeneye (1995) 👍🏼

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 👍🏼

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Die Another Day (2002)

Casino Royale (2006) 👍🏼👍🏼

Quantum of Solace (2008) 👍🏼👍🏼

Skyfall (2012)

Spectre (2015) 👍🏼

No Time To Die (2021)

Spike Jonze directs Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper in this Hollywood satire where Charlie Kaufman, meta-loving screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, agrees to adapt a non-fiction bestseller with no plot and drives himself into a frenzy over his self-doubt, inertia and paranoia.

All the worst feels poured into a cocktail shaker and mixed vigorously into a viciously funny concoction of frustrated humanity. Kaufman’s view of himself is self lacerating but recognisable. We don’t get many feature length presentations on chronic indecision. Yet most of us in life do idle in the middle lane, scared to take risks while wanting to stay authentic to some limiting idea of who we are. Kaufman even invents a twin brother for juxtaposition. Blundering, confident, likeable – Donald has no issues selling out, getting the girl or getting along. Watching Cage play off himself is one of the film’s true delights. The internalised genius and the extroverted achiever grating and caring and trampling over each other produces much of the film’s heart and humour. He’s wonderful in both roles – avoiding the delirious ham that has defined his 21st century career. Strong work too from Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and the unsung Cara Seymour. Adaptation. is a curious movie. It has it cake and eats it and then shows you the recipe for cake and then ices the pages of the cookery book with everything that is bad for you but delicious. As Charlie sweats and sighs over turning the literary prose about flowers, life and loneliness into something cinematic, we catch accomplished glimpses of a faithful conversion of Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief into big screen release. Then when formulaic and crowd pleasing Donald takes over the process, the final act warps into a rollercoaster of cliches, broken rules and excitement. Art is betrayed but we are entertained. It is a heady, acerbic experience. One final note: Adaptation has one of the best movie trailers ever – it utterly sells the tone and uniqueness of a non-traditional film without being particularly quirky itself.

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/

Alejandra Márquez Abella directs Ilse Salas, Paulina Gaitan and Flavio Medina in this period satire from Mexico.

The Mexican Economic Crash of 1982 witnessed through the pampered eyes of one trophy wife. Her friends, her servants and her sanity begin to abandon her in that order. We linger over the decadent chic lifestyle and then watch the rot set in. A really attractive, wholemeal two hours.

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/